Simon's Cat

Hello everybody!
Today I've decided on writing a short review on an animation that I've been following for over two years now and that never fails to amaze me with it's beautiful graphics and subtle humor.
Simon's Cat is a drawn feline character, that appeared at first in a frame to frame animated, online video called 'Cat Man Do' in March 2008. Ever since there have been many more short films but also comic-books and other merchandise depicting this charming cat's mischievous life.

It's raining...

In this part of Germany it's been awfully rainy these past few days... But it's not raining cats and dogs. No, it's raining giraffes with umbrellas!

 

Talking about a summer debut! ^_^

Auf jeden Fall, riecht es nicht mehr nach Winter

Als ich abends aus dem Gebäude raus trat, kam mir eine warme Brise entgegen. Die Luft trug sanfte Geruchsnoten von Blüten, von Wein und frischgebackenem Kuchen. Sie war voller Erinnerungen von einem fernen Sommer, am Ufer eines Sees mit Gelächter, Gesang und Gitarrenklang.

Die warme Athmosphäre trug mich weiter. Ein Schritt nach dem anderen und ich betrat die Nacht. Und samt dem Sommertraum wurde ich verführt... zu einem stillen, langen Weg... nach Hause.

Clara Weather Charm

Hello everybody!
Have you heard of "Kuragehime" (meaning "Jellyfish Princess") by Higashimura Akiko?
It is a great manga that combines otaku with fashion and business-spirit in a very humorous way. The drawing style is also really good! If you like the genre slice of life, I really recommend reading this or watching the anime (which only shows the first part of the story, but is also very light and full of loughs).
This awesome manga served me as inspiration in making my first weather charm. And here it is:

my own interpretation of Clara, the jellyfish (also the mascot of "Kuragehime").

It is made out of some old pieces of white and pink cloth and the eyes and mouth are painted with fabric paint. There is also a trick of sewing the "neck" twice in order to get the head in the shape of a slightly squished sphere (an oblate spheroid) and the body as thin as possible right below the pink fabric.
Well, I don't know if this is what the author Higashimura Akiko had in mind when she thought Clara up, but this is the best I could do with my sewing skills.
Either way, the weather charm did actually make the latest days more sunny (although still a bit too cold for my taste).

Have nice and sunny spring days everyone!

Piranha Plant Plushie

What if instead of a colourful napkin or a red rose, there was a piranha plant coming out of your
suit-pocket?

This Mario games inspired figurine is fairly easy to make out of white, red and green felting wool. Because of these colours, I find it just right for the month of March. It could also be worn as a mărţişor.

If you want to see a tutorial on how to make this spotted cutie, let me know.

Have a nice spring everyone!

 "Dlup, Dlup, dlup..."

March has the colours red & white

The smell of spring is in the air! The days are finally a bit longer so that the sun can wake me up in the morning. The only thing that's missing is a ´mărţişor´. 

Mărţişor is a little token tied to a red and white string, that is worn by girls and women during the month of March. It is the symbol of the springtime conquering the winter. It is a tradition in Roumania and Bulgaria and is said to date back to the Roman Empire, when the New Year was celebrated in March. The name of this month comes from the roman god of war Mars, also Marte. it was the time-period when the Romans made war-preparations, April being the first month of war.
Whichever meanings, those of peace and war or those of vitality and frozen sleep that the mărţişor (the little March) has, receiving one from a family member or a friend brings great joy!

I wish everyone reinvigorating, happy days this spring!