Crafty Manolo

I love macaws.

Even if they aren’t Norweigian Blues, they still have beautiful plumage.

And now one enterprising artist has started using their (the macaws, not Monty Python) lovely feathers to make rather stunning jewelry.

You see, this unidentified artist from Minnesota (What? The site has not given us a name to work with; just a location) did some work with Habitat for Humanity down in Central America (Again, the site does not specify any further as to location or other identifying details) and became fascinated with the feathers of the macaws in the area.

Now this artist creates beautiful jewelry using macaw feathers supplied by a bird sanctuary in New Mexico, which sends the feathers their macaws molt on their own, as nature intended.

The necklace is made by sandwiching a single feather between two pieces of glass, soldered together by hand with lead-free silver. Then the adjustable chain (14″ – 22″, so it will fit most throats nicely with room to spare) and wire-wrapped beads are added. Oh, and since the macaw feather is yellow-green on one side and a deep blue on the other, this piece is fully reversible, so it goes with a wide variety of clothes.

All that for just $139.99 from Modern Artisans.

Best of all, no parrots were harmed in the making of this necklace.

Okay, there are some things in life that are just plain wrong. One of them, in my not so humble opinion, is 3-D sushi on your chest complete with actual chopsticks skewered to your sweater just below your chin. Talk about a passion killer! Even if your honey did want to gobble you up in this getup, there’s the issue of how (s)he could be impaled on those pointy bits of wood.

Then again, if your SO is a sparkly vampire…

… and you’re worried about the consequences of getting too close might entail, but you aren’t best buds with Buffy the Vampire Slayer,

… maybe, just maybe, there’s an excuse to wear this.

But seriously? Even Willow at her most sartorially challenged…

… probably wouldn’t be caught dead in this one.

I love Japanese food, including sushi. And sushi inspires many a creative soul. It’s so pretty and the shapes are quite elegant, but simple enough to express in many different ways. As it turns out, someone has turned that inspiration into these charming handmade plush pillows. At $44.99 to $59.99, chances are you can afford to use them in more than one room.

Just be sure to remember not to do this with yours:

Because plush? Not as delicious as fish and rice.

What, you may well ask, are those?

They are, not to put too fine a point on it, boobies.

Not the natural ones that women grow as they hit the brick wall of puberty, but prosthetic ones. Knitted prosthetic ones. In fact, they are the work of a charity called Knitted Knockers. They knit these… well… knockers, and provide them to women who have had mastectomies.

Why knitted ones? Aren’t there already options for women who have had mastectomies? Aren’t these kind of… silly?

Yes, they are silly. Gloriously silly. Joyfully silly. Silly in a life-affirming and surprisingly practical way. In fact, here are a couple of the advantages as listed on the website:

Knitted prosthetic breasts for mastectomy patients. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Yet, when placed in a bra, these knitted breasts take the shape and feel of a real breast. They are lighter and more comfortable than silicone prosthetic breasts. The knitted fabric breathes and prevents the heat rash experienced by many women wearing the silicone ones.

They also note that the silicone prosthetics are quite expensive, which means they’re beyond the means of some cancer survivors, and, when covered by insurance,  will usually only be available one at a time every couple of years. That means if one gets damaged or destroyed, it’s going to be a long time before another is available.

The site features links to patterns for both knitted and crocheted boobies, as well as information on how to start your own Knitted Knockers group.

Come on, let crafting bring out the breast in you.

It’s fun sometimes to consider what one would do with access to a time machine. My favorite time machine is, as you might have already guessed, the TARDIS. I love the idea of wandering through time and space with a wildly eccentric alien – especially one who knows that bow ties and fezzes are cool.

Anyway.

But what if the deal were extremely limited? What if you could go to only one historic time/place and ask one question of one person? What if that person had to be related to your favorite craft in some way?

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Happy Easter, everybody! And may the big bunny bring you egg-zactly your favorite candies today.

via Craftstylish

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would bring you some great ideas for recycling your refuse into glorious crafts nobody would refuse to have in their homes. First up, this kind of adorable mosaic frame is made of old credit cards. If you’ve been hit hard by the recent economic miseries and suddenly want to get rid of all your plastic, here’s a way to make it work for you again.

But what if you don’t have a large cache of old credit cards to cut up? Ah my dears, just look below the cut and find more fun crafts from around the web made of discarded items.

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I’ve been a fan for a while of Etsy artist Handsolo. Take a look at these printed plastic earrings to know why. They’re attractive and subtle, but they speak to my geeky little heart.

Unfortunately, you won’t have long to act if you want a pair, because Handsolo is closing up shop. That means that there’s great jewelry like the above earrings on sale for ridiculous prices. In fact, those earrings are just six dollars right now!

Not a Trekkie? Fear not. There are plenty of other images to choose from, like these elegant hot air balloons:

Or you can let Handsolo make the choice with this selection of eight random pairs for just $25.00.

I’ll miss your shop, Handsolo… but expect an order from me before you go!

As some of you are already aware, I’m a great big sci-fi TV geek. I grew up watching Star Trek, Space 1999 (Shut up. I was twelve and I knew Martin Landau was awesome decades before he played Bela Lugosi!), Twilight Zone (not to be confused with sparkly vampires), and scads of other shows related to the theme.

There is one show I adore, however, to which I came quite late in the game. I refer, of course, to Dr. Who.

Sure, Who is big business now, but in the early eighties in California? You had to be in the know and glued to your local PBS station. And my local PBS station didn’t carry it. It was Mr. Twistie who introduced me to the Doctor and his many companions over many iterations when we first started dating, and one of his local PBS stations ran adventures late on saturday nights.

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Block printing is a medium I have long admired. I’ve enjoyed it the couple times I’ve tried it, too.

If you’ve been thinking about trying this fun technique out, or if you know someone who wants to get started, the best thing you can do is head over to Mister Art and take a look at this fabulous starter kit by Speedball. It includes everything you need to get going creating your own block prints. It includes: a lino block, lino handle, four sizes of cutters, a knife, four colors of ink, and a lot more.

Oh, and the coolest thing of all? Is the price. This kit usually runs $59.99 retail, which isn’t at all bad. But why go for ‘not bad’ when you can get a great deal? You see, Mister Art carries it for just $46.19, which is 23% off. Or, if you join their VIP Club, the price drops to just $40.49, or a whopping 33% off!