Place hair here

For some reason artworks and other things made with human hair totally creep me out, and my husband knows that I squirm even looking at photos of traditional Victorian keepsakes such as locks of hair encased in glass, let alone things like the revolting hair and fingernail (yes, you read that correctly!) doily that was offered on Etsy last year for US $200 ... {seriously, who spends the time making and advertising this sh*t?!}.

.... but over at Regretsy this week April posted about some quite fascinating hair-based jewellery, so delicately crafted I can (almost!) look at it without getting the shivers. Melanie Bilenker illustrates quiet scenes from domestic life by embedding individual strands of her own hair in resin - she's very talented and I'm impressed with both her technical skill and the sheer novelty of her work:

What do you think? Does disembodied hair make you feel a bit icky, or is it just another neutral, natural material with plenty of potential applications?

Mmmm .... carrots on sticks, 1941

'War rationing was a way of life during World War Two, creating a national culture of austerity, but it also sparked ingenuity, such as swapping an ice-cream for a carrot on a stick. 
It was the official wartime substitute for ice-cream, and some British children born just before the war didn’t discover what ice-cream actually was until the fighting had finished and rationing stopped. 
The carrot on a stick was offered as the alternative when supplies ran low, because sugar needed to make ice-cream was one of the first luxuries to be hit on rationing, along with bacon and butter.'

(via Retronaut)

Soul Train

I just found a whole lot of wonderful Soul Train videos on YouTube ...
They're fabulous and I don't know why I haven't seen them sooner!

Bad ads

I've posted some terrible advertising examples in the past; now here are some more gems for your delectation:

Invincible!

Tonight I'm kicking back with Dash and listening to a bunch of old faves ....
I love the way Damian Kulash rocks it out in this video (which reminds me of another crush from my early 20s, Jon Spencer*)





*...  and I always grin at Winona Ryder playing Jon Spencer in this clip - sit back and enjoy if you're a fan of JSBX!

George ballantine's School of American Ballet, 1936

 

(via Retronaut)

The other man in my life

... is only seven weeks old but he knows how to make me smile!

Easy style

I love this outfit - it's so simple but it looks great!

Glamping love

Oh, how I'd love to get away on a little glamping trip somewhere ...
I could re-live my childhood in a Volkswagen Kombi van, or in a vintage Airstream caravan ... or maybe one of these lovely Shelter-Co. tents:

 

... or maybe we could get a little Teardrop:

* sigh!*      Lovely!

(Inspired by Poppytalk's recent post)

War Horse

My mum and sister have offered to buy us tickets to the theatre performance of War Horse - have any of you seen it?

It looks like some pretty amazing puppetry by Handspring Puppet Co.!