You're A-Peeling!

"It's not that monkey card I found in the car, is it?"

NOPE, but that would have been pretty cool. Maybe for the next Balemtimes. This year, I revisited another Simpsons classic:

-Let's Never split!

snapshots of 2010

A lot of eating, loving, livin' and saying goodbye.

Rolled Magazine Trash Basket

The idea for this basket came from Mark Montano's "Big ASS book of crafts" (pgs. 280-281). You can also find a thread on crafters.org with pictures and some vague instructions on a variation of Montano's idea. One major problem I find with some of these crafting blogs is HOW reticent people are to divulge the details of how they made the craft. If you don't want people to be inspired by your idea, then why the hell post it on the InterWeb in the first place?

What you will need:

• ~3 magazines
• a hot glue gun & glue
• Scissors
• a pencil and 1 large marker
• Mod Podge:hard coat
• Elmer's glue
• Krylon Color Creations Crystal Clear Top Coat
• A LOT OF FREE TIME

After tearing the pages out of the magazines; I found the glossy pages of old fashion magazines worked best, I folded them length wise in half and cut. Note: monochrome pages yield best uniform results. The lengthwise halves (roughly 11x4) are either folded OR rolled around a pencil depending on what part of the project you are working on.

FOR THE BASE:

Half pages are folded evenly lengthwise into strips about half inch by ~11 inches then coiled and glued together.

*Mark recommends you roll all the strips of paper, even the ones used for the base. I find that the process saves time, but it's not as uniform and neat looking.

FOR THE BASKET:

Roll the strip of paper diagonally starting at one corner around a pencil so they look like a straw. Secure the straw with a drop of glue. Flatten and roll around a pencil, marker, your finger or whatever cylindrical item to achieve the desired circumference. Secure the finshed roll with another drop of glue. I used hot glue. Make hundreds of them.
(< it's Molly! That Ham.)

Heat up your trusty glue gun and start gluing the rings onto the base. Mark Montano suggests to use a bowl/container as a guide and to glue the rings to each other first, THEN attach the base at the end. I opted to start gluing the rounds to the base from the beginning. I do recommend using a trash can or container as a guide to keep the dimensions in check. If you are free handing the construction you may find the bowl extending outwards too much. Once done, Mark recommends using Elmer's glue to reinforce the connection points through-out the basket. It is a timely process but a very wise step. Mod Podge will work great to harden the basket, but it will only minimally reinforce the meeting points. After letting the Elmer's glue dry, I brushed on a coat of the Mod Podge:hard coat, which made the basket firm and sturdy but left it with a matte finish. I am waiting for the Mod Podge to fully cure [4 weeks] before brushing on the clear top coat. This is an extremely time consuming project. It took me about a month to get it all done.

$40 my ass

In the August issue of 'Los Angeles' magazine a profile of shops located on Hollywood Blvd-(East) features a do-it-yourself store called Fresh Pressed where for $40 you can silkscreen a design on a t-shirt. That's pretty cool except for around the same price you can buy a silkscreen kit at Blicks. Plus, I don't like going to Hollywood AND as my mother used to say, "I'm not shitting money". However, since I like the idea and there IS a t-shirt I have always wanted that is only sold at the Leftorium, I decided to give the whole venture a try; lefty lowbrow style.

***

I drew out the letters, and my baby-bro cut out the stencil. (an x-acto knife makes this task easier) We picked up some Tulip fabric spray paints and double sided tape from Michaels. The whole thing cost about $14 bucks. I already had the V-neck shirt, part of a pack I bought at Target a while back.

1.) Place double sided tape on the stencil and tape it onto the t-shirt. Lay flat and spray the 'black diamond' paint.

2.) An hour later spray the sapphire paint.

3.) We let that shit dry for about an hour then I removed the stencil. I could have done a better job taping the stencil to the shirt and spraying the paint but I am very happy with the outcome. The satisfaction of a job well done earned from a long awaited honest day's labor of love is priceless.