I am seriously impressed with Untamed Menagerie’s jewelry creations on Etsy.
I think I’d wear any one of their stainless steel or acrylic silhouettes.
They’ve got my favorite flower, the lotus:
Some macabre delights…
A few choice Alice in Wonderland quotes…
Some abstract beauties…
Even better, the prices are very reasonable for such unique, fine work. Check out the rest here.
Here is one DIY furniture piece I never would have envisioned: a magazine coffee table.
Designer Vered Zaykovsky constructed this table out of glass and six identical magazine copies.
Believe it or not, there is no cutting or gluing involved…only the careful and precise interweaving of the paper.
If I come home from a store with plastic bags, I generally stuff them by my washer and dryer for future use. Virginia Fleck turns them into works of art.
Using only bags and tape, she constructs beautifully detailed, textured mandalas.
Nested in these lovely works is, undoubtedly, some implicit commentary on consumerist culture. Her website features this quote from Gina Piccalo:
“Life is being captured, repackaged and sold back to us as quickly as we live it.”
No one repackages the packaging as well as Virginia Fleck! Check out the impressive collection here.
I’m dangerous around sales where you can pick up shirts for two dollars each. I always leave with an armful of plain shirts to emblazon with whatever design feels right when I get home (I fell victim to this habit the other day).
Here are a few simple alterations of some plain tank tops from Walgreens. Pardon the absolutely hideous snapshots…
Heart diagram from a recent post (I’m eager to give image credit to Ork Posters):
Vintage TV test patterns…
How I love symbols of the impossible…
And for the fun of it, I recently made this decorative surgical mask (pestilence is such sweet inspiration). Unfortunately you can’t really see the details, or the silver coloring of the backround:
This post on Neatorama featured a photo of an amazing cemetery in Chichicastenango, Guatemala.
We certainly do not handle death quite so colorfully in this country. The photo prompted me to fire up google images. Chichicastenango does indeed seem to be a place of wondrously bright colors.
Masks…
Textiles…
Even the discarded remains of handcrafted artifacts (look at the eyelashes on Jesus!)…
Not surprisingly, the area contains what has been called the most colorful market in the Americas.
I was floored when I received an amazing package in the mail from my kindred spirit Sarah. I had made her a plushie last month; a jellyfish named Princess Squishy (an incarnation of a nickname/drawing conjured up in the delightful minds of children Sarah worked with).
In return, she sent me the most amazing collection of trinkets: classic Bigelow Rose Salve (it’s delightful), a Liz McGrath limited edition tin, and a phrenology head pocket mirror!
But the most incredible gift was this handmade necklace. An anatomical heart seasoned with tiny gears, axe in a glass case, black flower and a locket filled with meaningful symbols. Does this girl know me, or what?
All of this for a plush invertebrate! What a talented and beautiful soul she is. I’m so grateful.
Stefan Strumbler injects a healthy dose of graffiti inspired street art into traditional German cuckoo clocks.
I really adore the way he blends the standard cuckoo clock fare (antlers, woodland creatures…) with edgy pop art style. And look at those shadows…
A recurring theme is the distinctly German concept of Heimat, which has no direct translation. For some people, it’s a place…for others, a feeling.
I must stop looking at these before I go on clock re-fabrication kick and start grazing for alterable time pieces in local thrift shops.
See Strumbler’s blog here.
From Wicked Halo
I’m truly impressed with the mesmerizing and haunting effect She Fights Like a Girl creates in this Houdini portrait cross stitch:
I can think of many requests for this talented woman!
I’m so delighted with Dan McPharlin’s series of miniature cardboard models.
The detail is lovely (and cardboard is not the easiest medium to work with, especially in small sizes). Don’t you want to just sit down and make some sounds on these pretty machines?
Perfect for my teeny tiny hands (not my hand in the photo, of course)!
View the full set.
From the wonderful Dudecraft.
This is the best card I’ve seen in a long time. Perfect for sweet, mild-mannered girls like me, who happen to possess a wicked cynical streak.
This lovely design is a product of Gramkin Paper Studio.
Thanks to this post, I’ve decided to add an “introvert” tag.
SheWalksSoftly 