12/30/2011

Excuses

I could tell you a lot of things while I'm such a lazy blog writer lately and all of them would be true, but it wouldn't make a difference, right?

So I'll just blame it all on Esme. No way I can work well at the computer with a giant cat like that, taking over everything? ;-)


12/26/2011

Not a Monday collection ...

Let's make it short and crisp. I left ArtFire. It doesn't matter when, why, where, who, what ... I left and that's that.
Most of my items are moved to my Zibbet shop already. That's all that is changing, promise.
Well, there's one more thing. I don't make the Monday collections anymore now. Instead the Monday will be reserved to either artist features or my finds of the week. Unfortunately my decision came rather sudden which means I was totally unprepared for today (and also means that I neglected to send all kinds of Christmas greetings, shame on me).

I'll do my best to distract you with a picture instead. Look, it's a cat with a box!


Shhh ... did it work?

12/25/2011

Quote of the week

I'm a Blackadder fan, since I have quoted from the series before, it's too late to hide that. One of my favorites is the Christmas story, quite loosely based on Dickens's story ....

Blackadder: Nuts, turkey and presents. What more could a man desire at Christmas?
Baldrick: Well, a tree.
Blackadder: Oh, of course, I quite forgot. I dropped in on Mister Thicktwistle's Garden Emporium and, I think you'll agree, got quite a bargain on this special Christmas ... twig.

Unfortunately we won't get to see this "enormous" twig decorated as Mr. Blackadder's niece takes it away later. What a pity, I bet it would have looked splendid!



P.S. Charlie Brown and his little tree comes to mind, don't you think? ;-)

12/24/2011

Merry Christmas!

I wish you all a wonderful, peaceful and stressfree Christmas and so do the two mice in our little decoration!

12/20/2011

Komodo sun

No, I'm not out to "hunt" the dragons, but the dragons ... wait, let me start at the beginning.
You know that with most of what I do I'm not bound to a certain spot. Somehow I haven't had one of my night sessions in my library armchair for a while, but last night I went up there and got drawn in by my Robin Hood DVD (the old BBC TV series) while rummaging through my storage box. It's amazing what things you can find when you haven't even been looking for them, that strand of andalusite I had been saving, some silver beads I had forgotten about, Tundura sapphires, a small bag of leopard skin jasper and an agate ring.

After a little thinking, humming along with Robin's Merry Men and fiddling I had an idea and this is the result. The way the beads lie next to each other reminded me of a lizard ... a dragon ... Komodo! And when I found the matte black agate I still had fit right into the middle, I was really happy.

Komodo sun pendant
Nothing much has been happening in my life beside that. I read, I work, I play, I get tortured by the cats (Ponder cooking bead soup for me by jumping on my bead mats for example), I get loved by the cats (nothing like a tiny cat like Meffi sleeping on your head, yup, not next to my head), pretty normal everything and probably pretty boring to you. Sorry about that ;-)

12/19/2011

The Monday collection - Santa Claus is coming to town

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He's making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town

I can't help it, I love Christmas carols, no matter if it's the traditional ones or the modern ones and at this time of year they bounce through my head constantly!


My blog layout doesn't like the large collections. Please click the picture to get to the original collection!

12/18/2011

Quote of the week

As you already know, it wouldn't be Christmas without a few movies very dear to my heart, so guess what? Yes, we're gonna have a Christmas movie quote, yay!

Remember how we were as children? We didn't hold back with our opinion about presents we didn't like. Politeness, come on now!
I bet Aunt Clara would have been a little hurt about Ralphie's (ah, I can see the first ones already know what movie this is about) reaction to the wonderful pink bunny costume she made for him.

Ralphie as Adult narrating: Aunt Clara had for years labored under the delusion that I was not only perpetually 4 years old, but also a girl.

I just watched that scene again, it never fails to crack me up!! Do you understand why when looking at this picture?


12/12/2011

The Monday collection - Veggies galore

It's really dangerous to make a collection with yummy looking veggie items, I was so craving food afterwards which is hard if you are looking at a very empty fridge!

I'm not sure the task of cooking would be easier with these veggies around, they are not very nutritious, but so much fun!


My blog layout doesn't like the large collections. Please click the picture to get to the original collection!

12/11/2011

Quote of the week

I have been obsessed with my bead loom this weekend and am late, I know.
I'll keep it short and give you a quote from one the best known highschool movies ever, I think.

It's also something to think about.

Alison (the outsider): Why are you being so nice to me?
Claire (the "school princess"): Because you're letting me.


You know what movie it is? Then let's sing together "Don't you forget about me ...." ;-)


P.S. And yes, I thought Bender was real hot, too ...

12/09/2011

Experiment and a torso

Not experiments with a torso, you crazy people! ;-)
Let's talk about the experiment first (in the meanwhile you can fuel your fantasies about the torso). You know that when I learn a new technique, I have to think of a way how to combine it with the "old" ones. Ever since I started bead looming, my brain has been going click, click, click about how to bring it together with wire crochet. The very first attempt was pathetic to say the least. I didn't even rip up the cuff yet because I hate to separate tiny beads, even if there are only two colors.

Of course I was inspired by Erin Simonetti after seeing her using kumihimo threads in her work. If you can use thicker threads, you can use wire crochet ropes, can't you?
Here's news for you. You can.
Keep in mind, this is an experimental piece, but after learning a few essentials from this one, I think there are quite a few possibilities to play with this and I'm looking forward to it!


Now the torso. Gee, people, really. You'll be disappointed. Meet Ms Newberry (and no, there's no story to the name, it just popped up in my mind).
Ms Newberry started her job today - after a short introduction yesterday. Her job description is to stand in my upstairs kitchen all day and to model a longer necklace from time to time. She's wearing a little outfit in decent grey at the moment. I might have to keep her away from the computer, I don't want her to start ordering less decent outfits!
I know she's not a torso, she's a personality with ... hm ... with arms, but without head or legs. I don't know much more about her yet except the fact that you have to be careful with her arms when you carry her around because she likes to lose them. If she develops any more interesting quirks, I'll let you know ;-)


12/07/2011

Universe

I'm not really good at making free form pieces. I have to push myself hard to make something slightly asymmetrical and free form ... well, that takes me back to school when I argued with my art teacher about being too much in love with details and too stuck to symmetry. I can still see him taking my tool from me when we had to do an etching of a forest, scratching some wild branches into my carefully designed wood, telling me that nature was wild. So he was right, but still .... let's say we loved to provoke each other and being almost grown up now I see he did have some points and am able to admit it, too :-P

This piece started out with an attempt of using thicker gauge wire for needle lace. I'm not sure anymore what exactly I wanted to do with it then, but when I found it today and then stumbled upon some more gorgeous bubble lampwork beads by Deronda O'Neill, it was like a sign - possibly from my art teacher *grin*
The beads look like the planet Earth to me with their lovely color and this gave me the idea to turn the silver into the atmosphere surrounding it, keeping it organic and "wild".


"Universe" is available in my studio now.

12/05/2011

The Monday collection - Stripes, stripes, stripes

From socks to zebra butts you'll find all kinds of stripey fun in this collection. I admit my favorite are the zebra butts ;-)


My blog layout doesn't like the large collections. Please click the picture to get to the original collection!

12/04/2011

Quote of the week

Today is about a movie I keep coming back to, probably because of being attracted by the 60s mood ...

Here a short summary - ladykiller dentist Julian Winston tells his lover Toni Simmons he is married while he's not. After she tries to kill herself, he wants to marry her, but when she wants to meet his (non-existent) wife, he's in trouble. He asks his assistant Stephanie, a rather prickly and stern woman, to play his wife. Throw in Igor, the young playwright, Harvey, the annoying actor and Julian's friend, and Mr. Sanchez, the diplomat, and start the merry-go-round ...

My quote today is from the scene when Stephanie has to go out with Harvey to prove to Toni that she wants the divorce just as much as Julian. Harvey orders champagne and Stephanie looks at the label ...
"Oh, I didn't know they made champagne in Idaho."


All I can say to that is "Cheers!" ;-)


P.S. Why do I feel the urge to make a 60s inspired piece of jewelry now ... strange ...

12/02/2011

Friday Musings Illustrated

I bet you know the excitement of finding a long expected parcel in your mailbox. This landed in my mailbox yesterday as part of a swap in my bead looming group (if you are curious and want to know more about bead looming, check out Erin Simonetti's blog, but be sure to sit while having a look), it came all the way from Australia from the lovely Gretchen.
Isn't it beautiful and slinky? And it's MINE!


I haven't shared my latest adventures in looming with you for a while. These are just a few of my latest cuffs. As you can see I'm still experimenting.


I have been wanting to tell you about this snail for a while. The talented ColtPixy (sssh, she has a 50 % clearance sale in her ArtFire studio right now!!) swapped her for some of my things. I'm totally in love with her, can you see why?



What else have I been up to ... let me think. I listed more pieces, I took pictures, I scheduled blog posts and I have to giggle every time I hear the name Tesla, but that's a long story. I cooked, I keep struggling with level 50 of an online game and yell /$%§/$/"" a lot. I give Esme her pills and am happy that she comes back to me afterwards instead of hiding. I am working on an eye pendant, slightly creepy, but fun.
And I had a far too long nap this afternoon which kept me from folding the laundry. What a shame ;-) You won't get to see a picture of that, either. Oh yeah, I should write two e-mails quite urgently.

One more last picture before I go, for those who don't read Ponder's blog. Isn't he like a visitor from the past?


11/28/2011

The Monday collection - Breakfast anyone?

What breakfast type are you?
There are people who need a quiet breakfast and their newspaper, there are the runners who only grab a quick bite on the way out, there are those believing in a healthy breakfast with all important ingredients to give them a good start into the day, there are those who try not to fall asleep in their coffee cup, there are those who prefer it sweet and those who prefer it hearty ... but no matter what type you are, I bet you never had a breakfast like this one!


My blog layout doesn't like the large collections. Please click the picture to get to the original collection!

11/27/2011

Quote of the week

I'm not a runner. I'm not even a walker to be honest. I wouldn't know about the hormones that kick in to give you that absolute pleasure and happiness when you are running and I wouldn't know how it is to compete with someone running against you (I'll spare you my my embarrassing experiences from school ;-)).
You wonder because you never even have seen the word "sports" mentioned in this blog (except one time when Ponder was debating about joining a sports college)?

Today's quote is from a sports movie, one could say. Actually it's not only about running however, but two very different athletes. One of them, Eric Liddell is running to praise God through his talents, the other one, Harold Abrahams, who is Jewish is running for fame and to overcome prejudice.
The movie is based on facts. 



Harold M. Abrahams: I don't run to take beatings! I run to win! If I can't win, I won't run!
Sybil Gordon: If you don't run, you can't win.

11/26/2011

Inspiration versus stash

It is a win win situation when that happens. In this case I have three pendants.

I got the everyday design, a lovely big hole lampwork bead by Melissa Vess hanging on a drop, crocheted from fine silver wire. I see it with a blouse and jeans for example.

Wire crochet drop with lampwork bead

I got the unusual one of a kind design, modern, bold, full of contrast between the black and the white parts.
It's made up of a piece of white shell, a matte black agate, both caught in fine silver wire crochet bezels, and opaline and black Swarovski crystals.

Wire crochet one of a kind black and white pendant

Last, but not least I got an elegant and feminine design, dainty and beautiful, made from apatite beads almost hiding away in a little silver wire crochet "bowl", surrounding a white pearl. From that bowl dangles a headpin with five more pearls.

Apatite, pearls and silver wire crochet pendant

And you know what? They are all listed already. Just click the caption under the images!

11/24/2011

Stop the thief! ;-)

Do you remember the Slouchies? I told you about them here. What you don't know yet is that one of them moved into my house where he has been standing on my desk, leaning at my box of business cards, smiling at me.
This is what Cleody told the world before I adopted my Slouchy:
"This little Slouchy has been naughty.
Apparently on their home planet, this little one got into the habit of stealing pretty trinkets from other Slouchies. After coming through the portal, we decided to give him another chance. However, it was apparent that his love for shiny things was too great. He began running around in a frenzy, giggling and hopping around, rolling in my jewelry and plucking shiny accessories from other Slouchies.
This little one is no danger to others, so he is allowed to function as any other Slouchy would. However, to keep him from stealing, he sleeps in a tiny jail cell made of popsicle sticks and he empties his little pockets every night before going into the cell. It's a pretty good system so far.
I hope whoever adopts this little one doesn't mind the occasional piece of jewelry going missing.
He's a little thief, but who could resist that little smirk?"

Yeah, now tell me it's not as if I haven't been warned, but it's true, I couldn't resist that little smirk and the little fellow makes me smile each time I look at him. Sometimes I discuss new designs or photos with him and he has been very helpful so far.
For some reason I started calling him Ben.

Well, today I had a look over there to the box and Ben was gone, but not alone. He had grabbed some of my unlisted pieces and made a run for it. I finally found him in my library where he tried to blend in. Too bad that brown wood and a jailbird outfit don't blend too well. Around his neck he wore three long lariats, wire crochet ropes, all of them with lampwork beads by Deronda Designs


He didn't hesitate to give them back to me, though, and he made my heart melt, so I let him wear the pair of earrings that I finished today, gunmetal colored hoops with sparkly Swarovskis all around.


I'm glad he hadn't seen my last two listed items, a bracelet and earrings, also both with lampwork beads by two of my favorite "fire" girls, from Pink Beach Studios and Melissa Vess.

Wire crochet rope bracelet with lampwork bead

Wire crochet rope hoops with lampwork beads

I guess now that Ben has licked blood, I'll have to have an extra eye on him. I don't even want to think about what will happen when he teams up with Ponder, my other master thief! ;-)

11/21/2011

The Monday collection - Old MacDonald had a farm

.... and here are all his animals. There's not really much to say about this collection, it speaks for itself and I had big fun putting it together!


My blog layout doesn't like the large collections. Please click the picture to get to the original collection!

And a little extra for all of those who love Donald as much as I do!


Thank you, Veevid4u!

11/20/2011

Quote of the week

Are you ready for a premiere? Today I didn't take my quote from a movie or a TV series, but from one of my all-time favorite comic strips. Its stars have been around for a long time and they are great not in a "right in the face" way, but in a subtle and intelligent way.
Mind you, what could be more subtle than a beagle being a world famous cashier or a WW I flying ace? ;-)

What do you want to be when you grow up? Linus decided to be a fanatic. A real fanatic. One who doesn't really care what to be fanatical about, though. Sort of a wishy-washy fanatic.
Then Charlie Brown sees him making weird faces.

Linus: I've decided I should be more than just a fanatic ... I'm going to be a wild-eyed fanatic!!



There's nothing to add to that.

Charles M. Schulz: But WE love you, Charlie Brown, 1959

11/18/2011

Finishing touches

You know how from time to time I'm trying to finish stuff. I'm definitely not the only one with a load of WIPs around or with a stash of beads etc. that could buy me my own tennis court (no, I don't play tennis which makes the decision for the stash a lot easier) and every, now and then the moment comes to calm your own bad conscience and finish a WIP or use up a few beads (wire, cabs, clay, yarn, whatever your poison may be). Afterwards you can happily start fourteen new WIPs and put in a huge bead order and it will feel so right!

I actually did both (AND even listed an item) and I hope you are as impressed as I am about myself. I think I earned myself the right to order Delicas in abundance later. Now if I could get enough peace to take photos, everything would be fine, but it's hard to concentrate on the right lighting with a yelling cat sitting in front of the door. So you will only get to see pictures of one piece now.

This necklace actually started out as a sample for a custom order. The middle part is spool knit fine silver with my beloved dark red and black Swarovski crystals, a color combination that I'm crazy about because it looks so luscious. I crocheted a very slim silver rope to go on each side and added a little focus to where the spool knit part meets the rope by wrapping around two rows of crystals.
It's dainty, it's elegant, it sparkles ... and it will hopefully be listed in my shop tomorrow!



11/14/2011

The Monday collection - Good manners

Good manners - the noise you don't make when you're eating soup ~ Bennett Cerf

This reminds me of the scene from the movie "Clue" when they eat the soup. Hilarious. I could never take that one for the quote of the week post because I would have to show a video of it, but I love Madeline Kahn as .... oops, digressing once again.

I like soup, I really do and sometimes I have a sudden craving for it. That's why I set out to look for soupy items on ArtFire. Just look what I found!


My blog layout doesn't like the large collections. Please click the picture to get to the original collection!

11/13/2011

Quote of the week

Ssssh. It's me. And yes, I am cheating a little. Did you think I forgot this post? I didn't, I just have something else on my mind at the moment, a big something. Cat-related, you know.

Blogger is so nice to let me backdate posts however, so I thought, oh what the heck, let's do that.

I'm surprised at myself for not sharing a quote from this movie with you before. I remember when a friend took me to the movies insisting I should see it. We were probably about fifteen people there at the time. The movie was in English with subtitles and just now I found I can't remember ever watching it in German. Sorry, enough rambling, we'll get to the quote now.

Rigby Reardon is a private detective who gets drawn into a fascinating case ... and he gets to meet some people who seem strangely familiar. The story has been mixed with scenes from other black and white movies, so we get to see Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Cary Grant, James Cagney and lots of others, and it's not at all badly done for a movie from the early 80s.
Very unlike Reardon's aka Steve Martin's transformation into a lady .... that's bad.


Reardon: I was wearing a special perfume called "Fondle me". Its aroma drew Neff to me like fat to a mother-in-law.

He doesn't look as if he likes the fondling part much ;-)

11/10/2011

Dein Helfer

That means "Your Helper" and that is what this little booklet is called and it gives "precious information and hints for house and home". It has a little thread on which you could hang it into your kitchen, I guess. I'm not sure if the sunshine of my life has tried to tell me something by getting this for me .... (actually I'm collecting old cookbooks ;-))
So how about if I share some of that precious information with you. We can talk about how to get spots out of your clothes or what to do in case your potatoes are frozen. I don't give any guarantee, however. You'll understand that.
The booklet was probably published in the late 40s, after the war. Some things might be handled differently nowadays, what do you think?


Let's start with the frozen potatoes, shall we?

"These must thaw slowly by being put into cold saltwater and brought into a warm room. That way they lose the sweet taste. You have to use them as quickly as possible then."

Now aren't you glad you know that now? Stay tuned for the next hint! ;-)

11/09/2011

Patience

Patience is precious and doesn't come easy. Not to me, anyway. As you know the only exception is when I pick up the hook - or now the needle.
The following piece is one of those examples. It began as an experiment born from a childhood memory. When I was a child, I had a velvet ribbon with an embroidered colorful butterfly sewn to it. I don't know what happened to it. Now I can't embroider and I can't sew as you know, so I had to deal with this my way.
I'll cut the story short (just in case you don't have as much patience as me, hehe). I loomed a butterfly focal, I crocheted a wide choker (with a small hook because I'm weird that way) and then I brought those two together. It sounds short, but believe me, it wasn't.
Of course this idea didn't come alone, they never do, it brought along some pals that are waiting on my "inspiration list" now ...

And as I had worn out my patience, I then worked on my "Use up that stash or you will never be allowed to buy any beads again" project (don't mention the bead order I put in on Sunday) and made this ring with faceted stones left over from other pieces. Nothing like a little sparkle on your finger.
The ring is available in my shop now.

11/07/2011

The Monday collection - Ribbit ... ribbit ...

Of all the summer nights I spent at the farm of my godmother's parents as a child, I remember one in particular. We had that big campfire in the garden (I was about 7, it seemed very big to me), it was warm, the food was good, the children were running around, the grown-ups were talking ... and in the background you could hear the frogs and the crickets sing.
Oh, and there was the one time we went to the lake in the woods and there were all those little frogs on the path, so many of them. Okay, maybe they were toads, I didn't really care then, all that mattered was they were so cute.

This collection was made in memory of childhood summer nights. I found some great things, go check them out!


My blog layout doesn't like the large collections. Please click the picture to get to the original collection!

11/06/2011

Quote of the week

Oh my. It's evening already. It's not that I forgot about it being Sunday aka Quote Day, but I was preoccupied with something else. All day. Yeah, yeah, I know it's hard to believe, but that's the way it is.
Therefore I'll keep the post short now and write down what you may think now.

"Incontheivable."
You don't have to lisp when you think it, but Vizzini who says it more than once in the movie does, I just wanted to give you an idea of it.
Actually there seems to be a lot of incontheivable things according to Vizzini. If you know the movie, you also know what I'm talking about.



P.S. Wallace Shawn who played Vizzini says people still come up to him saying this. I'm almost ashamed to say that I'm so unoriginal, I would probably do the same thing!

11/05/2011

Tears of the cloud

Once upon a time there was a little rain cloud. It was pretty cute for one that doesn't look all fluffy and white like cotton balls, but no one noticed. Whenever it went out to play, all the people down there started opening their umbrellas or running off.
The little cloud was very sad about that. Just because she was dark and grey didn't mean she was something to be scared of. She had never done anyone any harm and she didn't intend to.
One day when another bunch of people had fled just at the sight of her, she started crying. Suddenly she heard a laugh and she looked down in surprise. There stood a woman smiling at her who caught the cloud's tears in her hand ... and they were all sparkly and beautiful ...

Tears of the cloud one of a kind pendant

Cheesy, huh? I'm not saying I am this imaginary woman, but I do like rain, not just when I'm inside to watch it through the window.
The beautiful grey agate cab reminded me of a rain cloud, so I decided to really make it one. I crocheted a bezel for the cab, then I made the individual parts of the cloud, attached them to the bezel and to each other and topped it with a handwrapped bail.
The sparkly tears are clear Swarovski crystals which do not only set a contrast, but also bring movement to this one of a kind pendant which is available in my studio now.

11/04/2011

Random questions

Do you also have the feeling that your brain is working constantly? Can you hear it ticking and sometimes smell the smoke?



The brain is a miracle. Still sometimes I think something is wrong with mine. Why else would it come up with those detailed, yet oh so crazy dreams (which still can be lots of fun at times), why else does it take me on those quick train of thoughts that might start with cauliflower and end with a princess in fairy land?
And why does it keep asking questions to which I don't have an answer?

How come that you see a cat sitting in a spot, turn around for a second, and when you turn back, there's a different cat in the exact same spot?

Why is it you go to a store to get something and you end up buying everything else, but forgetting that "something"? Which of course you don't notice before getting back home.

How come that always the cat who has to go to the vet is the one disappearing when you come back home while the others stay around?

Why do I wake up early on a day off, but almost have to be shaken to wake up on a workday?

Does the city I have been dreaming of for decades exist and if it does, where is it and would I find my way around there without a map?

Why do I like cauliflower and broccoli, but can't stand romanesco?

Where do single socks really go? Is there something like a sock club? And why do they come back as soon as I have thrown the other one away?

Will I live to see all seasons of "Murphy Brown" published on DVD finally?

Who was the fool who made laptop keys so you can't put them back on yourself if one comes off? *staring at my crooked CTRL-key*

See what I mean? Instead I could concentrate on that laundry basket or that terribly unorganized materials drawer. In my dreams, guys, in my dreams! ;-)

10/31/2011

The Monday collection - I vant to suck your blood

Today is Halloween and I think it wouldn't be Halloween without vampires (again my first time celebrating comes to mind and I almost started telling you about it, but I remembered just in time I already did before). We had the bats and now we have the human, but undead kind.
So enjoy and I wish you all ....



My blog layout doesn't like the large collections. Please click the picture to get to the original collection!