Scissor Quirk.

Oh, gosh...

Seems I can't update regularly lately! lol. You'd think being here at home I'd manage to, but I've been busy trying to fight myself out of vacation mode all week...it's a fight to wake up early, to get work done, to workout, to make yummy meals. lol. I think the sleeping in this weekend will recharge me, and Monday should be easy-peasy. Here's hoping I can get back at er!

I have started designing my portfolio website/updating my demo reel, though (which means sifting through the last 2 years of work! agh! A little overhwleming...) and was drawing some of the elements for my website yesterday (fun!). This also means I need to learn to web design, which I kinda know the basics of, so it should be a good challenge! I switched the shop over to it's new location this week, too. I have a ton of other stuff to share, too, including vacation pictures, that I'll be updating over this week (I promise - like, for reals this time!).

Anyhoo - saw "The Time Travellers Wife" yesterday, a movie that I was both dreading and curious about, cuz the book has been my read-over-and-over again favorite for the last many years. I had to see it, but didn't really want to see it, but did want to see it - you know?

I'm not really an Eric Bana fan (he's just not Henry to me, dude), but I love Rachel...she was great in the movie! They had zero chemistry, as far as I was concerned, too...lol. The movie skips a lot of important back-story, of course, and the psychological stuff. Not to mention, the history of Claire and Henry is only touched on, and it seems to focus on the downside of their relationship more than the love part of it all, which really sucked! If I'm thinking 'all they do is fight! Why are they together?', there's something amuck from the book. lol. All in all, it was pretty good, though...and touching, of course. But the book is a zillion times better on every level!

(I did, however, love the set designs - Claire's first apartment is lovely with it's crackling walls, retro furniture, and bright blue couch. :) And the house is gorgeous...so lovely!! Make sure you peek around at their homes when you watch it!!)



Have you seen the movie? What did you think?

Anyhoo - off I go to work a little, fill an order, stop by the post office, burn some cds/make atc's for a fun swap, order promo stuff, upload photos, go out for dinner with hubby & see "Inglorious Basterds" - love Sundays!! :) Have a happy one! 

Colorful Moments & Contests!

Well, hello friends! :)

Back from vacation, I am! And back at 'er! My list to-do is daunting after being away for a week, and I have *so* much to share (pictures, stories, some new scrapbook pages, new shop news...) but it's all super-fun, so lets get to it! 

Anyhoo - in a mad rush before I left for Victoria/Tofino last Friday I posted up my (just-barely-finished-it-in-time) contest entry to Etsy's "A Handmade Moment" contest, it's called "Colorful Moments/Handmade World". The first round of the contest is counted by video views, so instead of posting the super-sharp, high-quality version here on the blog, you have to hop-skip over here to see it!

Here's a peek at it, via some still-frames:

 

 

 

I animated the whole thing in a program called Flash - every frame of the 15-second video was hand-drawn by myself. It was actually the first time I've drawn in flash with my wacom tablet (usually I build pieces and move em around...which is usual, too) so I had fun boiling them! :)

When I was done animating, I composited it in AfterEffects - added some lovely textures and shadows (which are hard to see on there, but you know...lol). So please take a peek and tell me what you think!

And, the CONTEST!!

(this looks a little daunting, but is really not.)

I'm also holding a contest starting today to help get the word out about my new shop location and, err, contest entry! If you think my video is cute and would like to help spread the love, or just plain want to win a $25 gift certificate to spend (yep, one lucky person will win $25 to spend on anything they want from Bubbly Shnooks! What a help that would be Christmas shopping, hey?)

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Blog about this blog post/video announcement (you must include one of the still-frame photos and this direct link to my video on etsy.tv in your blog post), or if you go here you can generate some code to embed the video directly into a blog post (cool, huh?). Then, leave a comment on this post or e-mail me with the link to your blog post so I know you entered. 

2. Send an e-mail around to your close friends/family (including one of the still-frame photos, if possible, and this direct link to my video on etsy.tv). Make sure you e-mail it to me, as well so I know you sent it and can enter you in the draw: michelle.a.clement@gmail.com

3. Put one of the two cute Widgets (up on the top side of my blog, under 'Contests & Widgets') on your blog and link it directly to my video on etsy.tv, and then leave me a link on this post/e-mail me with a link to the place you've put them. (They only need to stay up until August 31st!)

4. Do anything and everything else that I haven't listed that you think qualifies as an entry - it pretty much just has to link directly to my video on etsy.tv, and then send a copy to me so I can enter you in the draw! :)

RULES:

The contest is using views to tabulate the first round, so it must link directly to here (have I said that enough?? ha ha...) to qualify as a contest entry! Please include your contact information (your full name and e-mail address) with your entry. You can do any one, or all of, the options above to enter. The more you do, the more times you'll be entered. (Yay!) The contest runs from August17th/18th until August 31st at 12 am, PST. At which time, all the names of those who participated will be entered into a random draw for a $25 gift certificate for Bubbly Shnooks and perhaps an extra goodie or two!  

And, please, don't spam people! I'm just trying to get the word out, I don't want anybody to be annoyed! Only e-mail contacts you know personally, and don't use Etsy conversations or abuse twitter spam policies or anything! Simply say something like, "Check out this cute video Michelle Alynn made for Etsy's Handmade Moment contest! I think it's so cute!", and let them know about this post, as well, so they can enter the contest, too! Share the love!

I just want to generate a lil buzz, since we're down to the last 3 weeks of the contest and I posted mine but a week ago! lol...Need to make up for 2 lost months. And, besides, you guys are lovely. I need to thank you somehow! :)

And if you have any, any questions at all, or need help e-mailing/posting/widget-ing, please feel free to e-mail me and I'll help you out! michelle.a.clement@gmail.com

Okay, til next time. Happy contest-ing!! :)

Outties, again.

I always type 'outties', like 'we're out' - but then it reminds me immediately of belly buttons. Hah.

Anyhoo - random! I am outties - tomorrow morning we head off to Victoria for a few days to hang with my cousin/do random touristy stuff, and then on Tuesday we head out to Tofino to go camping for three nights, and then we're staying in a cute lil cabin-on-the-beach for the next two nights close to Tofino, still, and then we grab a bus back on Sunday. Whew! Yay!

This is the longest trip Z and I have actually planned/taken together alone - usually if it's over 3-4 days, we're with the parents. :) he he. Anyhoo - fun! We've both been looking forward to it all summer!!

Hopefully it'll be a lot like this, from our trip last year, if the weather holds out:

 

 

And this one just made me laugh, flipping through the photos from last year - lol. There's just no way to tame your hair, those ferrys just motor and the wind gets crazy! :) This is my defeated, okay-it-won't-look-good-and-its-the-twentieth-photo smirk...ha ha. Reminder not to do my hair tomorrow, though. :)

And in other news....the shop is moving on August 17th!!

The new location will be here: www.bubblyshnooks.etsy.com

It will be closed from August 8th-17th, too, cuz I won't be here to fill orders. :)

I have a brand shiny new Monster print to share (yay!) as well as some cute new sticky notes! I also finished animating my video today, but was having a crazy hard time getting a good quality video to upload, thus it's still in limbo. You may see it in the Etsy Handmade contest while I'm gone - lol - but I'll be holding a fun giveaway and will blog about it/post it when I get back.

Goodness, I feel like I have so, so much fun stuff to blog about! Vacation pics, projects-in-the-works - Eeeek!! I'm practically bursting at the seams to blog about it all, but that's kinda crazy. There will be lotsa updates when I get back (do I always say that? lol) cuz I'll be getting back into a routine and making lotsa fun stuff. :) So, til then, enjoy the summer!! Happy day!

Hello, hello!

Dude. Camping was awesome on the long weekend! :) I'll post a lil post about it as soon as I can - I wish I could now - but alas, no time to upload/edit pictures or write as much as I want about it.

We went to this rad place on Mayne Island on Friday afternoon for a few days - got there, and realized the awesome site was very cool and super close to the center of town. Yay! We got to hit the local farmers market, walked around half the island and stopped at beaches and lighthouses along the way, and see rocks full of seals, otters, and just generally enjoy being so close to the ocean in the sun. :) Ahh...the perfect way to spend 3 days, I think! Pictures as soon as I can!

This week is nutty at home, now - we got home from camping Monday and are leaving this coming Saturday for a week in Victoria/Tofino...Z and I both have lotsa work both all day and extra stuffs to do at night, so I'm pretty sure I'll be up til 3 or 4 for the next few nights finishing my deadlines! lol...I haven't unpacked my camping bag, even - probably won't til I'm packing it up this Friday! Agh!

It's just buckle-down, drink lotsa coffee, sleep a lil, and get my animated video done before I go this week!

The easiest way for me to focus on work is to get some new tunes, so at least I can share my new faves: those tunes that just make you wanna close your eyes and jam and get totally lost in the awesomeness that them. These are those for me, right now. My playlist:

"And Then You" - Greg Laswell

"Over and Over" - Rachael Yamagata (am also digging her "Duet", and "Don't"...well, okay. That whole album just rocks.)

"Sweet Sweet Heartkiller" - Say Hi to Your Mom

"I Sing I Swim" - Seabear

"What We'll Do" - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Back to my work, I go. I have some store news to send out/announce, a painting and some new sticky notes to share, some scrapbook pages, a giveaway, etc. but most of it will come after my week away - hang in there! I'll be back and posting creative goodies consistently again in no time...(there's lots piled up that I haven't had time to share here yet!!) Just gotta finish my project for now. Thanks for popping in today!

Any new favorite songs of yours that I can add to my list?