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Work · Of · My · Hands
from head to foot and all in between....
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HAPPY REPEAL DAY!!!!!  Remember remember the 5th of December when we all got to tie one one in public again after years of speakeasies, bathtub breweries, and all that stuff. Wait- some of that stuff was fun. Oh, well. I officially confess that I made some very awesome Repeal Day cards that I never got in the mail. So we will say that I made some in advance for next year and leave it at that. They are super awesome though. Do you know what to do with a drunken sailor? If not, here are some ideas http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/02/what-shall-we-do-wit-1.html#commentsAnd here's a true mixologist working his magic- I give you the Ginza Hard Shake. |
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 So, we're trying our best to get in the holiday spirit around here. Auntie, like me, tends to avoid social gatherings at the holidays and figured out a great way to get out of things this year. She went and broke her hip yesterday in the condiment aisle at Publix Supermarket. (she just had to have Marzetti's slaw dressing, don't you know.) Needless to say, this effects my holiday schedule just a bit. Luckily, most of the gifts are 99% complete. We are doing our best to only give gifts that we have made or that will be truly helpful to others. We started this several years ago and we (read me and my wallet- Mr. Man tends to be a bit passive about these things) feel much better. There are many benefits. For example- we get to reduce our exposure to scenes like this : http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/We also have continued our tradition of making our own cards. (more on that later). But be assured, we didn't include this type of thing in the design http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/ now- if I can just get my act together to actually get the things I have made in the mail.... OH- if you are looking for a particularly spectacular and ironic craft idea that symbolizes so much of this season, take a gander here. Fast Forward to the 2.49 mark. http://www.marthastewart.com/show/the-martha-stewart-show/chef-david-waltuck?video_id=e5f9b81e9b15e110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRDYeah, Martha. Those cans were from club soda. Yeah. |
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 My proudest craft accomplishment last year- a scherenschnitte skull flake. Can it really be December 1? Can I only have posted 3 times in November? Don't worry- I have been terribly busy getting ready for the HELLidays- sorry, HOLIDAYS. I should not be so negative. I enjoy making things, baking, giving things to people I like, denying things to people I don't like, etc. And this is the perfect time of year for it. But then again- this is when we expected to _socialize_. Shudder. I'm not down with that as a rule. Anyhow- we are very big into Advent Calendars around these parts(Mr. Man and I are both of Germanic ancestry and Advent tends to be a fun thing in them there Deutche territories) So, have some advent idea linky goodness. Advent Affirmations from the Crafty Chica http://thecraftychica.blogspot.com/2009/12/affirmation-advent-calendar.htmlHere's a Martha glitter calendar- made with the help of one of the werewolves from Twilight! No kidding! Werewolves AND glitter! I swoon! http://www.marthastewart.com/article/glittered-magnetic-advent-calendar(Dear Santa, when in doubt, just get me a Martha Stewart Glitter sampler pack. I'll be amused for DAYS. Serioulsy. For realz. I -----c-o-v-e-t-------- them when I go to the craft store. ) Advent Activities at the very best kid's blog around http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/2009/12/december-book-activity-advent.htmland the first post of the cycle http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/2009/12/the-book-and-activity-advent-begins-today----book-snowflake-bentley-activity-paper-snowflakes--------click-here-for.htmlA very groovy retro look printable calendar http://www.mibostudio.co.uk/#/free-advent-calendar/4537002233Have office supplies, will mark the days from Blue Cricket http://bluecricketdesign.blogspot.com/2009/11/25-days-of-christmas-count-down.htmlA calendar from Jan Brett- my absolute favorite children's book author and illustrator http://www.janbrett.com/christmas_treasury_advent_calendar.htm(check out her holiday other pages too! http://janbrett.com/activities_pages.htm ) And while you are at it, take a gander at these web sites that are doing holiday count down/up activities each day. A Real Man's Crafter- Tim Holtz http://www.timholtz.typepad.com/Girly but not cloyingly sweet, Joli Paquet http://joli-paquet.blogspot.com/And the best craft link up spot out there- Oneprettything.com. Honestly, I go by here several times a day. Drat- now my creative inspiration secret is out. You will be making all of your own awesome stuff now. No matter- I sleep less than you do, so I still have the chance to make more!!!! He/She who MAKES the biggest pile of stuff(and I don't mean poo) wins. XXOO Bah Humbug. PS- if you happen to be watching Charlie Brown tonight, dance with me during the musical bits. |
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I hope all is as good as it can be for all of you out there.  FYI- you may have the date and menu wrong.
See here: http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2009/11/catholic-origins-of-first-thanksgiving.html and here http://books.google.com/books?id=KC77QvkWsPwC&dq=first+thanksgiving+At+augustine+Fl&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=YyQdBGU87Z&sig=78wQ2HI7TKQcPYztLo5fWoUvZW4&hl=en&ei=_pkOS82oHsuztgfT1NnGDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CBkQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=first%20thanksgiving%20At%20augustine%20Fl&f=false I think that this is the most important of holidays. It has not been hijacked or fought over by religions- it is exploited equally by all. It is commercialized minimally- at least by current standards. It is full of tradition and ceremony. And, at its heart, it strive to school us on what is really important. What matters is what we have and hold. Which, for most Americans, is much more than we really need. As a nation, I think Americans have a lot to learn about the definitions of emergency, struggle, hardship, etc. We have had these periods in the past, and will have them again. And for some, those times are happening right now. BUT_ we are still here. We are still alive and still have some path to walk in the world. Give thanks and rejoice. |
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IMHO, the one holiday that should be exalted above all others by the American People is THANKSGIVING. (more on that is a future post- but know that I mean the concept of THANKSGIVING, not the Plymouth Rock Thanksgiving) and I think a close second is Veterans Day. It does not matter if you are a pacifist or a die hard jar head, you owe something to someone in the military. If not in this generation, then in the hundreds of past generations in your family tree - and both to those who stood at the back of the line and had the agony of giving orders for people to die, and those who stood at the front with little more than farm implements. And yes. I think it is karmic justice that both of these holidays fall in the same month. So- for the record- thank you to all veterans. And here is a tribute. A portrait of a brave veteran. Not easy on the eyes, but poignant and important. Let this make you think and give thanks.
http://www.military.com/news/article/burned-gis-portrait-smithsonian-bound.html?wh=wh And more on the portrait competition
http://www.portraitcompetition.si.edu/exhibition2009/index.html And while we are at it, if you consider giving a charitable donation this holiday season or at any other time of the year, think about this cause
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ |
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 Craftoween has come and gone. But, I wanted to share some of the festivities with you all anyway. I had about 18 people over- guys were invited, but only Daddy and Mike Reed came. the other guests were old friends, ladies from work, and ladies from my Tampa Bay Fiber Fanatics We had a great time and got very creative. Quite a few photos were taken ( Come see! ) |
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One more day and it will be magic time! I'm very very busy getting ready for my Craftoween party tomorrow. I wish you could be here. I promise to post lots of pictures, etc. To get in the mood, how about some music! Recently, I discovered that this odd music I had liked for quite a while has a name- it is called Psychobilly! Like Rockabilly, but more Halloweenier. And with zombies. Thanks to Mr. The Dean for helping me have better access into this genre of entertainment. Here's the Koffin Kats And Here's The Creepshow Kind of sort of in this genre is one of my new fave songs. It is the theme music to the True Blood show-"Bad Things" by Jace Everett. Here are the opening credits which are a little bit odd and graphic, but in a very sexy way. And yes, I have read all of the Sookie books except for the latest one in hard back and the short stories. And yes, I know they are not high brow literature, but they are good the way a Moon Pie and and RC cola are good on a hot muggy night. Very sweet- if slightly acidic, very Southern, and very naughty. |
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Poe was very popular with the ladies. He was engaged at least 4 times. He married once- in 1835 to his first cousin Virginia Eliza Clemm She was 13 at the time(they told the preacher she was 21 when they married in secret) and he was 27. He had lived with her family off and on since 1829. I'll let you process that for a moment. Read again if you need to to get the math right. Yeah, ................so..............
Virginia died of consumption on January 30, 1847. He never remarried but pursued/was the persue-ee in several different relationships. Mostly things ended badly because of his drinking. But one relationship endured- his torrid and almost unrequited affair with Sarah Helen Pittman- the original Goth. 
Sarah at 35- about 6 years before she met Poe.
( Read more )
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Well, I couldn't just send a regular card, now could I? I had several Corvid inspired ideas this year, and I didn't get to do them all. But I got to do some of them. First, I made these free standing birdies.
I based them on this idea- http://www.stampingwithbluemooncreations.com/my_weblog/2009/05/tea-party-whimsical-birds.html but got much more literal when I added a wing layer. Each of these birds came with instructions. 
Alas, those did not fit into envelopes very well.
So, I made these with one of my favorite paper engineering tricks- the paper wheel.
I used my beloved paint sample cards for the base card. And hooray for free internet clip art as I could not draw a bird to ave my life. I even got kooky and made some for people to fill out on their own- those cards had a blank conversation bubble and were laminated. I packaged them with dry erase markers and I put magnets on the backs so they could be put up on the fridge, etc. However, both of those cards got a little bit complicated to make in mass. So, I made some more traditional cards. But with a snarky twist. You see, I have become enamored of "Married to the Sea" http://marriedtothesea.com/. This site will post a daily vintage or antique image, but pair it with a ridiculous modern comment. Special thanks to M Missy Magpie for turning me on to this great site Anyhow- I made Married to the Sea inspired cards for the mass mailings.
I fear some people did not get the joke. But overall, the response has been positive. |
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Secret codes have always been fascinating to me. Apparently, they were also fascinating to Poe. He was obsessed with Cryptograms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptogram. He never went past simple number and letter codes. BUT- The Gold Bug http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gold_Bug is filled with these little puzzles. In fact, The Gold Bug inspired the code breakers who made such a difference for the allies in WWII. Here's a cryptogram solving site
http://www.cryptograms.org/ I thought it would be fun to take some of Poe's most memorable quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/edgar_allan_poe.html and turn them into cryptograms. Fortunately, one of my favorite teaching resources could do the code making for me. http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/cryptogramSetupForm.asp I compiled the puzzles into little books that were placed in the Lucky 13 packages. 13 puzzles per book, of course.
 Speaking of Poe quotes. I was inspired to use some of his quotes in some artwork.
For the backgrounds, I used paint sample cards- one of my fave(and cheap!) sources for background artwork. Good way to use up paper scraps too! The names of the colors are reflective of Poe's detail rich writing. Quote cards like these will be one of the make and take activities at my Craftoween open house. |
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 As you know, each Halloween, I send out Halloween greeting cards to my beloved weirdo friends. But- 13 lucky people get extra special treats from me. Sometimes, I know all year who will get lucky. Other times, I have to wait till the last minute to see who the Great Pumpkin is drawing me to. This year, there were some perennial favorites as well as some new people on the list. (And yes, the Lucky 13 list is even more exclusive than the jam list.) Were you one of them? In the past, there was some confusion. So this year, if you got lucky, you got a Lucky 13 note in a box along with a lot of other strange stuff in a box. So- if you got a treat box filled with Poe and is says Lucky 13, you can figure out it was from me. That is- unless you know another strange person who is perseverating on corvids and has a deep seeded Poe obsession, in which case you know a lot of interesting people. Season's Greetings everyone! |
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In the US, the Raven often has negative connotations. It can cause problems with crops and it is a carrion eater, so it is not always considered to be a good visitor. But elsewhere, and at other times, the raven has had a very different association. To the Amerind cultures the Raven is the bringer of light. In other cultures, Corvids are the messengers of the Gods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_in_mythologyEven their feathers have meaning.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_getting_a_black_feather_mean as a totem, the raven is complex and contradictory, but always with a sense of wise humor.
http://www.shades-of-night.com/corax/totem.html For me, the most resonant association for Ravens is with the Goddess Morrigan. She is an ancient Celtic Goddess. Her basic association is with battle- and the ravens who eat the carrion on the killing fields. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrigan But if you explore that idea deeper, you realize that she is actually the Goddess of change and the Ravens are symbols of transformation.
Morrigan, by Courtney Davis Still today, the Raven is seen as force for protection
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1858985.ece |
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banchomarba1's journal
