Monday, January 25, 2010

The Chalk Walk

This weekend I thought it would be fun to add some color to my block! So I went outside and traced my footsteps with chalk down the sidewalk.
As I was doing this, a grumpy old man came up to me and yelled at me to stop. I actually thought about stopping until a boy came up to me with a giant smile and said "make more"

and I liked his advice better =)

So I tested out the finished footprints,

ran up to my window to wait with Moo,
and took pictures when people walked by so that it looks like they are leaving trails of colorful footprints!
It was really cute to watch kids (and many adults who thought no one was watching) hop along the footsteps like they were playing hopscotch.

191 comments:

Wendy said...

This is the perfect way to start a Monday - thank you for giving me the perk of happiness I needed this morning! Wouldn't it be cute if Moo left his wee prints alongside yours! Your neighbors ( even Mr. Grouchy pants ) are so fortunate to have you!

sonya audrey said...

You always have the best ideas. :) I'd love to be your neighbor!

P.S. Grumpy old men just like to find things to complain about. There are far worse things in this world than colorful footprints. Silly, silly.

colormekatie said...

haha thats exactly what I said!

RUBIA ARGYI said...

めっちゃかわいい♥

Unknown said...

This is really nice and creative ;-)

Cynthia Narcisi said...

Your community is lucky to have you:) More footprints please!

abb said...

Just wonderful!

abb said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lexi Kay said...

Beautiful! Just what I needed on a rainy Monday morning.

April said...

His favorite color must have been missing. Silly grumpy old man.

smeeeff said...

This is such a lovely idea! I would love to see colourful footprints outside my house! What a silly grumpy old man.

Amber said...

oooh, please come walk in my neighborhood! we could use some colorful footprints! :D

Tiny Quirks said...

lovely idea! next time you should do like a wandering path and see who follows it! i know i would :)

Laura said...

Love it! And ignore grumpy old men yes!

Unknown said...

that's great ! :] it would definitely make me smile and hop along if I saw them on a sidewalk !

Julienne said...

Katie--you amaze me. Your cheerful experiments never fail to brighten my day. Thanks for posting this on a Monday morning! :)

SillyJaime said...

That's a really cool idea! And the pictures are lovely. :]

Anonymous said...

perfect!

Jennifer said...

This is such a sweet idea. I LOVE how much cheer you spread around with your experiments. By the way, my kids cannot stop watching the "Magic Curtain" video and the "Moo" video.

Anisor said...

Do more, more, and more things like these always, please :-)
Biquiños!

Diana said...

I'm glad you didn't listen to that grumpy old man. Your posts always make me smile.

Anonymous said...

How cute! You always have the most creative ideas!

Rachel said...

Oh, I think these are some of my favorites of your photos ... because New York has always seemed like this magical, mythical place to me, and for some reason looking at these views of your window and your street makes it seem real. And the footprint idea is great, too. (My kids have these "shoes" that you can fill with chalk and strap to your feet to make footprints - you can change out the stencils to make hooves or paws or whatever!) Thanks again for the inspiration to make the world a brighter place!

Raptor Plateado said...

WOW is a great idea, that's what is called "trace", I loved it! is as if people stopped very devirtida a track behind her real genius! Katie good week

Classic Passion said...

Great idea, I would have followed the footprints. Thx again

colormekatie said...

@ Rachel- woa, that's awesome! I've never seen those before!

Katy Mary said...

This is beyond adorable. I love it.

liz said...

Whoa! Those are some awesome shoes, girlie! I like having Moo get in on the fun, too. I'll bet he was watching you the whole time. :)

steph said...

Aww I've done this before, but yours turned out so cute! I love that you're always trying to make the world a little more cheerful!

Unknown said...

what an amazing idea! your pictures and creativity are so special

Sherrie said...

SO cute!! your neihbors are lucky to have you!

Kaylen said...

This is perfection. Thank you for sharing!

And grumpy old men make me sad.

Unknown said...

i adore this! you really know how to add a splash of colour in your world and i LOVE that. this is beauty!

Bridget said...

i love that you did this. coolest.

Ariana @Artarra said...

Great idea - it looks so wonderful! As I was a child I wrote "hello" in front of each door in my street - there was an old man as well yelling at me that I should stopp mutilating our street...

colormekatie said...

That's so crazy!

Melissa~ said...

I remeber when I used to draw with chalk in my school floor.
I like the advice of the smiling guy, that is a cool person, not like that bitter men.
I'm in love with your converse! they're perfect.

kisses Katie!!!

Courtney Jane said...

Great little idea!

Adorable.

melifaif said...

That is terrific. Glad that grumpy old man did not make you stop. STOP war. NOT footprints..

Charmalade said...

You sure walked all over the grumpy men in the world (haw haw)! It's little things like these that make my day. :)

http://charmalade.blogspot.com

Jessica said...

I love this!

chelsea rebecca said...

this is so wonderful!
you always have the most cheerful and fun ideas!! i wish i lived in your neighborhood!

MJW said...

Your blog makes me so happy! I can't wait to do this! :)

Unknown said...

I live on this block, and didn't get to see the footprints because I was hibernating for the day. What a pity!

Ali said...

Katie, you are adorable.

Literary Crap said...

This is adorable!
Don't listen to grumpy old men! Making the little boy and the passerbys smile is totally worth it!

colormekatie said...

@ Jess- We're neighbors? How cool!

Kayla said...

I read about that Mr. Grump on your Twitter page and thought how stupid. This is awesome, thanks for sharing, as always. (:

Anne said...

LOL :o)

Rambling Tart said...

I'm so glad you didn't stop. :-)

Sarah said...

I'm so glad that a happy person came by just in time to keep the grumpy person from stopping something so fun from happening. It just shows that we should be vocally supportive of people, even when they're strangers.

Tricia Orchard said...

Your ideas are always so much fun. I am glad that you didn't listen to the grumpy old man.

Tricia :)

The Kid In The Front Row said...

You should have explained what you were doing to the old man and why it is important, and then using your charm got him completely on your side -- which i think would be possible. Next time!

colormekatie said...

I definitely tried to get him on my side but he was really stubborn!

MichelleY said...

Thanks for brightening my Monday! Love your shoes, by the way :)

Unknown said...

This is such a great idea and it looks cute :)

Mandi said...

That old man sounds like he needs a little color and childhood back in his life ;) I love the footprints, I think we may need some outside our apartment when it warms up and the snow goes away!

linnykins said...

Your blog and ideas always make me smile! This one's so cool. <3

Cella Babee said...

Mind if I use your idea? I love chalk! :)

Kristin said...

I just recently found out about your blog, and I have to say, that every time I visit, your posts make me smile. That was super cool!

Gabrielle of Design Mom said...

Happiest post I'll see all week. And this is only Monday.

Anonymous said...

hey, just to translate for you in case you don't read japanese, the hiragana above says "me-cha kawaii" or "sooooo cute!"

felt like i should do sumtin for you for brightening up the neighborhood.

-some white guy on green st.

Anonymous said...

You've never run out of brilliant ideas! Kudos to you! Happy Monday :D

Ionreflex said...

If there was an angel at the bottom of the rainbow, that would be you...

jen jafarzadeh said...

so fun! I'd love to stumble upon some colorful footsteps when I'm walking around the city.

Denise said...

Can you please come to New York and brighten my day? I love your work of art once again!
I need some color myself! The weather is depressing me..

Venassa said...

Haha so cute. Too bad the old man couldn't enjoy it as well.

Brenda said...

What fun. It would be fun to know what Moo thinks of all this.

Kristin said...

Love love love it.

tscd said...

This is brilliant! I'm gonna make this an activity for a sunny day.

Shell said...

I'm glad you didn't stop. This is a creative and fun idea.

Jeanne said...

This is totally awesome! Love it and glad you kept at it nevermind that grumpy old man.

Adeline said...

this is super adorable! I am commenting to let you know that you have been chosen to receive the best blogger award by me Adeline at My Vintage Image.

justanoldfashionedgal.blogspot.com

Sue said...

You have to wonder what is going on in the life of a man who wouldn't smile at this. I feel sorry for him. Love this!

Sue

EdAlia said...

Dear Katie,
You made me smile! Love your blog, keep it up!

3StinkyBoysAndMe said...

Boo! for grumpy old men. Yeah! for fun little kids. I love the idea. What a fun experiment!

Daisy said...

You're so creative!!!!

Julz said...

I gotta say you are such an inspiration to me. I love, love, LOVE your work.

Frannie said...

YAY for Katie!
Another triumph for happiness and fun!
P.S. I tagged for the Kreativ Blogger award on my blog cos you're awesome and your blog always makes me smile!

Laurie said...

However do you think of all these things!? You're hilarious and adorable and I love your blog. :)

http://wishesdreamsandmagicspells.typepad.com

Shybiker said...

What a cool art project!

We need more public art like this. Kudos on your initiative.

Whisper Pink said...

What a neat thing to do!!!

mrs.notouching said...

Loved it!

senovia said...

I'm having stressed out kind of day, but this is so pretty and such a cool idea... :) Love it. TFS.

Laura Z said...

bummer on the grumpy old guy. you should take him some flowers or chocolate or something and tell him to CHEER UP!

i saw your tweet a few days ago and was so excited to see your chalk project! love it!!

lori* said...

Eek! <3

katie said...

grumpy old man be gone - never stop!

p S h A o R t A o said...

I'm definitely glad you took the boy's advice over the grumpy old man. Thousands of smiles over his upside-down one? Definitely ftw. :)

Greta N said...

That is probably the sweetest thing I've ever seen.
I love your blog! It makes me want to make all kinds of wonderful things!

FJ (폐징) said...

Wow! I love what you did...It just made my day. I love your blog!

Aurelia said...

Hey thats so cute ! :) AND I LOVE YOUR SNEAKERS!!!!!!

okay said...

Oh this just made my morning! I LOVE this.

MoJo said...

I love this, this was exactly what I needed today.

Your footprints added colour to my day just like it added colour to the grey sidewalk.

Ebbiemae said...

what a cute idea!! Nevermind that grumpy old man - that looks wonderful and I'm sure you brought smiles to a lot of people. Love it.
cait xoxo

den said...

You fill our cup with good cheer. Who fills yours.
Someone said your neighborhood is lucky to have you. I second that.

CountessLaurie said...

I like the boy's advice better too. Don't listen to grumpy old men!!

Love the pictures!!

Amanda said...

This is so fun! I wish there wasn't so much snow on my block, I'd spread the footprint love.

Julia said...

That looks such great fun. What a wonderful idea. It made me smile. I'm glad you ignored the grumpy old man. :)

Carmen said...

What a great dose of happy this is!!!

So glad you listened to the kid and ditched the grumpy old man's advice!

Kirsten Alicia said...

We need more colorful footprints!!!! Great job & I love the pics. I'm also sending love to Mr Grouchy, sounds like he needs it.

Jen said...

This is yet another super cute idea! =)
I'm sorry about the grumpy old man, but I'm really happy you continued anyway. Yay for the little boy =)

Abby W said...

this is awesome!

colormekatie said...

Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments!!

Cindy said...

we were in two neighborhoods in brooklyn this weekend and i really wish i saw this. fantastic! and the rain the next day is so mary poppins!

Sadako said...

How cute! Boo on the grumpy old man.

somer said...

you have the most amazing ideas ever. :)
im so glad you took the kid's advice over the grumpy old man. kudos :)

i love your posts!

Unknown said...

How delightful! I was thinking of getting some sidewalk chalk the other day but it started pouring... it's been pouring for several days, and the colorful chalk would just wash away.

Amber said...

Golly! You are loaded with tons of ideas! (Looks like your magic wand is working...)

Ian Mckenzie said...

Love your blog... lovely and refreshing and just plane fun..

Cheers

Ian

Kim said...

TOTALLY awesome!

Kate said...

his is so nice, im sure you made somebody;s day!

Leigh-Ann said...

i'd love to see a video of the hoppers :) This is so neat Katie! Lovely lovely, i love thee :)

Michelle said...

Fabulous. And if it made me smile from here, I can't imagaine how big the smiles were in person.

natalie said...

I love what you did!! Amazing shoes too! :)

Leigh-Anne said...

Katie, LOVE your quirky ideas, wish I had time to explore creativity the ways you do! I'm sure the footprints brightened up everyone's day, even those who are just reading this but laughing to themselves :)

p.s. HI to the leigh-ann above! we're practically namesakes! :)

lulu said...

Fantastic.
Love the boys remark 'make more'
Such a metaphor for LIFE!

lesley [smidgebox] said...

that is so cool! i love it. you should trace out some dance steps to see if anyone would follow them down the street :)

Lois Poh said...

LOve it Love it Love it. This is fab fab fab. Im so inspired by you katie, maybe I should do that too. And dont bother about that old man... he'll prolly forget everything the next minute.HAHAHAHA.

Trying to find my life with happy art and all. FInding inspiration through kids too. I love barbie and I wear clickits to school. And oh... im 18 this year.

denise said...

WOWza this is great!

j.cro said...

I found you by way of Design for Mankind and have just added you to my blog roll. Great stuff!! Thanks so much!

Unknown said...

Katie, where ever do you find such wonderful, bright colors of chalk? I would love to have some of my own!

colormekatie said...

I bought this chalk http://tinyurl.com/ycrjs37 . The colors are so fun and bright!

Sally said...

That's such a cute idea! I would do that to the sidewalk outside my house if it wasn't so cracked and if the people on my street weren't so grumpy and obnoxious.

JBUDD NEWS said...

sweet lovin.

Jules said...

Katie, this world is a brighter place because you're in it - thanks for shining your light.

Karls said...

You are amazing! What a beautiful mind you have! Glad I came across your blog... You've made my day!

Teany Tiny Star said...

This is so cute, I think I might go out and do this in my town :)

Krista said...

adorable!!

Melinda said...

i love the brightly colored chalk! it must have been so disheartening to have that old guy come up to you, i'm glad the boy cancelled out his remarks :) adorable once again!

Iva said...

this is one of the best blogs ever.
every little thing here makes me smile
:)love this
THANKS!

JMIECHAN said...

if only we could do that in singapore! and yes, the boy's idea was definitely much better and supportive! LOL

colormekatie said...

Thanks everyone! You're all so sweet!

M.dot said...

What a colourful footpath. I would think it would cheer up the grumpy old man. Maybe he wanted to draw with you too? :)

On another note, do you want to trade your awesome shoes? :)

colormekatie said...

He was actually mad because he didn't want to step on them. He said he didn't want chalk on the bottom of his shoes! I then politely let him know that he's stepping on much dirtier things on the street than chalk!

Got a colorful pair of shoes I could trade you with? ;)

M.dot said...

Hmmm, a pair of bright Indian flip flops..Thread on the top. Wonder what your Indian shoe size is. Hehehe, will send you a picture for fun and let you be the judge.

åsa norberger design said...

You´re a true inspiration. I just love your ideas. You live life like everybody should do. A big smile and i wish u all the best. Check out my scarfes at: asanorbergerdesign.blogspot.com "Tokyo" would be perfect on u.
Take care.
I´ll give u a big hug.Åsa

Judi FitzPatrick said...

How fun and clever!

Tiny Quirks said...

also, i just wanted to let you know that i tagged you in a blogger award. go to my blog to recieve it, congrats!

Yvonne said...

I live in Manhattan but I wish I lived in Brooklyn so I could be your neighbor!
whenever I draw with chalk on my street, someone comes by and washes it off within a few hours :(

Megan Coyle said...

I'm glad you followed through and finished this--what a fun idea.

[insert name here before it crawls away] said...

Haha! That's such an awesome idea!!! Would you mind if I used it here, in Stockholm. It's awfully gray here (seriously :/ it's depressing) and I wanta change that :).

colormekatie said...

That would be awesome if you did it there! Make sure to send me some fun pictures of it. I'd loooove to see =)

Sarah Newell said...

This is sooo cool. I love your website - it's new to me and already can't believe I've just now seen this. So inspiring and happy.

Katie @ goodLife {eats} said...

So perfect for these dull winter days. Thanks for bringing a smile to my face! my kids would love to do this, now if only we had some sidewalk chalk. I think ours is all gone.

Cynthia said...

I bet when you weren't looking that grumpy old man came back and walked along the colors with a tear in his eye. Who knows what makes him sad, disguised as grumpy. Good for you!

stephiejane said...

that is just so amazing!! i would definitely be hop-scotching along that :) thanks for brightening my day

Julie @ chapman interiors said...

Amazing!! I love inspiring things that anyone could do but no one thinks of :)

Cheers!

-Julie

Anonymous said...

As cliche as this sounds, this restores my faith in people after one of those days where I question the human race... Thank you for completely turning my day around... :)

BananaSaurusRex said...

rock ON!

Wendy said...

You DO deserve some sort of award for this! You already got the REWARD. :) Thank you for sharing.

Rebecca (Dog-Eared) said...

AWESOME. what a wonderful idea :)

your shoes are pretty badass, by the way.

pinked said...

Ouuu I fall in love with youre colorfull blog :) Great Sunny and powerfull. Greets from Poland.

Damaris @Kitchen Corners said...

and this is exactly why I love blogs.
It inspires me oh so much

rachel awes said...

first of all, i LOVE your multicolor striped converse shoes!!!!!!!!!!! (i wonder if they are still being made at the land of rainbows!). oh katie, those footsteps are MAGIC. i would totally step on every one & drink in such joyful inspiration. you are a gift to the world/thank you for being dear you! (i'm now a follower). xox

Lea said...

How cute is this?
Found your Blog just now and simply love it, making me very happy : )

Keri said...

This just made my not so great day, amazing. Please, can we be neighbors? Xx

It's All Happening said...

So good! My lovely neighbour used to draw nice things on our sidewalks too... until the STRATA wrote a letter to say CEASE! (grumps)
LOVE the footprints. so colourful.

Jim said...

THIS is exactly what I love about you.

Chantel said...

This post made my day! It makes me want to go out an trace my feet... I hope you don't mind if I borrow your idea :-)

Greta said...

HI. I just found your blog and I love it. You are so much fun! I am going to do this with my kids today. I can't wait to spend an hour or 2 looking through your blog.
I'll be back.
Greta

julialow said...

This is absolutely, absolutely beautiful. Colour - my favourite! It's such an adorable idea and I love how an old man asked you to stop, while the child asked you to keep going. Sometimes, it's good remember how to be children. They have all the fun. Childlike faith is beautiful. x

Heather said...

What a fantastic idea! Great way to add color to the day. I think I'm going to have to do this with my 4 year old... though not many people walk by our house... :)

Anonymous said...

Coolest thing i've ever seen!!! I want to do that too!!!

Ana said...

wow! this is amazing....
you're like a little sunshine on earth and I'm so happy people like you actually exist! it made my day!
God bless u!

Stephanie said...

What a fun idea! I love it! The colors are so vibrant...and make me smile. :)

stephanie@metropolitanmama.net

Jennifer Howard said...

not sure if you read every comment you receive but I just wanted to say, tonight I needed to stumble across your blog. I needed to know that some one (other than me) loved her cat and to make people smile. You are such a gift Katie and I thank you from the bottom of my heart of existing and bringing so much joy to our world. How dull it would be without you. You are a true treasure and I'm glad you share yourself with the world.
Be well,
Jennifer

mel m. m. mccarthy said...

This made my heart beat so fabulously fast. I once wrote a short story about an old woman who draws hopscotch for blocks & blocks. This made my heart light & my day bright. Thank YOU!!!

Nicole said...

O.M.G.

I want to do this!

You're amazing!

Brittany said...

we could use more you's in the world :)

enzopenzo said...

Beautiful idea, a kind of anticipation of Spring's blossoms, a service to the community. And don't underestimate the grumpy old man. People complaining about something that beautifies make the act all the more beautiful.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea!!!

Katie Eyles said...

This is so cute (:
Somethig i'd love to do too.
Kate, x.

Deborah Raymond said...

I have felt gloomy for the past couple of months, winter just gets me down. Looking through your blog I feel the sun shining down, helping me to look at things with a different perspective. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

kendal croix. said...

that is just the cutest idea.

San Smith said...

This is so fantastic! Thank you for inspiring me today :)

Unknown said...

Excellent!

Baly said...

What fun! Also: LOVE THOSE SHOES.

Chris Walker said...

delicious

Deepthi Pola said...

its really awesome creativity :)

Rose said...

You make the world a better place(:

violraviol said...

sos maravillosa

I love your art!

Superkitina said...

oh god, love the idea!!! You always make me smile. (I posted it on my blog)

Jazzy said...

Pure beauty. Such an awesome idea!

Sunny said...

I love this, and I love your blog! My daughter who loves hearts,bright color, and chalk, loves your blog too.

Sunny said...

Hello again! My daughter just started a blog, and she made a chalk walk!http://kealanisspark.blogspot.com/

Shawn Anthony Fraser said...

AWESOME!

aka: Mariana said...

your idea is so lovely !!!
Wonderful work ~~

C.Sarah said...

I just found your blog today, and I seriously can't stop smiling! :)

Anyways, this is AMAZING, I think when the weather decides to stay dry for a longer span of time, I might do this all over campus :)

Stareidlamb said...

love, love, love!

Sophia Grace said...

What a beautiful post. I love the whimsy in it.

Rosey said...

OMG! I have searched and searched for you last year, I keep thinking about the name of your site but I just cant remember. But then I recalled, what project of yours really stuck to me, it was this chalk footprint art. Thanks to google. Silly me! I love your blog and just clicked follow to make sure I don't lose it again! More art power to you Katie!