Inspiring a Hamsa

Jeweled Mosaic Hamsa polymer clay + beading by Melody O'Beau Designs

The thing I love most about blogging is how it can connect you to people you would otherwise never meet. Anita of Melody O'Beau designs is one of those people. We have chatted off and on over the past year or so. I find such inspiration in her work, so I was extremely flattered that she found inspiration for her Hamsa (pictured above) in post that I wrote about my desk shrine.

She created the Hamsa as a housewarming present for a dear friend whose home burned down. This one replaces her hamsa/"Hand of Fatima" that was lost in the fire. You can read about it how Anita incorporated loving touches of her friend's new home in this piece on her blog: http://melobeau.blogspot.com/2011/07/jeweled-mosaic-hamsa-polymer-clay.html

Mokume Gane Sea Tutorial

Love at Sea

I love how the waves crash over the lovers in this art piece that I created based on an antique illustration of  "Manon Lescaut." This is my entry for the Polymer Clay Artist Guild of Etsy monthly challenge. Public voting opens Aug. 1 so I'll keep you posted on that.

I started with a photo copy of the original and colored it using markers, paints, and alcohol inks embedded in liquid polymer  to create a "canvas" that I sculpted into a polymer clay Mokume Gane sea, adding more coats of liquid polymer as well as regular polymer accents to build dimension. A post that I wrote a while ago, Freedom in Mokume Gane,  has some background on this technique used to create the waves.

The technique was so much fun, I decided to create a tutorial to share it. Both the tutorial and the original artwork are available in my shop. If you are interested in either, visit the links in the photo captions.

Mokume Gane Sea

Love at Sea mixed media

Launch of Devilishly Festive

This is one of my latest creative undertakings: an original artwork to serve as banner art for my new blog Devilishly Festive Holidays & Celebrations. Don't worry, Creative Sprinkle will still be a big part of my life, but I needed a new forum to focus on future product lines. The plan is to mix helpful, fun articles and items from other sellers with posts about stuff I've created like wine stoppers, cake toppers, festive jewelry, and holiday decorations.

I've kicked things off this week with Marshmallow Madness Week. Stop by!

Marshmallow Madness Week
Day 1: Better Roasters
Day 2: Candy Turned Eye Candy
Day 3: Beyond Vanilla
Day 4: Specialty S'mores
Day 5: TGIF Cocktails

Midas Touch quest complete

A Great Story Sells Beer

The Conclusion

Last week I told you about my husband's quest for Midas Touch by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery after reading an article about how the specialty beer was based on archeological finds at a 700 B.C. tomb. My father-in-law read that post and joined in on the quest, delivering a 4-pack into my husband's hands.

I'm not a beer drinker, and I try to avoid wheat products as much as possible, but I had to try a sip. Let me say it was a really tasty brew. The depth of  flavor was pretty impressive. While the taste was good, I was more interested in the packaging. Dogfish Head has the branding down.

How a great story sells beer

Midas Touch

The Quest for Midas Touch

My husband has been on a quest ever since he read an article in Smithsonian Magazine about The Beer Archeologist, "Dr. Pat" McGovern.

Dr. Pat, a University of Pennsylvania adjunct professor, analyses the contents of ancient pottery and other archeological finds to shed light on ancient libations. Artisan brewer Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery uses this info to bring long-extinct brews back to life.

Midas Touch is a one of these revived brews based on a libation included in the afterlife celebration in King Midas' 700 B.C. tomb. Now, thanks to a collaboration between the brewer and the architect, and a shopping trip to one of Cairo's oldest markets, you to can enjoy a beer as close to the Midas original as possible. That is if you can manage to track down a bottle of Midas Touch.

Many Dogfish brews are elusive because of the low supply and high demand, add to that the publicity around a great story like this one, and you have the combination for one hard-to-get beer. So for now, the quest continues, and my husband settled for a cold bottle of Dogfish Indian Brown Ale.

Polymer clay challenge: charity edition

Vote for you favorite and purchase one for charity.

Mirrors just beg to be given a little personality through the artful addition of polymer clay. This month the artists at the Polymer Clay Artist Guild of Etsy stepped up to the challenge and created some very clever polymer clay covered mirrors. As with every monthly PCAGOE challenge you can vote for your favorites and be eligible to win a prize. But this month, the challenge is a little different because every item shown is available for sale with the proceeds going to Polymer Clay for a cause.

To find out more visit http://polymerclayartists.blogspot.com/2011/07/july-challenge-mirrors.html. Voting closes Thursday, July 7 so hurry!