I haven’t made any of these cute lil’ guys since the Maker Faire. Since then, I’ve revisited the idea several times, but I really didn’t get a chance until this past week to work on them. I’m very happy with the results: 

 

;

I think I will keep them as super-cute hair clips, and perhaps make a few others as pins.

 

 

I just made a cool looking wool flower last night using both wet and dry felting techniques. I love it! – it will make a nice lapel pin, coursage, hat embellishment, or it would even look cool as a hair clip! There’s so much VOLUME!  Check it:

I’m looking forward to making more of these.

I fought in my 2nd Muay Thai fight! Wow I totally rocked. I can’t wait to do it again.



The picture above was taken between rounds during the fight. I have no idea why I was grinning so big. I guess I *really* felt confident. **shrug**

BTW, that 's one of my instructors in my corner, Neungsiam "The Rock" Samphusri of Fight and Fitness . He's one of the two instructors at my gym that is a former Lumpinee World Champion.

Y’know, lately I’ve been thinking about balancing the cute & fuzzy with the tough & self-sufficient! Next project for myself: soft fuzzy boxing gloves.  Mayhaps with cute lil’ eyes too?  (Now, to make time for a gift for ME.)

As some people familiar with Burning Man may have heard, some jerk committed arson the Man on the Monday before the event. I won’t rant and rave about it here. But I will say that, as a member of the small crew who actually build the Man, I was quite disappointed. :(

Here’s a shot of me as I stand in front of the first Man, the day after he was burnt down.



But, as always in the insanely creative and driven people of my community, we weren’t going to let a little arson get us down.

People from across the playa immediate came to us aking what they could do to help. And help they did! Working with several dozen incredibly talented and dedicated volunteers (the vast majority from the DPW), we were able to rebuild a new Man on site from scratch. Not only that, but what typically takes 2-3 weeks to accomplish, we were able to achieve in less than 3 days. WOW.

I felt a greater connection to the Man burn than in any of my previous years. I have no doubt that this was the result of all the blood, sweat and tears we poured into building The Man (twice).

 

What a fantastic experience. :)

 

Just like the title says folks. The store will be off line until I return.

 Thanks for your patience!

The Prepare for the Playa event went well on July 22nd. I mostly only took my dreads with me, but I did include some critters from NifNaks as well as my new Tentacle Scarf.

Lots of people were interested in the process of installing dreads. I think most grasped the idea, when I showed them closely on the mannequin head, how to braid them in. I'm so very glad I made the investment in picking her up. :)

I have a feeling the next on August 12th will be insanely pack with folks furious to get late minute playa gear. Stop by if you want to see my beautiful dreads in person! (I can even do a quick demo on how to install your own dreads!)

I just recently installed a full set of double-ended dreads to a blue wig I had purchased. I wanted to do this to show people what it would look like for a full set of dreads, being that I have an undercut, so the "full effect" is lessened by my lack of hair.

 

 

 After I installed the dreads to the wig, however, I realized that if someone *really* wanted to, they could do this themselves, instead of attach the dreadlocks to their own "real" hair. This way, a fabulous head of dreads is available in a matter of seconds and can be taken off at any time. :)

 

I just spent some time takingvery clear instructions on how to install double-ended dreadlocks. I used contrasting colors, so you can see it clearly. You can download a PDF of the file HERE .

Hawaii was filled with strange creatures. This little guy in particular inspired me to experiment with some new NifNak critters….. check out his feet!

 

(Too bad you can’t see him! ;)

I just want to put out a quick note letting y’all know how much One Inch Round , a local business in Alameda, completely rocks my socks. I called them for a last-minute rushed job for some buttons I wanted for NifNaks to give away at the Maker Faire.

The folks there were completely personable and friendly and made sure I got my order in time for the show - even though I asked for a quicker turn-around than they normally do. Did I mention they even gave me a call, to find out if I wanted my web address on the inside/back of the button or the front?? (Again, they ROCK.)

AND the buttons turned out fantastic!