Game of Thrones Jewelry Challenge - I'm All About the Dragons

Heather Powers of Humblebeads is hosting a jewelry challenge based on one of my favorite shows, Game of Thrones.  Not only do I love this show, it gives me a great excuse to make dragon jewelry, and let's face it - dragons are cool.  Like so cool that I don't even wait for special events to make dragon jewelry, I make dragon pieces all the time.  Don't believe me?  Check this post about a beaded dragon bracelet and this post - A Micro Macrame Fairy Tale (featuring dragons).  Or check out my Etsy Shop, Knot Just Macrame.  Here, I'll give you a little taste of some pieces I've done featuring dragons:

Even if I wasn't a big dragon fan (and how could I not be - come on, people, they breathe fire!!!), I think I'd still be a big fan of Daenerys Targaryen, Khaleesi and Mother of Dragons.  She's an awesome character and we've watched her grow from a meek, timid girl to a strong, confident woman over the past seasons.  Along the way, she hatched three dragons even though dragons haven't been seen in generations.  And if that isn't cool enough?  She did it by climbing on top of her dead husband's funeral pyre with her petrified dragon eggs and woke up unharmed with the baby dragons. That, my friends, is why she is my inspiration for this Game of Thrones Jewelry Challenge piece:

I've had this dragon head clasp in my pile of cool-stuff-I-just-had-to-buy for some time now, just waiting for the perfect project and I decided this was it.  Some simple spiral knotting for the body of the bracelet and one cool clasp and it's all about the dragons!

Gearing up for a Hop!

I've been doing lots of scheming and plotting about what to do for our upcoming Beading Back in Time Blog Hop which has led to countless hours of reading about the early history of man and quite a few hours digging through my stash of treasures.  I came across this ceramic owl pendant from Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio.  It's one of her owl amulets from a series she called her woodland totems.

Although animals were featured in art very early on, I think it is the hand print on this one that makes me think of our hop challenge theme.  It reminds me of the cave paintings featuring hands.

I also came across another ceramic piece from Starry Road Studio - a round bead that matched the pendant perfectly.  Taking my color cues from those pieces, I knotted turquoise, gold and ecru into a cord/strap for the necklace. I used this technique (that links to the free macrame tutorial) that looks like kumihimo, but is done without a disk.  I love the look of the cord - slap a couple of caps on the ends and it's neat and tidy and can be made in any color combination.

Any bail would work on this cord, but I thought I'd take the design a step further, so I knotted one myself in the same cord.  It has a sort of fun plaid design in micro macrame and is completely integrated into the design (the same cord that ties on the pendant and goes up through the bead is knotted through the bail.

And yes, I should be working on my piece for the hop rather than getting sidetracked, but what a nice sidetrack, huh?  And if you're not inclined to make your own, you can purchase this one in my Etsy shop:  Knot Just Macrame.

Beading Back in Time Blog Hop Challenge: Early Human Edition

And we're back!  Remember a while ago when Lindsay Starr and I (she's the short one in the photo hahahahaha), along with a group of our beading friends, brought you the first Beading Back in Time Blog Hop? Maybe these will jog your memory:

No?  Still nothing?  That's okay - shake it off.  We're moving on anyway!  I'll give you the short run down.  A few months back, my pal Lindsay Starr (of Phantasm Creations) and I came up with a brilliant idea to combine our love of beading and all things old into a blog hop challenge.  We had so many ideas (history is a huge topic, you know) that we finally had to break it down into a series of four hops over the course of a year.  Our first one covered the period before humans (you can find my post here if you want to catch up).  And now... we come to the period of early humans.  We're going to focus on the period before 3500 BCE this time around - before writing.  Which is okay, since it seems those early folks were too busy trying to survive to be kickin' back with a novel anyway.  Here's what I've learned:

This period of human history is often broken down into the Paleolithic (or Palaeolithic for those who like to add extra vowels to everything - you know who you are) and the Neolithic.  No, I'm not an expert on these matters, and no, we're not going to debate the inclusion of a Mesolithic period because I don't have that much time.  Moving on...

Lucy

The Paleolithic era, or old stone age, was a time when humans were nomadic and completely dependent on the environment.  The climate was much colder during this period and large herds of animals roamed in search of food.  Man out of necessity followed the herds, hunting and gathering food.  They used fire for light, heat and cooking and invented stone weapons such as daggers, spear points and axes.  Temporary shelters used during warmer seasons were made of animal skins and plants (as were clothes).  Caves provided shelter during the colder periods.

Bisons

Because of this lifestyle, art was either drawn on cave walls or was small enough to be carried from place to place.  Most art from this period focused on hunting, women and fertility.  Shells that are pierced and covered with red ochre dated to 82,000 years ago have been discovered with wear patterns suggesting they may have been strung as beads.  The oldest known sculpture is a 2.4" female figure carved in mammoth ivory dating to 35,000 BCE.  Cave paintings from about the same time have been found in locations across Europe and even older ones in Southeast Asia.

Mammoth engraved on mammoth ivory

Tools made of reindeer antler

Venus figurine

The Neolithic era, or New Stone Age, started sometime around 10,000 BCE.  The big change during this period was the invention of agriculture.  Man learned to manipulate nature and produce food by planting and harvesting crops, and all of this was made possible by the warming climate. New types of tools were introduced and animals like dogs, sheep, goats, cattle and pigs were domesticated.  Religion becomes more apparent as group mentality grows. 

Human beings beginning to live in fixed settlements and in larger groups now have more time for art.  Pottery shows up more often during this period (although they had the skills before, pottery was not practical for carrying when constantly on the move). The female form and fertility are still strong themes in art from this period, but animals appear as well.

Bone beads

Neolithic stone beads

Neolithic burial of two women who were wearing necklaces made of shells.

Human skull covered in plaster with shell eyes

The challenge for this blog hop is an easy one:  during the month of April, make something inspired by this theme - whatever your take on it.  Then meet Lindsay and I and the rest of the team back here on May 1st for the big reveal.  I can't wait!!

Microme

Microme - remember, folks, you heard it here first.  I'm on a one woman crusade to change the name of what I do from micro macrame to microme.  Let's face it, micro macrame is just a mouthful.  I didn't really care a whole lot about what it was called before I started doing classes because, apparently, typing micro macrame is much easier than saying it.  Once I started having to pronounce it in videos and narration (and had to re-record a few times because I got all tongue tied), I started looking for an alternate term.

I used plain old "macrame" for a while, but that conjures up images like this for some folks:

Now I like a macrame owl as much as the next guy, but this isn't really the "feel" I was going for.  Then I tried the phrase "beaded macrame" for a while, and while the alliteration factor is gone, it's still the same number of syllables and it just isn't very catchy.  

Enter my friend.  We all have one - the one who has funny stories for days?  Mine also has a super catchy dance complete with swinging arms and snapping fingers that never fails to bring a smile to my face, but that's a story for another day.  Anyway, the other day when we were visiting about what it is that I do, it came out "microme".

Microme \ˈmī-krō-ˌmā\

 

I like it!  It's a little word, which seems more appropriate for itty bitty macrame than "micro macrame".  It's catchy and it's fun to say.  I am, therefore, on a mission to spread this new word throughout the land.  Maybe even get it into a dictionary - at least the urban one :)  Who's with me?

SpongeBob to Micro Macrame in 3 Easy Steps

You might be wondering what this picture has to do with macrame.  How is she going to get from biker SpongeBob (in his pajamas) to this:

Stick with me for a minute and I'll get you there.  So... you might have noticed somewhere along the way (if you've followed my work for five minutes or more) that I have a slight obsession with turquoise and sandy colors paired with beach themes.  This week I mixed up a little bead soup for inspiration, then dug around for some buttons to coordinate.  I found one really pretty button in the softest turquoise color, but the rest were just metal tones - mostly brass.  I added some color with Vinaj patinas so now they go perfectly (in my humble opinion, and since it's my blog... well, you get the picture).

Turns out this is the perfect mix for multiple strand necklaces with everything I love!

Then yesterday when I was trying to take some photos for this post, Carter plopped himself down in my lap and announced "me!". 

See the little fingers pointing at his "me"?  

Since we all know I'm putty in his hand, I put off the "real" photos and instead we took  pictures of SpongeBob and dirt bikes.  And that's how you get from A to B in the ridiculousless that is my life - I wouldn't have it any other way!

International Day of Happiness

Carter on his new ride. 

Happy International Day of Happiness!!  Years of study by really smart people shows that one thing is fundamental for happiness, and that's our connection with other people.  (As a mother and a grandmother, I could have told them that!)  So this year,  we are all being asked to reach out and make at least one positive connection with someone.  

As luck would have it, I get to spend the afternoon with my grandson, Carter, and that makes me really happy!!  That's an awfully easy one, though, so I would like to take it a little further.  I'd like to connect with some of you.  Yes, you.  Stop looking around for someone else - I mean you.

Carter and his great grandparents in matching Sponge Bob t-shirts. 

I want to hear about what makes you happy.  I love spending time with my family.  I love playing with my grandson and I love getting creative in the kitchen with my daughter (and it's even more fun when her friends join us).  Kittens and puppies make me happy.  Hearing a cardinal sing makes me happy.  Green grass and leafy green trees make me happy - and sunshine, well, don't even get me started on sunshine!  

Pretty new beads in my mailbox!

Other random things that induce happiness:  playful squirrels chasing one another through our yard (and up the trees and down the trees and around the trees...); visits from our neighbors' dog, Riley; unexpected messages from cousins who live far away (but still close in my heart); memories of my grandparents; getting beads in my mailbox... I could go on, but I think you get the idea.  I don't need big, expensive things to make my heart swell.  For me it's all about the little things.  The simple moments.

Fuzzy kitty feet make me happy.

Now it's your turn.  Tell me what makes you happy?

Let's Talk About Macrame - A New Forum for Knotters

Okay, different kind of forum, but I couldn't help myself.  I am positively giddy with excitement!  A friend of mine, Nadja of Imbali Crafts has just started a brand spankin' new forum for macrame enthusiasts.  

As a knotter, I've never quite fit in anywhere (and yes, I realize that comment leaves me open for a lof of  smart-alecky comments).  There are all kinds of groups set up for seed beaders and stringers and and polymer folks, etc., but there's not much out there for people interested in micro macrame.  Until now.

Check this out:  Macrame Forum   Just in case you didn't go look at it, this is what it looks like:

Isn't it adorable!?  It's all shiny and new and so full of promise.  Nadja has set up a place to show off your latest masterpieces or to ask questions about what kind of cord works best.  If you're having trouble locating a source for cord or figuring out a knot that has you stumped, this is the place.  And if you like to dabble in soutache or tatting or something, she's got a special corner just for you, too.  (Hahaha - did you see what I did there?  But really, it's not a bad corner or anything and you don't have to wear a pointed hat, so it's all good.)

 Okay, so go there and get signed up.  I'm already there!