The Great Graduation Cap Idea

It is that time of the year again: graduation. The time when you go wild and nuts about "yes I did it" moment. The time when you think about traveling the world over, learn about other cultures, perhaps move to a new city and make new friends. It is graduation, the right of passage of I am on my own now, welcome to adulthood. It is graduation, the time you line up in formation with all your classmates, walk across the podium to get that coveted piece of paper, your diploma and hear the roar in the audience. It is graduation, the time to say goodbye to roommates and friends, be excited about your new stage of your life, begin anew and say, let the party begin.

And then there is the cap. I never understood the fascination with cap decoration. Perhaps, it is to explore and share your inner creativity, a competition of sorts between the graduates to see who comes up with the best cap idea; whatever it is, it is fun, entertaining. Mine was plain and boring.

A friend of mine forwarded me a picture of her niece's graduation cap and I thought I would share. She did a pretty good job, a meticulous one I may add. It conveys a story. It doesn't take a genius to know what her major was, teaching is a work of heart. Yes indeed. I love it!

My Art, My Creation, My Work

I am a woman show. I live in a schizophrenic world, no pun intended but my hands are like tentacles extending everywhere.  They move around faster then birds migrating south. I am just creative so they say.

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a fashion designer so I began sewing, to the point I had my own clients, high school friends, a skill I learned from my mother at tender age of 16. I was riding high, I loved it but it all stopped when I moved to the States where you live and breathe ready to wear, and college took over. 

I was creating and it felt great to see my work on others. Undone, I moved on, dreaming on becoming a fabric designer. So, I began sketching while innocently searching for factories with no way of knowing it would come to fulfillment.

As fait would have it, I ended up in the same city the factories were to be located but as it has happened with many factories, they moved to China. However, the world today is our oyster. We live in the digital age where anything and everything is possible as long as you try.

I thought about combining my two loves, well one of many, designing and sewing and create beautiful pieces for a long, long time but kept putting it in the back burner. I had ideas, may ideas and they were that, ideas until now.

It is without further ado that I present you my first installment of my two loves. The fabric you see, it is mine and the bags, I made them from head to toe.  They are ©Ampablue Creations. Hope you love them as much as I loved making them. 

Hazelnut Cookies

One of the things I enjoyed doing while growing up back home, was baking. There wasn’t a cake or cookie I wouldn’t make, there wasn’t a sweet treat I wouldn’t sample, there wasn’t a day that would go by without me munching on something sugary. 

I loved to bake mostly because just as I loved to make them, I also loved to eat them. Just as I finished baking them, as fast I had them on my mouth with no minute to spare. 

It was a fun and relaxing activity around the house. It kept me occupied and out of trouble but the main objective, it reduced costs to a fraction of that of a shop, I could tailor the recipe to my liking, besides, it was the thing to do. We would rather make it ourselves then buying them.  Hmm imagine serving your visitors homemade, freshly baked goodies? The aroma... I can hear the the tambourine playing. 

So, this weekend I was hit by a baking pan. I had a urge and did something have not done in a long time, baking. I can envision the folks at my local supermarket rattled up, hands on their head saying "oh no" about the news. 

With some time to burn and feeling domestic, I made some hazelnuts cinnamon cookies in a whimsy. Yes, I did and they turned out mighty tasty thank you. But something change on my way to      in the process however with my munching habits; times have changed. The cookies did not square straight to my mouth but to a basket in my kitchen with tea and coffee looking fixedly at them saying “pick me, pick me”. They didn’t, I didn’t, we did not. I have it down now, I laid low. I was motivated not to upset the scale but watch it and not to appear in the love handles wall of fame. It was fun I may add, liberating and a delight. Loved it. 

____  ''  ____

RECIPE 

- Courtesy of epicurious.com

• 1/2 cup hazelnuts (2 oz)
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• 1 soupspoon cinnamon
  

PREPARATION

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Toast hazelnuts in a shallow baking pan until fragrant and skins begin to loosen, about 6 minutes. Rub nuts in a kitchen towel to remove any loose skins (some skins may not come off) and cool to room temperature.

Pulse nuts and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until nuts are finely ground, then add flour and a pinch of salt, pulsing until combined. Add butter and pulse until dough just forms a ball. Divide dough in half, then roll dough on a work surface lightly dusted with sugar and flour into 2 (11-inch-long) logs (each about 1 inch wide). Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 hour.

Cut logs crosswise into 1/2-inch slices and arrange rounds 2 inches apart on 2 baking sheets.

Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until bottom edges just begin to turn pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet 2 minutes. Place remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a small dish and dip tops of cookies in it, then cool sugared cookies on a rack.

Happy baking! 

WiFi, It Is Art!

“Luis Hernan set up a system that turned the wireless signals around him into colorful, ghostlike images using long-exposure photography, allowing people to see the strength of the signals around them.”  Yes, it is art. Have fun. The works of artist Luis Hernan. Click here for some more art.

Starbucks and Moi

Starbucks had a contest going until May 11 and it said, “design a beautiful cup and if we like it, we may feature it in our next tumbler.” So, I did. Here are pictures of the three designs I submitted. Miracles do happen, I heard. So, good luck to me I guess. #WhiteCupContest

Presentation #1

Presentation #2

Presentation #3

Working In Progress

Stay tuned. It is going to be marvelous, interesting and fun. Just me using my creativity and pleasing mother nature. Recycling is the name of the game!

I look Better With Braids!

Someone told me today, he is glad my braids are back on. He looked at me, gave me a kiss on the cheek and said I look pretty. I said thank you!

I look Better In A Fro!

Someone told me today she likes my Angela Davis fro. She was happy to see me. Thank God, I no longer have the braids. She was thinking about the weight on my head, they must have been heavy . I said no and she replied, oh!

I look Better In A Ponytail!

Someone told me today that I look better on a ponytail. Yeah, that's right, a ponytail. Case closed. The customer is always right, right?! But wait, hold your horses right there missy, who's talking to you horsy?! I heard the tail begging me to please not put him on a corner, oops my bad, on a pony. So, I didn't. I let him be, free as a cucumber to rejoice his glory. So there, he is a tail in a pony and feeling great about it. And... Because I am happy!

Just Me In The Mood + Face

Guess who? I love her face and next thing I know, I began sketching it. Hope I did her right!

Coming Soon To a Theater Near You

I am sitting here racking my brain up, torturing myself to the max, going around the circles with my tails between my legs, searching for a solution to no avail. Call me crazy!

The thing is I have been commissioned to create a new hand painted bag. The client is not looking for a specific design or color but a bag, nothing less, nothing more.

The fact of the matter is that my creative juices have been down in the pits lately. The more I beat myself up, the more I seem to hit a hole in the ground. It is just not there, the inspiration button seems to have been turned off temporarily.

It has been that pitiful but then, suddenly, without a care in the world, a light bulb went on in my head. It donned on me that I did not have to go very far. I mean, I have been creating these fabrics for years, unruly painting like a factory assembly line and storing them in the closet somewhere, waiting for the angels to come down from heaven.

They were intended to adorn your beautiful home in the form of decorative pillows, which I did with a few, click here but flashback a few years, when the owner is out, the cats will come out to play. So,  playing we are, playing we will. Stay tuned for a few interesting things coming soon to a theater near you.

The Making Of Crazy About Face

It begins with a sketch somewhere. I am known to not discriminate. I sketch wherever I can lay my hands on; there may be on a piece of paper, a napkin, a leave, whatever...

The sketch is then blown up at Kinkos and traced into fabric. I use cotton but have also used silk, one of the most strenuous fabric to work on.

Now, this is what I consider to be one of the most complex of the steps, the selection of the colors. I seldom use the basic color. I must confess, I never select them in advance, never sit to arrange them beforehand. It is just not me. The color combination comes in tandem as I move along. Sometimes, they are painted on so to harmonize, others are situated "as asked". You will see what I am referring to later. They are always mixed to create my own color. So, the motto, no one piece is the same because the colors can never be recreated. They could but a hue will be a tad altered somewhere.

I was drawn first to the leave, why I don't know. I just did since it is in the middle. The color was later replaced with a more suitable green. 

I did not put much thought into these three colors. They harmonized so perfectly that everything else took off from there. They served as a base and the remainder of the colors were worked around them. 

The face begins to take shape. Other colors are introduced. 

Much of the face has been done but clearly, there is just something wrong with this picture. It is too heavy, dusky and not gracious at all.

Yes, his nose is no longer brown but placid. What a difference a nose makes?

Add the lining.

Tack and sew all the layers, there are at least three, together.

And voila. You got yourself a 64"x37" tapestry!

And The Way It Was…

My art work was in display last weekend among many other artists.

 Decorative pillows on white fabric and adorned with silk.

 The newest creation. I am yet to name it. 

I love it when my work peeks anyone’s interest. It is a mix of paint, embroidery, fabric.. it is not quilt but tapestries.

They wanted to know if it was hand painted or I used something else because of the precise lines. 

It takes practice. Practice, practice, practice…

Other Artists

He uses recycled engineering fuses to make the trees and now, he began making wall decor with zippers. Cool idea right? 

Getting ready for a show this weekend. Yes, these are not ordinary paints, they are fabric paints and that’s my muse. 

Moving On Up To The…

And I am moving on up to the East Side… Nope, I am not the Jefferson’s. It is the in and outs of readying for an event.

 My schizophrenic work table. Yes, I am even surprised I am able to find a thing or got anything done but this is my “normal”.

It Takes A Village!

There is something about getting ready for a show. It takes a village. The boxes are made. The products are in place. The bags are packed but one is never ready. There is always a last minute "thing" that pops out of nowhere and makes your head spin but it is never The End. You get up, dust off the feathers and "deal" with it. Yes, deal with it. One can have an online store, Facebook account, Twitter and all the nine yards but nothing like mingling, fraternizing with your supporters, those who appreciate your craft. This is the reason why we try to participate at shows and events as much as we can so people, they can sample your work, get to know you.

Mayhem...

 All packed!

So, we are inviting you in the Miami/Ft.Laudardale/Palm Beach area, to come on down to Miami Lakes Garden Club Fall Craft Show tomorrow from 10AM - 4PM. Enjoy arts, crafts, music, food. Entrance and parking is free. See you there!

The New Marriage in Louis Vuitton World

Louis Vuitton latest collaboration is Japanese modern artist Yayoi Kusama. The artist took polka-dot to new heights in their new collaboration, the new collection officially title, Infinitely Kusama. The collection will be available in October in all Vuitton's 463 boutiques but also a few Kusama only pop-up shops as indicated below.

Click here to view the collection
Click here to view artist Yayoi Kusama body of work.

Can you see yourself in there? Maybe not so fun for the lightheaded people.

Dots dots everywhere...

Funky huh?!

I love the color combination. Some people would call it carnival, others will call it just perfect!

The bags are mainly Vuitton classics redone in Monogram Vernis leather with Kusama’s signature spots, and the shoes just artistically created.

 I wonder if she will do any jewelry. 

The shoes are also a delight. 

Where is the party at? Too bad I can't parade the headscarf at the office!

To the park I am not but to the office I am. 

The world of Yayoi Kusama. Do you see yourself in any of the pieces?