A Trifecta of Terrific Tasks

Good things come in threes, right?

I'm heading out tomorrow to wrap up the buying of Zazu's holiday season goodies and will be back on Wednesday.

Couldn't leave you hanging, so I picked three doozies...

 Hey! Only 162 days until Christmas!

Just saying.

If you have no idea what this is all about, click here.

The Magic Bowl Continues to Mock Me

Alternate title #1: "You Have Got to Be Kidding Me"

Alternate title #2: "This is Spooky"

Alternate title #3: "It's Deja Vu All Over Again"

Here's the background info: I have been on a diet for approximately the last 30 years. But, I have been trying in earnest to shed the remaining "baby weight" (ok, she's nearly seven) for the last four months. The last two months have been in super earnest, and the last week has been in super duper earnest.

I'm serious.

Yes, it's kind of taking over, but I am trying to keep it in perspective and not obsess too much, which as you all know by now, is not my strong suit.

Stop laughing.

Then, this comes out of the magic bowl ...

Okay, I guess fruit and vegetables make good printing tools, but I am suddenly thinking chocolate could also work.

Please stop me.

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do it

I am going a little off script today.

I usually have music playing in the background while I am working. Luckily, everyone here at Zazu has an understanding of my eclectic tastes in music, which range from Broadway show tunes, to the Barenaked Ladies, to the Doors, to TV theme songs from the 70s, novelty hits, the Bee Gees and my absolute favorite singer of absolutely all time , Sir Tom Jones.

Yeah, really really. Tom Jones is my favorite singer of all time. Hands down.

Music can move me to create faster if I need to, more focused if I need to be, make me either happier or more contemplative, and untethers me from the routine.

Art does the same.

So combining the two makes perfect sense.

Today's challenge is this:

"Try to represent music visually."

Maybe this video will provide you with inspiration. Enjoy!

This is Spooky ...

Yesterday, we had a power outage at Zazu and had to close a little early.

Zazu is very very dark with no electricity and although we had a few determined folks still trying to shop with the flashlights they handily keep in their purses, browsing is kind of tough under those circumstances.

So, we locked up the shop, prayed that the computers hadn't been fried and the alarm system wouldn't go blaring off in the middle of the night.

I came in early this morning to assess the damage, but before I left the house, I picked today's challenge.

You'll never in a bazillion years believe this one.

I know I say this a lot but ...

I. Am. Not. Making. This. Up.

Rejoice, Bubble Writers!

I've got a surprising confession.

I failed penmanship in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades.

And when I say failed I mean as in a big fat "F" in the little square on your report card next to the word "penmanship".

I've got another confession.

I'm a lefty.

Back in my day you couldn't be a lefty. Try it and a big fat ruler would come flying out of the solar system directly on your offending left hand.

I am not a troublemaker, so I switched that pencil over in a mighty quick hurry.

And, then failed penmanship for the next four years. I just couldn't get the hang of it. It became an obsession in the most obsessive kind of way. Seriously, who fails something like penmanship? I don't even think that should be possible.

This whole situation bothered me. It bothered me a lot.

One day, my mother told me she had signed me up for a class at the library. It was called, "Calligraphy". When I asked her what that meant, she told me it was a class to learn fancy handwriting.

Really? I couldn't even handle the regular handwriting, I was really going to bomb at this. I wonder what that teacher will use to smack me in the hand? A fancy ruler?

Anyway, I had no choice but to go.

We started at the very beginning, "Okay, this is your hand. This is a calligraphy pen. You hold the pen in your hand. (Uh Oh, here it comes) Hold it in whichever hand you choose."

Is this for real? Whichever hand you choose?

Which hand do you think I chose?

Wrong!

I went with the right one.  I'm kind of a nut that way. I tend to do the opposite of what most folks would expect me to do.

I was thinking that maybe calligraphy would get this hand into shape.

So I took that calligraphy pen in my right hand, placed it in my hand at a 45 degree angle, and drew a tiny line straight down.

It worked. It was straight and looked just like every one else's.

So, I did it again. And I did it again. And I did it again about a thousand more times. I went home and did it about a million more times. I spent every day after school practicing stroke after stroke until I had mastered the entire alphabet. Upper AND lower cases!

Less than 10 years later, I entered college as an ... ART MAJOR!

No kidding.

Less than 10 years after that, I financed my wedding by providing calligraphy and envelope addressing services to other brides.


Yes, I was a professional (!) handwriter!!

No kidding.

The end.

Pants on FIre!

So, here I am scrambling around the house this morning - checking off all the to do stuff: Dishwasher unloaded, laundry in progress, mop at the ready to tackle that kitchen tile ... and so on and so forth.
You know, I love love love checking off to do lists. Sometimes, I do stuff and then write it down on my list afterward just so I can check it off. Weird, I know, but I love to have a true sense of accomplishment. Especially on Saturdays, when I do this catch up on all the housekeeping stuff.

What?!

You're kidding me.

It's not Saturday?

{imagine me blinking about a thousand times as this revelation sinks in}

How could I misplace Friday?

I should have put it on some sort of list and absolutely not have moved on until I checked it off.

Creative people can be weird.

But you already know that.

Here's FRIDAY'S Challenge. (I pinky swear this one was randomly chosen)

Phoning It In

Due to a whole bunch of early-ish appointments this morning, I'm picking today's challenge and running.

Today's challenge for our Summer Visual Journal is:

"Drip Something on a Page"

I'll be back later to say something funny.

I promise.

And .... We're Back!

Did everyone have a super holiday weekend?

In between unpacking the car, laundering the watermelon stains out of that red, mostly white and blue T-shirt, and getting recharged to take on the rest of summer - I've got a new challenge for you!

Get creative!

I normally remind you to, "Get messy!", but I suddenly remembered where I had heard it before.

So, now I'm channeling Miss Frizzle ...

Have fun, take chances, and get messy!

Just So You Don't Miss Us Too Much

The gang and I are headed out for the long weekend. We'll be back sometime on Tuesday.

We trying really hard to take advantage of the lawlessness of summer.

(For y'all Down Under, it's Independence Day on Monday and that is a huge deal for us here in the States.)

But, for those of you who might simply die as a result of not having enough challenges to keep your creative juices flowing, how about we jump ahead a little?

Here's the next four challenges.

They are in no particular order because I'm not particularly bossy.

I don't know why my kids are laughing. Stop laughing.

You stop laughing, too, Mom. (I'm pretty sure she's reading this)

OK, just get on it when you can. And, puh-leeze send me some of your creations.

Here's my email caroline@shopzazu.com