my own best friend

the other day i went online and ordered my usual bumble & bumble curl creme, and when checking out i decided to try something new...i took an extra second and selected the "free gift wrap" option =) normally this would be something i just breeze past, but this time i thought it might be nice to send a gift to myself! i even went the extra step and wrote a little note to myself to be included on the card.

a week passed by and i received my package in the mail...by then i had already forgotten about the whole thing and when i opened the box i got such a sweet surprise! the products were beautifully packaged and i was wondering why...until i opened the card and saw my note to myself. such a small thing, but it made my day. now i have some really cool packaging to re-use and a great tip to use when making future purchases online.

here's a peek at the cute packaging:

beautiful graphic gift packaging

a simple note to myself =)

i urge you to give this a try next time you shop online...it's the little things in life that seem to matter the most sometimes!

~kara

forgotten treasures

i was updating my youtube channel last weekend and found this flash animation i created during my first quarter of art school about a year ago...still makes me smile.



the starz series, spartacus, was my inspiration for this creation...andy whitfield you will be missed...

~kara

Fall's Hottest Trend: Car Sweaters!!! (UPDATED)

i was looking at my car the other day and it dawned on me that little ol' subie-doo (my subaru impreza) has been running around town...*gasp*...NAKED! unfortunately, they don't make subie-doo's shirt size in any of my favorite clothing stores...so i had to improvise =) thus, the car sweater idea was born! and, with fall right around the corner, how appropriate would a car sweater be!?!?

with a little creativity, and a trip to my trusty goodwill store, i purchased 11 afghans and started brainstorming the construction of this enormous sweater. i wanted to complete the entire sweater in one day, so thank goodness the weather was bright and sunny on the day of creation! when the sun went down i brought out the head lamp we use for camping - and trudged through the night until i was done!

here's how it all went down:

step 1: layout afghans and arrange in place
step 2: use binder clips to attach seams temporarily
step 3: use serger to sew seams together strategically
step 4: break serger
step 5: use sewing machine to sew seams together strategically
step 6: break sewing machine
step 7: use yarn and a plastic needle to hand sew seams together strategically (for hours and hours and hours)
step 8: step back and admire how cozy your car looks! =)

take a peek at the actual process:

laying out the afghans

lots of trial and error and on-lookers!

here's the finished product being modeled by subie-doo:

lookin' good on the street!

front view of car sweater

rear view of car sweater
(note the antenna is covered too!)

hope you enjoyed the making of the sweater...perhaps your car would like some style this fall too!

~kara

Recent Work

hi there! lots of good things are happening this quarter in school =) i thought i'd share my most recent work with you guys...

i am taking computer drawing this summer and it is incredible! i cannot say how obsessed and in love i am with adobe illustrator! *swoon*

i have created 3 projects in illustrator this quarter: an editorial illustration, a type-based illustration, and an info-graphic. heres a look at my finished works...

for a detailed look at my creative process on each of these, head over to my school blog: karabou-illustrations

Open publication - Free publishing - More bee

                            Open publication - Free publishing - More based

Open publication - Free publishing - More graphic

currently i am working on a photo-realistic illustration of the following photo:

i'll post the finished product at the end of the quarter =)

thanks for stopping by!

~kara

Oh, how I've missed you!

hi there! this past quarter has been a whirlwind!! i have missed the luxuries of free time and especially blogging! i just started my summer quarter this past week and my first assignment in each of my classes was to start a...blog!! i figure if i can manage two blogs for school, then i can squeeze in a new personal blog post here and there! yay!

this past spring quarter i took TYPOGRAPHY and COLOR THEORY. both classes were a.m.a.z.i.n.g! i was sad to see them end...but i learned sooooooo much! in color theory i learned to paint using gouache. that was probably the biggest challenge i have experienced in art school so far. i can only equate the process of learning gouache with learning to speak fluently in a complex language such as japanese! with about four weeks left in the quarter i began to start to grasp the technique needed to create a successful painting. here are some of the paintings i made:

gouache on bristol using triad color system 

gouache on bristol using triad color system

gouache on bristol triptych using tetrad color system (work in progress)

typography was intoxicating for me! call me a nerd, i don't care! i loved every second of that class. while my classmates were fighting the urge to fall asleep...i was on the edge of my seat enthralled by the notions of kearning, leading, specing type, indicating layouts, and much much more! my teacher was very particular that we should learn to appreciate the intricacies of typeface and the rules of typography. he made us ink by hand all of our assignments, and expected nothing less than perfection..."i don't want to see any caca!" was his favorite phrase. i walked out of that class armed with so much applicable knowledge. here is some of my work:

ink on transparency design using symbols, numerals, smart quotes

ink on transparency indicated layout with graphic

ink on transparency leading excercise

ink on transparency indicated/spec'd layout

i got a three week break before my summer quarter began...i crammed it with two trips and a whole lot of zumba! i got to visit my family out in orange county, ca for a week, and also attended the zumba convention in orlando, fl for another week! i also got to create a costume for myself and my mom that we wore to the "glow party" at the zumba convention. the theme of the party was white - the sky was the limit after that! immediately we knew we wanted to be birds for the party so i set off making us some costumes that could be transported easily across the country.

zumba warrior birds =)

i think they turned out great! we fit in perfectly with all the other crazy zumba people!

i just started my summer quarter last week! this quarter i am taking COMPUTER ILLUSTRATION and SURVEY OF DESIGN. i am super excited for both of these classes. you can check out my new class blogs here:

COMPUTER ILLUSTRATION - karabou-illustrations.blogspot.com
SURVEY OF DESIGN - karaboucreations.wordpress.com

speaking of class...i better get back to my homework! it was so good to catch up =) i will try to be better at my blogging habits this quarter...like i said, i have no excuse since i will already be blogging for my two classes! hope you're having a great summer!!

~kara

my blog's new hair-do =)

hi everybody! 

well, this is the last day of my "spring break" and instead of doing anything productive, i have been soaking up some quality couch-time and stumbling through some amazingly inspirational design/art blogs. along the way i thought to myself, "hey you! yeah, i'm talking to you! how about you stop looking at other people's amazing blogs and give yours a new look for spring??" and then i thought, "is it weird that i have this voice in my head bossing me around?" (that's a whole other post entirely, where we can examine my sanity. moving right along...) 

yes, it is definitely time that i gave my blog layout a little TLC. how do you like the new gingham background? and scalloped header? i made these in photoshop cs5 after playing around with some ideas for a bit. i think these new additions suit me much better...and slowly but surely i will be working on adding more of my personal touches around this little ol' blog.

let me quickly tell you how freaking pumped i am to start my spring quarter! SOOOOO EXCITED!!! this quarter i will be taking COLOR THEORY and TYPOGRAPHY. i can hardly contain myself!! i hope to have fun things to share with you throughout the quarter, and yes -- i owe you some posts examining my first year's work from art school. i pinky swear i will start posting those soon =)

here's a few pics of mark and i's seattle aquarium spring break trip:

sad face telling me it's time to stop eating so we can go to the seattle aquarium!

showing the seals some love at the aquarium=)

on a more personal side note: i started seeing a new naturopath today. what's a naturopath you ask?? wikipedia defines naturopathy as:

"Naturopathic medicine employs complementary and alternative medical therapies within the context of mainstream medicine, which help improve the body's intrinsic ability to heal and maintain itself. Practitioners of naturopathic medicine prefer to use natural remedies such as botanical tinctures/medicinal herbs and foods rather than synthetic drugs. Naturopathic medical practice includes many different modalities. Practitioners emphasize a holistic approach to patient care..."

i was very happy with this new dr. and can't wait to start my treatment plan. i am a living, breathing, testimony of how naturopathy can change one's life for the better. if you haven't ever been to one/heard of one, i highly suggest giving it a try (especially if you HATE going to the doctor). the dr. actually gets to know you and your symptoms in depth (i'm talking about a one hour first appointment!), and then figures out ways to let your body start HEALING itself! not write you RX after RX that covers the symptoms and often times creates new ones. 

ok, if you made it through that long-winded detour you deserve a lollipop and a sticker =) that's it for now...hope you have a lovely day. thanks for reading!

~kara

ZUMBA for japan

wow...long time no post =) these last two weeks have flown by! i figured i better get a post up, and what better to post about than my latest project?! 

we all are aware of the earthquake / tsunami tragedies in japan...the amazing group of women (and men) that i am proud to call friends and fellow ZUMBA instructors and students have been working their tails off to throw the biggest seattle ZUMBA fundraiser of the year. when they asked me to design the poster/banner, i jumped at the chance. it has been my pleasure contributing to this event with my artistic side! 

i wanted to create something more simple and bold than i usually do for a ZUMBA poster. here's the finished product:

the same simple concept was also used to create the banner:

please join us on SATURDAY, APRIL 9 - 2 to 4 PM at HIGHLAND COMMUNITY CENTER in bellevue washington to raise money for JAPAN DISASTER RELIEF. 100% of proceeds go to japan through PEACE WINDS AMERICA. this is going to be an amazing experience - we are expecting a huge crowd and around 20 instructors are donating their time and talent to put on an amazing event! 

thanks for reading! i hope to see you at the event!!

~kara