Egyptian Tattoos

Egyptian tattoos are very beautiful in nature and with such a variety of artwork to choose from, it can be difficult deciding on simply one design.

Some of the most common Egyptian tattoos include, The eye of Horus (sound eye, Wadjet) which is believed by many to possess power, prosperity, protection and wisdom.

Other popular Egyptian god tattoos include, Hathor the Goddess of love, music, dance and is represented by cow horns and a sundisk on the head. Anubis is know as the god of embalming and is represented by the head of a jackal. Ma'at is known as the goddess of justice and is seen with an ostrich feather in her hair along with winged armed.

Enjoy these beautiful pictures of wonderful tattoo ideas.


Cats were highly regarded by many ancient Egyptians and were better known by the name "mau". Its quite common to see Egyptian themed cat tattoos.



These type of tattoos are seen on various locations of the body, with the back and arms being the most common areas.



Other Egyptian tattoo designs that are quite popular is the Scarab Beetle, which is often seen in the form of an amulet. And of course the very common Ankh (Cross) which is perhaps the most recognizable symbol of ancient Egypt, along with the mysteriously intriguing hieroglyphics.

Eagle Tattoos

As we mentioned before, if you are an animal lover and seeking a bird tattoo of any type, you are in for a treat, because bird tattoos are hands down some of the most captivatingly beautiful works of art on the market.

Not surprisingly eagle tattoos are perhaps the most common of all bird designs, which comes naturally for those of us in America, when you consider that eagles go hand in hand with the American flag and are symbolic of freedom, prosperity and patriotism towards the United States.

Enjoy this picture gallery of fantastic eagle artwork which will most certainly help you come up with a few ideas.



The most common location for an eagle tattoo includes the back, chest, bicep and calf area.



As for the details of the actual design, it seems that many people like to have the eagle donning open wings to appear in flight or perhaps swooping or striking its prey.



Some people choose to combined multiple designs into one piece of art, however unlike many other tattoo ideas, an eagle is such a prominently beautiful creature they look exceptionally bold as a stand along piece of artwork.

Today

It's been a whirlwind week here at our house with our big "referral/letter seeking confirmation" news.  I've finally been able to post photos of our new little sweetie, here.   In general, it's been a week of getting back in the school/activities groove.  But today, I'm just relaxing ("full-axing" as Maimie puts it).  My youngest daughter has been on my mind a lot this week.  I'm happy and excited and oh, so ready to jump in a plane and go meet the little cutie.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll think about the room that I've not finished decorating, or the enormous cost of plane tickets for 7 people, or the medical issues we will have to deal with soon, or even the difficulties associated with toddler adoptions. But today...no not today.

Today I plan to just gaze at my new daughter's photos.  And to think of all the wonderful times we will soon share.  Today I will daydream of holding her hand on an evening walk, of smooching her pudgy little cheeks, of stories on my lap, of tutus and teaparties, of baby dolls and lightning bugs, of hairbows and ice cream cones, of Bible stories and nursery rhymes, of sweet bedtime prayers and early morning snuggles, of singing silly songs and painting little piggie toes.

You've had your say..it's a yes!

The Fat 1/4 Birthday Club will go ahead for 2011..I won't be taking names for this one till the end of September..we have quite a few new bloggers around so I will just quickly explain how it works if you are Interested..
You will have a Criteria to fill out just letting us know your likes & dislikes for fabric & designers.You will be put into a group of 6 other ladies.On each Birthday in your group you will send 2 fat 1/4 of fabric of their likes and in return you will get 12 fat 1/4 of fabric you like on your birthday.This will start as of 1st Jan 2011 & will run for the whole year.We only want people to join if they are comitted for the whole year...the birthday's that you get will be spread out throughout the year so it is up to you to keep tabs on when your birthday's are.This is Not a Secret Swap as such as everyone in your group will know who is sending them fabric.I will put a post up for when you can join up.

..Thanks for stopping by.....Maree

Dragonfly Tattoos

The dragonfly is an exceptionally beautiful creature which seem to possess a certain mystical quality, perhaps because of their resemblance to what a fairy is imagined to look like, or maybe its because of the ancient Asian myth that a dragonfly represents virtues including happiness, success and victory among other positive aspects.

Dragonfly tattoos are also enjoyed by both men and women, unlike butterfly and fairy artwork which is most commonly seen on women alone.

Checkout these cool pictures which will most certainly give you some great ideas for your dragonfly tattoo masterpiece.



Dragonfly tattoos are very rangy in both style and size, as we see a few of excellent designs above, one being a large back piece and another much smaller ankle pic.



Some other common locations include the foot, which is perfect for very small tattoos, and the hip which is popular among girls.



The is no color restrictions for this type of tattoo, in fact we've seen just about every color under the sun, but perhaps more commonly, blue, purple, green and black ink are used.

Where in the world is Shenyang City?

Okay, so now that I can officially share information, I wanted to show where our daughter is currently living in China. Here is a map of her city (Shenyang City) and province (Liaoning).


If you look closely, you can see that to the east of Liaoning is North Korea. To the west of Liaoning is Beijing. Shenyang is the capital city of Liaoning province. Liaoning is located way into northern China. The climate there gets pretty cold in the winter, which may well be when we travel. It will be interesting seeing northern China and the Great Wall since during our trip to meet Maimie, we only visited the southern Chinese provinces of Guangxi and Guangdong.

After visiting a handful of websites, I've found out a few things about Shenyang City:

Shenyang means "city to the north of Shen River".  The Hun River on the city's south side used to be called the Shen River. Shenyang was first established around 300 B.C. and currently has a population of 7.2 million.  

It is the largest city in northeastern China by population and contains 38 of China's 56 ethnic groups, including the Han Chinese majority which makes up over 90% of Shenyang's population. 

According to one site:

Shenyang is the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and has many cultural relics which symbolize the prosperity and subsequent decline of China's last feudal dynasty... The most famous of these is the Shenyang Imperial Palace, which is of great historic and artistic significance and second only to the Forbidden City in Beijing in the extent of its preservation.

One other interesting thing I found is that this area is renowned for its dumplings ("jiaozi"), one of our faves. 

Here is a photo of the front of the Shenyang Children's Welfare Institute:

This particular welfare institute seems to be a somewhat large newer facility built in the 1970s.  It is staffed with doctors, nurses, teachers, therapists, and personal care staff.  It also has had a "Half the Sky" program in place since 2008.  We don't, however, know if Shen Jia Wen has participated in this program.

More cuteness!

Today we received the official LSC /approval via the Fed Ex man. It was really exciting and a bit sobering signing the official form and checking the box that we would accept the referral.  All of the next forms have been overnighted to the correct US government office, and we hope to hear of the next approval soon. 

 

Our new daughter's Chinese name  沈佳雯  Shen Jia Wen is pronounced "Shun Gee-ah Wun".  I was able to check it out by characters on a Chinese website to see what it means.  The first part "Shen" is the last name, given to all children in the Shenyang Children's Welfare Institute.  "Jia" is the given, or first name. I believe it means good, auspicious; beautiful, delightful; precious.  "Wen", the middle name, means something like cloud patterns; coloring of clouds. 

A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.  Now if we can just agree decide upon an American first name...

Our Cup Runneth Over...

 With grateful hearts we joyfully announce the referral of our daughter!

Chinese name: Shen Jia Wen
Birth date: 10-16-07
Now residing in the Children's Welfare Institute of Shenyang City, Liaoning, China.

"For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him." I Samuel 1:27

Choices have been made & fabric for Sale.

Patchwork Dreaming has had a few homes over the years...it has moved up from Tweed Heads to now at Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast...it's jammes packed...Lilyana is the owner of this Gorgeous Shop.

Janet was very Helpful...

Off White with very fine tone on tone stripe for the Background & 'French Hat Box' by Tanya Whelan for the Applique....this is more Me...16 fat 1/4's to start with...there's more in the range.

These 4 fat 1/4's arrived today from Ebay..Kaffe Fasset...I'm not Liking them so instead of just putting them into my stash & knowing full well I won't use them they are Up for Sale...$20.00 including p/p to the first one who wants them...just leave your request as a comment..
till next time. These are Now Sold.

..Thanks for stopping by.....Maree