last call: free sponsor spots

hello everyone! i wrote about trading sponsor spots about a week ago. spots will go up TOMORROW, but if you're still interested, there's still time left. you've got until tomorrow morning. leave me a comment with your email and i'll email you with all the info ASAP.

here's what you'll get up my end if you decide to trade spots with me:

• Time frame- the ads on my blog will run for 2 months. from Nov. 1- Dec. 31 this will be for the first round of you guys, kind of as an appreciation thing for going about this whole thing with me! 
• you'll have the opportunity to do a guest post (if you'd like) each month that will be attached to a giveaway.
• you'll also have the opportunity to (if you'd like) to have a product or something like it reviewed on O&C (one each month). i'll give you more details on both if you do decide you'd like to do either.
• i will blog and tweet about your blog/shop/page frequently through out the 2 months of your sponsorship.

• you also have the option of consignment. i go to a lot of shows through out the month and if you'd like i can take your products with me and sell them for you. if you are interested in this, i will write up a contract and forward it to you, along with all the information. i've be put up a new page on the blog, of a calendar of all the shows will be at in the coming months. 

doesn't that sounds like a good deal!? this is just kind of a start up thing. since i don't have the money to support my friends in the blogosphere, i'm not asking for any money from my sponsors. i just want to help out the other people out there with small blogs and in return all i ask is just to support my blog too! so lets make our online community an actually community! support your fellow bloggers! support the handmade movement!!

xoxo.
holly

choices.

in the light of recent events (see this post) i've been scrambling around in my head trying to figure out which direction i'm going. i'm okay though, in a really strange way, i'm supremely optimistic about my future. but still, i'm not sure what it is i want to do with my life.

i know that i need to get my license. i know i need a part time job for the moment. but after that...what is it that i actually want to do? i could go back to school, i could apply to the gaming companies around town to be a visual development artist, or i could keep going along my original path and try and open up a brick and mortar shop. but then i get to thinking....are any of these things what i would actually want to do? is there anything else i'd like to do? i've been really inspired by kaelah bee and her gorgeous little mobile shop. and got to thinking. there's nothing like that in pittsburgh. nothing. of course there's the southside and all its killer shops and restaurants but there's nothing mobile in pittsburgh except for a couple food trucks. that's it.

it's pretty far away right now, but its something i can work towards. something that i think i could really accomplish. in time. for the present, i need to focus on my smaller goals...get a license, get a job, pay my loans and bills on time, save money. continue to do these festivals and fundraisers i've been doing and save that money. take time out of this hectic time in my life and spend time with my girls. spend time with the people that love me. and be happy. take time for me, for once.

but i think this is the path i'm going to head down for right now. i'd like to do something worth while with my life and i think this is a good first big step.

now... on a more fun, less heavy note...have you seen miss elsie's stitch chevron necklace DIY??? when i saw it the other day i was all kindssss of in love with it! i've been so inspired by geometric designs lately, i'll post sketch book illustrations later....but this DYI, i just had to do!

elsie's version! ^

my version^

what do you guys think? i think it turned out really well!!! so i was thinking...all of these amazing blogs do DIY's and i really like them and was thinking of doing some of my own here on O&C. but i think there's a whole bunch of crafty ones floating out there in the blogosphere...sooooo....what kind of DIY's would you guys like to see from me, considering the things i do???  

i'd love to hear your ideas!

keep checking back, i'm going to be working on some new things that i'm pretty excited about and would love to share with you! 

also....thank you ALL for the wonderful words about my recent post. its so heart warming to know i have friends out there in the interspace...i love you guys!

STAY WONDERFUL!!!

XOXO,

holly <3

the truth.

i've been holding off writing this. not because i didn't want to offend anyone or disrupt the flow of life...but because i didn't want to believe it. my relationship failed and i was dumped last night. the man i loved didn't feel the same about me, or maybe he didn't feel as strongly as i did. i don't really know. i didn't ask for an explanation, because i really didn't want one. for me, i think this is better. i didn't want to know the details of why i wasn't what he wanted, or why what we had didn't fit well together. so i just let it happen.
i know that a lot of it had to do with me quitting my job and not having a license to go out and find another one. i've talked to my aunt and one of my mom's best friend (amanda's mom) and they both told me that finances play a huge role in relationships. i don't know if it's because i'm still such a wide-eyed little girl or i just don't have enough experience in relationships, but i don't get it. my parents had always had financial issues, and they always stayed in love. maybe that wasn't the case for us, maybe it wasn't the money, maybe we just didn't work. i'll never really know. but i think if we would have stayed in it any longer things would have gotten much worse and i would be writing terrible things about him instead of just being confused and still admiring him as a man.

whatever the case, it's over. and i can't dwell on it. it will drive me insane. so i'm going to focus on healing me for a while. i don't want to be in a relationship, and i don't want to go on dates. way back when, i used to be such a strong woman, a force to be reckoned  with. all the things that have happened this year, from the death of my mother, my job going horribly wrong and now to this nonsense...i have become a mouse. that is not me. i am now afraid of controversy, and being that bold girl i used to be. i took risks at one time and now, i'd rather just stay inside rather than go out a find some thing fantastic. i can't do this to myself anymore. so this is me, making a  promise to myself, that i'll be myself again and its not for anyone but me. i need to be that girl again, because she was something to marvel at.

don't get me wrong, he was a wonderful man, he still is. he's strong and so very intelligent. i really can't say anything bad about him, that's not what this is about. i hate that things went wrong, because he was just amazing. but i can't drive myself crazy thinking about everything that was good and how everything went bad. i'm just going to move on. that's what this is. i'm getting it out of my system, like verbal vomit. cleaning out my brain so that i can fill it up with amazing things that will make me happy because i need some fucking happy.

i'm hanging out with my girls tonight, for a little bit more verbal vomit and some girl time. i need to do this, i miss them. can't lie though, it may be a day or so before i write another post on here. there's things that need to be done and things i need to finish working on. i'm also going to clean up my work room so that i can start doing more projects and maybe some DIY's. hopefully. but it may be a bit quiet on here in the next few days. if you may it through this whole mess of a rant, congrats. and thank you for reading it. i hate writing SUPER personal things on here, just because i don't want to be a debbi-downer or anything. hopefully, all of this made sense. i haven't revised this or edited it, it was all written directly out of my head without really thinking about what i'm saying. so i believe i'm finished here.

thanks for reading...
XOXO,
holly

art under glass festival

the day is finally here my friends! this is the big festival we've been waiting for here at O&C for about 5 months now. i thought this was going to be our first festival but a few small ones popped up in between. but we're very excited for this one! we'll be here all weekend, so if you're in the area please stop by and say hello and check out some other amazing crafters too while you're at it! here's some more info!

i hope you stop by! wish us luck!

XOXO,
holly

how about a trade?

hey all.

i've been thinking of testing out something...well, i know people do the whole paid sponsorship thing. i've participated in sponsoring other people's blogs before. but since i quit my job, i don't have the money to sponsor the blogs i'd like to. and i would still like to .... so here's what i'm proposing. let's do a trade.

i'd put an ad for your blog/shop/twitter page here on O&C and you'd put one of ours onto your page. it's a fair way for all of us to get alittle more exposure and also to help each other out. the reason i'm not asking for money is simply this..i'm not going to ask someone for money to support me if i can't turn around and help them out in return. it just doesn't seem fair to me.

so friends, if your interested in doing a sway with me, leave a comment below with your name, email and a link to the page you'd like to advertise and i'll shoot you an email within the week to talk about it a bit further. but i thought i'd throw it out there in the universe and see if anyone was interested!

take care, have a good evening!

XOXO,
holly

art hero: audrey kawasaki (caution there be boobs)

when i was in college, my room mate, ashley, introduced me to art by audrey kawasaki. this was about 3 years ago, i'm still stalking her work to this day. and once i show you these pieces you'll totally get it! her work is not only beautiful but its erotic, sometimes tender and occasionally haunting. i don't know of any other artist's work that has grasped at my imagination so tightly and held such a firm grip. i'm head over heals for her work. enjoy.

she's one of my biggest inspirations (along with the likes of peter max and alphonse mucha) and i am so thankful to ashley for turning me on to her. audrey's work takes you to another world, where its quiet and serene and it's alright to be a little sexy from time to time. i hope you take a look at her other work. you can find most of these pieces there and also a few more here.

i hope you enjoy these pieces as much as i do! happy wednesday all!
XOXO,
holly

a festival and one of the cutest baby boys i know!

hey guys!
i know, i know...these took me for ever to get up on to here! i apologize, but i think once you see them you won't be as upset with me anymore! haha! these are the photos from our time at pittsburgh step trek last weekend! we had a really nice time despite the lack of sales. the people were very nice (as usual) and the weather was just lovely. jessi, my dad and i were all that attended that day. amanda i think was out of town, or maybe she had to work. i can't really remember. jessi was working on her hats, i was frantically checking my phone (my boyfriend disappeared that weekend, he ran off to philly to watch a starcraft compition! haha!) and my dad was doing a little bit of wood work. he's been coming up with some really awesome designs and i can't wait to show you once he's finished!... after those photos, are the ones of my adorable nephew. he's not my nephew by blood, but he's the gorgeous son of one of best friends from college, april, and i love him like he was blood!

so enjoy the photo dump! <3

 ever seen a baby plank before??? me either!

 i'm so in love with this last one, even though its a little blurry. april is the most adorable mother, and i love watching her with bryson. its weird though, it feels like nothing has changed. like bryson should have always been there and her and josh should have always been married. they're the raddest family both of them are all tattooed and bryson is probably going to grow up to be one of the coolest kids! i'm just so glad i'm able to even be a part of it. i'm excited to watch this little bugger grow up! love you bryson.

 XOXO,
aunt holly

because we all need a little bit of happy sometimes...

i'm not going to lie, things have actually kind of sucked around my way lately. without going into details, i'll just leave it at that. BUT, what do hollys do when they are feeling down???

TURN TO THE INTERNET FOR AWESOME THINGS of coarse.
so i'm bringing you something that have been brightening my spirits lately in hopes that if your feeling bummed out, burned out, or just plain grumpy...this will bring you a little happy. coz' we all need a little happy sometimes.

first up, is a cake recipe that i'm pretty sure i'm going to be trying my hand at later on today. i found this blog via drop dead kawaii, i know i've mentioned her at least once this week, but i really love everything she posts!! the blog is called raspberri cupcakes and they have a million drool worthy things to make! if i had the ingredients and didn't care about gaining a million pounds, i'd make every one!!! they all look so fantastically yummy and the photos are just gorgeous, go check it out! and if you make one of her recipes, send me a link i'd love to see what you've made! so cake!

its a simple fluffy vanilla cake that looks so good! i can't wait to try it! i've been dying to make cake pops recently and i think that's what i'm going to use this for. i know i could just use a regular box mix, but what fun is that!?

next up...amazing art!

 source

 here's a video of his painting process, i watch it every now and again when i need a little inspiration! he's brilliant! i love all his art. source

also, HYSTERICAL COMICS!
Hannah Hillam of verbal vomit is kind of my comics hero. i'm in love with her stuff. her 'how to be a hipster' series is pee your pants funny! and this latest one that she posted, the cow video, made my day.

you should totally go check her out! i promise, its good!

and who can resist a cat video...



well, i hope this brightened your day a bit. it has for mine! now i'm going to go pay my student loans, work on editing some photos, cut out a million post cards, and maybe paint. yay for trying to be productive!!

XOXO,
holly

graphics & fonts

hey guys! i found some new fonts today, from http://www.deviantart.com/ they were free! and i can't wait to try them out on a bunch of new projects, maybe even some new business cards! woohoo! soooo so very excited!

that's all!
XOXO,
holly

cake and new friends!

hello everyone! and welcome new friends!!!

its kind of a slow sunday for me. so i've been browsing around the internet and literally just now stumbled over these crazy cakes! i thought i must share them with you! also, its something fun for you newer readers to oogle at until i finish up with my photos from yesterday! i found this photos via drop dead kawaii if you don't read this blog yet, i highly recommend it! she always has super cute stuff to share and a bunch of amazing art every now and then. now on to the awesome cake!!!

i want this to be my house! can i live here pretty pretty please???

the artist's name is scott hove. and he's kind of amazing! i think i've fallen in love with his work. you can read more about cakeland here on his site. and you can see a few more behind the scenes photos and read about the process in the article from hifructose.
that's it for me today everyone! i'll be back later this week with tons of photos and some more art to share with you! until then, stay awesome people! and thank you to our new friends for following and good luck in the giveaway over at miss indie! if you haven't entered it yet, you totally should!! i'm super excited to do a portrait for one of her lucky followers!


XOXO,
holly

painting progress vol. 3 (skin)

hey all, i'm back with the Adele piece. i've been working on the skin. i'm far from done, but i thought i'd show you what i've got so far.

 

 i've been saving a copy of it every time i take a break. it gives you a better look at how things progress instead of a picture here, a picture there. one of these days i'll figure out how to record my screen shots as i paint so you guys can just watch a video. if you haven't seen one of these videos, your so missing out. 

this one is by an artist i found through deviantart. i like the style of the work, even though i'm not a huge manga fan (though i do have some favorites!).

that's about it for me tonight. i'm going to go pick up jessi and get ready for tomorrow. its going to be a long, crazy day. we've got the festival in the morning, then dad and i are helping my aunt out at a haunted trail later on in the evening where i'm going to be doing dad's, aunt becky and my own makeup! it's going to be a craaaaaazy day! but i promise to take a million pictures and jess and i will try to film a vlog in-amidst all the insanity!!