http://spark.chelseamartens.com/

It has begun... a few years from now I'll have my design degree and be making the world more beautiful place. FOLLOW ME ON THE ABOVE SITE!!!!

Peace Summer

Guess who got a job!?!?!?

I had a total breakdown a few weeks ago because it seemed that no one was hiring and I was picturing myself on welfare. I cried all the way home in my car, and then I went to bed with a bowl of mac n' cheese. A few weeks ago, I flipped the bird to craig's list job postings and got gussied up and just walked store to store dropping the res. I got 3 job offers in 24 hrs. Now I gotta wear all black (I'm more of a colours person... hate all the rabbit and cat hair on my black), BUT I getta make tips again!

Summer is over. That means no more backyard fun with my hairy children with tails. Panda loves to roll in the dirt any chance she gets... I think indooring your cats makes them wanna rebel when they get that chance at nature, but I ain't gonna risk having a smooshed kitty.
No need for a pet door. I've been known to climb in and out of that window, but it really isn't faster than the door that is 6 feet to the right.
See ya summer, time to start working on that Halloween costume. I better get Halloween night off work or I am gonna call in sick.

The "land-dogs"- the little one is deaf and the big one is obsessed with my bunny (also deaf). She'll sit at that window drooling over my bunny for hours.
Who needs grass with you have carpet and wood floors to lay on?

Life's hard for this little one. She may only be 4 lbs, but she rules our house. If it's raining outside, she's inside terrorizing the 12 and 18 lb cats.

No joke, she chases them and eats their food.
PS. I am working on a new site. Just bought chelseamartens.com domain name.... hoping to have it up and running in the next few weeks- gonna kick my creativity into high gear and get super connected in the design world. One year til I am back in school!!!!

Boozy Homemaker

When it's hot outside, I do very little in the kitchen, but the other day I noticed how much earlier it is getting dark. It's only 3 weeks until my FAVOURITE MONTH! I was convinced I could smell the leaves changing and it made me miss my stove top. So I busted out the pots and pans and made an amazing paella (I was just in Spain after all).

It called for white, all I had was a blush. This is the only way I can get Scotty to share some wine with me. Spain was great because my mom actually drank the wine too! Sometimes it's lonely being the only one with boozy breath.

No frozen veggies here folks ('cept the baby corns came straight from a can- any child of the 80's remembers the salad bars of that day... hard bread sticks and baby corns were my "go to"). I even shelled all those peas. Raw English peas are my absolute favourite snack. It was semi painful to sacrifice these for the paella.

Forget flowers. Just bring me fresh, fragrant herbs. Those salt and pepper shakers really do wind-up. Paid way to much for them on a VERY bad day last year. Sometimes wind-up salt and pepper shakers from France are what it takes to stop a person from walking in front of a bus.

Was feeling great after that kick-ass paella that I tore myself away from Scotty's movie selection, Predator 2, and decided to make some muffins. Blueberry, pineapple, coconut muffins.

In an effort to save money, and myself from all the chemicals, I've been intending on cutting back on the drugstore purchases and finding out a way of making a lot of beauty products in my kitchen. In India, women treat their hair with pure olive oil as a hair mask. Why the heck not? I could really go for some Indian hair.

They smelled SO good. I was anal about following the instructions because I RARELY am happy with my baking. I am a master chef and a loser baker. I cut way back on the cooking time because I was using the muffin top pans. At this point, I was feeling good.

...then I took them out of the pan.

Nothing left to do now but finish that bottle of rose.

My hair turned out lovely soft... after I washed it 5 times to get out all the oil.

The Little Painting That Could...

Being that I am a total perfectionaholic, blank canvases frighten me. But I am working on not being such a control freak. Calm down. No one cares if your shirt is dirty or you dishes aren't done.

I bought a couple canvases at the dollar store in January. And they gawked at me until I finally dragged out my oil paints (I have one Emily Carr class under my belt to hold over every one's head)... Not a clue where to start.

Mowgli slept in his Hipster bed and acted like he knew better than I did. Like I care.
Seven year old oil paints. Still good. Still have that ripe smell. Still impossible to clean up (only because I get impatient).

I get a lot of satisfaction from mixing colour.

Rather pleased with the first layer.
Fast forward four months later and I did this to it.
A moth committed suicide on it.

I have been on the prowl for inspiration. Blue canvas is not cutting it. Shame fills me having it on display, but it's all wet, so I can't do anything but try to find an idea. Was not looking to paint anything more than a pattern or abstract form for my first go. Finally, while looking through some art snapshots, and idea came to me. A flurry of dots.

Black Absinthe, from Spain, down the hatchet. That 85% alcohol burns your ears, but it was popular amongst artists and bohemians. I'll take all the bohemian I can get.
I call it "Art in the Garden"- I wore my bikini and lathered myself up with baby oil. Tan+Nature+Art= Damn fine day.
I am obsessed with palish greener turquoise. I want to go to the fabric store and make new curtains and throw pillows for my place (I've named it "The Bat Cave" because it's in the basement and it's where rad happens). So pleasing to the eye when mixed with my peach walls. Need to get a job. Need to get a job.
The brush wasn't quite cutting it. So I did like I do with my makeup- I tossed the brush aside and used my fingers.

Much better. Not so geometric. I copied this pattern, then flipped it around and used all new colours so that the tapering effect wouldn't be only to one side of the painting. I also tried to make use of complimentary colours. Then I took a wood skewer (for kabobs) and snapped the end so it made an "L" shape and then used it to create thinner, more textured lines.

Yup, Masterpiece number one. I think I'll hang it horizontally.

Now the waiting game begins. Tick. Tick. Tick. Oils take soooo long to dry. Oh, and I had blue paint in my hair for 4 days before I noticed. I'm already on my way to loony eccentric artist-ville folks.

It's cheap night at the theaters which means I am off to get some serious Lip envy watching "Salt"- I figure it might motivate me to get reacquainted with an old friend "gym" after I watch her jump around an beat up men. I've always wanted to beat up men. Maybe 2010 is the year I realize that dream.

Shame and Fortune