On Vacation

I hope everyone had a safe Fourth of July! We had a nice, quiet one (well as quiet as the Fourth can possibly be). This year, the Fourth marked the first day of our vacation. I'll be gone for a week or so. And hopefully I'll be back with lots of great pictures to share.

See you next week!

A Year in the Making

When I first started my multi-media design degree, my father asked me to do some illustrations of his antique cars. That was well over a year ago I believe, and I finally finished the last one a few days ago. (He's been waiting very patiently for them.) It has been a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I used different programs and techniques for each one.

The first illustration was of his 1941 Plymouth. I used Adobe Illustrator CS3. I had only been working with the program for about 4 months maybe, and this was the first time I had used the gradient mesh tool for anything. I didn't even know it existed until I leafed through my books looking for a tool that would give the metal a shiny, 3-D look to it. I like the final result, but I can definitely see where some improvements could be made.

Next, I worked on his 1955 Desoto. Again, I used Adobe Illustrator CS3 and the gradient mesh tool. Behind it, I placed a photo my mom had taken of the Board Walk in WildWood, New Jersay. I used the live trace tool on the background photo. This one is for sale in my etsy shop. You can order it "as-is" or I'll customize the license plate for you.



Around Christmas time last year, I finally finished his 1967 Baracuda. I decided to switch to Adobe Photoshop CS3 for this illustration. I used the pen tool for the ouline, using different size brushes to stroke the lines. Then I painted the body and other details on. This one is my favorite of all the illustrations I did for my dad. Maybe because I used to drive this car once upon a time. And I like the angle of the photo I used.



And finally, just last week, I finished the last illustration of his 1937 Desoto. I guess it is appropriate that this is the last one, since it is the first car he bought. I remember when he first brought it home so many years ago when I was a kid. It was a rusty, decrepit looking thing that I thought should have been left in the junk yard. But, with a lot of time and hard work, he rebuilt the thing into a shiny, new car. I used the same technique in Photoshop that I used for the '67 on this car.



I like using Photoshop for the cars better. I like the look of them better. And, I think my decision might also be influenced by the fact that I really hate working with the gradients in Illustrator. It is a long, hard and frustrating process, especially when the gradients don't work out the way I think they should. And the wireframes always throw me off for some reason. I probably just need more practice with them.

And I do take custom orders. So if you have a classic car buff in your family who would like to have his or her car turned into art, just send me a message using the convo feature in my etsy shop. Or just drop me an email. I promise I will have yours finished in under a year!

Featured Etsy Blogger - Lazy T Crochet

This month's featured etsy blogger is Lazy T Crochet - a shop that has been in my favorites for quite some time now. She has a way with yarn! And everything in her shop looks so comfy and soft.

This Terra Cotta Capelet is one of my favorite pieces in her shop. It is so soft and feminine and could be worn on cool summer evenings and warm fall days.

I also love this Green Apple Cloche hat. I love the color, the style and the black, satin bow on the side.

This Felt Wrist Cuff is a fun accessory to add to your wardrobe.

And make sure you check out all the other great items in her etsy shop and her blog.

Ch...ch...ch...changes!

As you can see, I've made a few changes around here. And more are coming. I'm trying to figure out how to add a third column to make the sidebars a little more organized.

All these changes are inspired by the new Abracapocus website that is coming soon. And I was tired of the black and neon. I think it fit my former Rock-a-Baby Clothing business, which had a bold, retro vibe to it, but the bold colors didn't seem to go well with my new venture, which is more inspired by nature.

So what do you think of the new look?

Weather Report

Weather Report, originally uploaded by abracapocus_pocuscadabra.

I woke up a few mornings ago and found this weather forecast on my nightstand.

It seems I have a budding meteorologist in the family.

First Day of Summer - Water Fight!

We celebrated the first day of summer with a good old fashioned water gun fight.

Here is my son sneaking up on his unsuspecting sister.

At the end, they joined forces and came after me.

Chuck retreated to safety.

Summertime, Summertime, Sum, Sum, Summertime

While we still have two days to go for the official start of summer, as my son likes to remind me, it's close enough for me to declare summer offically here. Especially with the hot and humid temperatures we saw here today!! And to kick off the beginning of the summer season, we wandered around our town's Potato Festival. I used the terms "wandered" and "festival" lightly, because our town is only a few blocks wide, and the Festival only occupied one of them.

But we had fun just the same. My daughter picked up this really cool, old school, homemade toy from one of the craft vendors. It's spinners are mesmerizing and it kept the kids entertained for awhile while I tried to relax from our wanderings.



We also enjoyed some homemade sasparilla, jumped in the bounce house and took a train ride of the town courtesy of the Lion's Club.

Another one of my favorite summertime activities is gardening. Interesting side note, it seems that the amount of gardeners has increased this year due to the recession. I'm hoping this apparent side affect of the recession sticks around. It's such a relaxing hobby, at least for me. And I love being able to just walk out into my back yard to pick some fresh veggies and herbs for dinner.

My garden is doing good. The carrots are getting their leafy tops.



My sunflowers are getting huge; some need to be staked because they are getting droopy. As I've said before, this is the first time I've successfully grown sunflowers from seed, so this especially exciting for me.



My second attempt at peas has been slightly more successful. I've gotten 1.5 of the 4 rows I planted. It should be enough for one stir-fry. I must have picked a bad seed pouch or something, because I've never had this much trouble growing peas.



I already have a few zucchini that should be ready in a few days for the grill.



Speaking of the grill.....on a final note, I'll share an easy side dish that is a favorite in our house. It is perfect to serve with your grilled steaks or chicken using fresh herbs from your garden.

Ingredients
Basil - chopped
Oregano - chopped
Handful of Parsley - chopped
Thyme
4 cloves of Garlic - minced
Salt
Pepper
Butter
4 large baking potatoes
4 squares of Aluminum Foil

Thinly slice the potatoes, but do not go all the way through. They should look like an accordian when you are done. Place them on their foil square.



Divide the herbs, except the parsley, into 4 equal portions. Sprinkle them on the potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1 TBSP of butter to the top of each potato. Wrap up in the foil and place them on the grill for about 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of your potatoes).



Right before you serve them, sprinkle with the parsley. How easy is that!!