Owwwwwwwwie!

You have one. I know you do. Everyone does.
It could be a drawer, it could be a box, it could be a cabinet.. but everyone has at least one place that they throw all those odd bits and pieces that they don’t know what to do with, but want to save.

Yeah, I have a few of them.

One is a giant box that I throw beads into. See, I have this habit of collecting old necklaces, bracelets, or clothing that has some funky bead on it, and then pulling the beads off and throwing them in the box for later use.
The thing is a gold mine…
IF you have the bravery to stick your hand in it.
Which I did.

Now…

Well now I’m bleeding.
Apparently at some point I threw in a bunch of small round mirrors. They broke.
I also apparently at some point, of base stupidity, threw in a handful of thumbtacks.
Add to that the various bits of wire and metal findings that are lost in there, and my hands now look like they were attacked by a rabid badger.

But I did find the shiny silver filigree bead that I had braved the box in search of!

Here, I’ll show you what I needed it for:

Its hard to tell, but its a big ol ostrich feather fan. It has much in the way of fluffiness, but it requires some sparkle to be complete.
Now, if I can just find what I did with those black sequins……

To the Queen of Frogs

I signed up for the “Secret Santa Can Suck It” gift swap over at the Art of Darkness blog. While I really want to tell you what I got… giving is more important then receiving.. so.. My task was to find a gift for The Frog Queen, who I have been following for some time now.

I decided to go all out this year, so here is my gift (s) to you:

FIRST!
an army of minions for you to use in all your spooky needs.
as you can see, they are already super excited to help!

SECOND!
Your very own spider killing machine

She is hard core man. Harrrrd core! From the littlest wolf spider, to giant tarantulas, she will stomp them (or shoo them outside if you prefer) with all the righteous indignation of… well as much as anyone could while wearing that… She comes highly recommended though. I swear.

THIRD!
actually, its not for you.
Sorry. I mean, you can play with em if you want, but…

Plus! They are packaged in a big cardboard box with tons of paper inside. Which, if your spook kitties are anything like mine, they will have more fun with then the mice themselves… err. yeah.

 

So… what did I get?

Just my very own Repo Man. Squeee!
You can check it out here: Hellesbelles

My camera blows…

But I did manage to get a few photos of my current works in progress. I’ll start with my Asylum Girls.

Like little Kelly.

She started behaving badly at her birthday party. She still wears the tatters remains of her party dress under her straight jacket.

Her favorite things are teddy bear heads, cake, and her fuzzy slippers. She is quite self conscious about her bluish skin, and while she must never be allowed to roam free, she craves love and snuggles. She will be up for adoption this week.

 

And for all my little spooklings, a preview:

Sometimes there is nothing that gives me the creeps more then a smiling child…. Amanda is no exception.  I seem to have misplaced a very important piece… so once I find what the hell I did with that severed head she will be ready to go up for adoption as well.

And yes, all the clothing is completely hand made. Yes.. I am mad. Mad, mad, mad. Do you really want to know how long it takes to hand sew a party dress for a doll with NO pattern? Didn’t think so… Don’t ask how long it took me to make that mini-straightjacket…

There goes the neighborhood

Used to be a quiet little place. All us song birds had a grand old time in our condos. Then, who moves into the neighborhood but three mangy imps!

They aren’t here for one day, and suddenly. squawk-BAM! The house has turned all kinds of shades of grey, there are weird white rings around everything, the pretty moss is half dead, and every inch is over run with cobwebs! Squawk!!

And around the back, squawk, I almost cant bring myself to say it.  “Jimy Ets Bugurs”

And what are all these bloody paw prints? Squawk- What?!?!?!

 

So all bird jokes aside, this was a hell of a lot of fun! I knew I wanted to repaint the super cute “Love Shack” but had no idea how until I slapped a coat of paint on the top of the chimney. See that weird heart? Yeah, its actually what the rings looked like. Inspiration galore!
I have the three little imps, made out of paper clay, drying right now. I’m still debating if they are going to have glow in the dark mouths and eyes, but they are definitely sufficiently dorky and weird.
Also, unfortunately you cant read the “Jimy ets bugurs” along the bottom of the back side, but it also says “Do not” and “do to” and “do not!” and “do toooooo!” and finally “SHUT IT!”

Next project?

It has something to do with a London bus toy… that’s all I’m sayin.

also…

Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to write tatting patterns without noting where a join would be? Its one thing to not say when to reverse, its a complete other when they ignore both. Who the hell would do that?
Who, I say, who?!?!

Yeah, picture me sitting here with a paragraph of a design (that I wanted to use as a basis for an idea) in one hand, and a useless pile of knots in the other.

So lets hear it for inadequate patterns and fuzzy images! I love it when I realize 1/4 of the way through something that the whole thing is completely wrong! yay!

/sarcasm

This is odd…

So I spent some time this morning looking up shuttle tatting, and it turns out maybe I wasn't doing it backwards. Maybe half the population of tatters does it backwards.

So now I am wondering if maybe the whole problem is the way that I am holding my thread, and not what I am doing with my shuttle? I am also wondering if it really matters, once I flip it all over it looks exactly as it should.

interesting……

I’m still going to use needle for the projects I have brewing right now, but my theory is that I’ll do the projects in needle, and then once I’m done with them try them out with shuttle.

The other problem is that I know me. And I know me well enough to know that if I decide that I really enjoy shuttle tatting I am going to want to make my own shuttles. Ok, actually I have already started doing searches to see if I can figure out how to make them with poly clay.
Ok, ok.. I have made a couple of them in the Lady Hoare style, but I want to make some with bobbins.
Do any of you fellow tatters have any suggestions?

projects

Couple things this week. Got in a small order of paper clay that I have been wanting to fool around with for a while now.
Fun stuff! I did a small head, just a quick doodle, and played around with it for a while. I’m not exactly shot through with the stuff, but I love that you can literally sculpt with a damp paint brush. I managed to give the little dude some nice sculptured bones and even sort of wrinkly veins doing that. I don't know that it is something I would want to use a lot, its a bit mushy, but I can definitely see myself using it from time to time.

I also managed to figure out a few beading things. I have one super cool bracelet done, its big and chunky, and I love it lots. I also figured out a cool pattern for a cuff, but ended up frogging it because of one bad bead in the middle. Ok.. more then one, and I would rather redo the whole thing so it is firmly in my mind. So yeah, crafting is good… Crafting from cool stuff I picked up at the thrift shop is even better!! and I cant find any batteries that will hold a charge…. so no photos. Which also means no Etsy.

Hopefully I can remedy that tomorrow.

I also managed to figure out that my shuttle tatting is… well I am dyslexic, so I was actually doing the entire thing upside down, or backwards. Which is fine, I suppose, but I want to do it right. I’m thinking I might go back to needle tatting, partly because I don’t really have to think about what I’m doing as much, and I’m a bit into the “I don't want to think about anything” mode lately.

I did also get my flickr all set with photos of my glass art and some old  projects that I had photos of. You can find them all here.

Huh…

so after about a year of working with needle tatting, and enjoying it but being very frustrated because I can’t tat super large or onto wire the way that I wanted to…. I finally figured out shuttle tatting.

This means I can now use leather cord or tat onto wire to make awesome 3d goodies!

We (my super crafty mother and I) also invested in supplies for cards, that being cards, envelopes, plastic sleeves, and quality printer ink. Next came the tedious task of scanning everything that I thought would make a great card. Old artwork, cool old vintage family photographs, that kind of thing.
I believe that she wants to sell them only locally, and it seems to be taking some convincing to get her to think a little more broad, but hopefully she will go with the idea of putting them on Etsy as well as selling them at North of the Falls, which is a cool little shop here in Bradford.
The thing is, i like the store. I love the fact that i can go in there, check out pottery, jewelry, art, and then walk into the back half to find nifty yarn. I know, most people have a cool little lys that they love, and while I don’t love her selection, or her prices, I do love that she is so very willing to order (and spend half an hour looking for) just about anything I am craving. As far as the front half of the shop, I like that they are willing to give space to just about any local artist.. I don't like that they charge 40% commission on everything. The idea of marking everything up by that much just to get what I need out of the sale bothers me. I cant fathom selling a card for more then $10.00 just so I can get enough to cover the cost and split the dollar or so of profit. I mean, they are cool, wicked cool even… but not that cool. Well… maybe they are, but I figure that if I wouldn’t spend that much on them not many other people would either and the whole point is to sell the item, not have it so over priced that no one will buy it. I don’t really understand how they can get away with charging gallery scale commission in such a small store, but I guess that is their deal.

At any rate, enough bitching. It is good that I am coming up with more things that I can sell, and I should stop bitching.

Challenge!

Icky week to be sure! I got a couple of my glass pieces listed on Etsy and then the bottom dropped out. Or, I got sick.
I hate nothing more. I truly believe that colds should be abolished. On the upside is that while I was bonded to the couch with ear aches and fits of coughing I managed to learn how to bead a bracelet that I had been wanting to redo for about 6 months. So now I can make a few more from the nifty coral beads that have been laying around for years waiting for a use.

But, on to the challenge!
This is totally inspired by one of my man-heroes, so I'll have to give props to The Captain on this.
I posted a quickie of this on FB, but I need more. (more more more) So here is the drill. I need your favorite funny/gory movies. Anything that has ever made you cringe and laugh within 5 minutes of each other is appropriate.
Here is the only thing, I don’t need to be told about Shaun of the Dead, ZombieLand, Black Sheep, or Dead & Breakfast.
I can’t tell you what I am going to do with all of this because I have a project curse (if I talk too much about it, it never seems to get done), but I can tell you that there will be presents!

Yup. presents.

If you manage to suggest something that I haven’t seen, and that makes me cringe and nearly piss myself laughing I will give you a present. Also, if you suggest something that is so out there that I feel that everyone in the world should be inflicted with its gory humor, I will give you a present. Or, if you find something hysterically funny that causes me to wonder if perhaps we are kindred, you will get a present. (I did after all almost get kicked out of the theater while laughing at Devil’s Rejects.)

There is no fixed deadline on this for now, mostly because of the lack of visible followers (hint hint), but eventually I will have to start the project. For now I’ll just give it till the Christmas and see how it goes.

Art Glass and other stuff

I finally got the final touches done on my art glass pendants and hangings. Things have been pretty productive lately. I have 10 or so pieces done, or nearly done, so just as soon as I figure out prices I'll be listing them on Etsy. I also have one art doll 99% done, she is a cute little asylum girl in a hand sewn straight jacket with a tattered dirty party dress and fuzzy slippers. Actually she appears to be rather dead.. but she still needs a loving home. All she really needs is a coat of sealant and to be photographed. Hopefully I can get to that today. The second asylum girl is coming along nicely, she is a little more morbid then the first girl, but I think that might only be because of the sickly sweetness of her. So once I figure out what in the world is wrong with flickr, I'll have some photos up here of the process of making the art glass.

shop

So I went ahead today and set up my Etsy shop. I haven't listed anything yet, hopefully before this weekend. Ok, hopefully today, but I wont commit to that just yet.
Anyway, you can find the shop here: TomatoBlight

change over

So I have decided that while I love blogging about random things I find online, I think that it is about time for me to switch this blog over to one about my crafting and art.
I will leave the old posts up, but I'm going to spend the next week switching up the layout and getting ready to transition. But fear not, I will still throw up the random sillies if I dont have anything creative to blog about.

Stupid funny or sick and twisted

Yeah, I’m a fan. Here are some examples:

You Scurvy Dog You…

I will admit, part of why I haven’t posted in a little while is because I love those zombie peanuts so very much. But the time has come to move on.

So I went with pirate themed soap!

The Buccaneer- handmade soap By Mad Hatter Soap Co.

  Salty Dog Rogue By Chase Street Soap Co.

Dread Pirate Roberts By Savor

Scallywag Suds By Pipsqueak Soap Co.

Bones Soap (with RUM!) By Bath Code

Who knew? I can’t attest to the quality of these, but even so I am always big on novelty items, including funky little bars of soap with cool labels. These all fit the bill.

Now, I promised that I would do an Etsy zombie dump, and I will… I will. Soon.

peanuts!

oh how I love zombie peanuts!

From Bent Objects on Etsy

Terry Border's awesome work can be found here.

just have to say

The one and only, so far, reason that I hate-and will not watch- the movie Bruno is this: Do you have any idea how hard is is to research Giordano Bruno's observations on memory without finding some stupid movie reference is right now?

Let me just give you a little sum-up on the two; ok so the one, because I never really did have an interest in the movie. So far I have figured out that the movie is done by  the same moron that made Borat, and has sparked huge debate in the LGBT community as a (moron) depicting gays in such a stereotypical way that has gone so far beyond satire to… shall I say… not even be remotely funny.

Giordano Bruno is (was) a master of memory. This Bruno was born in 1548, he was a priest, he studied not only memory but also astronomy and astrology, and even presented his “art of memory” theories to Pope Pius V.

This is so not the same dude that walks around in shiny gold shorts.

Yes I am having issues right now. No, I am not going to get over it.
I’m just going to build a little house and put up a little statue of an asshole, and that will be my memory of Ali G.

Right, so now that you are wondering, if you are, I will tell you a tiny bit about the art of memory according to Bruno.
The theory is this, if you want to remember something, put it in a safe place. Build a house, a mansion, a church, and fill it with symbols. Each symbol/statue/painting/piece of furniture is linked to a memory; when you want to recall that memory you simply go into your house, find the appropriate symbol and your memory will be there waiting for you.

Oddly enough, this works.

How many times have you tried to remember something important and used an acronym, or a song? How many times have you suddenly remembered a day more clearly then you would have thought possible because of a smell?
It is all the same really.

The older guy on table 3 with the sticky-up hair is getting the walnut salad and the salmon. (cockatoo on table 3= bird-head eats nuts and fish)
The old woman with the pink track-suit likes non-caff lattes. (jumping-pink jelly bean on a shelf= people in pink don’t need caffeine.)

Bruno went beyond this of course, but the idea is the same. As far as astronomy, Bruno went way beyond conventional church ideas to say that the earth was in orbit around the sun, and not that the sun revolved around earth. On the other hand, his idea’s on astrology went to say that each heavenly body could be gifted with an affection(or recalled in idea). Each body was given seven images, from simple to complex, each in accordance with the second symbol it is in relation to.

So if you know astrology, this might make sense. It does, and it doesn’t to me, which is why I am so not happy with Ali G. right now.

So yeah, bite me Bruno.

Wild Thing

Dude. I totally need to make these. If these aren’t some of the coolest damn cupcakes I’ve ever seen then, well I don’t know what, but, yeah.

Link via Boingboing.net

Feed Me Seymour!

So I couldn’t decide if I wanted to do zombies or brains today. I went with brains because there is a lot less that I thought was wicked cool. And there is a *lot* of cool brain stuff on Etsy, but how many times can you plug soap that was popped out of a brain mold? huh? Well if I wanted to I could probably give you 15 Etsy shops that have that. I went with the glow in the dark soap... Yes I will admit that if i had found glitter-brain soap I would have gone with that instead.
 

Glow in the dark soap by White Flag Designs
Bloody brain pendant by Lips Tattoo
Exposed brain fleece hat by Akitsu
Brain bobby pins by RatBoy
Brain earrings by Your Organ Grinder
Brain cufflinks by Voodoo King Designs
So in theory, and there always is one, I will do a “Zombie goods of Etsy Land” dump soon. Maybe even two.

Step up

So it seems most of us have them, old shoes. They sit in closets, or get hauled off to junk sales or second hand stores.  These Etsy sellers went another route.

  

Handmade Birdhouse by PittyPats Porch
Shoe Purse by Junquete
Stiletto cacti planter by Giddy Spinster
Recycled foot stool by Junkyard Gypsy
recycled cowboy boot purse by Gimi Kimi
Tap shoe necklace by Contrary

writer

just testing to see if I can get live writer to work. ignore the mess.

cuz you know you want one..

Yup. Thats right. Plastic straw birds. Also shrimp!
Bird

 

Shrimp

Wicked Creepy

Found this over at Switchblade Comb. I think it would have to be one of the weirdest, creepiest, and at the same time slightly funny vids I have ever seen.

Not only does this little reel sport blood-balloon fights, but also a macabre Slip N’ Slide, and such gleefully sociopathic expressions on one actors face, that I almost dare to wonder if the dude has some serious issues… really. And what is the best part about this? The fact that the song is such a catchy-pop-tune that it can’t help but make the images all the more disturbing. Also… I love his little dance.

Iceland dude… I’m telling ya, those guys are weird.

To Write..

To Write Love on her arms. (TWLOHA) Yes it is a site, yes I am an active donator. Why? Because I have been there in some form, I don’t think that it is an amusing emo activity, and I don't think that it is something that just “goes away once you are happy”
Check it. Cutting isn’t some Goth/Emo kid trying to get attention. It is a serious psychological problem, and it doesn’t just go away.
So why of all the activist sites out there to I support this one? It’s in their vision statement: "Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone." and "The vision is hope, and hope is real.You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story."

That right there is why I refuse to give up on the idea of helping one person, one single person, find a reason to not break the skin one last time.
Beyond treatment, it is about the community we all live in. It is about the community that we all strive to belong to. Not all of us grew up with white picket fences and best friends that we went through grade school-high school- and college- and after, with. There are far too many people that feel so alone in their silence that the only way to cope is through more silence. Therapy is not an option for this. Medication is not an option for this. The feeling of NOT being so alone, that is an option that we all can provide. That is the one thing that takes no effort, no time, no sacrifice, but the letting go of our own ego and acknowledge that the person we see doing this to them-selves is a part of our community, and a part of our lives. It’s easy to crack jokes, it is easy to ignore. It is far harder, and yet far simpler, to just show simple love, to just show simple concern, and sometimes.. that is really all it takes.

Why is it that when we see a family member or friend that is an alcoholic or drug abuser that we find some way to seek treatment for them, and we do not when we see people self injure? Is there really that much more shame in seeing scars?

I have to wonder sometimes where, as a culture our priorities really lay. Is it in how we wish others to perceive us, or in how we wish to perceive ourselves? Is it how we provide hope for others, or in how we feel we have provided hope for the sicknesses we can understand?

appropriate and funny..

yes. That is right. An entire wiki-how article. "How not to fall down stairs."
Just remember kids, hold on to that railing for dear life, and be aware of what is around you, else you might just end up a gimp like me!

Sheesh. If only I had read this yesterday.

A leg up from Etsy

It is true, as much as we all hate to admit it, colder weather is on the way. Honestly I wouldn't know it by the ultra hot and humid weather we are having, but it is in fact coming.
So what is one of the few good things about cold weather for those of us who don't enjoy outdoor sports? Why stockings of course!

Scrunchie Stockings by DimensionalVision

Thigh High's would be Jealous Condom Case by SewOnlyYouKnow (how awesomely sexy would these be tucked into the band?

Hand Crocheted Fishnets by GlorybyJeannieLee
Op Dot Stockings by V.L.E.
Sexy octopus tattoo thigh-highs by Tattoo Socks (post)
Slow Poison stockings by IWillFly
Gold metallic thigh high stockings-spandex by Toxic Vision
Stocking print by Charlene Chua (for those who would prefer to look at stockings instead of wearing them)

err

Right, so I was going to head off for the night, but this caught my attention and I just had to share. (See? Thats just how this bloggy is gonna roll.)

I love The Frisky, I can always find something to amuse me... tonight?
Well it would be 21 things your boobs are good for. They aint just for suckling, though that is grand. And all of us love to be able to throw a wad of cash in our (your?) cleavage, but what about a "hands free coaster?" She suggests a champagne glass, but I think a pint glass is waayy better.
But then... some how that lead me to the Mario Sex Tape via College Humor.
And to give a grand (tottally random) finale...a pretty pumpkin from Pumpkinrot.com

image source

Isnt he just the cutest????

Where to start?

Maybe a disclaimer would be best.
First, if you follow this blog expect to get a huge amount of activity from me... and then days with nothing.
Second,  don't expect any of this to follow any logical formatting, or order. Most of what I post here will be something that I have found online, and that could be anything from a gaming reference, to an awesome photo, or a kick ass pattern/crafty thing, or a quote that I think is fitting, to a thesis on fractals.
Third, this blog just might be full of shameless plugs for products that I either think are wicked cool, or that people should at least know about.
So, I think for my first post I will do a cool thing. One that I have been staring at for the last 15 minutes while trying to figure out what to start with.
Rustoleum makes awesome magnetic paint (not actually magnetic, but it contains enough metals that most magnets will stick like latex to a gimp), so I was finally able to throw most of my magnets up.

But of all the little images I have up there, what is the one that I keep staring at?

Yeah, I love Bust Magazine for magnets, not just the nifty articles.