Do It Now

The Long And Short Of It

I was reading a makeover article in a magazine last night. It dealt with people who "overdo" things, and suggested that less is more. The twist on this article was that they got a psychiatrist to weigh in on why these women were doing the things they do. One was too blonde, one was too tan, one wore too much makeup and one...had too long of hair.

The article went on to say that women who have too long of hair get too attached to it and keep it for attention. The girl in question was 28 years old and like me, she had waist length hair. They chopped it off to a slightly layered chin length bob. Quite frankly after the change she looked about 15 years older.

It's kind of a funny thing when you have very long hair, it's almost as if the world is conspiring to get you to cut it off. I am not sure why that is? It's perfectly natural for women to have long hair.

My Mother is constantly suggesting I cut it all off...but I think that's just a thing Mom's do regardless how long or short your hair is.

Every time I have seen a woman with long hair going into a makeover they always cut as much of it off as they can. Every time I go to a new hair stylist they want to cut it, or at least layer it. Now I understand why they want to do that...if you layer it, you require more trims to maintain the shape, thus putting cash in their pockets.

But why is long hair such a crime? The girl in the makeover would have looked lovely with a trim to get rid of split ends and straighten it up a little, and maybe a few bangs. There was no reason to chop it all off.

I have never really noticed very much extra attention beyond an occasional compiment being thrown my way because of it, I think the psychiatrist was wrong. My hair stylist says my hair is in better condition than most 20 year olds he works on. I keep it healthy and trimmed. I like it, and not because I have an unnatural attachment to it. In the long and short of it, I don't see that the length of your hair is that important. If you like it long, keep it that way despite what anyone says. I know I am not planning on cutting mine off, why should I?

A Sneak Peek Of Things To Come

You may have noticed I have changed my blog graphics yet again. I have been working to make a new website layout, and while I am not done...you are getting a little sneak peek.

The new header is a smaller version of what it will (tentatively) look like. I am not sure exactly when I will get it done since I am leaving to go visit my parents in a week, but it will be before the month is over. Stay tuned!

K. <3

Denying Pink

About ten years ago another artist and I did our first teddy bear show in Japan. In our room we had a refrigerator and across the street was a little convenience store. We decided we needed to have some milk and snacks one night, and trotted off to get some. When we got to the cooler, there were literally dozens of small cartons of various things. Naturally they were all labeled in Japanese. So I decided to adhere to one of my rules I live by. When in doubt choose the pink thing or the pretty thing. I decided on a pink carton with a picture of a strawberry on it, while my friend chose a white carton with a cow on it.

Later back at the room we decided to have our snacks. I opened my carton and it was strawberry milk, much like I used to make with Strawberry Nestle's Quick as a kid. It was pretty tasty despite being a little on the sweet side. He took a big swig out of his and made the most awful face. He immediately held it out and said "taste this!" After having seen his face I declined. As it turned out what he had bought was soy coffee creamer. (I swear I am not laughing! *Giggles*)

I have always loved pink. When I was a child my favorite color was green, but pink ran a close second. In my adulthood they have switched status. But lately I have been denying my love of pink online. I have never done my website in pink. I did do my blog pink for Valentines Day but quickly changed it after. I guess this is because pink can go wrong so easily. It can be overwhelming, and I don't want anyone to get a sugar rush from looking at my internet work. I remember years ago there was a nurses office in a building I worked at that was so pink and frou frou it even made me nauseated.

But I love pink, and I realized after yesterday's blog makeover that I wasn't happy with it. I knew it was time to embrace what I love. So today I changed it again. I didn't like that much white, but I still have some, and the rest of the colors aren't so somber. Vintage style doesn't have to automatically mean shades of brown and cream.

I also changed the wings on my heart logo to pink instead of white. Oddly enough that took me longer than the entire new header. I sat staring at seven subtle shade variations for an hour before I finally chose one.

I think it's time to stop denying my love of pink. I don't deny it in my real life. I even have a pink Schwinn Roxie Cruiser that I ride around with happy abandon. Maybe that's the secret to making a good website or blog...let it reflect what you truly love and do it with happy abandon!

Monday Inspiration: The Blank Canvas

It might surprise people to find out that I am actually quite a good painter. In high school and college I won all sorts of awards for my paintings and had them featured quite a few places. Since then I get the urge to paint about every decade. I am not sure why I don't do it. Maybe it's because I stare at that blank canvas and get so overwhelmed with ideas that I never know which one to settle on.

In fact anytime I stare at any solid white surface my brain goes into overdrive then just shuts down until I can sort through them. Our lives are filled with proverbial blank canvas's. Our homes, our bodies, our blogs, our art...all canvas's begging for life and color, movement and texture.

The nearly blank canvas concept is really popular these days. You see it on websites and blogs everywhere. You saw it on my website if you visited, and on my newly re-designed blog. Chances are you're going to see a lot more re-designs before I am happy. Once I am happy, I will probably decide it's time to start over with something completely different. Such is the nature of being an artist.

Like so many others I am inspired with those big white empty spaces, but I always want to fill them up. I am never satisfied to just paint the bowl of flowers, I have to have the table it's sitting on, the room the table is in, and a glimpse of the countryside peeking through the window. I am trying to learn that less is more. It's a hard concept for me, I like lots of stuff going on and I want to incorporate every idea at once. Maybe that is a reflection of my life? I am not sure. I just know that I get over inspired every time I see one.

What does a blank canvas inspire you to fill it with?

~*~ Poppy Pennywhistle ~*~

I have a brand new bear, just born today! You can visit Poppy on my website, on the bears page.

Think Outside The Shoebox