Tuesday Mourning

Tuesday Mourning

I am having so much fun with my Pinterest account.  (Want to see what makes me happy?  Check out my pins, here: http://pinterest.com/cheliseh/

So today, I did a search for Tuesday (what else) and here were all the wonderful pins that appeared:  http://pinterest.com/search/?q=tuesday. 

I love Pinterest because of the wonderful visual finds, and today ~ my Tuesday search brought up several images by this fabulous Southern California Artist, whose store is called Tuesday Mourning.  My husband and I are in the process of moving, so I have to wait a bit before investing in some new art pieces, but when I am ready, i shall definitely return to Tuesday Mourning's etsy account, to select a special piece of my own.

Is she not fabulous?  I hope YOU are having a fabulous Tuesday!  See you tomorrow, when I hope to post something red and whimsical for Rednesday.

The sight of the stars...

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”  

- Vincent Van Gogh

Oh, I have been beside myself with misery the past two days, fighting a flu.  I am just starting to feel better now.  Phew!  However, I found the greatest site, a beta site called Pinterest ~ that serves as the world's largest online inspiration board.  The idea is that you collect images that inspire you, and create categories for images so that you can visit them at any time.  Likewise, others can view, follow, or copy elements of your boards.  

http://www.pinterest.com

So, while I have been stuck on the couch watching daytime t.v. ~ I've made it through by viewing and creating the most wonderful images, and my own boards.  What boards have I created of my own?  Everything from Places and Spaces I Love, to Polka Dots and Cherries!  You can view all of my boards, here:

http://pinterest.com/cheliseh/

 

Because the site is in beta stage, you have to request an invite to join.  I did so, and was invited within a few days.  I am so glad.  I am having a blast!  Enjoy looking around, and re-check anytime you want.  I have a feeling my boards will be updated regularly.  When it comes to inspiration, it knows no bounds!

We Create the Dreams

"We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams."  - Albert Einstein

In just a few hours it will be Wednesday.  Woo hoo!  Jump for joy.  Half way through the work week.  Do a little dancing, and the next thing you know, it will be the weekend.

Speaking of  dancing, several months ago I uploaded a playlist with a few of my favorite songs.  You can check it out anytime you want by clicking on this image on my sidebar:

 

http://chelsmending.blogspot.com/p/listen-along-with-me.html

And speaking of jumping for joy, and fine music ~ I was delighted to blog-surf my way to the Birdie Blue blog:

 http://birdiebluesky.blogspot.com/

  Not only are the graphics delightful, but the music playlist (at the bottom of her blog) is to die for.  Anyone who listens to Kate Bush, the Talking Heads and Jack Johnson - is a music friend of mine!

So listen to my playlist, Birdie Blue's, or create one of your own.  And when you do, don't forget to dance.  Remember, you are the dancer.  You create your dreams...

 In honor of Freebie Friday here at Born Broken, I looked around for some fun freebies, and stumbled across Zwani.com, which houses everything from free twitter backgrounds to graphics galore.  Warning:  most of their offerings are very shmaltzy myspace kinda stuff.  But, thetre are some goodies in there, too.

Anyway, if you are up for all their blingy pre-teen crud - you  might find some fun graphics. 

Oh, and TGIF!  Speaking of freebies... Join In!

LEARN MORE ABOUT FREEBIE FRIDAY, HERE.

Do YOU have a freebie to share!  I'd love it if you'd link up here at Freebie Friday - below!

Stop and say hi!

It's Freebie Friday here at Born Broken ~ and I figured I'd honor all  of you who have been so kind as to leave a comment on this here blog.  It is so lovely to know that people are stopping by and hopefully enjoying their stay for a moment or two.

In honor of all of you, I created a blingy-thingy to let the world know that I love comments.  As you can see, I have a small version on my sidebar.

If any of YOU would like this silly comment box, let me know - leave a comment (!) and I'll share the code with you.

LEARN MORE ABOUT FREEBIE FRIDAY, HERE.

Do YOU have a freebie to share!  I'd love it if you'd link up here at Freebie Friday - below!

Happy Siete De Mayo!

ONE DAY WHEN YOU LOOK FOR ME

By Victor De La Cruz

One day when you look for me

you won't find me

and in your heart

there'll be no one left to tell you

which path I took

and where I forgot you.

One day when you open your eyes

I won't be here

I'll have taken another path

and forgotten you.

You'll look north and south

to where the sun is born and where it hides

where the four roads meet

you'll look crazy, searching for my footprints.

Who knows what rains

and what winds

will have swept them away.

So, it is Freebie Friday here at Born Broken, and I also remembered that I wanted to do some kind of Cinco De Mayo post.  I'm a little late, so instead I am posting for Siete De Mayo.  I also included a poem by Victor De La Cruz.  He is an Oaxacan poet from Juchitán, a hub of Isthmus Zapotec art and culture on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. His books of poetry include First Voice, Two that Three Poems, and Isthmus Corridos. I absolutely loved the beauty of the translation above.  I thought its' melancholy tone matched that sad little face on the girl above.  I hope you enjoy it.  Take a moment to enjoy both Latin American, Hispanic and indiginous cultures today. 

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FREEBIE FRIDAY - CLICK HERE!

 
To create the image above, I used a freebie from the Art By Canace blog.  Canace is a wonderful founding member of ZNE ~ and I thank another wonderful ZNE member, Stacey Merrill, for letting me know that Canace occasionally offers freebies on her blog.  Take a look, and play, play, play!

Happy Friday everyone! 

DO YOU HAVE A FREEBIE TO SHARE?  SIGN UP BELOW, and JOIN IN THE FREEBIE FRIDAY PARTY! 

So Nice

"It would be so nice if something made sense for a change."

- Alice (Alice in Wonderland)

I have a fun Friday Freebie for you today.  The beautiful artwork above is by Tiffini Elektra X - also known as Tartx.  She is an incredible mixed media and assemblage artist, and as you can see above -digital art is also among her expertise.  Tiffini has a website here.  She also has a blog that she kept up a few years ago - and, even before it was all the rage again - she was a big 'ol Alice in Wonderland fan - and she shares some wonderful tutorials, photoshop brushes and more - all for free - here.  Among those brushes, you'll find some lovely Alilce in Wonderland art of your own.  And of course, so much more.

Have fun with her wonderful free gifts for you all!

Do you know about a great freebie on the internet - or maybe you offer one yourself?  Leave me a comment here, and I'd be happy to share it with others in an upcoming Friday Freebies post!

Dreaming of Freebies!

TGIF everyone!  I had fun playing around with some images and photoshop to create the graphic above.  I particularly like the way that the balloons came out.  I used cropped faces from a vintage greeting card, and then used them as the fill in a layer that contained some circles that I made into ovals.  Then, I just used a white and red variagated color fill for the third ballon.  They really look like balloons - don't they?  I definitely need to brush up (ha! No pun intended) on my photoshop skills.  It was fun to get a little practice in.

So, the little graphic above is a gift for you - dear reader.  You can do whatever you want with it.  It is all yours!  You can reprint it on your own blog.  You can just read it here, and visit it every once in a while.  OR - you have my permission to regift!  I won't be offended in the least.  Just tell your favorite gift recipient that they have a little graphic giftie waiting for them here on this blog, and that they too can do whatever the want with it! 

What better day than Friday - to introduce a freebie theme?  It seems like friday freebies are a common thing around the internet.  When it comes to offering up gifties - I'd love to hop on the freebie bandwagon!  So welcome to my official Friday blog theme:

In addition to sharing little freebies of my own, every once in a while - I will endeavor to also share with you one or more of my own favorite freebie finds.  So be sure and stop by and visit on Fridays.  What a wonderful way to start off a weekend.

To kick off Freebie Friday, I am excited to share with you ShabbyBlogs.com.  If you haven't already visited this site, now is the time to do so!  The website is filled  with completely gorgeous blog goodies - such as backgrounds, headers, buttons and blinkies.  But wait - there's more!  There is also a blog that has even more fun freebies - such as printable cupcake wrappers (!), image graphics, and more.

Happy Freebie Friday everyone!  Click on the button below to visit a fabulous freebie site:

A Wednesday Web Wonder! Beyond the Vintage Path

(Image above, courtesy TiffanyJane Marshall)

Over the next week or two, I'll be introducing a few weekly posting themes to my blog.  On Wednesday, I'll feature a favorite website or blog - so that means it will be Wednesday Web  Wonder day here on the Born Broken Blog!

In honor of today's theme, I finally spent some time and customized my very own header and background - instead of using a modified version of a header that was already created.  (Not to say that there aren't some amazing free blog templates out there!  What fun it was playing with those, until I got around to creating my own.)  While I was  perusing some of my favorite blogs for inspiration, I was thrilled to be able to spend some quality time on TiffanyJane Marshall's blog - Beyond the Vintage Path.

"The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created--created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating."

I don't know who wrote the quote above, I found it on ThinkExist.com, and it was unatributed.  However, I think it captures perfectly - my friend TiffanyJane and the incredible artwork and atmosphere that she creates and shares via her blog and websites.  Click on the link below - to learn more about TiffanyJane:

Beyond the Vintage Path

I've known TiffanyJane for five years now, and she is a wonderful online friend.  She is a founding member of ZNE and a beautiful spiritual and creative soul.  I have my fingers crossed that one day I will be lucky enough to meet her in person.  Perhaps at her house!  Here is a tiny little vignette from her home - look how wonderful:

Anyway, sure enough - the skip to her blog and websites was all I needed for inspiration.  I am thrilled to feature two of her digital art pieces floating on the sides of my blog background. 

Thanks Tiff!  As always - you are an inspiration!

Do any of YOU have a Web Wonder of your own to share?  Leave a comment/link for me here, and I'll feature your favorite (and give you a plut too!) on another Wednesday Web Wonder feature, in the not too far off future!

Happy Birthday Hans....

“Every man's life is a fairy tale written by God's fingers”

-Hans Christian Andersen

Have a great weekend everyone!

Living on the Mend

Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue. - Eugene O'Neill

Welcome to my new blog. Pull up a chair and relax. Or better yet, have a seat on my new futon/daybed. Tired? You've come to the right place.

I am exhausted. I have been planning this blog post for months now. Maybe even a year. I have a world of words inside of me, and at the same time - nothing to say. I tell myself it isn't writer's block - but instead - a lack of graphic capacity.

My computer crashed. I couldn't find the original discs that uploaded all my programs. Specifically - my photo editing and graphic design software. So, I couldn't put a blog header together. Really. This is my good excuse for not doing this sooner. I couldn't be bothered with the complexities of dealing with software co. beaurocracy in order to get replacement copies.

Of course, I have an existing blog, but really it is for my art stories, and of course, life in the land of ZNE. ZNE however, is on a casual hiatus. I float out and around it, but haven't had my feet planted squarely there for quite some time. Shockingly (to me, most of all) life goes on. Much of ZNE has been pulled offline. I am in there tweaking things here and there, in order to debut a more self sufficient and member friendly group - hopefully in the next few weeks. However, until that happens, there just isn't much to report.

Meanwhile, life pushes along. It seems all my time and energy over the past year has been spent pulling in all those bits and pieces of me that became so scattered. Every pull and tug is exhausting. Yet here I am. Pulling stars from the sky in the belief that even when everything is muddied, life will shine - once again.

Speaking of stars falling from the sky - somehow in my online meanderings, I managed to stumble across some blogs by the very wonderful itkupilli. (Which sounds like a Hawaiian name to me, but apparently it is Finnish) She has so many fun blog templates, I just had to dive in. If you are in a blog graphics fog - check her out:

http://itkupilli.blogspot.com/

We are converting my art studio into a guest room. There are wonderful things about this fact, and deeply emotionally wrenching things about this fact. I won't go into all those details now. Rest assured - my art continues! After all, art is life. However, the shelves and shelves of supplies and oddities and found objects and you name it (all in the name of the art project yet to be...) simply HAD to be cleared out. I am throwing away about 1/4 of it. (Don't panic. Honestly, no one in the world would ever understand why I kept things, anyway. I was saving up for a future appearance on Hoarders, I suppose.) Of the remaining, I am keeping about 1/2, and giving the other 1/2 away. Anyway, basically - that frees up a room. So - our long awaited guestroom is going to be put in. We are ordering the daybed above for the new room.

What do you think? Is it comfy? Good. I thought so too.

Today's glue was just a little bit of comfort in exchange for a room full of memories. That room is a daily reminder of out with the old, and in with the new. The couch? A reminder that change isn't all that bad.

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Hope you all are having some success letting go of the old, and letting in the new - while holding on to the important things, all the while.

Do stop by again. I'll be here. : )