what the sh*t?!?

strangest creature ever. those two dots above its mouth are nostrils. the big green balls inside his transparent head are his eyes. woah. click here to read more. you wanna.

sublime paper cuts

as soon as my tiny hands could wield a pair of nub-nosed, orange-handled scissors, i was obsessed with cutting things out. for hours at a time i would snip images from old greeting cards and the dusty stacks of my oma’s discarded magazines. tiny things mostly. little cupcakes and puppy dogs, all trimmed with meticulous attention to detail, then carefully pasted into my paddington bear, brown paper scrapbook (which i still have). thirty years later i have not lost my fascination with the paper/scissor arts. i still make collages and cut-outs whenever the mood takes hold, and i am filled with the deepest appreciation for artists who use this medium. here are two of my favourites:

Amy Earles of wool & water is a gifted artist in just about every medium. i adore everything she does, but am particularly enamoured with her jointed paper dolls. amy has a blog, flickr site and etsy shop, all of which are wicked-awesome.

Jayme McGowan's 3D papercut work is so delightful and full of whimsy. the imagery is so romantic, and i feel so compelled to touch each piece. jayme has a marvelous blog, which i follow, as well as a flickr and etsy site.

hump day doodles - new doodles in hilldebrande's land

good morning muffin cups! it feels a bit like friday already but it's only the camel's hump of the week. i felt the need to write that, because three people now have inquired as to what "hump day doodles" means. "is that the day that you guys...do it?", a friend asked. to clarify:

'hump day' refers to wednesday as the middle of the working week; the top of a hill that you need only climb down. though my husband and i have certainly been known to 'do it' on a wednesday whenever we see fit, we most certainly do not do it exclusively on wednesdays, nor does the coming of wednesday require us to do it.

there. so. hump day doodles:

the first 8 pages of Hilldebrande's Land, vol. one are now available. please take a peak and feel free to comment!

xo

the rock pulpit

for today's travel tuesday entry, i'd like to take a wee break from tales of where i've been and turn to where i'd like to go. there are very few places on earth, if any, that i don't wish to see, but this particular morning i'm dreaming of somewhere clean and brisk, with dizzying views. check out this slide show of Preikestolen, Norway. it looks a little crowded for my liking, but it's easy to see why it would be. gorgeous.

Preikestolen En

View more presentations from Bruce .

that'll do, pig.

my husband has often expressed his desire to someday own a pig.
in the house.
i thought it was a cockamamie idea.
until i saw this:

always play with your food

speeking of feeling like a kid again... i want these! now, these are technically for actual toddlers, not six foot tall big-boned adults with too much whimsy on the brain, but how awesome are they?! i am a strong believer in food-play.

loose leaf cows

go on, have a laugh.

t.g.i.video vendredi! i think i'd like schedule some serious laughter this weekend :)

you can always live on mittens and potatoes

look at this magnificent pair of homemade mittens my marvelous friend sent me from Nova Scotia! they're so warm and soft and i love the form of them! they make me feel like Bonhomme!

my Nova Scotian friend also turned me on to a most inspirational tune.  the artist is Old Man Leudeke and this song makes my eyes well and my smile so big it hurts a little.  do listen to the words.  listen to 'em good.

obligatory doggie portraits

i wouldn't be a dutiful dog owner if i didn't use at least one phursday to post some virtually edible portraits of my gorgeous little dog. world, meet Rudy. my husband took the lovely photo above, and the bottom two are mine. don't you just wanna eat her?!

Hilldebrande's Land

this hump day doodles day, as per #1 on my 33 things to do in my 33rd year list, i am happy to announce the unveiling of the Hilldebrande's Land blog!!  the previously self published first volume of my crummy little comic will be posted one page at a time here, followed by the second volume and so on...         

please have a peak :)

i hope you enjoy!

tobogganer lost

33 ways to feel like a little kid

1. run out in a thunder storm with your bathing suit on

2. sleep with your bum in the air
3. play 2 minutes in the closet with your husband
4. build a snow/bush fort (or better yet 2 and wage war between parties)

5. get drunk n play 'I never' with your friends (i know kids shouldn't get drunk, but as adults the game works much better this way)
6. go to goony attractions like the Science Centre and Pioneer Village
7. crank call somone you know
8. make a piñata, or a hobby horse
9. play pin the tail on the donkey, only make it a picture of something funnier like james vanderbeek or something
10. hide pennies in your cake
11. wear your hair in a side ponytail
12. climb out on your roof
13. lay on the grass and stare at the sky
14. put your shoes on the wrong feet
15. wear your pjs to a restaurant
16. start a food fight (try launching things with your spoon)
17. play truth or dare (even if you’ve no one around to play it with)
18. fake sick
19. climb trees and jump in puddles

20. eat pudding with your finger
21. make out with your pillow
22. make peanut butter balls for the birdies
23. cut n paste
24. go to your mom’s house n help her bake
25. spin around until you fall down
26. blow bubbles in your milk
27. take a bubble bath and make yourself a big bubble beehive

28. paint your nails with liquid paper
29. gulp a big glass of grape juice with both hands and don't wipe off the purple moustache

30. bowl between your legs
31. play hide n go seek in the woods (this one is actually really fun still)
32. draw on the walls
33. say "I can", then spell "cup" (tee hee hee)

wei yan

here is another artist who has a way of compelling and repelling at once. i had so much trouble choosing an image to post here because i love all of the images on her blog (which i can't read, unfortunately, but houses some incredible work).

hikari shimoda

hikari shimoda's precious little freaks are at once repulsive and adorable. i am captivated, yet mildly uncomfortable. you can see more of this japanese artist's paintings here (via phantasmaphile, which you should also check out).

travel tuesdee - the people under the rooftops of the world

... when we left off last tuesday, i was busy birthing myself in india at the tender age of 21. from there i travelled north into nepal, whose crisp air and stunning landscapes were a refreshing dip in the lake. though the scenery in nepal is some of the most striking i have ever layed eyes on, it was the people that captivated me most.

k, one more...

this is too precious not to post.

a video vendredi valentine

so tomorrow is v-day. not really my cup of tea. i'm a spread-the-love-all-year-'round kinda lady myself. but in the interest of appearing relevant, here is my video vendredi valentine to you:

1) otters. love em. here is a pair of them feelin the spirit of the day. you have to watch till the end because the sweetest part is when they drift apart and then reconnect. darling.


2) romantic traffic by the Spoons! here's a dollop of 80s cheesewiz, filmed in the subways of my hometown (toronto)


happy valentine's day!

venredi le 13th

bonjour mes amis. c'est friday the thirteenth. i've got moviepix on demand at home, cuz i watch a stinkload o' movies, and all the friday the 13th series is now available (given that it's friday the 13th). having never actually seen this series of films, my husband and i have decided to plow through 'em all just for sh_ts n giggles. last night we watched 1, 2 and the first half of 3 [we lead very exciting lives], and they were actually pretty fun! for me, most of the appeal is in the retro-cheese factor though, so i'm not sure i'll enjoy the more recent installments quite as much.
moving along... for today's vendredi vid: this is the first 5 minutes of Friday the 13th part III, with a Beverley Hillbillies laugh track added to it. funny stuff.

ph[oto]ursday - bein' bad tastes so good!

photos of nasty food that is sooo bloomin' good. followed by a nice healthy mickey mouse chaser!

pulled pork potato with bbq sauce and old cheddar - memphis, tennessee

fried whole squid on a stick - dou liu, taiwan

deep fried pickles - memphis, tennessee

bisquits n gravy for breakfast (!) - memphis, tennessee

all sorts of delicious good-for-you stuff - taipei, taiwan

wintry doodles

drawn by a girl who was living in taiwan at the time and missing winter for the first time.  

[...me].

some girls wander inside black apples

hump day doodles will have to wait until later this eve, as i don't have any doodles with me at work. in the meantime, i simply must tell you 'bout my new favourite blogger! a young woman whose sites have been a real inspiration to me. her name is Emily Martin and i'm sure many of you are already familiar with her, as she is one of the top etsy sellers and has two very successful blogs, among other things. i first came across her fashion blog some girls wander by mistake a few weeks ago and i've been checking it daily ever since. i adore her sense of style! and as if she weren't adorable enough, she's also a Smiths fan. much love. from there i came to her larger blog: inside the black apple, a gorgeous art/craft/fashion/life in Portland log of loveliness. both sites are bags of fun. you must visit.

33 things that make my heart beat faster

one of the items on my list of ’33 things to do in my 33rd year’ was to write 33 lists of 33 things. this first list is one that could easily have been 333 things, but a girl’s gotta have boundaries, so here it is:

33 things that make my heart beat faster:
1. walking past a laundromat at night and seeing people washing their clothes
2. the sound of my husband’s key in the door
3. bird sounds in the sunshine after a long winter
4. the first crocus
5. a cold lake in the hot summer
6. getting a package in the mail
7. checking my lottery tickets
8. realizing i have left something behind
9. laying my head on the pillow the night before leaving on a trip
10. making my friends laugh
11. getting caught in the rain (do you like pina coladas?)
12. thunder and lightning
13. the open road
14. hotel rooms
15. seeing my order on it’s way to my table at a restaurant
16. a familiar smell
17. misplaced glasses (panic also makes the heart beat faster)
18. arrivals
19. watching Obama’s inauguration
20. rockabilly music (the old kind, not the new ca-ca)
21. when little kids meet my dog
22. thinking of my wedding day (so sublimely perfect)
23. phone calls from faraway friends
24. taking off in airplanes
25. really good cheese (both literally and figuratively)
26. new red shoes (and old ones too)
27. fresh blank paper
28. the smell of a bakery when i’m out and about
29. my husband’s touch
30. bees at a picnic (‘nother panic one)
31. jose cuervo (tee hee)
32. little tiny pickled onions
33. getting my first comment on my blog (which hasn’t happened yet – hint hint.)

i’d love to know what makes your heart beat faster. will you tell me?

travel tuesdee #2

...before i had left thailand, the germs were already gestating (not real germs. i am speaking of 'the travel bug'). all i could think of once i had returned was the smelly tasty world and how i salivated for it. and so, for the next year i worked three nasty/awful jobs (the kind of jobs a 19 year old with no experience is apt to get), one of which was making 'can-o-grams' at a kioske in a mall. blegh. but i was determined. i thought only of the gates this toiling would open. and in the end, the means were justified. my next destination would be India. and as hackneyed as it may sound, India in many ways, is where the person who writes to you now was born. truly. Not because of some spiritual epiphany or citar lessons or anything, but because this was my first time travelling alone, and my first real experience of the world.

i lost my camera fairly early on in my 8 month trip, so the photos i have of India are few. though sometimes i believe that this keeps my memories stronger somehow. i find that when i have a lot of photos from a trip, eventually the moments i took pictures of become all i can remember.

can't talk. comin' down.

turned 33 yesterday. had a magnificent birthday weekend. so very hungover. been rendered too dumb to write. need one of these.

video vendredi #2 - pussycat slow jam

weeeeeeee! F ta the R ta the I mutha lickaaaaaas!!!! it's not just any friday either. it's the friday before my 33rd birthday weekend! yeeeeee! AND it's video vendredi. which i like. and do i have some treats for you! i'm going with a pretty random twosome today, cuz it's almost my birthday and i'll do what i want! the first video is the opening credits to a brilliant british kids show called Bagpus. sadly, the creator of Bagpus, Oliver Postgate, passed away in December (you can read about him here at the Yorkshire Evening Post). this was my favourite show when i was wee (i lived in England as a todd), and unless you're mostly dead inside, i'm sure you can see why.



now then. next we have what may well be the greatest slow jam of all time: Shake You Down by Gregory Abbott . many of you may chuckle when you see this. but you must look past the 1986ness of it all and let go of yourself. the video is heinous, of this i am aware. but there is something about the song that is so smooth it refuses to be denied. and my husband does a version of this that'd have you slappin' yer knee and creamin' in yer pants at the same time.


Unfortunately, i can't find a copy that'll allow me to embed, so you have to click here. trust me, it's worth it.

it's ph-ursday (for lack of a better word for photography thursday)

this is the section where i show off my mad photography skills (jes kiddin'). all of these photos are taken by me, unless otherwise noted. today i feel like sharing my two favourite photos from our visit to the Elvis festival in Collingwood, Ontario. i took tonnes more, but they are mostly portraits taken unawares, and i'm not sure what the legalities are when it comes to posting pictures of people who don't know you took them. does anyone know 'bout this? (not that anybody reads this shit anyway ;)

sketchy

since it's doodle hump day, i'll draw you're attention (guffah, guffah) to 'skine art, a really nifty site that lets you peer into the moleskine notebooks of talented artists like this one:

these are pages from the moleskine of a user named 3rd Foundation. i love the use of line and light. i visit this site all the time. my favourite thing is to press the random button and see what lovely treasures pop up!

hump day doodles!

every wednesday i'll be posting some of my doodles n scribbles. i love to draw, and i have a wee comic i play around with called Hilldebrande's Land, about a chain smoking misanthrope and her dog. i'm readying a separate blog to showcase said comic, the header of which will look like so:

travel tuesday numero uno!

hello ruby tuesday! i'm afraid i missed the first 'motivation monday', meant to bring a little umph to the start of the week. the truth is that i just wasn't feelin it, y'know? and i've a growing suspiscion that i rarely will (be feelin it on mondays), so i've decided to change it to 'maybe i'll write if i feel like it mondays'.

moving on then...

it's travel tuesday!

my first major foray into the world came too many years ago, when i was 19 years old. i went to thailand on a co-op program to teach english and live with a host family there, which was an experience that altered my life most profoundly. here are a few photos from that trip taken with a shite camera and an inexperienced eye.