Remember me mentioning OWOH?

About a month ago I mentioned OWOH and told you to start preparing yourself... Lisa Oceandreamer, the mother of this event, was thinking this too :-D

New year is beginning

the image: revolving ATC holder from 7gypsies

As always, I'm planning.

I should be making Yule presents to everyone, already now, as I never seem to have enough time to do those in the end of the year. I don't get it, but that's how it is.

I should be making my WOW give-away... and there's other things I'd like to do with this blog too. I want to have a little swap every month, a thing I have made to a thing you have made.

I should start practicing for NaNoWriMo now, so I'm ready when it starts and won't fail next year ;-)

I should finish all the projects I've been planning... like... er... my whole life... or so... *blush*
(Or at least scrap the projects that won't become anything. The world is so inspiring place that there will most certainly be 100 new ideas for every one finished.)

If I'd win 184 millions in lottery, I'd buy myself an apartment in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Turku. Or Tampere. Then I would place the rest so that I can live well with the... er... don't know what that's called in English. Interests? With 4% yearly income I'd get 60.000 cronas a month for the rest of my life.
That's a huge amount of money. I could easily give the state 1/3 of that, and still be rich. Amazing!
And then 10th to charity... 6000 a month is many cows and school books :-)

What to do with a lot of old keys?

I bought a small bowl filled with "things" - among the things were a handful of old keys. Now I have to think what to do with old keys that goes to no lock in our home...


Urbanheirlooms makes wonderful leather wallets and other things with keys as locking mechanism:

Here's an idea with the key as closing mechanism in a journal
Here's another idea, just replace the cinnamon stick with an old key

Amanda uses the keys to embellish among other things lacy cuffs - on could use the key as a button... for example like sugarpickle has done

COGnitivecreations makes wonderful Steampunk jewelry, among others this beautiful Guardian Angel of the Machina

mybrownwren has made this ingenious closing mechanism of an old key (Sweetest Things) :


Here's Greighday Vintage with a bit of the same idea, also nice :-)

VioletBella makes also nice jewelry of old keys. Here's "Autumn Delight"

HappenchanceAndOdd, Dayslonggone, TwirledTreasures, GwenDELICIOUS, HighwaterStudios Nikki's Unique, asecondtime and many others make interesting things with old keys too...

(TwirledTreasures' Unlock My Heart)

Very pretty key-necklace... but I think it's enough with jewelry now :-)

Paula McDonough's very pretty necklace - Paula is TheVenerableBead at Etsy

RedThreadDIY has also asked the question

Now, with less than a month to Yule, I also love the idea of Santa's Key :-) You take an old key, embellish it and write a note on it, so that Santa knows it's your key - Santa's magic will make it open your front door, so that he can come in and leave the presents :-D Blessed be whoever came by the idea :-)
Here's a couple of suggestions to the poem you'll add on the key ;-)

This skeleton key chess set is absolutely amazing... unfortunately the keys I got are rather simple and there's not enough of them...

A couple of thing added later:
Wickwire's key jewelry
Extremely well painted and good dog
prim "skulleton" keys :-D

Nesting dolls

I need some ideas for repainting nesting dolls...
Fireapple at Etsy.com har painted these Alice in Wonderland nesting dolls. Here's another Alice - wonderful that too :-)

These lovely animals are painted by Irina Troitskaya. Her other nesting dolls are just as lovely :-)

These by Sugarskull are interesting... I don't think I could reach up to Irina's level, but this might be something I can do.

Nice pegasus

Savage Artwork's owl's are very beautiful

These owls inspired by nesting dolls - though not nesting - are wonderful. There is some space between the dolls to add some surface structure, and at least some soft decoration that doesn't suffer from being the dolls being put together and taken out of each other again.
On the outest doll one can go wild, of course.

These are also interesting... sounds like nesting doll swap.
Something similar: rainbow collage dolls.
Something similar, but simpler :-)

I am fascinated by the Star Wars nesting dolls...

Here's another idea - White Stripes nesting dolls.

I love these dolls made by Sarah to Rachel

These remind me of Marimekko. Here's another similar solution - I just don't like the "ripped" results.

These bunny dolls are absolutely adorable!
I like this idea of painting the dolls outside the shape... like painting eggs. Here some "Disney Dolls"

Use the doll to illustrate a fairytale... paint them by the characters as they appear in the fairytale - or make Little Red Riding Hood :-) When you open the wolf, out tumble granny and Red :-D

This person says he has the largest collection of matryoshka images.

Love these Trish Grantham dolls :-)
Here's some more by her and Amy Ruppel

Urban Debris' blog entry on matryoshkas and Bluelines' blog entry

Nightmare Before Christmas nesting dolls and Halloween nesting cats and pumpkins

Ben Newman's Monstrous Nesting Dolls and Miss Monster's Nesting dolls
- I love Ben Newman and Miss Monster :-)
Yet another wonderful monster version :-)

One can also make different faces on both sides... here's The Hobbit illustrated :-)

"I discovered something magical: if you stop dressing them up like adorable old Russian ladies, they're just fat people!"
-- Badgercall

Perhaps something Pagan?

Then there's always the kitschy charm of the original, classical, untouched matryoshkas...

P.S. I absolutely ADORE these nesting doll measuring cups... so if there's some lovely, generous person feeling very Christmassy out there... Nah :-D I can get them from CoolStuffExpress myself :-D

It's now less than 40 days until Yule...

and 3 months to OWOH :-) I was going through the 900+ blogs again and aren't we a wonderful bunch of people! So talented, creative, artistic, generous people :-) I got really inspired by everything, and have been planning on what I will give away next year. I hope it will happen 2010 too. :-)


1. handmade crepe paper collar, 2. My free giveaway for OWOH, 3. Follow Your Heart,
4. aromatherapy hearts, 5. One World-One Heart Event going on now, 6. renewal-many hearts coming together giveaway,
7. One World - One Heart Giveaway, 8. Heart Pendants for OWOH, 9. Lace Cake #6- OWOH giveaway

Blog Action Day - reactions

Many didn't post any blog entry, even though they committed to it. I know I have really hard to keep dates and so, so I sat down and wrote my blog entry a week ahead, and just put the publishing date on 15th :-D It isn't too late, you know, even if you didn't participate on the 15th :-)

I have been going through the blogs, especially crafting blogs, and decided to share my thoughts here.

I notice that many are scared by this huge, dangerous and seemingly unstoppable beast threatening the whole planet. Sure, the planet will survive, probably most of the wildlife will survive too, move or adjust themselves to the changed environment, even though some beautiful things will die, like polar bears. The humans might not survive... at least we will be diminished, and the rest... well... let's see which qualities will win, the egotistic bullying "me first" attitude of Mad Max, or the social consideration and taking care of each other - "let's share what we have so that we all might survive" - because I don't want to be alone on this planet. The person I bully today might invent cure for cancer tomorrow... and I don't want him/her to remember me as a bully when my loved one is dying of cancer...
I too am scared, and it feels like I alone cannot do much to change anything. It feels as if the big players are all egotistical bastards and more harm is done with good intentions than not... that it has gone so far it doesn't matter anymore what a single person does... But I want to believe. I want to believe I can be the change. I want to believe that we can turn the development. I want to believe in human might and will to do good.

Craftivism was talking about turning all this into something positive.

Lotus in the Mud was listing things she does to reduce her footprint. I think it would be a good idea to take something from the hundreds of suggestions every month and make it a new habit.

We have a green energy provider, but we could reduce our consumption of energy. Even if you don't "believe" in global warming, you "believe" in reducing the economical costs of your household, don't you? ;->

We kept the Earth Hour, and we did it with vengeance :-D We switch off the power all together in our home. We were sitting in the bed, my husband and I, and read a book aloud in the light of candles. The dog was sleeping on our feet and it was so cosy and sweet.
I am thinking of all the descriptions in Victorian books about some people doing crafts, some entertaining either by reading aloud, playing piano, singing - there might be some popcorn popping and cider drinking, as described in Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Farmer Boy.
It was lovely. We decided to have an Earth Hour - electricity free hour - every week, but it hasn't been done. It is more "fun" (read habit) to sit by the computer and surf :-D (which is what I am doing right now, using electricity, in stead of doing something sane...)
The night made me feel more togetherness with my husband, more sincere affection and reminded me of why I married him :-) It was also fun to read the book. I have a HUGE list of books I want to read, but never get to do that, because I waste time in the internet. ;-)

Here's "how to organize a sewing party"
Here's "Fabric Maverick Says Have a Sewing Party"
It really doesn't need to be sewing party, "stitch and bitch" can be done with any crafts. :-D
You could really combine a book club with crafting party, and have one (the one who doesn't do crafts) read the book out loud, while the rest potters on with their UFOs - or let the book go around, and everyone reads a bit. Audiobook without using electricity ;-)

Learn to use public libraries.
Most of them do subscribe to most magazines, and it's better you go to the library and read the magazine there, take copies of the articles you want to save, or preferably make notes in a notebook or journal you carry along to catch all the good ideas floating around ;-)
Borrow books rather than buy them, borrow paper books rather than audiobooks.

We cannot do much to "insulate and ventilate", but we can keep the house clean, declutter, layer clothes and turn the warmth down. We can use thick curtains to keep the cold out in the winter and the warmth out in the summer. Also, we have the windows open only in the shadow side of the house in the summers and in the nights. We use mosquito nets. Also, we use fans. Those handheld thingies, not the electric ones, and wear what people in hot areas of the world wear - layers of light cotton, to create a portable shadow...

Reduce dishes and laundry
Don't use more dishes than necessary; make one pot dinners, use the same water glass all day long.
Use glass as storage for leftovers. Avoid plastic. (Plastic also has some toxins that will transfer into your food.)
It's better to make too little food than too much. Plan your cooking and take notes, so that you actually are aware of how much is a portion, so there will be no left-overs. This is not only ecologically sane, but economically as well.
Having a set of clothes for work and another for home, and change when you come home
Use sleeve covers, aprons and slippers.
Wash the clothes in 30-40 degrees - they do get clean. Avoid prewash. I doubt anyone has that dirty clothes now-a-days. Avoid overportioning the washing detergent. Find ecological washing detergents.
Wash only full machines dishes and laundry.
Buy things that are home-machine-washable. Preferably ecological fair-trade cotton and other natural fibers. Buy locally produced fibers and make your clothes yourself.

Borrow each others fashion accessories.
(swap, not shop - clothing exchange party)

Start exercising and eat less. Go out in the nature and enjoy it while you can. Walk, walk, walk. Walk and bike as much as you can.
Avoid cars. When you must use a car, try to use a buss or train instead.
Car pool.
Get yourself a shopping bag on wheels and walk to the grocery store, if it's in a couple of miles distance. Get used to walking. It keeps you fit and reduces your carbon footprint ;-)

Plan your grocery shopping and diminish the turns to the grocery store.
Buy as much organic, ecologic, fair trade and local as you can. See if you can exchange the "exotic" stuff for some local ingredients.
Learn to forage.
Have a garden - on a windowsill in some old tin cans, if no other options exist. Every plant eats carbon oxide and produces oxygen. Some of them even eat other gases...
Get a good box freezer and defrost it regularly. Fill it with local ingredients, like the stuff you forage (berries, mushroom) and local farm products.

Plant trees. Play Johnny Appleseed if nothing else.

Crafting a green world reviews the Green Guide for Artists - it matters what you use.
There's the Yarn Carbon Footprint, but it's still very new. What I know is that the carbon footprint of plastic is 6 kg CO/1 kg plastic - and acrylic yarn IS plastic. If it is not locally produced, you have to add the transport footprint as well. The carbon footprint of 1 kg wool is about 300 grams CO.

Here's some more suggestions :-D

The thing is that you WIN if you live sustainably and ecologically! Your life standard will be better, you eat better, you save money, you get fit, you improve your social life and feel better about yourself, because you actually reach your goals and achieve something.

Blog Action Day 2009

What's the worst thing that can happen?


Pretty dang bad...Sure, the economy isn't doing good either, but we can survive without economy, we can't survive without this planet, we can't survive without land to live on, we can't survive without weather conditions that allow agriculture. THAT is the choice you should be making, in stead of HOPING that people are wrong.

Prepare for the worst. The worst is NOT that you cannot take the car to the shop three times a day. The worst is not that you don't have gasoline to drive the car, you don't have the car, you don't have the shop to go to, nor money to buy anything with. The worst is that you don't have a ground to drive the car, and the shop is empty because there just is not enough food for all 6 billion + people living on this planet.
In Soviet Russia the worst problem was not lack of money, but lack of things to buy with money.

Economy has crashed before, and will crash in the future - if there is any future. What the people did in the 30's to survive the Crash, is what they should be doing now.

Listen to this knitting podcast: 66 coupons

Here's some Earth Day crafts. There is a lot of wonderful recycling ideas around the internet, and ideas on how to renew old things. I remember reading horrified about how a woman proudly told a group I used to belong to how she and her siblings emptied their mother's house while she was in hospital, having broken her hip. The mother had been an avid garage sale shopper and owned tons of things she had bought second hand. Her children packed everything into large garbage sacks and sent them to the city dump. She was really proud of herself, and all I could think of was the psychological abuse of throwing away another human being's things without asking or even telling her, and the waste of throwing away usable stuff with the unusable. Sure, it would have taken them a LOT more time, effort and care to go through the stuff WITH the mother, and taking care of things properly, sending the usable stuff to goodwill and sorting the non-usable stuff properly.

Now, one needs to think about that too. Here's an important article to read about the dangers of recycling fanatism... "Recycling... Is Garbage". Living sustainably means that you think BEFORE you stand there with the garbage.

Make yourself a reusable shopping bag. Plastic bags do take more space in the landfill.
Here's a very nice article about how to reduce waste when you do the shopping.
Don't forget to make yourself a dozen or so bags of thin, light netting, so that you can buy your fruits and stuff that needs to be weighed.

Start using cloth diapers and sanitary pads. Frankly, I would go so far as to ask everyone to scrap the damned electric toothbrush. Your teeth will be cleaned well enough with the usual non-electronic thing - which you can use to several other things after it has done its to clean your teeth...

You really should keep an electric diary and note everything electric you use - tv, computer, dishwasher, clockradio, lamps, microwave... what not - and see how you could reduce it, just like you keep book on your economy and try to reduce the waste there. (You don't? You should. You should also keep a food diary where you write how much you eat, and how much does the family eat, and daily food plans, and how to reduce the waste there...)

I would love if everyone had an Earth Hour every day. Take an hour off your surfing today. Read a real book, no electronic version or audio book. Learn a new craft or use the hour to work on your UFOs. Use the hour to unravel the sweater you never use. Play board games with your family and friends. Take a walk in the nature and enjoy it - as long as you can.

If the Moon Appeared Only Once Every Ten Years

There would be moon parades held everyday
for twelve days before that night,
white horses with glass moons clinking
on their bridles, riders in moon-cloud
gowns led by mimes marching and spinning
with gold auras around silver-sequined
moon faces. Moon parties would be in progress
all over town, milky moon drinks, white
chocolate bon bon moons, everyone throwing
foil streamers designed to catch
and reflect the most moonlight possible
in their flying spirals.

Platforms with marble steps and ivory
pedestals would be built on country
hillsides to provide the powerful and wealthy
with the best positions for the longest
viewing, their white porcelain spyglasses
ready to point heavenward.

By law: no artificial light (neon, bulb
or flame) allowed to burn anywhere
during The Hours of the Moon.

Like an ecstatic sailor shouts "Land, land,"
from his gyrating crow’s nest, who might be
the first among the crowds gathered
on the mountaintops to shout, "Moon, moon,"
as the buttery orange rim of that beautiful globe
first appears over the edge of the plains ?
One five-layer creamy moon cake for a prize.

Then squealing children, playing
"Catch the Moon" across open lawns,
would make circles with their arms,
holding them toward the sky to try
to capture that hard sugar button.

I believe, I believe in the medicinal
powers of the moon. Place all the impaired
naked on white blankets to moonbathe
in its healing balm.

No one anywhere would sleep
all night long on that night. And think
how happy you and I would be, lying
on the silver-gray grass, me kissing
your moon-kissed lips, you kissing
my moon-colored ear, and all of us
surrounded, every one of us—all bird
and lizard wings, spiny fish wings,
glass moth and bee wings, every cheetah
fang, siren and salmander eye, sickle
bill and sword bill, all coils
of fiddlehead ferns and wind-tattered
fronds, all grains of gorges, river
spumes and spittles, each slightest
snow flicker of the earth—all of us
together baptized and redeemed as one
in the wash and surf of that rare, now
so properly esteemed, marvelling light.
-- Pattiann Rogers

So much to do, so little to do it with...

I hate being poor. I hate needing to choose. So much things I would love to do, so little to do it with.

About gifts and such

I'm listening to Knit Picks' Podcast about gifts.
Some good ideas: give everyone the same, like socks or hats or scarves or so on.
Also, the "Secret Santa" tradition might be a good idea :-) You put everyone's name in a hat and all pick a name from the hat and gives a gift to that person and no-one else. Everyone gets one gift :-)

A couple of ideas, perhaps?

Blog surfing

Yes, I'm still sick... I don't like this at all. Sick, tired, miserable, in pain... :-(

But there are nice things in life.

Zelicroches presents this basketful of crocheted plenty :-) Very pretty.


Now I have made myself the Norwegian 8 square felted houseslippers. I hate them.
I made myself the Turkish slippers from Simple Crochet. Love the image, hate the slippers.
I suppose I don't like slippers.

I borrowed Rose Embroideries from the library. I love that book... Zeli presents some very beautiful rose cloths she has embroidered (I think - I am not good at Portuguese).

What to do with a toy loom

I have mentioned earlier my toy loom. I found something else to do with it:


This is Beach Bands Bag from Knitting Universe. I think it would be really nice if it was made of woven strips of fabric. :-)

Here's a very nice blog entry on Danba Woven Sashes

Here's a wonderful blog for all doily crocheters :-)

Fishy post

I have been at Picasa lately and found these images there. I don't know who made the original, whose idea it was, whose pattern, but I like the ideas :-) Very colorful and joyous. I think it's good to have some color in life for a while :-)

Someone has dropped something in my laptop's keyboard - it doesn't want to write "l"... I'm slightly p'd off :-( It's MY laptop, my NEW laptop, my BIRTHDAY PRESENT LAPTOP!!!

Yes, I'm a horrible snob!

I was surfing Ravelry, watching what other people have made, leaving groups I haven't been in for months, trying to get my Ravelry life a lot more organized. It's stupid to be a member of over 200 groups, you cannot possibly be active in all of them, and as I host some groups, I hate the lurkers and "number-members" - those who just make me happy of having over 200 members when in reality I have like a dozen. At least pop in every now and then and say "hi, still here, nothing to say"

Anyway - in a group with the intention to show off your work - I thought it would be something extravagant, something amazing, something awesome, jawdropping, to which people react with "WOW!" It is not. People post photos of their 20 stitches first ever fun-fur scarf, which looks more like a ferret skin which is so old it is more mold and holes than skin. Sure, they are proud of their first ever knitting, they are proud of having knitted something, and so they should, so they should... but WHERE IS MY WOW?
In another group about color, people post photos of things that are grey, white, black, marine, beige, brown...
But it's like that all around - knit things in crochet groups and the other way around, single color things in fair isle group, color knitting in single color groups, girls' things in "knitting for boys" group, thin girls in thick girls' group, knitted sweater in crocheted toys group...

Also, I think your baby, dog, cat and chinchilla are all really cute, and I love to read about them in threads, so please share, but they are not craft projects. In "shared projects" I want to see fiber projects, knitted, crocheted, naalbound, tatted, woven, or other such things you do with yarn. Make a hat for your guineapig or show off your delightful baby in the new coat you made for him, if you just must show off your offspring and pets, PLEASE!!!

Also, someone posted a photo of the magazine that published an article about her and her work as a "project". The article was not her project, the magazine was not her project, the photograph used in the cover was not her project, nor was the item in the cover photo... DON'T PUT OTHER PEOPLE'S PROJECTS ON YOUR PROJECT PAGE AS YOURS!
People were commenting and praising the cover item. It wouldn't have taken too much to flip a couple of pages and photograph the page where the article was.
Now, I think it would have been ok to use a photo of the magazine as one of the project photos. Some people put a photo from the magazine or book on their project page to replace the photo of their own project, and that's ok, I think, as long as you mention this very clearly in the description, and intend to replace it with a photo of your own project in the future. Otherwise it's better to leave the project pictureless.

So, yes, I'm a snob and I have an opinion on everything. ;-)
Whine, whine, whine, now I go and get some cheese :-D

I don't get this...

I'm still sick.

------------------------------------

Then to something else:

I watched a video on how to wear your knitted lace shawl.



I'm a bit... well... There really isn't much difference there. Make a sort of triangle of your shawl and wound it around your neck... Eh.
Ok, then there's the granny style, and the granny style where you cross the ends of the shawl triangle in front of your breast, then you can wear it as a sarong/kanga/sari/toga/chiton/stola or any other "one square piece of fabric" dress. You can wear it as tartan shawl, going around your body pinned on one shoulder. You can wear it as a cape or as burka... There really are no limits on what to do with a piece of fabric, even when it's knitted lace.

Added 15.7.-10; from Knitting Club - how to wear a shawl :-)

Huh... all kinds of things one learns...

When I was in school, we were taught an old Finnish technique called "viitelöinti" - or an old Viking craft called "språngning" or "needle ribbon lace" - or "sprang" in English.
Now I read that it's called "ceinture fléchée" or "assomption sash", and that it is a French Canadian tradition...
Really fascinating :-)

I wonder...

if there's a magazine with EVERYTHING I would like to read about... a lifestyle magazine focusing in crafts.

with knitting patterns, crochet patterns, sewing patterns, patchwork stuff and crazy quilting,
embroidery and cross stitch patterns
fashion doll clothes and doll sculpting and doll making
miniatures and dollhouses
paper dolls,
toys of all kinds, knitted, crocheted, sewn, paper toys, wooden toys, mechanic toys,
paper crafts, art journaling, card making, scrapbooking, origami, cardboard sculptures, napkin folding and packaging
recipes and cake decorating
polymer clay sculpting
beading and jewelry making
and then a little something about the more obscure techniques and crafts, like tatting and so...
Something about art, drawing, painting, perhaps a picture one can remove from the magazine and frame...
Then there would be something about houseflowers,
and something about... hmm... how to put it... occult stuff, spiritual stuff, witch stuff...
and something about books, a feuilleton (serial story, a popular novel shortened and published in the magazine in weekly installments) and perhaps readers' own short stories
and weekly tv appendix with special focus on lifestyle... all the food, gardening and decorating programs highlighted and chick-flicks reviewed :-D

Well... yeah, sort of like Martha Stewart (yuk) Living Magazine, but not that.

I'm brilliant

even though I'm sick :-D I know, I know, there's a Finnish saying "oma kehu haisee" - bragging about oneself stinks - but also "kukas se kissan hännän nostaa, jollei kissa itse" - and who will lift the cat's tail, if not the cat itself. There shouldn't be any shame in recognizing and acknowledging my own worth :-)
I would be even more brilliant if I DID something ;-)

I have been surfing the internet and there is this French girl at Picasa, with a lot of romantic pictures and lace and such. She has been making "whitework" on paper and it's very inspiring... she uses paper pricking (or piercing), painting and Richelieu lace ideas. I look at what she has made and I get angry with myself. I COULD be making things like that.

Reminds me of the totem animal I made for my husband:

I should be making Christmas presents and decoration, and I started crocheting tablemats... because they are so cute :->
I don't understand how people are able to crochet an afghan in a weekend... I have been crocheting my tablemat (in filet lace) for three days now, and it's not even half way done. But - I'm also sick, so I don't have the energy to crochet for a long time. Nevertheless, I don't think I would be able to make an afghan in a weekend. I might be brilliant, but I'm not THAT brilliant :-D

There's also an fascinating use of macrame in Latin countries. I love tassels and fringes, and would love macramé lace edging on my bath towels... It would feel so rich and baroque ;-)
I do NOT like the 70's style macramé, the horrible, cheap, hippy belts and string bags, rude stuff made with horrible hairy jute string with huge wooden beads and tassels that look like wild ponny's tail - just as messy and dirty... Plant hangers and string curtains... the Japanese - who otherwise make very nice craft books - have made some macramé craft books AND FILLED THEM WITH THE HORRIBLE 70'S PATTERNS!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!
I mean... I like all fiber crafts and knotting is one of them, and it's worth so much more attention and renewal, just as any other fiber craft.

Another 70's thing living renewal is "spirelli"...
When I was little, I loved the string "paintings" on velvet. The colors were so vivid and lovely against the dark velvet, and the strings formed all kinds of interesting figures. I have been wondering what to do with that and how to develop it beyond the 70's tacky and kitschy reputation. Now, some have done that. My husband told me we have an artist here in Södertälje, who does these images with string and nails.
Another wonderful use of this technique is the Temari balls.
So, when I read about "spirelli", I got interested and excited... and this is what I see...

I got a hysterical laughing attack. I had to leave the computer and repeat to myself "all creativity is good, it's wonderful people create" but it took me almost half an hour to stop laughing.
Now, I want to make it clear that I have nothing against "craftycardmaker", and I am sorry for laughing and making her an example of what I am laughing about, and it's not about her, it's about me being a horrible snob and all that.
But, they seem to be using ready made punches; stars and flowers, and wind thread around them, like... er... like something we did in kindergarten. Now, I am not talking about the artistic talent required for choosing colors and composing cards and scrapbook pages - that is way beyond any kindergarten kid - even the results of winding the thread are quite a lot better quality than what kindergarten kids produce - it's just that there is so much more in this technique, so much more possibilities and THAT is what they do?
I have made Teneriffe lace, and this is like using the daisy loom and filling the house with daisies, all made the same way, all the same form and shape and size... probably also made of acrylic or mohair or something like that...
Now, please remember, I am an awful snob with crafting. I do sincerely think that all creativity is great,

Use what talents you possess:
The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
-Henry Van Dyke

and I fully understand that there are people who are quite happy with daisy looms and premade spirelli punches and other uniform kits, and using the simplest possible elementary techniques without any interest of developing it further, and I am also quite aware that ANY of these people are already "better" than I am when it comes to actually CREATING things - because, let's face it, I do nothing. With all my education and knowledge and intelligence and creativity and artistic talents I create nothing, so I have absolutely no reason to laugh at people who create something without all that... on the contrary. Nevertheless...

It is sad that these techniques are reduced into kindergarten stuff and no "real" artisan would give them even a thought, because the possibilities are there... Only 20 years ago crochet was considered "grannies crocheting doilies and afghans", today we have crochet revival :-)
I do hope these elementary crafters will lead the way to reviving the rest of the wonderful fiber crafting techniques and in 10 years people won't be thinking "tacky and yucky" when they hear the words "teneriffe", "spirelli" and "macrame".

I'm sick...

I mean, really. Not just the normal being crazy sick, but having some sort of flu. Yeah, yeah, swine flu, perhaps. I told my husband that if I get trouble with my breathing (more than normally), he'll just call the ambulance and I'm hooked in a respirator within half an hour. I won't die of this.
But - energy level is down to toes, I'm aching all over the body and bored because I don't have the energy to do anything - not even read or watch the telly...

But I have been thinking of Christmas and all the things I'd like to do until then. It's also the last day of August, which means that all the September projects will be starting this week... and I didn't do anything for the Battlestar Galactica project... *blush*

I also found a Notebook Daily Diary, they were selling them 60% off, because - 2/3 of the year is already gone. But it's a nice, sturdy leatherbound book with a LOT of pages (way over 365), and I plan on making it into a brag book, Goddess devotional book and quote/citation book. I plan on collecting in all my favorite quotes, all my favorite Goddess images and all the things I like about myself, my dreams, wishes and favorites. :-) It will be wonderful :-)

Then I'm thinking about the "December Daily". They say about making art journals that one could prepare it beforehand, and not leave the pages for the day of journaling, so that the pages have time to dry and so on, which is sometimes needed. One could make several pages for different feelings and then choose the page that best fits for the current mood and write the journal there. An art journal doesn't need to be in perfect order... Also, one could have several journals at the same time.
So - it would be nice to have Christmas Books with inspiration, thoughts and documentation of that year...

Now THAT's some SERIOUS Christmas Spirit!

I want some of that!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kerstgek1/FotoHester#

The fun starts at photo #250... My first reaction was OMG!!! This person is MAD as march hare! Or reindeer, perhaps... she removes EVERY PIECE OF NON-CHRISTMAS DECORATION and fills every possible place, from ceiling to floors, with Christmas! Then I thought, now... that's actually very Christmassy... I get happy by watching the photos :-) If I start now, I can crochet a couple of hundred meters red lace to decorate the book shelves with, make tomtehats to all animals, angels and familyphotos, and knit Christmas sweaters to everyone (except that hubby needs a Chanukkah sweater)... and then I need to make korknisser and Danish kravlenisser, and... what will I invent for the ceiling? I could be knitting meters of potato chip scarf and use that as decoration... If I used green fun fur, it should look a bit like evergreen garlands? Oh, and then I need to crochet some snowflakes... I could be making some poinsettias and tape them on the wall in a pattern, so it will look a bit like Christmas wallpaper... Hmm...

It is that time of the year again...

It's only 120 days till Christmas... I just made a list of my family... mom, dad, siblings, nieces and nephews, husband, the special cousin, my godsons... all together 23 people. Of whom 19 are over 15... that means, no quick socks and hats. On the other hand, it doesn't take more than two days to knit a pair of socks, so if I start now and knit without interruptions, I'll make 60 pairs of socks... If I take Saturdays off, I'll knit (120 shared by 7 is... er... 7 times 7 is 49, 2 times 7 is 14, that's 98 days, then 20, that's 3, 14 plus 3 is 17... 17 weeks... 17 weeks until Christmas... 3 pairs a week, that's 51 pairs of socks... two pairs for every one...) and if I take breaks and do other things as well... er... I better start immediately!
17 weeks... that means I don't have even a week to make a present for each and every one. Oh... Oops! I did it again! *sheepish smile*
Uh. It doesn't matter. I don't take a week to knit/make something wonderful, amazing and great :-D

But, it would be nice to make a couple of tams, maybe some knitted gloves for my sister to go with the tam I made to her last year.
I would like to make a couple of lacy wool shawls for the women in the family. But we are 11 and I do take a little more time than a week to finish a shawl... I think.
I really like knitting scarves and hats, but I don't know anyone who would use them.
I wonder if anyone would wear a cowl...
Bookmarks... everyone reads books, no-one uses bookmarks. *sigh*

I really don't know what people would like, so I'll just assume they'll love what ever they get, and if not, who cares, and do what ever I want :-D They are a very good bunch, appreciative and caring, so I think I'm fairly safe with this :-D

I apologize... I still think some people overreact and create problems where there are none. Nevertheless, I have now met the clueless idiots, and I have to admit they are very aggravating. I think I would have got a little upset if these people were screaming at me to mind my own business and not take away their precious hobby... When in fact all I do IS to mind my own business, as the non-NPO that provides their hobby is taking my income, because THEY are clueless and steal artwork online...

Here's a VERY GOOD article on copyright explaining the 9 common myths (which I, as a witch, think is a wrong word... misconceptions, perhaps?)

Myth #1: It's okay to use anything that doesn't have a copyright notice
Myth #2: It's okay to use anything that's online, because if it's online, it's in the public domain and up for grabs
Myth #3: It's okay to use anything as long as I'm not making any money off it.
Myth #4: It's okay for a non-profit organization to use anything
Myth #5: It's okay to use anything as long as I give credit
Myth #6: It's okay to use anything as long as I include the creator's copyright notice
Myth #7: It's okay to use anything as long as I take it down when the copyright holder objects
Myth #8: It's okay to use something if I can't find the copyright holder
Myth #9: It's okay to use something if I asked for permission and didn't get a response

NO, IT'S NOT OK. IT'S A COPYRIGHT VIOLATION AND THE NON-NPO..S.H.O.U.L.D..GET.LEGAL.CONSEQUENCES THAT MIGHT CAUSE THEM TO SHUT THE SITE DOWN.

So, if you just LOVE Polyvore and it's the ONLY PLACE where you can create and you'll just DIE if the evil artists manage to KILL the site, YOU BETTER NOT CLIP OR USE ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT SURE OF.

Oh, my...

Polyvore is really addictive... Now I visited Ravelry and noticed that I have missed another SOS and my own private Sock Summit as well.

This year's SKA is going to be really good... on the other hand, just because a designer is not very well known, doesn't mean she isn't good :-) That's the way all begin, isn't it?

I brought some new yarn from Finland with me, some undyed 1-ply wool to knit shawls with, some really thick wool to knit something to be felted... or perhaps some shower things to my hubby... wool is really nice as back scrubber or soap cover, as it's a bit scratchy. :-) And it felts :-D

I really would like to get back to my artisan life :-) I have a new little book to be "altered" - it's a moleskin diary for this year, so 370 pages in leather covers :-) I have planned on filling it with pretty pictures and my favorite quotes, poems and such.

I participated in a swap and my swap pal is really lovely, but the post have lost my package! I hate swaps!

I have been thinking of organizing an OWOH but with breast cancer theme - all pink and to be able to participate, one must give something to breast cancer. Now, there's no way to check if the people have actually donated anything to breast cancer, but, hey, would anyone lie about that? After all, it's a question of putting a pocketful of coins in a collection bank somewhere or buying a bag of pink and white M&Ms. One doesn't need to donate hundreds of dollars, pounds or euros to be qualified... Would there be anyone interested? I wonder whom to contact about this... Hmmm...

Funny :->

The sarcastic old fox I am is amused...

An 18 years old girl has uploaded tons of photos from fashion magazines and labeled them "Don't Steal". She has NOT taken ANY of the photos herself and she does NOT have the permission from the fashion magazines nor the photographers nor the models to use the photos at Polyvore or even on her blog. So, she has stolen them herself. I just assume she has labeled them thus so that others would not use the same photos in their sets...

She also has this on her profile page:
**Support the campaign "BE ORIGINAL" DONT COPY sets or … ideas of other members**

Girl... if you put together an outfit which I think is otherwise great, but the shoes you have chosen are not good, or in fact, only the jacket and belt look good, I think it's my duty to put together an outfit that uses the parts of your set that actually do work together. But, sure, you're 18, so you believe to be infallible, perfect and that there is no way anyone can improve your work, or that you could have made a wrong choice or decision.
I am also always happy to see the slight alterations to my sets, sometimes they work better and we are all winners.

Also, artists have been stealing each others compositions for centuries. That's the way non-geniuses learn the composition. You might be a genius and I might be a genius, but 99% of the world is not. You might not like seeing art by anyone else but geniuses, but I do.
I think creativity in all its forms is a wonderful thing that should be encouraged and not limited. I think the idea of "copyright" has been taken too far, and support "copyleft" thinking.

I also think it's great to be inspired by others. I think it's great I'm not alone in this world, but there are others who design clothes, for example, so that I don't need to learn to how to make shoes - handbags, hats, belts and clothes I already know how to do, and sometimes it feels like a great idea to learn how to make shoes as well, so that I could design my own outfits all together - but the thing is that even the most celebrated and original and creative designers get influenced and inspired by others...

EACH AND EVERY DESIGNER WORKING TODAY IS A DESIGNER BECAUSE THEY COPIED ANOTHER DESIGNER'S WORK AT SOME POINT OF THEIR LIFE.

It might have been as simple as sewing clothes to dolls or drawing outfits to paperdolls, or dressing up to a popular fashion trend when teenager, but they did copy.
So do you. You have not composed the photos you use, you have not designed the clothes you use in your composition - not one single belt, piece of jewelry or scarf in your sets is your design. It's all someone else's work YOU stole. Why do you appreciate YOUR work higher than the work of Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Domenico Dolce or Stephano Gabbana? Why do you protect YOUR copyright like a tigress, when it is build on stolen rights? You are a hypocrite, dear 18 years old.

Then, the third thing - copying IS a form of compliment. Sure, it would be nice, if the copier also gave credit, but - I'm sure you get enough fame as it is already, and as there is no damage to you, your economy, your reputation or your images, I think you're ridiculous.

Use what talents you possess:
The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
-Henry Van Dyke

More on Polyvore

So I have been there for three weeks... and I don't seem to be able to do anything else.

Well, there was the summer vacation and 10 days in Finland, fancy dress party with the theme "Arabian nights" or in Finnish "1000 and 1 Nights" - the stories in the book are not all Arabian, you know. Aladdin, for example, was Chinese. We were very Turkish, Persian, Arabic anyway. I spent the first week in sewing clothes :-> Photos? Sure... when I get my camera back. Perhaps there'll be a CD with everyone's photos... I hope.

But back to Polyvore. I've been there actively for 15 days and managed to create 133 sets... that's almost 10 sets a day. I sit by my laptop almost the whole day and do nothing but create personas and combine clothes into outfits. I have been horribly neglecting Ravelry and all my obligations and duties, the only thing I do is to go shopping for food, as quickly as I possibly can; meeting my doctors; making me a cup of tea every now and then; walking the dog - also as quickly as I can - and going to the toilet. I neglect my tv shows, my books, my knitting, my 100 things in 1001 days, my email, my groups... basically, my life. I don't like that at all, but... I'm addicted to Polyvore. *sigh*
As with any addiction, I refuse to acknowledge that it is a problem and that I'm paying for my time in Polyvore with everything else in my life... Not worth it, that's for sure.

Then the peeves... every time one gets involved in something, one starts peeving about things.

There are these teenagers who are so horribly childish and stupid... and the worst part of it is, that I know they'll never grow out of it! They are exactly the same in 30 years and in 50 years. I know, because I have met their older versions.

There are the aspiring writers who make grammar errors in their writing - and English is supposed to be their mothertongue! I mean, I'm Finnish and I would NEVER make such mistakes. (I make my own, wrong articles, prepositions and word order, and my vocabulary is not as big as it should be, but this is a foreign language to me! When I was 17, my Finnish was impeccable! I think I have the right to expect that of any 17 years old who wants to be a writer.

There are the horrible RPGs... with unbelievable characters and settings, that are NOT supposed to be fantasy or alternative reality... I know it's easier to skip all the troublesome props like relatives, friends, former schoolmates and servants and make a closed, miniature society, but why would a 17 years old American girl marry her American 17 years old boyfriend in the school chapel in England with only her schoolmates present? Why aren't the kids' parents protesting? I would not allow my 17 years old child, girl or boy, marry, and as far as I know, 17 years olds need the parents' permission to do any such things. But - hey, the kids are having fun with their RPG, and all kinds of creativity is creativity and in such a good thing... but on the other hand... creating such romantic illusions as some sort of ideal of life... what good will come of that? They say people now-a-days aren't prepared to take life as it is. Marriage is supposed to be happily-ever-after and these romantic geese will move back to mommy the first time their beloved, only love, mr Right gets annoyed and says something stupid - that is, the first time they argue. In my mind, arguments are a natural part of ANY relationship, be it marriage, friendship or family... but not so with these bunnies. But, never mind.

Another thing that peeves me in Polyvore, is that people have difficulties in understanding concepts and instructions.
"Only 5 items or less" is interpreted to mean "only 5 items of clothing - you can use limitless amount of jewelry, accessories, backgrounds, words and what ever in the set." And the "only 5" is just words... if it's 6 or 7 or 15, it doesn't really matter.
"Steampunk"...

"I usually think of Steampunk as 19th century earth but with anachronistic technology, or rather, modern devices created with 19th century technology. Usually steam-powered, hence steampunk. It is what would have happened if the Industrial Revolution went wild... ...I tend to believe that the punk is derived from the rebellious, swashbuckling element of the genre. Adventure. Defiance. Many stories of the genre defy established social mores, religious dogma, and government philosophies. Punk also embodies the do-it-yourself anthem of the Steampunk culture."
-- MadBrew

well... I interpret it quite loosely, as I am illustrating an entire world, not just the part of the mechanics and adventurers. I have always been... different. So, when Fantasy genre usually is about adventurers, the heros and heroines who all are princes and princesses in disguise and David against Goliat fights where Good always wins and everything is Black or White - I want to write fantasy about the people who stay at home when the boy next door goes on to his adventure to become the King Who Saved The World, and the servants in the castles and the people behind the scenes. So, my interpretation of steampunk is about the sisters of the girl geniuses and their small lives, the town people, the mothers of the adventurers... what the temporary novels would be about in this alternative and fantastical reality. Sure, I'm Medievalist, I love the Victorian time, would love long skirts and corsets and frills and the life of Little Women with the modern comfort, like plumbing, automobiles, cell phones and computers. I love clockwork and mechanical toys and all that. But, I am not an engineer, a pilot, an adventurer, an explorer or a long lost heiress to a magical kingdom. I'm just a nobody, living with my cats in my English cottage wanting to be left alone. So - my interpretation of steampunk is more like... "let's add a couple of gearwheels in the background" sort of... but my outfits would fit in the steampunk world. Now, some people have the "let's add a couple of gearwheels in the background" interpretation, but the outfits... the contemporary celebrities are NOT wearing outfits that would fit steampunk world! So, make a contemporary, fashionable interpretation of Pride and Prejudice, but DO NOT CALL IT VICTORIAN!
And if the group is called "elaborate backgrounds" HAVE ELABORATE BACKGROUNDS! It is NOT an elaborate background when you have used 50 objects scattered on the background. It is NOT an elaborate background, when you take a photo of your celebrity idol and decorate it with stars, flowers and butterflies.
Also, taking a photo of your idol or a pretty artwork and add a little sparkle, so that the original artwork or photo is almost unchanged IS NOT ART. Now, some people participate in competitions with this kind of things... and WIN... I think that's offensive to the whole community, and even though the originator of the set shouldn't be punished for being unimaginative and stupid, the judges of the competition should know better and remove the set from the competition the second they see it, in stead of REWARDING AND ENCOURAGING such behavior...

*sigh*

Anyway... THIS is what I waste my time doing! How stupid can a woman get? :-D

Rant on Copyright

I have found a new toy, Polyvore. It's a place where you can create collages or inspiration boards of images found on-line.
Now, most of the members of Polyvore (if any) don't OWN the images they have "imported" to the collection, so 90% if not more of the site is copyright violation.

Some people are VERY upset about this... and I think they are HUGELY overreacting.

No, I don't support myself with my art.
Neither do the people creating these collages. They are creating a little beauty to this world. They don't consider themselves being artists, even when they label their collages "art". They don't think they own the artistic copyright, even though in fact they do... You see, when someone takes pictures and combines them into new pictures, it is that someone's art. Whether one created the images to start with or not has nothing to do with anything.

Andy Warhole didn't own the copyright to Munch's Scream

Edward Munch's painting and litograph of Scream


Andy Warhol's copies of the work

The Edward Munch Museum is PROUD of their artist being copied and has BOUGHT Andy Warhol's "art"!
Obviously he didn't do much creative work... he took a photocopy of Munch's graphic, printed it on plastic, painted the "wrong side" - with some hideous color combinations, I have to add - and that's it. If that is not "misrepresenting" an artist's work, I don't know what is. The art world is nevertheless EXTATIC by Warhol's "creativity" and "imagination" and "ability to renew art" and what not. Some of the people at Polyvore are more imaginative, creative and show much more ability to create new things with "old" things than Andy Warhol ever did. But, sure, they don't CALL themselves artists, they haven't f-d the whole art community with their blatant and rude arrogance and self confidence and had art exhibitions with their creations... They are many... and, yes, most of them are girls.

So - if it is ok for "artists" to rip the copyright, it is frankly unfair to demand that girls having fun putting pictures together to create new pictures would know that what they are doing is "dubious", theft, violating someone else's personal space and "blatantly wrong".

That it would be blatantly wrong to use a painting of a "young child" in a collage when painting the "young child" was not, especially when the artist's style makes it impossible to even recognize the child, or even if a live model was used, sounds to me extremely hypocritical and oversensitive - sounds more like the artist is trying to use children as leverage by insinuating that the people at Polyvore were bordering to pedophiles...
Well... to be fair, some of the artist's portraits are actually photographs that are manipulated in some fashion, but it's in no way differentto use those images than to use any photos of children, for example children's fashion models in fashion magazines and catalogues.
Also, children in antique photos that are being used by many collage artists, were real children when the photo was taken, and it was VERY personal and the photos were ABSOLUTELY NOT meant to be used in artwork. If it is "blatantly wrong" to use images of "young children" in collage art, why isn't this artist attacking all the "legitimate" collage artists? (like, for example Heather Murray, who is actually SELLING this "blatantly wrong" art...)

"...another one had covered up the watermark on the Morgan Le Fay and people, jessica galbreth's watermarks are BIG. it can't have been done with anything other than intent and malice."
Intent, yes, malice, no. If you are a teenaged dabbler - which 99% of the members of Polyvore are, of their minds if not by the numbers on their birth certificate - you don't KNOW anything about what it means to an artist to have her painting altered. To you the image is just "pretty" and you use it for such reasons as "the colors fit my intentions". A copyright watermark does not fit anyone's intentions. To be able to use the image, one MUST hide the watermark with other images, that are usually chosen because the colors, forms and message fit the creator's intention. There is no malice there, just practical solutions to a practical problem.

Now, Jessica Galbreth and Amy Brown are REALLY popular, and their art... well...
Norman Rockwell thought he wasn't an artist. He thought he was just an illustrator, while his wife was the real artist of the family.
M.C.Escher thought he was just a skilled copier, not an artist.
Rudolf Koivu hated his work as an illustrator and dreamed of being a "real" artist.
I love all these persons' work, but... frankly, I cannot say their work should be sacred and using it in collages would be "butchering" it. (Frankly, no art is. They have done "worse" things with Mona Lisa and Botticelli's Venus, and none of that can diminish the original art work one bit. On the contrary. So that's just another hysterical overreaction to what is happening at Polyvore.

Come on, now, most of the collages are nothing more than inspiration boards, like those in ANY fashion magazine, using the artworks to enhance the desired impression.

For example, here's Art&Ghosts' "bedhead" (I don't know what it was originally named, but people like Yasmina at ffffound isn't very imaginative in inventing new names, so I assume it's the correct name) and four Polyvore members' treatment of it.

The fashion boards are made by Alex and Laura, and the art is made by "Gardenfairy" and "Googles". In my mind none of them mars the original artwork in any way. In fact, I like Gardenfairy's and Googles' version better than Art&Ghosts' original.
Of course, most of the collages where this painting was used weren't this good, but the original artwork is so strong it infuses the whole collage with its essence and overpowers all the possible scratches, spots, dots and ripples one might add to it. In only one the essence was covered, and it was done to such extend the original couldn't even be seen - the creator of that had used this image for its colors. Not even Art&Ghosts could have recognized her work in it.
BTW, that splash of color wasn't bad, and it was very impressive use of the tool (Polyvore).

The Copyright Fanatics tell us that we are not to admire these people's capacity of using the tool, which isn't that simple - I am worthless in making collages :-D - and we are not to admire these people's artistic expression or artworks, because they are using "someone else's" colors and forms... We are not to give them credit for their eye of composition, proportions and color, but we are to send a LAWYER after them, because they are abusive, malicious thieves...

My husband makes collages of images. He can't draw people, and it is people he uses in his artwork, them being very personal and expressionist. He is basically illustrating his life experience with the art he does. I think he is a really good artist, but as we are poor, we cannot afford a good camera nor models, and as we both have different socially incapacitating problems, we don't have many friends we could use. So, he uses images he finds on-line. Most of them are stock images made for the purpose, the Deviant Art community is very generous in that way, and those that are not stock images, he asks if he may use. He also tries to give credit to best of his ability. There are times though when he does violate the copyright. He doesn't use anything but photos, but photos are photographed by someone, and photographers have copyright to their photos.
Because I know him, and I know he doesn't have malicious intentions and that he isn't stealing photos to violate the artist nor their artwork, but because he has the urge to create and he needs those colors and those forms... Of course, my husband has a way out of the copyright trap - I am a very good copiator, and if I copy your photo by painting it, I am in no way violating your copyright, even though I use "your" colors, forms and composition - but what about all the others like him who do not have that privilege?
I cannot and will not condemn the creative people at Polyvore, because they are violating the copyright.
I think the copyright is a good thing, but it can also be used to limit people's creativity.

Now, Jessica Galbraith, Amy Brown, Kelly Vivanco and Art&Ghosts all are rather popular and sell their original pieces. I cannot see in what way the usage of these images as part of collages at Polyvore violate their rights or artwork, or damage their economy in any way. I just cannot see it. They all have a very specific and recognizable style, which means that if a person sees part of their artwork in a collage at Polyvore, and like it, they will seek the original up, but they wouldn't go looking for it without having seen it in a collage at Polyvore... which only means more publicity to the artist, more fans and more income.

To me this Copyright Fanatism is incomprehensible and what I would define as greedy meanness. At Flickr there's another fun little thing called Mosaic Maker. You choose photos from the ones at Flickr and put them in the program which makes a mosaic out of them. Most people use someone else's photos, but there too are some who "would be very upset if people were using their photos in their mosaics without asking". I don't get it.

Copyright was "invented" at the 18th century, because the publishers were printing authors' works without giving them any part of the income, which lead to "their very great detriment, and too often to the Ruing of them and their Families".

Frankly, I don't take from you anything. I am being called a thief even when I haven't taken anything from you...
My using your photo in my mosaic or collage doesn't harm your original photo, what ever I do with "my" copy.
It doesn't diminish your income or fame, even if I wouldn't give you the credit.
Frankly, in most cases, you don't even know when anything you have uploaded online is being used, as "print screen" exists, and there are thousands of ways to go by the protective measures. Everyone uploading their art online knows this and still uploads their art. I don't know if my art is being used somewhere. I suppose I'm not good enough. I'm no Jessica Galbraith, that's for sure. But not even she knows where her artwork is being used and what is being done to it. In spite of that, she lives on her art and the products that are being made decorated by her artwork. So - what is being stolen from her?

The people who print a copy of her artwork to glue it on a notebook wouldn't buy her notebooks anyway, because they can't afford it, but perhaps someone sees that notebook with "stolen" art, and wants one herself, and perhaps this someone CAN afford to buy a REAL one, and believe me, I would much rather support the artist than "fake" it. For one, the mass produced things Jessica sells herself are a bit better quality than my homemade copy, and when the authenthic merchandise still looks good after a couple of years, my decoupage notebook will start to wear and - as I cannot afford a good quality printer either -the ink will fade and smudge and spread and what not.

The same way, making collages or photo mosaics with your images, doesn't take anything from you. It might not GIVE you anything, but it doesn't TAKE anything either.

I am a craftswoman, so I knit and crochet by patterns, most of which are shared freely online. I can understand if a copyrighted pattern is ripped and used, because that does takes something from the creator of the pattern, so I have some understanding for people doing the Queen's Work. But I also understand the consequences of poverty. If you can go to a public library and borrow the magazine, why not copy it and put it online so it's handier to use, and others get an access to it too.
What bothers me most is that the Copyright Fanatics assign all kinds of motifs to these people - to us. I use Picasa and "steal" copyright too, and if you sued me, I'm sure there would be enough evidence in my home and my computer to punish me. You wouldn't get anything for that either though. I don't "steal" because of disrespect, malice or because my morals stink. I "steal" because I'm poor.

Also, some people try to copyright STITCHES. I'm not talking about some fancy lacework or aran animals and such, but "1.row K3 P1. 2. row P1 *K1 P3* K1 P1" stitch patterns... AS IF ALL OF IT HADN'T ALREADY BEEN INVENTED LONG AGO! It's like trying to copyright words or using strawberries in cooking or watercolors - or genes... :-> "You may not have babies, because that might violate my exclusive right to copy your genes". Such BULL!

I really, truly think that some people take the copyright way too far.

To see more of Mona Lisas, among others Andy Warhol's version, go to Mega Mona Lisa