rise up for the homeless and hungry

I did my first pro-bono graphic project recently. I had the honor of creating the logo design for the first major fundraising event being produced with the Phoenix Philanthropists: Rise Up for the Homeless and Hungry. This event is meant to bring awareness and action to the homeless and hunger situation in the Phoenix metro area.

The event will be a 24-25 hour marathon of standing out in the heat of the Arizona summer to bring awareness and show people what it is like to deal with the extreme summer elements here. Proceeds and food donations will benefit St. Mary's Food Bank and other donations, like clothing, will benefit Children First Academy.

I am so happy to have been able to help out. Working with Thomas, the event organizer, was a real pleasure. He knew just what he wanted to convey and is so passionate about this event and for his community, it was very humbling.

Here are some of my sketches while working on this project:

initial sketchbook ideas

3 logo options for review

The event is tentatively set for June 4th & 5th, which is the week of St. Mary's Hunger Action Day and also the kickoff week of their "Send Hunger Packing" campaign for the summer. This will also be a great kick-off event for their summer water drive. There will be entertainment throughout the event ranging from movies, bands, karaoke, vendors, educational speakers, etc. Participants will raise pledge money for their efforts. Spectators and visitors to the event can participate in raffles, drop-off donations and participate in other ways to support the cause.

pizza night!

My sisters are visiting and instead of cooking we decided on take-out pizza last night. We ordered our favorite pizza from Red, White and Brew - Eggromato. It has eggplant, fresh tomatoes, garlic & mushrooms. We paired that with a simple berry salad.

To make the simple berry salad we mixed together the following:

• Romaine Lettuce
• Fresh Spinach
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Gorgonzola Cheese
  
• Red Wine Vinaigrette
  

Mmm ... Magnifico!

cheese crisp and veggie rice

Tonight I had planned to make a recipe I received in the meatless monday e-newsletter. Zucchini Stuffed Peppers. Sounds so good! I began cooking the vegetables but, soon realized my oven door was jammed and therefore would not turn on. So I went for plan B. I switched gears and made the stuffing into veggie rice and paired it with a cheese crisp.

For the cheese crisp I used:

• whole wheat tortillas
• 1 slice of american cheese
  
• grated mild cheddar cheese

Place 1 tortilla in pan, add cheeses and place a second tortilla on top and lightly press together. Cook over medium high heat for a minute or two, flip over the and cook on the other side for a minute of two.

For the veggie rice I used:

• 1 cup cooked brown rice
  
• 1 zucchini diced
• 1/2 onion diced
• 5 carrots diced
  
• 1 tbsp butter
  

Place butter in a skillet, add zucchini, onion and carrots. Cook for about 10 minutes. Mix in the brown rice. salt and pepper.

This actually turned out well, the only change I may try is to cook brown rice with vegetable broth instead of water to add a bit more flavor. Thank goodness we had some tortilla and cheese handy to complete the meal.

remembering colorado

Last week, Bert & I returned home from a phantastic road trip, concert series and vacation. We had so many wonderful moments! The basis for our trip was to see our favorite band Phish (back touring after a 5 yr break) at the breathtaking Red Rocks concert venue in Colorado.

Scenes from the road to Colorado:

Bert getting his drive on

Bluff, Utah

Me at a rest stop in Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Entering Vail, Colorado elevation 8,000ft and hit with nasty rain!

Ski lift in Vail, Colorado

We decided to take a road trip and drive through some parts of the country we have never been to. It was a hike with 14 hour drive from Phoenix but, oh so worth it. Heading to Colorado we took the scenic route and it was just beautiful. We passed through many, many gorgeous canyons as he headed north through Arizona, into Utah and through southeast Colorado into Denver.

We enjoyed ourselves each night at the Phish shows and we jammed packed our days with tourist fun.

Friday we checked out downtown Boulder ...

Pearl Street Mall, Boulder Colorado

Lunch at Burnt Toast in Boulder, Colorado

Stopped at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse for some yummy Iced Tea!

Saturday we attended the Mock Show art exhibit ...

From the Mock Show blog:

Thanks to all the artists, volunteers and collectors who helped make the inaugural Mock Show Red Rocks such a huge success. Mock Show Red Rocks hosted the largest gathering of Phish poster art in history! Counting artists and exhibitors, their assistants and Mock Show volunteers, in conjunction with pre-purchase ticketed attendees, walk-up will call guests and invited VIPs, Mock Show welcomed over 750 in attendance Saturday, August 1st, 2009 at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, Colorado.

From the four nights of fantastic Phish concerts, to all the warm, friendly folks we met in Colorado, to all the amazing artists and unbelievable work on display, what an unforgettable adventure!

Sunday we headed to Fort Collins ...

We had a lovely visit with our fellow Soft Flex employee, Jamie and Matt. We wandered the downtown area, bought some sweet eco-gifts, had lunch and a nice brew. We took a walk to check out the New Belgium Brewery but, it was a Sunday and they were closed.

Me at Fort Collins University Garden

Bert and an Andy Warhol signed soup can at Fort Collins University Garden

Jamie & I at the Belgium Brewery

Scenes from the road back to Arizona:

Lunch break at Bert's Burger Bowl in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Payson, Arizona ~ 1.5 hours left until we are home!

So nice to come home to our family and their smiling faces!

beading contest deadline is approaching fast!

Time sure does fly when you are having fun. It seems like just yesterday that Sara and I were sitting at one of our coffee meetings dreaming up the idea for this beaded jewelry contest...and now, it is finally time to get your entries in. We can't wait to see what you dream up.

ONLY 21 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER!

See Contest Details

bean quesadillas with salsa

I made bean quesadillas with mango, peach and pineapple salsa tonight! I found the mango, peach and pineapple salsa on allrecipes.com. This was so good I could eat it as a fruit salad just by itself. The bean quesadillas recipe is from my friend Carrie.

For the quesadillas you need:

• tortillas
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can pinto or refried beans
• rice of your choice
• shredded monetary jack
• shredded cheddar cheese
• corn
• onion
• fresh cilantro

Lightly oil skillet, place 1 tortilla in pan, and layer with rice, beans, corn, onion, cilantro, and cheese. Place a second tortilla on top and lightly press together. Cook over medium high heat for a minute or two, flip over the quesadilla and cook on the other side for a minute of two. Top with toppings of your choice; avocado, sour cream, salsa, picante.

This was really yummy, thanks Carrie! I forgot the rice and replaced the pinto beans with refried beans and it still came out great. We love making quesadillas, they are easy and you can put just about anything in them!

design: vector ribbon

While working on a logo design this weekend for a local charity event, I managed to get in a quick tutorial for drawing a ribbon.

This video showed me how to create a smooth silver ribbon with multiple folds in Illustrator. Ribbons are used all over the place but, really they are challenging to make. I applaud tutvid.com for such a great tutorial, it is really easy to follow. They made a complicated image very easy for me to recreate.

Check this video out at Hi-Res here: http://www.tutvid.com/tutorials/illustrator/tutorials/vectorRibbons.php

weekly reflection

Ethan with his still life setup of some new school stuff

Ethan starts kindergarten on Aug 12. He will be saying goodbye to his preschool family in a few short weeks. He is super excited and ready to see what this kindergarten thing he has heard so much of is all about.

This week Bert & I picked up his teacher, Mrs. Baker's supply donation list (and I totally cried)! It was so unexpected. I think I may have a tougher time on his 1st day of school then I realized. Nannie bought him a shirt, some school supplies, a thermos cup & Mario Kart lunchbox. He received a Mario Kart backpack as a gift from Miss Laura.

Ms Laura is Ethan's daycare provider / preschool teacher. He has been going to Laura's Daycare for over 2 years. I know he will miss her and all his buddies lots. He made her a super sweet card (which I totally should have taken a picture of. d'oh!). He dictated this message for me to write: Ms Laura, I will miss you when I go to kindergarten. I love you. Then he signed these words himself: Love Ethan. So cute. We are so lucky that our children are happy and loved when they are away from home while us parents head off to work. I am so very grateful for Ms Laura and her family.

heady necklaces debut

This is my debut line of heady pendant necklaces. The necklaces are handcrafted with antique brass chain and round pendants created from my original acrylic paintings. These sweet little pendants are eye catching as I like to work in vibrant colors. The image of my painting is printed on a high quality, glossy paper and then sealed onto the brass pendant with lacquer. Necklaces range from 16-18" in length.

Here are the different styles up close:

I created these heady necklaces to sell at Phish Red Rocks next weekend. Let me know what you think!

kids art: ready for take off!

Ready for take off!

Ethan tagged along with me on another trip to Michael's. Again, he found lots of things he wanted to make but, decided on a wooden model airplane kit. The boys enjoyed building their own airplanes with dad's help. Then the planes sat around for a week or 2, waiting for the right time to be decorated. It has been HOT here in the desert and we are in hibernation mode so, this weekend was the perfect time to bring out the art supplies and get painting.

We reused an egg carton as a paint palette, it is sturdy and holds lots of colors

Ethan working with his favorite colors: blue and green

Hudson working with his favorite color: red

new and improved "paint bucket"

I have to admit I need to work on getting the art supplies out in a particular order. I seem to start backwards - planes then paint then tablecloth then smocks - that is all wrong! They boys are already trying to dip into the paints before the table is set up and their shirts put on. So, I packed all the needed supplies: paints, brushes, cup, egg cartons, smock shirts and a tablecloth into the new and improved "paint bucket". Hopefully this makes our next painting adventure setup run a bit more smoothly.

Once again for only a buck, this little kit proved to be a lot of fun, it let them become the pilot and the designer!