Lost: Frame #9 Gets Posh

The third clue has been posted for Frame #9 on damoncarltonandapolarbear.com!  We're closer to another art poster reveal to commemorate Lost, one of the best shows ever on television!

This is so exciting!

'88 Keys', who's album cover 'The Death of Adam' was revealed in the first clue, is a big fan of Ralph Lauren clothing, who use the Polo Player logo as part of the clothing brand.  He enjoys the lifestyle so much, they have a blog called "I Heart My Polo Lifestyle".  

I've just subscribed to the blog to catch the clue as soon as possible.  Oooh boy!

Cassandra's Gonna Wear: Outfit #3

So what did I wear to work today?  Sometimes going through your closet and finding stuff you hadn't worn in a while can be a 'new infusion' to what you wear everyday.  That's what happened today!

Here's the outfit:

• Purple shirtdress, Stiches.  It's a ridiculous purple/pink colour.  It's bright and a few shades away from being offensive.  It really can't be worn on its own; it's tooo short.  I hadn't worn it in a while because you really need to be 'in the right mood' to wear colours like these.  I've been feeling that 'purple haze' lately ... being a good thing!
• Black tank top, Giant Tiger.  I keep a stock of black and white tank tops and tend to wear them instead of camisoles.  I'm running around the store in top speed most of the time, so I'd rather something that'll form to my body instead of some slinky material that'll swish around.
• Grey pants, Value Village purchase; Suzy Sheir.  I take some pride in these pants.  As a short person (5'2), I extremely dislike shopping for pants.  I am always ready to spend an extra $15-$30 to have them hemmed, after which the fit and style of the pants are almost completely wrong.  Sure, there are some petite sections and store I can shop at, but they don't fall right - especially if I wear heels.  These pants I purchased because they fit perfectly around the waist as a underwear-covering low-rise.  They're a wide leg with a front seam, which have always been a favourite style of mine, with enough flare to fall at just the right fit when hemmed.  And I hemmed them myself!  I've decided to learn how to hem pants myself to save some serious money, and practice on my thrift store purchases.  Success!
• Black leather obi belt, Le Chateau.  I think I originally purchased this belt for a samurai costume for Halloween one year, and it was on sale, that I certainly remember.  This is one of my favourite belts that I've been able to wear with so many different things.
• Black leather headband from a dollar store, my favourite black flats, black Dickies watch, my 'Hearts for Adia' and seahorse necklaces, and everyday bangles!
• Dead Like Me necklace, no. 1, Design by Cassandra.  I had also dubbed this necklace 'RIP Mr. Frog.'  I had made this necklace in a slew of television-themed necklaces I had made, this one inspired by the show Dead Like Me, about a young girl named George who experiences an unusual death, only to be stuck on Earth working as a grim reaper.  Still amongst the living, yet undead herself, she experiences puberty and the pains of growing up while dealing with the tragedy of death, with hilarious results!  George has a pet frog in the show, and the show is introduced with a story of Frog and Toad taking care of the Jar of Death.  Click here to check out these necklaces in their full glory - and where the frog inspiration came from in the first place!
  
• Black onyx dangle earrings, Design by Cassandra.  These earrings, in fact, made from the 'leftovers' of the two Dead Like Me necklaces I had made earlier.

I have a lot of jewelry that I've made and haven't worn yet, so I'm excited to incorporate more into my fall outfits.  Fall is a great time to wear jewelry, especially with all those pashmina scarves and v-neck sweaters to wear!  'Layer & Sweater Season' is here!

Michael Jackson's Neverland in Architectural Digest

Since Michael's death, I had wanted to make a tribute piece of wearable art, but wanted to portray less of the entertainer, more of the artist.  (There is a difference between the two!)  So, when I saw this magazine at the corner store while buying some milk, I took it as a message.

Inside the November issue of Architectural Digest is a photo essay and design information of Michael's home, Neverland Ranch.  The article features pictures intimate pictures of the atmosphere that Michael had kept from the previous owners, with his own touches of everything childhood kitsch to baroque garishness.  Not just the house, but the grounds with their water features, sculptures, gardens and installations are featured in a beautiful panoramic view of the grounds.  The article talks about Michael's choice of furnishings, as well as his decision to keep all the original furnishings from the former owners of the ranch.

Interior design can tell a lot about a person, without reading into coded personality traits on choice of colour.  Everything from personal habits to personal beliefs, preferred reading to furniture arrangement can show a person, once welcomed into the home, what kind of personal life they lead.  From these pages, I saw a man who wished for a private, normal life; simplicity, whimsicality, pancakes-in-the-morning kind of day with cartoons after school when the kids come home.  A lot of the artwork he has purchased is featured around the house, but don't stick out like expensive sore thumbs.  It's a charming home, seemingly meant for the durability of family life.  A nice look into the life of a man who gave us so much.

If you enjoy interior design at any level, I'd recommend picking up this issue from your local magazine vendor, and not just for Neverland - there are features of beautiful houseboats, Manhattan apartments, and Los Angeles ranches that are striking in colour, texture and arrangement.  A great alternative design process for jewelry makers, scrapbook and layout artists and clothing designers!

The average cost of the magazine is $10 off the shelf.  Check out the website for subscription options!  I'll be pouring over this issue imagining my dream house that floats ...

Just Ice Jewelry Giveaway, Hosted by KiddiesCorner Deals! (CLOSED)

KiddiesCorner Deals is hosting a giveaway with a pottery shard necklace from Just Ice Jewelry on Etsy!

The first step in entering is to visit the shop at justicejewelry.etsy.com and post a comment which is your favourite piece in the shop, and I had chosen the Water Lotus necklace.

What's your favourite?  Visit justicejewelry.etsy.com to pick your favourite, and visit KiddiesCorner Deals to enter the giveaway!  Winner will be announced on October 26.  (It's the day after my birthday, so I hope I win - it'll be a great surprise!)

Good luck!

An Early Birthday Present!

While at Thanksgiving dinner at the Wilson residence, my 'third' family, Jenna was too excited about my birthday present and wanted to give it to me early.  My birthday isn't until October 25, but she insisted.

Jenna's a pretty crafty person herself, and enjoys scrapbooking the most.  She's an avid traveller, from San Francisco to England to Turkey, and has almost every vacation documented in beautiful keepsake albums.  She took that talent to the gift bag!  I gotta figure out where I can keep this safe ...

 

I found a shipping box from Apple in the bag, getting a little nervous/excited ...

 

 

 

And I couldn't believe my eyes!  Jenna had made a custom 2010 calendar with our New York City pictures!  She has most of the originals in colour and had used those, with a few of her own in previous trips, to make this awesome calendar!

She used templates from the iPhoto program on her Mac laptop, starting with her own.  She had so much fun making her own calendar she made one for me intending to be a Christmas present, but couldn't wait that long.  She instead gave it to me for my birthday, but couldn't even wait until then!

 

If you have a Mac computer, you can do this, too!  You can make photo albums, greeting cards, calendars and more right from the iPhoto program - using any pictures from your photo library!  I've already got a couple of portfolio books on the go, but keep editing them with all the new stuff I'm making.  It's great to see an example of a finished product, which is certainly impressive.

I couldn't wait to open it up and see what pictures she used.  What an amazing present!  Thanks very much, Jenna!

Photography: A Thanksgiving Nature Walk

Nick and I were invited to my best friend Graham's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  It was a really nice day on Sunday, so we took advantage of it and took a 'nature walk' with our cameras and took some pictures of the foliage before the green disappeared entirely.  The location is in the Heart Lake Conservation Area in Brampton, Ontario.

Enjoy!

 

 

Lost: More Clues for Frame #9

Another picture clue has been posted on damoncarltonandapolarbear.com for the URL reveal of Frame #9, the latest art poster to be released from the creators of Lost.

From a few guesses from the last clue given, those who guessed that Apple Computers had their hand in this weren't far off, according to this clue:

My guess, because I know these things - it's a podcast, accessible through iTunes.  This microphone, a Shure USB podcast large diaphragm condenser mic, is what I sell the most of at my day job, other than the Apex model, when it comes to folks doing web broadcasts from home or studio.  I'm almost ready to put my money on that.

What podcast?  I don't know - it would make sense if it were the Official Lost Podcast, unless the last clue will give us the actual podcast address.

*Editorial update!

We've come to discover that the first clue is part of an album cover by a band called '88 Keys', entitled The Death of Adam.  This is the cover in its entirety. 

The question is now whether if this will be a podcast by the band, or if the subject matter of the album name and cover have anything to do with subject matter in regards to Adam and Eve found in the caves, with the white and black rocks?

We'll see what happens!  Stay tuned to damoncarltonandapolarbear.com to see what's in store!

A New Jewelry Set & A Coat Gets A Button-Lift!

A special weekend - it's Canadian Thanksgiving!  I make reference to 'Canadian' because I believe we celebrate it about a month earlier.  Much to be thankful for, especially for the turkey dinner at my friend Graham's house, so just a quick Make n' Tell weekend, really.

Day #41 was made while waiting for dinner.  This is a necklace and earring set I had made with flourite chips and silver chain.  The pendant is a piece of chain with a clusters attached, then another jumpring attached to the middle of the chain to fold in half.  I love it.  I fell in love with the translucent colour of these chips and wanted to do something that would bring out that feature.  Any white or silver settings bring out the best in light-coloured gemstones.

 

 

Day #42 is just a simple one, really, to give my hands a bit of a rest.  The calluses from the pliers are really starting to hurt, so I thought I'd start some new sewing calluses ... one little job at a time.  I had replaced the buttons on my favourite fall/winter coat, a three-quarter length single-breasted coat.  It has a removable faux-fur trim collar, but I have that put away with the toques and gloves and scarves in a box somewhere in the basement.  It'll be time to pull those out really soon!

 

These buttons were on the blue peacoat I had recently rebuttoned in September.  I've put these buttons on my favourite green jacket and figure I'd share the love with some more leftovers.

Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for more fantastic stuff from me and my friends on the 365-Day Make n' Tell Challenge!

Designs by Victoria

dbvictoria.blogspot.com

Mrs Gryphon

mrsgryphon.blogspot.com

The Tote Trove

thetotetrove.blogspot.com

Andira Rain Tees Giveaway, Hosted by Natural Mommie! (CLOSED)

Natural Mommie, converting mothers from "eco-weak to eco-chic" is giving a chance to win your choice of t-shirt from Andira Rain Tees, made of 100% organic materials, and designed by children currently living in endangered rainforests.  The purchase of each of these t-shirts puts a tree in these children's hands to plant in replace the deforestation happening around them.  A fantastic effort!

I've chosen this tee, the Rainforest tee.

You can read a fantastic review on Andira's Rain Tees from Natural Mommie and how this company is giving back to the planet and its employees, and to enter the giveaway!  Winner will be drawn on October 19, so act fast!

Thanks to Natural Mommie for supporting a great artistan!

RosaleenDhu Halloween Giveaway, Hosted by Ms. Modern! (CLOSED)

Ms. Modern is hosting a Halloween Giveaway Extravaganza on their blog, and continuing on with the festivities, they've got RosaleenDhu Designs in on the party for a giveaway on the cutest scarf you'll ever see, the Black Kitty Scarf!

This scarf is adorable!  I hope I do win this scarf, and I'd wear it all the time in tribute to my new kitten, Edward.

Visit Ms. Modern for more details on how you could enter for your chance to win, and visit RosaleenDhu Designs on Etsy for more scarf cuteness!