More Eye-Candy From Thailand

So, would you like to see some of the textiles for sale in the Thai night markets? Let's take a peek:

 

 woven textiles

  

embroidery

  

silk, silk, and more silk

  

 beautiful bedspreads

  

 hand-embroidered bags

 So many textures, so many colors! I could spend hours just looking at it all. These pictures don't even begin to cover the myriads of tablecloths, bedspreads, pillowcovers, tablerunners, placemats, coin purses, bags, wall hangings, skirts, shirts, sarongs, scarves, dresses, slippers, and robes that can be found. It's mind-boggling!


Coming soon will be pics of our rain forest adventure - the best part of the trip!

I'm Back! (With Pictures)

My goodness, time sure does fly when you're having fun! Our two-week holiday was over before we knew it. But it sure was fun! The weather was great, we got to spend time with some old friends, and we made some new ones. Even though it seemed like every day was "go, go, go," I left feeling emotionally refreshed and rejuvenated.

One thing I love about Thailand is the artistic creativity that seems to be found everywhere you turn. In Chiang Mai, the Night Bazaar has stall after stall of handcrafted items: cloth-bound journals, leather sandals, paper-shade lanterns, silk pillowcases, embroidered handbags, silver jewelry, wood carvings, paintings... the list goes on and on. There are textiles everywhere. And the colors! Riots of rich jewel tones - it's beautiful. And they do such an excellent job of incorporating "natural" ingredients into their crafts: driftwood, teak, raw silk, mulberry paper... I've compiled a few of my "inspiration pics" below (a couple are blurry, but you can still get the basic idea).

 

paper-shade lanterns

  

see those silk lanterns? lovely!

  

 the pink and purple on either side are panels of silk hung from bars- to die for!

  

 the bright pink lamps - the orange walls - the silk panels - I'm swooning!

  

 dried-vine pendant lamps

  

 natural wood sculpture

{Sigh} Isn't it just gorgeous? It makes me want to give my whole apartment a Thai makeover. I'll share more pics tomorrow!

 

Fish Pedicures

This has to be one of the most bizarre things I've ever done. Stick your feet in a tank of water full of fish, and let the little guys suck all the dead skin off your feet for15 minutes (or longer, if you'd like!). It is the weirdest sensation! The first time was pure torture; my friend and I couldn't stop laughing. I actually did it a second time - much more, um, enjoyable? That's not quite the right word. Tolerable. Yes, much more tolerable. It's a blast to do as a group, to see everyone's initial reactions. Some of our manly-men friends are surprisingly ticklish, lol!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the card I made for my hubby for Valentine's Day. The other day I discovered an old electric Canon typewriter that was left behind by a previous tenant. Seth didn't really get why I was so excited over an outdated piece of office equipment, but I knew it had the potential for many crafty endeavors. Luckily, the ribbon was still in perfect condition - and thus this card was born!

We're having a great time in Thailand. Hanging out with fun people, eating great food, relaxing... It's great. Today a friend and I had "fish pedicures." I'll upload pictures soon!

Hours to Go...

In just a few hours we'll be on our way here...

 

Warm, sunny Thailand! I am so looking forward to these next two weeks. This time I'm determined to take lots of pictures!

In anticipation of our trip, I wanted to come up with an easy but fun way to document our adventures. Sure, writing things down in a notebook or journal is one option, but sometimes that can seem a little stale. Then I remembered these library cards I downloaded a while back from Creature Comforts - perfect!

 

I printed out one for each day of our trip, plus a few extra. Every day I can keep a running log of places visited, foods eaten, souvenirs purchased, thoughts, impressions, etc. Then, when we return home, I can incorporate the cards into a journal or mini album along with pictures and memorabilia. Fun, huh?

Well, I have to be up in less than 7 hours, and I still have some last-minute packing to do. Can't wait to get this show on the road!

 

This & That

Nothing too terribly exciting going on here lately, just doing little last-minute things to get ready for our Thailand holiday next week - laundry, haircuts, updating the ipod, etc. Yesterday hubby and I went to the market to find sunglasses and then had dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant. It was a cold evening, but that food warmed our bellies right up! Such a fun night.

Oh, remember that stamp set I said I found in Hong Kong? It's from Cavallini & Co., called "Destinations." Here's a pic - cute, huh?:

And here's a super-quick card I whipped up:

 The downside is that the rubber isn't trimmed at all, so it makes for messy prints. I had to carefully wipe away the excess ink before stamping, which was a bit of a pain. For as much as I paid for these stamps, I would have expected these to be deep-etched, trimmed rubber. But, regardless, I do love the images!

Now I'm off to watch some vintage X-Files and do yet another load of laundry!