Holes in the clouds - hole punch or fallstreak hole clouds.

We were in South Carolina today & saw a hole in the clouds over the town of Lancaster. It was such a rare sight & strange feeling to watch this. We took a few pictures before it disappeared.

My research revealed per the Weather Channel:

These rare cloud formations, called "hole-punch clouds", develop in altocumulus cloud layers and are often the result of airplanes passing through the layer of clouds.
So, how does this happen?
The altocumulus cloud layer is composed of small water droplets that are below freezing called supercooled water droplets. If ice crystals can form in the layer of supercooled droplets, they will grow rapidly and shrink or possibly evaporate the droplets completely.

and National Geographic:

Clouds are made of water droplets, and hole punch clouds—also known as fallstreak hole clouds—occur when part of that cloud falls out, leaving behind a hole. That opening in the cloud is the result of an extremely localized snowfall.

Usually, atmospheric water droplets latch on to particles in order to form ice crystals, or snow. This happens on a massive scale during snowstorms. The only way water droplets can spontaneously form ice crystals without those particles is if temperatures fall to roughly -40°F (-40°C). (Learn more about these giant cloud holes.)

In a hole punch cloud, temperatures fall in only a small portion of the cloud, forming a localized snowstorm. When that snow falls, it leaves behind a hole. Refraction of sunlight by the ice crystals results in the rainbow, while the arrangement of those crystals gives us a bright patch of light in the middle called a sun dog. (See pictures of sun dogs and halos.)

The expansion of air as an airplane passes can also produce hole punch clouds by cooling water droplets enough for them to form ice crystals.

Duck-tape Flower Ring

This ring was made in less than 30 minutes. From duck-tape. Tutorial to follow.

Upfashioned tablecloth skirt

My Tablecloth Skirt

 

 

I found this tablecloth on a yardsale a few weeks ago & could see it as a DIY skirt. The lace & embroidery fabric screamed "skirt"!!

It is easy to up-fashion a round tablecloth as all you need is to cut a hole & add ribbing.

 

 

 Ribbing is found at most fabric stores I had this piece left over fro a previous project and it was just long enough to add the desired length to my skirt. The width was also perfect, so I did not have to seam the ribbing. I just folded it over to double for the top half of the skirt

 

I measured my hips & folded the tablecloth in 4, took the 1/4 measurement of my hips & cut the fabric curved to follow the tape.

 

I attached the ribbing to the cut edge of the tablecloth & serged the inside edge.

 

I will be wearing a short petticoat with this skirt.

 

Cool pictures

Photos that speak to me. I love taking pictures & sometimes you get one unique picture. I will post them here as they happen.

Flying to the sun.


Paragliding - the last flight of 2014. The winter sun was brilliant & the color contrast perfect.

 

 



Butterfly in action, one late spring afternoon.




An Angel catching the last afternoon sun.

Teal Picture Frame with Protea flowers.

An outdated gold frame that needed a new life. I cleaned the frame with soapy water & used Krylon ColorMaster in Jade to spray paint the frame

I love the detail in the frame & wiped it with a cloth right after I sprayed it to reveal the gold.

The frame is now proudly displaying Proteas. A wild flower indigenous to South Africa.

Mad Hatter Upcycle

MAD HATTER COSTUME 

 

This is what became the Mad Hatter costume
 

Purple jacket $3.49.

 

Lace & fabric for collar & cuffs, free. (I have lots of scrap fabrics)

 

The sash/bobbin belt will be made from all the old wooden spools I found on a yardsale a couple of seasons ago. ( I knew it would come in handy someday)

 

 

I had to visit Hancock's for the bow & striped pants. Found this on the $ 3.98 pile & only needed  a little. The pants will be pajamas after halloween.

The hat was found on a yard-sale for $2.00. I only needed the hat for the frame or base for my hat.

I used some of the lace for the rim & made a black felt (covered with lace)  top section to go over the frame.

 

 I attached the top felt section to the hat & added a pink silk band to match the rim. I added kebab sticks with beads, peacock feathers & the "pricetag".

 

 

 And the final product, ready for tricks & treats. We had to tweak the make-up & used orange hairspray on her blond hair.

 

 

Satisfied!

 

Gerbil Tribute

SQUIGGLES

As we said goodbye to the pet Gerbil my daughter wrote this poem as a tribute to Squiggles, her buddy. She read this at his funeral.

My gerbil

Squiggles oh how I miss you so

How far away will you go

To the heavens up above

Where god waits for you with kindness and love

You did not spend much time on this earth

Nor did your mother when she gave you birth

When your grandpa got you from pet co.

I did not know how far our love would go

When I played with you I felt mounds of joy

And the times I was lonely you were my toy

As I bury you we’ll be farther apart

But you’ll always be special to me and my heart

 By Anne-Mari