Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Day 174 :: Friday June 22 :: Ottawa

Work only with kitchen tools today.

Hmm... I don't really cook, so am a little kitchen-tool poor! Since I used utensils less than a month ago, I opted for cupcake wrappers this time.




Day 173 :: Thursday June 21 :: Montreal

Create a new traffic sign. 

Long-time readers of my blog may remember this post about my 'wish-sisters'! During an email exchange last week, Sparta (in Montreal) offered to help with the blog if needed. She didn't need to offer twice – allowing friends to join in is part of the fun for me. She picked this upcoming prompt and happily set to work. When the dust settled, she had created a masterpiece, and this is what she had to say about it:


Hey Creative Blog enthusiasts! I am totally honored that GStar allowed me to take on one of her daily projects. I'm not a very artistic person, certainly not arts and crafty, so this was a big challenge for me. I had a great time and I hope it lives up to G's standards!

A few words about G, she is one of the most amazing people I know. I've known her for years and this blog always brings a smile to my face. One of the many lovely things that G does, and has over the years, has been sending out amazing Christmas cards to a bunch of her friends, including me. I imagine she has spent dozens of hours over the years to bring some creative cheer to all us lucky friends. I really wanted to make something in her honor, to say THANK YOU for all the amazing little attentions she has brought to so many people. These little gifts make all of us feel special, and I wanted to make her feel the same. She is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing people I've ever known.

Of course, GStar loves STARS. So when I chose the traffic sign prompt, I knew I wanted to make it in the shape of a star. And seeing as how some traffic signs are yellow, and stars are often portrayed as yellow, it seemed evident that it would be yellow! Now, as I was pondering this yellow star, the Coldplay song came to mind, its opening lyric, to be more precise. And then it was all about how to make it work. I'm pretty happy with the result, had a slight catastrophe with the stencil (cardboard gets wet and sticks when it does!), but overall, as my first experience with acrylic paint, I'm satisfied. Props to the man at DeSerres for his most valued knowledge!

This Star is for you, G, always look up to the stars, between 11pm and 4 am, ideally. 



And all i can say is thank YOU, Sparta, for brightening MY day. Much hugs and love!





Monday, June 25, 2012

Day 172 :: Wednesday June 20 :: Ottawa

Make a book out of something other than paper.

Today's lesson: running twine through small slits cut in little pieces of plastic 'sheets' made from a ziplock bag is both frustrating and time-consuming! My little book doesn't have words, just a little illustration – the illusion of depth comes from having elements of the drawing on various sheets; the slight opacity of the plastic does the rest.




Day 171 :: Tuesday June 19 :: Ottawa

Work only in black and white (or with black and white items).

Today was a bit of a hard day. It started well, waking up to heavy rain outside (I love the sound); but very soon after I was off to an early-morning chiro appointment. I've been having issues with my right IT band and knee for the past two weeks, severely limiting my physical activity as even biking or walking too fast hurts. And of course... this means no ultimate. Sitting out at practice sucks; watching my team play an entire tournament last weekend without being able to run on the field with them was worse.

But back to the appointment. My chiro was a bit stumped as to why I'm still presenting with pain after a few treatments, so he decided to try a different approach and do acupuncture. Which I hate. I cried for ten minutes straight after the needles were in, letting out the helplessness and frustration. Emailed a few friends for support, trying to make light of my 'human pin cushion' situation. But i still felt down all day at work.

Right before leaving work, I got an instant message from a close friend, reminding me to smile a bit, and have a better night. I wasn't sure about that, since I was heading off to yet another 'sitting out' practice.

But it was okay. The captains had planned drills using a stationary thrower, so I could still participate and not feel so useless. Then at the end, when everyone was doing running drills, I threw some long backhands with Gavin (he captained the first comp team I played on, back in 2004) and discovered that I can throw farther than him :) And to cap off the night, my carpool stopped at Burgers & Shakes on the way home. Nom nom nom!

So there was a bit of light at the end of a dark tunnel day... which led me to this little doodle.




Day 170 :: Monday June 18 :: Ottawa

Make something unintended out of existing instructions (clothing patterns, model kit instructions, craft instructions, etc) by not following the directions correctly, by using different materials, or by using the physical paper the instructions are on.

As fun as assembling an actual life-size, working car from model kit instructions would have been (gstar trivia: I loved assembling model cars in my teens!), I had to settle for something a little simpler on this assignment. Scrounging around, I found some IKEA assembly instructions that weren't needed anymore. The little dude in one illustration inspired me to create a paper string of similar little dudes using one spread of the instructions. Ta-dah!





Day 169 :: Sunday June 17 :: Montreal

Create a personal shelter. What does it shelter you from? Can you fit inside it? It could even be something that's portable or is found at specific nonsheltered locations or events.

This is a tournament weekend, and I was lucky enough to stay with friends instead of at the usual hotel. Of course, a couch cushion fort was a must-do before leaving the house! It didn't shelter me from much (except maybe monsters sneaking up from behind the couch?) but yes, that's me inside it :)




Day 168 :: Saturday June 16 :: Montreal

Write a ten-word horror or ghost story. Bonus: illustrate it!

I'm really not a horror kind of person, so went with the 'funny horror' angle – this one is for all the ultimate players out there. For the non-initiated, a Callahan means intercepting a disc thrown by your opponent in your own endzone, resulting in a point. It's rare and very cool and celebrated when you catch it, but not so much when you're the thrower!




Day 167 :: Friday June 15 :: Ottawa

Use only pencils as your material or inspiration today. You can draw with them, or they can be used as construction material, or ...?

Pencil shaving star! Had to do this one quickly as I'm off to Montreal for the weekend shortly. What I learned today: the faster you try to fully run a pencil through the sharpener, the longer it will take; it's much easier to sharpen a bit, break the lead, sharpen a bit, etc. Having to remove broken lead from the sharpener every few seconds really slows you down. 




Day 166 :: Thursday June 14 :: Ottawa

Get medieval. Make a piece or suit of armor. It could be for you, an animal, or any object that needs protection.

This little handmade stuffed critter was a gift from a dear friend; it now has one tiny mini armor made out of tinfoil. Should we call it a collaboration? :)




Thursday, June 21, 2012

Day 165 :: Wednesday June 13 :: Ottawa

Transform a piece of furniture into something other than what it's meant for.

Another uninspired day... Looking around my little apartment, I realized that due to space constraints, most of my furniture already plays double duty – with one of those not necessarily being usual. My bed is my breakfast table, where I can spread out the morning newspaper; my ottoman doubles as my workspace (my coffee table usually holds whatever materials i'll be using); my couch can be the perfect nap spot. I guess this could be viewed as creative use of what little space i have? So while not technically created today, this is good enough for me. It's been a long day and my brain's a little too tired for more.




Monday, June 18, 2012

Day 164 :: Tuesday June 12 :: Ottawa

Use the wind. Make something that incorporates or requires wind to be complete.

I'll admit it took a while to stop thinking about frisbees and things that can act as frisbees: CDs, aluminum plates, cardboard... anything that is flat-ish and light is fair game! Eventually I thought of a kite, and am proud to say this one was made using only four materials: plastic 'balloon holder' sticks (frame), twine (frame, tail), plastic wrap (covering) and a little scotch tape. Even better - for me, anyway - the frame was all attached using knots i learned ages ago in scouts! Unfortunately, it's not very windy today and it was hard to get a good picture. Will have to try again on a windier day.
Close-up of the middle knot:



The finished kite!






Day 163 :: Monday June 11 :: Ottawa

Work with only the items you find in your refrigerator or freezer.

Unfortunately, both my fridge and freezer are quite bare right now, severely limiting my options for today. So I made this little breakfast scramble egg star. Delicious!




Day 162 :: Sunday June 10 :: Ottawa

Create a trap. Think about what you'd want to catch and make something appropriate. It doesn't necessarily have to function or be designed to catch a real thing.

As a general rule, when I'm not away at a tournament, Sunday is my lazy day. Weekdays are packed with work, training, practices and games; Saturday is for errands and grocery shopping. Which leaves Sunday as the perfect time for afternoon naps. Naps lead to dreams... inspiring me to make this little dream catcher. To be fair, I already had the wooden star - but everything else was done by me. Sleep tight!




Day 161 :: Saturday June 9 :: Ottawa

Work with an old calendar or make something into a calendar.

I used a month page from an old Scrawl calendar as cover, and stitched it over pages ripped out of a sketchbook to create this little mini sketchbook with a great message. Looking forward to using it!




Friday, June 15, 2012

Day 160 :: Friday June 8 :: Ottawa

Make a kit for an activity that normally wouldn't need one.

This little kit contains the very basic for an ultimate game: 8 cones (to mark the field) and a frisbee. All you need to add is thirteen of your closest friends and you've got yourself a game!




Thursday, June 14, 2012

Day 159 :: Thursday June 7 :: Ottawa

Use makeup - yours or borrowed, everyday or costume. You can work on skin, paper, or a nontraditional material.

I think I've mentioned before that I'm not at all a makeup kind of girl... so was pretty excited to spot these nail polish strips during a quick run to the corner drugstore. How perfect! (Note: the strips in general had caught my eye before, and i've actually bought some leopard-patterned ones as a Christmas stocking stuffer for my sister; but this star pattern is, according to the display, NEW! Yay!)

Verdict: as the box claims, the strips are easy to use (three cheers for the 'no mess' factor!) and have no drying time, but it took me a few nails to get used to applying them – this to say that painting my nails the traditional way would have been a lot faster. On the bright side, each box contains 16 strips, and since I have short ultimate-player nails, I was able to cut strips in half and 'paint' my finger AND toenails using only 9 strips!




Day 158 :: Wednesday June 6 :: Ottawa

Work with homonyms today (bear/bare, night/knight, sail/sale).

I thought the suggested homonyms brought great imagery to mind, so decided to make little sketches of each. I added the 'ver vert' (green worm) for all my francophone readers :)




Day 157 :: Tuesday June 5 :: Ottawa

Make something that's strong enough to support your own weight and stand on it.

I took this one literally :) This is 'something' that's strong enough to support my weight!




Monday, June 11, 2012

Day 156 :: Monday June 4 :: Ottawa

Work only with toilet paper tubes and/or paper towel tubes today.

I only had one roll... so no pressure, right?? According to Noah Scalin, author of the book i'm following, today is Skull Appreciation Day (more about S.A.D. celebrations here – so much gorgeous art!). And so to celebrate, I cut out a little skull out of my roll. Not perfect, but this was a lot harder than I expected!




Day 155 :: Sunday June 3 :: Ottawa

Use fingerprints/thumbprints to create an image or portrait.

Unfortunately the only ink pad I have is red – but this little panda was still fun to make. I love its little face!




Day 154 :: Saturday June 2 :: Devens, MA

Create a simple board game and play it, ideally with friends.

I wasn't too sure how this assignment would work out, as it seemed quite time-consuming at first, especially for a tournament Saturday out of town (there traditionally isn't much free time between games, team dinner and evening party, and going to bed way past midnight is the norm). Fortunately, we saved time by eating at the hotel and having the team party low-key and on-site as well! I started work on 'The Ultimate Board Game' after dinner, and roommates Heather and Megan quickly caught on and helped me come up with the prompts to include on the game. It was finished post-party, and the three of us plus Fred played an inaugural game before going to bed. It was awesome, and included lots of laughter and teasing.

It's worth noting that we played again on Sunday during down time between games, and that we showed it to the tournament director and to the Five Ultimate crew. They all loved it and took close-up pictures in hopes of being able to play it too!




Day 153 :: Friday June 1 :: Ottawa

Make something light seem heavy.

Oops. I misread the prompt... and made something heavy seem light. Now that I think of it, I'd already done that on Day 56... gaaaah. I blame the lack of sleep!




Day 152 :: Thursday May 31 :: Ottawa

Create a working Rube Goldberg machine. 
Make something using stickers.

Yes, I made up my own prompt! As much as I admire Rube Goldberg machines and am amazed at the thought process behind them, there's simply no way I could create my own tonight. Right now, it's post-work, post-practice, I've packed for this weekend's tournament... yes, it's that late... so I got creative all over my new water bottle instead. The stickers on my bottles are usually very thought-out – and i do accumulate/create stickers for weeks before 'stickering' a new bottle – but I'd never pre-layed them out before. Very happy with the final result... and now, off to bed!


The setup:



And the final result:


Friday, June 8, 2012

Day 151 :: Wednesday May 30 :: Ottawa

Work with crayons. You can mold them, melt them, grate them, color with them, or...?

Hmm, crayons... they made me think of the pile of colouring books i had as a kid, so i decided to go in that direction with this assignment. I did indeed feel like a kid again after printing off a coloring page found online, then digging out some good old Crayola wax crayons and spending a late evening coloring this surfing scene! I don't remember blending/shading with wax crayons this much before – this was definitely a fun challenge, and just might lead to more colouring fun in the near future.




Thursday, June 7, 2012

Day 150 :: Tuesday May 29 :: Ottawa

Make something inspired by and/or that fits on or around a nose (yours or someone else's).

It was fun to enlist three of my BFC teammates pre-practice tonight to make this one! Thanks Katie, Heather and Julie for being such great finger mustache models!




Day 149 :: Monday May 28 :: Ottawa

Work with all the utensils you own today.

One thing was made quite obvious as I worked on today's assignment: over the years, I've accumulated a lot of mismatched cutlery! This was a great occasion to clean out/sort the cutlery drawer, to retire a lot of it and finally take out of the box a set received as a gift a while back. I'm happy to report that the fan was inspired by Whee Gina's fan blog (this week's FB group challenge). And what about the racing bib in the corner, you ask? I ran a 10k last Saturday, and since I forgot to include the bib with my pompoms, I thought that having a fan (pun alert!) beside it was pretty awesome.




Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Day 148 :: Sunday May 27 :: Ottawa


Purple people eater. Work only with purple materials today. Try working on a purple surface for a real challenge.

Remember James, who was a guest creative on Day 55 of the blog? He is a purple champion, and really couldn't resist tackling this purple assignment on my behalf! Here's what he had to say about his creation:

'Hello to all of G-Star's creative journal followers! When G mentioned she had an assignment coming up that required making something out of purple stuff, and that there were bonus points if it was on purple, I was excited to help out with this challenge. Speaking of challenges, given the great majority of my condo is currently in boxes, I had a difficult time finding many of my finest purple things. Thankfully, I hadn't yet packed the super awesome purple duct tape that G gave me as a gift. 

Seeing as how I'm not much of a visual artist, I tried to keep things simple. My goal was to create a purple-clad ultimate player, laying out for a purple disc, into a sea of purple. For purple lovers like myself, the preceding sentence sets a scene of violet nirvana. Beyond thanking G for the opportunity to take part in this project, I must thank my beautiful fiancée, who provided the following quote to keep me in line: "You can't tape his knee at that angle, or you'll break his leg!"'

This rocks – Thanks J!



Day 147 :: Saturday May 26 :: Ottawa

Make something inspired by your favorite movie.

I don't know if I'd call it my favorite movie, but Bring It On is definitely a guilty pleasure. It's one of a handful of movies that I'll watch every time i come across it on tv, and i probably know at least half the movie by heart. Only one thing was suitable to honor this movie: my very own little newspaper scraps set of pompoms. Go Toros!