Inspirations

All posts in the Inspirations category

Music I Heart: Azam Ali, Niyaz, Vas

Published September 21, 2012 by kurolace

I listen to a fairly wide range of music, and for a long time I’ve had an interest in middle eastern music. A few years ago I had the good fortune to stumble upon an album on iTunes by a Persian group called Niyaz. The self-titled album stayed in my car’s stereo for AGES because I loved it so much. It falls into the dance genre, I would think. (wikipedia says: “Niyaz’s music, described as “mystical music with a modern edge”, is primarily a blend of Sufi mysticism and trance electronica”)

Anyways… Niyaz’s female vocalist is Azam Ali, who also happens to have several solo albums as well as having been part of another group called Vas. Vas falls more into the “alternative world music” genre according to wikipedia, and the music usually features instruments like the tabla, goblet drum, dulcimer, and tambura (sorta like a sitar).

I found a video on YouTube with one of my favorite Vas songs, “The Reaper and the Flowers.”

 

And a Niyaz song from their first album:

 

I suppose it should come as no surprise that I used to take middle eastern dance classes… for about 2 years I was into it pretty heavily. Unfortunately there was a car accident, and a back injury, which took me a long time to get over. And since then I haven’t been able to get myself back into it…maybe someday in the future 🙂

Into the Abyss

Published August 29, 2012 by kurolace

Here’s a picture I made while playing around in my trial version of corel painter…. I tried to base it off a dream I had, but didn’t do so well…. Anyways, it was fun to play with though 🙂 …. I wish I could afford corel painter, I’ll be sad when my trial expires. Its a lot easier for me to use my tablet with than photoshop for some reason, and I find the brush tools to make more sense in corel.

As for the dream…. I’m prone to some really detailed and strange dreams. Not to mention the waking terrors that I suffer on a regular basis (I’m narcoleptic, btw…. and “waking terrors” or hypnagogia hallucinations / OBE / Sleep paralysis type sh*t is daily/nightly occurrence)…. This was a full on dream (not a hypnagogia one), but extremely detailed and stuck with me for a long time. In it, I guess I was on something similar to the astral plane…. except that I was locating “the origin of my soul”. Mine just happened to be out in the middle of the ocean, where all of the world’s energy was being sucked back down into the earth to be recycled (just like the tectonic plates, I guess). I had to stand facing the submersion zone, and watch all of the energy rushing past me and down into a black depth. In addition to the horrible pitch black, I was struck by a terrible silence.

The drawing is definitely off because its more of a birds-eye-view, as I couldn’t seem to draw it from the perspective I had in my dream, I suppose that’s because I wasn’t really “standing” (even though I just said I was), but more like just “being” in a particular location. I was aware of what was both in front of me, as well as what was behind me.

 

If a person were in this picture, they’d be a tiny speck 🙂

Found and Want: Amazing Romantic Victorian-ish Liz Claiborne Shoes

Published July 17, 2012 by kurolace

I’ve been browsing ebay tonight, and I came across these amazing shoes:

I don’t know if these are really called “Cinderella” or not, or if the embellishments were added… all I know is, I wish I could wear them!

Sadly, they are a size 5.  And I wear a size 8-9. Ugh!

I suppose that perhaps if I were really clever, I could figure out how to make some shoes similar to them…. but I don’t know if I am that clever (or could find the piece for it).

One thing I love is the heel… I can’t do really high heels, so whenever I see something like this with a lower (and substantial) heel, I feel like I’ve struck gold – except of course when they’re the wrong size.

Needless to say, if you know where to find a larger size of these… let me know! Lol…

Attack of the Kittens!

Published July 11, 2012 by kurolace

Lately, my time has been consumed by two things: figuring out my embroidery machine…. and taking care of four foster kittens. We’ve had them for 2 weeks – actually today they went for a weigh-in at the humane society’s foster center. The way it works is, we take care of them until they weigh enough to be spay/neutered, and then they’ll be put up for adoption.

Lemme tell you… kittens are hard to photograph. They only stay still while eating and sleeping… lol. They sleep downstairs in our spare bathroom, so I don’t really have the chance to photograph them in there (as soon as you open the door to the bathroom, they are ready to get out!). It might be hard to tell in the photos, but these kitties are small enough to pick up one-handed. 🙂

One of the kittens, Brook, playing on my bed.

Brenna on the loveseat. She’s the most independent and adventurous one. She never wants to go back into the “Kitten Room” (our downstairs bathroom).

Apparently, back when my parents moved into this house, the downstairs bathroom was carpeted (WTF?), so the door has a gap under it…. which kittens can fit through. Thus, we use a piece of cardboard to help close the gap (only effective when the door is closed, of course).

Our adult cat, Zsa Zsa, is none too pleased with the kittens being here. So we have to try to keep them separate. A few days ago Zsa Zsa got really sick… she’s had a fever and wasn’t eating. My parents took her to the vet and he gave her a shot of antibiotics and a vit D shot (“to peak her appetite)… but it wasn’t until today she started eating again. We don’t think it was the kittens that made her sick …. since they haven’t really been in contact…. actually my mom says she thinks maybe Zsa Zsa ate a roach or something like that.

I’ve been thinking I should collect some videos… and then make a little collage…  We’ll see if I get round to it!

New Embroidery Machine

Published June 28, 2012 by kurolace

This cat arrived packed perfectly – complete with Styrofoam bumpers. 😛

Hello 🙂 …

I’m afraid I’ve been absent for a while, haven’t I? Worry not, sweetlings, I still exist! Its just that the summer heat has hit in full here… and I am busy wilting most of the day 😛

Its been a bit over a week since my 25th birthday… which was back on the 15th. I feel so old saying that… What ever happened to 20? or 17 for that matter? …. Well, besides thinking depressing thoughts about how my life isn’t nearly what I hoped it would be by 25… I did have a nice day. We didn’t make much of a big deal out of it. My mom baked a delicious pineapple-upside-down cake, and we went out to a Japanese restaurant for sushi. Seeing as I don’t really have many friends here in my hometown, I didn’t do anything besides hang out with my family.  This year I completely failed to think of gifts that people could give me, so I ended up with all monetary gifts, which was just fine by me. After a lot of consideration, I finally decided to buy an embroidery machine.

Actually its a sewing-embroidery combo machine. The Brother SE-400. It only can do small (4x4in) embroidery, but that’s fine. The larger machines are significantly more expensive (like $2,000 plus), so I figured I’d start small and see if I even like machine embroidery enough to someday invest in a larger machine. So far I haven’t had much luck with using the machine… I am completely new to machine embroidery, so I’ve run into my fair share of newbie-errors. Also, accumulating all the necessary accessories has taken some time and an additional few hundred (the machine was $300).

I’ve already indulged in buying some cool goth-y embroidery patterns … so once I finally successfully complete one, I’ll post a few pics!

I’ve also been working on some sewing projects lately, including a tiered skirt and a flannel children’s blanket (shaped like a flower). I went on a bit of a fabric buying splurge and now my room is stuffed with bags of supplies again XD … If only I could have a little studio or craft room!

“Foolish Human, this is MY sewing project”

 

Other exciting news: I’ve finally decided to open an Etsy store! It will have the same name as my blog…. and I ordered some business cards yesterday! 🙂 In the next few days I need to get my act together and photograph some of my items.

 

This morning, in the garden…

Published May 28, 2012 by kurolace

….I met an old friend:

Ever since I was a child, my mother has had these growing in her garden. I always loved the way they look from the side – like some creature with a snout.

… dreamed of eating cherries, just barely out of reach:

(some more pictures from this morning are bellow 😛 )

 

Gemstones – Uses and Meanings

Published April 25, 2012 by kurolace

Oh, hi there….. 😛 Sorry for being absent for almost 2 months. I’ve been kinda busy. In March, one of my cats had to be put to sleep 😦 Well, it wasn’t a surprise… he was 17 years old, diabetic, and also had cancer. He suddenly stopped eating, and after 2 days of no food, he could no longer move around on his own – not even to go the bathroom. So, my parents took him to the vet and did what had to be done…. 😦 RIP Maximilian.

Also I had to sort out my taxes. This is the first year I filed taxes by myself. To make it complicated, I have to do self-employment taxes since I’m technically an independent consultant when it comes to my job. On top of that, one of my former employers (from my time at the university) sent my W-2 to the wrong address, so I had to request another be sent.

Enough excuses… lets get down to business.

Today I want to write a little about gemstones. Attributing meaning to rocks and minerals is an age old practice. The most common place we see this in the modern era is birthstones. Birthstones are commonly used in jewelry. If you make jewelry, designing birthstone-themed pieces can be a good starting point when you are lacking design ideas, or if you’re making a gift for a friend. One thing about birthstones that I find interesting are the wide variety stones you can choose from for each month. Yep – that’s right – there are actually a lot more birth stones assigned to each month than just one….. But the one that you are likely familiar with comes from the English traditions – which was “standardized” in 1912 by the National Association of Jewelers.

What’s Your Birthstone?

Wikipedia has a great chart which lists the birthstones according the month of birth, and there’s also a poem from the middle ages about birthstones. However, its missing some of the Eastern and Ancient birthstones.

Here’s a list combining both ancient and modern birthstones (US standard / popular listed first):

January — Garnet … and: Onyx, Quartz, Beryl, Jet, and Obsidian

February — Amethyst … and: Blue Sapphire, Hyacinth (yellow zircon), Lapis, Aquamarine,

March —  Aquamarine & Bloodstone …and: Diamond, Turquoise, Jade, Jasper, Tourmaline,

April — Diamond … and: Ruby, Red Jasper, Rock Crystal, Carnelian, Coral

May — Emerald … and: Chrysoprase, Golden Topaz, Lapis, Azurite, Agate

June — Pearl, Alexandrite, & Moonstone … and: Cat’s Eye, Crystal, Agate, Aquamarine, Beryl,  Turquoise

July — Ruby …and: Cornelian, Moonstone, Pearl, Green Turquoise, Sapphire

August — Peridot … and: Amber, Sardonyx, Ruby, Jacinth, Topaz, Moonstone

September — Sapphire …and: Pink Jasper, Rhodochrosite, Azurite, Star Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli, Zircon

October — Opal… and: Fire Agate, Agate, Tourmaline, Coral

November — Topaz … and: Cat’s Eye, Citrine, Coral, Garnet, Ruby, Zircon

December — Turquoise … and: Amethyst, Bloodstone, Malachite, Ruby, Tanzanite, Topaz

 

Gemstone Powers – Uses and Meanings

Remember those power bead bracelets? Different colors of stones / beads were attributed specific benefits that they were supposed to grant the wearer. You could often buy them up near the cash register in bookstores or novelty stores… I’m sure you can still find them in some shops (although, it seems to me that the height of their popularity was back in about 1998-2000). The only problem with such bracelets was that there wasn’t always a consistent pattern in regards to which stone bracelet represented what.  Sometimes the meaning was based more on the color of the stone than anything else.

I have an entire book on the subject of gemstones’ beneficial properties and effects. Its called Stone Power, by Dorothee L. Mella…. published back in the 1980s. In it she lists some 48 stones with their uses and meanings. Needless to say, that some of it overlaps and some contradict…. I’m generally of the opinion that things mean / represent whatever you want them to represent. But here are just a few of the more popular associations:

Lapis Lazuli – A spiritual stone, it was associated with power, love, and Universal Truth (Ancient Egypt)

Opal – Commonly believed to open one’s mind to visions, used for prophecy and divination (Greece)… also considered a stone of romance and love

Pearls – Associated with femininity and beauty.

Peridot – Believed to contain the power of the sun, and the ability to cure liver disease, as well as jealous thoughts (Ancient Egypt)

Obsidian – A stone of protection, often found in ancient South American amulets and lucky charms.

Malachite – Thought to ward off negative energies (additionally thought to be able to warn owner of impending danger by breaking in half)

Moonstone – Associated with moon magic… but also used to promote love. Romans associated the stone with Diana.

Emerald – Represents security in love… also thought to strengthen memory and increase intelligence.

Garnet – A protective stone thought to help heal emotional issues and also clear the body of toxins. Increases positivity.

Coral – Thought to destroy negative energy. It was used by the Romans to protect children. Also used to by newlyweds to protect against sterility.

 

Well, that’s all for now, since this post has gotten rather long! Hopefully this has been of some use to someone out there :)… Of course, you can find lots of additional information by looking up specific stones, or by looking into specific traditions (Modern vs. Ancient, Western vs. Eastern). I’m sure there are newer books out there than the one I have (which, btw, was kind of a random handout from my grandmother, lol).

 

Two Ways to Heat-Free Curls

Published March 4, 2012 by kurolace

Hiya! The other day while working, I was also on YouTube browsing through some beauty videos. I came across two really great videos about how to curl your hair without heat. I found both of these ideas really interesting, and although I have yet to try them, I wanted to share them here on my blog. I’m a big fan of “no-heat” or “little heat” hair styles. I personally don’t blow dry my hair unless I absolutely have to, and I prefer to use old-fashioned means for curling my hair (satin rollers are one of my favs!)…

The first video shows you how to use a head band to get curls. I actually went out to the store to buy a suitable head band to try this with… Then when I started trying to use it, I realized that I think my hair is a little too long for this method, so I’ll have to wait until after I cut my hair (which I’m planning to do soon).

The second video uses socks(!). This is genius and one of those “why didn’t I think of that?” sort of things. Actually, I was thinking that instead of socks I might go buy some terry cloth from the fabric store, cut it into strips, double them over and sew them, so that they are a little smaller and easier to take up high on the head. BTW, the girl in this video… I am SO jealous of her hair. I wish I could grow my hair out that long and have it look so full.

Well, there you go. 🙂 Hope you find these videos as interesting as I did 😛