Beach Bummin' and Ocean Origami

What would August be without some fun in the sun?  J. and I decided to ring in the new month at a local beach and I had a splendid day frolicking in the water and lounging on the sand.  Truth be told, it has been far too long since my last trip to the beach.  Knowing how great I feel every time we go, I should make this a monthly ritual!  

But isn't it a tad ironic that we went to a beach while I have been intently watching Shark Week on Discovery Channel?  I absolutely love it and I tune in yearly to watch all of the shark-themed documentaries that they have to offer.  I am really fascinated by sharks (and aquatic life in general).

I present my origami whale vs. shark duel!  I am pretty sure the shark is winning at this point... A while ago, I taught myself how to fold this origami whale and shark.  If you want to know how to fold your own, let me know and I will diagram it for you! Actually, what is your favorite sea creature? Maybe I'll try to learn a few to teach you all.

In random site news, you will notice a link to our mailing list on the right side of the site.  I am starting up a bi-weekly list to mail out special origami promotions, tutorials, updates, etc.  I would love if you could sign up!  I promise not to spam your inbox.

New Site Layout: Smoke n' Mirrors

As many of you probably know, I am a glutton for change.  I am lucky I can sit through a book without flitting from one to the next.  It is a bad habit in many ways, but sometimes it has crazy creative results... like the new layout!  I was staring at my shop and rearranging some items and I realized that I have a severe lack of blue and green in my inventory.  At that moment I declared to myself that I would make a conscious effort to include more blue in my work...

30 minutes later, the new banner for my Etsy shop was born!  And then after some great feedback on the forum, I decided to extend this new blu-evolution to my blog.  I think it looks nice!  It keeps the "logo" that I worked so hard on, but brings together one of my favorite dolls with my penchant for monochrome and greyscale.  The only tinge of blue left in Aoi (whose name, 青い, means "blue" in Japanese) is the bottom layer of his kimono and the pretty cloud design.  Please drop a line and let me know what you think (even if your opinion is that you liked the previous version better).  It is dark and mysterious... and I dub thee "Smoke n' Mirrors."

You'll notice a few more changes around the site as well.  I added more information to the "About" section include a photo of myself despite my better judgment.  Some crazy blogger friend of mine said, "Christina, people want to connect with you!  Put more personal information on there!" and so I have.  I also put links to various sites on which I have been featured and my "Best Of" posts.  I have also rearranged the sidebar a bit to take advantage of Squarespace's new social media widgets for Flickr and Twitter.  I think they add some extra oomph to the grey-ness of the site.

Off to finish these bookmarks someone commissioned and then onto this paper I have been procrastinating on.  Your feedback means the world to me, so please let me know what you think!