Owl Things Considered

Yes, it is time for my own owls, the ones I made a little over a week ago and have mentioned a few times. I was planning on making an owl for a long time, but was always waiting till I could go to the craftstore and buy sew-on eyes. Eventually I had enough of waiting and decided to make them with material I did have, and just started to crochet.

I made the big one first.

In the middle of crocheting I stopped to make eyes out of felt, thread, permanent marker and glitter glue. It turned out better than I hoped and really gave him more of a personality than fake eyes would have done.

I hope it's not silly to still give stuffed animal a name, I probably should've grown out of that ages ago. Well if it's silly, at least I gave them silly names to match.

The big one is called Mercator, which is latin for salesperson/seller. Why? I haven't got a clue, but it seems to fit.

I used the same color felt for the beak and the insides of the wings (;that's what the weird picture above is showing). You can really shape the wings in different positions, I love that. And they stay like that until you move them again, I didn't think they'd be firm enough, but they hold quite well.

I made the small one last, with the same material except for one kind of yarn (I used two strands for both), I picked a lighter one since baby owls tend to be lighter. I thought he should be fatter and have his eyes closed. I called him Calabash because of his shape.

They have such great shapes, although they are both completely different, they both have a tummy and a cute little butt.

I already made a different kind of owl, but it's still an idea that needs to be worked out more. I'm planning on putting them on my etsy, when I feel I've got the hang of it. And when I finally get that creditcard. It should be here any day now, hopefully. I can't wait!

I might make one of these owls for my etsy too (probably the baby), maybe in a different color, I still have to try some other things out...

Oh, one more thing! I start my 3-month art school course tomorrow. I am so excited! I feel things are coming together again. December was such a weird month, everything that was going great fell of track. Before the holidays came I stopped eating chocolate and was exercising an hour a day, doing exercises with weights, stretching and some other stuff. Not to lose weight, but to gain energy, although losing weight might be a side affect, of course. Then the holidays came, and the flu, and I started eating more candy and quitting on my program. On top of that my computer isn't working so I lost my workout-playlist on iTunes. But...

I started again yesterday! And have already done it again today. So I feel I'm getting back on track again. I hope I can keep it up when I'm starting school again; I'll try my best!

Marvelous Music

Today it's more about the song than it is about the artist. Because "Just So" is the only song by Obel that has made it out "there".

It was featured in a commercial and that's how I was able to trace it. Despite it's loveliness, I don't think she even has a cd.

What she does have is an owl, that almost makes up for all the songs I wish I could hear from her.

It was only today that I visited her MySpace for blog-research and found four more songs. I'll be listening to those some more tomorrow. Check it out if you'd like to hear more too.

Favorite Videos

I love YouTube, there's just so much on there, I'll never get bored. There are some videos I really love and I thought I could put them up on some Sundays.

This first one I found when I first got into YouTube. It has gotten a lot of response and has been watched half a million times, but I figured you might not have seen it yet. So watch and enjoy:

I love this little video, the music, that it's not to long and not to short and that it's weird in a cute way. It's just great.

I'd love to...

>keep sketching, since I just worked up the courage to just draw

>visit a beadshop soon

>finally start lessons and get my driver's license

Wishlist

Even though I don't usually wear a watch anymore(, although I have periods when I do everyday) I love them and have a small collection. Most of them cheap though. With the exception of the Swatch I bought a few months back, I had my eyes on one with little dangling monsters but decided the baby pink and blue just weren't right for me so I got this one instead.

This is probably the most I'll ever spend on a watch, since I normally don't exceed 15 bucks or so. But if I ever do top that big time, I'd spend it on a Mr Jones Watch (ok, or an owl one. But that's a whole other topic, which will come too, of course).

These watches go for anywhere between $139 and $185 and that's why I think they'll always remain a dream for me. Nevertheless, they are really cool. The one above has an image that shows what people do on what time in an average day.

This one is called "the decider" and switches between yes and no every second. So if you can't decide, just see what your watch says.

The last one I'd like to show you is the "Cyclops". Instead of the usual hands, it just has one circle that shifts over different colored dots. Not that accurate, but still awesome.

They also have one with a different mantra for every hour, one that says "remember, you will die" and limited editions.

Owl Things Considered

It hasn't been the best day for me, so I didn't want to waist the chance of showing you the owls I made on a day like this, you can expect to see them (yes, there is a second one already) next week. Now on to the other owls I promised you. I think they might cheer me up a little too.

Yes, this post is about underwear and yes, it's my own underwear. Although normally I wouldn't share details like this, especially not with pictures, I thought I could make an exception because of the owls.

It seems like underwear has been affected by the hype as well, and I was more than keen to join in on it. The orange one was, luckily, very cheap on sale. The other one however, way too expensive for my taste, but I did it because I could cut off the metal owl and wear it as a pendant. Plus it has a real nice polka dot back.

And this is the set I promised to show you, from my last shopping trip. An undershirt which I will probably wear like a regular one during summer, I don't think I should waste it under another shirt. And also my third pair of owl underpants. Both half price, wasn't I lucky?

Great Reads

This week I thought I'd show you another one of my favorite books, I'm often embarressed to admit it, so it's kind of a guilty pleasure. I've read Old Magic by Marianne Curley three times already and it's the only book you'll find on my shelfs that's been worn out and dog-eared. I bought it second hand and it wasn't in it's best shape to begin with, so for this one time, and this time only, I let myself read recklessly, not minding to not crack the spine or get a bookmark or carefully packing it before taking it somewhere else. And I loved every minute of it.

So maybe I cheated a little there's an Ex Libris I made for my dad once with a picture of me when I was little that I have used as a bookmark sometimes.

So the story, it's about a guy and a girl, duh. Kate is a witch and the first time they meet she notices that Jarrod has a strong power he's unaware of. She tries to convince him, but he doesn't believe her at first. Until they find out his family is cursed, then he is willing to train. They then time travel to the middle ages where they have to defeat an evil sorcerer.

I think you now get I'm a little embarresed to tell people sometimes. But the book is so much better than the quick synopsis I just gave you. And when I'm reading it it doesn't seem so silly and it suddenly seems a plausible story, no, not realistic of course, but as a story I love it.

Do with this info what you like, you don't have to read it of course, you may still find it silly. Just thought I'd share.

I'd love to...

>make an Inca trip through South America

>get some more supplies (already)

>play a game of chess again

Just a Little Update

I made some great progress today with my new etsy product, even though I wasn't feeling well. I was glad and suprised I still got some stuff done. I did have to stop at one time, but started crocheting an owl a while after that. It turned out really cute and I'll post a picture either this Tuesday or the next.

Look What I Got the Other Day

This is a post that's long overdue, since I bought this stuff a few weeks ago, but I figured I'd show you now. I am working on some new things for my etsy store, which I think will open in 1 or 2 weeks since my creditcard application has already been sent. I thought it wasn't possible for me to get one, but turned out it can be done. Anyway, I'm still crocheting but I also have some other material, and that is felt.

I also bought some really cute pins, even though they're not suitable for the felt they're still lovely to look at and I'm sure I'll be able to use them in a future project.

I thought I was over shopping, but I did some the day before yesterday. I was only there to pick up a dvd I ordered, but things got a little out of hand, in a good way. In my defense: everything was really cheap and most of it on sale, so I didn't spend much really, I always like to keep things cheap when shopping. It is so much more satisfying to buy a lot for little money, I'd rather shop for 50 bucks at H&M on sale and get lots of stuff than get one piece for the same price in a different store. I was easy on the clothes though and only bought two items. One thing I bought and thought worth showing you are there Christmas earrings.

I also got some owl things, which I will show you on Tuesday.

A while ago my dad handed me a cute gift from Japan which he was ordered by friends to give to me. That was, believe it or not, on the same day I said to my mom that it would be so nice to receive a Japanese present again.

It's such a cute faux-wooden box of sweets, which I will try to actually eat, despite their cuteness.

Last but not least, I should have started with this maybe, I got my first costumer! She will pick up her hat at my house today, isn't that cool? I met her at a party and she liked the hat I was wearing, she was looking for one that matched her scarf and she liked to get one soon, since it's really cold at the moment. I started it the next day and finished it the day after that. It's basically the one I was wearing but with a little border of blue in it and I made a little broche to go with it, as I do with most of my hats, that can be taken of and put on something else as well.

Here's a little picture so you can get an idea of how it looks, although it looks different on an actual head of course, and you can't really see the colors well.

Much Love Project

Anna from Much Love has started this really cool project; you have to take a picture of something with a heart or heartshape and she will collect all the pictures on her blog.

I immediately thought of a pair of gloves I made, since it has a heart, and crocheting is one of the things I love to the best, it seemed perfect.

I love to crochet, to knit, to make anything really and I love everything that inspires me to do so.

Owl Things Considered

Just a collection of neon owls today...

Marvelous Music

Although I'm still listening to Matt Bauer's cd a lot (I often play it three times in a row on one day, nearly every day), I haven't forgotten about the singer who introduced me to him, indirectly: Mariee Sioux. I was going to her concert when I first saw him.

She makes this lovely, calm and I can't call it anything else than "foresty" kind of music. And her cd looks pretty "foresty" too. I find it great to play while I'm painting or crafting, because it is soothing and quite repetitive, which I like when I'm also focusing on something else, but not the kind that makes you really sleepy. It has a magic feel to it and the whole concert did too.

Here's a song for you to hear:

Great Reads

Since I'm running out of food stuff for the time being, I thought I could use my sundays for several topics I love but can't fill every single week. I would love to share some of my favorite books, but right now it'll only get me so far. Still, reading is something I love to do and I thought I could kill two birds with one stone: hopefully getting you excited and motivating me to read more. So be prepared for what you could call a switcheroo Sunday. Food and books for know and maybe more later...

So to start this topic off, Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. (Check out the site, it's lovely, trust me!)

I'll be honest with you and tell you I bought this book partly for the fact that it would look so beautiful in my room, which is white, mint green and pink with one curtain of rose print fabric. I know people say "don't judge a book by it's cover", but I do and am often right. So I picked it up in the store, read the back and figured it could be a great book, and it was. The storyline, however can't be guessed from the cover...

The thing is, the text on the back starts with something like this: "She found her teacher dead - hanging by a piece of electrical cord". If you, as I did, think this is where the book starts you are mistaken, greatly. For this only happens at, say, page 300. Prior to that event it isn't that exciting really but I still thought it entertaining. After that, however, it is really exciting and surprising and just a great story with a marvelous ending. Through outbook you will find beautiful visual aids also drawn by the author who is gorgeous, young and very talented in many fields.

I don't want to bore you with the complete summary, but I can't leave you with this either, so:

The story's about Blue Van Meer who has lived just with her dad ever since her mom died. They move a lot so she's used to switching schools. However her dad decides it'd be nice if she could spend her final year of high school in one school. She there joins an elite group, the Bluebloods, who meet with their film teacher, Hannah Schneider, regularly. They go camping and that's when Hannah comits suicide, the Bluebloods think Blue's got something to do with it because she was the last one to see her alive, while Blue doesn't believe it's suicide and starts her own investigation.

Here's a little trailer they made for it:

There will be a movie in 2011, by the way

Some people don't like the fact that the writer refers to a lot of books in her novel, sometimes even two on one page. They say she just wants to show of her intelligence. I don't mind because it fits in the book, Blue is very clever and quoting from books is something she trained with her dad, who's a professor, which makes sence to me. But if you don't think it's your cup of tea, that's ok too, of course.

Another thing is the book has nearly 700 pages, or 500 depending on the edition (by the 700 paged one, it's prettier ^_^ ), anyway it's a big book. I hope you don't mind big books, I love them, so expect some more.

I'd Love to...

>keep on painting a lot

>practise juggling again

>properly learn how to use photoshop

Just a Little Update

Thankfully I did go to the New Years event and ended up staying for the Sugarhill Gang, it was definitely worth staying up late and even missing the countdown on the way there. They played their hit songs and during their La La Song they lifted a girl up the stage and they didn't stop at her, I was the second to get invited on stage and there were many to follow after that. The girl next to me refused and then Master Gee asked me, if one of them had asked me a while back I might not have done it either, but I guess my resolutions were kicking in already. And it wasn't even scary to dance on a stage before hundreds of people. I even got a hug in the end. So as I said I'm glad I went, even though I have the bruises to prove it, from getting up the stage.

I hope you had a lovely New Years Eve too. What did you do?

Since I this is my first blog post of the year I want to wish you a happy new year! I hope you will have a great year in which you have fun, learn a lot and get the opportunity to try some great new things.