Sugru! I Want Some In The Worst Way!

I have just learned about this neat product called sugru.  Have you heard of it?  I don't think is has made it state-side yet (It's a U.K. website), but I sure do want some!

It's made with silicone and looks like a glob of modeling clay.  It sticks to anything and you can shape it with your bare hands.  If you want to use any kind of tool to shape it, you need to make sure it's covered in soapy water so it won't stick to the Sugru.  You don't have to rush too much, as it drys within 30 minutes.  And it cures in 24 hours, and then it will not come off, even if you run it through a dishwasher or heat it up in a conventional oven!  How cool is that?

Oh the clever things I could make - or customize - if I only had some of this stuff!

Light Up The World . . . Well, At Least Half Of It.

This one's about how to take a cheap, run-of-the-mill standing lamp (from either Walmart or Target) and make it into something special.

First of all, just to set the record straight: I didn't dream up this cool idea by myself. The credit must go to "TanYA" who posted his or her own "what to do with an old globe" project online at: http://bedzine.com/blog/bed-diy/tips-tricks/diy-globe-lamp/ I got really excited when I saw it because we just so happened to have an unused National Geographic globe (one that was lit from within, no less) that was sitting around, slightly broken and unused. (Thank my lucky stars I didn't throw it away!!

I think my globe works better as a shade than the others I've seen online because it was originally intended to be lit from within, so it glows beautifully. So if you have a globe (or find one at thrift shop, yardsale or on Craigslist) that you want to use for this project, do yourself a favor and shine a light under it (once you have it apart) and make sure it's translucent enough to suit you. I suppose an opaque one works fine too, but just keep in mind that directional lighting is all it's going to be good for.

Rustic Touches: Sihouettes

Now that I've found a little spare time, thought I'd share my little technique for inexpensively customizing our mountain condo's decor: adding animal silhouettes to just about anything that needs a bit of pizazz. I have enjoyed painting detailed pictures of animals, flowers, etc., on things in years past; but sitting down and painting a portrait of a songbird on fencepost takes more time than I have these days. So I've found a quicker, easier and almost-as-satisfying technique for getting those realistic images from nature onto the various items I wish to decorate. And I don't spend money on expensive stencils or rubber stamps to do it either.

I guess I'll start by listing the basic materials you'll need - although, I hardly ever am successful in assembling everything before I dive right in (but if you do, you can avoid those between-steps interruptions as you go looking upstairs for where you last put your paint brushes). So, the major items you will need are:

About this Blog

The idea for the "The Last Word Is Bliss" blog was born over the Christmas holidays, when all my creative activities reached critical mass; and I had to find another way to share 'em or I was going to alienate my family and half the neighborhood. It's tough to keep the normal dynamics of routine chit-chat flowing in a peaceably relaxed manner when one of the participants keeps piping up with "Oh, that reminds me: Guess what I figured out you can do with old tuna can lids, some beads, and a glue gun!!!"

When my excitement and pride over a new crafty invention threatens to dominate all my human-to-human encounters, I will turn to this blog to get it out of my system. It's my own personal show-and-tell (In my opinion, the need for show-and-tell really should be acknowledged as necessary for a happy normal life well beyond Kindergarten.). So the purpose of this is Bliss - primarily mine; but if Bliss to you is using your creativity to make neat stuff too, then that probably explains why you're here. And I can appear normal by sharing my Bliss with you via this blog . . . instead of telling the cashier at the local grocery all about things you can make with old egg cartons.