Evel Knievel Passes Away

The famous daredevil, Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel passed away today (11/30/07) at the age of 69. He has been sick for years with diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He also contracted Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion 15 years previously.

I'm not old enough to see Evel Knievel do his live motocycle jumps (on TV) but I did see all the amazing clips of him making his jaw dropping jumps.

The one that made him famous was of course, the fountains in front of Caesar Place in Las Vegas. He was hoping to broadcast it live on ABC, but because at the time he wasn't famous yet, ABC did not eat up his tale of the stunt and rejected the broadcast. When Knievel made the jump in 1967, his motorcycle unexpectedly loss power and decelerate, which caused Knievel to come up short during the landing. Knievel hit the pavement and skidded into the Dunes parking lot. As a result, he ended up with crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his hip, wrist and both ankles and a concussion that kept him in a coma for 29 days. After ABC got a hold of the footage, shot by Knievel's ex-wife, ABC quickly bought the rights, and that footage made Evel Knievel a household name.

The Six Flags at St. Louis was going to open a wooden coaster in 2008 after the legendary daredevil, too bad he won't be around to see it.

A man who escaped death so many times, ultimately gave in. Now he's jumping the sky.

EtsyBlogger HOLIDAY SALE!

Daibe Beads is participating in the EtsyBlogger Street Team's Holiday Sale.

From 12/1 - 12/8 only:

Get 10% off any items from our store. Type in the code ETSYBLOG10 at checkout to receive this discount.

Get an automatic FREE SHIPPING with the purchase of $35 or more! U.S. Only.

Visit Daibe Beads now!

DaibeBeads.com
DaibeBeads.etsy.com

Rare Faberge Egg Sets Record

A rare enamel-and-gold Faberge egg sold for $18.5 million dollars, which according to the Christie auction house, it is the highest paid Faberge work of art and broke the record for Russian artwork, excluding paintings.

A little bit about Faberge Eggs:

Russian Czar Alexander III commissioned the first of the eggs from Peter Carl Faberge as an Easter gift for his wife, Empress Maria Fedorovna in 1885. The egg was an enameled egg with a gold yolk, gold hen, miniature diamond crown and ruby egg inside. The Czar was so impressed that he commissioned a new egg every Easter.

After the czar died in 1894, his son Nicholas continued the tradition until the Russian Revolution in 1917. Nicholas and his family were executed in 1918, thus ending the creation of the eggs.

Faberge created more than 50 eggs for Russia's imperial family, though not all survive.

CYBER MONDAY SALE!

For ONE DAY ONLY(11/26/07):

Take 10% off any items from our store (any of our store)!

www.DaibeBeads.com

DaibeBeads.etsy.com

Hurry! This deal ends at midnight.

Weekly Featured Seller: HeyLady

You have to check out our newest featured seller, HeyLady. She sells awesome cards that are made from recycle materials - crafty and environmental friendly.

What is the name of your store and what do you sell?
HeyLady. I sell vintage and recycled paper products. Mostly cards, but a few tags.

How did you get into your craft?
I moved across country, with no internet access, and only 700 anytime minutes to keep in touch with my friends and family back home. I started making cards out of scrapbooking supplies. But in my opinion, nothing made from mass produced products can ever really be unique, which clashes with my everything. So I combined my love for vintage, my love for our planet, and my love for snail mail. Viola, Hey Lady! was born.

What is your latest project?
Lately I've been working on my pinup pastie collection. Cards that display retro woman wearing nothing but rhinestones or (for the holidays) snowflakes.

Where can we find your products?
You can find Hey Lady! cards and tags at www.heyladyrecycledcards.com , or at my etsy shop, www.heylady.etsy.com. Our cards are also being sold at Texas Art Spot, in Cosicana Texas.

Homemade Light Box

A picture is worth a thousand words. How true is that! Especially in the e-commerce business, a picture of your item can make or break a sale. If your picture is bad, no matter how great your item is, it's not going to appeal to anyone else, because anyone else doesn't know how great your item is, all they have to go by is your description and your picture.

One of my biggest problems when taking pictures of our items is the lighting. My picture would come out too dark, or I'll have a snippet of my TV in the background because I don't have a great place for a backdrop in my apartment.

I figure a light box is the way to go, but I don't want to spend money for one. So I made one.

What you need (and you can probably find these laying around your house somewhere):

• Cardboard Box
• White Paper
• Ruler
  
• Glue
• Scissor
• Razor
  
• Tape
• Light source, of course

Directions (my description here might suck, but once you see the pictures, it'll make sense. Trust me)

1. Found a cardboard box, I taped the bottom to make sure it's securely in place
2. Using a razor, I cut out one side of the box. This side will be used as the bottom of the light box.
3. Using a razor, I cut out two of the four top flaps of the box. (Look at the picture for reference)
   
4. The other three sides, using a razor, I cut open three big rectangular holes. (Again, look at the picture, you'll know what I'm talking about)
5. I took some white papers, measured them to the measurement of the side of the box and cut them out
6. I glued the cut out paper to the respective three cut out sides of the box. Make sure to glue the paper on the inside of the box, not the outside.
7. I glued the bottom of the box with white paper as well, making this my white background when I'm taking pictures. You can use any background color you want, just find that color paper and glue it on the bottom of the box.
8. Place the box appropriately. The bottom of the box is now your background. The one side of the box that you cut out is now the bottom of the box. Find a large piece of white paper, and tuck it in between the background portion and the bottom of the box.
   
9. Place your light source, (light, sunlight, flash, whatever you use) in front of box, adjust your lighting according. And viola! You have a light box.

Here's what I took in the box: Finally, my background is just white! No snippets of my apartment appearing behind it!




By the way, you can purchase the items shown here at DaibeBeads.com

The Zig Zag Swarovski Jewelry Set

As featured in the IndixFixx Holiday Gift Guide!

The Zig Zag Swarovski Jewelry Set is handcrafted from blue and light champagne colored Swarovski crystals, this 7" bracelet and dangle earrings set shines and sparkles for any occasions. Custom length and colors are available. Get it today!

$39.99
Buy Now, Click Here!

From now to 12/31/2007, get free shipping by entering the code "indiefixx" during checkout!

And remember, there are lots more holiday goodies to choose from, visit our store at DaibeBeads.com or our Etsy store at DaibeBeads.etsy.com for the entire catalogue!

How Much Would You Pay For This?

This is the "Hanging Heart" by Jeff Koons, a sculpture of a stainless steel heart hanging from a golden bow. Ready to guess how much it was sold for? $23.6 million bought by the Gagosian Gallery. This almost 9 feet tall, 3,500 pound sculpture set the auction record at Sotheby's. Now if only someone would pay that much for my art....

Weekly Featured Seller: Creations by Cory

The thing that struck me when visiting Creations by Cory, was the vibrant colors used in the pendants. Let's meet our seller:

1. What is the name of your store and what do you sell?
My store is Creations By Cory. I make soldered glass collage art pendants. I take photo, vintage postcard images, and assorted images I have gathered, and collage them into one of a kind pendants. They are the encased in glass and then soldered with silver, lead free solder. I also make unique necklaces to accompany many of my necklaces.

2. How did you get into your craft?
I have always loved art, and took art classes for most of my life. My true love is painting in oils. I then discovered and feel in love with idea of taking different objects and mediums and making them into one unique piece. I am also a huge jewelry girl. So being able to take art and transform it into a wearable jewelry piece is just the perfect combination for me.

3. What is your latest project?
I always have tons of ideas brewing. It's just getting them all done. My absolute newest project are my soldered glass crosses. They have been a huge hit, and are definately a statement maker. I have also been doing a lot of custom photo pendants, which I love to do. Most of them are of little children, but they are the most fun to work with. I take these photos and collage them with butterfly wings, crown, and other objects I come up with along the way. The cutest one I did was a little girl with butterfly wings collaged as a jack in the box. I really enjoy doing the custom pendants. I have also done alot of school sport photo pendants, with school mascots and children's sport photos. That is probably the second best seller in my pendants.

4. Where can we find your products?
I would like to invite you to visit my online store at: http://www.creations.cory.etsy.com. And you can also reach me through my email for custom orders any time at: corym [!at] clearwire.net.

In you're in the New York Area...

Please come out to Williamsburg, Brooklyn for Artists & Fleas, where Daibe Beads will be selling our wares!

For direction, click here.


Here's a sneak peek at what we'll be selling. See you there!

Hey Ansel Adams, Let's Go!

For some reason, whenever I hear the name Ansel Adams, that's the phrase I am reminded of. If you're a Simpsons fan, you'll know what I'm talking about. In the episode "Marge Not Be Proud," the episode where Bart stole the game Bonestorm from Try 'n Save and got caught by the security guard and was warned never to step foot in that place again. When the Simpsons family returns to Try 'n Save to take a family photo, Bart was impatient, worry that the guard will catch him there, and he says to the photographer "Hey Ansel Adams, Let's Go! Take the photo." And I think... Bart knows who Ansel Adams is? Awesome.

But I digress...

The real reason for this post is Ansel Adam's proofs are on display, photos that were taken with a hand held camera that were not intended to be viewed by anyone. The pictures were taken in 1940 when Adams and his friend David Hunter took a trip through the Intracoastal Waterway from Virginia to Georgia. The exhibit of 50 photographs are being displayed at the Museum of the Albemarle, and was earlier displayed at Fitchburg Art Museum in Massachusetts.

Although these proofs are not the final art of Adams' and the photos might be interpreted differently in his final take, they're still art in itself, showing how the pictures look while they were a "work in progress." The proofs are still breathtaking. Here's one of them:

Our Weekly Featured Seller: Lani Robertson: Objects of Affection

When I logged onto Lani's etsy store, Objects of Affection for the first time, her banner caught my eyes, and I thought "very vintage and pretty!" - and that was before I even get to see her products. As I scrolled down, I was loving all her beautiful charms. Here is her interview:

1. What is the name of your store and what do you sell?

Hello ~ My name is Lani Robertson and I am the proud owner of Objects Of Affection. I love creating soldered charms from vintage and antique books, as well as soldered night lights, shadow boxes, sewn goodies, cards and photography! You just never know what you might find in my shop, as I am always adding more arts/crafts!


2. How did you get into your craft?

I am a huge fan of Home Companion magazine and I always check out all of the sellers and artists in each edition. I noticed an ad for a website called SallyJean.com, and checked it out. I loved Sally's whimsical soldered charms and I was inspired to learn how to solder and make my own creations! I searched the internet for any and all information that I could find on the craft and slowly taught myself how to solder.

3. What is your latest project?

My latest projects have been creating shrinky plastic earrings for children and teens! My daughter just recently got her ears pierced and I wanted to make her some unique fun earrings!

4. Where can we find your products?

My products can be found on my etsy website at www.lanisvintage.etsy.com. I also have a shop in the very small town of Kit Carson, Colorado. I fixed up a little run down house and made it into my shop where I offer my handmade items as well as vintage finds. For more information about me or my shop please visit my blog at http://www.shopobjectsofaffection.blogspot.com - or e-mail me at - shopobjectsofaffection [!at] yahoo.com.

King Tut's Face Revealed!

King Tutankhamun's face was finally revealed, 3,000 years after the Golden Boy was wrapped in linen and buried in his golden tomb. His fragile leathery black body is now out of the sarcophagus and placed in a glass climate controlled case to prevent it from turning to dust.

The youngest and most famous pharaoh took over the Egyptian throne when he was only 8 years old. He died when he was 19 years old. At death, he was 5 feet 6 and seemed to be healthy built. Though not the most powerful king of Egypt, he is certainly one of the most famous ones. His modern mystique, his almost completely intact burial ground in the Valley of Kings, and the trove of treasures he was buried with made him a household name. His mysterious death also causes many debates. According to a previous X-Ray scan of the body, his head revealed a dense spot at the lower back of the skull, that might indicate a murderous blow. But with a much advanced scanning with a CT scan conducted by Dr. Zahi Hawass, which obtains 3D images of King Tut, there were no indications of a dense spot. There was a hole in the skull but it was most likely done by embalmers. His left thigh was severely broken, which leads to the current theory that King Tut died of gangrene. The thigh was most likely broken due to a bad fall.

Now that King Tut has been restored and moved into a glass case, the tourist numbers are expected to double to 700 a day in Egypt. Over 225,000 tickets have been pre-sold for London's exhibition of King Tut. Then in 2008, Tut will make a trip to the U.S. at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Anyone want to take a trip to Dallas with me?

The New New York Etsy Team!

We just became new members of the New New York Etsy Team! We're proud Brooklynites.

Check out their blog!