greenbeanbaby art

pop quiz

sorry, i've been amiss for awhile due to fatigue, doctor appointments, misc. events, unwanted haircuts, and a knitting endeavor.... alas, my blog has taken a toll, lost its gleam in the process... and there is a need to revive us both (the blog and i) out of our funk and regain the shine we once had... hah, but am i blabbing?

so, here's the scoop, my fellow readers... a pop quiz for you!!!! below are a list of questions pertaining to my 162 posts on this greenbeanbaby site.... whomever can answer all of the questions accurately, will receive a free package in the mail from me... yes, a free goody for spending time trying to answer silly questions pertaining to the history of this blog... those who participate will have their name written down and put in a hat (or maybe a bowl) and i will draw one name from there... the winner will be announced on friday, september 1st, 2006 and contacted via email... so if you feel like joining, here are the questions:

1. name three people and their websites that i did a swap with (if i swapped with you, you cannot use you as one of them)

2. what dvd was diego obsessed with for a very long time?

3. how many pop tarts did i eat in one week?

4. what month had the least amount of posts? and how many posts were there?

5. how long did it take me to finish the gall bladder illustration?

6. what was the first illustration shown on this blog?

7. name two shows i am obsessed with.... (i name at least 3)

8. i did a post about my mom's collections... how many vacuum cleaners does she have?

9. what is the first thing i knitted?

10. i gave ideas on how to multi-task... how can you keep a toddler entertained while paying bills over the phone?

11. what day did we hold our semi-annual 3rd shift mother, daughter, grandkid party?

12. i had problems threading my machine, who sent me a manual so i could go on a sewing frenzy?

*bonus: in february, diego hurt his hand... can you guess what exactly the injury was? (i never exactly say it since i was too embarrassed, but there is a photo and some hints in the post)

email me with the answers before thursday august 31st at midnight, central timezone...

a visit to mom's house

you've heard me say it before but here it goes: my mom has A LOT of stuff... i mean,  there is enough goodies to start a new store.... every time i go visit her, i leave with bags of goodies ranging from toys to books to sewing goodies.... just like last week... she doesn't sew but she bought grab bags full of lace and bias tape, pins and zippers.... my sister and i were sitting in her "warehouse" room and she busts out a big bag of fabric! and while i am looking through fabric, my sister is checking out retro cookbooks... and throughout all this, diego and ananda are busily jumping on my dad's bed.... dasiy is trying to get attention from one of us and there are craft items of all sorts spilled out on the floor...

and she will let us pick what we want... as if this is a candy store with free samples... grab a basket and fill it up.... between pom poms and popsicle sticks... appliques and googly eyes... fake cat whiskers and cat eyes... pipe cleaners and toys... books and even more toys... magazines and greeting cards... and while we browse through her amazing stash of goodies, one of her many clocks will ring away, letting us know, another hour has passed.... my dad will often offer us chips or coffee and there is never a dull moment... never...

one day my mom will open up a museum of some sorts... she has too many goodies that are now spilling out of closets and drawers and in every corner... still she rummages and thrifts... and she comes back with even more goodies... she's often willing to swap some of her stuff including certain dolls and toys (the above are mine that she gave to me on diego's birthday- haha)

here is a link to her flickr pictures... fun old new... the woman who loves both the old and new goodies.... my mom...

blogworld news:

yes, this will be brief:

if you are interested in a postcard swap, feel free to join Emily's Day of the Dead Postcard swap... the deadline for sign up is september 30th so be sure to join soon... it should be oodles of fun...

also, judy of five and a half has set up a new category in her blog for all us crafty folks... it's a spot where you submit your current project in progress and get feedback and encouragement... it's also a way to be featured and for people to get to know the kind of work you do... (hmmm, i hope i explained this right)

lastly, are you ready for the next round of sweetpea swap?! i'll be making the announcement of the theme closer to september so keep a lookout for it! hope you will join...

if you have some news, feel free to share under the comments!

a girl and her teddy bear

$20.00 sold in my etsy store

there is irony to my artwork... here, i have a lovely son who is forever by my side, and yet i always illustrate girls... why is that?! with the most handsome boy as a model for my art, you'd think most of the artwork produced in cut paper would have a diego-esque feel to it... no matters, there will be some boy illustrations popping up soon in my shop so please stay tuned...

here is some detail of my work... as always, i like to make the hands and feet extra teeny tiny... and who can resist a smile as sweet as hers?! with a full set of purly whites? ah, it would be nice to one day, add details like stitching and fabric and even more patterns, eh?! but in due time!

and now, to work on some custom illustrations, sketches for postcards, and get prepared for another visit to the dentist's office...

when i'm not working on art...

10 things that i do:

1. play old records so diego and i can dance.... we march around the living room with spoons and hats singing loudly...

2. have a fit because i saw another big spider or bee or wasp... something creepy and crawly... (once there was a wasp in my hallway, and i couldn't go down the stairs because i was freaked out so bad... i had a friend coming over and when she rang the doorbell, i threw the keys out the window to let herself in... and then asked her if she could raid the area where the wasp was hiding out)

3. make a lunch that diego won't eat (see next post)

4. take all the things i want to photograph outside... that means lugging a huge bunch of things down a big flight of stairs... why?! because that is the ONLY SUNLIGHT available...  yeah, who'd have thought you needed to go outside to get sunlight?! ah, my house has poor lighting...

5. while outside, try to take photos quickly since the batteries keep dying and diego is bound to wake up from his nap any moment...

6. take all the things i wanted to photograph back upstairs and put them where they belonged

7. fix something that was broken in the house... like the curtain rods that keep falling- no matter how many times i nail them back up, the brackets fall off... and once one is fixed, another curtain rod is falling... or maybe i am taping up holes in the air mattress while diego is busily in the way wanting a closer look at the whole process...

8. catch up on emails as i push the cats off the keyboard and telling diego to stop pressing the spacebar...

9. take photos of diego being diego

10.  talk to my mom or sister for a long time... the subject can go from serious to goofy in less than 5 minutes... or from history to future... from ideas to dislikes to marriage and kids to food... sometimes a bit of math is thrown in but usually that ends up with a tad of confusion that leads to laughter... and in between, diego is talking on the phone saying his "hello" and "superman" and "look" and ending it with a kiss and a "bye"

of course, i do more than 10 things but if i mentioned it all, it'd be too long and far too boring...

so what are ten things you do while not working on art????? tell me, pretty please!

how a toddler eats...

i'm one of those moms who believes in feeding a kid what everyone else eats.... not necessarily making two completely different meals to cater to one picky child.... but i am a picky person myself and often, end up making meals to cater to such likes and dislikes... well, ain't i a hypocrite?! i'll make one meal for ramel and diego... and one meal for myself.... (if diego likes it, he is welcome to some)... i like my meals meatless or lighter while ramel tends to load his with some form of animal...

lunch is a different matter... i like coffee and toast... but diego needs to eat something more "healthy" and "fitting"... did i mention that diego is picky?! oh yes, i've went on about his pediasure diet filled with nothing but vitamin fortified flavored milk...  i've blabbed on about how "skinny" he is for his age and how right before we go for the annual checkups, he tends to go on a hunger strike... so it looks like i don't feed my kid even though i swear i do... some days, he will eat "good" while others, he is fine with downing just one eighth of a single meal.... and i am sure my version of "good" compared to others might be of a different standard...

i try... i really do... i try to feed him... healthy foods... unhealthy foods... i offer a variety, or so i think! one day, here was the menu:

1. half a cheesy hot dog, cut into bite size pieces

2. half a wheat toast with cream cheese

3. mashed potatoes

4. a few kettle chips just for fun

and here is what he did with the food:

1. threw out the hot dog pieces one by one into the garbage

2. licked the cream cheese off the toast

3. ignored the potatoes completely

4. fed sam the cat chips

what's even worse, is that diego won't touch snacks either! from crackers to cheese to even cereal... i've cut out the beverages... the candies (not like the kid was allowed to eat a plethora anyhow)... we don't go to mcdonald's more than once a month... and i don't bribe him... but what can i do?! i was told that there is nothing that can be done... it's my responsibility to provide healthy foods but it's the two year old's responsibility to eat it....

but if diego gets exaggeratively skinny, who will agree with that theory?

it's a bit early..

although, this test is made in cut paper, the result remains positive... it's true, diego will be a big brother by april 2007... so that means, i am only 6wks pregnant with no belly to show just yet... give it time, right?!

officially, i found out on diego's birthday... what a gift for us all, eh?! and there is no way, i can ever forget that date either, since my memory of such things normally escapes me... the day before, i took a home test and saw the line faintly... ever so faintly... called ramel right away and told him; he was extremely happy.... me?! i was and still am happy, but it was a shock... i mean, i knew it was a possibility but somehow, it was a tad surreal...

every time i remember i'm pregnant, my stomach does a flip.... the same kind as when you get pulled over by the police... or when you are on a roller coaster and it does a steep drop... the same feeling when you see the presents under the christmas tree and so desperately want a peak... i know, the moments are all drastically different, but it seems the stomach still does the same flip... the same feeling as right before i went into labor with diego, BEFORE the big contractions...

i'm looking forward to these next several months... last time, i was on pregnancy forums looking for support from moms in the same boat... at the time, there were very few artistic mothers that i knew around the area... and i didn't work on art much, my creativity rarely sparked (although, i remember buying alot of supplies for the future) but this time, it's different... with a blogging world full of artistic moms, as well as creative artists in general with oodles of info, i am escastic at the possibilities... heck, i may even try to knit or crochet a baby blanket (but don't quote me on that).... nonetheless, this time around, i want and aim to be productive...

it should be fun... diego will be a good older brother and we have a house with enough room... yes, it should be fun!

diego is two years old...

diego officially became a two year old on august 4th... yes, my lil bean is a full fledged toddler! on saturday, my yard was full of all the people who have watched him grow up these past two years... it wasn't really a kid party since there was only one other child around- and one dog too... but diego still had a dandy ol' time!

 
my niece ananda and diego were busy chasing each other and bouncing in the bounce house... my brother-in-law did all the grilling while i managed to still clean (couldn't resist)... my sister made the most beautiful cake and cupcakes for diego... superman themed- or as diego would say "sue-dah- dan!" between all the supermans and spidermans around, you could tell my son was having a hayday!

isn't the cake beautiful! oh, and it was delicious too!!! after the party, two of ramel's brothers, and our friend dan, along with my friend, jamie stuck around... by the time they all left, there were only two cupcakes and one sliver of cake left (and there were 6 extra cupcakes not even in the picture above)... the cake was THAT GOOD!

 
as you can see ananda had to help diego get some frosting off his ear...  and diego just loved all his toys! my mom and dad gave diego the biggest spiderman ball... and a large plush spiderman too! diego also received an inflatable spiderman tent, krypto the superman dog, krypto dressed as batman, a teenage mutant ninja turtle action figure, legos, shoes, a fold-up table and chairs, as well as some big balloons... wasn't he blessed with a ton of goodies?! 

one day i will tell you his birth story... and his two year life story to go with... but for now, i will end this post off with a note that diego brings a smile to my face and is my pride and joy... despite the fake tears and refusal to eat, he is perfect... gosh, i love my diego :D

more on etsy

$35.00 original

yep, you are reading it right! a good grand opening sale just for anyone who is desiring some older work from stock... of course, i price a tad higher for custom work but these are pieces done without a reason other than to cut paper... the top one is my most recent illustration, done in the past two weeks... (technically not considered "older") however, i am not the kind of artist who hangs up their own work in my house... why?! because my own style doesn't fit with my decor- haha! maybe it does to an extent, but i'd rather have it in another house than here... i must be the only artist like this, eh?!

 
$25.00 original                                                                  $25.00 original

so in case anybody is interested, feel free to check out the rest of the pictures here at my lil etsy shop... still have plenty more cards to make and complete including my son's thank you cards! ah, how time flies!

my sweetpea swap package

 
the lovely miss anastasia sent the just a kid swap package sometime last week... took awhile to post but my gosh, there were so many lovely items from australia! there was a plethora of paper and some pretty fabric too! she handmade a pretty scarf as well as stitched the cutest square that says "nap time" with a boy eating... it's too darling! and there were pencil holders and sweet smelling soap too!

 
but is that all? she handmade me a collage card (left side) and included a cute doll, an asian drum (that i didn't know how to play properly until ramel showed me while he laughed)... there is a cute kerope coin purse that is already in my big purse along with the barbie mirror! there was a cute weekly planner, along with retro patterns... and of course, she sent me some i love lucy goodies! lucy trading cards and a clipping from a magazine!

 
and books too! the mittens by alvin tresselt has the most wonderful illustrations by yaroslava... haven't read the book in it's entirety yet (yeah, that is bad when you can't even finish a kid's book! hah!) but i love it! and the rabbit books are so sweet! i read a few pages to diego most days even though i am the only one paying attention! there were also betty boop appliques, two tiny rabbit charms (from alice in wonderland)... and a breathtaking clutch purse! my goodness, it is so elegant and fancy! and the perfect colors since most my clothes fall under the earth tone palette...

 
the mailman left the package sitting on the porch while the sun beat down on it... on one of our hottest days too!!! as soon as i discovered it, the chocolate were tossed into the freezer witha big grin on my face... yummmmmy! in fact, by the time i took the pictures, only a few pods were left in the box... that burger ring bag?! they were so yummy, that in the picture, the bag is empty! and there were more tim tams and chocolates too but who could resist?! and might i add, those nutellas taste so darn delicious!

lastly, there was the most beautiful pink apron in the box... the picture does no justice whatsoever! it is an old-fashioned pattern with the front having two pieces... hard to explain... but believe me, this apron is a beauty!!! i can't wait to have a cooking party so everyone can wear aprons around the kitchen :D thank you so much, anastasia for the loveliest swap package!!! you went overboard and every single thing is appreciated!! i feel so spoiled and happy!