Crafty Manolo

This gentleman, for those of you who have not been watching the current season of Project Runway on Lifetime, is Olivier (pronounced ‘Oliver’) Green.

I have a message for Olivier based on his behavior on last night’s episode. Those of you who do not wish to be spoiled about the challenge or his behavior, consider this your spoiler alert. But don’t worry, I’m also adding a cut.

Those of you who wish to know what I’m saying, join me after said cut.

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I love the Mexican holiday of Dio de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Why? Because it’s a celebration of our loved ones who have passed on, without sorrow, without regret, just an appreciation of the people who have been special to us. It’s about remembering good times, accepting that life is a finite thing best enjoyed while we’re living, and expressing love for those who have shaped our lives.

Plus there are cool sugar skulls. They sit right on the cusp of cute and macabre with a solid dose of the kitchen skills I so adore.

This year, I would like to try my hand at making skulls myself. I’ve got a few really wonderful people to remember and celebrate come November 2 (Dio de los Muertos is actually a two-day celebration beginning on November 1, but that’s the day for children and I’ve been lucky enough in my life not to lose kids).

If you’d like to try out skull making, too, head on over to Mexican Sugar Skull for full instructions. That’s where I got the cool illustration at the top of this entry. The site even includes ideas for teachers to use in making this a classroom project.

In fact, the one thing I didn’t find on that page was a source for the skull molds. Ah, but you know I would never leave you in the lurch without such a key ingredient!

That’s right, I know a place where you can get not only the skull mold illustrated here, but several others, as well.

Fancy Flours has a wide variety of candy molds, cake pans, pretty cupcake papers, and packaging materials for all your baking needs. Also, all your Mexican sugar skull making needs.

I love hedgehogs. As a child, my favorite Beatrix Potter story was Mrs. Tiggywinkle, mostly because I thought (and still think!) hedgehogs are so darn cute.

Just look at that adorable little crittur!

And then imagine my delight when I spotted these colorful ceramic hedgehogs by Etsy crafter iktomi!

They’re hand formed and fired twice in delicious glazes. Just $36.00 USD gets you all three 3″ hedgies.

Oh, and did I mention that English lacemakers consider hedgehogs sort of mascots? Nobody is certain quite why that came about, but one theory is that they resemble little live pincushions with their quills.

Let’s see… hedgehog:

vs. pincusion:

 (photo via Urban Debris, where you can find the link to the free instructions)

You be the judge.

A couple weeks ago, a good friend of mine had a family emergency. Her mother had to be admitted to the hospital. My friend spent the entire day in the waiting room at the ICU waiting to hear whether her mother was going to be okay or not.

Being a crafty soul who likes to keep busy, she had brought her ever-present crochet supplies with her. Taking them out, she was startled when a guard informed her that her crochet hook was being confiscated as a possible weapon. She could get it back when she was leaving the hospital, she was told.

We’re talking about a medium-sized crochet hook, which she uses to crochet hats for cancer patients who have lost their hair to chemotherapy. This is the same woman who, just a few months ago, crocheted me a hat while we waited to hear how Mr. Twistie’s heart operation had gone.

When my friend gathered up her things to leave hours later, the nurse at the desk seemed pretty confused that her crochet hook had been taken. She really didn’t think that an aluminum crochet hook was likely to cause much damage, especially in the hands of a quiet middle-aged woman sitting in a room mostly by herself.

So that’s my friend’s story. Have any of you had your crafting tools confiscated for public safety? Did it make much more sense than this situation? What did you do in response?

Oh, and BTW, my friend’s mother is now home and improving, thanks very much.

Hello, my darlings! It’s good to see your bright and shining faces again!

Have you been good while I’ve been away? You have? I’m terribly disappointed in you all, then.

Well get ready for more projects. more Inspiration Galleries, more tips on where to find the coolest toys and most inventive craftwork, and perhaps the odd silly thing, because, well, it wouldn’t be me without some silliness, now would it?

Stay tuned and we’ll get underway ASAP.