Amy Cutting

If your idea of dressing up for Halloween is more gore and less sex appeal, then it's only right that you transform into a zombie. The rotting corpses are popular costumes again thanks to TV shows like "The Walking Dead" and films such as "World War Z" and "Warm Bodies."

Watch the video above to see how HuffPost Live makeup artist Kari Bauce used latex paint, fake blood and a blowdryer to turn host Caitlyn Becker from beauty to beast.

Step 1: Cleanse your face and put on a wig cap to keep latex from sticking to your hair.

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[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

Most artists approach paper as a two-dimensional surface upon which to draw or paint. Others see it in an entirely different way, using it as an architectural material for the most unexpected of three-dimensional works. From wispy, dynamic cut-outs hovering in the air to replicas of entire cities, the works of these 14 (more!) paper artists astonish and amaze.

Eerie Flexible Paper Works by Li Hongbo

What appear to be porcelain or ceramic sculptures stretch and bend in ways you’d never expect – because they’re made from thousands of layers of paper, glued together into accordion-like configurations. Their true nature is only revealed when they are manipulated. Artist Li Hongbo got his inspiration from traditional Chinese toys made from folded and glued pieces of thin paper.

Hand-Cut Paper Sculptures by Nahoko Kojima

A single sheet of paper becomes a leopard, a peacock, a forest, a skull or a masterful life-sized swimming polar bear in the hands of Japanese paper artist Nahoko Kojima. A single piece can take up to six months to create. Byaku, the polar bear, is inspired by the forces of nature.

Amazingly Intricate Paper Scenes by Allen and Patty Eckman

Have you ever seen paper look so dynamic, so infused with life? Allen and Patty Eckman met at Art Center College and soon put their talents to work in collaborative efforts focusing primarily on Native American history. The artists make their own paper pulp, casting it in clay molds to capture this level of detail.

City Maps by Matthew Picton

Matthew Picton creates detailed paper street maps of cities, often using the delicacy of the material to remark upon traumatic events in each location’s past. London in 1940 after Waterloo, Dresden, and Hiroshima all bear the destruction of war in the form of burn marks and tears.

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Awe Inspiring Art 14 More Masters Of Paper Sculpture

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[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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As you may know, I blog here and over on Life as MOM, my parenting and lifestyle blog.

What you might not know is that there are now 20 printable meal plans in the Life as MOM archives. That’s 20 weeks of healthy recipes and grocery lists. Just hit the store (or send your spouse) and come home with a plan in mind for suppers all week long.

That’s like 5 months of taking a break from chaos, late dinners, and food kids don’t like. Sounds pretty sweet, don’t it?

Here’s the list of all 20 weeks’ meal plans. Check them out, print a few, and enjoy some peaceful dinners this week.

Grab a Free Meal Plan is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

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My friend Erin over at $5 Dinners has put together a great resource for Costco members. She’s compiled a menu plan of 20 meals that you can swing for 150 bucks at Costco. Hop on over to grab the recipes, meal plan, and shopping list.

A Costco Meal Plan & Shopping List is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

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DIY Halloween costume, prop, and makeup tutorials!

Project Details Dimensions Tools Lumber Materials Cut List Instructions Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Finishing Instructions Disclaimer

“My dog Spock got very concerned about this poor dog on Cute Overload who couldn’t pull the stick (aka tree root) out of the ground. Added a good deal of amusement to my sick day.” -Ailing Cuteporter Amy C., who we hope feels better soon.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Baroo

This is a series of art nouveau style posters for some of Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli animated films. They were created by Pixiv user marlboro and NOT American Spirits like you were probably thinking. Look at you -- always jumping to conclusions. Me? I'm always jumping out of my second story window whenever the cops knock on my door because I ain't going back to jail. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* Shit, gotta go! *dives out window, breaks leg* What the -- Domino's! I wrote SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS when I ordered online that you were supposed to CALL when you got here. And there better be a penis drawn on the inside of that pizza box. Continue for four more including everybody's favorite neighbor, Totoro.

Little ole Halloween might not get the advertising dollars of some of the mega holidays, but boy is it fun. Here are a few spooky finds to get you in the "spirit" of the season.

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I've been feeling rather domestic lately. It probably has to do with the fact that my life currently revolves around moving into my new apartment. All I want to do is decorate, clean and cook. And seeing as how I've got the decorating and cleaning thing down, cooking is my next obstacle to tackle. I've gotten pretty good at crock-potting, but I'm ready for bigger and better things. I'm confident this kitchen cheat sheet from SHELLSHOCK will help me out quite a bit. Get ready stove. Here I come!

 

I can’t even make my real hair look like this, let alone draw hair that looks like this! Upswept, long n’ flowing, twists & braids…. these gorgeous hair studies are mixed media drawings on canvas by New York based artist Brittany Schall.  Do I want to become her BFF so that we could braid each other’s hair {and then have her draw it}… yes, yes I do.

Ahhhh, peonies! Can you smell these from where you are?! I think I can! I saw these on The Artful Desperado last week and immediately fell in love. Here’s why…

1. Peonies are my most favorite flower ever.

2. These are paintings. PAINTINGS.

3. That’s all.

These insanely beautiful paintings are the work of Texas based artist Thomas Darnell. So gorgeous! Oh, if only they were really really really big…

YES ♥

{via the artful desperado}

Juicy gardens on thick white paper. Gah! These are not your grandmother’s floral watercolors! Nope, this fresh n’ modern take on the subject is the work of American artist Kiana Mosley. The vibrant colors flowing into eachother, the big juicy blooms, the use of white space in these contemporary compositions: Love, love, love!

ps. I also love that she has a few of these for sale as $28 prints in her Etsy shop…

While I’m not quite ready to go back to the daily drill of homeschool, I am ready for the order and routine that the new school year brings with it. “Back to School” time is a fresh start and a great time to get organized.

Whether your kids go back to school this week or next month, getting organized now, not later can help you enjoy your life as MOM just a little more.

Check out these posts from the archives to help you organize your home, time, and meals:

Organizing Your Home:

• Cleaning House: Hit Reset – It’s difficult to get work on projects and get organized if your house is in chaos. Sometimes you need to put everything on hold and hit the reset button in your home.
• Zone Defense - Tackle disorder and clutter in your home with Zone Defense. This series of posts breaks down your home into 12 different zones. Set a goal to work on one zone each month.
• The Ultimate Guide to Getting Organized on a Budget – Getting organized shouldn’t cost you a fortune. Prerna shares some ways to do it inexpensively.
• 7 Ways to Tricking Yourself into Thinking Cleaning Is Fun – Getting your house clean and organized is work, no doubt about it. Make it a little easier with these fun tips.

Organizing Your Time:

• 5 Time Management Tips for Busy Moms for Back to School Season – Make your school days easier by making a few changes.
• Time Management and Weekly Routines – Set a routine to help stay organized.
• Time Management without a Schedule – Instead of creating a specific schedule, try budgeting your time.

Organizing Your Meals:

• Meal Planning 101 – This series will teach you the basics of meal planning and how to tweak it to suit the way you live.
• Once a Month Meal Planning – Plan your meals once a month and save time!
• Free Printable Meal Plans and Grocery Lists - These printable resources make meal planning a snap. Just print the recipes and the grocery lists and you’re set.

Do you have a goal for home organization this month?

Do tell. We’ll keep you accountable. Got a challenge? Share that as well. We’ll try to help.

Get Organized Now, Not Later is a post from: Life As Mom. © Jessica Getskow Fisher - All rights reserved.

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Family Night Ideas don’t have to be complex, expensive, or involve crazy stunts. Our kids mostly want to spend time with us that doesn’t involve laundry or dishes. This post does include Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through those links, I am paid a small amount in way of advertising fees. Summer […]

© 2015 Jessica Fisher, Life As Mom. All Rights Reserved.

We're in the midst of tons of TV series premieres right now, and to get you prepped, we're giving you our one-line reviews of every new show headed to TV this season. It's a fast-paced primer to help you figure out what you need you program into your DVR. And then don't forget to download our printable calendar with all of the big premiere dates!

Fujifilm has unveiled the X-A1; a smaller, lighter camera that’s aimed at giving people who want to make the leap from a compact camera to an interchangeable lens camera a jumping-off point.

You’re looking at a camera that has been designed for single-handed use, with all the buttons, dials, knobs, and levers on the right-hand side. It has two command dials to allow for easy aperture, shutter speed and EV compensation adjustment as well as individual buttons to control white balance, burst mode, and macro. And there are its easier-to-use features such as full auto and in-camera filters that include toy camera, pop colours, high and low key, and miniature.

Details-wise, it’s a 16 megapixel sensor powered by an EXR Processor II with a maximum sensitivity of ISO 25,600 and top burst mode of 5.6 frames per second. Video is 1920 by 1080 30 frames per second, there’s a tiltable LCD screen, wi-fi connectivity, and a pop-up flash that benefits from ‘Super Intelligent Flash Technology’. This adjusts the flash according to the scene. For example, when you’re indoors and taking portraits in low-light, or maybe food shots, it aims to reduce the highlight clipping. Or there’s ‘Perfect fill-flash’ for backlit conditions or strong sunlight.

Just like the X-E1, it has a film simulation mode that allows you to apply five different effects give the impression you actually shot your photos on film.

The X-A1 is compatible with all of Fujifilm’s X-mount lenses, but being a smaller, lighter camera, Fujifilm is recommending the XC line-up, which are also smaller and lighter. A quick refresher: these are the 16-50mm (24-76mm 35mm equivalent) ƒ/3.5-5.6 and the 50-230mm (76-350mm 35mm equivalent) ƒ/4.5-6.7.

And to make it a bit less intimiating, it comes in red, blue, or black.

I am, however, inclined to think that £530 ($600) is quite steep for what Fujifilm is toting as a ‘step-up-to-interchangeable-lens-camera’ camera. To put things into perspective, you can pick up a Canon or Nikon dSLR for under £300, and a Samsung, Sony, Olympus, or Panasonic EVIL for under £400. Maybe it just bears out my earlier supposition that Fujifilm is the Apple of the camera world?

This article was originally posted at Fujifilm unveils the X-A1 , on Photocritic.

PLEASE NOTE -- The contents of the Photocritic blog is strictly copyrighted, and this feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. The use of this feed on other websites is a copyright infringement, so you should only ever be able to read this text in a feed reader. Digital Fingerprint: d07805f964d211dfdfe227d609f7448f

   

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Halloween craft tutorials, printables, how-tos and diy activities!

We've seen our share of weird/amazing pinhole cameras, made from everything: simple wood, cardboard or even a human skull. I have yet to see one made from solid concrete.

New Zealand based Instructable user amuu just changed that making a - not only functional - but amazingly stylish concrete pinhole camera (And a full set of instructions to go with that) - those are the highlights of the build, for the full tutorial visit the instructable page.

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A while back, someone posed the question on Twitter, asking it was okay to bring your own knives if you’re a houseguest for the weekend. It’s a question I didn’t think was all that odd, since I do it all the time. Then a friend of mine also noted recently that, like me, he brings red pepper powder with him, when he’s cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen. Which got me thinking about the mini-arsenal of equipment and foodstuffs I tote along with me when heading out to the country to stay with friends or family.

I try to be a good guest and bring food to take some of the burden off my hosts. I’ll usually prepare and freeze a few rolls of cookie dough, or maybe a disk of tart dough, which I’ll bring along to make a tart. I might take along a marinated lamb or pork shoulder (or loin) studded with garlic and rubbed with spices, ready to roast off with little fuss. And I always bring a couple of loaves of bread from Paris since it can be a challenge to find good bread in the countryside. (And I don’t like eating baguettes that can be tied in a knot.) And I always arrive with a couple of bottles of wine, because I don’t want to be known as the guest who drank his hosts out of house and home.

Continue Reading Things I Bring When I’m a Guest for a Weekend (or Week)...

There are many price comparison apps for different types of products. But if you’ve been looking for a price comparison app that’s focused on our favorite product type, i.e., books, then you’re in luck. That’s because in this week’s edition of Shelf Control, I’m delighted to introduce to you the recently released BookScout app for iPhone and iPod touch.

BookScout is designed to be your book-buying companion as it provides you with options to help you decide where to purchase a book online.

The app offers two modes of usage: barcode scanning and manual searching. With the former mode, you can simply scan the barcode of a book you’re interested in perfect for when you’re browsing the shelves of a brick-and-mortar bookstore. And with the latter, you can enter the title or author of a book and select the search result that’s most relevant to the book you have in mind.

In both cases, BookScout displays information about and purchasing options for your book inquiry. Book information can be emailed with a single tap, and purchasing options can be viewed with a single tap as well.

Note that each of your book inquires is saved in the app for future reference. You can see a list of your scanned and searched books by tapping the app’s third tab. From this list, you can select items to email or delete.

At the moment, BookScout presents options for buying from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or The Book Depository for a book’s print edition, or from iBooks, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, or Kobo for a book’s electronic edition. Each option is linked to a corresponding webpage where you can proceed with your purchase.

BookScout is currently available in the U.S. only. But more countries, along with more retailers, are already set to be supported in subsequent versions of the app. Improvements on inventory and price search which the app, in its initial version, is apparently in need of are already planned as well.

BookScout is available now in the App Store for free. The app is optimized for iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 6.0 or later.

The app is created by Singapore-based independent developer VoidWorks, which is also behind the recently released Emojify. You can read more about Emojify in our review here.

As always, if you have suggestions for Shelf Control, please feel free to email me at aldrin@appadvice.com or simply leave a comment below.

• BookScout - Compare Book Prices by Search and Scanning Barcodes
• Emojify - Turn Pixels into Emoji Emoticons to make Unique Art Images

I've been meaning to share an update on these for a while... But I'm pleased to say that no "update" is needed, as they are finally finished!  I give to you our new office built-in bookshelves:

After leveling and installing hardwood flooring in Mr. Pax's office, I painted the room this beautiful charcoal gray.  And Mr. Pax got to work on some built-in bookshelves.  We considered converting Ikea Billy shelves (like we did in our master closet) as a base, but ultimately decided that a longer-lasting, real wood unit was better.  So he started from scratch.  Did he do an amazing job or what?!?!  The trim work makes the integration seamless.

I love the arched tops.

And the cozy window seat.

We plan to put doors eventually on the cabinets below the window seat, but for now, I'm he's just so glad he has his office back.  And better than ever, of course!  The rest of the room still needs some styling (actually, in the interest of full disclosure, the only "styling" I did on these bookcases was adding the photo of Mr. Pax and me - which I found in a closet - to fill an empty spot... these are purely functional shelves for our book hoarding problem love of learning).

So a reveal will come.  Eventually.  In reality, this is mostly a brag post.  Mr. Pax not only leveled the floor (seriously, this is what it was like before, it was a huge task!), but he built these things from scratch.  And. they're. beautiful.

I can't wait to show you how far this room truly has come.  And I'm so thankful Mr. Pax is not only willing to put up with encourage me in my DIY exploits, but he's willing to take risks and try some new things for himself.  I'd say it was a pretty successful first attempt at building cabinetry... wouldn't you?

I promised last week when I shared my vintage file cabinet makeover that I would share a tutorial...

A bit of background for you (since I believe everything should have a story behind it!): my church is renovating an old office building which had lots of really solid, old-school file cabinets.  Rather than throw them out, we decided to refinish them to go with the industrial-chic, utilitarian sort of style that the new building will have.  As there were 20 cabinets to update, I am SO glad to say that I had some help from other women in the church, but I did want to have a process in place before we all got together...  So I brought one of the extras home (yay for free furniture!) to experiment on.

Note: My cabinet started black.  If you cabinet starts another color, your process may differ...

Here are the necessary supplies:

• 220 grit sandpaper
• damp rag
• Annie Sloan chalk paint in Graphite
• lint-free rag (like an old t-shirt)
• paste wax
• Briwax dark wax
• silver craft paint
• buffing rag

Here is the process I developed:
Step 1: Sand down entire piece lightly with 220 grit sandpaper.
I used a sanding block and did it by hand, but a palm sander would have been quicker.  Do not use a circular sander (which is all I had on hand at the time) because it will leave circles in your paint.  The point here is to simply remove the sheen, not the color.
If you follow me on instagram (and if you don't, you can do so here), you saw my disease-ridden dust-covered arm from the process... Moral of the story: DO IT OUTSIDE.

Step 2: Lightly paint with ASCP graphite.
I know that ASCP doesn't officially require sanding, but I wanted to be sure the paint would really adhere.  If you don't have ASCP on hand (or it's not in the budget), I would imagine that homemade chalk paint in a dark dark gray would do the trick, as well.
Step 3: Using your old t-shirt, lightly wipe the paint just as it begins to dry.
This step will provide the most different results depending on the person...  I wanted to sort of rub the paint into the sanded metal, and I wanted the black underneath to show through in some places.  I found that a random swiping of the paint in various directions gave me just enough variation. Here you can see the body painted and wiped (in contrast to the drawer which had been neither sanded nor painted).
Step 4: Mix paste wax with Briwax dark wax (1:1 ratio) and add a squirt of silver craft paint.
Because we had 20 cabinets to redo for church and saving money was a major goal, we decided to cut cost by mixing paste wax (a much cheaper wax than AS or other boutique brands of soft wax) with Briwax.  Briwax runs $15-20/can and is a VERY soft wax (liquid above 65 degrees), so the combination of Briwax and paste wax create a nice, soft, paintable dark wax.  The squirt of silver craft paint is to give it that slight sparkle.  I probably only used a dime size of craft paint for every 1/2 cup of wax - just a little touch.

Step 5: Wax the entire piece, using your brush to smudge the paint where desired.
I know that sounds horribly vague, but wax can actually lift paint, so I purposefully worked my wax into the piece with significant pressure in some places to further add to the dimension and contrast of the black and gray portions.  That effect can be taken even further if you follow your brush with a rag in some places.  Here you can see the difference the wax makes (top half waxed, bottom half not).

Step 6: Buff and repeat wax if desired.

I also added new hardware to my cabinet.  Unfortunately, I found it enormously difficult to find cup pulls with 4" spacing at a reasonable price (I finally ordered these if you're curious).  And then when they arrived, the finish didn't match the label holders or lock mechanism perfectly (I had assumed they probably wouldn't), so I touched up all of them with a little silver rub 'n buff just to even out the finishes.

In the end, though the cabinet was free, I spent ~$30 on the hardware.  And if I hadn't already had the other supplies for the church project, they could have added up quickly... But I LOVE the result.  Don't you?

I think it would be beautiful on any old metal cabinet.  The options are endless!

Meal planning is not rocket science, but it’s super helpful in the running of any household. Even as a sophomore in college, I practiced some kind of meal planning how-to. Back then it meant making a list of the kinds of meals I’d like to eat during the week and picking up the ingredients to go with. And no, I don’t know that I ever bought a package of ramen noodles. Weird. I wonder why not.

A meal plan can help you.

Anyway, having your meal plans for the week or month can help you in a number of ways. Here’s how:

1. You will know what to buy at the store.

If you don’t have a meal plan, your grocery shopping will be rather haphazard and based on your whims and your rumbling tummy. With a list, you can be more focused as you go about your shopping.

2. You will save money.

If you know how to meal plan, you will save money by eating at home instead of going out and paying more money to fill your belly. You’ll also shop more effectively at the store, meaning you won’t be throwing stuff in the cart and raising the price of your bill.

3. You will waste less.

Following your meal plan assumes that you will buy what you need and use it. You won’t have randomness languishing on the shelves of your fridge or pantry waiting for you to get a brainstorm of what to do with it.

4. Your people won’t bug you about “What’s there to eat?”

If you’ve got your meal plan ready and publicly posted, at least the literate folk in the house won’t need to ask you what’s for dinner. They’ll be able to read and anticipate a great meal.

5. Your people can help make dinner or do it on their own.

This weekend, FishPapa rode herd on the crew so I could focus on some projects. Since I had a meal plan and communicated it to him, he was easily able to take care of meals.

Learn how to meal plan.

Not sure how to put together an effective meal plan? Take Meal Planning 101, complete with a ton of free printables.

Want to have a meal plan but would rather someone else did the work for you? Download one of 20 free plans over here.

Why You Should Know How to Meal Plan is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

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The following is a list of step I used in building a tree house or fort at least for this summer.  I took upon this endeavor because my son saw tree houses in some of his favorite cartoons.  I used the following sources for design and information: 1) Mike Swenson - friend who works with my wife 2) M...
By: kurtzepp

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Today's fathers are more likely to seek custody. Many of them will need to prepare for a child custody evaluation.

If you ever wished you could spin faster than a Drop spindle or a Mayan Spindle - this simple design is for you using things around the house. It spins like a thunderous train wheel! You could probably build it in a week. This is a great design if you cannot saw straight or hammer properly. I had ...
By: Gomi Romi

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A light box (I have heard it also called a shadow box) is an extremely handy tool for artists anywhere. It can be used like a Camera Obscura or Camera Lucida, which have been used as artistic aids for a very long time. The principle is that you put an existing image, such as a photograph, newspaper...
By: Jetpack5

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As the premiere for ABC and Marvel's hotly anticipated "Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D." draws closer, the network has released an introductory, "declassified" video for Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), a black ops specialist who isn't exactly a people person. (He ruins the set-up for one of Agent Coulson's jokes -- shun him!)

Check out the behind-the-scenes video below and tell us, are you excited for "Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D."?

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