That Friday Feeling...Giraffes!

I've just been talking to one of my close friends via that fabulous invention of Skype and asked her what I should pick as my theme this week. She didn't really know what I was talking about when I said 'theme' but asked if it could be anything, like... for example...giraffes? Well yes, yes it can be a shout out for giraffes! This week's Etsy shout out is dedicated to you Shannon of MosaicGeek fame - I hope that next time we speak on Skype you sing me the song I've added at the end...!

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I do a weekly shout out of some lovely things I've found on Etsy based around a theme. This week's theme is giraffes, of which there are many cute examples on Etsy. Do go and have a search yourself but also visit the shops I've featured - they are great!

What a cute giraffe crochet pattern from djonesgirlz

Sweet little giraffe earrings by fingerprince

I love this giraffe diaper bag by pollywogsandtadpoles

What little snippets of giraffe information shall I add?

• A giraffe can clean its own ears with it's tongue. Personally I wouldn't want to but always a good party trick I suspect... Their tongues are about 2 feet long. 
• Because they are always on the lookout for predators, giraffes sleep very little. They average about 30 minutes a day. And other animals use giraffes as lookout posts for predators. 
• Giraffes can eat about 35 kilos of food a day. They are herbivores and have a strong liking for accacia trees which have all the nutrients they need bar calcium and salt. Because accacia stores water in its leaves, it also helps in keeping giraffes hydrated. 
• However, when giraffes do go and find some water, they can drink up to 12 gallons of water in one go.
• A baby giraffe is about 6 foot tall at birth.
• If they are attacked and cannot run away, giraffes will kick at their predators - and their hooves have been known to sever a lion's head!
• Giraffes can run at 35 mph although only for a short period of time. 
• It is illegal to tie a giraffe to a lampost in Atlanta. Which makes me wonder when giraffes were so prevalent there that they had to introduce that law...?!
• Giraffes cannot cough. Must be a real pain if they get accacia leaves stuck in their throats...!
• Giraffe markings are all individual  - no two giraffes have exactly the same markings. 
• Today's YouTube clip is verging on the ridiculous but for some reason I don't know many songs about giraffes... can't think why! Anyway, it MUST be fun to be a giraffe! 

That Friday Feeling...Winter

Brrrr, I know it's only November so the proper cold, snowy months have not yet started but I haven't been able to feel my toes for days now! I am soooooo cold! So what better theme for this week's Friday Feeling than Winter? Here are some of my favourite finds of the week - please do go over to Etsy and have a look at some of the shops I've featured (click on the links in the captions) and also go and have a search generally. It's that time of year when we start thinking about Christmas presents (I said it, the dreaded C word) so Etsy is a good place to start looking. Lovely handmade gifts all round!

Cute little ceramic brooch by LoveandLovelier

What about a wintery cushion to remind you it's warm indoors! By maximilia

Love this chunky scarf by KnitFrekkles 

 I'm not sure whether I want to share any wintery facts with you today... they might make me feel even colder! I'm presently wrapped up in a scarf AND a cowl in a cafe which technically should have heating. And when not typing I'm clutching a mug of hot tea! OK, OK, here are your fun facts for the week:

• Icicles most often form on the south side of buildings
• The record for most snow angels at one time was made in Ontario, Canada in 2004. A number of schools joined forces and 15,861 were created.
• Wind chill is a measurement of heat loss on exposed skin
• The coldest temperature ever recorded was in Antarctica (no surprise then!) of -129 Fahrenheit (-89 Celsius)
• Snowflakes fall on average at 3.1 miles per hour
• The tallest snowman was given a name! He was called Angus and measured 122 feet (37 metres)
• Ten inches of snow melts down into 1 inch of water
• A single snow storm can drop more than 40 millios tonnes of snow, which has the energy equivalence of 120 atomic bombs.
• Apparently if squirrels start building their nests on the lower branches of trees it means we're going to have a really cold winter. The same goes if ants build higher than normal mounds or birds start migrating early. 

That Friday Feeling...Hallowe'en

Wooooooooh! It's that spooky time of year again when bats and cats, witches, skeletons and ghosts are all on the prowl for All Hallows Eve. So what better time to have Hallowe'en as a theme? I have made one item for Hallowe'en - a pumpkin keyring:

But there are LOTS of lovely Hallowe'en themed items on Etsy this week - feel free to go and search yourself but here are my picks of the week.

I love Madmumknits' designs and these tea cosy patterns are no exception! 

I love the colour of this hand-dyed yarn by CountessAblaze. 

How cute are these little Jack-O'Lantern earrings by CobwebDesignsCoUK? 

I'm sure we all know quite a lot about Hallowe'en already but, here are my snippets of information for the week...

• Hallowe'en celebrations date back thousands of years (well between 2000 and 6000 years depending on your source). 
• The tradition of wearing masks comes from Celtic tradition. On Samhain the spirits of the dead return to earth and visit the living. The masks are worn to prevent the dead from recognising the living. The tradition of costumes is American and dates from harvest celebrations where people wore costumes, ate sweets and played practical jokes on each other. 
• The tradition of playing practical jokes got out of hand and a bit ugly in the 1930s and, as a substitute for it, the tradition of going door to door to collect candy was introduced. Although trick or treating is also a continuation of the tradition of putting treats outside the door in Celtic tradition to ward off bad spirits.
• Jack O'Lanterns originated in Ireland and were originally hollowed out turnips with candles placed in them to ward off evil spirits on Samhain.
• If you see a spider on Hallowe'en it is said to be the spirit of a loved one watching over you. So they are actually good luck! 
• About 99% of all pumpkin sales are used for hollowing out and making Jack O'Lanterns.
• Bobbing for apples is a Roman festival tradition - it was played at feasts to the goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit.
• In Scotland, unmarried girls supposedly see the face of their future husband if they hang a wet sheet in front of a fire on Hallowe'en.
• The name bonfire night originates from 'bone fire' - in the run up to the harvest, fires were lit to persuade the sun to return after the cold, dark winter. Often cows and sheep were thrown in as sacrifices hence the 'bones' 
• England tends to celebrate Bonfire Night (5th November) instead of Hallowe'en because the date (31st October / 1st November) are Catholic feast days (All Saints and All Souls) and Protestant England wanted to distance themselves from the Catholics. Celebrating the execution of Guy Fawkes (a Catholic) who tried to blow up parliament and put a Catholic king on the throne was a good way of keeping the festivities but putting a different slant on it. 
• This week's YouTube video had to be Ghost Busters because it's such a classic. Enjoy and HAPPY HALLOWE'EN! 

That Friday Feeling ... Breast Cancer

October is officially Breast Cancer Awareness month and it seems fitting to have a post dedicated to all the thousands of women out there who are suffering or have suffered from it. I think we all know someone who has been affected by cancer in some way, whether that is breast cancer or another form of it. It still seems impossible that we still can't just stop cancer, but the good news is that treatment and diagnosis are much improved and have come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years. There's still a long way to go and this post is going out in support of all of those people who have been affected by it in some way. 

There are an awful lot of people selling breast cancer awareness items on Etsy, but I have been quite specific with my choices this week. I have only chosen items where the seller has specifically said that they donate to a cancer charity. It's really important that we show our support, but for those who have suffered, or know someone who has, there is no underestimating the work that charities do in supporting families affected and in research into cures. I may be getting on a moral high-horse here, but I feel that if you are going to be selling something to show awareness of such an important cause, then at least a portion of the profits should go to helping sufferers or funding research. From a seller's perspective, I understand that we all have a living to make and often our profits are tiny in comparison to what it costs to make something, but with such a sensitive cause, I really feel uncomfortable that some people are selling without actually donating anything. It seems incredibly sad to me. 

To women around the world who have experienced the horrific effects of this life-threatening disease, I give my whole-hearted support. To get up each morning and put on a brave face to the world and continue going to work, spending time with your families, doing everyday things like washing up, I know is an impossibly courageous feat and I respect you immensely. I have added some links to charities within the UK at the end of this post - I know from friends' experiences how fantastically supportive some of these charities can be - even if it's just to know a bit more about what it is you are going through and what your options are. 

Hope Bracelet by PetiteBlue

Thank you cards by CricketPrinting

Pink Ribbon soap by SoapGarden

Customised Initial Jewellery by BeautifulAsYou

Click on any of the pictures below to be taken to their websites where you can find information about cancer and what to do if you or a loved one is in need of support. 

I should probably point out that I am not in any way affiliated with any of these charities, am not sponsored by them and have not been asked to write this blog post. It is just a theme that I felt needed some recognition. I have now been inspired to make some breast cancer awareness keyrings and brooches and I can assure you that 100% of the profits will be going to cancer charities as I strongly believe in the work they do. More on that to follow...

#Silent Sunday

That Friday Feeling...Bees

Yet again I'm apologising. This time for the lack of Friday Feeling posts that I've been doing. I seem to have lapsed badly and haven't done one of these for nearly three weeks! There is an excuse though - I've been a really busy busy bee recently and don't feel like I've touched the floor in the last few weeks. So as a homage to how busy I've been, I thought today's theme should be about bees. There are some seriously cute items on Etsy if you search for bees but I thought I'd go for some fun and happy items I liked this week. What do you think?

Bumble Bee Bunting by SewSweetViolet - how cute!

Awwww! I want some bumble bee booties by funkyshapes

And these bee magnets by themosaicgarden are super sweet too! 

What little snippets can I find for you this week?

• Honey bees have been around for nearly 30 million years.
• No other insects produce food that man eats.
• A honey bee visits between 50 and 100 flowers in a single trip to collect nectar.
• In its lifetime the average honey bee only makes about a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey.
• Baby bees don't know how to make honey - they get taught how to do it by experienced honey makers.
• A bees wings beat about 11,400 times a minute, they travel at 15 miles an hour and can fly up to 6 miles at a time. 
• A queen bee lays her own weight in eggs a day and can lay about 200,000 eggs a year. Despite that, honey bees are endangered due to man's interference with their habitats. 
• Male honey bees are called drones and all they do is mate with the queen - they have no stingers and do no work.
• Which means, yes, all the worker bees are actually female, albeit sexually undeveloped females.
• The Dance of the Bumble Bee by Rimsky-Korsakov has to be this week's YouTube video. At the school I used to work at, our 'Flying Club' used to do a gymnastics routine to this music. It was pretty impressive. 

#Silent Sunday

#Silent Sunday

#Silent Sunday

#Silent Sunday

That Friday Feeling...Holiday

Today is the last day of my holiday! Boo. This evening I get back on a plane and fly via the Bahamas back to the UK where I'm sure it will be raining ready for my return. I've had the most amazing time here in Grand Cayman - from swimming with sting rays and snorkelling on the reef to drinking rum cocktails on the beach and spending time with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew. I thought that a holiday theme would be the most appropriate theme for today's Etsy shout out - my one is coming to an end but it is the traditional time of year for summer holidays to commence. So here are some lovely things that I have found that you might want to take with you on yours...

Keep your hair under control with this pretty hair comb by Damsontreepottery

Shalotte makes such lovely magical pieces and this necklace is no exception.

Love these buttons from ButterflySue

And you'll need a gorgeous shoulder bag for all your accessories. Why not this one by Saysie?

How many random facts can one find about summer holidays? It was a bit of a hard one this week but here you go:

• The tradition of summer weddings was begun by the Romans who would choose Juno's month, June, for weddings as this would bring on her blessing.
•  August is the busiest month for travel and tourism.
• The Dog Days of Summer refer to the period between July 3rd and August 11th when Canis Major's star Sirius was believed to be closest to the sun and was blamed by the Romans for the intense heat, droughts and sultry weather. 
• The summer solstice in the UK is on June 20th. It was celebrated with dancing and bonfires and couples would jump through the flames. The tradition held that crops would grow as high as the couple could jump.
• What I call a holiday, Americans would call a vacation.  In the US a holiday refers to time off due to a national celebrations whereas in the UK a holiday is just any time that you aren't necessarily at work. 
• Today's youtube clip could only really be Summer Holiday. I prefer the Mike Redway version to Sir Cliff Richard's one.

That Friday Feeling...Turtles

Woohooo! It's Friday 20th July and today is not only the last day of school, it's my last day at work! Tomorrow morning I will be jumping on a plane and heading out to the Cayman Islands to go and spend 2 weeks with my sister, brother-in-law and my gorgeous little nephew. I know it's only tomorrow but seriously... I CAN'T WAIT!!! One of the things that the Cayman Islands are famous for is Green Sea Turtle Farm - which breeds green sea turtles and releases them into the wild every year. At any one time there may be approximately 16,000 turtles at the farm so today's post is dedicated to turtles. Yay. I still have plans to make a turtle mosaic at some point, but I haven't yet managed to get around to it... one day! Anyway, on to some things that I have found on Etsy this week...

Cute turtle necklace by JewelleryByZM

Fun turtle themed cushion by LuniqueUK

Love this cute little amigurimi crochet turtle by LuvlyGurimi

What little snippets can I find for you today? 

• Most turtles cannot retract their head into their carapace (shell)
• Green sea turtles are named that after the colour of their skin, not their shells.
• Green sea turtles can stay underwater for up to 5 hours. However if they are kept underwater for too long, they will drown. Awww, poor turtles. 
• Turtles can become obese - if food is around they will just keep eating whether or not they are hungry. This results either in them vomiting into the water or putting on loads of fat. Who knew?
• The first known turtles existed about 200 million years ago. Nowadays there are about 300 species of turtle. They exist in all continents bar Antarctica but tend to prefer warmer water.
• Turtles can store sperm, which means that they can produce fertilised eggs up to 4 years after mating. 
• The smallest turtle is the Speckled Padloper at 4 inches while the largest is the Leatherback Sea Turtle which can reach 10 foot.
• Aquatic turtles must be in water to be able to eat.
• Sea turtles can swim up to 35mph and some land turtles can outrun an average human.
• This week's YouTube had to come from Finding Nemo... 

That Friday Feeling...Summer

One more week before I go off on my summer holiday... Wimbledon is over, the Olympics are nearly upon us and it's about time I stopped avoiding the whole season theme and embraced the fact that we may not actually get a proper summer. So in order to encourage the weather to be a little nicer, this week's theme is dedicated to summer. Obviously I am going for the sunny side of summer, not the more temperamental side which we see all to often in this country. Come on sunshine - you can do it! Maybe if we all just concentrate on long summer days the weather will improve? Here are some bright summery things I found on Etsy this week.

Smell fresh and lovely with this summer sun soap by Scentcosmetics

Cute and summery magnet pegs by jellybeanstudio

Definitely thinking of summer with this print by TonyMax

Today's random 'facts' (as always, take them with a slight pinch of salt... I'm not really an expert!)

• The first swimsuits were designed by the Ancient Greeks in 350BC. The first ladies' bathing suits were introduced in the early 1800s - they were dresses with woollen bloomers underneath to weight them down. At the time women didn't do more swimming than the occasional paddle or jump of a wave and it would have been inexcusable to have a sun tan.
• The hottest British summer on record was in 1976 when the average temperature was 17.8 celsius, the coldest was in 1725 when the average was 13.1 degrees.
• The Eiffel Tower grows in the summer! On hot days the iron expands so much that the whole tower can grow up to 17cm taller. 
• In 1816 North Eastern US and Canada did not have any summer at all - in fact they had snow and icy winds for an entire year. It was most likely due to a volcano eruption in what is now Indonesia, disrupting weather patterns. 
• The Chinese invented and wore the first pairs of sunglasses more than 2000 years ago.
• According to scientific experiments, an average single scoop of ice cream in a cone takes 50 licks to consume. I need to test this one myself...

#Silent Sunday

That Friday (OK Saturday) Feeling... Football

Yet again I have failed to update my Friday Feeling post on an actual Friday, but for those of you who have been wondering where it is... better late than never, right?
What with the European Cup final on tomorrow night, there could only really be one theme for this week's post - football. As I'm sure some of you have gleaned already, it's not my favourite sport but hey, millions of people disagree with me so it's definitely worth a mention. As you British readers will know, England got knocked out last week and my other team to support (Germany) is also out of the running. Which means that tomorrow's final is between Italy and Spain. I don't have any close Italian friends but I do have some Spanish ones so, for the sake of friendship, I am supporting Spain in tomorrow's match. Not that I'll be watching it... Sorry for any Italians who I may inadvertently upset by announcing that. Anyway, on with what I found on Etsy today:

Like these football cufflinks by OffTheCuff2010

Viva España! Spanish flag cushion by Mazizmuse

A cute little footie mad penguin by yourpengles

What random little facts can I conjure up? Hmm...

• Football was actually invented in China and there are writings about it dating back as far a 476 BC
• Gordon Ramsey, Julio Iglesias and Albert Camus were all nearly professional footballers but due to injury / illness none of them continued their careers. 
• Aston Villa football club was actually started by cricketers from the Villa Cross cricket team in 1874 - apparently the team were discussing how to keep fit during the winter months when they spotted a football match happening in a nearby field and decided it was a great solution.
• In 1975 a football match between Uruguay and Chile was abandoned after 19 players were sent off.
• In 1980 the Liberian team narrowly escaped imprisonment when they drew 0-0 against Gambia. They had been threatened with imprisonment by the Head of State if they lost. Although I've also read that the former Zaire were threatened with exile if they lost by more than 3 goals to Brazil so I'm not sure if I believe either of them!
• Apparently in 1950 the Indian team withdrew from the world cup when they realised that the team were required to wear boots and were not allowed to play barefoot.
• The word soccer comes from university slang - it was an abbreviation for association football.
• In 1990 the entire Albanian team were held in custody at Heathrow airport after a language misunderstanding: they thought that 'duty free' meant help yourself...
• In 2001 the game of football was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize due to its ability to bring nations together.
• In 2001 Archie Thompson scored a whopping 13 goals in Australia's 31-0 defeat of American Samoa.
• And of course the customary youtube clip... 

That Friday Feeling...Accidents

This week has been another accident week for me... I think it's all because I had such a lovely day on Tuesday: awesome kids, watching our cricket team play and get through to the borough play-offs, having a surprise massage/facial thrust in my direction... It was bound to come and get me. I spent 2 hours in A&E on Wednesday evening after a railing fell on me as I cycled past. I've now got a nicely glued up shoulder (yes, glued) and an incredible bruise to show for it and have spent an awful lot of time talking to the construction crew whose railing it was. Bleurgh. But I thought that an accident theme might be appropriate this week as yet again I seem to be in the wars (and for those of you who remember - yes, it's the same arm as I broke last year: I'm going to be one big scar soon)

So here are my finds from Etsy this week. I was slightly tentative as I typed in 'accident' on the front page - I had visions of headless lego prints or something.  But I was relieved to see such lovely things turn up. All these items came about through some form of 'accident' - whether the artist was designing something else and it just happened or they just happened to be in a particular place to capture the moment. What do you think? As always, click on the links in the captions to get full details and visit the makers' Etsy shops.

I like this photo frame by totallytanya

Love the blur and colours in this photo by myndilove

Great effect on these tile coasters by BlythHouseCreations

Some interesting facts for you...

• Gunpowder was invented in the 9th century by some Chinese alchemists who mixed together saltpeter, sulfur, realgar, and dried honey in the hope of creating an 'elixir of immortality' Ironic that gunpowder does the opposite! 
• Kevlar, superglue, post-it notes, cellophane and photographs were all 'accidents' and came about when scientists were trying to make something else.
• Chocolate chip cookies were apparently also discovered by accident: Nestle have it that a Mrs Wakefield was trying to make chocolate cookies but had run out of cocoa so substituted with some broken up chocolate that she thought would melt. Obviously it didn't but the result was pretty awesome! 
• Popsicles were discovered by an 11 year old who kept them a secret for nearly 18 years. He left a powdered soda-water mix on his veranda one evening with a stirring stick in the cup. When he returned to the veranda the next day, temperatures had plummeted overnight and his drink had turned to ice. And the invention of the ice-lolly was born. I for one don't believe this. Well I believe that the ice-lolly was discovered by mistake but not that it was a secret for 18 years...
• I'm having issues with my internet today so sadly no YouTube clip - it was going to be a Laurel and Hardy sketch. Or some other comedy duo... Sorry! Hopefully I'll be back with full internet soon, in the meantime enjoy and please drop in to the Etsy shops! 

#Silent Sunday

#Silent Sunday

That Friday Feeling... Oceans

Did you know that today, June 8th is World Ocean Day? I didn't but I do now! You can find out more about World Ocean Day and some things you can do to support / participate here: http://worldoceansday.org/ I thought I'd go with an ocean theme this week, although obviously oceans are fairly vast so... I went with some ocean-inspired colours and ideas. What do you think of this week's Etsy finds?

Love the swirling in this pendant by flaminglily

This skein of embroidery yarn would look great in any number of projects. By therainbowgirl

Love these ocean-themed beads by LampworkJewels. So pretty!

What little facts can I find for you today?

• The oceans provide most of the earth's oxygen that we breathe.
• 94% of life on earth is aquatic. We are still learning about species that live in the oceans but one thing we can thank them for is pharmaceuticals. A lot of modern day medicines have their origins in plant and mineral extracts from the oceans.
• The largest ocean is the Pacific - it covers about 30% of the world's surface. The Atlantic covers about 21%  and in total the oceans cover about 70% of the world's surface.
• The largest mountain range on Earth lies under the oceans - and we had sent men onto the moon before we discovered the Mid-Ocean Ridge in 1973.
• There are more human artifacts of history in the oceans than there are in any of the museums of the world all combined. 
• The average depth of the oceans is about 12,400 feet. Photons (light) can't travel further than 330 feet under water which means that a huge amount of life in the oceans is always in the dark.
• Sadly I've already used Under the Sea from the The Little Mermaid in a previous post (see here) so this week you get Dory from Finding Nemo speaking whale... Enjoy! 

#Silent Sunday