Brittany De Leon shared her adorable, colorful floral calendar for 2021:
(Free for personal use.)
After the 2020 we had, I’m all for something pretty to look at every month. Thank you for sharing, Brittany!
Visit Paper Trail Design for more.
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
Casey (otherwise known as hot.glue.burns on Instagram) made a Native American variant of Captain America’s costume for the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. And the cosplay is both inventive and gorgeous!
Poster Cosplay in America has copied & pasted some of Casey’s thoughts:
“I originally brainstormed this costume in late 2015, but I really started rolling on production this last year, once I committed to this years SDCC… My main goal was to make a Native American variant of a fan-favorite character. I was immediately drawn to Captain America because of everything he symbolizes as basically the poster boy of a nation. To me it was the perfect parallel. And once I visualized the red and white bone breastplate on my abdomen, I knew this was something I had to see through.
“A lot of old school leather work with the awl! The majority of the armor was made from a base of 6mm EVA foam with 3 oz deer hide glued over it. The pieces were then stitched together with sinew or leather lace. Using this technique allowed me to form curves and build the necessary bulk of the armor pieces while also getting the suede textures I was looking for. And a whole lot of beading!”
Found via Good Stuff Happened Today on Tumblr.
Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day!
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
I recently learned of a new-to-me music style: bardcore.
It means making versions of modern pop / rock songs in the style of medieval ballads. And, oh boy, is there a rabbit hole to fall into!
Verily, behold “Sandstorm” by my fellow countryman Darude:
Darude – Sandstorm (Medieval version) by Marcus Aurelius on YouTube
Another neat bardcore version of a song from Finland, this one a trad: “Ievan polkka”.
Ievan Polkka (Medieval Cover) by Middle Ages on YouTube
Sadly, some are merely badly rendered synthesizer versions. When you do hit gold, though, it’s really good!
Below are other bardcore versions that tickled my fancy. (I saved the best for last, so keep scrolling!)
Gangnam Style (Medieval Style) [Bardcore] by Muckwick on YouTube
Macarena (Medieval Cover) by Middle Ages on YouTube
Nothig Else Matters [sic] – Medieval Style – Bardcore by Early Style on YouTube
Walk Like An Egyptian (Medieval Style) (Vocals!) by Mystic Zaru on YouTube
We Will Rock You [Bardcore] by Graywyck on YouTube
Surprisingly, also the theme for X-Files works quite well:
The X-Files (Medieval Cover) by Middle Ages on YouTube
Hildegard von Blingin’ is by far the best, most dedicated bardcorer (if that’s what they’re called) I’ve found so far.
Somebody That I Used To Know (Bardcore/Medieval Style Cover with Vocals) by Hildegard von Blingin’ on YouTube
What is Love (Medieval Style with Vocals – Original by Cornelius Link) by Hildegard von Blingin’ on YouTube
LOL! Love ’em; don’t you? 😀
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
During the covid-19 pandemic, many people in my social bubble and beyond have turned not just to handcrafts but to video projects as a way to pass the time and provide comfort. I’ve seen a wide spread of projects and inspiration as a consequence, and enjoyed every one. Here’s an example.
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain recorded a cover of “The Love Cats” by The Cure.
The Lovecats – Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain on YouTube
Isn’t it wonderful? I laughed out loud, it was such a fun take. 🙂
Found via Whatever.
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
I’ve shared quilling artis Sena Runa’s work before, but that was five years ago. (Yikes! Where does time go?) It’s high time to do an update.
Since I last posted, Runa has moved to Lisbon, Portugal. She also published a book, Quilling Art, and a second one, Quilling: 20 Beautiful Designs, will be out this summer. Congrats on both!
Like before, I’m only posting three of my favorites, but Runa is so productive it really is difficult to pick only from among her recent work.
World map (selection):
Sena Runa: World Map
Tardis – naturally, bigger on the inside!
Sena Runa: Tardis
Sena Runa: Welsh Dragon
Which one’s your favorite? I think I prefer the Tardis. 🙂
See her Instagram and Facebook accounts or Etsy shop for more!
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
It’s almost time for the release of the new Emma production written by Eleanor Catton and directed by Autumn de Wilde that I blogged about earlier this year. Here’s the trailer:
Emma – Official Teaser Trailer (Universal Pictures) HD by Universal Pictures UK on YouTube
Judging by the trailer only (which I know to be a precarious business), I’m not sure what to think, except that Bill Nighy’s Mr. Woodhouse might completely steal the show. And this looks to be a tonally very different reading of Emma than the previous screen adaptations.
It’s hard to say anything about Emma and Mr. Knightley from these super-short glimpses; furthermore, I haven’t seen either actor before (Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn). On the other hand, I know Miranda Hart as Miss Bates is going to shine! The music-making looks lovely, and what we can see of the propping and costuming seems great.
Emma will be released on February 14, 2020, in the UK and February 21, 2020, in the U.S.
I am excite! 🙂 😀
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
It’s time to update my planning calendar for 2020. In fact, I’m running a little late on this, and my collection of notepapers with scribbles is getting out of hand… Thankfully, Julia Groves has updated her lovely watercolor designs.
I just should’ve remembered to click the ink-saving option off when printing. Ohwell. 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Julia!
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
Isn’t this rainbow ribbon wreath pretty? It would make a great addition to a party to celebrate the LGBT History Month or any occasion where bright colors are welcome.
Amy C at CatchMyParty
It’s by Amy C at CatchMyParty. Making one is easy, too; it only takes a wire coat hanger turned into a wreath form (or a ready-made form), plenty of ribbons, scissors and tin snips plus some crafting time.
If the latter is a problem, you might consider an easy ribbon backdrop instead:
Amy C at CatchMyParty
The backdrop takes just long lenghts of ribbon (this one has two per color) tied onto a pole or a curtain rod and hung up, so it’s much faster to make.
Visit the full wreath tutorial by Amy C at CatchMyParty.
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
The past weekend wasn’t the best for me. In fact, it was a bit like the Muppets version of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” performed by Beaker:
Ode To Joy | Muppet Music Video | The Muppets on YouTube
Just to give one example, on Sunday (my dedicated social media day), my brain refused to brain blog work. Tumblr I was able to do, but blogging was like drinking tar. (Something being like drinking tar is an expression from my native Finnish.)
Ohwell. At least the funny Muppet video made me smile – and, after all, I got a blog post out of it, too. 🙂
P.S. Happy Lunar New Year!
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
I’ve talked about Finnish foods a bit before, for instance sour cream pie, liver sausage and blueberry soup. I don’t think I’ve done more than mention the joulutorttu, though, the baked Christmas dessert filled with plum jam.
Back in the day when you had to make the puff pastry from scratch they must’ve taken a good while to produce. These days, with store-bought puff pastry, they really are a cinch to make:
(These instructions fit U.S pastry sheets and measurements.)
Since I haven’t found plum jam in stores here, I’ve developed a super-duper easy way: I soak prunes in hot water until soft (approx. as long as the pastry takes to thaw) and use them to fill the tartlet, one prune per square. I also use toothpicks to skewer through both the pinwheel corners and prune in the center so that the tartlet won’t open while baking (the tips will burn easily if they do). And since I’m not terribly fond of confectioners sugar, I usually skip it.
While flipping through a back issue of Country Living magazine, I spotted the very same pastries except with a summery filling: jam and cream cheese.
Country Living July/August 2016, p. 20.
Country Living magazine gives credit for these jam and cream cheese versions to Kayley McCabe; visit the post at Handmade Charlotte for her writeup and tips.
They sound absolutely delicious – I’ll have to try some time!
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
