Here are two different screen shots of today’s Google Doodle, an interactive journey to the depths of the ocean as viewed through a series of brass portholes (naturally spelling out the word “Google”). When you mouse over the little joy stick, you can spy a cornucopia of sea life, including: flying fish, jellyfish, a Megamouth shark, a trio of nautiluses, and the tentacles of an enormous cephalopod.

Joyeux Anniversaire Jules!

Back in the end of December when I did my Xmas Roundup, I left out one important gift—Ryn’s nautilus necklace!

Ryn loves her nautilus!

You might recognize this necklace if you are familiar with the work of Sheryl Westleigh (aka Noadi) or if you saw my 2009 Holiday Shopping guide. While I was composing that post, Ryn saw the photo of the nautilus pendant and let out an excited SQUEEE! I knew then and there, that I couldn’t let anyone else buy it.

Brown Nautilus by Noadi

Speaking of Noadi’s fabulous cephalopod creations, check out this video showcasing her new line of steampunk-themed jewelery!

My prize was one of the pins, and I opted for the tie tack option. The pin is made of cold cast bronze and is cast from an original sculpture by CTP contributor Sarah Dungan. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because I featured Sarah’s Industrial Fairytale Etsy shop in last week’s Holiday Shopping Guide.

You can see more of Sarah’s work at sarahdungan.blogspot.com.

Noadi’s Art (www.etsy.com/shop/noadi)

Sheryl Westleigh creates amazing polymer clay and mixed media jewelry and sculptures, and I think she loves cephalopods almost as much as do. (OK, probably more!) Her shop has tons of great items in multiple styles and color variations, so if any of these pieces have sold, I’m sure you will be able to find something every bit as good. Not every thing in Noadi’s shop is cephalopod-related—look for trilobites, horseshoe crabs, and even a festive holiday platypus!

www.noadi.net

Deep Purple Squid necklace ($30)

Brown Nautilus necklace ($30)

Brass Steampunk Octopus necklace ($35)

Cuttlefish Specimen Jar necklace ($30)

Industrial Fairytale (www.etsy.com/shop/industrialfairytale)

Sarah Dungan is an illustrator, animator, and creator of some fabulous steampunk jewelery.

http://industrialfairytale.com

http://sarahdungan.blogspot.com

http://industrialfairytale.blogspot.com

She is also one of the contributors to Cephalopod Tea Party!

A Victorian Octopus ($45)

Cinnabar Octopus and Jade ($35)

The Nautilus and the Deep Blue Sea earrings ($15)

Octopus Me (www.etsy.com/shop/OctopusMe)

If you are looking for something a little more high-end, how about sterling sliver (and sometimes gold) jewelry made from real octopus tentacles? Here are a couple of examples, but there are many, many more in the shop!

Free shipping on all items until Sunday, December 7th.

Size 4-7 Tentacle Ring ($160.00)

Unmatched Octopus Tentacle earrings ($85)

This one-of-a-kind simulated Sperm Whale tooth is 4.5″ long and made of resin. The base is black walnut, and the Egyptian-styled stand is cold cast bronze. On its reverse side there is depicted a mermaid decked out in steampunk gear. Available at Tom Banwell’s Etsy shop for $79.00.

Also available at Tom Banwell Leather is a wide assortment of hand-made leather Halloween masks, and visit his blog for a look at his many other fantastic steampunk projects—masks, helmets and ray guns, oh my!

(Via The Steampunk Home)

www.giantthinkwell.com

Giant Thinkwell, which debuted today, is an international illustrator’s collective currently composed of nine artists. Their kick-off project is called Rise of the Squid.

Here are my three favorite pieces…

Kyle Kesterson

Ryan Tatum

Mark Malazarte

Visit GiantThinkwell.com to see these and the other five awesome pieces in the project. All of the illustrations are available as 8×10 prints, limited edition of 42.

$10 + $3 sh ($5 int’l) – Full artist series $60

This cake by MeMe’s Treat Boutique is made of pure awesome. There might also be some cake in there somewhere…

Sighted by Noadi (who knows her steampunk cephalopods) via Cake Wrecks

Preorder Leviathan from Amazon.com.

Dragon*Con begins this weekend in Atlanta, GA, and for the first time in almost 10 years I will not be attending. That’s tragic for a number of reasons, including the fact that I will miss my chance to score the limited edition “Stephen Le Podd” figure from MINDstyle. Designed by Doktor A, “De-Commissioned” is limited to 100 pieces, and they will be available, first-come first-serve, on Friday, September 4 (tomorrow!) at 8:30 PM. (As for exactly where to get them and how much they cost…I’m not actually sure.)

I love this dapper steampunk cephalopod, with his jaunty pith helmet, tentacle moustache, and dilating aperture eyes. If this edition is anything like the 2009 San Diego Comic Con exclusive (“The Entertainer”), it comes with a few alternate hats—ready for any occasion!