Tiki Signs

Tiki Signs are more than just wooden boards that announce the name of a Tiki bar, surf shop or some other establishment, they are real works of art that depict various Polynesian flora, fauna and other symbols. Tiki Signs convey the Polynesian lifestyle and provide an authentic Polynesian feel to any indoor or outdoor living space.



There are various types of Tiki Signs from simple Aloha Signs to the more detailed Vintage hand carved Hawaiiana Signs. These signs are used for spaces that are meant to have a Tropical atmosphere. These places are usually Tiki bars, resorts, hotels and other places that have a laid-back and exotic atmosphere. Tiki signs are also popular with shops and other places that promote the surfer lifestyle.



There are simple Tiki signs that feature only carved letters created to evoke a Polynesian or Hawaiian theme, while there are Tiki signs with Tiki deities incorporated in them. The designs are as varied as the locations or spaces they are used in and as colorful and as meaningful as the Polynesian culture. With the number of styles and materials of Tiki Signs it is easy to find one that will match your design needs.



Authentic Tiki signs are hand carved from different types of woods from bamboo to hard woods. The materials used and the design executed on the pieces depend on the purpose of the sign. Aloha and Welcome signs are often carved in hardwood and decorated with Hawaiian symbols such as Hibiscus, aquatic life and other animals that are endemic in Hawaii and other Central Eastern Polynesian locations. These signs often come in small sizes between 12 inches to 20 inches. There are also big Signs hand carved and painted on hardwoods such as life-sized vintage surf board signs.



Bamboo Tiki Signs often feature simple designs because they are often used in Tiki Huts, Hotels and resorts where there are already plenty of dcor and elements that depict the Tropics. These signs are just meant to communicate the name of the place, to mark restrooms and other spaces. But there are also Bamboo signs created with Tiki gods, such as Tiger Bamboo indoor sculptures that feature various facial expressions and hold various different meanings.



Driftwood Tiki signs are fantastic sign boards carved or painted on drift woods. These Tiki signs are also perfect for surf shops, resorts and in your home because of the texture and grain of the wood. Most Drift Wood Tiki Signs feature only letters or text to take advantage of the exquisite nature of the fantastic wood. When you have a beautiful, stained drift wood, there is often no need to add other design elements to the Tiki Sign.



Another beautiful Tiki Sign category is the Nautica Sign. Nautica Tiki Signs are often carved from traditional Hawaiian Paddles used in kayaks and canoes. They are beautiful because they represent the nautical culture of Polynesian countries. Kayaks and Canoes are often used in rituals and celebrations in Hawaiian and Polynesian cultures.

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Royal Tiki's beautiful range of Tiki are hand-carved on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. Also check for current specials on our Tiki hut decor

An Introduction to Polynesian Music

Polynesian music is a fun and vibrant musical style originating from the Polynesian islands of the South Pacific. The sounds of this ancient culture have begun to find their way into modern music, reflected by the tiki craze of the 1950s and 1960s and even in today's pop culture. Even the Beastie Boys have sampled traditional Polynesian music in their songs. In Polynesia, western-style music, instruments, and rhythms have made an impact on the traditional songs found here.



Polynesia actually comprises of thousands of islands spread across the South Pacific Ocean. Each island is home to its own cultures, traditions, and music. In general, the most important part of Polynesian music is the lyrics. These lyrics often tell a story of daily life or the mythology of the islands. The instruments behind these lyrics are simple, but the sounds emanating from them beautiful. Among the variety of instruments found in traditional Polynesian music are slit drums made from logs, as well as nose flutes, a tiny style of flute. These instruments are often accompanied by hand clapping to keep the rhythm and flow going.



Among the most well-known of traditional Polynesian music styles is the Hawaiian Hula. This form of music has been passed down through generations as a central aspect of Hawaiian culture. This traditional folk music tends to be religious and incorporates chants from the audience. Along with the music are the traditional hula dancers, whose swaying hips and hand movements tell a story set to song. Today, hula music still functions to communicate mythology, religion, and history. Although simple in melody and rhythm, hula music contains complex and poetic verses.



Considered Hawaiian folk music, today's hula musicians often incorporate modern hip-hop and pop sounds in combination with traditional lyrics. There are also many artists preserving Hawaii's rich cultural heritage through song. The Hawaiian hula is known for the steel guitar, and is the music you're most likely to hear if you attend a luau during your Hawaiian vacation.



These traditional musical sounds remained much the same for centuries, as most of the Polynesian islands were not visited by outsiders until at least the middle of the eighteenth century. Following European contact, they began to incorporate American, European, Asian, and South American beats. After the arrival of Christian missionaries, which began in the 1790s and continued for more than a century, hymns and other Christian musical styles were sung, and native musical styles were often driven underground, although they also merged with Christian styles to create new musical genres.



If you want the atmosphere of Polynesian music for your next party, consider Tiki music, which will instantly transport you to the relaxing feel of a tropical island. This music grew out of the tiki craze that began in the late 1940s, which also popularized other areas of Polynesian culture. When listening to this spinoff of Polynesian music, which has become known as exotica lounge music, you can picture yourself sitting on a beach, the waves gently lapping at the shore. This music combines traditional Polynesian sounds with music from other areas of the world, such as Latin rhythms and tribal beats, as well as nature sounds like bird calls, resulting in an unusual musical blend.

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Royal Tiki's genuine Hawaiian Tiki statues, totems and masks make a great addition to any Tiki bar. Also check our Tiki bar accessories

Tips For Beginners to Make Their Paintings Look Like a Pro

Of all the many types of paintings, oil creations are considered as one of the most admired because of the way they capture the life and reality of their subjects. Oil paints are also very versatile so they can be easily used to almost any style and technique of painting. For example, they can be utilized for impastos with thick textures and glazes with thin stroked. They can also either be transparent or opaque. With these many styles of oil paints, it is no longer surprising that they are probably the most favorite among artists. The flexibility of oil art materials, however, is still dependent on the mastery of the artist. Fortunately, there are some simple painting tips which can make a budding painter seem like a professional.



The first tip in oil painting is to never leave oil paints disorganized. Always arranging the same order of oil paints in a palette is a very important for painters because through time, this will help the artist develop the instinct of picking up a color without even looking at it. This in turn, will give them more mastery to the blending and applying of colors. Another advice when doing paintings is to use the fat over lean technique. This simply refers to how the proportion of an oil paint should be increased for an oil paintings subsequent layer. This technique is very important because the lower levels of paint absorb the oil from the upper layers. Therefore, the lower layers can crack in situations when the upper layers of oil paint dries first.



The next tip in painting is to refrain from using an Ivory Black hue for sketching as in underpaint because oil paints dry faster than the Ivory black hue. Oil pigments made from cobalt, manganese, and lead makes the drying of the medium faster. They can also be combined with other paints to speed up the drying. Materials having these components are also ideal to use as under layers. For those who do not have enough budgets to purchase materials such as these because they are quite costly, student-quality paints are a good alternative because they possess cheaper components which can also enhance the drying process.



Another tip in doing paintings is to use linseed oil when doing underpaintings. Linseed oil is good to use when doing the bottom layer of a wet-on-dry painting because it helps the paint to dry evenly and thoroughly. On the other hand, linseed oil should never be used as medium for a painting with mostly whites and blues because it has the tendency to turn the painting yellow through time. Therefore, it is also not advisable to use it for light colors because it can cause an old, brittle look to a painting. Poppy oil is recommended for use instead because even though it dries slowly, it has the least possibility of yellowing. The last painting tip is to never dry an oil artwork in the dark. If this is done, a thin layer of oil film may surface on the painting and cause yellowing.

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Oil Paintings seascape paintings

Top 5 Hip Hop Music Video Models

Hip Hop Videos have always had four major elements. The first and most important is swag. If the MC doesn't have the swagger, the video, music, lyrics are not going to pop. The second ingredient is bling, dinero, cash, any name you call it, he or she needs to have lots of it.



That leads to next element, wheels. Yes, it doesn't mater if you driving the lambo, the Navi, or a 1979 Monte Carlo. Its gotta match the personality of the artist and the mood they are trying to create.



The final piece of the puzzle is of course, the eye candy!! If you don't have the honeys, all that swagger, cash and cars don't mean anything! At the end, its about having the baddest girl on block riding with you.



As the game of Hip Hop changes, every year there's a new group of young ladies who take center stage in hip hop music videos.



Top 5 Hip Hop Music Video Models



Vida Guerra



Vida Guerra, was born in Havana, Cuba in nineteen seventy-four. When she was only six years old, her family moved her to New Jersey where she adapted to live in the United States quickly. From her home in New Jersey, one of five hip-hop honeys, got involved in dance and modeling. Her first taste of hip-hop immortality came with auditions for Big Pun. The video she won a role in, was not shown much on the big screen, but she soon broke out further into the business. With her exposure in the FHM magazine, the rap group Naturally Smooth, asked her to post for their album cover, thusly causing her break out sensation into becoming one of the top music video models.



Lisa Raye



Lisa has made appearances in both Tupac Shakur videos and has also spoken with Ice Cube. Lisa Raye started out working for the movies, debuting in "Reasons" as well as the popular television shows "Martin." More currently the hip-hop diva has appeared in several music videos with Ludacris as well as Sisqo. The woman has made it big in the industry, and has shown her worth in many videos.



Esther Baxter



She has rose to fame by being in several music videos with such great artists as Nelly, Ludacris, Will Smith, and even Kanye West. Recently she's taken a slight hiatus from her video diva deals so that she could attend college, but the hip-hop honey still knows how to shake it. She has done all the music videos as well as done some modeling for such magazines like Vibe and King. She has gone from being nobody; to being one of the top hip-hop honeys around.



Meagan Good



She was born and raised in California with three other children. She first began her acting career at a young age of four. She has been seen in many popular movies of this decade, but it doesn't stop there. She broke out into the hip-hop divas by being in videos by 50 cent, Imagin, Isyss and even Will Smith. Even her work doesn't stop there; she has been reported to wanting to immortalize Aaliyah on film of a biography. Good even went a step further than most divas in the business and has her own production company called, Freedom Bridge Entertainment. A Woman with a conscience, she is very spiritual and stays away from those things that will show her in a bad light.



Nicole Narain



Nicole has done such roles as being in Playboy, as well as become a great actress. Her resume reads perfectly, as she has done major videos with top artists such as LL Cool J, Mario Winans, and Fabolous. Her career does not stop there as she also scored a time on the popular show Fear Factor.



All of these music video models have done extensive work for their community. They stand above and beyond all others and have taken to proving themselves in the music industry. They have worked for most of the popular artists today in hip hop record and can be seen on many of the popular music channels on and off the Internet.



For more hip hop honeys, check out the EZINE!!

About the Author

JJ Dunn is co-owner and chief editor for Hip Hop Honey Online Magazine. This is a new era, and the way of getting noticed has crucially changed in the last two decades Are you a music artist seeking media attention? Are you an aspiring hip hop honeys model trying to build your fan base and get recognized by major industry insiders? HHH is an interactive, web-based magazine and social networking site . Our goal is to keep our patrons up-to-date on current events within hip hop and around the world. We bring a new platform for fresh talent where you can display your work. HHH is the best source for breaking hip hop news stories, exclusive celebrity interviews, free promotion, latest tracks and music videos. There is no place better on the Net right now!