"Random Things One Finds Out About Oneself in High School" & Photography

I never really thought of myself as a procrastinator.

Until this {school} year.

High school occasionally brings out the, um, less desirable traits of mankind...

So here I am, procrastinating as usual. Photography class is tomorrow, and I took my photos...today. Yep.

Since I haven't posted in a while, I thought I'd share my pics. :) Let me know what you think?

The assignment was to tell a story through four photos. I decided to take some photos of my crochet project... which, for the most part, I'd finished. :p (Wow, I didn't procrastinate for once! ;:)) Even so, I tried to photograph the process...

And just for fun, this photo of buttons...

What have I been up to lately? Well... I took the ACT test on Sat., and then went out to eat and shopping with my mom. :) Other than that, I've been working on school and reading. 

Currently? 

Staring at: the computer screen

Listening to: Sanctus Real :) {album: Pieces Of A Real Heart} 

Feeling: cold... I'm in the basement in short sleeves without socks. {But it's my own fault... remember? I'm averse to wearing long sleeves}. I think I'll go upstairs where it's warmer now... 

Have a blessed day!

"Klarabelle" 

P.S. I was proofreading this post and realized I have a four-eyed smiley face on here... did you notice? :)

Also, the thingy I crocheted is a CD case... I don't like my CD covers getting scratched, so I thought I'd make a soft holder for my CD's to protect them. :) I would be interested in selling them (and posting photos of the whole thing:)) if anyone's interested. I have other yarn colors, too! 

P.P.S. Can you please pray for a friend of ours? Thanks so much. :) 

Entry for the Music Photo Contest

This is my entry for the photo-of-a-musical-instrument contest at Designed to Inspire!!! :) 

Info: I took the photo, it's not from the internet. :)

"Klarabelle"

P.S. This is old news now, but I guest-posted for Meena... check it out here, if you would like! :) It's called "Goodness > Greatness" because I reference a line from Oz the Great and Powerful in my post. :)

Also, there's a new post on my writing blog. Have a blessed day!

And...they melted.

Didn't see that one coming.

But I guess I should tell this story in the right order.

You should probably know that baking and I haven't exactly ever... hit it off, as the expression says. Therefore I rarely bake, and I have NEVER baked something on my own (with the exclusion of ramen noodles, and the time I put wax paper in the oven. Thankfully, nothing caught on fire) - hence the part of my bucket list that says something to the effect of, "bake something on my own without failing." Today I baked... or attempted to... but not on my own. And it kind of failed.

First, they turned out HUGE.

They splooshed out like weird toadstools with chocolate chips in the middle.

I got the job of bulldozing it off the plate. (Figures, we were out of parchment paper)

We made the next dozen or so smaller... but it didn't help. Because they melted.

(I apologize for the poor quality of the photos...).

I recently read my first steampunk novel (which, btw, was AMAZING)... it was about a young man who found out he had the ability to melt people. (The name of the book is Candle Man... it's actually a series, but I haven't managed to procure myself a copy of Book #2 yet. As an aside, it's a really neat book! It's very exciting - a little bit scary - but really cool, especially if you enjoy action/adventure novels. It also makes some interesting moral points, so if you read it, see if you can figure out the worldview of the author / what he's trying to say in the book. Really cool. Okay, moving on...). It seemed as if there is a version of the Candle Man that eats - I mean melts - cookies. One of them could've cried out, "I'm melting!" like the wicked witch of the west and no one would've been too surprised... (Actually we would've, but... y'know. 'Tis an expression!) The whole ordeal was rather fascinating; the cookie dough slid away from the chocolate chips, then proceeded to bubble and flatten until we were back with the giant cookies / scraping them off the cookie pan / etc.

Ooh, how delicious!
*cough*sarcasm*cough*

Actually they didn't taste that bad. 

Needless to say, however, this experience has not improved by misgivings concerning cooking.

How are you today?

"Klarabelle"

I have no idea why I tagged this art... probably because I don't have a tag for "disaster".
And no, I am not affiliated with Ove Glove or Glenn Dakin. Or the brand of oven used...

Smashbook Pics

Hi!

I thought I'd post those pics of the Smashbook I mentioned a while ago! I ended up getting two, a pink one - "Pretty Style" and a red one, "Doodle Style", because the former didn't completely fit my personality / style like the red one did. I'm planning to still use both, but for different things. : )

Pretty Style...Before

(pic of original Smashbook from)

During / After : ) 

I decided to color the front...

 I like color and I like to color...

All finished! 

(Actually, I added a ribbon to it, but I don't have a pic of it! :))

Now, for the Doodle style! If you wanna see a pic, click here. 

(The comp is being difficult and doesn't want me to upload any more pics) 

I colored this one, too.

...and added braided ribbon and bird charms on the side.  

I cut the letters on paper, glued the onto another paper, cut it out and traced the letters. 

A weird angle

 

Finished!

Thanks for looking! : ) Oh, and if you're wondering about the significance of the "Seventeen"... let's just say my b'day is coming up and I'm really excited! : ) And yes, I'm gonna be old. ;)

I'm hoping to use the "Seventeen" Smashbook to put pics, souvenirs, etc. from when I'm 17. But I already cheated and stuck some stickers on there (and, of course, decorated the cover...) before my b'day. :p As for the pink one, I'll probably just put random photos from Pinterest in it... :) And quotes I like.

For those of you with Smashbooks / art journals / whatevers, what do you plan to put in them!? 

On a completely unrelated note, my air plant has a pup! (Actually,two, but only one is pictured). {Pup = baby air plant}

How are you all doing? At the moment I have a bad cold which seems to have settled in my throat. I'm kind of sad because I have something tomorrow (Nov. 17th) that I was hoping to sing at, but I will probably end up just listening. Oh well.

~ Lordwilling, hopefully posting a Thanksgiving / how-to-decipher-the-worldview-of-a-song article / post / thingy soon! ~ 

Have a great day!

"Klarabelle" 

Just Another Type-and-Publish Post (with random photographs)

Hello!

Images won't show up on my computer screen... they have disappeared! I'm hoping a reboot of the computer will help, but until then, I can't comment on your blogs (from this computer) if you have a "Prove you're not a robot" because the computer won't show me the image!!! lol

Anywaywhoo, the other day I posted on my writing blog... And I thought I'd tell you the full version of that story. :p There's probably a story (albeit a boring one) behind every one of my blog posts, but this one's actually pretty interesting. Well, I think so.

After looking through the blogosphere I became extremely inspired to post something wordy on my writing blog. So I did. It took longer than I thought it would, so when I'd finished I decided to go to bed. I realized I didn't have my water bottle, so after a few moments of mental debate, decided to go and grab a glass of water. I'm one of those people who turns on all the lights, so after grabbing my glass of water I turned off the lights as I walked back to my room. So then I turned out the lights in my room and tried to go to sleep. Then my phone lit up, which meant I either missed a call or got a text (I usually have my phone on silent, so I don't know the difference). I thought my parents might possibly have texted me to see if I was ok (after hearing me grab the glass of water), which was actually a really strange idea, but it was 10:30ish at night, so I'll use that as my excuse. My phone battery was dying, so I turned it off and then tried to go to sleep (or I might've been listening to music...probably that, actually). Then I realized I was still wearing makeup, so I had to turn on all the lights (well, my room + bathroom) and remove said makeup. Then I turned off all the lights and got back in bed. Aaand... then I decided I wanted a drink so I grabbed the glass, but it got stuck to the coaster and spilled. So then - well, you know what I'm gonna say next, right? I turned on "all" the lights to grab a towel and clean it up. After that, I think I actually went to sleep. But, there you go, that's the full story of what happened after I posted on my writing blog. :p 

In case that was completely boring (it's better when told in person), here are some photographs for you. I learned how to use some photo-editing websites, so I messed around with some photos!

And you'll probably notice...I really like turquoise. :D

Yes, this is the same chandelier that I mentioned here!

My mom suggested putting this candle holder in it.

I have this photo as my profile photo at the moment.

I couldn't remember which font / photo editing site I used for the lettering I used then! :p

A sneak peak of the new decor for my dresser

(Mostly thrift store finds :))

Emma! and Pride and Prejudice.

Except, I can't see them. They "look" invisible to me. :p So, hopefully they show up on your computer. Otherwise, it will be very strange. Anyway, I'm not exactly a photographer but I do like to have fun with the camera! :)

I titled this a "Type-and-Publish" because it meant it wasn't one I'd just grabbed out of drafts and published. But, I actually ended up copy-pasting the photos I had saved in drafts...so... never mind. :p

"Klarabelle"

P.S. Thanks for all your sweet comments on my Smashbook post! I'll try and post pics of my Smashbook once I actually...start...uh, using it. : ) At the moment I'm just searching for inspirational pictures and printing them off. :D

P.P.S. Happy birthday, Riversbend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope your day was spectacular!!!!!! : ) 

SMASH Journals - a fashionesque post

Hey all!

What's up with ya'll? Hope you're all doing well! :)

The other day I was at Michael's and saw something called a SMASH Journal. I love journaling, scrapbooking, and squishing things, so I took a peek at it but then ahd to move on. When I got home, I looked it up on the internet... they look so amazing!

I'm guessing it's just another gimmick, but it looks like scrapbooking... the un-traditional way! :D I was never a committed scrapbooker (that's my mom's job), though I loved the photos, stickers and pretty paper. It looks like with SMASH, it's a journal / scrapbook made so you can write your thoughts, stick in special things, and smash it all in!

I'm enraptured!!!

Here are some pages from Smashbooks / related entities

(Pics from Pinterest)

The journals remind me of a special book my friend made for me when I was in the hospital for cardiac arrest. She decorated the pages with cute paper and different decorations, and made it so that visiting friends and family could write me a note in there. It's a book I will always love, cherish and be forever thankful for!

I'm famous for falling for gimmicks (I want an air plant...randomly) and it's typical for me to see something and think about it continually until I eventually buy it. I'm crazy, but I'm me. (I'm working on turning into a reformed me, the me that Jesus wants to be - it rhymes! - but it's a "me" long in the making.) I'm thinking about getting one of the journals and using it to chronicle the next year of my life... (I'm about to have a b'day). I journal obsessively and also enjoy handwriting random scenes of my book(s) in the same journal, so I would probably keep two journals, a SMASH one and a "normal" one.

I love looking at all the different pages people have uploaded on the internet. So inspiring...and each journal page is customized to that person's interests / thoughts of the day!

Anyway, what do ya'll think? Do you think they're a cute idea? Would you get one, or would you rather come up with your own version? :) If you got one, do you think you'd use it?

*A couple days later*
AAARRRGHH, I keep finding excuses not to post this! I wanted to put a pic up of me and my Smashbook (yes! I got one!), but I'm just going to publish this. :p

"Klarabelle"
*I am in no way affiliated with K&Company or their amazing SMASH journals, or Michael's, for that matter. I'm just a random blogger who saw their cool products at a cool store. :D

Insight Into My Insanity #1

Actually, I'm just kidding! This post will in no way help you to understand my insanity. But I liked the way "Insight" and "insanity" sounded together, so I used it. Sorry. :p

Anyway, it's your fault I'm posting this, you requested it. ;) Just kidding, I really appreciate your input! And, I labeled this post art... why?
a. because I don't post enough about art
b. I'm sure it's been said many times before, but people are like works of art in the making, right?

Anyway, this is kind of inspired by Talia's post, If We're Gonna Be Friends... So, I thought I would post 10 of my quirks...and if you want, you can post 10 of your crazy quirks / random facts about yourself that people may not know - on your blog and leave the link! :) I'd love to hear about your bits of insanity, too!

Okay, here we go...

1. I used to love cold coffee-flavored things (like coffee-flavored ice cream) but not actual coffee. Recently I tried my first cup of coffee and actually was not repulsed and horrified by it!!!
2. I am fascinated while at the same time repulsed by giant African millipedes (so cute!) (ewww, gross!)
3. I never dropped a pick into any instrument until a few weeks ago.
4. I often try to harmonize when listening to music. I'm not a natural harmonizer, so it sounds very...interesting. :p
5. I prefer canned green beans over fresh green beans.
6. I usually count stairs as I walk up them.
7. I adore stuffed animals. When I was a kid, I bought a ton of them from thrift stores. I still have a bunch of them, though I no longer have 300. :)
8. I used to be extremely cynophobic.
9. I am kinda phonophobic now.
10. I actually had trouble coming up with 10 things! :p

I might do another of these posts sometime, when I can think up enough odd things about me to make a set of 10. ;)

I messed around on PicMonkey and made a couple graphics you girls can use if you want to do a post about your insanity, too. :) (even though the title is a bit misleading...maybe you can figure out a way to make it work.) PicMonkey doesn't have a copyright on using their fonts to make graphics, does it? :D Also, I used the colors Emma used to design my blog, hope that's okay too! :)

Hope you enjoy!

"Klarabelle"

Melting Crayons 'n' Stuff / Paint your doors...turquoise!

Hey!

I have a question for you...

*Warning! Rant!* Why do my precautionary measures to save things always turn into me-doing-the-exact-thing-I-was-trying-to-prevent-myself-from-doing!? Arrrgh. I was attempting to COPY a blog post so that I could have a copy of it in case I accidentally messed it up. But after I highlighted it, instead of clicking COPY I clicked PASTE! Gaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkk!  *Okay, rant over. It's safe to read now.*

ANYWAY. I shall now attempt to remake the post from memory...

(Note to self: Be joyful at all times! Joy, joy, joy!!!)

I love rainbows. :) I should probably elaborate. Or not. But I will anyway. I love that rainbows are a sign of God's promise. My fascination with rainbows, however, really began when I was part of the Rainbow choir in a homeschool production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Then in the next homeschool production I was blessed to be able to sing a line from Somewhere Over the Rainbow, which included, "Birds fly over the rainbow, why, then, oh why can't I?" So continued my love of rainbows and bluebirds, too!

Anywayhoo, so... earlier this summer during my melting-crayon-phase, I had the idea to make a Somewhere Over the Rainbow themed crayon art!

So, I...

1) Procured some cheapo crayons, a mini glue gun, canvas and later, letter stickers...and also, paint. What about this paint?

Well when I was working on Draft 1 of "Melting Crayons 'n' Stuff", I decided to merge the post with my in draft article, "Paint your doors...turquoise!" So now we shall take a small deviation to discuss turquoise doors.

*Here begins Paint your doors...turquoise!*

I wanted to paint my doors turquoise, so Mom and I compromised...

Before...

Ze process...

1. Sandpaper

2. Blue tape :)

More blue tape (the curvy part was hard to tape!)

Turquoise paint!

(and my mom)

More paint!

Turquoise paint, a cheap roller that fell apart but did its job, and my hand (which did not fall apart thankfully :))

Pretty paint bucket!

Removing the tape...and realizing that the paint soaked through!

But Mom did touch-up so it turned out okay!

Me and ze doors!

Thanks Mom for all the help! :)

So there 'tis, my doors! :)

*End of Paint your doors...turquoise!*

I was able to use a watered down version of that paint ^ to paint my canvas! 

2) I taped a piece of cardboard across the top of the canvas so the crayons wouldn't go where I didn't want them to go (I was somewhat successful)

3) I plugged in the glue gun, inserted crayons in the glue gun, and melted them onto the canvas. However the crayons began to drip on each other, and eventually I left the crayon in the gun too long and said crayon completely liquidated and killed the glue gun. I was so frustrated. I decided to take a break and soon after cleaned up the area because we were leaving on vacation (this was earlier in the summer).

3) A couple weeks ago a friend wanted to see my crayon art, so I took her down to see it. I finally became inspired to finish it, so a couple days ago, I did! My mom suggested that instead of using puffy paint to write, I use letter stickers. We found some black, glittery cursive letters at Michael's that were even on sale (I like good deals, 'kay? :)). She helped me stick them on with tweezers (if you haven't noticed, my mom helps me a lot with my art endeavors...and so much more, heehee). Then, I glued on some origami birds I made (No, they aren't bluebirds like in the song, but they are the main colors of my room!). I also added a ribbon to cover up the place where I'd pulled the cardboard off (it looked unfinished) and Mom helped me to hang it up!

Anyway, here's what you've been waiting for (or not)...ze photos!

Without ze ribbon... (and birds)

Finished project!!!

An interesting question. Why can't I fly over the rainbow?

(Funny, in worldview class today Mom and I were debating whether or not people could fly...)

A close-up 

Hanging on the wall 

Whew, long post. But really, it was 2 posts for the...er...something of one!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Have you been doing any exciting art projects lately? Share on your blog and leave a link, or comment below if you feel so inclined! 

Please vote on my poll??? 

Ooh and I'm sponsoring a pair of barefoot sandals at My Lil Mud Boots Giveaway! Check it out if you like :) 

And don't forget, it's September!

My nails ^

"Klarabelle"