No net totally sucks!

To all my peoples who love me, I am settling down, and slowly getting back in the swing of things. My net sucks, though, so I am not able to really fully commit to here again yet, but I will be soon! :p

And Photoshop is stuck on the computer that is not functioning yet, so my tutorial in the works is also stuck, cause I can't edit the pics! Wah!

Bear with me, people...one of these days I'll back to normal! :D

Happy Birthday to me..

It's my birthday today. Over in the States, anyway. It was my birthday yesterday over here. It's like having two birthdays. :P

Picture has nothing to do with anything, but it's pretty. :D


Credit: Juan Gatti. Now, if you ask me WHICH Juan Gatti, I can't answer that. Google just confused me. :p

Suggestions, please!

I need some suggestions, please..


I have a giftcard to Borders, from my last birthday, and I currently don't have a must have book burning in my brain to use it on.


So I need ideas. I want to add a book to my library, that is indispensable, that will forever be a treasure in my sewing career..


Something that should be in every serious sewing room..



Or else something that inspires and lights a fire to create...something that won't be outdated in 10 years..


All these pictured I already have, and consider a permanent part of my collection. What do YOU feel I am missing??

Credits:
All from Amazon.com

Take me away..

I have been up to my eyeballs in dust and mildew. Which is doing absolutely NOTHING for my chest cold. I'd way much rather doing what he/she/it's doing.


Credit: Unknown. Apparently forgot to write the name down.

*sighhhhh..*

Really...just no need for words at all, is there?


Credit:
I have no idea...I found it hiding in a random part of my many picture folders, and have no recollection at all of ever getting it.

Valentines..

It's Valentine's evening over here...I have a cold and feel like crap, we aren't doing anything special, but I have the ones I love here. It's all good.



Listening to this song...Written about the old-fashioned, enduring love of his parents...can't get more romantic than that.

Hope you are surrounded by loved ones, wherever you are.

Credit:
Loveology

Dying light..

via Nadia at LaPorteRouge

Just enjoy the show..

Lenka - The Show (Official Music Video) - More amazing video clips are a click away

A galaxy far, far away..

"TOP-HAT GALAXY Over its lifetime, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured many stunning images. Among the most memorable is this edge-on mosaic of the Sombrero galaxy. With its relatively high brightness magnitude and at a distance of 28 million light-years from Earth, Messier 104, as Sombrero is more formally known, is easily viewed through a small telescope. (photo via NASA)"

Okay...WE have a small telescope. Someone want to point me to where the heck I would find this in the sky?? WOW.

Credit:
via Goodnightdarling

Green with envy..

Sometimes, you are watching a movie, and you see a costume that catches your breath, and you have to hit pause, and rewind a couple of times to get a better look, and if you REALLY want it, you might try a google to see if you can find out where you can get something like it yourself.


Or you might be one of those people who see it, want it, and then go out and MAKE it.



They do things like screencap it from all angles...track down every promo pic they can find...read all interviews that might mention it..go to exhibitions where they are and try avoid being arrested as they practically fall over the railings, trying to take better photos..



They find the original suppliers, they track down craftsmen who made certain features...in some instances, they actually form co-ops, and get one of a kind fabrics, or things, remade, so they can be as authentic as possible.



If you ARE going to try to duplicate it yourself, you can just dive in yourself, and start researching..places like the Designer forum at Craftster are a good place to get advice and/or tips to get a headstart. Or, you can head straight to sites like Costumer's Guide, or Sunday Couture..the details they come up with are phenomenal!




It's not just period costumes, either...Anyone up for knitting a pair of Bella's mittens in Twilight?? :p


Or what about that incredible, fabulous Roland Mouret Galaxy dress that was the IT dress to have last year??

Check out what EricaB came up with!



(I read Erica's blog religiously, and wanna be her when I grow up. She is AMAZING with her sewing skills! :p )



Now, if someone can just direct me to a place where I can find better info and more pics for THIS top! :p


Credits:
1, 2, 3, 5, 6. Costumer's Guide
4. Heritage Inlay Design UK
7. Xmel
8. EricaB via Craftster
9. Allmoviephoto

Love in the city..

Credit: Dechobek

Stopmotion fantasy..

How cool is this.

Found via Cina. No link that I know of. :)

Justine Smith..

via Justine Smith

A boys day out..

To most of Australia, today was Australia Day, the Aussie equivalent of the US Fourth of July. To this Kiwi/American family, it's better known as The Boy's 12th birthday, an excellent excuse to pack a picnic, and head out to the Botanical Gardens.

For The Boy, it was quite a day. I mean, how often do you get to see the Navy do a demonstration of a Frogman extraction? (If you enlarge the pic, and peer closely, you can see the Froglegs dangling on it's way up. :p )




And then there was watching the pirate/replica tall ship sailing by..




Checking out the old prison out in the water...



Watching the F-18's and C130's put on an airshow..except, that didn't actually happen. After waiting forever, ONE jet roared past in one pass...and it wasn't even an F-18. And then ages later, ONE C130. As an air show, it was one huge disappointment. Luckily for us, we hadn't depended on them to carry the whole day. You can see the one jet below..peer closely at the circle. That was the best I could do since it came in and WENT so fast, and I didn't get no stinkin' second chance! :p



Peering across the water at the Navy destroyers..



Along with all the normal things like stuffing your face with super yummy cake..



Boiling in the sun with a game of cricket..




Getting rowdy in the water..




Messing with fire..




And then finishing it all off by sharing the freeway home with a million classic cars leaving a show. I didn't manage to get a pic of the Bugatti, from sometime around the 20's/30's, with two guys riding along in the rain, no top, goggles on, and CRAMMED in the teeny weeny seat, because a certain someone who shall remain nameless but who's name starts with *DH*, stepped on the gas and passed them before I could get my camera organized. Redeemed himself slightly when he held steady while I tried to snap this super cool one. :p


Happy birthday, baby. I'm glad you had a good one. :)

Rain..

It's raining outside...a cozy, warm thunderstorm. The kind with big, fat drops of water, and brilliant, extravagant flashes of light, and crashes of thunder that lift the hair on your head, and make you feel alive. The kind that makes you want to go outside and stand in it, and just be. Or maybe that's just me.

Credit: Wendy Bevan via Bliss

Dancing in the...station...

Anyone remember that cool vid of all the people freezing in place in Grand Central Station?? It was awesome. But I think this might even be cooler. :p



Found via Altering Thoughts, via The Land of Lost Luggage.

The true cost of safety..

$3,000.00

$5,469.50

$2,982.00

$10,940.00

$1,274.00

$438.00

$17,240.00

$8,950.00

$3,530.00

$2,976.00

Those prices listed are actual figures for how much each item will cost under the new act. Give or take a dollar or two, depending on how much the seller feels like trying to help the consumer and take a slight pay cut.

The fight is still on. We made it to #6 on the list to be presented to Obama on his inauguration, but it's not over yet. While there have been amendments to exempt second hand resale, and a very limited amount of natural materials, that still leaves every one of the items above as "toxic" contraband. Not to mention things like books...can you imagine if your local library or school had to recall and destroy their entire stock of books meant for under 12 year olds? As it stands, on February 10, that will have to happen. Give me a break. Meanwhile, yet another one of the wholesome, safe, European toy companies has pulled out of the US market. At the rate we are going, the only things left to buy for the children in our life will be a limited number of Made in China toys, because huge toy companies are going to be the only ones left who can afford to make anything anymore, and even THEY are going to be cutting down their selection to be able to afford to keep things running. Never mind that Chinese manufacturing is what got us into this mess in the first place.

The CPSA is urging Congress to clarify and amend the bill before it gets set in stone on the 10th. You can help push them by writing to your Senator urging them to get a freaking clue. Maybe use a little nicer language. :p Someone has GOT to wake up and use some commonsense!!!

For a more thorough look at what is happening, check out CPSIA-Central, and a really good article on Etsy.

Seriously, this has got to change. It's completely insane.



Credits:
1. NaughtyLittleMonkeys
2. Dannielle
3. KBellaBambino
4. Ozarknana
5. TheCrochetedBaby
6. BobbiKnits
7. Aebaby
8. PearlyGrey
9. Honeybee69
10. Frillerup

Madelaine..

Lookie what I found over on Decor8..Now these are what I call a self portrait!

She's 17, she has a blog, an Etsy, and a massive Flickr, which is totally worth clicking through to and checking out, cause artsy, surreal self portraits aren't the only amazing pics she takes.

Now excuse me while I go and reevaluate what I've been doing with myself for the last 30...mumble...years...


Credits: All pics from Madelaine's Etsy