New Etsy Treasury Feature!!!!

I was pleased this morning to get an email from Etsy letting me know that my Pirate Bulwarkle Monster was featured in another Treasury!

His first Treasury feature had the theme
 "Valentine Pirates!".

Check Out the Valentine Pirates Treasury!

 This time his little mug made it in to
 the "Little Monsters!" treasury.

Check out the Little Monsters! Treasury !

 Hurray for friendly attention!!! :D

I KNOW HIM!!!!! A SMALL WORLD MOMENT!!!!

Ok, in a world with LOLZ, Memes, Fails, Wins, People of Walmart and every other funny bit online, how long do you think it would take you to spot someone you know????

Today I did it!!! I was looking through pictures on PopHangover and found my friend Aaron that I went to high school with back in GA!!! I haven't seen Aaron in about 12 years, but I knew it was him! Aaron likes to meet celebrities and then collects pictures of himself with them.

So here is a snapshot of his Myspace page I took:

And this is the photo I found of him on PopHangover:



http://pophangover.com/2011/02/08/axe-does-hover-hands/



Let this be a warning to all of my friends and family.... If I find any of you on People of Walmart, I will share!!!!

BASIC, DOS, and 5.25 Inch Floppy Disks!!!!

It's amazing what my current phone will do. It has a disk the size of my pinky nail that holds 16 gigs of information, has an out of this world high resolution screen, an awesome camera with flash, lightning fast Internet access, and too many other features to mention. I'm pretty sure that if I traveled back in time, and handed my phone to the 1980's me, that my head would have exploded. It is this realization of how far technology has come just in my short life, that made me want to look back at what I started with.

I felt pretty computer savy when I was younger. In elementary school I was in the gifted class, and part of that class included working with and learning to use computers. We weren't just learning to use programs, but how to program them ourselves. We worked on the TRS-80 by Radio Shack.

It was a monitor, keyboard, and cpu in one monster with no mouse! The monitor color included Black and White. A couple of the computers in the room had color (the newer fancier models!). The color models I believe included white, black (background color), pink, green, a turquoise, and I think purple? 



Does that say "Radio Shack: The biggest name in LITTLE computers"!?!? lol



On these computers we would make our own computer programs and games using the BASIC programing, and then we would all switch seats and play the games that others had made. Usually it was simple things like making it seem as though the computer could think for itself.

example: The computer would ask (on the screen in type, there was no sound) "Are you having a good day?", then you would program IF the response is "yes" THEN reply "good to hear!" and IF "no" THEN reply "sad to hear that!". You could program a full scripted conversation with the computer to talk to your friends.

We were also big fans of making MadLibs on there. You could have the computer ask for verbs, nouns, sounds, etc. and then have it plug them into a story that you had already typed in there. These are the types of programs you make when the computers are being programed by 8 year olds. lol

I don't remember what kind of computer I had at home, but I do remember playing games on it! I had a huge Rolodex for 5.25 inch floppy disks full of games. Things like Wheel of Fortune, Who Framed Rodger Rabbit, and Golf. The 5.25 inch floppy disks could only hold between 89.5KB to 10MB, but still had some awesome games on them.

There were also 8 inch floppies, but I never had to use those.

These aren't games I had, but pictures I found online that show some examples of the graphics.

 The use of 4 colors was really creative!

The last picture is of the game "Win Lose or Draw" and looks the closest to the games that I had. I always loved how they made people look. Classic.

Thanks for taking this little trip back in time with me. :D



Closet Head Case Featured in A Etsy Treasury!!!!!

Oh Sweet Sweet Acknowledgment!!!

So, I was logging on to Etsy yesterday to check on my shop, and did not expect what I found:

One of my little Bulwarkles was featured in a Treasury on etsy!!!!

A Treasury is a small group of items that have been chosen as the niftiest in that category or theme. The theme of the Treasury I was featured in was "Valentine Pirates". Basically, it's a bunch of pirate stuff and some of it is romantically themed. I searched for "pirates" in the search box on etsy and found 18,022 results! So to be one of the 16 items chosen by the curator really made me smile.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d2e30f5fc396d912fae5586/valentine-pirates

     I plan to keep making little Bulwarkles for my shop, and hope that others enjoy them! I just hope this taste of fame doesn't go to the little monster's head. ;)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/65718897/pirate-monster-bulwarkle

Professional Piercing vs. Piercing Guns

***Piercing Guns

 And Mall Piercings 

 Are Dangerous!***

 

"Let's go to the mall and get our ears pierced!

It's cheap and it will be cool to have a new piercing!"

 

Sounds like a good idea, right? What about going to the mall to get your ears pierced by someone that watched a video, practiced on a teddy bear, and then was given a non sterile piercing gun to pierce your ears is a bad idea? All of it!!!!

 

So why do we go to the mall?

     Because it seems like the safe place to go when you're growing up. Stereotypes tell us that the mall is a happy go lucky fun place to hangout, and that tattoo and piercing shops are for scary hardcore people getting crazy things pierced by a 300 pound gritty looking guy named Spike in a dark and shady back room.

This could not be farther from the truth.

 

Today, professional piercers are just that, professional.

     Tattoo and piercing studios even get health scores just like restaurants. Many of them go to school and study to be a piercer and then have lengthy apprenticeships with professionals.They are clean, knowledgeable, and have the proper tools for sterilization.

 

So aside from skill level,

 why is it better to see a professional???

 

PIERCING GUN-- If you visit the mall or a department store to get a piercing, they will use a piercing gun. A piercing gun works kind of like a stapler or nail gun.

• It forces a sharp object into an object abruptly. 
• Guns are often plastic and can not be properly sanitized.
• They are sold publicly and don't require training.
• Even if the earrings or studs are sterile, the guns are generally just wiped with an alcohol or antiseptic pad which does not kill germs instantly and does not get every part of the gun clean.
• Piercing guns can spread Hepatitis
• Sometimes malfunction (by fault of gun or piercer) causing stud to get stuck in the ear or stud to get stuck in the ear AND the gun (pliers anyone?)
• Crooked piercings are more common with guns
• The earring back pressing on the post of the stud breaks the skin in such a way that causes a wound that takes longer to heal

STUD EARRINGS-- Stud earrings are loaded into the piercing gun and you are advised to leave them in for several weeks while twisting them regularly.

• Studs are usually "plated" and not a single material that is safe for ears (usually, not always)
• While usually pointed, studs are not very sharp and literally rip through your skin.
• Posts come in a single length and are not always the right size for all earlobes or cartilage causing an improper fit (squeezing)
• The backs are flat against the skin and do not allow the piercing to breathe or heal
• The divot in the post (the part that makes the back click on) can get debris in it and is hard to keep clean.  
• "twisting the post" aggravates the piercing and can actually get bacteria in the hole.

NEEDLES-- Needles are used by professional piercers.

•  Needles come in multiple sizes.
•  Needles are hollow. Think of it this way: If you punch a hole in a piece of paper with pencil, what does the hole look like? Jagged and a big mess, right? That is like using a post earring on your ear. Then think of using a hole-punch on a piece of paper. What does that hole look like? Get the picture? It may sound violent to "punch a hole" in your skin, but the hole is clean and not jagged, will heal faster, and is less likely to get infected.
• Needles are MUCH sharper than stud earrings. This actually makes the piercing hurt much less. On a microscopic level, a stud pushes on the skin until the pressure rips it, where as a needle slices with very little push.

AUTOCLAVES-- Machines used to sterilize tools.





autoclave

• These are used to sterilize surgical instruments and hospital equipment (and tattoo and piercing equipment at quality shops)
• Autoclaves can kill germs and other things that could survive boiling water and detergent
• Any tool used in a tattoo and body piercing studio that can not go in the autoclave is immediately disposed of in a bio hazard trash compartment after use.
• Professionals are well aware of and trained on how to handle blood borne pathogens

 

D.I.Y. PIERCINGS-- After reading all of the things above, I will let the "Do it yourself piercings" section speak for itself. Either people try it with a sewing needle and an ice cube, or a contraption like the one shown below. Regardless, why take the risk of infection and the experience away of actually going out and meeting new and interesting people that do this for a living???





I didn't even start my "Jewelery Quality" rant....that's for another day.

Be smart, and go somewhere clean for piercings.

Research what you want, and be educated about the experience.

:D

My New Obcession....

As it goes, I have a new hobby.

I have discovered the glory that is Konad Stamping.

 And yes I know, it rhymes with gonad.

Get your giggles out now..... I'll wait.

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Ok, now we can get back to Konad. Konad is a fingernail stamping system that paints intricate details on your nails! It is so friggin easy and makes me look super talented. I still do some by hand, but the nail polish stamps are a real time saver!

1. Paint over the silver plate with special thick konad polish

2. Scrape off extra paint

3. Transfer pattern to rubber stamp

4. Stamp on the nail

5. Put Konad clear top coat on to secure the design

Easy stuff! A lot of people ask if it is worth buying the "special konad polish" and the answer is yes. Konad polish is super thick and very opaque. This is an important factor to keep in mind because the layer of polish you are actually stamping on your nail is so thin. I've tried it with regular polish and it does not come out as detailed or you just barely can see it at all. I also will say that it is worth getting the special konad top coat. I've tried various top coats on the stamps and they always smear. The special top coat is so thick that it doesn't run the design. I've not even noticed it taking longer than usual for the polish to dry. I will say that if you do a full nail covering design that you will need to clean things up with a q-tip and some fingernail polish remover, because you will get some on your finger.

Here are some photos of my nails with Konad:

Lisa Frank style Cheetah Print Konad

Blue Dots Konad

White Argyle over blue

Black Fishnet Konad over red

I got my Konad stuff (stamper, scraper, top coat, 2 plates, and the black, white, and blue "special" polish) from http://www.wowsocool.com/ . It sounds like a lame site, but shipping was free for orders over $20 (and orders will be over $20) and stuff is pretty reasonably priced. Almost everything is $6.

If you have any questions or comments just let me know!!!!

Degree Required?

All my life people have told me I was good at art. This can be a heady thing until you realize that art isn't exactly math. There is no right or wrong answer and it is totally based on opinion and emotion.

There are three levels of artist in my mind:

• The Non-Artistic-  This doesn't mean this person is totally incapable of art, but this is the person who is maybe better with a keyboard than a sketch pad. This person is good at stick figures and basic doodles (generally doodling the same 2 or 3 images).

• The Jack Artist- This person is your general "Jack of all trades, master of none". This is the one that maybe showed promise as an artist as a child but never pursued it, or tried all forms of art and only became pretty good at each (never really perfecting a specific talent). The Jack is also usually the person you find at most arts and crafts fairs.

• The Artist- Art not only defines this person, but oozes from their very core. This is the person that can sketch a picture that at a glance (or longer) seems to be a black and white photo taken with a high resolution camera. This isn't to say that you have to do realism to be an artist, I merely used it as an example. The Artist could make a living off selling their art (whether they choose to or not).

Ladies and Gentlemen.... I am a classic Jack Artist. Good enough to be considered "the artsy one" among friends and family, but not awesome enough to brag about it in good conscience.

I started college as an Art Education Major, and I was excited about learning and becoming a better artist. I discovered by my second semester that majoring in it may not have been the best idea for me. I was told that no matter what I did it looked like it was out of a Disney movie. I was also told by my teacher, "I don't believe your apple" even though I was quite proud of the shaded apple I had drawn. I changed majors several times unofficially in college and ended up with a degree in Recreation and Leisure Services with a minor in Dance. Turns out I didn't have to major in art to be a starving artist. I do wish I would have stuck with the Art major, but I would rather love it as a hobby than hate it as a major/career.