Guess Who?

Have I mentioned recently how much I love Portland? Especially on days like this, when it is cold but sunny. This Fall we have been lucky to have lots of extra sunny days! So today I dragged my friend Heather to the post office, then to Laurelhurst Park for a nice hefty walk.

That was when we ran into this amazing owl! What is he doing up at this hour?!? I don't know, but he was still there at the end of the walk (of course we had to swing back by and see him again). I was so enthralled that I actually dropped Heather off at her place, swung back by my place and got my camera, then went back for some photos. He was watching me watch him, which was even greater. Absolutely stunning.

Project of the Week! Articulated limbs :D

I fully admit it. I have been a total slacker on the project of the week. A lot has been happening here in Lea-land and I lost track. But I'm back! For now anyway :D This week's project is how to make your drawings (or photos!) into articulated people! Fun! If you're wondering how this translates into a gift, well, they make great party favors (for the heads, use photos of your guests), puppets (attach a popsicle stick or wooden dowel to the back, hands, and feet), cards (see my greeting card at the end of the article), and more.

For the project example, I used my own drawing, but if you don't feel confident in your drawing skills, take a photo of your subject with their arms and legs spread out wide. Print it out on cardstock and cut it apart in a similar way to the drawings I show below. Let's get started!



First of all you will need:
Paper (the heavier the better, I like to use #110 card stock or heavy sketchbook paper)
Markers, pens, paints, crayons, and/or colored pencils
Mini brads
Hole punch that makes tiny little holes (this and the brads can be bought at any craft supply store)
*You can skip the hole punch and use the tip of an exacto blade or an awl instead if you want to.

Draw out your character's torso, making the arms and legs into separate pieces. Make sure the shoulders have a round area sticking out so that you will have something to attach your arms to!


Using your choice of medium, color her/him in! Yay! After coloring, cut out all of the pieces.


Now it's time to punch your holes. You will need a hole in each shoulder (the round part sticking out), on both ends of the upper arms and upper legs, on one end of the lower arms and on one end of the lower legs. My girl is wearing a dress, so I wanted her legs to attach behind the dress. The brads become part of the dress' decoration.


Insert brads as shown, and you are done! You will be amazed at how much character and personality your drawing has when put in different positions.

Greeting card, 2008, by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

I am the troll under the bridge

The first time I ever smoked a cigarette, I was a freshman in high school. I was in a play and, while I had no speaking lines, I was going to be on stage the WHOLE time. I was freaking out. A friend took me outside and told me to smoke a cigarette to calm me down, which I did. I cannot say that I enjoyed it, at all, or that it calmed my nerves, but the buzz was sufficient to take my mind off of my stage fright and go on with the performance.

I didn't smoke again until five years later, in college. But stupid me, who had escaped for so long despite the fact that all of my friends were smokers, fell right into the trap. I have quit several times since, when I was pregnant with Indigo, for example. Then, about 2 years ago, with the help of a book, I quit "once and for all." I was sure of it. And I would have been completely successful, too, if it weren't for one tiny little detail--I became over-confident. After 1 1/2 years of being a very happy non-smoker, completely free of any cravings whatsoever, I found myself in an extremely stressful situation. I was so confident in being a non-smoker that I thought I could have one cigarette and I would be fine. I was emotionally crashing at that moment, surely a little smoke couldn't hurt?

I was so wrong. Within two weeks I was buying a pack every other day and that's the way it has been for about 6 months now. I felt really guilty and ashamed, not to mention how terrible my lungs felt all over again, and how my anxiety was now 2-fold as, besides trying to cope with afore-mentioned stressful situation, I had to feed this little addiction every couple of hours as well. In the past 6 months I tried and failed miserably to quit smoking, on 3 separate occasions. Worse, I had to try to explain to Indigo what was going on and why I failed to quit.

Well, I have finally done it. I smoked my last. If you have been wondering where my blog went the past few days, well, I have been spending my time exercising, napping, watching Firestarter, exercising more, drinking water, napping, acting kind of crazy, cleaning, napping, and trying not to bite anyone's head off. That might all sound nuts, but I am more confident than I ever have been before that I will never, EVER smoke again. Now I am armed with the knowledge of how terrible even one cigarette can be. Now whenever I think I want one, I just think about raising that smoke to my lips. But instead of taking a drag, my mouth is suddenly filled with cigarette butts and ash. That pretty much does the trick! :D

The only problem is that, for now, I feel like the troll under the bridge, lurking, skulking, distracting myself until some poor innocent victim comes along and I SNAP out at them! Big, bad, mean ol' Lea. My acupuncturist told me that a lot of people actual fail to stop smoking because they act so mean for awhile, they feel like it would be better to just start again. Well, I'm not going to let that happen, so now I am going to go exercise some more (endorphins help), and visit said acupuncturist to help chill me out.

Thanks for letting me ramble today. I know this post is pretty far off my norm, but to be honest I am writing it more for me than for you this time. To reinforce my decision, to make it public, making me accountable, and to be perfectly honest, to get some words of encouragement. I am so exited for the fog to clear as all of the nicotine leaves my body, for my lungs to heal up, to smell good, have good breath, be a great example for my daughter, get all of my energy back, be able to exercise again and have it actually benefit me, let go of all of the guilt once and for all.

p.s. The above photo is a picture of my actual cigarettes after I smoked my last one! Then I put them in the trash and poured water over them :D I am FREEEEEEEEEE!

Yay for winning!

Tree in the Coriander pot holder by http://beanpicklesprouts.etsy.com

I have recently started following a really great blog, ChristopherandTia. Every Monday they have a really fun "Monday Suck Day" giveaway. Each Monday they feature a different Etsy shop. You leave a comment telling them what you like the most in the shop, and why Mondays suck so much, and later in the week they do a drawing.

A couple of weeks ago, I won! Yay! I chose this gorgeous pot holder by Amy Knight of http://beanpicklsprouts.etsy.com! When it arrived in the mail a few days ago, I could not have been more pleased :) The fabric is even prettier in person, it is incredibly well-made, and has a great slot to put your hand in, way better than any pot holder I've ever seen before. She has tons of other great stuff in her shop too, like super adorable baby items. While you're surfing, be sure to check out the super-cool recipe cards and boxes in ChristopherandTia's shop, too!

Thanks so much you guys!

November show at the US Bank in NW Portland!

"Autumn," by Lea Keohane 2008. All rights reserved.

I know I've shown this painting off before, but this month she is featured, along with 15 other drawings & paintings of mine, at the US Bank lobby on NW 11th & Lovejoy in Portland. I spent the morning of Election Day crawling around on banker's desks hanging my artwork :) It will be up all month, so stop by if you get the chance!

Of course, prints are always available in my shop as well, for those of you who are on a tight budget or live too far away to come and see. On a side note, if you would ever like to purchase an original piece of art but can't pay all at once, send me an email! I am always happy to work out a payment plan.

YES WE CAN! And we did!

"Obama Won," by Indigo Keohane, age 8, November 4th, 2008.

I have tried to remain partisan-neutral in my blog posts calling everyone to vote. But after last night, I can't keep quiet anymore. When the presidency was called, I sat for several minutes in shock. Was it true? Was I dreaming? Was it another early call, going to be recalled in the next few minutes, too close to count, too many problems at the polls?!? Then I saw the landslide that called Obama as our new President Elect, and the floodgates opened. I was so overwhelmed with joy and pride in our country, that I spent the next 30 or 40 minutes crying. Indigo thought I was crazy, crying with joy, and couldn't stop laughing at me. But she was obviously overjoyed as well, (and bored at the hours of NBC newscasts that we had been watching all evening), and drew this great picture to show it. (Notice the moon is saying "yay!")!

I realize that, at 8 years old, with a very liberally-minded mother, of course she shares my feelings and my opinions. But we watched one of the debates together, with me trying to explain it all to her. It helped me to challenge my own opinions and knowledge, explaining everything from the ground up to help her understand. We also talked about what other people thought, those with opossing opinions, and why. Some day she will be old enough to make her own decisions, to have a clearer understanding of it all, and even if she diverges from my own politics, I will still be as proud of her as can be. In the meantime, I can't be prouder that I was able to share such an historic evening with her. That, at 8 years old, she could join me in some inkling of comprehension of what this all means to us as a country.

Yes we can. And we did.

Election Day Special!

It's November 4th, last chance to cast your vote! I am listening to the BBC on NPR right now. It is so interesting to listen as people from all over the world are calling in and giving their opinion on the election. The world is watching. I personally am so nervous and exited that I could barely sleep last night.

In anticipation of the election, I would like to make one last call for everyone to please vote if you have not yet done so! As an extra little tiny incentive, I am offering free shipping in both of my shops if you have voted, all day long until midnight in Oregon tonight. Go to LeaKarts or SupplyRiot and in the "notes to seller" section during checkout, type "I voted" and I will send you a revised invoice. Not an American? I am also offering free international shipping today--leave me a note in the "notes to seller" section during checkout telling me what the U.S. election means to you.

Color Me House

I have mentioned a few times that I have been working a temporary, part-time job for the past couple of weeks. I know that today is Monday, time for my project of the week post, but because I have been working so much I haven't had the time to do this week's project (I promise there will be one next week!). However, the company that I have been working for is an incredible mom and pop business, with a fabulous product, and the owners are such fantastic people. I have really enjoyed working for them! So I thought that this week it would be really fun to highlight their product, as it is a fun project for kids, a great gift to give, affordable, recycled, and the money goes to a really great small business.

Color Me House is a cardboard house (or rocket ship!), that kids can color themselves and play in. The houses and the rockets are made of recycled cardboard, with serrated edges so that they are paper-cut free. They are very simple to assemble, and to disassemble for easy storage. Plus, the outside is all white so that children can color/paint/decorate it however they want! No more destroying your kitchen knives trying to cut doors and windows in an old cardboard box, Color Me House is perfect for make-believe play. Check out their website to see pictures, buy one online, and read more about this great little company :)

In the meantime, if you are still yearning for your project of the week, my friend Danielle has a great tutorial on her blog this week, instructing you how to make a cute little decorative box:
Poetic Purl: The Basic Box

Have a great week!