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Tag Archives: Other BLOGS
Craftandothercrazyplans
I love the idea of making mermaid tails! Wonder if I could find and adult size pattern….
craftandothercrazyplans
Trial and error-the best way to learn
WIP Wednesday
It’s been a while since I did a WIP Wednesday but thought I’d share what I’m working on as even though they aren’t for me they aren’t finished yet either so it shouldn’t ruin any surprises (and the chances of the recipients seeing them are very slim, the chances of them actually knowing what they are is even smaller!
A friend asked me to make mermaid tails for her girls, the spec was ‘pink, purple and sparkly’. Ice Yarns magic glitz was the yarn of choice as it comes in both pink and purple. One tail is going to be purple with pink tail and the other will be the reverse, taking advantage of the fact the yarn comes in 400g packs and each tail uses around 350g. The only problem with it is that the metallic thread is a little rough on the tensioning finger, which can begin to feel uncomfortable after an extended period of crocheting.
This is the first mermaid tail, before sewing. I wanted to check the colours were OK together before going ahead, because when I sew the tail on I really mean it-it is never meant to be removed! Luckily my friend really liked it, so all I have to do is located my favourite sewing needle. (I know that sounds odd but it is gold plated and the eye is the perfect size for double knit yarn. I have a feeling I might need to go shopping for a new set!)
Here is the start of the second mermaid tail which I began working on last night. I’m having a little rest from crochet for a while this evening as I had the flu jab and my arm is a bit sore and uncomfortable. Normal service will resume tomorrow, I’m sure.
What are you working on right now? Knitting, crochet, any other craft at all, I’d love to know.
I am linking this post to Wool on Sundays with the lovely Janine at Rainbow Hare.
Two on a Rant
Home is where our dogs are. Well, in my case, it’s where my dogs and cat are.
Once again it’s time for Linda Hill’s #SoCS challenge
The word for today is “yes.”
<_><_><_><_>
“Yes, I have 5 dogs,” I said to the woman laughing at the faces peering out at her from the partly rolled-down windows of my 24 year old station wagon.
“Your car needs a paint job,” she said.
“You didn’t ask me the right question,” I said with a wry smile.
She gave me a smirk, asking, “…and what would that question be?”
“Do I care,” I said. “The answer is no.”
She huffed out her disapproval and scurried away.
“The more I ‘m around people, the more I like my dogs,” I said to the Rottie Mutt.
“Hey, lady!” A man wider than he was tall yelled. “Are you a crazy cat lady, too?”
“Only if you call being owned by 2 cats a herd,” I said. “I’ll introduce you to my husband when he comes out of the store. He had 40 cats when he moved in with me. Why don’t you ask him if he’s a crazy cat man.”
“Is that him, the guy with the white beard and hat?”
“The one scowling at you?” I asked with a chuckle. “Yes.”
“Damned uneducated rednecks,” He mumbled.
“If you call a woman with a a B.S. in psychology and a retired chiropractor uneducated, I want to know what you consider an education.”
“Are you s#!ting me!”
“My laxative is about to work. Lay down on the ground and I’ll do just that.”
“You’re disgusting!” He yelled. “Did you take a bath this week?”
“You’re fat,” I said. “It’s going to take more than a bath to solve your problem.”
He stomped away, or should I say “waddled”, unwilling to ask my husband if he was a crazy cat man. Hubby handed me 4 dozen eggs he’d just purchased from Dollar General and asked, “Problem?”
“No,” I said. “You?”
“Yes. I saw two of my former patients. If there’s one thing I hate it’s being stuck in line and having to listen to people ask for advice I can’t legally give them.”
“I don’t have that problem with my former clients,” I said. “They generally don’t ask me for advice while we’re standing in line.”
We drove the few miles to our concrete block house in the country, watching our dogs climb out of the car once we’d parked inside the fence. Tails high, they rushed through the dog door to jockey for position on my bed.
“I don’t care if we have an old car and live in a dog house,” I said to my husband. “Home is where our dogs are.”
“Yes,” he said, as content to be home as I.
Neurobead
I think Yana says it very well here. The last paragraph just says it all.
In the majority of scientific techniques, the word “background” has a very negative connotation. It usually implies that your detection method picked up something else besides the specific signal you were looking for. People even go as far as calling their images “dirty”. In microscopy, that non-specific “noise” usually appears in the form of either randomly scattered bright pixels, or as a general haze of autofluorescence all around your cells. In contrast, high quality images usually have a very clean, black background, that when printed has a glossy feel to it. To capture this quality, I use shiny black satin as the backdrop for NeuroBead renderings. It gives the piece a clean and crisp look that allows the cells to really pop forward.
In my daily life there is also a lot of background noise. I have two daughters who have an unlimited amount of energy. It does not take much for them to put me out of focus and make me feel scatterbrained. But when I find some time to sit down a make my artwork, I can zoom in with a laser like focus and find myself in a state of “flow” as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Last night, I was talking to someone on the phone, and the topic of NeuroBead came up. The conversation suddenly took a sharp turn and a series of questions was fired at me.
“Why do you want/need to do this?”
“Don’t you have enough on your plate already?”
“As it is you barely find any free time. How will you manage?”
I think there is a logical order to these well-meaning questions. First comes the “why” and if the reason is good enough, the “hows” will fall into place. For me, it is because the creative process allows me to concentrate on my inner world and at least temporarily drown out the background noise. It brings my life into focus.
Check out this growth cone here!
Neal’s Epiphany
The thing called “BLOGGING”
When I started blogging two year ago (and had no idea what I was doing or what it would lead up to) I was most excited about the community I had stumbled into. There were so many amazing and strong people out there, writing their stories, sharing their experiences! I finally felt like I had found my “people” and found myself pouring my heart into my space and into blogging. I was being challenged creatively, mentally and emotionally. I loved blogging. I loved every part of it and all the amazing things it was doing for my life.
Recently, though, there’s been a shift in the blogging community. I’m not talking about the “eCourse” shift. I’m talking about the “I don’t like this aspect of blogging/social media, so I’m going to talk negatively and bash everyone who does it this way” shift. It’s just been so negative lately in the blogging space. And I’m not talking about the casual blogging tip posts where bloggers share what they have learned or what strategies have worked for them.
I think it really struck me just how negative the blogging culture has become when I was reading a post about a blogger who decided to stop pursuing follows and likes and who just wanted to write and be happy with that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Go ahead! However, when I scrolled down to leave a response, someone else’s comment caught my eye. The person who left this comment basically said her new motto for the year was that she was going to immediately unfollow any blogs that were too cute, nice and creative and made her feel bad about her blog.
I sat and stewed about that comment for hours. What kind of mentality is this? Why must we immediately stomp on someone’s hard work because they may be a few steps ahead of us? Why do we get offended because someone might work harder than us? Where is the support for each other? Why can’t it be “5 reasons why I read your blog?” Why must people tear each other down because they don’t share all the talents as someone else? I’m not a crafty person, but I don’t immediately think “wow, that person is so talented at whipping out crafts that they make me feel worthless, so I’m not going to read their blog anymore.” Instead, I try to appreciate their talent and enjoy looking at their hard work and feel inspired to try something similar when I have the time (which I probably won’t, but hey, I can dream!) There is no reason for blogging to be a competition; every person is unique and has their own story and we should be celebrating that instead of tearing into each other and using our blogs to dig at each other!
And yes, if you want to monetize and turn your blog into a business, there are definitely strategies and techniques you can use to be more successful at turning your blog into a biz. I LOVE reading blog tips and tricks, pouring over new strategies and sharing what’s been working for me. I’m not dogging on anyone who shares their strategies for success; I think it’s amazing when bloggers share those things to help others and I try to share my (limited) knowledge as well! And the cool thing is that you could do something totally different than me and be just as successful! Those kinds of posts are awesome and so needed in the blogging community; but only when done in a positive and encouraging way.
And of course, not every type of blog/niche is going to be your cup of tea. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate those types of bloggers and the great work they do over there! My point is this: do what works for you and what makes you happy!
It just makes me so sad to see all of the posts out there that have such negative undertones, instead of celebrating the diverse talents and successes of everyone. I know a lot of amazing bloggers who work really hard and are hustling because they have blog dreams and there isn’t anything wrong with that. And I know some people who use their blogs to share what’s on their heart and don’t bother about page views. There isn’t anything wrong with that, either. Let’s celebrate them all!
No matter what kind of blogger you are, no matter what journey you are on, if you are happy, that’s all that matters. If you want to write sponsored posts and monetize your space, GO FOR IT! And if you just want to write about your life and what’s been going on, do it. If growing your followers makes you happy because you are connecting with like-minded people, THAT IS OKAY! And if you don’t give a crap about who is following you or who is reading your blog, that’s just fine too.
This is all I want to say: as a blogger, when you sit down to write on your piece of the internet, you are writing into someone’s heart. You have the power to connect with someone out there who may feel alone or who may feel discouraged. YOU have the power to make connections that could change someone’s outlook, that could motivate someone to go after a dream or that could simply inspire someone to buy that red lipstick they’ve been afraid of. Use your words to spread positivity!
There is enough negativity in this world and the blogging culture doesn’t have to part of it.
Karen Lynne Creates 