craft stuff?

from now on, all of my crafty endeavors will be posted on the craft blog that i share with tammia and megan.

introducing: acraftacopia.blogspot.com [i tried to do a link, but it kept failing. fail, fail fail.]

in other shocking and totally uncalled for news - kansas is cold. and so am i.

guess who got a new camera:

this guy! i know it looks vaguely as if i'm in pain, but i can tell you right now - that's not true at all.

now that i have a new camera, i'm pissed that i waited this long to buy one. mine broke this morning - to the point where i could open it up like a shoe where the toe comes unattached from the sole...not cool.

but here i am now: the proud owner of a freaking awesome camera that automatically switches between macro and regular photos.

best. feature. ever.

t-shirt adventure!

i'm making a t-shirt and it should not be this difficult. i referenced the tutorial about using freezer paper as a stencil on fabric from neither hip nor funky. the freezer paper wasn't the problem, it was the paint that i decided to use. in a stunning display of stupidity [which is normal for me], i totally spaced that i already have white acrylic paint and i bought some spray fabric paint instead. supposedly easy to use and "just like silkscreen in a can!" i hate it. i ended up making two of the same shirt because the first time i left a pin underneath the freezer paper and the stencil leaked. bleeargh. here, for your edification, is my process of shirt-making.

first i printed off "elder of the internet" in the font and size i needed on a regular printer, then traced those letters onto art paper to the exact pattern i wanted it on the shirt.

i then taped the exact pattern for the shirt onto my craft table, so it wouldn't move about on me while i was tracing. i traced the pattern onto a piece of freezer paper, then put a piece of craft foam [2mm thick!] under the freezer paper and cut out the letters with a razor blade.

with the iron on high, i centered the stencil and ironed it onto the shirt. things i learned: don't stretch the shirt when you iron, because you'll have to re-iron it whenever it goes back to natural shape. don't even try to move the shirt after you iron the stencil on. start with your cardboard between the shirt and have it where you want to paint it before you even start ironing.

i placed paper towels over all exposed material, then sprayed paint over the stencil. it looked much thicker than i expected it to, so i took a paintbrush and evened it out over the letters.

the paint dried and i peeled off the stencils. on the bottom shirt i did two coats of paint, which would've been fine except you can see on the "d" in elder where the stencil leaked because of the pin. the top shirt i just did one coat of paint. i think that the single coat worked better, although in some respects if was a fail both times.
the spray fabric paint is so thick that i had to destroy the stencil to peel it off the t-shirt, and had to use tweezers to get the middle of the letters out and on some of the edges where the freezer paper was sticking. using acrylic, the stencil should be reusable several times over.

as for the phrase, "elder of the internet," if you have netflix watch instantly option, you should watch "the it crowd." specifically the third series, fourth episode. it's hilarious!

more life lessons:

• when it's cold, one needs sleeves. period. especially when those sleeves in question which are lacking are coat sleeves.
• drafting original patterns can be time-consuming. drafting original patterns while sleepy can be time-consuming and difficult. drafting original patterns while sleepy and without a ruler or straight edge is like asking jesus for a third arm to magically appear in thin air and attach itself to my torso in a way that is neither creepy nor awkward.
• beards!

evie mae says, "peace out!"

things i will eventually need to learn about crochet:

1. if i stop a project in the middle, don't just take the hook out and use it for something else and trust that i'll remember what size hook [or even color hook] i was using. because i won't. then i'll have to start all over again. go me!
2. how to do that friggin' magic loop well. i hate it.
3. trying to work while watching a new episode of bones never works. get over it.

this is an on-going list. i'm sure i'll add to it more in the future.

status:

tipsy + cranky = i should just go to bed.

things i love: a photoblog

books! this was taken in eighth day books, during a foray into american pragmatism. i wanted that book - unfortunately i didn't [and still don't] have seven bucks to justify the purchase.

this was taken at my absolute favorite coffee shop in kansas city. oh, kansas city. how i miss you.

this kid. she's pretty much the highlight of my life.

it's possible that i've not wanted anything made out of legos more than i want this. also, go to bed.

dear wsu:

please hurrythehell up and send out my admissions packet. i'm known for bursts of inspiration and courage, and if you don't get here soon i will most likely decide more school is too hard and i don't want to do it after all.

and, despite all odds, i really enjoy my chemical romance's version of "desolation row."

pedro the lion:

so, i'm listening to a world cafe podcast download on which david bazan [from pedro the lion] is being interviewed.

it is blowing my mind.

it's not as if it is new information. he's not saying anything i've not thought, heard or felt before - but it just resonates profoundly. part of what i've always adored about pedro the lion is that snarky, cynical quality to which i seem to be so naturally drawn. i've loved their approach to religion - a frank and pointed look at "the church" in general. a great example is the song "secret of the easy yoke." listening to that song is like finding a philosopher or church father that you never knew existed, but whom echoes your attitudes in a much more eloquent [and musical] manner.

"could someone please tell me the story of sinners ransomed from the fall?
i still have never seen you...and some days, i don't love you at all."

what good is my faith if i haven't questioned it enough to truly own it? if i can't care enough to bring myself to disagree with some things? i hate feeling like i have to fight constantly, but if i'm entirely certain of what i have when i'm finished, isn't it worth it? from the podcast...

"...the obsession with that category [being a christian or not being a christian] is the sum total of most people's faith identity."

he says before this that he got tired of considering the "am i on the bus? am i off the bus?" question and decided instead to deal with his doubts concerning christianity instead of worrying about the label. i've been thinking about this lately, given the time of year and the growing popularity of christian haunted houses *cough*. to accept jesus only because of your fear of hell isn't to love him for what he's done. it's clinging to him in order to escape danger. what happens when the fear has past? especially when this type of "evangelism" tends to imply that once you're saved from hell, then that's the biggest hurdle. it makes me sick.

i often wonder if this is why i am a christian.

if i knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when i died that would be it - i can't honestly say that i would make the same choices. that scares the shit out of me. and i haven't a clue what to do about it.