Jenny Doh

AUTHENTIC BLOGGING

No matter how sloppy my house might be at any given moment in time, my family and I know how to get it tidied up when we know that company's coming. And though company might say "you have such a lovely home," I know deep inside that they say what they say because I haven't let them open my drawers or closets. But that's OK because what rests in such places isn't meant for public viewing. One of the criticisms out there of artful bloggers is that what we show on our blogs isn't "real." That what is authentic is actually kept hidden in the dark and deep recesses of our minds ... recesses that are kept under wraps ... as only the pretty and tidied up parts of our everyday lives are what get posted by artful bloggers.

To which I say, "So what?!"

So what if artful bloggers elect to present our best face, our most evolved musings, our most elevated images? After all, just like when company comes over, it is a persona we are presenting of the best of who we are, the best of who aspire to be. The commitment I made when I launched my blog was that at least for the first year, I would post every single day. And that I wouldn't crab, bitch, moan, or damage others in the process. That I'd share who I am, who I am becoming, and to do so with class, style, intelligence, positivity, and yes ... authenticity.

Because you know what? Though who I am exists within those drawers and closets, who I am also exists in the bright sunny room that is styled and gussied up for the perfect image to be used for the perfect post. There are some who would also argue that artful blogs with a focus on the positive are too distilled and sugar-coated to inspire anything meaningful or thought-provoking. 

To which I say, "Are you kidding me?!"

Every day, we have the challenge of coping with completely uninspired scenes found in life ... attitudes of self-entitlement, envy-driven criticisms, corruption, and downright evil. Before you know it, the negativity of the world can swallow you up and completely strip you of hope, optimism, and the will to move forward and affect positive change. Can a post about pretty chandelier crystals with a fortune from a fortune cookie — or a post about my latest knitting or crocheting project — inspire hope for those in the throes of depression?

Yes.

Can a post about peanut butter sandwiches and a makeshift gun from Mother's white pumps inspire thoughtful dialogue about the effects of "nature versus nurture" in terms of raising boys and girls?

Yes. 

Can a post about passages from a book by economist Dan Ariely inspire nutritional and physical discipline?

Yes. 

Aside from provoking thought and inspiring hope, I love that my blog affords me the opportunity to play, prance, and provide respite from the weight of the world by pointing to things that are ... for lack of a better term ... HOT!

And if you click onto the "That's HOT" category on my blog, chances are that you'll find many posts about my shoes. I have a thing for shoes. One could argue that it's a weakness. Another could argue that it's an addiction.

Whatever.

Regardless of what it may be considered, it is an attraction that I have decided to wholeheartedly embrace. Life's too short to deny such a simple and sexy pleasure.

So that's who I am ... at least that's who I am allowing you to see. If you want to see the other darker parts, I'll need to have a pretty reputable referral to see you and you'd better have "LCSW" or "PhD" inscribed after your name. It is because I know that you're coming over every day to say hello that I resolve to keep things tidied up, put my best shoe forward, and create a space where imaginations are ignited, curiosity is quenched, and style is revered. It is where even the smallest of notes can be heard and nurtured ... because even the smallest notes can gradually increase in volume and capture an audience of like-minded people who will gather to applaud the beautiful and authentic crescendoh.

[This article was published in the Spring 2009 issue of Artful Blogging magazine.]

ORNAMENTS WITH HELP FROM ARTCHIX, MODA, FISKARS, BERNINA, MARTHA

Check out these super cute and super easy ornaments I just made.

I started with images from a really adorable image sheet by ArtChix, available here. With my Fiskars scissors in hand, I cut out my favorite images.

 

Then I took some totally hot fabric from mmmmmmmMODA and cut the fabric to size.

 

With a straight machine stitch, the image was sewn to the fabric.

 

Then I cut a piece of batting so that it would be a tad bit larger than the first sewn layers. Next, seam binding by Martha Stewart was cut and placed onto the batting.

Then back to my beloved Bernina I went to sew everything together.

 

Easy peasy, don't you think?

Beautiful ornaments that can beautify a tree or a gift package. 

Happy crafting. :)

HEAVY MIRRORS

A few weeks ago, I was at the Long Beach flea market with sweet Amy and Pam and Heather. I love this photo because you can see Pam's head in my mirror and the rest of Pam in Amy's mirror. Funny how mirrors can do that.

 

Amy and I each ended up getting our mirrors from a dealer whose name I forget. A really nice guy who imports items from France. The frames on these mirrors were painted by him with a mixture that includes joint compound, and chalkboard paint. 

 

Here's a shot of that mirror in my living room-turned-dressing room. (Yes, my clothes and shoes have invaded my living room. More about that in future posts.) 

I'm so glad that Pam and Amy and Heather encouraged me to get the mirror as they listened to me whine about how heavy it was. It was heavy. But totally worth it. I love it.

CRY WITHOUT WEEPING

"And so she woke up, woke up from where she was, lying still. Said, I gotta do something about where we're going ...

Step on a steam train, step out of the driving rain, maybe. Run from the darkness in the night. Singing ha, ah la la la de day, ah la la la de day, a la la de day.

Sweet the sin, bitter taste in my mouth. I see seven towers, but I only see one way out.

You got to cry without weeping, 

talk without speaking, 

scream without raising your voice ...

You know I took the poison from the poison stream, then I floated out of here. Singing, ha la la la de day. Ha la la la de day, ha la la de day.

She runs through the streets with her eyes painted red, under the black belly of cloud in the rain. In through a doorway, she brings me, white gold and pearls, stolen from the sea, 

She is raging

She is raging

And the storm blows up in her eyes. She will ...

Suffer the needle chill. She's running to stand ...

Still."

{By U2}

TORTOISE THAT COULD

If you're a follower of my blog, you know that I try my best to focus on the positive. After all, who wants to hang out with a whiner or a perpetual woe-is-me person? Not me. I'd much rather hang with those who can rise above it all ... like the tortoise who ultimately outpaces the hare. But the story of the tortoise has always symbolized for me that 1) challenges and negativity will always exist, and 2) you gotta find a way to use negative experiences to fuel the fortitude needed to stay positive.

If you've been following this blog, you know that I immigrated from Korea at the age of 7. One of the most negative things that ever happened to me at the age of 8 happened in our first home in Bakersfield, California. Blackstone Court, to be exact.

Blackstone Court was a cul-de-sac and our home was my family's pride and joy ... one that we lived in as my parents worked incredibly long hours to make it happen for our family, while my brothers and I worked incredibly hard to bring home good grades. Lazy we were not. 

It's hard for me to really even acknowledge that this thing ever happened. 

This thing that happened is that one day, our neighbors started shoveling dog poop onto our driveway. I was so confused when I saw it happening. As the neighbors did what they did, they were laughing and making fun of the fact that we were Asian. That's what got me the most. How, I wondered, could an action that was causing me such pain, cause someone else to laugh? It was at that moment that I realized how ignorance can lead to behaviors that are cruel and damaging. 

As I saw this happening, and heard the laughing, I could feel this other thing happening within me. I liken it to how perhaps the tortoise felt when the hare was laughing at him and underestimating him. 

This thing that happened to me was this fierce determination that clicked on, deep within my entire being, to live a life where I would outpace and out-succeed the hare. 

Over the years, I have also learned that as important as it is to succeed, it's also important to try and eradicate ignorance through education and awareness so that cruelty can be prevented. Because the thing is, cruelty sometimes causes people not to become determined to succeed, but convinced to fail. 

Are you surprised by this post? I am. I didn't think I'd ever share that story. There are other stories that I could share about experiencing cruelty born out of ignorance. Can't promise if they'll ever come out on this blog ... we'll see. But regardless of the difficult stories we all live through, I still stand by the fact that we need to not allow those experiences to crush us. We need to use those experiences to help us become stronger, help us focus on the positive, become successful, and most importantly, to rise above.

I'M STICKING WITH YOU

"I'm sticking with you, 'cos I'm made out of glue. Anything that you might do, I'm gonna do too. You held up a stage coach in the rain, and I'm doing the same. Saw you hanging from a tree, and I made believe it was me.

I'm sticking with you, 'cos I'm made out of glue. Anything that you might do, I'm gonna do too.

People going to the stratosphere ... 

soldiers fighting with the cong. 

But with you by my side I can do anything. When we swing, we hang past right or wrong.

I'll do anything for you ... anything you 

want. me. to.

I'll do any

thing for you.

Ooh oo oh, I'm sticking with you.

Ooh oh oh, I'm sticking with you.

Ooh oh oh, I'm sticking with you."

{Lyrics to "I'm Sticking with You" by Lou Reed for the Velvet Underground.}

{Photographs of our adorable pubs, Toby & Scout, by Johanna Love.}

DOOhDLED SCRAP ART

My good friend Lisa Guerin describes herself as a "scrap artist." She is passionate about taking even the littlest of scraps and making something beautiful with them. Like this tag that she fashioned by stamping a DOOhDLES birdcage to house one of her famous stamped paper dolly necklaces.

And this piece that she made by stamping a birdcage, cutting it out, and attaching it to a tag.

And this one she made by stamping all the dessert-related DOOhDLES onto cardstock that she then cut into the shape of a dessert stand.

 

And here are two more cute ones with a little bit of this and that.

Now let me ask ... don't these creations make you want to be a scrap artist too?

POWER OF THE PEN

Did you know that when we write a letter to our legislators, that a hand-written letter is considered infinitely more important than a typed letter? If you think about it, it's the same in our personal lives. A hand-written note has infinitely more impact than an e-mail or computer-generated note. Because they feel more from the heart. More authentic. More sincere.

Recently, there is a topic that has caused my daughter, Monica, to become so passionate that she has hand written her first set of letters that she is sending to her legislators. 

 

Through the efforts of the good people at Invisible Children, Monica has learned of the horrors of what is happening to children in Uganda — where children are being abducted to fight in wars. And killed if they refuse to fight in wars.

 

 

I am so proud of Monica. Because she wants to help. And because she has already learned one of the most important lessons of all, which is that the pen is mightier than the sword.

{PS: The bracelet you see in the first photo is one we purchased, along with a video that profiles the story of a Ugandan child named Emmy. An amazing story of an amazing family.}

WARMTH OF WORDS

When I was in 7th grade, after everyone turned in a major writing assignment, my teacher selected just one that she read aloud to the entire class. As soon as she started reading, I realized that she was reading my essay. I sat in my seat completely shocked. How could the one she selected be the one that I wrote?  

After class, she pulled me aside and said to me, "Jenny you're a great writer. You know how to write. You need to continue writing."

Over the years, these kind words have stayed with me. And it's true. The words have warmed me for years and motivated me through uncertain times. I wonder ... if my teacher had not said those words to me, whether I would have had the confidence to continue writing. I'm not sure. But what I am sure of is that if we have something encouraging to say to someone ... compliments that we really mean ... we shouldn't hold back. We should say the words. Because you just never know how deeply such words can positively impact people's lives.

THE ACCIDENTAL SPELL

It's always great fun when Ruth Rae and Kristen Robinson stop by the office.

But during their recent visit, the fun multiplied as we added The Accidental Crafter into the mix.

So much fun we had goofing around together. 

And after the shots, we were able to get deep into the mind of The Accidental Crafter as he revealed how he creates with resin, how his words resonate, and how he wishes his editor would leave his words alone.