Please Excuse My Absence

I never said a proper farewell to my baby and I have moved on now and created ArtBlck. It's a creative forum so more than I can submit to it. Thank you all for your support.

Dear Future Self,

You've probably moved on to greater things but I hope you never forget where you started. This wasn't your first. Your first was much better and you deleted it. But you tried and you didn't give up and you kept going and getting better and I hope you come back to this and see where you came from or where you can go whenever you don't believe you can go places. Thank you for believing in you. Keep going. You can do great things. You've lost some and you've left some but you still got your smile. And congratulations. You made it. xx

This is you now.

This is you when you started.

indie-view: an interview with undiscovered artist, Summer Dawn Justice

I dug up my old blog and found this post which was probably my all time fave. I did this interview on December 22nd of 2014. I decided it wasn't fair for me to delete this after she wasted her time on me but anyways, I still find this post ah-mazing.

So while looking through PureVolume for some new music after hearing nothing but Shake It Off everywhere I go, I stumbled upon an artist who goes by the name of Summer Justice. She's older now but her music is still great. I got into contact with her and through e-mail, I interviewed her.

                                               
                                                         Summer Justice performing

1. What made you start writing music? Was there a specific time in your life that made you completely set on writing music?

When I was two, my aunt Monica used to sing to me. She had the most smooth voice I had ever heard. I started singing with her, but didn't write until I was 8. I used to write cute break-up songs, and as I got older, evolved. I started playing guitar after high school and started writing songs about my boyfriend at the time (who used to beat me.) He "discouraged" me from playing music because some of the songs weren't so flattering (in his image). I put my guitar and pencil down for about 4 years. 

2. Who are your biggest supporters when it comes to writing music? Anyone in your family that really helped push you?

My mother and my family through and through. I joined the Navy (which is why I quit for a while) and my parents were disappointed. They felt that I should have pursued my music career. I sang a lot in the Navy as well; those are my other family and they got me some "big gigs" with prizes, and celebrity meetings. :D

3. Who are your biggest musical inspirations? Anyone who influenced the indie style of music you decided to write?

My largest inspiration is my aunt Monica Fuentes. She has the voice of an angel. The only voice I can compare her to is Lisa Loeb who I also adore. Secondly would be Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays. She mesmerized me as a child...and it continues into my adulthood. And finally Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley. These women sum up my inspiration to write and sing. I think I sound like an eclectic mix of these lovely ladies, but that's just me tootin' my own horn :)

4. I realize that there were people trying to steal your music, on PureVolume. How did you handle this?

I wrote PureVolume a few times requesting they take the other pages down. I got no response, and gave up. I guess I just had to tell myself that I was flattered that someone thought I was worth something.

5. What's your biggest fear when it comes to performing?

I fear failure; I fear no one showing up. I once played a show where I was so nervous I took a couple of shots of Jack. I felt fine until I got on stage and I nearly ralphed. I ended up talking myself out of puking, but I forgot I was playing music and realized I had stopped. It was embarrassing, and not my brightest moment. I feared no one would come back....and I kicked myself for it for weeks; I was wrong, but it's the hugest fear!

6. What is your favorite thing to do outside of music?

I like to spend time with my family. We go to flea markets and antique shops, and I sell kitsch stuff/vintage on Etsy.com. On occasion, I'll go to a show, but I'm usually home crafting or writing.

7. Are there any books that you've read recently that help you in the process of creating music?

There is a book by Charles Bukowski called 'Love Is A Dog From Hell," of which I have drawn a lot of inspiration for writing. I try to have a cynical message to a catchy tune.

Well that is the end of this indie-view. I hope you that you check out Summer Justice on MySpace and PureVolume. We can only hope that she continues to write. Until next time.

DIY: Flower Bookmarks

I'm so excited about this post because I love DIY's and I love flowers. Me and my friends went flower picking and I saw some of the most amazing flowers ever. I didn't know what to do with them afterwards so I got creative. I made one of my friends a bouquet of tiny flowers tied with ribbon which was totally adorable. But I remembered when I got this little bible from my grandmother and one of the pages was held with a flower. It was old and still had its color. I didn't want my flowers to go to waste so I decided to preserve them the exact same way my grandmother preserved hers. Here is a quick and easy DIY for flower bookmarks.

You'll need:

• Flowers
• Scissors
• Plain white paper-I used a page from my sketchbook
• A book you're not afraid to get messy
• Tape
• A pen or pencil
• Your favorite quote(s)

1. Flatten your flowers in a book. This may take a good 30 minutes unless you can find something very heavy to put on top. In the meantime, start picking out the quote or phrase that you want on your bookmark.

  

2. Once the flowers are flattened, find the placement of your flower and then create lines as to where you want to cut your bookmark. Make sure to leave space for your quote.

3. Once you cut out your flower, tape it down. You could also glue it down but that is very time consuming because you would need it to dry. The tape also gives a playful look instead of a serious look in my own opinion.

4. Write your quote next to the flower. I also chose a messy, all caps font because I think it ties the whole nature look together.

Now you have your own Flower Bookmark. I put plastic on a couple of mine so nobody could mess it up and taped the plastic down in the back. You can do whatever you want to you bookmark. Like put a ribbon through the top or use it as a wall decoration instead of a bookmark. Whatever floats your boat.

 

Enjoy! xx

Reblog: bright eyed and bushy tailed

   Hey    Hi   I'm not really sure how to introduce myself because, "Hey", "Hi", and, "Hello" just sound really cliche' to me. Shalom! I'm Caitlin. This is not a traveling blog although I do like to wander off and take pictures of things that are interesting to me. Or I keep them to myself because it's nice to have my own little secret. This blog will not be well put together. I may make promises I fail to keep like Super Star Saturday or something of the sort. I've had multiple blogs before this one. Don't go digging for them. I know that I've deleted them but I'm sure that they could possibly surface. I did an interview with Summer Dawn Justice on one of them actually which I might re-blog. I always lists facts about me in everything, even my diary, so that an invader, whomever it may be, can learn a little something about me. Sometimes I even leave my favorite things on one of the first few pages so who ever reads it will know what to get me on any occasion. But here are 30 facts about me:

1. I am a girl.
2. I have almost every social media possible. : Two twitters, One Instagram, Two Kik's, One Facebook, One tumblr, Two Snapchats, ask.fm, We heart it, etc.
3. I don't like to wear makeup. Except for maybe mascara and Carmex
4. I have an obsession with flannels, indie bands, and old photos.
5. I don't like animals but I like pictures of animals.
6. I love the 1975 and One Direction- don't mean to brag but I went to one of the last shows on the WWA tour.
7. I used to read a lot but now we barely go to the library. When we do, I go to the adults section.
8. I like to draw, mainly people. But when I want to overstep my boundaries a little, I draw a tree. (I'm such a rebel!)
9. My best friend is my little brother. The big sister and annoying brother stereotype isn't true.
10. Even numbers make me want to throw up.
11. I have a fear of balloons and animals.
12. I hate tomatoes, onions, and bananas.
13. I don't like bacon because pigs are adorable. I only eat turkey bacon.
14. I hate being athletic, heavy metal, and stools. I always end up hurting myself when interfering with any of these.
15. The 1975 is by far my favorite band. I actually found out most of their album is about drugs and making mistakes. It just feels really underground to me.
16. I am from Arkansas.
17. I like black and white. It keeps things simple. But I do like to play with my colors a lot.
18. I constantly feel drawn to the moon. There is no place on Earth I'd rather be than the moon.
19. I don't obsess over celebrities. You're rich.  Your music is good. You're a great actor; lots of emotion. But you're only human. So how bout a pat on the back, aye?
20. I currently live in Florida which is not all it's cut out to be. It's actually quite boring.
21. I hate being alone with my thoughts because I start to think of death and then I feel a little scared.
22. I met my other best friend in a cafeteria, not sure if this counts as a fact but whatever.
23. I want a Polaroid camera because vintage things are so cute.
24. I like old cartoons, movies and TV shows like Daria, Boy Meets World, Golden Girls, and Ghost World. I also like typical high school movies and watching Frozen so I can point out everything wrong with it and ruin the movie for other viewers.
25. I will flip out if you talk about me. Not because of what you say but the fact that you said something. I'm not one of those ignore it kind of people. Also, I will probably yell at you if you tell me what to do and you're not an adult or of authority to me.
26. 7 words I would use to describe me are: sarcastic, carefree, clever, defiant, warmhearted, lively, bright-eyed.
27. I am a feminist. I actually went through my Bikini Kill phase last year but I still hold my place in equality for women.
28. I don't think that people should feel insecure about themselves because everyone is beautiful whether or not it's on the inside or outside. But please don't think I don't know what I'm talking about because it took me a while to get over my insecurities. Just remember that if you get rejected by society, there's nothing wrong with you, but with them. This is not some corny quote. I sincerely believe that there is nothing wrong with anybody. Even the sickest minds can be beautiful.
29. I am an optimist about a lot of things.
30. My life goal is to get locked in Wal-Mart after hours because why not.

Auf Wiedersehen.
xx Caitlin