Not Sure Why I Like These, Ready Mechs

I just love these. Maybe it's the fact they are free downloadable toys, or maybe it's just the total cleverness of the whole concept, or maybe it's just the wonderful graphic designs. I'm thinking other uses besides toys. Fun centerpieces for my tables at our monthly game night? Or maybe a cute new gift bag for my next birthday gift. Any ideas? You can find these gems and instructions to download and print at entertainment blog. too cute, k

So Stylish!

Love these adorable pins by french designer Ghislaine Garcin. You can find these and more stylish girls on french blog Les Fleurs. fashion forward as only the french can do, k

Saturday Slideshow Teaser

Slide Show Saturday at Kstyle will feature the wonderful whimsical world of Ann Wood. Stop by, you'll be glad you did. i'ts a bird thing, k

A Little Treat!

Hey Kstylers, here's a little treat to make your day or at the very least get those endomorhpins flowing. What will we think of next. trust me on this one, k

Cleeeever, Magic With Zippers

I have to admit I would have never thought of this but I'm so glad Kate Cusack of Zipper Pins did. These are just beyond creative not to mention a total conversation piece. Check out the large variety of colors available and thank you to Marianne at Heegledab blog for alerting me to these. a zipper never looked so good, k

It's a Dog Thing!

Thank you to Jessica over at Funky Finds for turning me on to these Sock Dog stuffies that I absolutely love and that you can find at Manda's Etsy shop here. Are these too cute or what? I want them all. As you know I can't have a dog right now and I would almost settle for a whole slew of these. k

Out Of My Kiln, Blues and Lavenders

I made the first pair of earrings you see for my friend S whose getting a nice little package today when I see her at Waterboy's swim meet. I'm really liking the colors in these. They look like green jade and black onyx with a splash of gorgeous transparent ocean turquoise blue to set off the solids. They look smashing with some of my beautiful scarves. If you remember my weirdness post I have quite a collection. Also like the pastels which were requested by some of you. Be sure to stay tuned here at kstyle bead central. I have lots more colors and styles to show you. k

Off to waterboy's swim meet now where I will be a timer for the next several hours. We're winding down on swimming. Next we we have districts and then state finals. You'd think we and he might get a rest after that but no, waterboy will soon evolve into golf boy although he would probably play golf in the water if he could. k

Out Of My Kiln, Mosaics

Mosaics are coming out of my kiln at the moment and I have to say these are just so yummy. Will be one of the styles that I will be offering lined in silver of course and eventually gold. Will do these in some other color combinations as well. The golds,browns and greens and the pinks, purples and blues. This bead is one of the most difficult and time consuming that I do. There are over fifty layers of glass VERY carefully placed to create each mosaic layer that you see.

Im going to post a video from You Tube in the next few days of a lampworker making a bead at the torch. I know that many of you aren't really sure how these beads are made or what lampworking exactly is. It won't be me but there are a few videos which are really good and will give you a good idea of what this amazing art form is all about. So stay tuned. Lots more fun beads and lampworking coming your way. k

Simply Art, Flora Bowley

Thank you to Design Milk for steering me in the direction of artist Flora S Bowley. I love her work, especially the vibrant use of color throughout her various themes. The last three works are from her series called New Orleans. Click here to see the rest of works in this amazing group. k

Inspired By Nature, Christine Federighi

I can just see these gorgeous chairs sitting in an entryway or some other focal space in my mountain hideaway perched on the Rogue or McKenzie River. No I don't have such a hideaway yet but we definitely dream about such a space. R is an avid fly fisherman and outdoorsman so it's not such a stretch. But back to the chairs or I should say works of art. They are hand carved from wood and they are the work of sculptor and artist Christine Federighi. You can find more of her unique pieces at her website here. loving these, k

Tiny Teapots, J Klingler

I love these tiny teapots by ceramic artist j klingler. Each one is just a little work of art and I can see creating a space just to show off these tiny gems. I love small replicas of larger things. Something so whimsical and playful about the notion of typically larger items made so beautifully small. k

And be sure to check out the artists's process page for the teapots.. It's fascinating to follow the work from start to finish. k

Alexander McQueen : Fashion Show SS07 Women (Part 2)

Hi everyone, Welcome to stylin Video Sunday. Here is part 2 of Alexander Mcqueen's fabulous haute couture fashion show. It's worth it just for the hats. Absolutely breathtaking. k

Slideshow Saturday

Hi everyone. Thanks so much for dropping by Kstyle yesterday for my first "Leave A Comment Day." I loved seeing some new faces and meeting some new readers. Have some fun ideas for future leave A comment Days so stay tuned.

Now for Slide Show Saturday. Sit back and enjoy the work of Marianne Seiman. You can find out more about this creative line at Mariannes's blog here. k

Leave A Comment Day!

Hi everyone. There's a buzz going around the design community as we speak about the issue of "lurking" versus leaving comments and interacting on our blogs. Bottom line we'd like to hear from you. It wasn't that long ago that blogging was new to me and I'm pretty sure I did my share of lurking before I felt brave enough to leave a comment. Then there was the issue of trying to figure out what I was supposed to do in order to leave a comment. And we won't even mention the "verify your identity scramble word thing". It did take me awhile to sort of figure out what was up in blogland. But now that I have been blogging Kstyle for about 5 months I would really love to hear from my readers who "frequent" but don't really stop in to say hello. I can see from my site statistics that many of you are from interesting places from all over the world. Stop in for a chat. Introduce yourself. You DON'T have to be a blogger or have a password to comment. You can even be anonymous although I'd love to know your names.

Now I know that many of you are very busy people with little time to blog and leave comments on a regular basis so here at K style I am going to have " A Leave A Comment Day" once a month. This way I will know that you're there and enjoying Kstyle but you won't feel that you need to comment all the time. I may ask a question, take a poll, have a fun contest or like today just ask you to say hello.

So HELLO from K. Drop in today and introduce yourself on Kstyle's very first
Leave A Comment Day. looking forward to getting to know you, k

Handcrafted Excellence, Gloria Askin

My friend c's daughter is getting married this summer on 7/07/2007. Wouldn't it be just so fun to design an outfit around one of these gorgeous polymer clay pieces by jewelry designer Gloria Askin. I think they are absolutely stunning and so original. giving this serious thought. k

Note:And don't forget to drop Kstyle this weekend for Slide Show Saturday and new Kstyle feature Stylin Video Sunday. This Sunday I will be showing part 2 of Alexander Mcqueen's Haute Couture Spring Summer Show. If you missed part one just scroll down and take a look. I'ts worth it just for the glorious hats.

Out Of My Kiln & Website Update

Wanted to give you all an update on where I'm at with the Kstyle jewelry website and what's coming out of my kiln these days. So the good news is that I am making progress and the website is coming along. The bad news is that it has been so freezing cold in Ashland and I am talking cold cold that lampworking and the photography involved for the site have been very difficult to do. As in I have even cracked beads just trying to get the bead from the flame to the kiln in one piece. Some of my readers are lampworkers and I'm sure you can relate. I do have a space heater in the garage where I torch but not up to the job in this kind of weather. So I'm hoping to have things up and running by the end of February. Also I am trying different backdrops for beads which is why you see three different photo versions in this post. Which one do you like best? k

And I also want to thank everyone for the kind birthday wishes and for linking me. I had a great day and hearing from all of you made it even more fun. thanks again, k

Saturday Slide Show Teaser

Here's just a little teaser of what's in store this weekend for slide show Saturday. Marianne's work is beyond amazing including both felted and crocheted jewelry and accessories. There are over a hundred pieces in the slide show so drop by Kstyle on Saturday. You are in for a real treat. k

All I Want For My Birthday is a ?????

Yep it is my birthday today and so I thought it would be fun to do a post on designer cakes. But OMG, I had no idea they could be such fabulous works of art. Please, please let me be a cake designer. The first two are from Polly's Cakes, the next three from Cake Nouveau, and the last two from JollyB Bakery. almost too beautiful to eat. k
Birthday note: So you may ask what does k want for her birthday. Well besides a piece of any one of the above cakes I would love, love a link on any one of your delightful blogs. I know many of you have already done just that and thank you because for me it really is the interconnection that makes blogging so much fun. I'm talking design to friends from all over the world. What could be more fun than that except perhaps making even more blogging friends. so if you'd like to "gift" me with a birthday link I would love it, k

Recycled Lovlies!

I tried to make a handbag once out of some leftover dragonfly uphostery material and it just about killed me. I had never lined anything before and well let's just say it was way out of my sewing capabilities. Anyway when I saw these absolutely darling recycled sweater handbags by sassycrafter it almost but not quite made me want to give it another try. They are cute and I do have a lot of sweaters lying about but I think I'm better off sticking to hot molten glass. just don't have the sewing gene, k

Note: I just received an email from Kim Taylor designer of sassy craft bags and here's what she had to say: This sweater bag does NOT need lining! Yay!

You'll need a wool sweater. The best type is 100% wool -- merino works great. Angora is OK too (this fiber comes from goats, I think). Cashmere works well for floppy embellishments like flowers or for tiny handbags, but it never thickens up enough during the shrinking process for use in larger or more structured purses.

Take your sweater and run it twice through the washer using hot water and the heavy duty cycle. This will shrink the sweater and felt it, which allows you to cut it into any shape and not have it unravel. Then plot out the shape for your bag and sew it together. NOTE: If you plan to use wool for the handle, it helps to reinforce it with some topstitched trim -- otherwise the handle will stretch out during the first few months of carrying. I use my leftover scraps to create flower pins that can be worn on the purse or on your shirt. And you can find a couple of her sweater bags right now at her Etsy shop here. happy sewing, k

Henry

Thought I would post a pic of Henry for some of my new blogging pals that might have missed earlier posts and Henry contest. By the way it was Holly who outed Henry and won Kstyle's first official contest. This amazing photo was taken by "waterboy" who was 14 at the time last summer. One of hundreds of photos he took. This was by far the best. We're already starting to think about seeing Henry again soon. He should be fly back into Ashland sometime in the next few months as it starts to warm up and head into Spring. And we'll be waiting at Fish Lake to greet both he and Henrietta with fishing rods baited and at the ready to provide one of many free lunches throughout the season. beyond fun, k

For the Pottery Lover, Susan Ting

I love the figural work of of ceramic artist Susan Ting of Zen Clay. It's just so full of personality and expression. I think I have felt like every single one of her clay characters . I don't think I have ever seen emotion so beautifully and whimsically captured in clay. loving these, k

Good Design Is Everywhere or Should Be

I was browsing through Oprah's latest issue when I saw this darling top. It immediately caught my eye and then upon reading further I saw that it was actually a hospital gown designed for women undergoing chemotherapy and other equally not fun illnesses. The whole line called Spirited Sisters has been created with the idea that you don't have to look like crap even if you feel like crap. I love the idea. Somewhat spendy but what a great gift if you had a friend or family member in need of a major "fashion" pick me up. Lots of other styles and colors in the line. thank you to spirited sisters for thinking of this, k

I've Been Tagged

I've been tagged by Di from Designer's block and so I guess it is my turn to spill. Easy, I have lots of weirdness to share.

1. I am addicted to diet pepsi and so they know me by name at Wendy's where I drive through at least once a day because I'm too lazy to walk in at 7-11.

2.I play majong and poker on a regular basis with"my girls".

3. I am the Imelda Marcos of scarves and I literally own enough to open a store. To keep busy on all those drives to water polo tournaments and swim meets I would knit pretty much a scarf per trip!

4. I would sleep with my laptop if I could.

5. I am an ice skating fanatic. Watch anything and everything related and fantasize about designing costumes for Michelle Quan and Sasha Cohen.

6. My favorite summer pastime right now is feeding Henry the bald eagle we adopted last year. We probably caught over a hundred fish during the course of the summer and Henry pretty much ate every one. Can't wait to see him again in a few months.

Trust me I could go on but I'll save the rest for the next tag.

And let's see I'm tagging

Funky Finds
Design Milk
Oh My Gooshness
Dress Your Nest
Terramia
Monogram Momma

Can't wait to hear "your weirdness"
k

Alexander McQueen : Fashion Show SS07 Women (Part 1)

I could watch fashion runway shows all day and so I thought I would post this outstanding "SS07 Couture" show by Aexander Mcqueen. It is glorious and the detail is just breathtaking. Remember this is not your everyday ready to wear collection but the "haute couture" line which literally means high sewing or high dressmaking . This is part 1 and I will show part 2 next Sunday. In fact I think I just might make it a new Kstyle attraction. So for those of you who happened by Kstyle today welcome to Stylin Video Sunday.you know I'm a total movie buff, k

Slide Show Saturday, Planeta Hilda

It's all about the horses on Kstyle's Saturday Side Show this week and the colorful, whimsical work of Planeta Hilda. Feast your eyes on over 170 photos of planeta's happening horses. They are my favorite and what a great collection they would make for the child in your life. I'm craving color right now and I'm betting some of you are too. enjoy, k

Simply Art, Heather Moore

I absolutely love the blog Skinny Laminx which follows the creative art and illustration of South African artist Heather Moore. The pictures above are from a commission she had, to do a year's worth of horoscope illustrations for Fair Lady magazine. I think they are wonderful. Check out Heather's blog. You can follow her artistic journey on a day to day basis. so fun, k