virgin (tattoo) diaries pt. 4

I'm sick today. 

Delirium is setting in: I'm convinced that this super-cold will be my ultimate demise. Oh, the agony! I'm pretty dramz about being sick. My Mother just spit coffee at her netbook screen (understatement of the year, yeah, Ma?). It's not that I am a wimp when it comes to pain (hello, giant arm tattoo). Mostly, I just can't stand letting go of control. Body aches and sniffles forced us to cancel our big Thanksgiving dinner (this vegetarian was even gonna cook a pork roast!) and abandon all plans to do home improvement-y stuff. Well, now hubby's flying solo on those projects, and the pork has been demoted to the freezer. 

On the upside, I can catch up on some blogging and delve into guilty-pleasure TV. Umm, Breaking Amish and Drop Dead Diva, anyone? I won't apologize. 

So yeah, blogging. Typing actually hurts. Hurts! But, it hurts the core of my being to be a giant lazy blob (I thrive on being busy). And in the spirit of pain, shall I give you the latest in my adventures-in-ink?



(This is officially a saga, by the way. More parts than the goddamn Lord of the Rings.)

My precioussss is two weeks (and four days) old today. Technically it's not flaking or scabby anymore, but there are shiny areas that resemble scars and I'm for sure going to get in trouble for picking. I didn't pick. Well, mostly I didn't.

In less than two weeks, I get it coloured. But wait. I can't imagine loving it anymore than I already do. TRUE LOVE FOREVER! Maybe I'm having cold feet about the colour? Me! I'm flip-flopping, but I'd better decide very soon. This man is highly coveted and I've waited 7 months for my appointment.

If I go colour (which I've always wanted), I can't go back. If I stay black and grey for a while, I can always change my mind. But the design was meant to be coloured - there are parts that seem unfinished. Will that just bug me? Also, Mr. David Glantz is a colour master!

When in doubt: Photoshop, right? I attempted to see what my new tattoo would look like in Technicolor but it resembled a child's colouring book. I won't share the results. Let's just say it wasn't a win for Team Colour. 

Instead, I'll compare some of my faves from my inspiration board on Pinterest and elsewhere in the blogosphere:

{ BLACK + GREY vs. COLOUR }

Place your bets!

{ Pinterest // Inked Girls }

 { Pinterest // Now and Then }

 

  { Pinterest }

{ Pinterest // Inked Girls }

{ Pinterest // Jason Kim for BlackBook Mag }

p.s. I'm still conflicted!

Staycation (Craft Week!)

 

(from The Repurposed Library)

I booked the week off. For no reason whatsoever.

It's great. It's really just the greatest.

Except that I'm sick. I spent Day #1 pouting and eating soup and watching back-to-back episodes of so-bad-it's-good TV (err, Drop Dead Diva. Any fans?). But yesterday, Day #2, I said eff you bubonic-devil-cold, eff you. I DID sleep in a little, but was far more productive.

The purpose of this week was inteneded to be productivity + relaxation. I can't quite manage the latter. Unless it's forced upon me by, say, being sick. Well, there you have it. Success?

Anyway, I'm trying to prep for the holidays, Etsy-wise and just maybe get my Dudley & Bea goods into at least one retail shop before Christimas. It's not that the interest isn't there. Really, I've has wholesale requests from shops in Toronto, Florida, Austin, and even Australia. It's my readiness. I'm not ready. During my previous crafty venture, I rushed things. I didn't nail down my methods or patterns or even a cohesive style. This time, I'm doing it right, dammit! So that's what this week is about: getting closer to "right".

Also, this week is about: hot yoga, brunches with mat-leave moms & night-shift friends, finally getting my passport updated, blogging like crazy, cleaning out the basement, painting the washroom, painting (as in canvases! as in art! as in omigosh I'm using my big expensive art school education for once!), finishing the art wall in our bedroom, and crafting while devouring season 3 of The United States of Tara. All while Alex is at work. I might also book a facial or a massage or a pedi. There should be something a little lavish in this mix, yeah?

Since much of my Staycay (or as I've been calling it: Craft Week) will be spent DIY-ing, here are some images that have inspired me:

So we bought some old maps at a flea market in Kingston this summer (that's Alex thumbing through the box)...

I've framed a vintage Pacific Ocean Floor map and I'm contemplating these for the rest:

On the same antique adventure, we snagged some burlap coffee bags and they'd be pretty awesome as a makeshift bulletin board:

All of this is part of one big masterpiece: the yet-untouched accent wall in our bedroom. It's been sadly empty for so long, but I've been working on Alex to recreate something like the below. He's in.

I'm also painting. "Starving Artist" is one of my many alter-egos. I put enough money and time and blood and sleep loss into becoming the illustrator that I never actually became. It's nice to get a little pay-off occasionally. Even though I was never really cut out for starvation. 

I'm painting jellyfish. Too much Blue Planet, I guess. Or Saturday-morning Spongebob. Too much TV.

I'm still fussing with the water. I'm no longer fully confident wielding a brush.

This inspired me:

My equally craft-loving friend Cathie bought me this book (The Repurposed Library)  for my birthday. A book-cum-lampshade project is calling my name. If painting in the living room has taught me one thing, it's this: the place is a bloody cave. DIY lamp to the rescue! How does once craft project always spawn six more!?

I'd like to say that's it, but I've managed to fill my to-do list with an impossible number of projects for just one short week. During half of which I've been sick. 

Stay tuned for the craftermath....