Sharing Your Photos...and my new niece!

My new niece, Adi, sketched out with Adobe Photoshop Express.
There's a super cool and cheap, er...thrifty, way to upload, edit and share your photos!! Adobe, the creator of Photoshop, has put into beta a new photo editing tool that uses Flash. Simply sign up for an account, upload photos, and edit away! The tools aren't as exact, or as complicated as Photoshop, but the results are amazingly pleasing, for such a simple idea. Plus, you can play around with your photos, creating some more bizarre images, as well...
It also lets you link and upload directly to selected outside sites, such as Facebook, Picasa, and Photobucket. You get 2 GB of free space to show off your photos in galleries you create. (I've embedded these two photos into my blog post without putting them in my public gallery, for those concerned about privacy issues.)

Oh, Go Felt A Snake!!

I've been trying to find some really cool felted hair thingies, but can't quite find what I'm looking for...What to do? Well, make them myself, I'm sure! So, I've been researching the topic of felting to learn more about it and have found the coolest site with lots of great tutorials.
I thought I'd share it: Woolcrafting... and the portion that I'm most intrigued with, Learning to Make Felted Snakes. It's this technique that I will have to master in order to make my envisioned hair-thingies:)
If I ever get around to actually making them, I will show them off!

Crochet Some Hearts...

Grandma taught me to crochet when I was young, and I caught on but didn't have the attention span to finish anything (just like when mom tried to teach me to quilt - I still have the almost finished piece mounted in a wooden frame). I have been thinking that I'd like to learn to knit and re-learn to crochet with wool, so I can experiment with felting.
I ran across these directions. Maybe I'll find that old needle lying around somewhere:)

Kaki King - Langerado, 2005

So, driving home from work tonight, listening to KFOG on the radio, I hear this beautiful song being played. The guitarist is Kaki King, whom I've never heard of before. I make a mental note tha tI must check this guitarist out!
Of course, I head to YouTube, because I want to share...and I don't find the song the I was listening to ("Sad Americans"), but I see some amazing footage of this girl playing guitar in a very unusual style! WOW!

John Mayer - Message in a Bottle

Enjoy!

Craftzine.com blog: Shrink Your Trash

Craftzine.com blog: Shrink Your Trash
DIY Shrinky Dinks
DIY Shrinky Dink Jewelry - About.com Teen Fashion

Here's are some great articles I found while trying to find some Shrinky Dinks for my next "fused glass" project with kindergartners and first graders. Cool idea that I'll have to check out when I have a little more time:)

And one more awesome and inspiring blog:
Dabbled - Experiments in Art, Craft & Food. Make rings, suncatchers, wine glass markers, and learn all about sealing your creations!

Mosaic for a Cause...

will be taking place Saturday, April 12th (1:30pm-5pm workshop)

and Sunday, April 13th (10am-12pm option to grout in studio) at M.Mitcavish Glass Studio, 68 Coombs St. Studio O1, Napa, CA 94559 (www.mitcavish.net)
The workshop will be taught by Marisa Casa.

The cost for the workshop/fundraiser is $50, and is tax-deductible.
In this mosaic workshop, you will learn:

• Types of Tesserae
• Tools and Protective Equipment
• Cutting Techniques
• Design Techniques
• Adhesion Techniques
• Grouting
• Workspace Setup & Organization

Come meet new people, start a new hobby, and donate to a worthy cause!

They're Always After Me Lucky Charms!!!

The California Crafters Club of Etsy (CCCOE) is proud to present the entries in their February challenge under the topic of “LUCKY CHARMS”.

Now it’s your turn to judge which one is the best. Polls open until midnight Thu., March 7. See below for this month's prize, 10% off in the list of shops AND a spot in one of our treasuries beginning March 8.

Click through the list or see them all in one place here

Rules:
1. Post your vote here.
2. Chat as you wish but vote only once!

Here is the list of entrants, or you can click on this link to see them all in one place
http://quirkynberkeley.blogspot.com/2008/03/cccoe-february-challenge-entries-lucky.html

1. Spirit Charm - OOAK by PalleikoDesigns

2. Lucky Charm Magic Wand by NeedleWorks

3. Good Karma charm bracelet by ElenaMary

4. Lucky Fish Necklace by luchi

5. Land of the Leprechauns by RedBessBonney

6. Super lucky button horseshoe earrings by AlliesAdornments

7. Chinese Animal Lucky Charms by Wumpus

8. Shamrock is the new Black by Tresijas

9. Lucky Little Snot Mens Handkerchiefs Set by Knittergirl

10. Larry the Lucky Llama by visionquest

11. Elephants for luck by QuirkynBerkeley

12. Lucky in love!! by mycatlulu

Lucky number 13!!!
Lucky Charms by CalyxAnn

14. Jinx the Lucky Cat by buttercupbloom

15. Gilbert and George's Lucky Origami Peace Cranes
by Nancy McNally aka localcolorist

16. Broadway Cricket Struts Her Stuff Down 42nd Street by peggradyart

17. February Birthstone Pendant by Marie Julie

18. Silk Drawstring Tarot Card Bag by Oceanavesilks

19. Feeling Centered and Lucky Necklace by AmandaKLockrowJewels

20. Lucky Minx Scarf by phydeaux

21. She has an Irish Brogue by Onyx of Treslocas

22. Luck of the Irish by anniek

23. abstract lucky charm 4 leaf clover pendant

Each voter is eligible for a 10% discount off entire purchase from the following shops during the week of March 8 through 14. We will also feature voters in a treasury. We cannot notify you individually due to site rules, but start looking for the CCCOE treasuries starting on March 8.

Keep your eyes on this list as more shops may be added during the week of voting.

http://CalyxAnn.etsy.com	http://Shellmitchell.etsy.com
http://Ohmay.etsy.com	http://Knittergirl.etsy.com
http://annieKdesigns.etsy.com	http://prairieprimitives.etsy.com
http://sandysimone.etsy.com	http://thevintagejewelrybox.etsy.com
http://cigarboxbeads.etsy.com	http://prettycheap.etsy.com
http://needleworks.etsy.com	http://laurenbacchus.etsy.com
http://Elenamary.etsy.com	http://KimzVisionz.etsy.com
http://suchandsort.etsy.com	http://senoritasoto.etsy.com
http://JMCdesigns.etsy.com	http://Phydeaux.etsy.com
http://quirkynberkeley.etsy.com	http://localcolorist.etsy.com
http://peggradyart.etsy.com	http://buttercupbloom.etsy.com
http://redbessbonney.etsy.com	http://visionquest.etsy.com
http://tresijas.etsy.com	http://treslocas.etsy.com
http://Blackbird72.etsy.com	http://Yolandasclay.etsy.com
http://Mycatlulu.etsy.com	http://Luchi.etsy.com
http://AmandaKLockrowJewels.etsy.com	http://alliesadornments.etsy.com
http://palleikodesigns.etsy.com	http://combustionglassworks.etsy.com
http://designsbymariejulie.etsy.com	http://oceanavesilks.etsy.com