Win Wormy ! ;-)

Hello :-)

As you can see, I am just a tiny worm. No one ever loved to see me coming out of my apple, even when I am really polite and say: "Please, as you can see, this is not only an apple, it is my house. So please leave it to me and eat something different.!". No!!! All world is tempted to EAT my HOME!!!

So I need your help. If I get famous, people will not only greet me and smile at me, they will refrain from leaving me homeless. But for getting famous, you need a story people will love to hear.

So please help me,  write me a story and I will come to you and live with you and we will be friends forever.

If you want to win Wormy, leave your story in the commentbox. I will post them all on May 23 on this blog. The winner will be decided per vote from may 23 till may 31.

Just for fun ;-)

Made like all my other sculptures freeformed in a flame (a very little flame this time) with softglass from Lauscha and Murano.

The silver chain is made of 925er sterling silver and 17.72 inches long.
The apple pendant is about only 0.47 inch long.
You can also choose your favourite colors and mail me your wishes.

~Please regard, that all my work is handmade and unique,
  so there can be little variations in color and shape~

Ladybug * Lady Beetle * Ladybird Beetle

Many people are fond of ladybugs because of their colorful, spotted appearance. But farmers love them for their appetite. Most ladybugs voraciously consume plant-eating insects, such as aphids, and in doing so they help to protect crops. Ladybugs lay hundreds of eggs in the colonies of aphids and other plant-eating pests. When they hatch, the ladybug larvae immediately begin to feed. By the end of its three-to-six-week life, a ladybug may eat some 5,000 aphids.

Ladybugs are also called lady beetles or, in Europe, ladybird beetles. There are about 5,000 different species of these insects, and not all of them have the same appetites. A few ladybugs prey not on plant-eaters but on plants. The Mexican bean beetle and the squash beetle are destructive pests that prey upon the crops mentioned in their names.

Ladybugs appear as half-spheres, tiny, spotted, round or oval-shaped domes. They have short legs and antennae.

Their distinctive spots and attractive colors are meant to make them unappealing to predators. Ladybugs can secrete a fluid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste. Their coloring is likely a reminder to any animals that have tried to eat their kind before: "I taste awful." A threatened ladybug may both play dead and secrete the unappetizing substance to protect itself.

"LADYBUG" IN OTHER LANGUAGES:

"Glückskäfer" -- Austria
"Slunécko" - Czechoslovakia 
"Mariehøne" -- Denmark 
"LadyBird" -- England
"Leppäkerttu" -- Finland 
"Coccinelle" -- France 
"Marienkafer" -- Germany 
"Paskalitsa" -- Greece 
"Parat Moshe Rabenu" -- Hebrew
"Lieveheersbeestje" -- Holland 
"Katicabogár" -- Hungary 
"Coccinella" -- Italy 
"Tentou Mushi" -- Japan 
"Da'asouqah" -- Jordan 
"Mudangbule" -- Korea 
"Mara" -- Latvia 
"Kumbang" -- Malaysia  
"Mariehøne" -- Norway
"Biedronka" -- Poland 
"Joaninha" -- Portugal 
"Buburuzã" -- Romania 
"Bosya Kopovka" -- Russia 
"Pikapolonica" -- Slovania 
"Mariquita" -- Spain 
"Nykelpiga" -- Sweden 
"Ugurböcegi" -- Turkey 
"Ladybug" -- United States 
"Ilsikazana Esincane" -- Zulu 

HOW THE LADYBUG GOT ITS NAME:

Legends vary about how the Ladybug came to be named, but the most common (and enduring) is this:   In Europe, during the Middle Ages, swarms of insects were destroying the crops.  The farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help.  Soon thereafter the Ladybugs came, devouring the plant-destroying pests and saving the crops!  The farmers called these beautiful insects "The Beetles of Our Lady", and - over time - they eventually became popularly known as "Lady Beetles".  The red wings were said to represent the Virgin's cloak and the black spots were symbolic of both her joys and her sorrows.

LADYBUG LEGENDS:

Nearly ALL cultures believe that a Ladybug is lucky. 

Killing one is said to bring sadness and misfortune.

In France, if a Ladybug landed on you, 

whatever ailment you had would fly away with the Ladybug.

    If a Ladybug is held in the hand while making a wish, 

    the direction that it flies away to shows where

    your luck will come from. 

    If the spots on the wings of a Ladybug are more than seven,

    it's a sign of coming famine.  If less than seven, it means 

    you will have a good harvest.

    In Belgium, people believed that if a Ladybug crawled across 

    a young girl's hand, she would be married within a year.

    People in Switzerland told their young children 

    that they were brought to them, as babies, by Ladybugs.

    (...and we thought Storks did that)!

    In some Asian cultures, it is believed that the Ladybug understands

    human language, and has been blessed by God, Himself.

    In Brussels, the black spots on the back of a Ladybug indicate to the

    person holding it how many children he/she will have.

    According to a Norse legend, the Ladybug came to earth 

  riding on a bolt of lightning.

   

    The Victorians in Britain believed that if a Ladybug alighted on your

    hand, you would be receiving new gloves.....if it landed on your head,

    a new hat would be in your future, and so on.

    In the 1800's, some doctors used Ladybugs to treat measles!  They

    also believed that if you mashed ladybugs (ewww!) and put them

    into a cavity, the insects would stop a toothache!

    During the Pioneer days, if a family found a Ladybug in their log cabin

    during the winter, it was considered a "Good Omen".

    In the Spring, if numerous Ladybugs are seen flying around,

    British farmers say it forecasts many bountiful crops.

    Many Bretons believe that the arrival of Ladybugs will bring fair weather.

    Folklore suggests if you catch a Ladybug in your home, count the number

    of spots and that's how many dollars you'll soon find.

    In Norway, if a man and a woman spot a Ladybug at the same time,

    there will be a romance between them.

(Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/ladybug/ and http://www.celticbug.com/Legends/Lore.html)

Ladybug necklace - glass figurines

 

Made like all my other sculptures freeformed in a flame (a very little flame this time) with softglass from Lauscha and Murano.

The silver chain is made of 925er sterling silver and 17.72 inches long.

The leave is about only 1.06 inch long.

You can also choose your favourite colors and mail me your wishes.

~Please regard, that all my work is handmade and unique,

  so there can be little variations in color and shape~ 

Pen history

The feather keel and the broad reed feather especially for headings remained the most important instrument for writing on parchment and paper from old Roman into the modern times. Feathers of the raven, peacock, swan or goose proved for the sensitive surface of parchment as best suitably. Either bald scraped or kept in the original status, the natural curvature of the feather of the human hand formed a perfect match. Beside ink, pen and parchment the pen knife - a longer, sharp blade - was the indispensable tool for the writing. With its help the writings were smoothed, disturbing feather flags were scraped, errors erased and the feather points cut and sharpened.

The expansion of trade in the17th and 18th century, the developing sciences and arts, drove the requirement of writing materials into astronomical heights. A goose supplied only 10 to 12 good feather keels. At the beginning of the 19th century approximately 50 million feather keels were used annually in Germany. The European main producers were Russia and Poland. 27 million feather keels were imported by England from St. Petersburg per year. The bank of England used alone 1.5 million. A writer used 5 feather keels per day. It is easy to imagine how often the work had to be interrupted for a careful sharpening. The occupation of the feather cutter spread rapidly.

For economic reasons the Londoner bankers thought about a remedy. In the year 1809 a machine, this was able to divide quills lengthwise and crosswise several times, was applied for patent. About 20 pieces could be won in from a feather in such a way. They were sharpened and put into a wooden "penholder". The ancestors of the penholder were born. On the search for pen points, this could not be used up so rapidly, even the glassmaker tried their luck. German, Japanese and also North American glassmaker were the first to test thin glass rods with facets tapered to a point. After immersing in the ink cask a sufficient amount of ink could be collected in the facet-like holes and slowly drop to the point. Despite substantial advantages such as almost no wear and corrosion, useable on wood, paper, leather and similar materials - the glass pen did not become generally accepted. The material broke too easily.

Only as   succeeded to improving the coherence and capillary strength the glass pen became a hit for export. French, American and German manufacturers used this glass pen in fountain pens and offered this as an ideal writing instrument in offices.