I stumbled across this site while looking for information about different oil mediums and was immediately impressed by just how comprehensive it is. Bill Martin offers free online oil painting lessons, tips and instruction to guide beginning artists in learning beginning oil painting techniques and purchasing art supplies. I figured I’d share it in case anyone reading this is interested in oil painting 
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Celtic Needle Tatting
The InTatters October tatting challenge is to use up that thread that's sitting in the bottom of your stash, the one that you somehow acquired and yet for whatever reason have never used.
I chose some DMC Senso Harlequin thread - a cotton and microfibre blend in variegated colours. One ball was...
Dublin Zoo With such amazingly good weather it was time to finally head over to the zoo. Since I've been in Dublin there's been so many babies born there that I figure they must be doing something right. 2007 saw a new giraffe born. Last year saw the birth of an elephant, a white rhino and a sealion. In may this...
Bretzels
There's so many bretzel recipes out there that I had avoided making them for so long. A lot of them had accompanying pictures that looked nothing like the gorgeous dark brown and creamy white originals. This one, however, showed a little more promise. This is one of those recipes that is not hard...
Madeleines These light and delicious French classic Madeleines are so quick and easy to make - but you can't skimp on the steps. In this recipe it's the process that's the important thing if you want to get a successful result. You could make them in a cupcake pan if you don't have a Madeleine pan, but make sure...
Celandine Necklace My first finished piece of needle tatting is this necklace. I've adapted an edging and corner pattern by Mary Konior which she has called Celandine, and added swarovski beads to make this piece which is worked in size 10 Anchor mercer crochet cotton.
The necklace is made in three sections, and don't...
I come across a fair number of interesting links and tidbits online, especially on Twitter. Here’s a few that I’ve come across lately…
In the News
- Two escape as car falls through ice http://bit.ly/8DXqnp (via @the_irish_times)
- Twitter’s Growth Slows Dramatically – http://br.st/0NT (via @dministry)
Handy to Know
- Pack a Gun to Protect Valuables from Airline Theft or Loss http://lifehacker.com/5448014/ (via @Lifehacker)
- 16 Useful Mac Cheat Sheets – http://bit.ly/5d6M5U (via @smashingmag)
- Reading Devices: Scrolling vs. Pagination – http://bit.ly/4tKExs (via @smashingmag)
The World of Design
- Outstanding: Redesigning Boarding Passes – http://bit.ly/8P5TrD (via @smashingmag)
- 40 Inspiring Single Page Websites – http://bit.ly/4yK5pD (via @smashingmag)
- How cool is this clock? http://ow.ly/htx1 (via @DesignerDepot)
We don’t get much snow in Australia, in fact many Australians have never seen snow in real life. Yet we do have snowfields. Snow is something you go to, as in “What are you doing this weekend?” “I’m going to the snow.” For those who work in the snowfields there is a thing called a “Snow Day”. This happens when you have a night with lots and lots of snow so the next morning there’s perfect skiing conditions. When this happens cafe’s, restaurants and shops will close for a Snow Day – a day where employees can enjoy the wonders that nature has provided.
I think this is a marvelous idea. Employees tend to work harder and longer simply because they know that come the perfect conditions, they’ll be able to spend a day skiing and not be stuck inside serving the lucky few.
And I’d like to propose that this idea be extended to Ireland. Since sunshine here can be a rare sight, I think that on those days that you wake up to a glorious glowing orb and not a cloud in sight that companies should call a Sun Day and allow their employees to take a day to enjoy it. I’d even be happy if we stuck a max number of Sun Days on per month just in case we get a good year.
What do you think? Would the promise of a Sun Day make you a happier employee? Do you think it’s a good idea?
Bill Martin’s Guide to Oil Painting
I stumbled across this site while looking for information about different oil mediums and was immediately impressed...
