Christmas Countdown

I am totally unprepared/do not have my head around/ etc the fact that Christmas is only 18 days away - holy smokes - just gave myself a fright writing that! The tree is not up, have not made the Christmas Cake, or anything - nor have I bought a single present. This is not unusual for me - I am always ready for Christmas in early January - see testimonial here.

So I thought in the spirit of all things globe-trotting I would post some Christmas window displays from around the world.......

Printemps in Paris - a three wise men vibe going on via Rolye on Flickr

Macy's via itornot on Flickr

This little snippet about Bergdorf Goodman's windows - love those staircases - very steampunk!

and this handy youtube video with a bit of a walking around the Macy's display in NY.

The kids finish school this Thursday - might have to go on an expedition into Sydney to look at the windows in David Jones and the big Christmas tree in Martin Place (on a cool day! ) better hurry up though - I am running out of time - argh!!!!

UPDATE!

My lovely friend Kylie just told me that Harrods has a Wizard of Oz theme this year.

They have lit up the store in green lights to look like the Emerald City.

The Knightsbridge store has apparently landed on the Wicked Witch of the East.

AND they were selling these limited edition ruby slippers in store. Unsuprisingly - they sold out!

Look what I found

I found the pics I'd saved them down to my computer - but don't know where I got them from - if they are yours please let me know so I can add a link (or if you happen to know please tell me also). All I know was that the woman had needlefelted them as party favours for her daughter's party.

While I was looking for the elusive needlefelted monsters - I came across this - how awesome - it is a converted toddler pusher. I love the inside lining made to look like the brains. You wouldn't want to have an ugly baby though, people might be cruel.

needle felting love

Found this incredible needlefelted "Venus" by Stephanie Metz who lives and works out of San Fransisco. She is a sculptor who works in needlefelted wool. Take a look at her site - she is an artist with a point of view which she communicates so well via her art. I particularly love the "Overbred Animals" series as a commentary on our relationship to the animals that we are bio-engineering for food production. Very thoughtful. Be sure to check out the entire portfolio - especially the figurative studies.

In other surfing - I also found this extremely cute (and highly more achievable) monster - firstly this one from Dawn Schiller of Oddfae (maker of those steampunk Chrono-Seidh that I am so completely in love with). There was another site with awesome one eyed monsters - but I've been looking for it all day - and it has disappeared.

But there are also these bags from Beth Connors from Felting In Fibre-Space.

Journalling

I read many blogs - one of the artists whose work is consistently amazing is Teesha Moore. Her work has been featured in Somerset Studio and several other Stampington publications and she teaches at ArtFest in the US each year. Her work is original, quirky and colourful. She doesn't post on her blog very often but when she does - it's always a treat. Recently she posted several videos on Youtube showing how she makes her 16 page art journals - I learned so much from them and am hanging out for her to post the final part (which is the actual written journal part).
Her journals are made from a 22" x 30" Fabriano Artistico 140lb (300gsm) Hot Pressed Watercolour Paper. For those who actually occupy the same space in the universe that I do - I found it at the Art Supply shop at Hornsby!

Here are part 1 & 2 of the actual journal construction:





Here's how she paints the backgrounds:


Here's how she collages the pages:








And the pen work that she does over the top:








And finally here's a "white journal" that wasn't painted


UPDATE!

Here are the two additional videos from Teesha





Aren't they great tutorials - so wonderful of her to post them on youtube for the rest of us. Be sure to check out her website and particularly her rubber stamps - the Zettiology range and my absolute favourite (as in I'd love to own every single one) The Tattered Circus.

Kaffe Fassett interview

Everyone who reads my blog would know of my fondness for all things Kaffe. Here is an interview on Danish TV (but in English!) the link is here. It should open up in your Windows Media Player - that's what it did for me. Thanks to Jane for posting the link.

Fabric Explorations

Here' a great little snippet from Quarry Books featuring Patti Culea and a mini project from her latest book

Isn't she adorable?

STOP! Where are you going with this?

I know I have a few followers on this blog - not a lot - just a few. Some of you may have landed here because of an interest in dolls, or home design or quilting or felting. One follower is my best friend from high school (hi Gail!) and I know she is not interested in anything remotely crafty or domestic. Case in point - when I got married I had a kitchen tea. Everyone was asked to bring their favourite receipe. She brought a list of favourite restaurants because she makes reservations for dinner. So she's here to keep track of me (and now you've got your licence back (ahem) you will have to drive up the M2 and visit me).
But amongst the thoughts on paint colours and crafty love - you will perhaps have noticed a slight bent towards social justice issues. It may seem incongrous to be talking about pretty things one minute and horrific injustices the next but that's the nature of the world we live in.
I follow a number of blogs - some present a world where life is a continuous Martha Stewart Living event, untouched and unruffled by the crueler considerations of life. But even Martha had a time when life went pear-shaped and she spent time in the clink for corporate indiscretions!
I much prefer blogs that are more balanced and more real. One of the best blogs that walks these two worlds is Tara Bradford's Paris Parfait. In between pictures of vitrines at Galleries Lafayette and Parisian brocantes, Tara packs a punch with intelligent and incisive commentary on US, Middle Eastern and European politics. She calls people, political parties and whole countries out on their less than savoury policies and practices. She refuses to stand idly by and not speak up.
Which brings me to this -
About a year ago the issue of People Trafficking blipped on my radar. People trafficking is modern day slavery. Children, yes, CHILDREN are bought and sold as cheap labour and sex slaves and it happens EVERYWHERE.

Roughly 2 to 4 million people are trafficked in and across borders each year.
Human trafficking is now a leading source of profits for organized crime, together with drugs and weapons, generating an estimated 9.5 billion dollars per year.
The overwhelming majority of those trafficked are women and children.
The average victim is forced to have sex up to 20 times a day.
The CIA calculates that profits from one trafficked woman alone averages around $250,000 USD per year.
Traffickers acquire their victims in a number of ways. Sometimes they are kidnapped outright in one country and taken forcibly to another. Traffickers also entice victims to migrate voluntarily with false promises of well-paying jobs in foreign countries as au pairs, models, dancers, domestic workers, etc. When they arrive at their destination many are placed in physically confining conditions, their travel documents and passports are taken away and both they and their families are threatened if they do not cooperate. Women and girls are forced to work as prostitutes in heavily guarded brothels and strip clubs.
An estimated 1.8 million children are exploited by the commercial human trafficking industry. Children are abducted from rural areas and trafficked into a range of exploitive practices, which include bonded labor, sexual exploitation, marriage, illicit adoptions, and begging.
Young girls, some as young as 12 years old, are forced to work in brothels, massage parlors, prostitution rings, strip clubs, or used to produce pornographic materials.
Children are recruited and trafficked to earn money by begging or selling goods.
Child beggars are sometimes maimed by their captors to generate sympathy and generosity from potential buyers.
Victims are forced to live in confining and unsanitary conditions and are subject to many abuses such as malnutrition, sleep deprivation, emotional abuse, and beatings, lack of healthcare and forced abortions. Many contract STD's and hepatitis A & B and HIV/AIDs.
Children are deprived of basic education and any sort of parental upbringing, and are completely dependent on their captors for food and shelter.
Perhaps it doesn't come as a total shock to some that it happens in Africa and Asia but did you know it also happens in Europe?

And also the US?

So what can be done?
1) get educated - visit the A21 Campaign, the Greyman , Not for Sale or IOM to start to understand the insidious nature of human trafficking and how, when, where and why it happens
2) get political - write to your local, state and federal representatives to put political pressure and resources into policing and prosecuting as well as resourcing for rescue and rehabilitation
3) put your money where your mouth is - provide funding for the groups mentioned above and also buy free trade products that pay a fair days pay to workers and don't use child labour
4) think about prevention - many of the children are sold or lured in by the promise of a better life. Child sponsorship through Compassion or World Vision helps provide children out of the trap of poverty and vulnerability that makes them vulnerable to exploitation.
5) Pray - pushing back the darkness of this world is a spiritual as well as physical activity. One does not replace the other but done in conjunction -it achieves much.

Just don't bury your head in the sand. It has to STOP *

*STOP - Stop Trafficking Of People

Tents for the Homeless Pt 2

I am happy to say that my husband's little initiative to raise some money to buy tents and sleeping bags for the homeless in Sydney's Woolloomooloo area has really taken off. He's raised over $1000 USD through Chip In as well as gathering a boot load of tents and sleeping bags from friends who have donated "in kind". The money is still coming in as others find out about it - but he spent the $1000 last weekend buying 16 sets of tents and -5 degree sleeping bags. It has been really cold in Sydney this week due to a air pressure system coming up from the Antartic - so those extra warm sleeping bags are going to come in handy. This is what he was originally confronted with.
You can see more pics and read about it some more here.

and this clip on YouTube shows the type of tents we bought - little two man jobs that can go up and be taken down quickly. The police turn a bit of a blind eye to the tents so long as they are down by early morning when the rest of the city turns up for work. So next time you see a homeless person - why not wordlessly buy them something to eat or a cup of coffee.
In the meantime, I'd seen this book on someone else's blog - turns out my friend Dale had just finished reading it and has lent it to me. It's a great easy read and a powerful story. Highly recommended.