Lovely profile picture

Lovely

Be the change you want to see in the world.

About Me

I love to create beautiful things, especially using recycled or found materials. In my free time, I can be found melting down and reinventing old records, making jewelry from vintage materials, creating custom pieces with chiyogami (old paper), snapping photos, painting, singing... Are you seeing a pattern here? The drive to create is strong.In addition to my alchemy, my husband, Tim, and I started a project called smARTbags (website under construction), which is a campaign to combat single-use bag addiction in commerce, while also promoting works by artists in our community. We believe in making the world a better place, and that creativity is an essential piece of that process. Check out my store at lauraleesparling.etsy.com I'm new to the site, so keep checking back as I will add things frequently. You should also visit timsparling.etsy.com to see some of my husband's art as well as some of our smARTbags. Our smARTbags can also be seen in Columbia at Peace Nook, The Farmer's Market, and other locations to be announced soon. We will be at Earth Day April 20th! In addition to our hand-drawn, painted and screen-printed bags, we will also have blank bags, materials and stencils for decorating your own. Please come by and see us if you're in town.

My Interests

I love this man:Also:Music, photography, claymation, dancing, hiking, talking, laughing, bouncing on the bed, rolling in the hay, making lists, tearing paper, writing, watching movies, eating ice cream, cooking, learning new things, looking at things through colored glasses, painting, drawing, nuzzling my kitty, etymology, reading, animal behaviour, gardening, stretching boundries, riding my old Schwinn, thunderstorms, watching to see if the weather man is drunk on the evening news, leaving odd messages on your phone, antique shops, historical towns that survive solely on the basis of tourism, strange roadside attractions, travel, doing things in the dark, doing things backwards, saying things backwards, riding to the tops of tall buildings in elevators and looking out the windows, holding seeds, dreaming, thinking about my dreams, thinking about your dreams, chasing fireflies, looking for constellations, watching meteor showers, fantasizing, embroidery, sending snail mail, penpals, playing with kids, skating, crunching ice, experimenting, walking, riding trains, asking questions, poetry, and you.

I'd like to meet:

Your Mom

Music:

I could list all the bands I dig, but there wouldn't be any point and my fingers would go numb before I'd be finished. If you want to know if we like the same kinds of music, chances are that we do. Chances are also good that I listen to some stuff that would make you vomit or want to stick pins in your ears. My favorite songs are the ones people make up for me.

Books:

Are better than TV.

Heroes:

Are best eaten fresh.

My Blog

Eve Ensler on Sarah Palin (and Happy Birthday to me!)

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following about Sarah Palin.Drill, Drill, DrillI am having Sarah Palin nightmare...
Posted by Lovely on Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:35:00 PST

She’s a liar.

These are the things that bothered me most about Sarah Palin's acceptance speech:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/04/politics/an imal/main4414049.shtml
Posted by Lovely on Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:38:00 PST

Ever the mind-changer

Well, folks, I wrote that last blog right about at the time I was feeling totally overwhelmed by all of the 'not to mentions' I mentioned. Had a talk that evening with Tim, about the facts of the situ...
Posted by Lovely on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:51:00 PST

We might be crazy.

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged. There was surgery, recovery, financial stress from missing work, and lots of other crap that has kept me distracted. My latest distraction? Planning for the...
Posted by Lovely on Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:09:00 PST

Truck for sale! Practically new!

Tim and I have to sell our truck. If you, or anyone you know is interested, you can email Tim at [email protected] or call him at 573-424-5384.It's a 2005 Ford F-150, only 26K mi. 4.2 Liter V6...
Posted by Lovely on Mon, 19 May 2008 08:25:00 PST

Can I give up?

Please? I'm tired.
Posted by Lovely on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:02:00 PST

Earth Day Aftermath

I am EXHAUSTED! But thanks to everyone who came out yesterday and stopped by our booth at Earth Day. I sold out my entire inventory, and Tim sold quite a few as well! It was a lovely day, there was gr...
Posted by Lovely on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:33:00 PST

Earth Day 2008!

Earth Day 2008 and smARTbagsIf you're in Columbia, you probably know that we'll celebrate Earth Day a week from today, April 20th (unless we get rained out, in which case the festival will be moved to...
Posted by Lovely on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:13:00 PST

We are the champions...again!

I just got back from regional competition with my chorus, not this last weekend, but the weekend before. We worked SO hard, leading up to it, and it really paid off! We won first place in the small ch...
Posted by Lovely on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:40:00 PST

I’ve been tagged.

I GOT TAGGED BY FIREDANCER Here’s how you play: Once you’ve been tagged you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random, facts, habits or goals about yourself , at the end choose 10 (or mor...
Posted by Lovely on Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:36:00 PST