Skel-E-Gnomes

These skeleton gnomes kind of speak for themselves. Hilarious! Available at Catalog Classics.

tags:
Skel-E-Gnomes
Skeleton Gnomes
Catalog Classics

Huichol VW Beetle

Each of these trippy-looking miniature Beetles are covered with intricate designs made with BEADS.

At a scale of 1:32 these miniature VW Beetles are delicately covered in traditional Huichol bead art. Sponsored by the Museum of Popular Art and local governments, this limited series promotes the indigenous craft. Hundreds of tiny beads are placed by hand to create the intricate and trippy designs. Sales benefit a fund for 8,000,000 Mexican artists. Each measures 12.5cm x 5 x 4.2.

In Huichol bead art, beads are not threaded on a string but are put on their sides and glued to the surface of something--like painting with beads.

Buy them from the Cool Hunting Gift Guide.

via Cool Hunting.

tags:
beadwork
Huichol
Cool Hunting

Skull A Day

I know, I know. Skulls are so passe. But this skull news, though not actually new, is too good to pass up.

Artist, blogger and author Noah Scalin began making a skull a day for a year in 2007, and thus the project Skull-A-Day was born. Skulls from that year are featured in his book, SKULLS, published by Lark Books in 2008 and available through IndieBound and other fine booksellers. Also, one of Scalin's skull drawings (above) is featured on a Kenneth Cole t-shirt.

In the years to come, Scalin began publishing skulls by other artists on his Skull-A-Day blog. My favorites include this illustration by Robert Steven Connett ,

and this sculpted sand skull.

























In addition to the art skulls, several skull items are available from site sponsors. These include skull cookies from Whimzskulls:


and etched skull glasses from Tatman's Glass.














Finally, the Skull-A-Day website has merchandise for sale, such as these cute skull buttons:



But one of the coolest things available on the Skull-A-Day site is free fonts, such as the Skullphabet 1 font pictured below:


Check out the SKULL-A-DAY website yourself, and I'm sure you'll find your own favorites. Let's face it: they're skulls. They're not going to go away.

via NOTCOT.

tags:
SKULL-A-DAY
Noah_Scalin
Skull Art

Spragwerks on Project Accessory

So I was tooling around the internet like I do, and I hit a link to Spragwerks on my own blogroll. I loved and featured a Spragwerks ring in this post from the past. Imagine my surprise when a picture of Project Accessory fav Rich Sandomeno sprung onto my screen.

Yes, Rich is one of the designers for this season's Project Accessory, a Project Runway spin-off that I've been enjoying these past few weeks.

Congratulations, Rich, on the exposure, and best of luck on the challenges!

tags:
Spragwerks
Project Accessory
Rich Sandomeno

Objet du Jour

Vampire Repelling Garlic Mints by Accoutrements.

Product Features:
--Protect yourself from vampire attacks with these potent Garlic Mints.
--Each 2" (5.7 cm) round tin contains about one hundred mints guaranteed to give you the kind of garlic breath that will send vampires scurrying back to their coffins.
--Warning: consistent use of Garlic Mints may have a negative impact on your social life.

Listed on Amazon.Com under Grocery and Gourmet Food.

via Book of Joe

tags:
Accoutrements
Garlic Mints
Book of Joe

Remember, you heard it here first: zippers are the new skulls.

From Cynics, by Amanda Clegg.

Cynics is the edgy androgynous accessories label launched in 2007 by Amanda Clegg. Inspired by cynicism, celebrities and creative impulses, Amanda creates limited edition, cheeky accessories for everyone. Based in Sydney Australia.

Via Crookedbrains.

tags:
Amanda Clegg
Crookedbrains
zippers

Anatomically Correct?

This artist's work is just too good not to post! (And I'm not fixated on skull/brain imagery--these three posts just randomly formed a theme.) The model is by Jason Freeny, an artist who . . . well, his website probably says it best:

Jason created his first fictional anatomy in 2000 with his depiction of the mythological "Incubus".

Armed with a youthful, overactive imagination, Jason creates smart, intricate illustrations that tickle the deviant intellect through a mix of hard graphics, pop iconography and wit.


During the day, Jason works in Manhattan as a mild mannered interface designer. At night, after the kids go to sleep, he can be found hunched over his computer developing works of candy colored madness.

via Geekology

tags:
Jason Freeny
Lego
Hello Kitty

Skull Chair

How could I not post this wonderful skull chair? Especially right after Halloween! I got it from www.likecool.com, (my links aren't working, I have no idea why) where the comment was as follows:

'Cool Skull chair from 'Nouvelle Vague'
'Nouvelle Vague' exhibition will be held from 12 to 17 April 2011 at the French Cultural Centre - Palazzo delle Stelline - Corso Magenta 63 20123 Milan.

And I'm afraid that's all I know about it.

tags:
skull chair
likecool.com

Insight Lamp

A re-take on the classic "light bulb" idea icon. Created by Solovyov Design.

via Beautiful Life


tags:
Solovyov
Insight Lamp
Beautiful Life

Flower Girl

Provocative image from Sublime magazine. via Book of Joe.

tags:
Sublime Magazine
bookofjoe
flower face

Sometimes you just gotta go over to lolcats and let it crack you up.

tags:
lolcats
ican has cheezburger

thomas wold-rock candy

thomas wold-rock candy
Originally uploaded by thomas_e_wold

Those who know me best know that my favorite piece of furniture is the shelf unit. (Actually, those who know me best would probably guess that my favorite piece of furniture is the couch.)

I find this assemblage-style shelf unit playful and almost Dr. Seus-like and delightful. Can't you just imagine what it would look like with the appropriate knick-knacks on it?

By Thomas Wold via flickr and the DESIGN
PUBLIC blog.

tags
Thomas Wold
DESIGN PUBLIC

They say that the Kindle was the hot gift this Christmas, and it must be true: I got one, and I gave one to my brother and one to my niece.

I was apprehensive. As my niece pointed out, we like the feel of books, the texture of books, the very smell of books. But sometimes it's time to move on--not to replace the old, but to add the new.

So here is my review of the Kindle, after owning it for about two weeks:

It's wonderful. I was surprised by how quickly I adapted to reading from it, and soon wanted to read only books on Kindle. Part of this is simply my gadgety-ness. I LOVE a new gadget, and this is no exception. But unlike some gadgets I've had, this one is simple to use. Enter the code of my wireless router and it was pretty much ready to go.

Downloading books is as simple as finding them on Amazon and clicking the "Buy" button--they've made it almost TOO easy to buy a book! The download happens quickly, and then there the book is, on the Kindle's home page.

The display looks just like paper, and it acts just like paper. When it's dark, the Kindle is not back-lit and you need to find a light source--in other words, turn on a lamp. Mine came with a reading light, and using it to read the Kindle is just like using one to read a book.

They say that it is easy to read in sunlight because the display is glare-free. Since it's the dead of winter, I haven't had a chance to try this, but I can say that the display doesn't get an annoying reflection from indoor light sources.

I fought against this revolution in reading for a couple of years, but it turns out that there was no need. Books and a Kindle--it doesn't have to be either or. It can easily be both. Though right now the Kindle is in the lead on my bookshelf.

Available for $139 at Amazon.com.

tags:
Kindle

Apparently I have managed to figure out how to upload images to my blog again!!
The fix was to disable Adblock Plus, which I believe must have a pop-up blocker.
















I haven't blogged in MONTHS due to this problem! Will I begin blogging again? I hope so!! Please be patient with me as I check for links that don't work, etc.

I'm glad to see you all again.

--LisaJay

Technical Difficulties

This would be a perfect time in my life to be blogging. I'm in love with creativity again, and have just the right amount of time on my hands. However. . . for some reason I'm unable to add photographs to my posts. It started with my new computer, and I haven't been able to find a solution, despite trying all of the obvious things.

If anyone knows a solution, feel free to post a response. I'd love to be blogging again.

Amy Taylor Jewelry

A brand new year, and no better time to show you my favorite Christmas present. This was from my husband and by request: I knew exactly what I wanted, and pointed him in the right direction. The piece above is called "Caged Amethyst," and the metalwork artist is Amy Taylor.

Amy is a friend I met through other friends on Facebook. Her posts were warm and witty, and she was someone I wanted to get to know better. Since we "friended" each other, I have had the chance to meet Amy in person several times. Once was at her display at one of the summer art shows in the Chicago area (Glenview, to be specific). There, I had the opportunity to enjoy Amy's company, and also to see the wide array of her work, which is splendid.

Many of Amy's pieces feature tiny hinges that make them dynamic and moveable. The piece below is one of Amy's hinged pieces.




















Amy has been interviewed by The Daily Muse, an interview where her sense of humor and quirky personality really come through--well worth giving it a read. To see more of her jewelry, visit Amy's Etsy shop, Hinged Jewelry.

tags:
Amy Taylor
hinged jewelry
metalsmith

Incredible Recycled Houses

A self-taught builder, plumber and electrician, artist Dan Phillips makes low-income housing out of recycled materials. Here, the corners of picture frames adorn the ceiling. "A frame shop was getting rid of old samples and I was there waiting," said Phillips.














Above, a cork floor is made from actual wine corks. According to Phillips, the corks are easy to come by: "We have some heavy drinkers in town."

via TimesPeople, an offering of NYTimes.com. Courtesy of Elizabeth Van Jacob.

tags:
recycled
low income housing
building materials

From the Category "People are Weird"

Bullet-shaped ice cubes from a bullet-shaped tray. Raises once again the epistemological question, "Where do ideas come from?



















From Find Me A Gift, via StoreCrowd.

tags:
bullet ice cube tray
ice cubes

Artist Sarah Spitler

It is not often that an ad on a website will entice me to click through to see what more there might be. But an image of a painting by Sarah Spitler--well, entice me it did, and disappoint me it did not.

The artist talks about her work on Gawker:

Chaos manifests itself alongside form in my work. Chaos is powerful in that it is beyond human control; specifically, it interests me in depiction as catastrophe - as the uncontrollable and random force of natural cataclysms. I enjoy the emergence of fragments of imagery in relation to a destructive force - they become reduced and ephemeral, they are representative of the momentary and transient. However, according to the scientific study of chaos, it is the minute and transient that manifest as larger factors, further down in the equation, in the study of matter.

I've always been intrigued by visual chaos, and Spitler's representation of it delights my mind and my eyes. For more of Spitler's work, go to her page on Gawker.

tags:
Sarah Spitler
art
chaos
Gawker

My stuff: Linen Cabinet

We seem to have embarked upon a change of scale. The last "my stuff" post depicted a bookmark. Here we find me covering over the doors of the linen cabinet with collage.

I'm pleased with my efforts, but not sure I like the two of them together. No matter. There are four more panels to do, affording plenty of opportunity to mix and match.

tags:
Lisa Jewell Michael
collage
decoupage