greenbeanbaby art

chickenless soup for the soul...

everybody needs inspiration... including yours truly... so here's a few goodies that should make us all smile and perhaps stir a bit of creativity within us... it works for me :)

stacks of paper- yes, note the pluralized word.... the left-hand stack was given to me by a friend, sarah [who makes really yummy cookies]... the right stack was purchased in my 5 minute shopping spree at michael's... yes, despite the fact that i only had 5 minutes, i was able to walk away with some unregretable goodies... [see, for the guys who think all girls take many hours to shop, i'm proof that a few minutes can be wonderful if that is all you have]... don't you love pretty paper and embellishments?!

vintage goodness to add to the collection... vintage goodness such as mary blair's "small world" avon bottle collection... my mom found this beautiful lady for me at a rummage sale for 50 cents!! great deal for sure!!! she was also the one who bought me this mary blair lady...   its nice when people think about you even when they shop... gifts gotta give a person some inspiration, eh?!

non-vintage goodness but still a classic... batman toys... batman LEGOS toys on top of that... MCDONALD'S batman lego's toys to top it all off... now, i am not a collector of lego's but i do love their  designs and the video games they came out with... star wars legos... indiana jones legos... and my favorite superhero- batman legos... we just started playing the game and even diego is addicted!!! ramel has gotten diego a set of these toys but he's gotten me my own set too... a husband cannot complain when his wife is content with 95¢ toys from mickey d's!!!! honestly, its good to take a break [from creating goodies] every now and again so that you can go back to work fully charged and inspired FROM taking a break [ok, does that make sense?! i'm watching iron man as i type... hehe]

stocking up on artsie goodness cane LEAD to creativity... eventually, at least... after all, you end up having plenty of goodness to work with that you become so overwhelmed that you don't know where to begin... i love brads!! i collected the eyelets before they were really IN and i remember paying an arm and a leg for a measley dozen... i used them in an art project [with pride of finding these cute teeny tiny grommets] and a year later, they became a popular item... i bought a ton on ebay... then i bought a ton of brads...  they are rarely used and i tend to send them off in swaps to people who WILL use them... hopefully these lil autumn brads will be used soon in my etsy restocking.... [tba]... the embellishments on the left are paper goodness... they will be used on some notecards soon ;) gotta love having a plethera of crafty goodness to get the creativity rollin'....

and lastly, a good piece of art can be in itself, inspiring... i mean, it feels good when a piece you are working on is turning out as you hoped, if not better... it feels good that even though you took a long break from creating, you didn't lose any talent from it... not that talent goes away that fast, but after such a break, a person can get to wondering... this illustration has a bit of ways to go [glueing the girl and dog down, adding the background flowers] but it's closer than it was a week ago... and yes, that background is from one of my new stacks... see?! it really is inspirational...

so the question is [if i haven't asked it already in another post] what inspires you?! what do you do to stir up the creativity?? share here or in a post ;)

etsy finds- stores to check out...

a week or so ago, i ordered this sweet christmas pincushion... it's for my swap buddy  (i hope she got the package before i gave the surprise away)... it was purchased at angie's of norththread's etsy shop.... it's a beautiful item handcrafted and shipped quickly and perfectly... she even sent me some pretty papers and trims but i started using it all so i couldn't take a picture... it makes a perfect gift for the holidays, eh?! angie is so sweet and talented- you have to check out all her other goodies! (note: this picture was taken by angie)


and here we have a bagkeeper.... it was handmade and shipped sweetly from karen of misseskwittys esty shop.... my mom actually bought it for me :)... in fact, my mom ordered three total- all different and just darling!!! it began as a gift for my sister's birthday but she wanted to keep it so another was purchased for my sister... and then she let me pick one out too! these things are so handy because instead of asking ramel to roll up the plastic bags right, all we have to do is shove them in this bag! i bet i can get diego to start  helping put away the bags after groceries too, eh?! (note: this picture was taken by karen)


karen also sent me some lil extras too... a card  holder (which i so desperately needed) and some pretty sheets of paper...really, karen is too sweet and caring!! i am just so thrilled to find wonderful etsy people whom we can support, ya know?! i'd much rather find goodies from my blog buddies than to shop at the stores for things.... handcrafted goodness holds so much sentiment and care... people who ship with speed and grace.... thank you both karen and angie for your time in making such wonderful products!

now, for sunday, you will get to see ellia's big, new, studio :)

good deals...

here is a beautiful illustration by diane... i bought it in her shop a few days ago and am DELIGHTED with it.... it's actually collage with real buttons and cut paper for some of the items like the stove and the lady.... it's super cute... couldn't decide if i should keep it or give it to my mom.... hah, i am still deciding- it's something else when your mom and you have the same taste, eh?! it's fun, but always a question of keeping or giving- hehe.... anyhow, thank you diane for the atc card and for shipping so fast!

and i decided to finally go thrift shopping at a place called the bargain center.... i needed to find christmas items for my swap buddy since shipping is next week.... i also bought a couple things for myself.... after all, that place really is a bargain! the books above were all 50¢ and under... i was happy to find the gingerbread man book too!!! and scuffy the tugboat...

i also found two pretty aprons, only one shown in the photo though (the other is similar).... this one has a teeny bell and bow on the pocket... and i bought some retro baby shower cards for 50¢ (i collect them as well as swap a couple from the packs- it's not for my shower)... and then they had oodles of fabric wonderfully priced.... for instance, the velvety fabric in the upper top of the photo was only $1.25... it is about 1.75 yards long... and the blue/red kind was $2.00 and over 2 yards worth....

i got goodies for my swap buddy but i can't show photos yet- hehe.... and last night i worked on packaging up a few swap envelopes.... and an order too... so i didn't really work on art, nor did i want to since yesterday was draining.... but tonight, or maybe tomorrow all day, i will work hard :)

about a kid....

the last two days, my niece had no school... so while my sister worked, due to a grand re-opening of the store she works at, i watched ananda and diego.... above is some goodies my sister surprised me with... a monster plush and matching coffee cup from starbucks... and a HUGE maple machiatto to start the day off well, despite diego crying.... wasn't that just too sweet of her? people know i like my coffee and cups :D

now, nana and diego do well with each other... since nana is older, its a bit easier to understand what she wants compared to diego... like, if she isn't feeling good, she tells ya... diego, well, he is still only 2yrs old so his communication is in the works... and while nana was around, she watched him go through countless tantrums yesterday... more than usual.... i mean, he has his normal " i didn't get my way" crying fits but they are really short-lived since i am good at not budging... however, yesterday was incredible... he had me in tears...


maybe it's harder because self consciousness tends to hit a mom hard in public... i mean, a kid is crying and everyone is staring at the mom like  "why can't you quiet your child?" and i swear, i get DOUBLE the looks because i appear to be a teen mom who can't control her kid because she herself is a kid...  i try not to let the stares get to me, but honestly, yesterday it really did.... from inside the post office to the stores to the car... he refused to hold my hand or sit in a grocery cart... if i tried either, he suddenly becomes limp... ah, its bad when he falls down on the cement :( or it looks like i am yanking his arm off, trying to prevent his head from smashing to the ground... so then it means i gotta hold him... keep in mind, over a quarter of my weight and is about up to my waist or higher, lengthwise... he's getting big to hold, pregnant or not...


my mom mentioned he could be sick... ramel said the same thing.... the kid has had a runny nose for a week and a fever here and there... his head was pounding yesterday and no doubt, the kid had a headache from all that crying.... so it's 8pm and i am taking him to the after- hours clinic.... just to make sure it isn't an ear infection...

i hope he returns to his normal self soon... he is so goofy when he is happy...

it's lovely to rummage...

this past weekend was quite eventful... from friday to sunday, i was steady rummaging with well under $20... on friday, i bought some old records (look here) as diego and i walked around to closer garage sales... but on saturday, my dad picked diego and i up, and we all (including my mom) went rummaging... as my mom and i went to check them out, my dad happily entertained his grandson... anyhow, one of the greatest finds on saturday was the two yard toys for diego... together the picnic table and slide cost only $7... what a great deal, eh?! diego just loves it!! i was so happy to be able to find something so perfect for my extremely active son...

 
but even better, i got a ton of free stuff over the weekend... the first picture is of vinyl decals... they were in the free box! i had a total of 7 assorted pages but i gave my mom 4... they are really neat close up and i believe they are from around the 70's.... the duck in the first set is absolutely the cutest... but regardless, i can't believe these were free! and i found some cute lil books for my collection...

 
wait! you won't believe this! on sunday, ramel took a walk with diego so i could get some artwork done... he calls me up asking me if i want some patterns... of course! he told me to meet him outside and i see him a block away talking to a lady... i walked over there and the lady gave me four boxes filled with patterns and material and magazines for free!!!! i mean, isn't that wild?! four whole boxes fulla retro patterns and some early 90's patterns too... patterns for babies, toddlers, women, pajamas, toys, quilts, even aprons, and purses!! i am so overwhelmed with the possibilities and cannot wait to snag some time so i can get to working on sewing...
 
the boxes were very old so i moved them into newer boxes and a couple bins... here are just a portion of the patterns close up... i cant even tell you how many i received but let's just say that i have enough to fill one big bin, a big box, and a smaller pattern box... like i said, there was also material and that is already in my cupboard of fabric stash... there was also a couple bags of cross stitching kits and needlepoint...

 
there was one full box of crochet and knitting books/magazines... most of them are from the 70's but there is one from 1958 and one from 1963... most of it looks way to complicated for me however, they are so colorful and well, inspiring! and who knows, maybe one day my skills in these areas will be good enough to attempt some of the patterns in these books...

i've enough stuff to keep me busy for a long time... it's beautiful to find such generous people in this world...

more mail goodies... & basement finds too

as i've been tremendously busy with moving furniture, finishing projects, and playing with my lil bean, i've spent little time blogging and surfing blogs... thankfully, these next few days i'll time to catch up... however, i've received some goodies in the mail that i can't help but to share... miss fawn pea celebrated her 100th post and was giving away free cell phone cozies... and guess who got one?!  it's 100% hand knit and felted... beautiful, wouldn't you say?! she even sent me a floral pigtail holder... bring out the puerto rican in me... hehe... thanks so much fawn, for the lovely gifts that will surely be put to use!

cori sent me a surprise package that i received on saturday... i was shocked by not only the package but the contents! inside were these 5 lovely blocks fulla pictures of my family! isn't this sweet?! a personalized gift with pictures of diego, ramel, ananda, logan, me, and even of some of my artwork.... and some sides of the blocks had lovely green paper... now these sit on my kitchen table so everyone can see... thanks so much cori, for the sweet gift!


with all the vintage love being shared around the flickr world, i decided to dig up some of my what-nots from the basement... i've plenty of pictures here... well, friday night i ventured to dig through the boxes and managed to get a few things such as old music sheets and pictures out... however, i was looking for my pattern box that was filled with retro patterns... before i could find the pattern box, i was interrupted by a creepy crawly... a centipede... and yes, there was a blood curdling scream that woulda scared the tenant if she was home... i had hot flashes and the shakes as i ran up from the basement and to the attic in under 30 seconds, no doubt... *shudder*... saturday afternoon, ramel was kind enough to dig through the boxes to retrieve what i couldn't the night before... and thus, you have the above picture...aren't these retro aprons just a beauty?!

to grandmother's house we go...

every time diego and i go to my mom's house, we come home with more goodies... i have a sweet and sharing mom whose tastes aren't too dissimilar from mine... my dad will make coffee as diego chases their dog, dasiy... and my mom and i go through things she bought, things dug up from the attic, and of course, web surfing... a couple weeks ago, she found another metal paper holder like this one i bought... as you can see, i put it to use immediately and just love the way this one is shaped!

she also gave me a blue vanity suitcase (left) which has that nice, vintage smell... it's similar to another case she gave me here... (wow, she gives me a lot of stuff, eh?!)inside i put all the vintage greeting cards her and i collected and swapped with each other... as i begin to get into sewing, my mom decided to give me this victorian sewing box (right) that was offered to me before, but i refused... but i have need of it now! so anyhow, going to her house is always like a mini-swap... this time, i gave her all my i love lucy metal posters (there was three)... of course, i like them but she has a bigger collection of metal posters and well, it's the least i can do... (funny thing, i think she bought me two of them... we have a tendency of giving back things only because that person acquired the bigger collection...)

besides the sharing of goodies, my mom and dad are very hospitable... the house is always peaceful (even if the dog and diego are jumping and making noise)... it's comfortable and relaxing to visit my family... yep, i've got it good...

can never have too much...

the other day, diego went to close the pantry door and one of my favorite cups fell and broke... ramel grabbed diego while i swept up the pieces, upset... there are only a few cups that are a part of my coffee addiction, and this was one of them... on top of that, it was a gift from my mom... i didn't even think to see if diego was hurt! sounds bad, i know but i guess if he isn't crying and there isn't blood, i automatically assume no one is hurt... he was perfectly fine and well, a cup is a silly thing to be bummed about, right?! anyhow, this past weekend, my mom and her friend went shopping for more goodies... she picked up a replacement for the cup with these two lovelies!!! and of course, they happen to have green!!! i think they are soup cups, however, i've been using them for coffee....  (and can't you tell, i am trying very hard to improve my photography skills?!) i have the sweetest mom, eh?!

and this is vintage wallpaper!!!!!! and a huge, huge roll of it too!! my mom's friend bought it for me... and now i've enough to swap and share and utilize for pretty new illustrations!!!! until i entered the world of blogging, using vintage wallpaper never, ever crossed my mind! i didn't even think this stuff could be found!!! and now, there are so many ideas swimming through my head of things i can do and will do and wanna do and would like to do but haven't enough time to do! i'm amazed at the creativity shared around the globe! yes, i can't help but grin as inspiration fuels my desire to create... now, i just need time...

betcha didn't know...

i've tagged by miss trudi to share 6 things about me... because i put a lot of info in the bio, i'm not sure what is utterly new or a repeat...

1. i collect books... a lot of books... and they are organized according to genre... latino authors... irish... asian... african american... writing novels... children's books (and i might add, that 90% of the kid books are mine, not diego's... he can borrow them anytime but only if he has clean hands and wont wrinkle the pages)... my organization can become a tad obsessive, especially when it comes to the children's books; do i organize them by author or illustrator? size or year? i took many literature classes in college because of my minor(creative writing) so thus the array of multi-cultural authors... i love it!!! if i give someone one of my books, that means i really, really, really, really like you...

2. i lived in a 3bdrm upper all by myself during college (above from my parents)... one room was the sleeping room, one was the toy room, and the other was my studio...  since i rarely ate at home, i had no stove or fridge... one semester, i made my kitchen into my bedroom! had a bed and everything in the kitchen and curtains decorating the doorways... when i moved to a 2bdrm, i had to put away a ton of stuff in the attic... then ramel moved in, then diego... so the attic was filled to the brim! the pictures on this post are part of my many collections...more pix are here)

3. i am petrified of bugs... any kind other than ants... although this is 100% impossible, i think that if i kill a bug, it will come back godzilla size and eat me... its not that i really think this will truly happen, i still imagine it in my head to the point that i scare myself out! but i like mice and rodents and even lizards... just no bugs, please!

4. i have four tattoos and would like a couple more... one is a black/red symbol that means revolution (its on the belly of my right arm)... one is a big head, big eyed cat on my back that i illustrated... another is a teeny paw print on my left wrist... and a letter "e" on my left foot... eventually, i'll get symbols for each kid i have... for diego, i will get a snowflake since we picked his name from the movie, ice age... i prefer symbols to names...

5. i don't believe in keeping food in the fridge or freezer for over a month ... i have a tendency of throwing out even ketchup if it sits there for too long... leftovers cannot be in the fridge past 2 days... ramel and i have gotten into it a tad due to the fact that he'd look for mustard or bbq and its not there any longer... i am picky with food i eat as well as how long food stays around...

6. i am allergic to fruit... and raw veggies... and i don't eat meat... what happens when i eat fruit and veggies?! my mouth and ears itch... or a stomach ache... some days i will try to eat some but then will have an instant reaction... been like this since i was a kid... i remember eating apples and hating the way my mouth felt when i ate them... how i'd get all itchy and a weird film on my tongue... some fruits i'll eat regardless but the meatiness gets to me so then i get grossed out by the texture... i have a problem with textures... diego seems to have acquired this too because he wont eat ground meat, cottage cheese, yogurt, or even jello-o! so yeah, overall, i am one picky eater!

up for a mini swap?!

my mom, nina, doesn't have a blog but her flickr site, fun old new,  is loaded with her thrifty goodies and the collections she's accumulated in time.... well, she has a few sewing items to swap if anyone is interested.... if so, email me right away! nina is willing to swap most anything like vintage, fabric, paper, crafting supplies, etc. etc. etc. just a note, some of the items don't have model number info... but we will give you as much info as we know ourselves :)

here are pix of them all! they are in good condition and of course, retro!

   
a singer buttonholer (right?!) in a green plastic case (pic of outside and inside)

a pink one is also available... looks just like the above... (you can see it also on the very first picture)

   
the first box is singer accessories for model 648(zig zag parts) ...

the second box is singer accessories for model 64(deluxe straight stitch parts) ...

   
the first is a tin case... a ruffler for the brother sewing machine...

the second is a box... buttonhole attachment for the kenmore machine

   
this is a tin case of rotary pieces... i am not sure what this means but as you can see the inside parts are in good condition.... nor do i know what brand it is...

   
another singer button holer for slant needle zig zap sewing machines...

looks nearly new, eh?!

   
this is a box of special discs... for deluxe zig zag singer machines... and for special zig zag machines...

it has all the discs too!

   
more accessories for the singer deluxe straight stitch sewing machine model 639...

   
this is a precision built button holer attachment... it comes in a tin case... i don't know the model number! and i don't want to sound dumb, but i think the precision built is the brand but i never heard of that sort of sewing machine...

lastly, this is a singer sewing machine attatchments box... for class 604 machines... i forgot to take an inside picture... but request, if interested...

so are you up for swapping???