Maddabling

Friday, July 9, 2010

Friday Friends - Jen from Juror2 and SteamPunkGarage

This week I would love to introduce an extremely talented and creative etsy seller - Jenifer from Juror2 and SteampunkGarage !

I must admit I do adore Jen's t-shirts and have several in my possession including one in the lovely Goth Dolly design

and I am loving the work that is handcrafted by Jenifer Kirsch and Stan Chiao at Steampunk Garage

and isn't this t-shirt the answer to every child's prayers on why not to eat veggies ?

I will now let Jen tell you her story :

Life is funny. You can plan and plan, but nothing ever turns out
*quite* how you think it will.

In high school, I doodled on my notebooks.
Scribbles on the edges of test papers, scratches on the edges of my desk...
Through four years of college and 52 weeks of culinary school, little stick figures appeared on everything I had enough time to draw on (which was usually the back of my class notes). I remember sitting in class one day drawing a superhero chef when my Chef walked by and leaned over to see what I was doing. She cocked her head and said "I'd totally wear that if it were on a T-shirt."

I bought a video on Craigslist on "How To Silkscreen" and made her a shirt to get some brownie points, and then suddenly my classmates are all ordering their own shirts! So now, I am a certified chef.

I worship my cat. I have no feeling in my left thumb. And what I draw is 80% random thoughts in my head and 20% movies, books, tv, and requests from my roomate.

My name is Jen Kirsch. And I draw stick figures for a living.

In the immortal words of Greg Behrendt:

"You gotta be a weirdo, before you are a hero."

Jenifer Kirsch -Owner and Designer-

Want to see more ? check out these links !

http://www.etsy.com/shop/juror2

http://www.juror2.com/

juror2 on facebook

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SteamPunkGarage
http://www.steampunkgarage.com/

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Wednesday Wishlist - Paper Cut

Think outside the square - how many things can be made from paper ? I have done a little searching and Paper Cut is the theme for this Wednesday Wishlist. Enjoy !

Artesa

ziggiau

Monday, July 5, 2010

Monday Music - The Impossible Music Festival

Over the period 28th June to the 4th July Triple J - Australia's Youth Radio Station played host to the impossible music festival.

The concept is simple and the Triple J website states :
triple j's archives hold 35 years worth of phenomenal sets from the biggest and most exciting acts in the world recorded by our award-winning Live Music Team. Join us as we open the vaults for seven days of the very best live music this country has witnessed.

It all starts Monday 28th June. We'll play two live sets every day (at midday and 8pm). Then on Friday evening the Festival ramps up with one fantastic set an hour, right across the weekend until late Sunday night.

The best 20 live acts as voted by the listening public were :
1. Muse
2. Rage Against the Machine
3. Daft Punk
4. Bloc Party
5. Art Vs Science
6. The Cat Empire
7. Vampire Weekend
8. Hilltop Hoods
9. Presets
10.Yeah Yeah Yeahs
11.Foo Fighters
12.John Butler Trio
13.Flaming Lips
14.Pearl Jam
15.Prodigy
16.Florence and the Machine
17.Phoenix
18.Grinspoon
19.Tool
20.Radiohead.

Here are a selection of songs from some of the top 20 featured artists. Enjoy !
Want to hear more ? you can podcast triple j at http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/live/podcast/

Saturday, July 3, 2010

DUSTy Happenings and Other Things

What a wonderful week it turned out to be. I received my craft swap from Wilma at Empress Wu ............ a lovely winter bowl made from Merino Wool and Polymer Clay which I will treasure and some sweet charms that I will put to good use.

The card attached reads "Dragonfly Bowl - this winter bowl is wet-felted by hand using a plastic resist so it has no seams. A polymer clay dragonfly coloured with metallic paint and powder pigments enhances the hand embroidered leaves" I am so in awe of people who produce wet felt products as I can only begin to imagine the time and effort that needs to go into producing the final product.

I also went to an Exhibition Opening night of three local artists with Del from DELiciousDesignz and my dear friend Judy. Thank goodness Del remembered to take a camera and these wonderful photos so I could share it with you all ! Thank you Del

I also received some buttony bling from the sale at Kellie Christie in the form of a button necklace and earrings and bracelet

and I got these sweet earrings from RiverGum Jewellery

and a beautiful fan pic from Laura (of Lunabella Originals)the Birthday Girl wearing her special necklace.

Oh and I must show you the bangles I purchased from DELiciousDesignz - how fab are these ?

All in all a lovely week with lots of creative inspiration all around me

Friday, July 2, 2010

Friday Friends - Dusty Divas Part 6

Happy Friday everyone ! Today I would like to introduce a new Dusty Diva - Jess from Full Spiral Designs !

Jess describes her style as : Jewelry for the urban forest dweller. Handmade, organic, nature-inspired & eco-friendly adornment for your (r)evolutionary journey.

I so covet these earrings - Sterling Sterling Silver Spiral Earrings and 7 Sets of Gemstone Dangles - methinks one set of dangles for each day of the week

and I really adore the shapes and textures of the Super Natural Leaf Necklace in Copper, Amazonite, Turquoise, Teal Chyrsocolla, Jade, Amethyst, Iolite.

I will now hand you over to Jess who will tell you her story ......

Imagine finding jewels in the forest, and you’ve got the earthy elegance of Full Spiral Designs. While I find inspiration in lots of natural forms, it’s the foresty aesthetic that I’m most drawn to. The forest is a beautiful place, full of fascinating creatures and growing things, but it’s also got the edge of reality to it – twisty, creepy, and sometimes a little bit sinister. Therefore while my designs are organic, they aren’t overly precious.

I started wire-wrapping several years back and my practice soon grew from a hobby to an obsession. I invested many hours that ought to have been spent studying and dollars that ought to have been spent paying bills on honing my technique and stocking up on supplies. Eventually I also developed a passion for really thick wire, forged and hammered. My favourite style of piece to make right now are these earthy outlines, encrusted with gemstones wrapped intricately with thin wire.

There are so many materials that I love working with. I started out adoring the shininess of silver but lately I’ve been drawn more to earthy copper, and I’ve just started experimenting with gold and brass too. And I just can’t help myself when it comes to gemstones. Colour can be so playful and unexpected, and I like experimenting with different combinations to create moods and feelings in a piece.

Creativity is what makes me feel alive and gives me purpose. When I’m not busy making, designing, writing, learning or working on my business, I feel aimless. Luckily running an independent creative business pretty much takes up all of my time! But I do set aside creative time, and time for yoga, and time to just get out in the world and soak up some inspiration.

I have lots of plans for new designs, styles and techniques, but I’ll leave you with just a hint of my latest:

a collection of swirly anklets and armbands for summer.

These will look great with flowy clothes and loose hair at music festivals, parties, barbeques, and all those lovely summer events I’m pining for right now!

Thanks so much Samara for inviting me to be a DUSTy Diva!

Want to know more ? Check out these Full Spiral links :
Website: http://fullspiraldesigns.com
Etsy: http://fullspiral.etsy.com
MadeIt: http://www.madeit.com.au/FullSpiral
Facebook: http://facebook.com/fullspiraldesigns
Twitter: http://twitter.com/fullspiral

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Laura xox

A dear friend of mine is having her 30th Birthday. I wanted to make her something extra special and here is what I came up with ! A stunning OOAK necklace that screams Laura !