A Beautiful Mess

home.home.home

today i am traveling back to the lovely Springfield, Missouri. that means i will have lots of time to draw in this....

i am working on a project that i have been dreaming of for years.... a children's coloring book!

& a new painting. i made this for the outside i benefit art night.

it's 30x30 (i love big paintings!). i was sort of experimenting with a style that i've been curious about for a while. fun to explore new things.
here is the poster for the event, if you live nearby....

more soon! elsie

 

excitement!

hi everyone,
i have a bit of *very* exciting news to share! Some of you may already know that Jeremy has been working this year on a new album. He posted one of his brand new songs tonight (it's called "Self Esteem" and it is one of my favorites). You can listen to it here! It's beautiful. He is going to put up songs from the new album randomly, but only for a few days each time.

This is a little painting that I made for him last week.

good night! elsie

Salvation Mountain

some photos from our road trip to Salvation Mountain....



my sister, her boyfriend and two of our friends drove three hours together to see this magical place.
i'll tell you a little bit about it.... first you should know that i am *not* much of a tourist. I almost never get excited about seeing famous places (not because they aren't cool, i just always think they look cooler in photos than in real life.) This was so beautiful and worth the trip. It was so silent when we arrived, it was almost creepy (in a really cool way, of course!). It was so much bigger and more complex than i had imagined....

paint cans... :)





and some photos from inside...












(my friend, jered)

(the adorable caleb)

and (saving the best for last!) pretty sure this is the coolest person i have ever met in my whole life!

Leonard King is the creator of Salvation Mountain. He has spent more than 20 years working on this project. His work is so beautiful and his attitude and story are even more lovely. It was a true honor to meet him and talk about his mountain. :)

Well, I am off to hang out with Emma for a few more days (and let's be honest...) work on some new things for my etsy update coming July 7. Emma and I never stop working and we NEVER stop loving it!
Have a great weekend!
elsiecake

m.i.a.

i've run off for a weekend with my beloved little sister.....


photos and stories coming soon! :)
lovelove, elsie

a memory i want to keep.

last night mr. larson stayed up all night writing a new song. he woke me up this morning so i could listen.
magic.

today has been the most inspired and productive day in months. it's amazing how one person's hard work can challenge everyone around them. it's beautiful, i think.

monday is funday.

(although, technically... these photos represent Sunday.)

hey there. i am happy to report that this weekend i did all of the best things in life...
-spent time with family
-painted pirates
-made a scrapbook layout
-made new goals for the future
-went to the bookstore
&
-cooked dinner at home :)

suffice to say, i am a happy little camper.

well, i have some very fun things to share this week...
(a fun little project that i can't wait to reveal!)

in the meantime, i am thinking very seriously about purchasing my very own gocco printer. your words of wisdom are always appreciated!

ps. i don't say this enough, but the kind words left in my comments section really make me smile! thank you!
also.... i have still been receiving so many questions about my new book. questions about ordering can be directed here... info@kimemories.com :) they are wonderful and will be able to help!

working on the weekend...

i have a new painting and he has a new song. we are both almost finished.
love working on the weekends!
xo. elsie

friday already?

how is it that this week has just disappeared?

well, this is where most of my time has gone....

you never get too old for jr.high style homemade tattoos! mr. larson gave me this one, he is quite the artist! 

my favorite boots... $7. :)
that's the problem with perfect boots, you can never find them unless you aren't looking.

my sister sent me some vintage copies of peter pan books this week. they are beautiful! i feel so inspired to work on my painting series.
i've been thinking a lot about my favorite painter, jim houser, this week...





he doesn't have a website, a blog, a myspace or a way to be contacted directly.... must be nice, in some ways (well, for time management). i don't blame him. but i do wish he had something, but it's ok... i'll just keep reading this. it's wonderful!

and one more little bit of inspiration for this week's end...





one of my favorite bands has a new album out this week. :)

oh, and then there's this...

and interview i did for our local GO Magazine.
As with any spoken interview the quotes aren't exactly as i would have said them... but you know how it is.  no big deal! :D

if you live in Springfield, you have probably noticed that the clouds have been uncommonly pretty this week. i  want to take some photos. Clouds are one of my new daily pleasures.

happy friday to you.
elsie

i was looking through my journal from last fall/winter today and i found this list of goals and desires... feeling pretty happy that most of them are being lived out right now...

here is a peek at one of the paintings (in progress) in my studio at the moment...

today was good because i did some much needed mailing (love that feeling of productivity) and had a fun little fondue dinner with my friend, jonathan, and some of this...

yessss! it's paint by number. we had to take some home for homework though b.c these little babies take for*ev*er! fun though. :)

i am going to share some of my favorite photos from this past year (feeling sentimental today...)



















so many memories.....
thank you for all the *wonderful* suggestions and ideas to blog about.  i made a list and hopefully i can use lots of those ideas very soon. i would love to share some *new* scrapbook pages soon.
i had a few requests to see some older layouts...here goes...





i'm going to bed early tonight (relatively early ;)).
lovelove. elsie

um....

i don't know what to share today...
ideas?

content.

my dad is the cutest ever!

here he is with one of his painted gourds... :D

today i spent most of the day painting and working on new projects...

i have to keep most of the new projects i am working on secret for just a little bit longer.... *sigh*.

so, i thought it would be fun to share a few *amazing* online vintage stores (for those of you who, like me, love to thrift shop but stay home waywaywayyy too much ;)).

mousevox

vint junky

bleubird

goodnight... :D xoxo. elsie

keeping promises.... ;)

happy father's day! i spent the weekend with family and it was wonderful. my dad and i have a lunch "date" tomorrow, so i hope i can share a few photos then. (I LOVE YOU, DAD!)

well, i am keeping my promise to post each day this week...
first up: a simple Photoshop technique that i love.
Cross processing...

tutorial here.

more soon... i am super sleepy! xo. elsie 

this week i vow...

to post every day!

I am feeling a rush of creativity, so it might be fun to share... and here is some randomness for now (you know i love the random stuff. ha!)

the sunglasses collection in my car... it's getting a little bit out of hand, but i don't mind. :)


my lovely friend, miss lulu, has opened an etsy shop for her beautiful self portraits. i really think she has the most adorable portraits i've ever seen!

and a few other etsy faves for the week.....


i've been a big fan of this shop for a long time now... so lovely and creative.

this print makes me smile.... i love it.

*sigh* the black apple shop is so lovely.

she has a little comic book right now....it's cute cute! i had to order one for my someday-in-the-very-distant-future-children. :)

and this is freaking cute as well. i just love it!

lately, i am going CRAZY to take new photos, make new stuff for my shop, start scrapbooking again (i've had a bit of a break and i finally feel really ready to fall in love with it again), and thrift store shop... there are not enough hours in the day.... i love this feeling. every night  before bed i am rushing to write down more ideas to experiment with in the morning and it's a great feeling!




these photos from the image is found blog are so inspiring. i think my camera is getting lonely these days... have to set aside some time to play this week!

and one of my favorite bands in the whole world has a new album coming out... you can listen to it here. so magical and inspiring. magic. magic. magic! i might even take a break from the flaming lips this week to listen to this album while i paint... maybe. :)

and last but not least.... my wonderful and *veryvery* talented friend, Brandon, has been filming for Mute Math  for the past month-ish and the stuff he is doing is *so beautiful*! i just wanted to share.... 

things that make me smile on a busy day...

First of all, some big boxes full of Daisy, Forrest and Bloom  at my doorstep yesterday! I am so exicted to see these new collections in stores now... here are a few of my faves from the Daisy (pet) collection...




a few of my fave papers.

epoxy stickers. i love the real stitches!


rub-ons... :D

ribbons.

a stamp font that i love much.


pretty much my favorite product to play with... chipboard buttons.

my favorite new album... i love the little window!

chipboard frames. i think i could use that pink one a million times... :)

and soft charms...
so much fun. now all i need to do is print out a few photos and make some little treasures this weekend. i have been dying to scrapbook this past week... it's the best feeling!

*sigh*

in other news... i updated my elsiecake Etsy shop today... here are a few peeks at what is new...





link here.
ok.... i have a pretty lengthy to*do*list for the rest of today... and guess what? tomorrow we will be helping the lovely brett and rachel move. I am so thrilled that they are finally here. It's going to be a lovely lovely summer.

The past few weeks have been crazy busy which isn't a bad thing, but you know.... this weekend is looking like it might be a little bit more chill and i couldn't be happier! 
Well, i am off to clean and cook and hopefully make felt dolls tonight (just for fun!). That makes me sound so domestic.... we can pretend! ;)
elsie
 

a share from my new book!

I thought it would be fun to share a few of my very favorite pages from my newest book!



(the darling little cocoa!)

(my favorite little boy in the universe)

(bright eyes lyrics)

(home decor inspired... i used a bamboo place mat on the layout)

(awe... weezer lyrics!)

(my sweet mom and dad)

(inspired by colorful beaded necklaces...)


(the lovely miss amber...i love her pages so much!)

(kendra. i love this. she is such a classic!)

(rachel is so talented.. it's really insane.)

(the page by candice melts my heart!)

i hope you enjoyed these little peeks. i have been feeling so loved opening my e-mail each day and hearing from people who are using the new book! it's so exciting. i also saw this cool little review of the new book. happy happy!

in other news, i have some news to share for my etsy shop....

(will share more images of the new goods in the next few days!)

and a new baby set of paintings for my bedroom (flaming lips lyrics, per usual).
happy monday! Elsie