Townie zombies! Run!

Zombie apocalypse warning in St. John's, Newfoundland! Yay! I got home just in time!

Sound advice indeed! If you don't recognize this quote, you need to go watch Zombieland immediately.

Thanks for the heads up, Noleen! And look, approval from Zombies and Toys!

Macramé Monday!

Photo from Macramé Enchantment: Book 3, published in 1979

Ok, maybe it's just me, but don't those pillows looks like little headless creatures? They look so soft and squishy and cozy though! I'd love to have these to cuddle with, but I doubt they'd last long with my kitties. Hmmm, now that I think of it, that wall hanging actually kind of looks like a big cat toy.

Photo from Macramé Enchantment: Book 5, published in 1980

Casino pillows! They're shaped like playing card suits, but instead of the usual red and black, they're blue, pink, and white. And just for good measure, they're jazzed up with fake flowers. I actually like them a lot. Nothing wrong with taking a few creative liberties! All the same, I'd probably lose the flowers. Lovin' the blue shag carpeting too. Doesn't it look familiar?

Hello from Newfoundland!

That's right, I came home for a visit. That's why my posts for the past couple of weeks have just been pictures and videos with a minimum of commentary. Don't get me wrong, I have been writing. There are a bunch of half finished posts trapped in blog limbo (otherwise known as the drafts folder). The words just don't want to cooperate and form coherent sentences for me (and by coherent I mean the random, twisty, bracket-filled ones I usually write). I suppose it's due to the change in routine. The weather has been so bad here too, cold and rainy. You'd think being stuck inside would facilitate a sedentary indoor activity like blogging, but nope, I've simply been too bummed out to brainstorm. Also, people are actually reading it now. I have followers and subscribers and minions. Oh my! The pressure to be entertaining is on! And that brings me to the next topic...

Hello and welcome to all my new readers! I'm assuming y'all found me through the craft sites that my Paint With Yarn and Record Album Box tutorials have been featured on. That's awesome! I'm thrilled that people liked them. Writing craft tutorials is something new for me. Doing so many crafts is actually even a little new for me. I've always fiddled and faddled with different things, but I have an atrocious habit of giving up - whether it's not sticking with one craft long enough to call it a hobby, or finishing a particular project. That's if I even start it in the first place. That's something I've been working on. So far, so good. This here bloggy is a great way to keep myself accountable too.

So yes, there will be more craft tutorials. I'll do my very best to deliver the goods, but I can't give you any guarantees on how often. It all depends on how easily the ideas are flowing. I'll at least try to blog about things I make (including older stuff that I haven't shared on here yet) at least once a week, like my Carnotaurus masterpiece. That's actually something I've always meant to do, but again, never got around to it. I'll also be posting my weekly macrame pictures (until I run out of macrame pictures to post anyway). When I get back home I'll probably share some other vintage goodness from my ever-growing collection of craft books. And of course, there'll always be lots of random things that amuse me, such as...

...gratuitous kitteh photos!

This big guy's name is Madison. He's named after the Madison piercing, because that little white spot at the base of his neck is in approximately the same place. We mostly just call him Maddy or Mad Cat. Remember Dr. Claw's cat on Inspector Gadget? He's a beautiful cat, but it's so hard to get a nice shot of him. Unfortunately, he seems to be as unphotogenic as his mom.

*sniff*
"Yes, this blade of grass will suffice for noms."

This cute tabby is my little Squirmy Wormy, which is just one of his many nicknames - Stripey Pants is another favorite of mine. His real name is Nightcrawler, after the X-Men character, but Wormy seems to suit him. He's a lot more silly and goofy than this photo would suggest.

Wormy checking out the outside.

he ain't heavy, he's my dino

It's been a bit heavy on the dinosaurs around here lately, hasn't it? Oh well, one more can't hurt! Besides, this is too flipping sweet to keep to myself. :)

Smooching dinos are sooo cute!

Macramé Monday!

Disco Stu likes disco macramé.

Photo from Macramé Enchantment Book 3, published in 1979

Photo from Disco Macramé, published in 1979. Found on Butterfly Rocket.

My cats would love it if I wore tops like these.

cat versus human versus dinosaur

More hilarious kitty comics found at Cat Versus Human! Sadly, these are the only dinosaur ones so far.

Dinosaur Battle Town

Dinosaur Battle Town from Eddie West on Vimeo.

Macramé Monday!

Photo from Fiber Form and Fantasy, published 1977

As much as I love all the kitschy goodness that the world of macramé has to offer, It's great to see something decidedly un-kitschy every now and then. I love this headboard! Can you imagine how long it took to make this? And check out that owl! He puts all of the owls in my collection to shame (yes, I collect macramé and owls). Not too sure about having the plant that close to the bed though. I hope it was just put there for the photo shoot, because I wouldn't want to go to sleep with a fern hovering over me. I'd have nightmares about triffids and Audrey II all night!

Paint With Yarn

This is a craft from one of my thrifted vintage magazines that I hadn't seen anywhere else, and would probably be a good project for kids. It actually seems like I remember doing something like this in grade school, but I can't quite remember. I've since found out that this art form originated with the Huichol people of Mexico. Their artwork is super colorful, beautiful and inspiring. Definitely worth checking out. You certainly don't need to be an artist so do this though. The only skill it really requires is patience, and the materials needed are pretty basic. It's a great project to use up any scraps of yarn you're hanging onto. I have a few balls of yarn left over from my various attempts at learning to knit, but there's not a great selection of colors. I enjoyed it though, so this will probably be my excuse to pick up some more. What's one more craft supply obsession anyway?

Article from McCall's Needlework & Crafts, Spring 1978

Supplies:

cardboard (I used a piece from a cereal box)

various colors of yarn

scissors

Aleene's Tacky Glue*

simple line drawing

pencil

carbon paper

popsicle stick to avoid sticky fingers

*This is what I used, but double-sided tape or spray adhesive might be good choices too!

I transferred a line drawing of an owl (which is the outline of a cool owl trivet I have) onto the cardboard with carbon paper and a pencil (I know one "ear" is shorter than the other, but that gets covered up by the yarn later). Any simple line drawing will do, or you could even just do a freehand design.

Use the popsicle stick to hold the yarn down, especially in any corners.
This keeps your fingers from getting all sticky.

I began with the eyes, using Elmer's Glue-All. It wasn't sticky enough however, and the yarn wouldn't stay where I wanted it. Then I tried using a glue gun. The hot glue was sticky enough, but dried too quickly, which meant I couldn't reposition the yarn if need be. If I didn't push the yarn into place right away, it hardened into a big lump. Plus, I burned my fingers a few times! Then I remembered that I had some Aleene's Tacky Glue. It's sticky enough to hold the yarn in place, but stays wet long enough so I could reposition if necessary. Great for oopsies!

Seriously, this glue is awesome.

I decided to redo the eyes using the tacky glue, ignoring the lines I had drawn and centering the pupils. I also didn't like the way the wings looked so I tore those off to try again. I wanted them to look more feathery, so I glued the yarn down in the same wavy pattern I used for the feet. Much better!

I really like the fuzzy owl toes! :)

When the owl was all filled in, I considered cutting away the cardboard around it and calling it done. Since this was my first time trying it out however, I figured I might as well fill out the whole thing. This was still in the trial and error stage after all. I chose a variegated yarn for the background, figuring it would look more interesting than a solid color. Once I got to the edge of the cardboard though, I realized that I couldn't keep winding it in one continuous loop around the owl. The corners ended up looking a little wonky because of that, but I think it looks pretty neat overall.

Ta Da!

When my wooly owl was completed, I looked around for something else to play with. At this point, everything in the apartment seemed like fair game. I was envisioning yarn covered chairs, books, baskets, and even my laptop! I settled for a few records from my craft stash, and covered the labels with bright colors of yarn. Then I hung them on the wall, overlapping them slightly, for (almost) instant wall art.

If I were an artist, I'd probably say something about how the spiral of yarn speaks to the spiral grooves in the record, or maybe how the soft texture of the fuzzy yarn contrasts with the hard, shiny surface of the records. Oh wait! I think I just did. :)

Romero and embroidery! Together at last!

Remember how I won something last fall even though I never win anything? Just in case you need me to refresh your memory, it was this great hand embroidered owl by Giggly Mama, who also happens to stitch absolutely yummy portraits. For a few months now, I've been tossing around the idea of asking her to immortalize George Romero in stitches - not that there's a chance of him being forgotten of course. I asked, she agreed, and here he is! What a cutie!

Hand embroidered George Romero by Giggly Mama

The observant among you will notice that I am now watermarking my photos. I certainly don't claim to be the next Annie Leibovitz or anything, but I wouldn't be very happy if some unscrupulous individual used one of my photos for evil. Or good. Basically, taking credit for something I did. That includes someone claiming any of my tutorials, crafts, or even whole posts as their own. It happens.

Wondering where I learned to watermark those photos all fancy like? Jenna at SewHappyGeek is doing a series of tutorials on protecting your blog content. Here's her how-to on protecting your photos. If you upload anything at all to the interwebz, this is definitely a subject worth familiarizing yourself with.

"They're coming to get you, Barbara."

Macramé Monday!

Last week I headed out for an afternoon of thrifting. It had been a couple of months since my last kitsch fix, and I was beginning to have serious withdrawal symptoms. A little kitschdrawal perhaps? Just thinking of all the fun finds I could be missing out on made me downright twitchy, so this shopping trip was long overdue.

I think this awesome macramé frog in the most fetching shade of 70s orange more than makes up for lost time though. And you know what? I almost didn't even see it! I was actually on my way to the checkout with a couple of less-than-awesome things when I decided to have one more quick look around. A few minutes later I see this little guy, dangling all by his lonesome on the end of an aisle. There may have been a squeal of delight, perhaps even a happy dance. And the price? $3.99!

Jeepers creepers! Where'd you get those peepers?

Thanks to my best friend Google, I found out that my new froggie's name is King Kroker and that he's very helpful. Just look at what he can do! He must have a potty mouth though, since his mouth needs to be washed out with soap.

i steal pets

Remember this love letter to to Ray Bradbury? Here's another catchy tune from Rachael Bloom. It's actually quite an appropriate song for someone who's spending her Saturday night at home alone...again.

trekkies shouldn't play favorites

It's no secret that George Takei is hilarious. Go watch Spider-George and It's OK to be Takei if you don't believe me. There was also his awesome cameo on The Big Bang Theory. In fact, here's a very convenient YouTube video with both of his scenes (the powers that be won't let me embed it here). You can skip ahead to 1:42 and then 3:02 for George, but then you'll miss sexy Howard Wolowitz.

Takei isn't the only Star Trek alumni with a sense of humor though. Leonard Nimoy is a funny guy too, sometimes without even trying! I'd say by now everyone has already seen him in the new video for The Lazy Song, but just in case you haven't here's the link (again, the powers that be are being annoying). Here's a video that I can embed though. Enjoy! Or not...

Skullboy aka Zombie Boy aka Rick Genest

Remember my excitement over Skullboy's appearance in Lady Gaga's Born This Way video? Well, I probably should have referred to him by his real name (Rick Genest), or at least Zombie Boy, since that's how he refers to himself. I certainly meant no disrespect. I guess it's just that I've always thought of him as Skullboy. He is covered with an almost complete skeleton tattoo after all. Though I suppose an animated skeleton might be considered a kind of zombie - a really, really dry one.

Did you know he's a fashion model now? I doubt it's what he envisioned when he started his tattoo project, but hey, things seem to be working out quite well for him.

You’re watching Lady Gaga Remix for the Mugler Fashion Show.

Ah yeah, that's it. Bite those pearls! You know what I like...

*ahem*

Check out this interview with Rick in the Montreal Gazette, with lots more pictures and a video interview!

EDIT: Check out Rick's own website! Also, I need to add Rico to the list of names he goes by.