Valentine's Day 2014.

This year for Valentine's Day, I let myself get created with some custom "Elementary-School" styled V-Day cards. I designed them, print them, cut them individually by hand, and sent them out to a few close friends and supporters of GoldenDirt as a token of love and appreciation. The cards feature a few personalities that I enjoy or enjoy making fun of (Kanye):

Jack & Rose (Titanic)  /  Batman / James Bond / Jessie & Walt (Breaking Bad)

Shakira / Mariah Carey / Lana Del Rey / Kanye West

It was a big project, but incredibly fun to do. Most people got 4 cards and a select few got them all. (And to those of you who received them, let's just say I lost a "few" hours of sleep to get these out to you in time. And it's because I love you. So they're EXTRA special. Smiley face.) Along with the cards, I included a letter that explained my reasoning for this project. Here is a portion from that letter:

"When I was a kid, I loved Valentine's Day. I got so excited to love and beloved that day. I always anticipated 2 cards that morning; one from my mom and one from my dad. Then, I would be so excited to get to school to pass out those little rectangular cards to my classmates and to see what I got in my box on my desk. To me, Valentine's Day was always something special and something to look forward to. Now as an adult, it's all about couples over-spending on each other (and if they don't, expect disappointment) or all them singles complaining about how they hate V-Day because it reminds them that they're single. Blah Blah Blah. So sick of it. So here I am, allowing myself to get excited about Valentine's Day and taking the opportunity to give some love to others on the day that's supposed to be all about LOVE! After all, God is Love and what better way to share God with others than by loving them."

So after all the work, I am happy with how everything turned out. My biggest hope would be that the receivers of these cards felt special and loved and that others would be inspired to do what they love to love others. After all, that's what GoldenDirt is all about:

Be the you you were created to be.

- Blessings,

C.

The Artist Lego.

My best friend/roommate, Jon Eick, and I are kids at heart. Adventures, Super Hero movies, and Kraft Mac-N-Cheese still excite us. Legos are another thing that excite us. One of Jon's Christmas presents from me this last year was a tree house set of Legos, which we are of course planning to build together sometime soon. About a month ago, Jon and I went to Portland for a weekend and on our way home Jon stopped at this massive Lego store. We walk over to a display case filled with all different sorts of Lego people. Jon asks the store associate that he'd like to buy "The Artist." He pays for it, hands it to me, and tells me that it is a birthday gift for me from him. One of the best gifts I've ever received.

I recently bought a shadow box for the little guy and some letters to put in there with him. As Jon intended, he now hangs on the wall as an encouraging reminder of what I am: An Artist.

-Blessings,

C.