It's part of my being. I was just born to hate reality TV. I loathe it. All the Bad Girls, Stupid Girls, Mob Wives, House Wives, Basketball Wives, Flipping Crazy Wives, can go swim in a vat of acid until there's nothing left but base amino peptide chains. So annoying.
However, I do have a soft spot for the skill-driven, artsy reality shows. I like seeing people working their hardest to improve and grow while competing for a prize. It's exhilarating and you learn a lot by watching the way they work. Plus, it keeps me entertained when I'm not feeling well.
One of my favorites is Face-Off on the SyFy channel.
Origins:
Face Off is a competition based, make-up art reality television show. It's been running for 4 years now. Each episode features the contestants creating designs based on a theme. The contestants are required to use a variety of special effects and beauty make-up application techniques as well as design a full costume for their entries in each weekly challenge.
Characters:
Since it's a contest, every season features a whole new set of contestants with different abilities, a fresh crop of fresh faces. The main judges, however, usually stay the same. We have Ve Neill, Glenn Hetrick, Patrick Tatopoulos, and Neville Page acting as the primary judges. Meanwhile, McKenzie Westmore stands in as the show's host. The judges and host boast awards for the work they've done in Hollywood and they offer great suggestions as well as criticism to the aspiring artists vying for the prize.
What I Like About It:
Face Off has all the makings of a good reality competition show. There is a diverse cast of driven creative specialists, there are artistic elements and media that most people aren't familiar with, the judges offer helpful and sometimes scathing critiques, there's a great grand prize, astounding transformations, and just a dash of drama, not a whole truckload.
The contestants, while they are all competing for the same prize, they are NOT horrible people out to sabotage each other. They cooperatively help one another, compete with respect and, even when working with people they hate, they act with honesty and diplomatic graciousness. That's something so rare in today's reality TV. You can cheer for all of them without feeling any sort of guilt for favoring a contestant who happens to be a huge jerk.
For those reasons, I can confidently say, You should be Watching Face Off
With all the excitement recently and my health taking a new turn for the strange, I've gotten behind on everything I wanted to do for the last few weeks. I won't lament lost time, though. I have news! There are a couple things to share, actually.
1. I won a contest.
Oh Jim Carey, you say it so well.
Mich L. in L.A. runs periodic 'Guess the Mystery Item' contests on her blog. After reading up on the different past contests she'd run and becoming inspired to try out some unconventional projects, I decided to enter. Because, why not? It's just for fun, anyway. Well, I entered and I won! I received one of her Ring on Fire prototypes, along with two of the mini-plastic bowling pins she used to make them. Just a few days ago, she posted a tutorial on how to make your own. Check it out!
2. My blog's page view rate has shot up.
Thanks Dreamstime.com!
This is a good thing because it means that you guys are appreciating my posts. I know that I can be very very silly, so it means a lot to me when my written musings can entertain others. One of my favorite things to do is to be silly, you know. You guys are just enabling me to do it more often.
3. I'm reopening my Etsy shop after months of inactivity.
More coming soon!
Those hats and infinity scarves are piling up. We don't live in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so I can't just magic my room bigger or my projects and supplies smaller to suit my needs. So, I need to make room. Selling my projects for a low price enables me to share them with people who appreciate them and make room for more.
4. I'm brewing a Contest concept.
I hope to have it out in time for spring. I have to figure out some nice prizes though.
That's all for today. I'm going to have a rest now.
I have made another hat, this time a bit more grand. It's a red hat, after all. Red hats have to be dolled up and pampered. I began by adding a bit of lace cording to the band of the hat.
I know you can see the fluff peeking out the back.
Indeed.
I chose to expand on mother's idea of adding netting and tulle. While I'm not a huge fan of the stuff, it does give a nice effect and looks quite flashy when you...pleat and trim it like so. Rather than giving unstructured body, it gives body, shading, tone and drama to what would otherwise be a plain hat with some simple embellishments on it.
As I was preparing to put the hat together, I decided that some feathers were a must. A bright red hat with some netting isn't very stylish.
Hat and Design element facing forward
I tried turning the hat in a variety of directions in order to get a feel for how versatile it is stylistically. A hat with a fancy doodad is great, but I've seen too many of them in stores that you can only wear a certain way. I wanted to make sure that it would look good no matter how I chose to rotate it.
Embellishments on the side with the fringe of netting hanging over the face...
Embellishments facing the back of the head
I'd say I was successful. I like the effect of the paper flowers and rhinestones against the bright red and black iridescence of the feathers.
This is my second hat attempt. My creative juices were beginning to gain steam as I started to disassociate the little ready made hats with 'completeness'. Looking at them more like broken watch parts to be assembled into something for my own designs helped me to determine how their shape and size could lend itself to something cute and whimsical.
The hats are small, only about 5 inches tall. There's a limited amount of pomp and circumstance you can toss on them before they become ridiculous and topple off your head in a burst of over-balanced glory. Still, I wanted to try something more fantastical.
YAY BUTTERFLIES!
I brought forth this little baby. I bet you can't guess what the butterflies came from or what they're made of. They're actually scrap-booking supplies. Glittery, glacee butterflies to be exact. For those of you who don't know, glacee is a weird semi-flexible polymer. They commonly use it to make synthetic leather.
I was afraid that the glitter and rhinestones would fall off, so I gave the butterflies a liberal application of air-dry resin, followed by some clear nail lacquer. Those are the only things I know that will protect a glittering object from shedding without dulling its sparkle. Very important since these babies are attached to a hat and one expects them to be bobbling around on your head as you skip and sway at your fancy tea parties.
It's like you took a tiny piece of a faerie meadow and plopped it on a hat!
This hat was fun to make. I set aside my internal filters and decided to just have fun with it. In the end, the decorations that I thought would be 'too much' ended up being cute and tasteful when paired with small flowers and a simply black felt hat. Take some design cues from that.
I want to make something like this again- or perhaps, something much grander. We'll see.
Now that you've seen my tutorial for making a fancy little hat fascinator (If you haven't, Here You Go), I felt that I needed to put my own instructions into action and give you a little snippet of what I've done with this handy, dandy bit of knowledge. Be aware, there aren't many pictures of this first attempt because well, it's the first try. The first try either blows all normal conventions out of the water or is a simplistic precursor to the fantastic.
I made this hat using the 'Purchase and Decorate' method and I'll be honest, it was hard to get it started. I'm not sure if it's just me, but when I get something ready made, it takes my brain a moment to make the leap to Creativity Land.
Courtesy of Pacroid.blogspot.com
Setting a design is always the hardest part. It's even harder when your brain forgets that this little hat is NOT complete and needs some pizzazz. Mine chose the moment that I needed it to create things to go on a vacation, so I borrowed mom's. Her brain was stuck on netting and tulle. The fluffier the better.
It's not fluffy enough.
I wasn't so sure about this idea, even after she regaled me with photos of fancy hats decked out in fluffy stuff. As a rule, I only like fluffy skirts, kittens and cupcake frosting. I became a little afraid when she declared, "More tulle! MORE! Use the whole roll!" But I did as she suggested. I pleated the tulle on one side to form little lumps that remind you of one of those 1940s hairstyles and tied it into a big fluffy bow in the back of the hat, secured it with a few drops of glue.
Like this but with less film star attached to it.
I needed to tulle it up. The hat would have been pitiful without it. After we tweaked and poked at the hat, we both determined that it still needed something... I decided that it needed something shiny to balance all the matte textures. The end result was this.
Big tulle bow worn in the front.
Big tulle bow worn on the side
The good thing is that the tulle bow feature looks great. The bad thing is that the rest of the hat looks a little plain by comparison. In the near future, I may add more to it...I need to go craft shopping first.
So, I'm sure you all remember the tutorial I did for Fascinators and hats not too long ago. If you don't, here it is. Well, I made that tutorial before I learned that there were other construction options available to those who don't want to devote a ton of time stitching, starching and wiring. It seems that there are pre-made hat forms with the clips already attached available from eBay. All you need to do is decorate them. Well, don't that beat all?
So now you can make a nifty fascinator in less time, gathering fewer materials and without having to use every craft skill known to man- unless you WANT to. So here you go! Hatter Madness Tutorial number 2!
Materials:
1 Mini-top hat, bowler, tricorn or high top-hat
Glue (Locktite or E6000)
Scissors
Ribbon
Some feathers
Silk flowers
Beads and other decorations
And now the instructions. You'll be surprised at how easy they are!
Instructions:
Assemble the materials you want to use.
Make a basic design arrangement for your hat.
Glue the items to the hat in an order that best balances the decor and hides any unfinished edges.
Allow it to dry completely (Very important. You don't want to super glue a hat to your head)
Ok. I've forced you guys to wait long enough. Any longer and this will read like a really bad horror movie and you'll all leave me to be swallowed by the monsters of my own making. I'm going to cut to the chase. Starting with the scarf made of jersey knit.
I gave this one to a friend. Such a pretty color!
The above scarf was less than a yard of fabric. It's comfortable, slightly stretchy and keeps your neck warm without making you too hot
Oh Starry Night!
The scarf above is actually made of a sheer woven fabric that I can't remember the origins of. I only remember that it was very pretty and it ended up in my shopping cart. I had enough fabric to make two scarves and they came out rather stylish. Since the fabric is woven, it does not stretch, but it's long enough to wear creatively and looks great with jeans and even with my hoodie.
Hello world!
I think I smiled waaaaay too big in this one.
The red scarf was made out of a SUPER STRETCHY knit of mixed fibers. I purchased it as a remnant from Vogue Fabrics on Roosevelt Road. At the time, I was thinking of making a top out of it, but when the time came to cut it out, the pattern was difficult to line up in a flattering way.... So. SCARF! The fabric's drape and body lends itself nicely to the look of elegance.
The final scarf!
I actually made three of these. I bought the fabric at Vogue, on sale. It is a grey, black, and white stretch knit with little hairs all over it. The weave is kind of open, so it breathes and keeps you relatively cool. However, the scarf is VERY arm. This fabric is the only fabric that I bought with the sole purpose of turning it into a scarf . I was planning to try out infinity scarves on a day when I was tired of applying to jobs all day, so I wanted a fabric similar to the kind I saw used in the expensive scarves at Carson's. I found it at Vogue. And here we are.
Special thanks to my mother for taking the photos. I couldn't have done it without you.
Infinity scarves are awesome, right? On average, a good infinity scarf can cost between 15-40 dollars. Depending on the materials and where you look they can cost even more. Some of them cost over $300 dollars! If you don't believe me, check out the Diane von Furstenberg website and don't forget to catch your chin before it hits the desk. Infinity scarfs are incredible, versatile little accessories. Of course, they cost a lot of money. They must be hard to make.
Well, there's a trick in there. They actually aren't hard to make. To me, the real value of the infinity scarf is in the materials that comprises it. Since it's so simple, I figured it out on my own. To be sure, my mom and I both had been looking for an easy project to get rid of scraps. Every sewer LOVES to get rid of scraps.
Like many sewers, I like good knit fabric with rich colors and simple, but bold patterns.
It's great for making tops, arm warmers, and the like. However, I
locate my best materials in the remnant room. All coiled up, a remnant of fabric can look like much more than it
is. And when you get it home, it's stained, there was a glitch in the
pattern, or it's torn in an odd place. So, in effect, you've got a nice knit fabric that will either lead to a very long game of sewing table Tetris or a big pile of disappointingly large scraps.
I don't sew that much and I have a ridiculous stash already. I needed to make use of my scraps and pieces of fabric that are just big enough to get you into trouble. Turning it into a collection of infinity scarves was the best solution.
Here are the steps I followed to turn my fabric into something worth while.
Step 1: Cut and Measure
You need to decide how long and how wide you want your scarf. The trick I used to determine a regular length for my scarves follows the rules of necklace length. There are 6 main necklace lengths.
Borrowed from Jewellerygem.com
When applied to an infinity scarf it can change the way you wear it and increase its versatility. I chose to have my Infinity Scarves fall at about 40- 45 inches. There were two reasons I chose this length. 1. It gives you enough room to loop it around a few times and use it as a cowl if it gets blustery. 2. It's a common fabric width, enabling you to reduce raveling as you handle the ends of it because the very end of the fabric is actually the selvage.
I made my scarf widths between 8 and 12 inches. Some of the materials I used were on the thick side and it wouldn't be a good idea to make the scarves wider because the end result would probably accidentally choke someone. Save the wider scarf widths for thinner materials.
Step 2: Stitch, Turn, Stitch
This is the easy part. Fold the fabric lengthwise, with the 'good side' facing inward. Stitch one seam down the cut ends of the fabric. I used a serger because the fabric I used were fuzzy and needed to be contained.
Next, Turn the scarf right side out, so your seam allowance isn't visible.
Finally, pin the seams together so you can start sewing the two ends of the scarf together without twisting it up. Sew the ends together so that the seam allowances will be inside the scarf. Since your scarf currently forms a little cylinder, you can't just sew straight across or sew it completely closed. Leave about 2 inches open.
Step 3: Blind stitch
Finally, I close up my infinity scarf by blind stitching that hole closed. It doesn't take long, about 5 minutes including needle threading time. Once it's done, you've got a nice infinity scarf to go flouncing around in. Easy huh?
For those of you who are more kinetically inclined, check out this gal's sweet youtube video.
I was surprised how much her tutorial matched my method. I am glad I found it though.
Finally! My next post will include my infinity scarf creations!
You've all gotten the memo, seen the trend, heard the buzz... Get it? Buzz?
Courtesy of Samm Bennett's Flickr
Yes that's Buzz Lightyear wearing a scarf. Even he knows that scarves are the in thing right now. They have scarves for all seasons: thick, thin, sheer, opaque, bandana styled, ascots, regular old scarf scarves and even Infinity Scarves. No. Not scarves times infinity, but a specific style of scarf that forms a continuous loop.
The Infinity Scarf is a versatile fashion accessory that can comes in a variety of widths, lengths, colors and materials. You can do just about anything with an infinity scarf. It's continuous loop design keeps it from slipping from your neck and enables you to adapt it to suit your needs. You can wear it as a cowl, layer it around your neck like a regular scarf, loop it over your
head like an opera length necklace, cross tie it around your body to
make a comfy beach top and even use it to tie up small children.
Courtesy of Pinterest
Simply by changing up your accessories and how you position the scarf, your infinity scarf could act as other garments you wear regularly. Belts, vests, cardigans, shawls. You name it.
Check out this video where SecretLifeOfaBioNerd shows us how to wear a wide infinity scarf 21 different ways.
The other great thing about infinity scarves is that they are so, SO easy to make on your own. With that said, I'll conclude this post by announcing that I will be posting a brief infinity scarf tutorial in a day or two and that I MAY run a contest. Keep your eyes and ears open!
Pay it Forward was a trend that I was curious about, but didn't understand. I'd seen the words pop up on Etsy, Deviantart, and a few other craft and art hubs. Sadly, with increased laziness and humanity's increasing inability to articulate itself (despite most entertainment and social networking leaning towards text-based formats), the best explanation of what 'Pay It Forward' was and meant was something like this, "Well, you know. Pay it forward. Like you pay it forward."
I asked several different people who were running 'Pay It Forward' advertisements and promotions on their blogs, art hubs, and Etsy stores. The answer was always something like, "Well, you know. Pay it forward." That's not an explanation! That's a tease. You've disappointed me again, humanity. Why do I keep trusting you to do better??
So, I sort of shoved that curiosity to the side and focused on other things. Since no one knew what Pay It Forward was, perhaps it was not important for me to know either. That is, until one fine literary lady posted a Pay It Forward comment on her Facebook. My reaction: Another chance to ask what the HECK this means! Yes!
So, I asked Ann what does 'Pay It Forward' mean. Being a former English teacher, she was happy to tell me. It's like a chain letter, but instead of forcing people to repost some annoying message in their status for fear of non-existent reprisal, you substitute the gloom and doom for a good deed. The theory is, that if it's handled CORRECTLY there's a recurring wave of good deeds and wonderful surprises that eventually works its way around the world. Ann's Pay It Forward was geared towards crafting. Golly Gee Willikers Batman! That sounds great!
OMG! For real?
I joined in on her pay it forward...and immediately ran into problems. Apparently, some people equate 'Pay it Forward' with 'Freebies' and are opportunistic scavengers who will not only assert, insist, and berate you until they get their free thing, but they will also belittle it and refuse to 'pay it forward' themselves. You know who you are.
What I learned from this whole thing was heartwarming (I think that was the point of it, actually). By sticking yourself out there and becoming someone's beautiful surprise, you not only enable them to be someone else's surprise, but you boost their self-esteem and motivate them to try and learn something new themselves. I have not delivered all of my Pay It Forward gifts, but the few that I have sent off to their new homes were met with glee and almost immediately a chain began to form.
My gift of yarn became mittens for someone who's always losing theirs, and the money that would have been spent on mittens was spent on supplies to make greeting cards, one those greeting cards was written in and given to an old woman, that old woman got up and made someone some cookies, those cookies were eaten at someone's craft party, the craft party spawned all manner of creations and it continues from there. One, long, heartwarming chain of good deeds. I hope that it continues beyond what I can trace and maybe, it will get to someone who really, REALLY needs an unexpected gift.
Here's a little something for you cosplayers, make-up artists and aspiring airbrush artists. It's also something that was initially geared towards little girls, but unexpectedly acquired a vast male following. I've been told that I'm very 'Imaginative and whimsical' (Sorta makes me feel like a unicorn or something).
I'm an ALICORN!!
So that means I can watch whatever I want. You already know where this is going don't you? Don't judge me. I like ponies and unicorns and all that business. I'm allowed.
In case you haven’t heard about the phenomenon that My
Little Pony has become, you need to get on board.Really.
Origins:
The animation is a remake of an old show used by Hasbro as a
marketing driver for Pony dolls.I remember that cartoon.It was a TERRIBLE show. I'll pretend that I don’t know why Hasbro needed the show to market the
dolls.I never watched it
with any real interest, but I had a ton of the merchandise.And it was MAGICAL. Why? Because I was 6.
This go-round Hasbro hasn't revived the show in order to revive an old toy line. They revived it due to special interest of one Lauren Faust. More on her later.
Characters:
My Little Pony features 6 main characters, each of them representing one of the traits necessary for a successful friendship: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and MAGIC! ...Because, why not?
Left to Right: Pinkie Pie (Party girl), Rainbow Dash (Daredevil), Rarity (Fashionista/Seamstress), Twilight Sparkle (Bookworm), Apple Jack (Farmer), and Flutter Shy (Animal Lover)
The cast of characters has a repertoire of quirks, personality flaws, and a lot of consistency. Some people think that's a problem and have said that the characters are fairly simplistic. But really, what makes any successful show successful? A dynamic cast of characters with consistent habits, well-defined personalities, and quirks written together in a way that keeps you engaged. My little pony has all of that and then some.
What I like about it:
First of all, it was created by Lauren Faust. That is, the woman responsible for essentially, all the good cartoons in the ninties... Whether she did the animation, the writing or helped her husband on the side, Faust was involved in tons of projects from Kids Next Door, to Power Puff Girls, and Dexter's Laboratory. There's more, but I can't list them all. The point is, that Lauren Faust remembered how crappy the little girl cartoons were when she was growing up. Girl's cartoons have always been shallow, needlessly fluffy, and not at all engaging. Even little girls fall asleep on them. I know. I was one.
Faust fought for years to make My Little Pony happen. She wanted to make a cartoon for girls. The networks turned her down, claiming that there was no money in making little girl cartoons... until... this show. Which has had remarkable success in all age groups and genders. Think about that for a minute. A show from a genre of shows normally written off as crap has bridged age and gender gaps. Why? Because it's actually GOOD.
Aside from the well defined characters, slick flash animation and engaging stories, I love that My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, has an actual mythos. It doesn't just have its own world mythos, but it incorporates mythology from a variety civilizations. To name a few of them: Egyptian, African, Greek, Roman, and Medieval mythologies are all present. And the show doesn't go half-steam by just tossing in a few critters, either.
The mythology behind them is built into the episodes and the show's mythos themselves. For example, the dragons eat jewels like traditional medieval dragons. The phoenix and cockatrice legends each have an entire episode devoted to them- with continuity in following episodes. The image of the zebra, traditionally used in African Lore to mark a great magician, priest, or witch doctor is presented in the form of Zecora, a zebra, who acts as those very things in the show.
These displays of mind-boggling attention to detail along with the compelling stories and nods to fan interests posted on the net are part of what I love most about this show. It shows that, yes, a cartoon for girls can be a cartoon for all ages and genders AND that you can give fans more of what they want by paying attention and intelligently incorporating their ideas into your storyline. The bronies don't lie.
You can find My Little Pony, friendship is Magic on a number of platforms: on The Hub Channel on Cable and Sattelite, on Netflix, on Youtube, and on DVD. Take your pick. You should be watching My Little Pony. And if you aren't...
Do you like Betsey Johnson? She used to design patterns for the Vogue Pattern company. Now her name's featured on a line of ultra-bright, eclectic and glam-heavy high-end fashion including fragrances, jewelry and clothing. Her fashion line always features the hottest colors of the season in some really interesting designs.
Since I like eclectic jewelry and eye-catching statement pieces, I've always admired the construction and designs of many of her collections. Working at Carson's jewelry counter over the holidays gave me a first hand look at Betsey's stuff. I got to handle what I, previously, could only ogle online. Unlike most costume jewelry, Betsey's stuff is well-made, durable and features high-quality materials for extended wearing.
Photo Courtesy of ebay
The only thing that stopped me from buying any of her costume jewelry was the price tag. On average, a pair of 'simple' (really, Betsey Johnson has no concept of simple in her jewelry designs) earrings would cost $35-40 dollars. Can you say, sticker shock? A little problematic if you're on a tight budget. Little did I know, I could find the discontinued styles online at discounted prices on eBay. A $60 bracelet, can be acquired for a sixth of the price thanks to stores clearing out leftover stock.
But even better is the ability to Do It Yourself. There were elements to all of Betsey Johnson's pieces that I enjoyed, but also plenty that I despised. There is such a thing as 'too much of a good thing'.
Case in point
With the abundance of quirky jewelry making elements, I can make my OWN Betsey Johnson style jewelry. And so I went on a hunt for elements I could use to make my own Betsey Earrings. After a little work and a lot of tweaking, I got it to work for me.
Simple Pink Polka Dots
Black and White Polka Dots
Gray Plaid with Bows
Pink Plaid with Bows
I started small because I just wanted to try it out, but I'm fairly certain that I will experiment with adding more elements to my jewelry works in the future. It was an enlightening experience. Now I'm looking to expose some of my necklaces to the same treatment...but I'm sure I'll need to purchase more stuff...a lot more.
Working retail over the holidays kept me busy and tired, so I didn't go to many parties. Let's face it, you're not going to be raising the roof with your girls if your feet hurt so bad you start thinking it might be better to live as an amputee. No parties for me.
Knowing that I couldn't attend the Christmas shindigs or even stay in my own house to watch old Christmas movies really stung, so I was determined to make Christmas Eve fun for me- by making a hat. An ostentatious, LED lit marvel of amateur hat-making science.
This baby.
Let me start by first saying this: I had no idea what I was doing. This hat is something made purely on a whim, with no prior experience besides making hair clips. It also, very quickly, became an experiment to see how much stuff I could cram onto one small oval piece of felt without breaking my neck or having it fall off my head. Despite this, I think it came out nicely.
I had no pattern to help in making this so I sort of followed my own mind. It was actually fairly simple to make once I had assembled all the materials. I'll include pictures of the less common ones.
Materials:
Two sheets of craft felt
Two Hair extension combs
Hair Extension Combs: Photo From Human Hair Extension Manufacturer.com
Beads (Any will do)
Hem Tape
Garland
I used something similar to this
LED tea light
Christmas Trimmings
Scissors
Wire
Instructions:
1. Cut the felt into ovals. They will be your hat base.
2. Mark where you want to place the combs (it's important that they're
opposite one another otherwise it will fall off your head) Hand sew
them to one of the felt ovals.
3. Assemble your Christmas Trimmings (I got most of mine from the dollar
store). Determine the basic layout you want them in before sewing or
gluing them down.
4. Hand sew or glue (E6000 for the win!) your Christmas Trimmings to the other oval of felt. I wanted a light on my hat so I had to cut a hole so that I could reach the switch. I also wired a little golden Christmas tree light cover to it so the naked LED bulb wasn't showing.
5. Hand sew the two felt ovals to one another, making sure the combs and decorations aren't sandwiched between the felt layers.
6. Measure the perimeter of the felt ovals, and cut the wire to that length plus 2 inches. Twist the ends of the wire over it to secure them so they don't poke you in the head, then shape it to fit in your felt ovals.
7. Hand sew one side of the hem tape to one side of your felt oval. Fold the hem tape to the other side of the felt oval, tuck the wire in the fold, begin sewing the other side of the hem tape to your hat base, keeping the wire oval inside the pocket formed by the hem tape. Complete a full circuit around your hat, knot the thread, tuck the end into a hidden spot under the hat and wear.
(This is totally late, but don't say anything.)
One of my favorite things about the holidays are the parties. Unfortunately for me, I ended up working retail again this holiday season and thus missed out on a lot of them. But there was one I refused to miss. My sewing club's holiday party/luncheon. They only have three big luncheons each year. One's in December, the second is the Fashion Show, and the third is in the Spring, just before we have summer break. If you miss one, you miss all the fun!
And all the Turtle icecream cake.
Every year, the luncheon is located in one of the premier restaurants around the city of Chicago. Alahambra, The culinary school of Chicago, and many many others. The food is always great and the people even better.
This year, we had a new events coordinator and she organized some fun games and activities for us to participate in whilst chatting with other crafty ladies. I was more than a little excited. Especially for the White Elephant game. That one's always a big hit at my friends' holiday parties because it invites people to alarm or pleasantly surprise people with random crap that they picked out of the back of their closet or the bargain bin at a store.
White Elephant is a chance to get closer to the people you call friend with a series of hearty WTF moments and then, if you see that someone's gotten something you'd prefer to have, you can trade! It's everything that was great about lunchtime in grammar school. Mysterious items from a mysterious benefactor, then trading for your preferred stock. Everyone has fun.
To date the wildest random white elephant gifts I've seen have been:
A picture of someone else's kid
Tangled Christmas Lights
An Actual White Elephant statue
Prank Candy (It tasted like spoiled fish)
Harry Potter Bertie Botts Beans
A coat from a Thrift store- that turned out to have a $50 bill hiding in the lining of the pockets
A pickle
Soap that looked and smelled exactly like an Oreo (You know what happened with that one, don't you?)
A board game called 'What The F***'
A silver necklace featuring a ...well, it was a pendant... but let's say, I'm glad I didn't get that one. But we had a lot of fun laugh with the poor embarrassed soul who did get it.
Well the day of the club's luncheon, one of the ladies decided that the white elephant should function more like...a weird grab bag and everyone should come up and explain why they gave what they gave. It really threw off the groove for White Elephant. Instead of being primarily silly and fun, it became awkward and uncomfortable.
Most people had taken about as much time in picking their gift as they do picking their fingerprints. For me, the event became downright painful when the person who picked my little basket of embellishments, ribbon, faux leather, and lace blatantly yelled that she didn't want any more 'junk' in her house. It almost made me wish I hadn't participated. Thankfully, there was a silver lining. When it was my turn to pick a gift, I ended up one of the cutest random gifts of all. You know, because I like stuff that looks like other stuff.
Wow! A giant spool of yarn!
NOPE! It's a Linen scented candle
What a cute little hat!
Wait! The bottom looks like sushi rolls! It's not a hat at all!
My White Elephant pick came from Rhonda Buss who, apparently, is another person who appreciates the trend of having stuff that looks like other stuff. I got a candle that looks like a giant spool of thread, has a great fresh scent and when the wax is all burned out, I can use it to tuck my pins and needles in. The little hat, that looks alarmingly like a little hat I was eyeballing in the store the other day, is actually a pin cushion. You can flip it over so that it looks like a box of sushi with a bow on the side. I loved my gift.
Maybe next year, we can play a different holiday game that makes everyone as happy as I was by the end.
From left to right: Ruby, Iris, Frank and Len, Boo Boo, Poe, Skullboy, Misery, Scaredy Bat, Doom Kitty, Mr. Buns the sock rabbit.
I like to have my 'You Should Be Watching" posts geared towards something few people have heard about but most people will love, including cartoon series and crazy reality shows. Last time I pulled out RuPaul's Drag Race, so I feel, to continue the whimsy, we should have a cartoon. Today's feature is none other than Ruby Gloom, a little known animated series from the far reaches of Canada. It caught my eye on Netflix while I was in a horrible slump and after watching all 40 episodes, it's time for me to toss this one out so my readers can see the bright side of the dark side.
Origins:
Initially, Ruby Gloom was created to help market a line of clothing, toys, jewelry and accessories for goth kids and teens. Typically, shows created for this purpose don't last very long, but Ruby Gloom aired for a full three seasons before Nelvana's writers ran out of steam. It even won Best Animated series in 2007. So why haven't you heard of it? It didn't get much publicity in 2010 on Cartoon Network because it was aired in the early mornings, when no one's awake but parents taking small children to daycare.
Characters:
Ruby Gloom features a cast of characters unlike any I've seen. You have Iris, a daredevil cyclops, Frank and Len, Frankenstein inspired conjoined twins, Poe, a poetry reading crow, Boo Boo, a ghost that prefers to play pranks, Skullboy, a skeleton kid trying to find his true calling, Misery, a banshee with the worst luck imaginable, Scaredy Bat, a bat with a Hindi accent who is literally afraid of everything, even himself, Doom Kitty, a cat that communicates via charades and violin chords, and Ruby, who I think might be a witch given her unusual sewing and crafting skills. Each of the characters represents a different aspect of human nature and flaws and in each episode they learn a new lesson in tolerance, perseverance and personal growth.
Hi, There!
What I like about it:
This show features slick flash animation and uses vectors to ensure that each frame with your favorite character has the right proportions every time. This is a plus for people who might want to adapt different scenes into wallpapers for their computers, phones or tablets. It also makes it possible to recognize who's in a frame even if their tiny tiny. The joy of vectors. I also love the smooth animation that using flash with skeletons allows. Call it a personal preference to the other flash shows they have on the air at the moment.
I also love the characters. They start out pretty mono-faceted, (it's common in a kid's show) but as the series continues, they develop more depth and become more inspiring. Even though the characters all live in a gloomy mansion in the place where the sun never shines, with a town full of spooky, deformed and hateful people with their own pre-concieved notions of what others ought to be doing, and their own catastrophic character flaws, they always roll with the punches. They learn from their mistakes, try new things, and where they fail, they pick themselves back up again- especially Misery. Even though her luck's so terrible that she has perpetual tear tracks down her face and regularly gets struck by lightning, she still maintains a positive mode of thinking despite her dry demeanor.
She can still smile this big!
Since Ruby Gloom DVDs are about as easy to find as a freckle of diamond dust in a pile of powdered sugar, I recommend you watch it on Netflix. It's the only place, right now, that has the entire series available for viewers. And, since it's a great series and an awesome, uplifting show, you really shouldn't pass it up.
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