Crafty Manolo

One thing I love about the online crafting community is that I get to see work by people I might otherwise never hear about. That’s probably my single favorite thing about my single favorite feature on the blog CraftyPod. Sister Diane sends out a series of questions to a crafter who responds with visual answers.

The most recent Image Only Interview is with Barbara McIntyre of Browneyedbabs.

This is the illustration she picked for how she feels when crafting. It means ‘excited,’ BTW.

Check out a few of these delightful and imaginative interviews. Then go check out some of the equally delightful and imaginative interviewees. You’ll be glad you did.

No, someone didn’t tear up early editions of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to make clutch purses. Nor did she tear up early editions of The Tale of Pigling Bland, Lolita, The Phantom of the Opera, nor various editions of Alices Adventures in Wonderland. And thank goodness for that!

Instead, the cover art is printed on cotton fabric and the corners bound with metal to protect the purse and finish the look.

Each purse is handmade by Jessica Bermudez Bautista (known on Etsty as psBesitos) in Sienna, Italy, and runs 50 euros. That’s roughly $66.17, USD, plus shipping.

Oh, and if you don’t want it as a clutch, you can purchase the separate chain and have it attached.

Today marks the one hundred seventy-second birthday of Auguste Rodin, the great sculptor. In his honor, I thought it might be fun to see some of the unusual and crafty ways his most famous sculpture, The Thinker, has been interpreted over the years.

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Well, it’s finally starting to feel like autumn around my neck of the woods, and some parts of the country have really been feeling the chill… and the damp… and the… let’s just say there are some places where I imagine bundling up is not merely a good idea right now, but an absolute necessity.

Of course, colder weather always makes me think of really great hats. Okay, I admit I think about them a lot all year round and in every kind of weather, but cold weather hats have a special place in my heart. And that adorable felted cloche with the buttons up top? Is seriously on my holiday wish list!

It’s the work of one Julie Sindon, who makes fabulous felted hats for a living. This one is just $55.00, which makes it an affordable number as well as attractive.

Oh, and right now she’s a featured artist on Poppytalk, where you can get a variety of her lovely hats and scarves.

Of her felting, Julie has this to say:

All hats are made of boiled wool, which means that they are knit large, and then felted (or shrunk).  It’s just like when you accidentally shrink your wool sweater in the washing machine, except that we do it on purpose.

Gotta love that.

I have a longstanding love of meerkats. They’re so darn adorable. I love how they stand and act as sentries for the community.

Of course I’m not in favor of having wild animals as pets, except for sloths. Apparently the biggest hassle of having them as pets is remembering to take them out every few days and hose them off so they can take care of their bodily functions. What? I read an article in National Geographic many years ago. It seems that sloths are quite friendly creatures.

But meerkats? Yeah, not gonna happen. And my neighborhood probably isn’t zoned for sloths, dagnabbit.

But I could order one of these deliciously detailed needlefelted meerkats from Etsy artist Daria Lvovsky for just $62.00 plus shipping from Isreal.

It’s even on a wired skeleton, so it can be posed in different ways.

Not big on meerkats? That’s okay. Lvovsky also does a wide variety of creatures and fairy tale figures to brighten your home and delight the eye. Now, do I want a koala or a vulture first….

There’s still just over a week to go before Halloween, so there’s just time to create a zombie grave or two to set the mood. So get out your crochet hooks and head over to visit Croshame because that’s where you’ll find this awesome free pattern to bump some gooses in your own home.

Of course, I tend to think of it as Buffy’s grave.

Then again, that leads to the badness of seasons six and seven… and that really does give me the wig!

Have you ever checked out Mike Doyle’s Snap? It’s the blog of Lego artist Mike Doyle in which he shares his amazing creations with us all.

Recently, he’s done a series of crumbling Victorian houses, again all in Legos. Learn all about how he created this haunted house on a mudpile in these two entries.

I don’t know about you, but I am not worthy.

It sounds like a concept for one of Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries. It sounds like a throwaway line on an episode of Paula Deen’s cooking show. It even sounds like something Martha Stewart might suggest to make life so much better.

What it doesn’t sound like is something that people do competitively or for a living… but it’s real.

What it is? Butter sculpture.

That’s right. Sculpting with butter. See that manatee and diver above? They are painstakingly carved out of butter and displayed in a refrigerated case. Well, they were back in january at the Manatee County Fair in Palmetto, FL. That gorgeous sculpture is the work of food artist Jim Victor, and he’s done some truly amazing work. Seriously, he sculpted Paula Deen’s grandson in butter, Milton Hershey in chocolate, and the Mona Lisa is all Italian food products. When you get done marveling at those, be sure to see what he does in wood and mixed media, too.

But the butter. For another idea of how amazing this medium can be to sculpt in, take a look at Sri Lankan  artist Vipula Ahtukorale’s magnificent Pied Piper in pastry margarine:

And, with the new movie Butter opening in limited markets last weekend, we add to this notable list… Jennifer Garner.

The film follows Garner as the reigning queen of butter sculpture at the county fair while she is challenged by upstart newcomer Yara Shahidi. So far the reaction from audiences has been lackluster. All the same, I may just go see it when it comes to my neck of the woods. I have some burning questions about butter sculpture and I’d like to see it in action.

Still, I would have loved to see Christopher Guest and his crazed band of co-conspirators get ahold of this concept. Imagine what Fred Willard might have sculpted!

Actually, that just might not bear imagining.

Ahem.

My name is Twistie, and I’m a Buffyaholic.

I have no shame. Give me some Sarah Michelle Gellar staking vampires and I’m a happy camper. I can quote you chapter and verse and argue minutia for hours. I own action figures, including the rare and popular Bunny Suit Anya. I geek out if I get a glimpse of an actor who played third vampire on the left in an early episode. I even have autographed photos on my bedroom wall. No lie.

So this:

… doesn’t suck to me, as Buffy herself might say.

It’s the work of Etsy artist Skeeboo, and would set you back twenty smackers plus shipping, if you’re looking for the Halloween or Christmas… or just what the hey gift for the Buffy fanatic in your life. (Waves eagerly) She even makes an adorable tiny razorback, if you want Buffy to have a more convincing school mascot than the one Principal Flutie provided as inadvertent hyena food. What? I told you what a geek I am! Trust me on this.

Oh, and Skeeboo? If you ever feel like providing one, I do firmly believe that a Slayer needs her Watcher.

You know, just in case she ever needs to blow up a library or something.

The instant I saw this piece, I needed to know more. I wanted to know more about the artist, the technique, the materials, the inspiration. I wanted to see more of the work.

The artist is Lotta Helleberg. She was born in Sweden and relocated to Virginia in the 80’s. She now lives with her husband and children in Charlottesville, making art and loving nature.

The art and the nature go hand in hand at all times. Whether she’s creating wall hangings, pillows, handmade artist’s books, table runners, or sachets filled with organic lavender, Helleberg’s work combines a spare elegance with a profound respect for nature. The result, as you can see, is tremendously beautiful.

The materials she works in most include: antique/vintage linen fabric, natural dyes created from local plants, recycled/handmade paper, and silk. Her dye processes are eco-friendly, and many of the motifs are created with the help of local flora.

If you’re in the Virginia area, you’ll be able to see Helleberg’s work up close and personal from October 12 – December 5 at Over the Moon Bookstore in Crozet, VA and in the Artisans Studio Tour in Charlottesville, VA on November 10&11. Helleberg is studio #8.

Or, if you’re up in the Ontario, Canada area (As opposed to Ontario, California), Helleberg’s work will be on display at the Joshua Creek Heritage Art Center in Oakville, Ontario from November 2 – 18 as part of the show De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things).

As for the rest of us, well, we’ll just have to get by on browsing her website and her online store.

You know, I really could use a spiffy new purse….