Der Furchtbare Kurbiskopf ( German for “The Frightful Pumpkin Head” )
an Original Eco-friendly hand-crafted card by Kristofer Hammes.

An Origin Story of the Jack-O-Lantern

Throughout history, various peoples in what is now the United Kingdom carved monstrous faces into vegetables such as turnips, beets and even the thick stems of cabbages as a way to keep evil spirits away from their homes. The Jack-O-Lantern’s name comes from the strange phenomena of lights flickering over peat bogs, once called Will’o’the Wisp. It wasn’t until settlers came to the New World that pumpkins were used.

There are several folk stories of who Jack was, most commonly he is called Stingy Jack and had a reputation for deceiving and causing trouble for the townsfolk. As the story goes, the Devil heard of Stingy Jack’s notoriety and decided he must see for himself just what this character was up to. On this fateful night, Jack was wandering, drunk, through the countryside when he came upon a body laying on the ground. Upon approaching the body Jack realized this to be the Devil and knew that his time was up and he would soon be taken to Hell. Jack, in his usual trickster spirit, asked the Devil if they could go to the pub for one last drink. Having had several, Jack asked the Devil to pay his tab and suggested the Devil transform himself into a silver coin with which to pay. Once the Devil had switched form Jack placed him in a pocket along with his crucifix which then prevented the Devil from returning to his usual form. Stingy Jack made a wager with the Devil that if his soul would be spared for another 10 years he would release the Devil from the clutches of his pocket. Begrudgingly the Devil agreed.

Right on schedule, 10 years later, the Devil returned to Jack. Now being of this specific character, Stingy Jack was not about to accept his fate laying down! He asked the Devil to fetch him an apple to eat. Once the Devil had climbed the apple tree Jack surrounded it with wooden crosses, which prohibited the Devil from climbing down. Having realized he has been foolish to fall for Jack’s prank yet again, the Devil agreed to another bargain- Stingy Jack would remove the crosses if the Devil swore to never take his soul to Hell.
Eventually Stingy Jack had succumb to his gluttonous lifestyle. Upon approaching St. Peter at the gates of Heaven he was turned away for his troublesome behavior. Feeling a bit defeated Stingy Jack decided to try his luck and see if the underworld of Hell would accept him. The Devil reminded Jack of the final bargain they had made and sent him back to earth with an ember, as a way to warn others of Jack’s misdeeds and marking him as a citizen on the netherworld. For all eternity Stingy Jack wanders between the planes of both worlds carrying his “Jack-O-Lantern”- a turnip filled with an ember- to illuminate his path.

The post Der Furchtbare Kurbiskopf + An Origin Story of the Jack-O-Lantern: appeared first on Black Ribbon Society.

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An acrylic and watercolor on wood painting, sealed with waterproof coating for longevity.

About “HUSH”: this is a personal piece I created to address the theme of secrets, obscurity, shame, horror, fear and stigma…that feeling of crippling-paralysis that threatens us when we feel helpless.

I also wanted to imbue the idea of the Power of words, especially in our technology-driven times, so that’s what those “quotation-mark” symbols are.

{ This image is also in our Gallery Page in the “Wood Panel Paintings” Album }

The post Fresh New Art: HUSH (click blog post title-link to see picture) appeared first on Black Ribbon Society.

Jesse here to let you know about our latest Greeting Card offering: Handmade Quilled Valentine’s

These cards are available on our Etsy.com shoppe page, which you can easily-access by clicking on the “BRS on Etsy.com” TAB in our main menu above, or you can ALSO visit our Etsy.com shoppe right from FACEBOOK via our Etsy Tab on the BRS Facebook page (which you can also easily-access by clicking on the Facebook icon in the right sidebar).

If you happen to live in San Diego, CA or nearby you can purchase them at

ART OF FRAMING, located at 3333 Adams Avenue • San Diego, CA 92116

I have been working on these beauties for the past month and have produced 4 different styles:

1) Plain White Cardstock with a Red Main Heart design, small Pink Quilled Hearts and a Gold Metallic Cupid Cutout on the Right of each main heart design

Black Ribbon Society's Quilled Valentine's-White Cardstock wth Red & Pink Hearts and Gold Cupid

2) Eggshell White Paper affixed to Cardstock with Pink Main Heart design and small Red Quilled Hearts

Black Ribbon Society's Quilled Valentine's-Eggshell White Paper affixed to Cardstock with Pink main Heart design & small Red Quilled Hearts

3) Navy Blue  Paper affixed to Cardstock with a Red Main Heart design and small Pink Quilled Hearts

Black Ribbon Society's Quilled Valentine's-Navy Color Paper affixed to Cardstock with Red main Heart design & small Pink Quilled Hearts

4) A Natural White Paper affixed to Cardstock with Red Main Heart design and small Pink Quilled Hearts

Black Ribbon Society's Quilled Valentine's-Natural White with Fibers Paper affixed to Cardstock with Red main Heart design & small Pink Quilled Hearts

WE HOPE YOU LIKE (or maybe even LOVE) THEM!

Thanks for reading and viewing!

Your support and patronage mean a lot to us.

We like doing things Differently and Ecologically, and We Hope You Will Join Us!

Much Love, Jesse + Kris

_________________________________________________________________________________
Here’s MORE DETAILS from our Etsy.com Listing:

ABOUT Black Ribbon Society’s (Quarter-Fold) Hand-Quilled Valentine’s Cards:

[All Crafting Products used to create these cards are Archival and Acid-Free, in-short: made to LAST!
We also use Recycled & other Eco-friendly papers and cardstocks]

Blank inside for your personal message or poem.

Thoughts from Black Ribbon Society Co-Founder and Artist (Creator) Jesse Young:

What I like best about these handmade-quilled cards is their simple-elegance. The small quilled-hearts that make up each big-heart card design remind me of the intricate-natural design of roses…you know the overlapping of the rose-petals that spiral out from the center?! I feel that this rose-like aesthetic lends well to the Valentine’s theme, and that the 3-D sculptural aspect of quilled cards makes for a very contrasting, dynamic, and solid feel…which, to me, make these cards a superior choice for any Valentine’s Day card/gift giver!

These cards will take any Valentine’s day gift up a few notches for sure, OR I am proud & confident enough to say they are substantial-enough to stand beautifully as a gift unto themselves.
If you want a card that will “stick-out” for sure, these are your best bet!

Each cards is unique which is befitting, because each love/relationship is unique!

Specific Details:

All paper used to make these cards was hand-cut by me, with the exception of the main “body” of the cards…each quilling paper-strip was cut, quilled, & glued one-at-a-time. The main heart shape of each card was also hand-traced and cut-out by me.

Each card is made with very sturdy cardstock to guarantee stability and to be wrinkle-free. Another benefit to my application of such heavy-weight paper is that these cards have the ability to stand-up (without any aid)…so you can proudly display them anywhere!

Each card is one-of-a-kind due to the size of each individual small quilled-heart, that is, the difference in sizes made the small quilled-hearts fit differently around the main big-heart design.

Re-purposing NOTE: I hope that all recipients of these cards will hold on to them (as is) for years to come, but I wanted to mention that the quilled-heart design will make a great ornament…simply cut the design out from the front of the card, attach some ribbon or string and viola!, you have given the quilled-Heart a new life! How Eco and creative is that?! :^) You could even add a photo to the center if you are so-inclined.

This BRS Greeting Card Offering INCLUDES:

1 re-useable comic bag that is re-sealable and protects each card from damage. (It is our hope that you will re-use this bag to store your greeting card stash, or for any other creative purpose you might think-up.)

1 Catalog-Envelope made out of 30% Post-Consumer Content

3 Different Valentine’s Greeting “Stickers” (to ensure choice): “Be Mine”, “I Love You”, & “Sweet Heart”

1 Mailing Card-Sleeve made out of re-purposed cardboard boxes OR 100% Post-Consumer Content Cardstock

&

1 Tip Sheet on handling and mailing these Unique Quilled Cards

The post We Have Heart appeared first on Black Ribbon Society.

Kris and I have been busy making hand-cut cards, which feature up-cycled pages from an old book… the obscured text behind each motif provides interest and evokes abstract messages and short tales!

These cards are a throwback to traditional Victorian-silhouette motifs and we are starting out this latest offering with nautical and floral motifs. As Californians we are continually inspired by the seaside and everything related…from watercraft to mermaids.

As for the floral motifs, we have decided to start off with a simple poppy motif, which I modified from an original Victorian tile. The poppy is the official state flower of California (more specifically the yellow to orange colored “Eschscholzia californica” or “California Poppy”) so we are proud to give a nod to our fine state by alluding to it through our chosen imagery.

Here are pictures of all of the card designs currently available  for purchase in our Etsy.com Shoppe

http://www.etsy.com/shop/blackribbonsociety :

(CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS to access our “Hand-cut Cards” Gallery and view LARGER photos)

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As for the accompanying envelopes:  our bright shades and neutral shades feature 30% recycled content.

See the individual listings for the items  for default envelope colors we have chosen for specific designs/design colors OR you can ALWAYS message us (via an Etsy Conversation or our website’s “Contact” form/page) to request a specific color.

We hope you enjoy viewing and collecting these latest one-of-a-kind (OOAK)  eco-friendly handmade creations!

Thanks, Jesse & Kris

The post We Proudly Present Our Hand-cut Cards! appeared first on Black Ribbon Society.

In the spirit of bringing unique & one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces, we are proud to introduce our hand painted leather inset belt buckles.  Each buckle features standard hardware so it can be interchanged & worn with any belt you have in your closet.

The two buckles with the mustard leather are hand dyed prior to the application of the artwork.

All of these styles are available at the Local Boutique in La Jolla, Ca. and retail at $35/ea.

Many more styles to come!  Also keep your eyes peeled for the up-coming “Save the Bees” styles!

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Photo by Rebekah Sager

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Our first tee shirt graphic is called “Skull Island” and is available in sizes S-L (more sizes from XS to 2XL available upon request.). Printed with red ink on Heather Royal Blue shirts.  To purchase this tee, you can visit the Local Boutique at 7910 Girard Ave #9 La Jolla, Ca 92037 or drop us an email! In order to keep waste to a minimum, all merchandise is made according to each order. Please allow at least one week for all orders.

Price: $40

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