Boots and Cats!

I'm absolutely dying over this video. It's SO GOOD!

... and weird. But good! I don't even know what to say about it, other than... well... watch it!

Leather cat bee.

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Isabel's Rose- amazing lampwork beads & jewelry

Sometimes you see an add and click, expecting to take a quick glance and go on about your business. Other times, you find yourself fascinated, clicking and clicking, looking for hours, drooling and adding to your wishlist. The other night was definitely one of those nights.

Enter Isabel's Rose, by Lori Flanders. I spotted a tiny ad at the bottom of a webcomic I read, and was drawn in... those look like polymer clay bone beads, I thought to myself. I clicked, and was suddenly blown away... these were not clay, but glass- lampwork beads, handmade with rods of glass and a torch, each one a tiny work of art.

I spent hours over the next couple of days, clicking through her various shops and her flickr stream, amazed and awed and absolutely speechless over these tiny jewels. I love the colors, I love the textures, I love the whimsicality... this stuff is absolutely amazing! So, I decided I needed to share some of my favorites with you!

Encrusted lampwork heart, $28 at Etsy

First, look at this amazing sterling-silver encrusted heart necklace. Made of ivory-colored glass, it has sterling silver embedded into it. It's suspended on an oxidized sterling silver ring, and comes on a 20" gunmetal chain.

I am so, so in love with this necklace. It looks like there's enough weight there to feel substantial without looking childish. The colors are so intriguing, and I love the cool tones of the chain and the silver contrasting with the warmth of the ivory glass. It looks equally perfect for dressing up jeans and a tee shirt or for wearing with your favorite little black dress.

Necklace photo from the artist's Flickr stream.

Then there's this necklace made of glass branch beads and glass acorns. I absolutely love the lime green on the acorns, and I think this would be stunning paired with a simple top and jeans. There's something utterly fall-like about this piece, making me think of crisp autumn breezes and that utterly blue sky. I love it!

Don't think she only works in earth tones, though. This poison cupcake showcases Lori's whimsical side, using almost-neon colors to create a charming cupcake and crossbones.

Again, this piece is substantial without being too big. Do I even have to tell you how adorable I find this? Bright colors, cupcakes, and gunmetal all make me smile. This could well be a favorite necklace if it lived in my jewelry collection!

Although I could keep pulling photos and posting them to rave about, I'll end with this stunning bracelet. Those beads aren't metal, but instead are made of glass. I'm assuming there's silver leaf on them, but I honestly don't know for sure.

Aren't they gorgeous? They're so chunky and bold, and all so radically different while still looking harmonious together. I also love the patterns of swirls and dots, the sparkle of the silver, and the deep glossiness of the black. This is truly my kind of bracelet!


So, what do you think of these? Is this something you would wear? How would you wear them. Do you have a favorite piece of hers? Leave me a comment and let me know!

P.S. If you buy something from her, note in your order that I sent you there!  :D

Someone take my internet away, I've gone down the rabbit hole!

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A Bit About SOPA

Image courtesy of The Oatmeal. Funny stuff there!

I try to avoid getting too ranty here, but sometimes ya just have to. I'm sure you noticed the internet protesting SOPA/PIPA on January 18. If I could have figured out how to shut down this blog for the day, I might have done it, but I'm not sure I could have done it without screwing something up.

However, this is something I really do believe we need to protest. I've written to my senator, as has my husband. I'm not asking you to take my word for anything, since I'm just some chick on the internet. I am asking you to educate yourself if you aren't familiar with SOPA, and if you agree with me that it's a bad idea, then write your congressperson.

Some links (courtesy of XKCD)

Learn more:
EFF: One-page guide to SOPA
reddit: A technical overview of the SOPA and PIPA bills
DYN: How these bills would break DNS
EFF: Free speech on the web

Act:
Contact information for US elected officials

Piracy is bad. So is SOPA.

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Fun DIY project!

Here's another quick post because I found something adorable I want to share...

I was looking at Studs and Pearls (a fun DIY blog I read sometimes) and found the absolute cutest how-to! Kirsten showed how to use simple things lots of us have around our house to make this rockin' ring! I love it so much... and I'm now looking at all my crafty stash, wondering what I could combine to make pretties!

I don't wear rings, but I can totally see this as a pendant. Simply add a bail and thread onto a chain, or a leather cord. GORGEOUS!! Adding a layer of epoxy resin over the beads would make for a gorgeous glass-like top, as well.

You could also add in glitter... I know, I know, glitter is the herpes of crafting, but I LOVE GLITTER! Glitter makes EVERYTHING more fun!!

... I think it's time for me to go to sleep now. What do you think of this DIY idea? Would you wear it? How would you change it up? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Someone needs to take my internet away... but I won't let them! :D

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OMG, such good news! Thanks to a whirlwind of circumstances, my son starts college on Tuesday! I'm so proud... although I am NOT old enough to have a child in college! :D

Now we're trying to figure out the scheduling- how we're going to get him back and forth to class... it's rough living in the butt end of nowhere and only having one car! Still, talk about your first world problems!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Go read John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. It's AMAZING!

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China Glaze Electropop Collection

Oooooh, I just got an email about the upcoming China Glaze Electropop collection. SOOO cute! This collection was made for me, what with the gorgeous bright rainbow of color and the holo glitter topcoat! These colors look lush! Check them out!

 

 

I know, aren't they delicious? These scream summer to me, warm days and thick sunshine. I want to play with them!

What do you think... are you looking forward to these? Leave me a comment, let me know!

Images were provided by the manufacturer.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Fun and creative things to do with nail polish...

Ahhh, the weather has changed, and it is, indeed, making me feel poorly. It's ok, though... thankfully the new meds are making it much more tolerable. Instead of being curled in a fetal position, crying and/or muttering incoherently, I'm just uncomfortable and somewhat grumpy. It's definitely an improvement!

Since I'm still not feeling up to much decent blogging, I've been surfing the internet. I've found some fun things! Everyone knows you can use nail polish to paint your nails, but did you know about the other fun uses for it? Erin from Thanks I Made It made a post sharing several other uses for nail polish, including how to make threading a needle easier. I can't tell you how many times I could have used this in the past!

Then Saturday Sequins commented with a link to a wonderful step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own nail polish jewelry! These pendants are both gorgeous and simple- anyone could make their own. Speaking of, I've got a necklace I've long since stopped wearing, and am tweaking it with my polishes right now! Not sure how it'll turn out, but if it works I'll definitely share the end result!

So, while I'm trying to get back on my feet, go check out these fun links! You might even learn a few new tricks!

Til next time!

I love the internet! Learning new things is fun!

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Can this weather get any weirder?

I am so, so unamused right now. Some of you may know this, but if you don't, I have fibromyalgia. Fibro is basically lots of chronic pain, and it's affected by lots of things- stress, overdoing physical activity, and weather changes, among other things.

I mention this because the weather here is insane. How insane? Look for yourself...

Ok, maybe it's REALLY cool, but it still sucks.

So yea... I'm happy for the new meds, because I was hurting enough before that I'm not sure I'd have made it through this cold snap without losing my mind. As it is, I'm not terribly comfortable, but it's totally manageable. Plus, I get to snuggle with the husband, which is always good. :D

Stay warm, and stay sane!

Old man winter? You can kiss my ass.

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Manicure By Robot

Wow. I just found the coolest video thanks to Win! It was sort of a roundabout journey- my son told me about an amazing video of a man using a robot to make a paper airplane, with a killer surprise ending. We then went to Win! so I could see the video, and after it was finished, I saw another video showing someone using the same robot to paint a St. Patrick's Day nail design!

Now, the guy doing the manicure is a doctor, so it's not all that great artistically, but wow! The technology here is amazing. I can see this being used for so many things...



And no, I haven't abandoned this blog. I've been having the worst fibro flare I've had in years. I saw my pain management team last Wednesday and we made some changes to my meds, and since then I've slept a LOT. I seem to be adjusting to the new meds though, and I'll take sleeping lots over 8 & 9 pain days and not being able to do anything. It's just gonna take some time to get this straight.

Miss you! *hugs*

I love the internet!

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