Today's linkdump is brought to you by the four Rs: reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle!

• I tend to keep recycled paper around and I still have stockpiles of it from when I worked in an office. The cereal box journal tutorial from The Long Thread looks like a great way to turn those piles of plain paper into something much more fun.
  
• You could always cover the covers of cereal box journals with drawings or pasted-on printed paper, but I like the idea of an embroidered journal or sketchbook instead. If you don't want to make the book and punch the holes yourself, you can pick up a stitchable paper journal at purlsoho.com.
  
• There are always tonnes of books that I never intend to read are available at my local thrift shops, and usually I just pass them by, but Diane Gilleland of CraftyPod has a great tutorial for how to make a photo frame out of a paperback. I'm sure it would work with a hardcover book too if you want a larger frame or a more classic look.

• I've been looking for some toddler-safe magnetic letters for my fridge, and there seems to be a dearth of them that don't cost a fortune. I am going to have to visit my favourite thrift shops to see if I can find any good old-fashioned wooden blocks so that I can make alphabet block magnets. It would probably work out all right if I were careful as to how I install the magnets. I like how this version also has a slotted side that can be used to display photos.
  
• These felt acquarium magnets would also be great for a toddler, as I could hide the magnets inside out of the way of curious hands and, more importantly, mouths!
  
• Speaking of hiding things inside of toys, this Susan Beal of CraftyStylish has a great and simple tutorial for how to make a felt baby toy with a crinkly, crackly recycled surprise inside. Beal suggests using an empty wipes package to make the toy crinkle, but I would recommend a few of the clear plastic strips that are on the front of some business envelopes -- they have a much more satisfying crackle!



• My daughter has been on solid food for six months now, and I now have a massive collection of baby food jars even though I make more than half of her food myself. These little jars are so perfect for storing craft supplies that I can't bring myself to put them in the recycle bin. But the instructions for how to make a baby food jar chandelier on Natural Home has made me look at my stockpile of jars in a whole new light: what else could I do with them aside from straight-up storage?
  
• This cat bed made out of an old side table is so much prettier than my cat's simple basket. I am going to have to start looking for an appropriate end table to modify.
  
• I already have a tonne of old frames that I could modify to make this fancy-framed cork board, but if you don't have any on hand there always seem to be a tonne available cheaply at thrift shops and garage sale, especially since you wouldn't need intact glass.



• There are some great ideas over on Design Sponge for how to use up paper scraps. Not even the tiniest piece need be wasted! I particularly like the fancy pencils.
  
• I'd heard of this, but I'd never found such a comprehensive tutorial: how to develop film using coffee and Vitamin C. You can check out the caffenol pool on Flickr to see some great examples of photos developed using this method.
  
• Everyone and their dog has probably seen these by now, but I do love the idea of a MacQuarium (an old Macintosh computer turned into an aquarium). Outside of the coolness factor I don't see why it has to be a Mac, though; an old CRT monitor of any brand, a computer case, or a TV would work just as well. If you're not into fish, you might want to try turning your outdated hardware into a cat bed instead.

I was lucky enough not to be hit directly by the credit crunch; since my graduation from college I've been concentrating on paying off student loans, which meant that I didn't have funds tied up in investments that could have crashed. I had also already left the workforce (at least for the time being) due to maternity leave, so I didn't have to be concerned that I might have been laid off. But our family still went from two incomes to one, and like so many other people we worry that our source of income may be subject to downsizing. In light of this, we've had to change our outlook on how we spend our money so that we have some "padding" should worst come to worst. Much to my dismay, this means that my craft supplies budget has been slashed to almost nonexistent (unless someone commissions a piece and pays for supplies up front, of course).


(Credit crunch sampler by Lupin / bugsandfishes.)

I came across the above piece by Laura Howard, a.k.a. Lupin / bugsandfishes, while browsing my Flickr friends the other day, and I was intrigued by her comment about how an almost wartime-like "make do and mend" attitude has been cropping up in connection with the credit crunch. This idea got me started doing some research, since after all who would know about stretching a budget better than people on the home front of WWII?


(Covers of wartime booklets; click the pics to check out articles that include quotes and summaries.
You can also find some scans Board of Trade publications here.)

Two booklets that I keep running into during my research are Make Do and Mend, published in the UK in 1943 by the Ministry of Information, and Take a Tip published in the late 1940's or early 1950's by the Manchester Evening News. You can still find copies second-hand, and I believe that Make Do and Mend has been reprinted in 2007 in an anthology along with other similar titles. Some of the tips that are offered aren't all that useful in the modern day, such as ones for how to make use of discarded coloured berets or how to make a sack of coal burn longer. Many ideas are still applicable, though:

From Make Do and Mend:

• Hand-knitted socks should have the heels and toes knitted either in double wool, or with one thread of wool and another of strong cotton thread. A similar idea is to darn stocking at the heel and toe before being worn and the centre back seam should be firmly oversewn on the inside of the heel.
  
• Mend clothes before washing them as the tear or hole may become unmanageable. Keep a look out for loose buttons and other fastenings and mend at once. Save all tapes, ribbons, buttons, hooks and eyes and keep a well-stocked work basket.

From Take a Tip:

• To keep knitting needles tidy, get a piece of corrugated cardboard and push each needle down a separate hole as far as the size number, roll up and secure with a rubber band. When required, the needles can easily be seen and not mislaid.
  
• Save a number of equal-sized glass jars with screw tops for storing dry peas, spices, etc., in the cupboard, but instead of standing them on the shelves, screw each lid to the underneath of the shelf. The jar screws back on to its lid when not in use, and the housewife can see at a glance if replacements are necessary. This is also a good idea for the handy-man in his workshop for nails, screws and other small articles.
  
• If you are a natural make-do-and-mend type, here's a useful renovating idea. A plain skirt can easily be made out of a pair of white or grey flannel trousers. Unpick seams, and you are left with four pieces. Turn these upside down to give fullness to the bottom. Now cut to your own measurements as for four-gored skirt. The trouser-band at the top can be used for the skirt-band. Add a zip fastener to complete the garment.

If you're interested, you can find more excerpts from the books at the links mentioned above, and there are many more great resources out there. If you're lucky enough to live near a family member or friend from the wartime generation, don't hesitate to pick their brains for money-saving ideas! I've had conversations with my grandmother about the ways they conserved money and materials during wartime, and she is a great font of stories as she lived in Nottingham, England throughout the war. I think I'll have to bring the subject up again when I visit next because the tidbit that I remember the most is that she used to use lard instead of butter in cooking, and she even used to eat lard sandwiches. I devoutly hope that the economy will not get bad enough this time around, because lard sandwiches, well... Urgh.




(Patons Kroy Socks yarn (75% washable wool, 25% nylon) that I picked up on clearance.)

Here's what I have been doing to keep my craft supplies budget down:

• Try to use up my stashed supplies instead of buying new;
  
• When I absolutely must add to my stash, I buy on sale (I am sorely tempted by knittydirtygirl's upcoming buy-one-get-one-half-off sale in her Etsy shop tomorrow);
  
• Shop at second-hand stores, thrift stores, and garage sales (you can find unused supplies as well as items that just need a little TLC to be perfectly usable again);
  
• Scour the curb for trash night finds that can be refurbished;
  
• Take apart larger items to make smaller ones; and
  
• Do crafts that involve recycled materials, such as quilting, felting, etc.

Trying to follow these guidelines has decreased my craft supplies budget significantly -- especially the "use up the stash first" one. Sometimes I do fall prey to the "ooh, shiny" syndrome and pick up supplies with no real craft in mind, like the Patons sock yarn that was on clearance last week. Even so, until I am back to selling my work again, it's a strict supplies budget for me!

I know it's well past the time that I should be thinking about weddings -- I was married this past summer, after all. But somehow today I ended up over at Offbeat Bride and man, do I ever wish I found that website or the printed book before I'd gotten married! There are some superb wedding ideas in there. (You can check out the Offbeat Bride Flickr group for additional offbeat wedding photos.)




(Pictures from the Offbeat Bride blog. Click the pics to visit the articles.)

Having problems deciding on a wedding venue? Why not have your ceremony in a graveyard or in a library? Not into traditional wedding cakes? How about a steampunk wedding cakes, or a pirate wedding cake, or a raver wedding cake? Worried that your dress will show your tattoos? Don't be! Looking to make your wedding stand out from the rest? Why not incorporate your favourite wheels somehow? Or hire circus performers to stilt-walk during your ceremony -- or even stilt-walk yourself? And if stilts aren't your thing, why not be married on a trapeze instead?

I think that one of the most important thing that this website (and book) do for nearlyweds is to make them realize that they're not alone in wanting something a little bit (or a lot) different than tradition dictates. One of the most overwhelming things about planning a wedding is other peoples' expectations of how a wedding should go. It's even harder when those expectations come from family and friends that you love. But if you don't fit the stereotypes in other parts of your life, why should your wedding be any different? It's your day, but it can be very hard to make it about you, your significant other, and your relationship. It's really nice to see that others have faced many of the same difficulties you have and have come away with fabulous weddings.


(Click the pic to view it larger.)

I wish I had found out about Offbeat Bride before my own wedding. I had never thought of our wedding as being particularly offbeat, or at least I thought that you couldn't really tell from the photos. I think that some of the hurdles I had to overcome would have been a lot easier if I had known from the start that they aren't typical of most weddings. For example, both my husband and I did change our last names (although this is becoming increasingly more common). We had a traditional style wedding cake, but it was cream instead of white and was extremely simple -- and our cake topper was a Lego couple. Our ceremony involved no religion whatsoever, and instead of biblical or poetry readings we quoted sci-fi novels. Despite wearing an off-white wedding dress, I wore sparkly red flats for the day and then switched to black high-heeled Mary Janes for the dancing. We took a trip to Timmy's in the middle of our wedding day in all of our wedding finery. Sure, we took ballroom dance lessons to be prepared for our "first dance", but our dance wasn't the first one of the evening and it wasn't exactly to a traditional wedding song ("The Gravity of Love" by Enigma). My father and I did the traditional father-daughter dance, but when it came time for my husband and his mother to dance it was to Strongbad Techno (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out the original video here). Then there's this picture, which we will someday have to explain to our children.


(Click the pic to view it larger.)

The thing about wanting a wedding that strays from the norm even a little bit is that you're going to have to do a lot of the work yourself or with the help of family and friends. There are some great indie artists and photographers that you can hire to do some of the work for you, like fabulous invites by Mew Paper Arts (check out her Flickr account for more examples of her work) or Red Cat Run Studio for a wedding band. Unfortunately, though, most of us can't afford to hire artists to take care of every part of our wedding for us (much as that would be awesome!). So here are some cost-saving and do-it-yourself tips:

• I can't state this enough: shop around, shop around, shop around! You can get exactly what you want for a price that you can afford if you try hard enough.
• If you (or someone helping with the wedding) can make it instead of buying it, this is usually the cheapest way to go. But be careful about what you choose to make; sometimes the materials may cost more than a commercially-finished piece, and sometimes you just don't have the time or the energy before the wedding to do it yourself. Plan wisely!
• Instead of flower arrangements and decorations, try using candles instead. The candles themselves can be bought fairly cheaply, and you may be able to borrow or rent the candle holders. This works especially well if you are attracted to candles and holders in various shapes and styles.
• If you absolutely must have flowers, pick them up the day at the wedding at the local farmer's market and arrange them simply in vases of various shapes and sizes (which you can also borrow or rent). This is so much cheaper than going to a florist.
• If you're not a seamstress yourself, have a friend or family member make your dress and/or your bridesmaid dresses as their wedding gift. Actually, this goes for any skills that your family and friends may have -- they may be willing to act as photographer, DJ, invitation-maker, cake-baker, or caterer. However, be prepared when their wedding rolls around (or their child's or sibling's or whatever's wedding) to put as much or more effort into helping them out in turn. It's only fair.
• If you can't have your dress, bridesmaid dresses, groomsmen outfits etc. made custom, shop for sales at your local department stores. Some of them carry outfits that you will love for your wedding, and you won't pay nearly as much as if you had shopped at a wedding boutique.
• Go digital when it comes to photos and videos. That way you don't have to print what you don't want, and most photographers/videographers who work in digital will give you copies of the originals.
• Borrow when you can. That cake-cutting set in the store window may look great, but the one that your grandmother used will mean more to you and you don't have to pay anything for it.
• Backyard weddings (or weddings on other types of family or friend property) are the cheapest way to go. You can even make them pot-luck to keep your food bills down.
• Avoid things branded as "wedding" whenever possible. E.g. a white scrapbook may cost $50, but a white wedding scrapbook may run $100 or more.
• Be willing to make compromises. Even if you have an unlimited budged and the most understanding friends and family in the world, nothing will go exactly as planned or exactly how you wanted since you were five years old.
• Most of all, use common sense!

First of all, I would like to write about an absolutely fabulous glass artist who sells her wares on Etsy. Her name is Leah Pellegrini; you can find her website at leahglass.com, her blog at leahglass.blogspot.com, and her Flickr alias is LeahPellegrini.


(Photos by Leah Pellegrini; click the pic to check out her Etsy shop.)

I picked up these four lovely yoga ladies for my friend michikobud for her birthday. I fell in love with the ladies as soon as they arrived at my house, each one packed lovingly in its own tiny handmade box. The tallest of the ladies (the red one doing the shoulder stand) is about the same height as an AA battery, and much more delicate. Even with the pictures that show the ladies to scale, I didn't realize how deliciously tiny they would be until I held them in my hands. I wanted to write about them as soon as I received them, but I had refrain so as to keep my friend from finding out...


(Girl Guides of Canada Chocolate Mint Cookies. Click the pic to view it larger.)

Secondly, it's that time of year again, folks, when children come to your door and try to sell you something that you really don't need in order to fund their extracurricular activities. But if it's girls in pink/brown/blue/green (Sparks/Brownies/Guides/Pathfinders) you just can't resist, seeing as Girl Guide Cookies are the best pre-made cookies around! Especially the chocolate mint ones that come out this time of year. (Chocolate/vanilla cookies are available in the spring.)

There was a lady on the bus across from me on my way to my day job this morning, and she had a cardboard carry-box filled with packages of cookies. I just had to tap her on the shoulder and ask to buy two boxes. It was like a compulsion, I just couldn't help it! You see, I was in the Guiding movement for nine years: Brownies, Guides, and Pathfinders. (Sparks are a relatively new branch for 5- and 6-year-olds; they didn't get started until 1988-1989, by which time I was already too old.) I have fond memories of camping, usually a couple of times a year with my troupe and a longer summer camp at Camp Woolsey, and then more often but at different campgrounds once I reached Pathfinders. I remember Christmas Craft Day where every troupe in the Ottawa area would congregate at a gym or church and make crafts all day long. I remember badges and cords and really impractical uniforms (they changed to versions you could actually move in as I got older). I remember learning first aid, how to tie knots, and how to sharpen a knife. I remember dancing in a fairy ring around a foam mushroom in a school gym and chanting children's songs. Most especially, I remember the fun. That's what Girl Guides are to me, so I buy Girl Guide Cookies whenever I can. To me, it's a bonus that they're also really good cookies!




(Click the pics to view them larger.)

Thirdly, do you remember how I said that it seems that nobody's willing to put effort into Hallowe'en anymore? Well, I was partially wrong. I'm currently taking ballroom dancing lessons at the Ottawa Fred Astaire Dance Studio, and last night was their Hallowe'en party. I'd say that 95% of the people that came dressed up; most of the people who weren't in costume were guests who had just come to watch the spectacle anyway. And what a spectacle it was! Where else could you watch a whoopee cushion dance with Snow White, or V dance with the Wicked Witch of the West? Unfortunately, I didn't get the greatest pictures, since (not surprisingly) just about everyone was moving around the dance floor and my camera's shutter is slow to respond. Someone would be perfectly framed, I'd click the button, and by the time the camera reacted I'd be blocked by someone's back or elbow. But I was just so happy to be surrounded by so many creative people!

Since the big day is coming up fast, I've been thinking about some other cheap & easy costumes that people might like to try and I've been searching the web for suggestions. Here's what I've come up with or found:

• iPod Ad: Dress in black, wear a black wig/dye your hair black and paint your face black/wear a black mask if you want to go all out. Strap a piece of bright Bristol board to your back and plug an iPod (real or fake) in your ears, and you're done!
• Black-Eyed P: Use makeup to give yourself a black eye and wear a T-shirt with a big letter "P" printed or appliquéd to the front.
• Clark Kent: Wear a pinstripe suit (you can usually borrow one or find one really cheap at your local thrift/Salvation Army/Goodwill store), a fedora with a press pass in it, glasses, and carry a notebook. Leave the suit's shirt unbuttoned about halfway and wear a Superman-logo t-shirt underneath.
• Cereal Murderer: Attach multiple small cereal boxes to a black suit, or make one huge box that covers most of your body and decorate it to look like a cereal box. Stick a plastic knife in the big cereal box or in each of the little cereal boxes.
• Undercover Cop: Get a fake police badge and hang it by a string or chain around your neck. That's it!
• Miss Yukon/Alaska/Russia/North Pole: Wear long underwear ("long johns"), a tiara, and a sash that says Miss ______. If you actually live somewhere cold, you can bundle up both underneath and overtop of this costume, too!

Do you have any fun Hallowe'en costumes that you'd like to share? I'd love it if you'd tell me your stories, and post links to photos if you have them!

As you probably already know by now, my mother is a junior-high-school drama teacher. I was at my mother's school yesterday evening, and I suddenly wondered why I try so hard every year to make an original/new-to-me costume. I mean, Mom would be more than happy to lend me something from her costume room...






(Click the pics to view them larger with individual descriptions.)

I think I finally figured out why I don't ask to borrow whole costumes, just the occasional component.

1) Mom teaches at the junior high level, which means that her costumes are mostly meant to fit your average-sized 11-to-14-year-old -- which I definitely am not.
2) The costumes are for normal-ish things, like period outfits from the 1900's, formal wear, uniforms, etc. I like to dress up as things that are scary or just plain weird.
3) I like the challenge of creating my own costumes!

Of course, because I have a passion for costumes (with no obvious root, I swear!), I try and get everyone I know to join in. A lot of people have been telling me lately, "I'd love to dress up for Hallowe'en, but I don't have the money." The thing is, you don't have to have a lot of money to have a great costume.

When teaching her drama class, my mother does a section every year about costumes. One of the assignments for this unit is for every student to make a costume out of cardboard and the junk that they can find around the house or the school. Trust me, if 12-year-old kids can come up with costumes this fun and innovative, often for $10 or less, you could too! Here are some examples of the better costumes from previous years:




(Click the pics to view them larger with individual descriptions.)

All right, I'll admit it, I couldn't take a flattering picture of my mother/my model yesterday to save my life. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the model! It was just one of those days. So I edited the picture in the style of an iPod advertisement. At any rate, you get the idea. The costumes are:

- iPlay -- a Lego figure (the body has gone missing over the years) made out of a spray painted water jug and bristol board;
- iShop -- a purse containing a tube of lipstick and a pair of cat's eye glasses;
- iCook -- a toaster with toast and cord; and
- iBurn -- a fireplace with battery-operated candles and flames.

Please excuse the condition of some of these costumes; they have been in storage for a long time and cardboard doesn't stand the test of time well, especially if it gets damp.

These kinds of costumes are a lot of fun to make, and they're simple. They require no sewing, carpentry, metalwork, etc.; they just take a little bit of time, some scissors/box cutters, tape (preferably duct tape, usually) and some paint. If your kids are a little bit older, it's a lot of fun to turn Hallowe'en costume-making into a family affair. So come on, get creative!

I had my first chivalrous sword handling lesson (basic level) at Algonquin College last night. The course is run by the South Tower Armouring Guild. The first hour of each lesson is focused on the Japanese katana, and the second half concentrates on the European broadsword. I really enjoyed my first lesson. I'm not really interested in the "martial" part of this martial art, i.e. I can't see myself ever trying to kill someone with a sword. (It's actually rather hard for me to pull the strength of my moves without trying to miss -- I've only ever done stage martial arts before, where you never want to actually connect.) However, I like the "art" side of this martial art. Sword fighting is a great aerobic workout and it's a very interesting discipline. The most intriguing thing that I have learned so far is that when you parry, you don't want to hit edge to edge like they do in the movies; if you do, your swords will catch on each other. Rather, you want to have your opponent's blade slide along the flat of your sword and away from you.

Another reason I chose to get into sword handling is that, well, I'm a klutz. I'm taking ballroom dancing right now with five_alive, and that seems to be helping, but sword handling is very controlled and is all about coordination. (It's also great for working out frustrations in a way that ballroom dancing never could!) Although I'm afraid that I will end up hurting myself like I always do. For example, last week I broke my glasses (no big klutziness involved there, they actually snapped in my hands as I was cleaning them), and on Friday my nearly-blind self had to do an emergency glasses shopping trip. I was a little worried on Monday because I was sure that I would end up breaking my very expensive new purchase. In the end, I did end up stepping into a parry instead of away, and I got a wooden sword across the forehead (totally my own fault). Luckily I didn't end up breaking my glasses as I had feared, but I think I'm the only one that was bruised after our first lesson.

A bunch of my friends are attending sword handling class with me -- tyches_echo, das_goon, michikobud and ne0x. Tyches_echo, michikobud and I make up 3/4 of the female contingent of this class, which may prove to be very interesting, especially since tyches_echo and I are the shortest ones there...

There is a major art/craft side to these lessons as well.


(Click the pic to view it larger.)

Nope, I didn't make the swords; the bokken was made in China and the wooden practice broadsword was made by one of our instructors. The thing is, our practice blades will splinter over time, and since we're not up to fighting in armour yet we can give our opponents major splinters/friction burns if we don't cover the blades. The grips also need work, since they need more, well, grip. I'm still deciding exactly what I'd like to do with my blades. Our instructors have suggested the simple expedient of taping them up with hockey tape, but that seems so boring to me. Also, hockey tape leaves sticky bits all over your hands (which isn't exactly an issue when you're wearing hockey gloves or gauntlets, but we're training in bare hands for now). I could always wrap the grip in leather like a proper sword, but that could be awfully expensive for what is essentially a chunk of wood that probably won't last; perhaps I could use fabric or nylon cord instead? I've found what seems to be a good guide on wrapping Japanese-style grips the traditional way from The Art of Tsukamaki. Painting the blade might be fun, but I'm not sure that this would make the sword hard enough to keep it from chipping/splintering. Ne0x is going to try to find heat-shrink tubing in a big enough size to go around his blade. I'd really appreciate suggestions, if anyone else has ideas that might work!

Another element of craft for these classes is armour. It's not required, but it is awfully fun! The Marshall (one of our instructors) has a weapons shop -- actually, he's a certified Canadian arms' dealer, although it's definitely not as exciting as it sounds. He has invited his students to use his shop on weekends so that we can all have armour of our own that won't cost us an arm and a leg (when you buy armour you're not paying for materials so much as for time and labour). The next time he's available is Saturday, September 29th, and I really want to go!


**Quote from Serenity (2005).

This past Saturday I went to the Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville (Ontario, Canada). The Games are a Scottish festival and competition that has taken place every summer since 1948.





It was tartans as far as the eye could see! Of course, me being me, I spent most of the day browsing the stalls and checking out the work of other crafters and artists. My most expensive purchase of the day was, of all things, an Australian outback-style hat which was neither handmade nor Scottish! But I'd always wanted one (the style reminds me of a cross between Indiana Jones and Crocodile Dundee), and I'd forgotten to bring a cap to keep the sun out of my eyes.

You know how you mentally mark something that you see at the beginning of the day, and then you go back for it at the end of the day so you don't have to carry it around for the intervening time? Well, there was a lovely cheese plate & knife set at the Right Off The Batt/P.D. Pottery booth. Obviously I wasn't the only one who thought it was lovely, as someone else purchased it in the meantime. Next time I like something, I'll buy it and get the shop to hold it for me until the end of the day! Returning to the shop did allow me to take in a demonstration of how to throw pottery on a wheel, though.



One thing I did purchase, since I figured I could carry it around, was a gorgeous triskele by Catherine Ledevin. It is about an inch and a half in diameter and is made entirely of horseshoe nails!



I was amazed at how many designs the artist could dream up that were made only with nails. She had a whole line of jewellery that was very popular with her patrons; unfortunately, she doesn't seem to have pictures on her website. Perhaps the jewellery is primarily for shows, and she only sells her larger pieces (sculptures, candle holders and the like) on-line.

In my perusal of the shops, I also managed to find craft supplies! Who'd have thought that I could find something like that at the Games?



The first is a book of patterns for crocheted tartan rugs by the Australian Women's Weekly Craft Library. (What, I ask you, is with the crossover of Australian and Scottish goods at the Games, I ask you?) I don't crochet, but the book has a large number of tartans already nicely graphed out for potential use in knitting, cross-stitch, etc. I'm just a sucker for a good craft book!

The second is a tiny little card kit with badgers on it that I bought from Ben Bhraggie House Ltd.. I'm not a huge fan of badgers myself (except possibly in the Badger Badger Badger way), but my friend Dawn is in love with them. Perhaps she'll get a little cross-stitched card someday. My other alternative for her was a badger-pelt sporran complete with badger head, but for some reason I don't think she'd like something like that. Heh.



I also indulged myself in some Morrison's homemade Scottish fudge at the Games. (As you can see, I've already been into this bag.) Oh my dear and fuzzy Lord, this fudge is good! Especially the traditional Scottish tablet (which I had already polished off before taking this picture). Seriously, you have not lived until you've tried Morrison's Fudge. (Unless you're weird like my hubby and you don't like sweets, of course.)

One booth that I would have loved to purchase something from was Cloaks and Daggers. They make absolutely lovely cloaks which are, of course, a little bit out of my budget right now. In retrospect, though, I should have picked up an I Am Scotnatdian shirt if they had them in a baby doll tee. My family is more British than Scottish and is only loosely affiliated with the Hay clan and the Black Watch, so I don't really have a family tartan to call my own. This tee, on the other hand, would have been perfect, or perhaps the one from a nearby tent that said something like "Canadian by birth with a Scottish temper."

The only thing I regret about the day is that the boys (my husband and my friend's significant other) were really bored while we were shopping. Okay, except for when we found the weapons tent, which was also one of the high points of my day. Drat this having a budget thing! Why the boys didn't just take off to watch the heavyweights throw logs or sheafs of hay, or even to watch pretty girls dance is beyond me. I like to think that they just like spending time with us.



Of course, I had to knit the whole way to and from the Games (it's about an hour's drive from Ottawa to Maxville). Between that travel time and the trip to Sudbury last weekend, I'm 3/4 of the way done my latest pair of socks. I'm using my Ribbed For Her Pleasure Socks pattern with Sunrise Sunset hand-painted sock yarn by Whimzy Pinzy. The yarn is 70% merino wool and 30% silk; it knits up like a dream and it's incredibly soft!

ADDENDUM: I was inspired by the Games enough to make these icons:



Feel free to use them, just please credit them to me.

Back in 2005, I went to Japan to visit my friend michikobud, who was working there as an English teacher at the time. During our travels along the southern coast of the country, we went to Kyoto, which is the ancient capital of Japan. (Tokyo has only been the country's capital since the late 1800's, in the Meiji era.) It is a city that is rife with culture, history, and geisha. Actually, geisha are pretty rare, but Kyoto is where something like 99.9% of them live and work. I was actually lucky enough to glimpse an honest-to-goodness geisha in the flesh as she traveled down a side street in a rickshaw to her next appointment. I have never seen a more dignified or poised woman in my entire life. Her attitude instantly commanded a quiet kind of respect.

I had been to Japan once before this trip, back in high school on a three week student exchange. We took a day trip to Kyoto while I was there, and I saw a number of advertisements for studios that would dress you up as a maiko (apprentice geisha) or a geisha and take photos of you for a fee. I didn't have a chance to do this my first time through, but when I went to Kyoto with michikobud I convinced her to try it out. It was pricey (probably the most expensive single day on my whole month trip), but it was well worth it.


(Believe it or not, that's me.)

They made my plump, blonde, white self actually almost look like a maiko. It only took them a couple hours worth of makeup, wigs, layers of kimonos and, most uncomfortably, shoes that were much, much too small. But I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

What is most relevant to my latest inspiration are the lovely kanzashi that were placed in my wig on that day. Kanzashi are a traditional style of women's hair ornament that became popular in Japan during the Edo period (1603 to 1868). They are still worn today by brides, geisha, maiko, and women involved in traditional arts and crafts such as ikebana (flower arranging) and the tea ceremony. Kanzashi are also experiencing a revival among younger women in modern trades as an added touch to business suits and formal wear.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. My bridesmaids wore black-and-red Asian-inspired dresses to my wedding.


(Photo taken by my brother; left to right it's my bridesman ne0x,
maid of honour michikobud, me, bridesmaids tyches_echo and B.)

(Yes, I know they were wearing Chinese-style dresses and the guys were wearing tuxes, and that Japanese and Chinese aren't the same thing. Heck, the photos were done in a Greek-ruin-inspired Canadian garden, and the ceremony & reception were held in a historic army mess, which was very British. This wedding didn't really have a single "style" other than "stuff Kat and Kurt like." Why should it have been any different than the rest of my life?)

My good friend tyches_echo went all out and made herself an absolutely gorgeous kanzashi-style hair ornament to match.


(Photo of tyches_echo taken by michikobud.)

I was very impressed with how well her hair ornament turned out, and how lovely it looked in her hair! I asked her first if she intended to make more, but apparently it was really a one-time thing for the wedding, and she didn't mind me trying my hand at a similar style. Actually, she went so far as to help me pick out the materials for my first one. Which all leads to this piece:



I actually already have a second one in fall colours already finished, but I haven't photographed it yet. I'm really having fun with these! And I love how they look. You can bet that I'll be making one to go with every formal outfit I own. Not that I get all that many occasions to dress up, I have a feeling that I'll make up some if I don't have any come up soon.

(Photo by Evil Mad Scientist. Click the pic to visit the original article.)

Too cool! Here's a PDF that explains the process in more detail.

Nope, it's not my work, although I definitely wish I'd thought of it first! What a neat concept. It makes me wonder if I could brush up on my rather-rusty electronics skills and combine this idea with something like the Wooden LED Clock (also available at Thinkgeek). It would be one heck of a fun experiment! And I can think of some very geeky friends who would probably be willing to help me out with the logistics (ne0x, are you reading this?), and if that's not enough, I've got the knowledge base of an electrical engineer for a father and a whole bunch of computer engineer friends to draw on!

You know what, this is the first time in a long time I've actually wanted to draw up electrical wiring diagrams. But come on, wouldn't it be cool to be able to program your dining room table to tell your son to eat his vegetables?

By the way, the original creators of the table have a terrific Flickr Photostream (Oskay). Check out what they did with the Lego!

The AntiCraft has published their latest issue, the Samhain/Hallowe'en issue. The pumpkin-carving ideas are awesome, and there's a funny I ♥ Zombies cross-stitch/embroidery/knitting pattern.

What I really like are the instructions for glass etching, though. I like the patterns that they provided, but it's also given me a great idea for handmade Christmas (and other holiday) gifts. I mean, other than seasonal patterns, you could make these glasses say anything that you want... That leads to some fiendishly clever ideas. I mean, what City of Villains gamer doesn’t need a set of glasses that exclaim, "Whee! Blind corner!" And D&D geeks would appreciate a +20 beer mug of drunkenness. Or...