I like to reuse plastic bottles. I've made assorted things out of them ... bird feeders, birdseed scoops, etc. Every spring I take 2-liter bottles and cut the bottoms off. The top part then becomes a miniature greenhouse to put over seedlings.

I've also heard of people using plastic bottles to make a coldframe. You fill them with water and set them upright on the ground in a square, then lay a pane of glass or clear plastic over the top. (For extra stability you can dig down a few inches and set the bottles into the earth.) Solar heat will warm up the interior pretty well.

But this is the wackiest reuse I've seen so far.

Tags: crafts
Current Mood: busy

Tags: crafts
Current Mood: busy

I am amazed by the gigantic pile of loot available in shadesong's raffle fundraiser for her daughter Elayna's summer camp.

Among the items available is a papercraft poem by me, so if you'd like some of my work to hang on your wall or add to your scrapbook, here's a chance.

Tags: crafts, networking, poetry
Current Mood: busy

I've come across some interesting crafts, but this one really caught my eye. It's a remodeled clock. The crafter removed the original paper backing behind the hands and replaced it with calligraphy.

In this case, the theme is merely antique ... but just imagine some of the wacky things you could conceivably do instead. Clocks numbered in alien languages. Clocks with humorously rearranged numbers. Clocks with no numbers but a picture suggesting that time subdivision is philosophically bankrupt. Sure, you could buy clock parts from a craft store and assemble one from scratch, but I'll bet remodeling a whole one is easier if you pick the right clock to pry open.

Could I do it? *laugh* Probably not, with my quirky effect on time and machinery. But my machine interface is improving so maybe it would work. If I find a promising clock for a quarter at a thrift store or yard sale, maybe I'll give it a try sometime.

Tags: crafts
Current Mood: busy

newroticgirl has made a test batch of runes in clear/white glass with blue markings. They are beautiful.

I am often intrigued by how people use modern materials and techniques to make traditional objects. In this case, traditional runes were carved on slices of wood and painted with red lines; occasionally they were carved/painted on stones or slips of bone. I've seen many modern variations, but I think this is the prettiest.

What are some ways in which you have found modern materials especially good for traditional items?

Tags: crafts, paganism
Current Mood: busy

Today has been .99 of perfect. We had planned a trip to Champaign with janetmiles and her husband Dale, who are visiting from out-of-state; and it turned out that my cousin and her boyfriend were also in town, so they got added in, along with several other friends, in varying combinations through the day. We had lunch at Manolo's.

Then we split up for a while, with me and janetmiles going to the fabric store. My habit of sewing while talking has netted me another "Could you make...?" request. We found three suitable patterns for her, and picked up fabric and notions for a blouse and a jacket. The only place the day lost a point was that there wasn't enough of the violet fabric I'd picked out for a project of mine. Ah well. We picked up Dale, whom we'd dropped off at Barnes & Noble, and discovered that he'd gotten me a book for my birthday, early. Squee!

Then we went to Priceless Books, a favorite used-book store in Champaign, where we met up with other folks. I came out with an armload of books. I love it when they put textbooks and stuff in boxes out front, cheap. This time I found a reader that had all the explanations in it about what to look for in each type of writing -- fiction, poetry, and so forth. That's going to come in handy for Grey School class development.

On the way out of the bookstore, we stopped at Heartland Gallery. They carry local art, jewelry, and other delights from local artists plus Celtic imports. Featured artists who had business cards on the take-one table included Joe Ethridge (photography), Brock Peoples Photography, Sharon Collins-Masel (watercolor), Jan Chandler (photography, paintings, calligraphy), William R. Roy (artist), and Sherry Corbin (stoneware & porcelain). This place is new to us; it's been there about a year; and we will be going back. We also discovered that there was a harp concert scheduled for the evening. Instant addition to our plans.

We had supper at Mandarin Wok, mostly dim sum. We got to order a lot of different items. The hazelnut cakes and the king shrimp dumplings especially stuck in my mind, but really it was all terrific.

The harp concert featured Claire Roche (harpist, harper, and singer) and John of Celtic Ways (storyteller). Claire played both folk harp (the large kind that sits on the floor, and is played by a harper) and orchestral harp (the gigantic carved and gilded kind that also sits on the floor, and is played by a harpist). In fact, the grand finale involved playing both at once! Her music was warm and mellow, with a magical ambiance that fills the available space. (Or what space was left between the people: we packed that little store wall-to-wall.) She sang in English and Gaelic. I love the delicate gliding vowels of Irish-flavored English and of Gaelic. Ordinary pronuciation guides don't really do them justice; you have to hear the real thing. So at the first break I scurried forth and bought two of her three CDs, and then later Doug bought the third one. Favorite songs from the performance included "The Rose of Tralee," "The Clergy's Lamentation," "Down by the Salley Gardens," a hymn to Bhride, and "Brian Boru's March." I was also impressed with the elegance of "The Robin's Jaunt," one of the original tunes. Claire even got a roomful of people to sing along with "Molly Malone" and a couple of others; I love the community resonance of group singing. John's performance of Irish myths put me in mind of times long past; his voice really carries the history. If you enjoy Celtic music, follow the links. Also, these folks lead tours of Ireland's mystical places. I haven't had the pleasure of that, but I suspect they do a rare fine job of that too.

Finally, we went out for dessert at Culver's, which is a favorite place for separate dessert. Doug and I had the Bananas Foster sundae, which was splendid. janetmiles had the flavor of the day, "Turtledove," which involved chocolate, marshmallow, and pecans. Culver's actually does a different flavor every day; they had a whole menu for the March flavors.

There are days you know that you'll remember forever. Days that will be there, pressed like rosepetals in memory's album, at the close of life. If you're lucky, you know those days before they're over. Today I was lucky.

Tags: crafts, food, music, personal
Current Mood: full

haikujaguar requested that fishbowl poems be made available in concrete form, as scrapbook pages. I can do that; for that matter, I can scrap any of my poems. I've been scrapping my poetry as presents for several years. Most poems fit on one page; a few turn into spreads of two or three pages. I use scrapbook paper, both patterned and plain. Embellishments include stickers, rub-on decals, paper punches, and borders of contrasting paper cut with decorative scissors. If you want specific colors, you can ask and I'll see what I've got in stock. Autograph available upon request.

Figure $5-$10 per page. $5 would cover poems I can print out onto a single matching sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper, or plain paper embellished with stickers or simple cutouts. $10 would cover poems that require more complicated cutting and piecing, laser cuts/stickers I have to buy special, premium paper like metallic or handmade stuff, and 12" x 12" pages. Most poems could go either way, depending on how fancy a page you want. Some are an obvious match for easy-to-find paper (I can usually find leaf frames, flower frames, etc.) and others are just so exotic that I have to do a lot of piecing or stickering to make the presentation match the poem's content. Add postage for mailing in a cardboard envelope. After I've done this a few times, I'll have a good idea how much that will cost. Probably $1-2 since that's what most of my manuscript submissions cost.

If you're interested in buying a scrapbook page, contact me and we'll discuss details.

Tags: crafts, cyberfunded creativity, poetry
Current Mood: busy

One of my hobbies is making magical artifacts. I made this enchanted blanket as a Yule gift for a friend. The fabric is no-sew fleece. The front side has a pattern of dragons on a grey/black background, and the back side is solid red.



The two sides are attached by yellow ties.



Now here is the magical part: in one corner I sewed on four little symbols made of cotton cloth. Each symbol relates to one of the blanket's four magical functions. Green square = ground/center/shield. Yellow circle = mental clarity. Red triangle = heat. Blue teardrop = peace and calm. They basically work like buttons on a remote control: press one and think about its purpose, and it activates. The blanket recharges itself automatically from ambient energy.

Tags: crafts, holiday, magic, photo
Current Mood: busy

Today my various research tangents led me to some interesting new websites.

Cloth Doll Connection has many patterns and instructions for making cloth dolls. They vary in style from simple to intricate. There are humans, animals such as bunnies, angels, fairies, and other types.

Online Writing Lab, hosted by Purdue University, has a delightfully clear and detailed collection of materials to help with writing. Categories include grammar, spelling, and punctuation; prewriting and revision; professional writing. There's a section of exercises, too, where you can check your answers afterwards.

Tags: crafts, writing
Current Mood: busy