daisybones | Art and Life by Heidi Richardson Evans

Tattoo Evolution

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I'm still working on the Ganesha tattoo. It's getting close but I'm not quite there.

The text reads Strange Beautiful Daughter Belonging to Ganesha, if my Sanskrit is correct. And I have a degree in Sanskrit from Google Fu University.

Secretly, this is my favorite part: there were a couple of translations of strange, and I picked the one that in English alphabet phonics is anya:)

Because of Anya.

Treasure Nest Tuesday #38: The Grown-Up Necklace

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:49:00 +0000

I bought this at my shop during the Part Time College Years. The necklace of black & silver beads appealed to me- it WANTED me. I resisted at first. The necklace has an aura I call Old Hippie, in contrast to the goofy hippie cuteness of say, Willow's sweaters from season three. And that was so my look, on the off-goth days.

But, I decided that at age 28? 29? that I was ready to embrace maturity, and my purchase of the necklace foreshadowed the impending grown up degree-earning and subsequent impregnation:D

So- Old Hippie it is.

My New Baby

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I'd like to introduce my new sketchbook:

It's handmade, coptic-stitched from old bingo boards by Somavenus at Etsy. (The photo above is from her listing.) I love her book as well as her packaging and goodies so much I collaged in her mailing label:

I think it's fascinating that most Etsy sellers I've bought from have handwriting similar to my own. I PROVE graphology. It's a thing.

Halloween. Plus Sunshine & Rainbows. Seriously.

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:33:00 +0000

So I'm driving from my little brick mess on the West Side toward my neat little shop on the East End, and I'm in a melancholic & poetic mind space. Being me, it seemed significant and beautiful to be driving toward the dawn on Samhain. Adding to the drama of the moment was a blanket of cloud cover that created this perfect, soft horizon of shade that opened to the east. Almost happy with the sweetness of the moment, I parked my Golden Oldie and made an effort to summon a bit of lightness to my mood. (I'm heavy with losing daylight and lives and such.)

I got out of the car, turned to the west and said to the sky: "No. Fucking. Way." Then, like a madwoman, I laughed out loud as raindrops plopped and I snapped a phone camera image of a double rainbow from a dawning sun on Halloween morning.

No fucking way.

I am still on a cuteness buzz as I mull over my weekend plans and wait for a team of volunteers. Tonight my old circle's doing their Sabbat and I might attend. I'm feeling more like a quiet night in bed with a Burton movie and my new sketchbook with the girl leaning into my knees. Tomorrow, my friend is hosting a Dia de los Muertos party, and I'll need to fix up some things about Mom, Grandma, and Holly for the altar.

I feel like being in a gothic cathedral alight with candles under a Virgin Mother with open arms and a bleeding heart. My pagans might bring the same awe/peace so I might listen to this need for ritual and do circle.

It's time to start my morning of good, satisfying work. Maybe that will ground me. Maybe the mystical twists of death-magic-grief and rainbows will stay with me.

Remember your dead, and watch the sun rise, peak, and set as it starts to crawl into its winter chill.

Mourning

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:19:00 +0000

The thing about depression is that I think of it as synonymous with sadness. But then, when real grief comes, I realize depression is a numbness. Sorrow hurts. It hurts so bad it feels like a shattering, a shredding. Just a broken, open lost feeling. Shapeless.

My center is scattered to winds that chill then warm and distract with beauty for a moment. Then, when the air shifts away and the world is less autumn-beautiful, the pain is worse by comparison.

Tiny, stabbing grievings so sudden I can't brace myself for them.

I'll fall apart if I try to eulogize Holly or speak of her. When my mourning settles I can and will paint the beautiful picture of her she deserves.

Wow! With the Busy...

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:11:00 +0000

So. It's my day "OFF" in which I have already

fetched 4:00 am milk, promised Molly I will explain the Easter Bunny and why she (what!? It's SO Pagan) is not a man/person like Sandy Claws (thanks Tim!) and why we can only pretend it is Easter tomorrow but it isn't really but yes Halloween is soon but no, alas! not tomorrow.
Dredged sleepy baby from bed to cartoons to tub. Was Daphne and she was Scooby as we washed up.
Won argument that it IS too chilly for wet hair and blow-dried baby hair.
Dropped baby at preschool.
Popped in store for two minutes, stayed 30.
Found WICKED SWEET parking on Capitol and parked The Liberal Propaganda Machine, as Shane has dubbed Goldie.
Had an orgasm eating pumpkin pie at Taylor Books. Almost really.
Planned out Staff Meeting for tomorrow.

Now, I just have to:

Pick up the Bird.
Convince her that yes I AM working but not at the Workshop, which is what she calls the store:) Cause it's a shop, where I work. Duh, Mommy!
Throw down with some logo design for a candidate for local office. (Leading Shane to sigh: More liberal propaganda! Although compared to me & my car this darling guy is quite the moderate.)
Catch up on reading a poetry manuscript for a cover illustration.
OMGBlogTreasureNestTuesdaySHITtotallyForgot.
Check in with builder buddy making a SWEET object that is a SECRET for a show called ArtMares, which is SICK. The West Coast kinda sick meaning, like... wonderful. Sick referring to both the show and the object.

So: I'm off like my dog chains at the NIN show security gate in 1995.(True story: Hid 'em under trash bin & they were waiting for me after, in my lame chain-free outfit that once was vaguely bondagey & industrial but was then just a plain white boy's tee with black leggings and 200 pound boots.)

Happy, Nay: Blissful Client

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:03:00 +0000

I have a banner for The BlissChick, my dear sistermama Christine!

I'm so in love with it I got freaking jealous & had to spend some time doodling for my Ganesha tattoo:) Sketchy post soon.

Treasure Nest Tuesday #37: Creepy Porcelain Doll

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:26:00 +0000

'Tis the season. Shane is horrified by my return to Creepy Ass Babydoll Art. He begs me to focus on the big (doll free) project for the upcoming Artmares show. I may not have time to get my goth on with my new dollies for the show, but some Darkness shall be made, I vow.

I was looking for cool old picture frames or signs with interesting typography to cut up, but as I passed by this creature, I was instantly both scared by her crazy eyes and in love. She's porcelain, too. Her torso's stuffed with old Tawainese whatever but her head and hands and wee Mary Jane-clad feet are tinkly precious porcelain. And look at her expressive, questioning brows. She is awesome.

Isn't it wicked how her bow is like a big red X gash?

RAWR. Fear teh crazeh doll lady.

Treasure Nest Tuesday #36: Happy Feet

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:32:00 +0000

I decided it was cool enough to break out real, enclosed, toe-hating shoes. My crazy long monkey toes don't like to be caged in, but this is the most comfortable pair of non-sandals I've ever owned in my life. They're Danskos from Past & Present, from the first time I worked there.

Shane & I took the Bird to the playground for a photo date, so I played with my feet for blog fodder and took some fun photos of the girl, too.

The worn-in-ness of these shoes is awe-inspiring. Comfort, even for these toes:

It also just now occurred to this mother of a three and a half year old child that my feet are no longer pregnancy-swollen and I can wear my toe rings again. Lovely. Just in time for the cold. Then after I re-adorned my toes, I got tickled with myself that I have more jewelry on my nose & toes than in my ears & vowed to shop soon for some surgical steel piercer studs to dot my scarred lobes. They were way pierced back when Kurt was alive and my shoes weighed twenty pounds.

Can We Eat the Banana Moon?

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:56:00 +0000

Shane surprised me this afternoon at the shop, bringing Molly in to visit, and then taking her across to the little playground at the Kanawha County Board of Education. She loves it, "The Playground in the City." Shane left to recover from a day of meetings. Molly stayed with me, drawing swirls on scrap paper while I closed the shop. There is a satisfying simplicity and familiarity at my old/new job: clicks and clacks as the register prints the end-of-day report, the straightening of hangers. Counting change.

Molly and I loaded up into Goldie and went to a Faculty Show reception at WVSU. Molly announced that she'll go to school there too on the condition that I attend with her. We chatted up professor-friends and the Bird fell in mad love with this playful women in a great scarf who played peek-a-boo and chase in the gallery.

Paula (my favorite local artist and former grader of my late &/or unfinished paintings, drawings, and prints) asked about my book project, and I told her about the other projects that are more immediate than Elephant Girl. She recommended Fun Home. Must. Read. Now.

Then we drive home. Molly observes the Banana Moon hanging in the sky. "Can we eat it?" We brainstorm ways we could get up to the moon to nosh on the big banana. Then she asks how Jesus made the moon. I explain that mama thinks an amazingly cool thing called the Big Bang made the moon and earth and Everything only please don't ask me how because I honestly cannot grok it myself, much less translate to three-year-old-ese. I tell her the moon is so beautiful that people all through time made magical stories about it. I then boast that I can show her why the moon looks like a crescent sometimes.

In the driveway, I show her a streetlight: "That's the sun." I tell her my face is the moon. I cast a half shadow with my hand. She is delighted and yells, "MOMMY! You're JESUS!"

I laugh until tears come, and summon the energy to write after what seems like months. I'm busy, I'm drowning in clothes, and I'm happy. Goodnight.

Treasure Nest Tuesday #35 Guest Post! Garden Heidi's Glass Menagerie

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:14:00 +0000

Heidi writes at Hortus Deliciarum, and is a dear member of friends met online during our pregnancies. She is beautiful, brilliant, and has a lovely first name. I'm so happy to feature her lovely collection as my first Guest Treasure post:)

Heidi's Glass Menagerie

Apologies to Tennessee Williams, whose play I have never read. The
title, however, fits beautifully.

I'm not much of a collector, except of books. I have lots of books.
Notice that I do not say "too many" because there is no such thing.

I have decided, however, that I'm going to collect wee glass animals.
They are small, portable, and not particularly fragile if
well-wrapped. Small, portable, and not particularly fragile are very
good things when one moves internationally as much as I do!

With no further ado, I present my collection.

The Trail of Snails. These were my first acquisition, the kind gift
of a friend whose mother owns an apartment in Venice (the bliss!).
She picked these up for me.

The littlest snail...

Violet was my next purchase. I was tempted by the little orange one
but she matched my snails better. I should have taken a picture with
a quarter in it to show size...but she could quite happily fit on top
of that quarter.

Chanticleer is my most recent purchase, from a stall at the Anacortes
Arts Festival. He looked too cheerful and colorful to pass up.

It's taken me something like five years to amass this collection. At
that rate, this should remain an entirely manageable collection.

Maybe.

Daisy-Heidi's note: The snails are pure glassy awesome. WOW!

Business Cards Winners Announced

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Congratulations, Melissa and Nell! Thanks so much to Digital Room and the UPrinting Blog Sponsorship Program. I'll contact my winners to confirm emails, and HOLY COW I have another giveaway opportunity to share with you soon, to promote a great new fun product.

Meanwhile, I've been a flittery, surface-skimming blogger of late. I need to get some (metaphorical) meat on my (daisy)bones. I had a great doctor's visit just now, and in light of the cultural obsession with health care right now, the time seems right to write about our rights. To health care. To choice, to access, to have every person valued, cared for, respected, healed.

Treasure Nest Tuesday #34: Cozy Rainbow Shawl

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:38:00 +0000

I'm moody tonight, which is Monday. (But I'm guessing you won't see this until tomorrow anyway so I'm not even gonna bother post-dating.) To pacify the cranky disposition, I grabbed the coziest item I own.

Here I am fake smiling at Shane through the Rebel. No I'm not wearing pants, but I had long shorts on and they looked stupid and I couldn't be bothered to compile a whole outfit (see above re: cranky) so I'm on the internet pants-less now.

This is much more authentic. Also, it is an homage* to the Souster, who loves to wear big, soft sweaters with turtle necks and then retreat into them. I personally hate turtlenecks, but strangely I do love shawls and scarves around my neck.

Fringy shawl has teh fringe:

Soothing shawl from Mountain Mission's shop at 3631 7th Ave, Charleston, WV.

* I hate writing homage to a woman. There should be a word like femmage. And when people say HOMMIDGE, it hurts my brain. I wanna hear the French, people: "Oh-mazh."

Pride Tees!

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:28:00 +0000

When I checked the mail this evening, I found a lovely 'thank you' letter for the Blogathon! And prezzies!!! From Rainbow Pride of WV! As you can see, the smaller tee is just a bit too large for the wee one, so I'm thinking a giveaway? We'll see...

I also have in my possession a lovely, HUUUUGE coffee mug with the WV Pride logo. WIN!

Thank y'all so much!

Greeting Card Winners!

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Thanks for participating, and thanks to Digital Room for sponsoring this great giveaway! I'll notify Sarah & Megan myself as well, of course, and then they'll get an email from Digital Room. Check out Digital Room's online printing services- custom greeting cards, custom postcards, & more.

Don't forget to sign up to win 500 Free Business Cards!

Treasure Nest Tuesday #33: iMicrowave

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:06:00 +0000

Our microwave is a tiny, sassy little thing that really should have been an iMac but was destined instead to pop our popcorn. We acquired it when a friend shacked up with her now-husband. We hear a lot of "When did Apple start making microwaves?" "Where is your microwave?" and "What the hell IS this thing?"

I'm in Awe, Co-Creating

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:05:00 +0000

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

When Coleman was small, his eyes were so big and blue he made me think of fairies, like my Molly's eyes do now. Like Molly, he was so creative so young that it made you feel like he was a treasure. His mother had a poster of Desiderata in the playroom. The little one, his older brother, and I watched Disney's Peter Pan while I copied the prayer/poem into my journal. When I tucked them into bed I had the first hint of mothering-sweetness that would wait quietly in my mind until I was almost thirty.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Now I'm thirty three, with a daughter who flies in a Tinkerbell chaos of childhood around me. Now, Coleman sends me stories to illustrate and help manifest, and he is so skilled, so imaginative that the project makes me tearful. It' so exciting and strange and fascinating. I'm proud of it already- although for my part, its imagery is still vague like this primal-old dark Goddess we are writing and drawing into being.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

Desiderata is by Max Ehrmann. Photo is by someone lucky enough to be in Venice with Coleman.

5 Bones ACEO Sale at Etsy Shop

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:09:00 +0000

Heads up- I'm having an Etsy sale on my ACEOs (small art cards for trading, collecting, framing, whatever) for $5. Five bones = hand drawn art. You're welcome. XO!

daisybones.etsy.com

Don't forget about the Greeting Card Giveaway and the Business Card Giveaway:)

Business Cards Giveaway! Enter & Win 500 Cards from Digital Room

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:14:00 +0000

Who loves you?
Mama Bones loves you. And Digital Room loves you.

http://digitalroom.com

Oh, my do they.

I present you with yet another giveaway:
500 Free Business Cards.

This is sweet, because I have a few art shows this fall/winter and my new mantra for those is Do not forget to bring cards and I'm also thinking of an art project (which I sort of am tentatively crowd-sourcing) that'll use tiny notes that will probably be business cards with not-businessy stuffs upon them.

To that end, they offer business card sizes beyond just the standard- 2x3.5”, 2x3”, 2x2"- but standard enough that you're not going to get lost. I'm loving the idea of square cards. They also offer Die-Cut business cards which are seriously sexy. I covet leafy business cards:

Grab yourself a sleek bunch of business cards, or use them as promotional cards or ads from your Etsy shop- The Holy Bead gave me some cute discount cards with my last order & I'm itching to steal the idea. Or have a sweet little phrase printed on them and leave them around town in a guerrilla art campaign. You also don't have to be a business person to have cards- I've seen some precious cards like this:

You can hand it out at playgroups or LLL or yoga. Because in my head, if I wasn't a working-out-of-the-home mom, I'd do mostly playgroups, LLL, and yoga. Really, though, the size of business cards perfect for playful things a tiny note card, save-the-dates, reminders & suchlike.

So enter away:

Two Winners will receive:

500 Business Cards
Choose size: 2x3.5”, 2x3”, 2x2";
Choose paper: 14pt cardstock (matte or gloss coating) & 13 pt cardstock uncoated
Choose Color: (4/4) Color both sides; (4/1) Color 1 side , B/W backside; (4/0) Color 1 side, black backside.
Shipping must be paid by Winner. Offer Valid for UNITED STATES SHIPPING ONLY.

To enter, comment on this post by September 10th at midnight EST.

... and don't forget to enter the Greeting Card Contest before Midnight EST, Monday August 31!

Treasure Nest Tuesday #32: Bloody Gorgeous Beaded Necklace

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:05:00 +0000

These glassy-bloody-drippy-crimson beads from Consigning Women in Cross Lanes, WV HAD to be mine. They are the sirens of accessories. Yummy. The Y shape adds to the liquidy aura. Elegant but goth-feeling with the blood and the horror. Oh, no, not with the horror. Just channeling Buffy like I do. Lalalala.

If you'd like to turn a regular photo of yourself in minimal make-up into a mask-ish looking thing as seen above, just abuse the color dodge filter in Photoshop almost but just shy of the point where the design police come after you. If they do come, I shall just tell them my necklace is made from the Blood of Those Who Smote Me, Who am Queen of Darkness and Blood-Colored Things. But then I'll get the giggles and they'll know I'm really a goofy hippy who likes to play Goth on her blog. SNORT!

Weekend Sketches

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:44:00 +0000

From my sketchbook a couple of months ago. It sort of struck me when I was flipping through.

Thinking about doors for a new piece for a winter show.

I've been struck by sinus demons again. These came with a cough that is whooping my asthmatic ass.

I'm coveting a pro Flickr account. I want more sets.

Paint Your Appliance Pink

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:41:00 +0000

Jane from Parts Select.com asked me to post & enter this fun awareness project. It's an adorable idea & quite a worthy cause- Boobies being unarguably awesome. You can also win cool stuff.

I'll try to get a photo posted tomorrow - busy busy crazy weekend.

Here's a fun random thing- when I was in school, my friend Cindy (one of my favorite people ever and I am going to go hunt her down immediately after posting) called me one night to invite me over to spontaneously paint her whole fridge a candy pink. I think I mentioned I hated pink but went anyway & had a lovely night drinking beer chilled in a progressively-pinker refrigerator.

Here are your contest details:

Sweeps Details:

To Enter:

Paint a pink ribbon anywhere on any of your major appliances. NOTE: Painting appliances that get hot may produce toxic fumes.
Pick the shade of pink you like for the ribbon, it’s up to you. Water-based paint is always a good choice.
Tell us about your entry:
- Email us: contests@partselect.com with the attached photo.
- Tweet us: @PartSelect, tag your tweet with #pinkappliance and include a link to your picture (blog post, twitpic, etc.).
- Facebook: Join our Facebook group and post your entry there.
Please include the pink ribbon and your whole appliance in the photo.
Enter as many times as you like. A valid entry consists of one pink ribbon painted on one major appliance. Therefore you can paint a pink ribbon on 5 different major appliances and send in 5 different photo entries. One entry per appliance.
No purchase is necessary to enter. No appliances to paint? No worries! Just send us an email with the subject “Paint It Pink” and you’ll be entered to win too. One non-photo entry per household.

Prizes:

All photos will be entered into 3 random monthly draws to win 1 of our fantastic Pink Prize Package. Non-winning entries will remain eligible for the next monthly draw.
3 Pink Prize Packages will be given away in total - 1 each month.
Each Pink Prize Package consists of a Pink KitchenAid® Stand Mixer, Pink Stand Mixer cover, Pink Silicone Mixer Spatula, Pink Silicone Heart Pan, Pink Measuring Cups and Spoons Set and a Cook for the Cure® Apron. Each pink prize package is valued at $369.97. Some items of the prize package may be substituted if necessary.
PartSelect.com will donate $25 per photo entry to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation up to a maximum of $10,000 in total. (I love this part.)

Sweeps Dates:

The sweepstakes will run from July 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009.
A random draw will take place on ~~August 3rd~~, September 3rd and October 3rd, 2009. One pink prize package will be awarded from each draw. Each draw will include all of the non-winning entries from the previous months.

Thanks to Jane for the fun project and to Cindy for being loveable & memorable & to participants for saving ta-tas.

♥

Friday Favorites: Happy-Making Guerilla Art

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:16:00 +0000

Keri Smith's blog introduced me to the idea of Guerilla Art. I love the underground, subversive thing becoming playful and sweet like these ideas. I love the DIY, power-to-the-people, revolution of the soul vibe.I give you my favorite guerilla art projects, some links, and some book pimping.

Via Kind Over Matter, Moss Graffiti.

This WikiHow explains how to mix up a brushable paint of moss that will grow on a wall surface. So green and gorgeous it hurts.

This image is from abe/Anna Garforth Design & Illustration. She did promo materials project called Park City And her URL is "crosshatchling" which is possibly the cutest word in history.

Tree Sweaters and Street Knitting

This is the image I saw at Art News blog that jump-started my growing street knitting fixation. It's Knit Knot Tree by Corrine Bayraktaroglu:

My friend Amy Van Gogh, FestivALL street art Goddess and seamstress extraordinaire, mentioned that Taylor Books/Annex Studios is holding a Street Knitting class this fall. Amy has done some amazing street works that embody the goal of FestivALL turning the city into a work of art. I'm missing a knitting performance piece by Amy and Rob Hrezo as I type. (Feeling a bit wonky...)

I'm not ready to find out if I can knit with seven fingers and my absolute next skill to learn will be sewing, but I'm so charmed by knitting as a punk groovy art medium. MinniPurl will be teaching the class, but the schedule's not live on Taylor's site yet.

image credit: Mark Wolfe Design

Awesome graffiti wall in the Czech republic.

My cousin Coleman Richardson studied film in the CR this past year, and he showed me some amazing photographs that blew my mind. (Be assured that you'll see a long goth girl shout out to the Church of Bones in Kutna Hora.) Coleman told me about watching this wall change from day to day as artists continually layer gorgeous words and images. I'm hoping the Crash man will comment with more details.

image credit: Coleman Richardson

You Go, Girl.

image credit: Barry Yanowitz

I discovered this at Falafel For The Soul, which is a site for guerrilla optimism. I learned of a big movement in urbans centers (i.e. not my wee, hilly town) of You Go Girl graffiti and it was an instant obsession. Here's the Flickr Group where I found these images. Could you die? Ubiquitous, feminist, funky graffiti.

image credit: lacraig819

Mozilla Service Week and About How My Husband Thinks I'm Allergic to Money

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:10:00 +0000

I got an email from Jung at Idealist.org last night which caught my eye because Carl Jung is a God in my own personal People Of Brain-Whirring Ideas Pantheon. The email announced Mozilla Service Week:

----------

Idealist is partnering with Mozilla (the organization behind the
Firefox browser) on their first annual Mozilla Service Week which will
match thousands of "techie" volunteers around the world with
nonprofits in need of help with IT, web design, programming, blogging,
and more.

Mozilla Service Week will take place September 14-21, 2009, and
organizations are so eager for volunteers that a couple of thousand of
them have already posted their opportunities.

If you are comfortable with technology and would like to help out, or
if your organization could use some help, please go to:

http://mozillaservice.org

And to help spread the word to nonprofits and techies around the
world, please go to:

http://www.idealist.org/if/mozservice09/en/Spread/default

Thanks again, and all the best,

Jung Fitzpatrick
Graduate Education Communications Coordinator
http://www.idealist.org

Join us also at http://www.twitter.com/idealist and
http://www.facebook.com/idealist

-------

There was another section about a program for graduate students studying Social Impact which led to this exchange:

Me: Oh my God! You can major in social impact! Never knew this... Bu!!! I could get a DEGREE in saving the world!
Bu: Only you... Only YOU would pay a gigantic amount of money for a degree in VOLUNTEERING to work for FREE.

Then I probably said something about his not having a soul and called him Robot Boy. Because in my cosmology, you are either a bleeding heart of hemorrhagic proportions or you are a soulless robot.

Bu loves to tease me about my apparent inability (or adamant refusal- I'll never tell) to work at a for-profit company. Happily, I have logged enough karmic hours doing so that I've scored a management position as a World Saver and Peddler of Eco-Fabulous Gently Used Pretties, and can now almost but not quite match his Big-Corporatish-Corporation-That-Is-Incorporated salary.

But just as I jump into this new position, I'm going to spend some time geeking out for charity during Service Week. I'm looking for a group to help, because I just finished sprinkling Web Fairy Dust on my clinic's site and the yw is already rocking the tight, gorgeous marketing identity.

If you know of a small non-profit that could use some Web Elf Mojo for a week, do contact me: heidi [at] daisybones.com

Giveaway! 250 Custom Printed Greeting Cards from Digital Room

heidirevans@gmail.com (heidi daisybones) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:42:00 +0000

Through the oft-mentioned Blog Sponsorship program, I get to give two readers each a set of 250 greeting cards from Digital Room. (I also get my own 250... SWEET.) The details are as follows:

Comment here before Midnight EST, Monday August 31, 2009, telling me what you think you'll do with the cards. (I won't hold you to it.)
I'll pick 2 winners using the trusty random integer generator, and announce said winners before September 3.
The winners pay shipping. For my zip code, it's under $10. And your address has to be in the US. (I'm sorry... I ♥ Canada, too.)
You get 250 full color, folded greeting cards. You upload the design. The inside is blank. Inks are soy/veggie based & the card stock is 10 point weight, recycled.
Envelopes are available separately.

So, what to do?

I love greeting cards. There was audible squee when I got an email offering a custom greeting cards giveaway. My original design goal after falling in love with Adobe tools was to open an online stationery shop. So, I might get a new design printed and sell the cards in the Etsy shop. Or I could print one of the existing designs. Some of the little ACEOs would be great cards. I'm also really tempted to do winter holiday cards. The possibilities have me a mite dizzy.

I'm really excited to see how these turn out. I'll probably try the matte finish, because it sounds sorta classy. They also do custom postcards, which has been a corollary to the greeting card obsession. Truly, I blame Nick Bantok books.

What will you do with your custom cards?

Invites for a party?
Promos for an art reception?
Photos of your babies for 250 of your closest friends & family?
Thank yous for your wedding or baby gifts?
Sell a line of cards in your Etsy or blog?

It is both weird and awesome to be hosting giveaways of not-my-own art. It's like I won the lottery or got a promotion. Which is to say, lovely.