I love sharing cool and funky things that I hear about in blogland ...
First off ... Kat and her Parachute Promises ...
I'm simply going to copy and paste from Kat's website, because that way I know more of you will read about her amazing product ::
I often get asked what inspired me to create Parachute Promise, and I have really struggled with that answer, because it's such a deeply personal question. If I’d created something along the lines of a better light bulb, or a better way to wash your clothes, I could point to some eureka moment of which the product was the result.
I started out just wanting to tell a few people who were close to me how grateful I was they had helped me to just keep going through a very difficult time. They held my hand and kept reminding me that with some things in this life, the only way out is through. They reminded me that no matter what was happening, we could get through it together. There wasn’t anything I could give them to symbolize how vitally important their support was during that time, and so the first creative seeds of Parachute Promise were born.
At the time, I was working with a gentleman named Dean Baxter. Dean always wore this interestingly shaped piece of metal on a leather cord. It wasn’t anything I had seen before, and it just looked like it was significant. Dean was a skydiver. He said that particular little piece of metal had saved his life a little over 500 times. I was fascinated by it. He explained how the little pin was all about timing, that a failure of its function either too soon or too late would have equally disastrous results. Many members of the skydiving community wear these curved release pins, also called “closing pins,” and this tiny piece of metal quite literally saves their lives.
I am not a skydiver. I would never jump out of a perfectly good airplane on purpose. What I was hearing and seeing as he was telling me this story was how life is its own form of free fall. So much of it is about timing—the wrong or right set of circumstances on either side can have either beautiful or disastrous results. I realized that the friends I had were right on time and were, quite literally, saving my life. They were, in their own way, my parachute. I found a manufacturer of these closing pins and ordered five. Four were intended as gifts, and one was intended for me. After all, I had survived the free fall as well.
I tied a piece of suede to each pin and gave them to my friends while thanking them for providing me with a soft landing. One of those recipients was so touched by it, she called me the next day not only to thank me, but to suggest that I create these for others. That is what you see today, the results of those events and that conversation. My family, friends and I started making these necklaces, with a little parachute release pin and a powerful message of thanks we hoped would find its way into the world.
But this isn’t about a product, this is about ... (NOW ... will you go click over to her website to read about the rest of the "about" story?)
I would seriously encourage you to check out the Parachute Promise keychains and necklaces, and think about who has given YOU a soft place to land ... this is a creative, unique and beautiful gift!
Check out her Facebook page for some inspiring stories about where the Parachute Promises have landed.
Onto the rest of the Saturday Snippets ::
As his mother, this makes me ABSOLUTELY cringe, BUT I suppose it's worth it for the cute little grin at the end. This is Terran with my mom in Kenya. They were on a matatu (public transportation) and it was so crowded (like they usually are) that he stuck his head out of the window.
(hey, will you do me a favor? Today is my mama's birthday. If you have a couple of minutes, would you jump over to her blog and leave a 'happy bday' comment for her?
I WANT TO DO THESE ::
INSPIRATION ::
This is quite possibly one of the BEST artsy websites I've seen in a LONG time. I love El hada de papel ... and visit it DAILY. Such simplicity ... but such love. We are in the middle of THIS PROJECT.
WELL, DUH! ::
Noma shared this with me ... and I thought I'd pass it on ... you know how others make those cool Facebook symbols? Now you too, can make cool Facebook symbols.
WALL ART ::
Has anyone ever used Fracture? The concept is kind of weirding me out ... but I'd love to see it in "real life" ...
