9/21/2014

Quote of the week

Two days ago was International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Arrrrrr, mateys!
I'm not a very good pirate because that's about all I know, shiver me timbers! I'm going to let a very popular pirate take the word instead. Come on, Jack!

Elizabeth and Jack have been thrown off the Black Pearl. They make it to the same island that Jack has been trapped on before and when Elizabeth asks him how he escaped he has to admit that rum runners used to come there who haven't been here for a long time, though, as there are still plenty of rum bottles left in a secret hiding spot.
When he wakes up the next morning - most definitely with a hangover - he sees Elizabeth burning all the rum as a huge signal that will be seen from afar. Some of the palms are already on fire.

Jack: No! Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You've burned all the food, the shade, the rum!
Elizabeth: Yes! The rum is gone!
Jack: Why is the rum gone?
Elizabeth: One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me. Do you really think there is even the slightest chance they won't see it?
Jack: But why is the rum gone?!



People do have different priorities ...

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, USA, 2003

9/17/2014

Khepri

I'll make it short. I knew about the scarab beetle pushing the sun, I knew the image of the scarab with the open wings, but I didn't know about Khepri.
Khepri is the Egyptian god associated with the scarab beetle. He was believed to push the sun across the sky and he was the one to bring up the sun again after the night was over.
Like I said, I made it short, very short.

Well, someone mentioned Khepri to me after seeing one of my pendants with a wire knit web all around the stone and inspired me to try this version.


Of course it is very stylized and you don't see the inspiration behind it without being told, but it's only the first one. I might get myself a scarab focal for the next one.

This pendant can be found in my DaWanda shop now.

9/15/2014

Interview with the artist - Gail from Stormy Designs

Today we will meet Gail who is the face behind Stormy Designs, a shop with lots of color as you will see soon.
Tell us a little about who you are and where you come from.

I'm a widow and I have 3 beautiful daughters who have blessed me with 10 wonderful grandchildren. I come from an artistic family. My father was a professional photographer who loved to paint and draw, and my mother hand colored the portraits for the studio with oil paint or colored pencil, back before color film was invented. She was always sewing or crocheting something. I guess I inherited their artistic abilities to some extent.
Triple fishtail bracelet

Have you always been creative?

I have always drawn, painted or made things with my hands even as a small child. I remember my father teaching me how to color properly and to shade with the crayon so that my coloring looked more dimensional. I've done wood work, cutting out different animals and such and painting them and years ago had a successful business of it in northern VA. I've worked with beading since I was a child, wire wrapping in my later years. About 8 years ago I started working with polymer clay and loved sculpting with it. I made my own beads and wire wrapped earrings, bracelets and necklaces and made ornaments and such for a couple years. The polymer clay items that are currently in my shop are the remains of my claying period. A few years ago I moved into a smaller living space and gave up crafting for a few years.
Ladybug leaves clay choker

What or who inspired you to do what you do now?

Last year my granddaughter Bella made me a rainbow loom bracelet and I was intrigued. I searched online, found the loom and bands, bought them and have been creating ever since.
Bird of Paradise bracelet

Where does your inspiration come from?

Color and nature inspire me. I love working with different colors, seeing which ones compliment each other.

Do you do other crafts, if yes, what?

I love creating web graphics. I use Paint Shop Pro to create with and have used it for many years. I make my own tiled backgrounds and banners for my blog http://stormysdesigns.blogspot.com/ and my own banners and buttons for my shops.

Does your crafting leave you time for other hobbies, too?

Yes, I love to read, have been a bookworm all of my life. I read books mostly on my phone now, it's easier than lugging a huge novel around and my phone is always with me.
Polymer clay fall leaf earrings

Is there something you would really like to try doing, anything from a new craft to bungee jumping?

LOL it wouldn't be bungee jumping because I have a terrible fear of heights and falling. I would love to try learning to crochet, it's pretty similar to working on the rainbow loom.

Which one of your pieces is your absolute favorite?

That's really hard to choose an absolute favorite. I love all of my creations, but if I really had to choose it would have to be my Black, Metallic Purple & Metallic Gold Cincofish bracelet.
Cincofish bracelet
I love those colors together, and the bracelet pattern, Cincofish, is one that I created myself.

Which one was the hardest to make and why?

That would have to be my Coral bracelet, it took hours and hours just to twist all of those "coral" bands.

Coral bracelet

If you had free choice of a supply you need for your craft, no matter how expensive, what would you pick?

An unlimited supply of bands in all of the colors available.

Do you sell online, if yes, where can we find you?

I sell online at Zibbet and at Handmade Artists.

Is there anything else you want to tell us?

I love custom orders! If you see something in my shop that you'd like in a different color or size, just let me know. I'd be glad to make something just for you.
Thank you for your time, Gail. I am sure you'll want to get to back to your loom now to make more lovely and colorful designs for us all to see!

9/14/2014

Quote of the week

Today's post is in honor of my very own (I'm gonna pay for that) alien at work.
Have you ever wondered if the people you work with are aliens? No matter if you work at a post office, a hotel, a library or the local pool?
Maybe you are just completely clueless because you have been neuralized. Maybe you should check your wardrobe for a black suit. Whatever you do, take a close look ....

Agent J: "Why do you think you're so comfortable here? Just about everybody who works in a post office is an alien."


You have been warned.

Men in Black II, USA, 2002

9/13/2014

A new HeatherCat or The moustache

I can almost hear you. "Wait. You told us HeatherCats don't have whiskers, and now what ... there's one with a whole moustache?"
Yup, there is, a very fine moustache even, obviously well cared for.
Heather was inspired by someone famous when she created this design for a stamp. Can you tell who it was?





****cat (no spoilers) in this silver and black version will be in my Zibbet shop soon, of course in the HeatherCats section.

9/12/2014

Ride, boldly ride ...

... to the end of the rainbow, ride, boldly ride, till you find El Dorado.

From the first time I saw this cabochon online, I had the song in my head. I love that movie although I'm not really that big a Western movie fan. I always have to sing along, too.
Had this been a bigger cab, who knows, there might be a horse there now or tumbleweeds or John Wayne. As I didn't want to cover most of the cab, though, I had to do with the sun and a cactus that I worked on with my pliers to make it look prickly.



You can find the pendant in my DaWanda shop.
Now excuse me while I'll sing the El Dorado song to Ponder once again. His eyes go all big and I don't even want to know what he's thinking .........

9/07/2014

Quote of the week

I'm going to go the easy way today. First of all I like the movie and I always liked that particular scene and the quote.
It will not be very original, either, because so many people already paid their tribute with this quote, a tribute to a great actor. I'm talking about Robin Williams of course. He will be missed.


"O Captain! My Captain!"

Dead Poets Society, USA, 1989