Leopard, Cheetah or Jaguar, Exotic Animal Print is Hot!

Even Before we saw Cher as Laverne, the leopard-clad lady of the launderette on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, the leopard-print has been hot and never really goes out of style.

Kate Spade's Puffer Leopard Evonne Tote is an example of a leopard-print bag you'd be happy to carry today.

You'll find the wild print readily on useful, cool, trendy and perhaps some unexpected items.

 

For the younger set, Paisley Hill had a Hand Painted Child's Tea Set. (above)

RockerByeBaby had a Punk Animal leopard print four piece crib baby bedding set. (right)

Please Note: Items may be sold, Shops may no longer be in business.

Leopard iPad Sleeve  
Browse Sleeve iPad Sleeves

A faux leopard and retro pink clutch purse by Coryrenee is just gorgeous.

Do you like animal prints?  Have a favorite to wear?

Cow Moo Can Toys Despicable Me, Growlers, Criers and Squeakers oh my!

I've been researching the old cow moo can toys. It's not easy. Everyone seems to have a different name for the toys. They've made a resurgence in popularity, including a fun iPhone app!, thanks to the film, Despicable Me. 

Do you remember these toys? When I was a kid they were metal cans with lithographed paper labels with the picture of an animal. You turn them over and they'd make a sound like that animal. A cow, cat, goat, chick, etc. 

Similar-looking devices were placed inside figural salt and pepper squeakers. The criers in dolls often looked like them. How about Steiff growlers in stuffed bears?

Metlox of California had a limited run of Poppytrail animal-themed cookie jars with sound devices in their lids. Still trying to get more information on those. 

Specialty unusual chopsticks, the hostess gifts, stocking stuffers, holiday Christmas gifts sure to please

Are you a lover of Sushi? Seems like whenever we go on a trip, which is less often these days, we try to find out where the good sushi restaurants are in the town where we're visiting.

Happily, we have friends and family members who love sushi and other Asian foods, too. We're looking for some fun, unusual and amazing gifts (not too expensive) to give as Secret Santa presents and stocking stuffers for the holiday.

Crystal chopstick rests, Godinger set of 6 crystal knife and chopstick rests They will have guests at your next party oooohing and aaaahing. Will you get a set of them, one in each color, for a friend as a gift? A bouquet of them with sparkling pink crystals for the next wedding taking place around Valentine's Day? How special is that?!

Chopsticks in the style of Star Wars light sabres are sure to be a big hit with science fiction fans. They come in different colors and are attributed to different characters in the films. I found them created by a couple of different companies, Star Wars Chop Sabers - Luke Skywalker Blue Star Wars Lightsaber Chopsticks are just right for Luke Skywalker.

The Star Wars: Yoda EP6 Lightsaber Chopsticks come in different colors and are fully licensed.

Yamazaki Stainless Steel My Chopsticks in Silver Case, Set of 4

There are chopsticks with Samurai sword handles for those of you who want to live dangerously. Chopsticks that light up. Some are in the shapes of bullet trains, The Hashi Tetsu Shinkansen Chopsticks Bullet train cutlery set.

Children's chopsticks and other training chopsticks are hinged or the hinges, Fred Chopstick Kids Chopsticks Holders, some in very cute shapes, are sold separately. Consider getting some to bring with you to restaurants with your own kids when they're just learning to use chopsticks.

Can you wear chopsticks in your hair?? Lucky you!

For your next dinner party, New Year's Eve gathering or event, holiday shopping, birthday giving or just to have at home for yourself, they're a wonderful idea. 

How's my hair?? OMC Hair World, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, Disney's Tangled

"Produced by Organisation Mondiale Coiffure (OMC), the world's largest beauty organization and the National Cosmetology Association (NCA), The Hairworld Championships of Beauty brings together over 1000 top competitors from 60 countries and 5 continents all competing for the coveted OMC World Cups of the technical and fashion Categories in Ladies' and Gent's events. At the Gala Awards Ceremony 4,000 beauty professionals, cheered for their countries and teams with anthems and flags."

Are you familiar with Hair World? I first learned of the competition thanks to a brilliant PBS documentary, The Pursuit of Excellence: Hair World. We have a web site with information about the annual event.

Hair and hair styling is an art form and a source of never-ending drama so it seems. We've been watching Tabatha's Salon Takeover on Bravo. Just love her.

She has a new book coming out and I can't wait to read it. It's Not Really About the Hair: The Honest Truth About Life, Love, and the Business of Beauty. What an interesting life she's had.

Vintage Rapunzel by YesterdayCafe
Make custom photo ornaments online

As anyone who's seen the new Disney film, Tangled or seen the Sheer Genius program knows, Hair is important. :)

Do you want to know a secret? Beatles Tribute Bands are delighting audiences all over the world!

Have you been to a concert by a Beatles Tribute Band? With the recent much anticipated iTunes release of the Beatles music, cover bands are expected to be hotter than ever.  The popular band, Rain is currently on tour in the US.

Impersonating the Beatles isn't anything new. There are Elvis impersonators, Rolling Stone sound-alike bands, too. Iconic bands never die and people want to relive their music live any way that they can.

At Halloween or for a fancy dress party, you can dress up like a Beatle, even choose the era and the exact band member you'd like to be. An Adult's Blue Sgt. Pepper Beatles Costume Jacket will get you in the spirit really fast. Wear it to the office Christmas party and see who gets asked to pose in the most photos this year!

Love is a 2006 theatrical production by Cirque du Soleil which combines the re-produced and re-imagined music of The Beatles with an interpretive, circus-based artistic and athletic stage performance. The show can be seen at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.



The Beatles Come to Town: The Fab Four themselves 1963

Don't let this current Beatles Revolution pass you by. Get on the bandwagon with a Beatles T-Shirt, a vintage design or any one of the new designer models.

BlackBird, Take These Broken Wings & Learn to Fly by Hannah23_11

See more Beatles T-Shirts

Tis the season of the Apple iPad, Is yours covered?

Are you giving an iPad as a gift this Christmas? Do you have a new one or know someone who's all excited about their iPad?! I hear that Oprah adores hers.

I know that when I got my iPhone I got a case for it the same day. I wanted to keep it as protected as possible.

Zebra iPad Folio Case

There are so many  cases available now for the iPad. You don't have to limit yourself to one. Is there a holiday case for this time of year? Each bridesmaid has a case at wedding-time? Wow!

Wrap one up as a Secret Santa gift. Hide a fancy, funny, funky new iPad case under someone's plate at Christmas dinner? Have you seen some of these things? :)

Cow Print iPad Sleeve

For animal lovers there's no end to the choice cases. Silly, sentimental, naughty or nice, designers are coming up with the most clever things.

Pandas are so cute and penguins cannot be beat. These are just a tiny sampling of the animals represented on cool designer iPad cases. I can't help but bring in one for the 2010 World Series Champs, the San Francisco Giants. Fear the Beard! They were also the 2012 World Series Champs in a Big Sweep!

SF Baseball iWin iPad Sleeve Black and Orange Giants

Head over to Zazzle where the iPad cases are more than abundant and you can find the Ghostly Crooked Gargoyle!  

1900s Craftsman House light fixture Computer Sleeve 
Create your own from scratch online at zazzle

1900s Craftsman House light fixtures Postage, Phone, Tablet Cases 

If lovely old Victorian/Craftsman Milk Glass pendant lights aren't your style, perhaps you're going through a rough patch. Or you'd check in to take a peek at The Back Side of Him (A detail of a statue). Special people require special individualized iPad cases.

Zazzle allows you to personalize your cases. Say what you want, identify yours if you're getting more than one for your group. The cases at Zazzle are both protective and chic. Make it loverly.

Finally don't forget as many of us are traveling to see relatives this time of year, between the stress of the flying & airports and the family drama, we're visiting because we need to stay in touch. (Sometimes it can be a little lonely without the nuts.) 

Many of these are available as iPhone covers. Your friends may see them and want one, too!

Recycling Joy at Christmastime, Re-Gifting Love for the Holidays

Let everyone know that you're going to be Re-Gifting Love this Season.

Will you Recycle Love? Recycle Joy? Try it. You might like it.

Recycling is important all year long. Regifting is a popular topic particularly at this time of year.

It may be a hot topic of whispered conversation after a wedding, graduation or birthday, too.

I looked at the theories of recycling and regifting a little differently. Why not regift the good emotions, the goodness that people show to us? You can wear a shirt that expresses your intention to Regift Love this Season.

Change the wording as you choose. Re-Gift Laughter, Hugs, Joy, Patience, Tolerance. Be calm. Let the other guy have that parking space.

Choose your spelling of the infamous term, Re-Gift or Regift? Zazzle lets you amend the text as you like.

If it's all too much and you want to start small, there are little I'll be Re-Gifting Love pin-back buttons that you'll also find at our Zazzle shop. Maybe we could start by regifting, recycling smiles? Good place to start any time of year.

Pin it on Danny, Partridge Family, Tuesday Flashback Feature

This is part of my Tuesday Flashback Feature series. We reminisce about classic TV shows usually from the 1950s-1970s where gemstones or pieces of jewelry featured prominently in the storylines.

Pin it on Danny

The Partridge Family

March 16, 1974

It's Shirley's (Shirley Jones) birthday and Danny (Danny Bonaduce) gives his mother a pretty jeweled brooch for a present. She loves it and doesn't know that Danny didn't buy her this brooch. He found it.

Soon after, there's an ad in the paper where someone is looking for for a lost brooch and offering a reward for its return. Danny knows it's the same pin that he just gave his mom.

available at Shoediva on Etsy. Link below

He confides in his brother and sister, Keith (David Cassidy) & Laurie (Susan Dey). Danny will return the brooch to its rightful owner and use the reward money to buy his mother an identical looking brooch. He'll do this switch while Shirley isn't looking. Will he try to request that a similar piece be made via the Alchemy program on Etsy? That would be really, really amazing.

I'll go out on a television limb here. The ending is secret for now but maybe predictable if you look back into the similar plots on other programs?

What happened with Mary Ellen Walton when she found a ring? Not the same but in the same ballpark.

Each Tuesday, we feature a different show, often a US sitcom. Information, including spoiler plot outlines come from various sources. Sometimes the whole plot is revealed, sometimes not.

Particularly when the episode hasn't been viewed personally recently, information is as accurate as possible. When available, a show photo will be included. Brooch by MegHannan on Etsy, link below.


I'm always interested to hear your memories and will often include links so you can get DVDs of the shows. In the interest of supporting fellow artists, I'll be featuring a few shops where the items tie into the general theme of the featured story.

The show's Complete Fourth Season, in which this episode appears, is available on DVD on Amazon.

The song in the show is "I wanna be with you." One of the biggest hits David Cassidy and The Partridge Family had was "I think I love you."

I Think I Love You is available on MP3. I also found I Think I Love You (In The Style Of 'The Partridge Family'), the karaoke version which is such a hoot. Quilt by Pwackets on Etsy, link below.

Please Note: Some of the items have sold out, some of the shops have since closed.

If Danny wanted to shop on Etsy today, he'd have fun as would all of the Partridge Family. 

The Partridge's LP, Up to Date is available on audio CD or MP3. See above. The original album cover appears to show the cast members' birth dates.

On your next trip, you should be able to spot your bag on the carousel if you have the Partridge Family inspired Suitcase.

Let your personality come out in your home with the handprinted partridge family cushion created by Helkatdesign.

I saw a pretty Mod Poppy and Partridge Art Quilt waiting for you. Where? Okay, since you asked... You'll find it at Pwackets' Shop.

Shirley would have been delighted with a brooch by MegHannan. From description, "Using processes of my own invention, I create colorful, lightweight, original jewelry out of fabric and fibers." Image above is of the Papaya Heart Pin.

Seeing the albums on Etsy gets me thinking. All that cool cover art is out there... A lot of it is at our place. We're trying to figure out what to do with our large collection of LPs. Time for downsizing. Ending with some positive energy for all.

Hello, world, hear the song that we're singin',
Come on, get happy!
A whole lot of lovin' is what we'll be bringin',
We'll make you happy!
We had a dream we'd go travelin' together,
And spread a little lovin' then we'd keep movin' on.
Somethin' always happens whenever we're together,
We get a happy feelin' when we're singin' a song.
Travelin' along there's a song that we're singin',
Come on, get happy!
A whole lot of lovin' is what we'll be bringin',
We'll make you happy!
We'll make you happy!
We'll make you happy!

First image from fanpop

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Pipe Cleaner Art: Look at those Chenille Stems, Contemporary meets vintage

The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art in California regularly offers diverse and interesting art at their gallery. One of the current shows is Ted Fullwood: Energy Machines. This is an exhibition of the artist's sculptural fiber works created from basket woven chenille stems - also known as pipe cleaners.

Please note: Some of the items listed may be sold out, shows ended and shops may be out of business. When updated, a link will be placed here. :)

In the spirit of celebrating artists, particularly those working in what might be seen as less conventional materials, I went on Etsy looking at what other pipe cleaner art is out there. Hold onto your chenille horses. Please note: Some of the Etsy art and vintage pieces may have already sold out.

Would your home sparkle with your unique personality with the addition of AMPUTHEATRE: Hazmat Gaming Figure from ChenilleMacabre?

Alex Pipe Cleaner Vase Try some pipe cleaner art yourself, a project with your kids! Learn to create a vase and flowers to place inside, too.

Alex Toys Giant Pipe Cleaner Party Craft Kit 120 assorted pipe cleaners - fluffy, poufy and striped Curl, twirl and twist Lots of project ideas included. For that birthday party activity, rainy day play date or video you planned to make for YouTube?

Fuzzington also offers a variety of pipe cleaner pieces such as the Star Wars mini-Yoda. Someone will love this. Fuzzy Yoda comes with a handmade removable fuzzy light saber and a cute little pendant charm.

Pipecleanerpeople offer Jesus vs Satan pipecleaner guys set Jesus beating up on Satan.

Walk on over to see Whimsyflip's Panting pooch. "The difference is this dog has a muzzle which you can open and close! It's ideal for holding small notes, place names at dinner parties, or reminders."

Beckykazana has a unique Bride and Maids Wedding Shower Mobile. She creates original chenille pipe cleaner figures, known as the Pipettes. A while back, I did a short post about her shop.

Ever considered Wish Sister dolls with teddy bears? Visit Wishwithme to view these sweet pipe cleaner dolls.

A vintage glitter baby fairy angel cherub is available in RomanceCatsAndWhimsy's shop.

Three little love pixies by Gigiandmehandmade are made from vintage Valentine's day cards and new and vintage pipe cleaners and embellishments.

Abundantcuriosities has a swell 1950s Hallmark vintage birthday card featuring a rabbit with pipe cleaner ears

The large bendable tree armature with stand at Naturesadornments also caught my eye. Use a little tree like this for display or crafting. From the description, "Give a girl a Tree Armature and she makes one tree. Teach a girl to make a Tree Armature and she makes many trees."

California artist Lauren Ryan creates amazingly life-like sculptures with chenille stems

Want more pipe cleaners to wear and show off? VintageHaven had a Pipe Cleaner Hat, made out of what appears to be one never ending pipe cleaner. There is a 1 1/2" grosgrain ribbon. The label reads "Lucila Mendez, exclusive New York." Consider a look such as this for your next vintage or 60s party. If it's a pink Awareness Event, this will get you noticed and photographed, too.

How about a pretty cream vintage hairpiece made of looped pipe cleaners?? it has a floral silk design with ruffled edges in the center secured with pins with pearls on the tip. Dakotasvintage has this sweet item.

Okay, maybe now you're anxious to start trying your hand at some chenille stem creations of your own. Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects by Salley Mavor may help get you started. "Learn to create your own tiny figures and accessories by hand, using wool felt, chenille stems, simple embellishments, and Salley's new step-by-step guide." The book can be found at Lizziboo's Shop.

Chenille Kraft Pipe Cleaner Art contains over 350 projects. Time2consign can get you this vintage softcover book. (below)

Finally, I found an item that doesn't necessarily fit into this category, but here it is anyway. It is a Hand Carved Bone Violin "Very unique hand-carved bone pipe cleaner in the shape of a fiddle or violin. The piece measures 2-1/2" long and has wonderful detailing on both the front and back. Four tools fold out from the violin to assist in cleaning a pipe." Visit KathysSewingRoom to see this piece.

(Who wants to be the one with the dirty pipe?) 

From the gallery's site: "View these great pics of The Feb 5th Opening Reception. Gallery visitors had loads of fun making art with pipe cleaners in our Lounge. Come by the gallery during Ted's show and make your own pipe cleaner art!"

So as you sit there bending and unbending those paperclips or coffee stirrers, consider the wonderful world of pipe cleaners. Who knows what you might create?

Photo: Big Inch Pipeline under construction,Man cleaning pipe,inside,1942,PA,welders

Fullwood sculpture image from the artist's Flickr site, link above 

Please note that this week's Tuesday Flashback Feature has been postponed
Images, info and text used by permission

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