Hey kids, wassup? Sorry the blog has been spotty. Finals week here at the old Grad School Emporium where if you buy one degree, you get the second one double price. Sorry. I’m a little sleep deprived and I guess a bit loopy. But I’m not too sleepy to pass along this awesome little nugget of info. This Saturday, May 5th is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY all across America. Yup, you heard that right. FREE COMIC BOOKS, no strings attached. Hit up the website, freecomicbookday.com, to see what titles will be offered up gratis (check out one below), and where you can go to get your FREE COMIC BOOK. My money’s on the Oni Press book being the best. Oh wait, no its not! You might be asking “What have I done to deserve this?” Well, its not just about you, friend. This is a nation wide campaign to hook the uninitiated into the addictive world of comics. If you’ve never read a comic before, I know the über nerd-boy arena of the comic book shop can be intimidating, but don’t let that keep you away from what is both a beautiful art form and a great source of entertainment. Worst comes to worst, get one of your friends to go with you and promise them DQ or something after. Dollars to donuts (whatever that means) though, after getting some free swag you’ll skip the ice cream to go home and read.

Today’s recommendations brought to you by Art Director Kay-bubz

As the title implies, I am currently smacking my forehead with the palm of my hand for not mentioning getcrafty.com earlier. It is such a staple in the craft community, the “hub of the new domesticity,” as the site says, that I assumed that I had already written about it. Imagine my embarrassment when I went back over the archives and realized I had been remiss! Paint me red. I’m going to pretend that it was my subconscious telling me to hold off because soon a mention of getcrafty.com would, as my friend’s professor says, “feed two birds with one scone.” Recently posed on the site is an article about the first ever Craft Congress by Christy Petterson. Craft Congress, you say? Indeed I do. The biggest and brightest stars of our tight knit community came together earlier this month to discuss this ever-growing movement and how we can come together to make a difference. If that doesn’t get you pumped, well then check this out. Topics discussed: the possibility of shared health insurance for self-employed crafters, affecting copyright laws, and the political power of the crafting community just to name few. Isn’t this invigorating? What’s a more exciting call to action then “Crafters Unite!”

We all know the Gandhi quote, we all have seen the bumper stickers. But it seems especially relevant today, in the light of this week’s tragic events, that each one of us step forward and commit ourselves to building a better tomorrow. And we get Earth Day this weekend to jump start our efforts. I know that many of us are already trying to do our part to conserve and live in an eco-friendly way. I also know that it can get hard and it sometimes feels like we have to compromise style for principles. Fortunately for us, we live in probably one of the most green savvy ages in history and beautiful green design is popping up all over the place to help inspire us and give us yet another forum to speak out with our consumer dollars. One website devoted to bringing the best in green design is inhabitat.com (their mascot owl, Habby, is shown above). Check out their site this weekend for Earth Day events, environment friendly products, and a smattering of good ideas to try and copy. If you want something more concrete to busy your hands, shoot on over to treehugger.com and check out their d.i.y. T-shirt surgery guides (one of projects is pictured below). Your fingers will be itching to get to work in no time. And remember it’s our world. Let’s try to make all 365 of them Earth days.

Too Cool Alert! I took a peek at Bread and Badger’s etched glass ware at the Bazaar Bizarre here in Bean Town (so many B’s!) earlier this year.Their elegant koi vases and owl lanterns prompted me to squirrel away one of their business cards. I came across it the other day and hopped on their website and yowzah! Their stuff is phenomenal! I love the minimalist-meets-tongue-&-cheek design their glassware sports. Like the ticking bomb shot glasses, robot candle holders, and their signature badger in pendant form. And even if you don’t go for that kind of thing (but really though, how could you not?), their classic designs are sure to please.

Some of you in the Pack Rat universe may be new to the concept of making something out of more or less nothing, but I have a sneaking suspicion that most of us are seasoned pros, or at least long time fans of the recycled craft movement. It’s been around forever, since our great great grandmothers (and probably their mothers before them) squeezed every last drop of use out of their belongings. But seeing reused materials turned into high end, high concept design seems to be a relatively new phenomenon. There even is a new name for it, “Upcycling.” Upcycling differs from plain old recycling in that you are taking something that socially (and perhaps artistically) has very little value and create from it something with greater value. Okay, before you all nod off over my little lesson, shoot over to the unofficial Upcycle Art website and check it out. Their soda bottle light is beautiful and their milk carton coin purses are cute enough to give as gifts (see them below). Also, you may want to check out the winners of the Etsy upcycle contest from earlier this year. It’s enough to get you elbow deep in trash.

I love crafts, crafty craft crafts they are so wonderful. And what’s more, oddrocket.com has given me a few new ones to play with. Formerly a diy index/store, Odd Rocket now exclusively features cute, original projects that include recipes, clothing and jewelry designs and more. And instructor extraodinaire, Jenni, has that kind of sass that we here at Pack Rat truly appreciate. For example, here’s her explaining why there’s no more store on the site:”I am just currently not offering anything for sale. trades and sale items may eventually get put up again, time permitting. meanwhile; go make it yourself.” Indeed, we shall. Check out a smattering of my favorite projects below. From left to right: a chinese carton purse, eraser stamps, marble magnets, and a halter top.

The trinkets and baubles that come with the ‘zine, CHiNesE SwEAtSHoP, are as much fun as those childhood doodads ever were. From the mind of Elsie Sampson (both her concious and subconcious, it seems) come complex tales of New York living and Chinese upbringing bound up with beads and ribbon, string and glitter. Beautiful, whimsical and interactive, Elsie’s ‘zines are an experience all in themselves. Even her smaller, one shot ‘zines, like the one about buying toilet paper are inventive. Her art pops and you’ll be turning the little guy over and over, marveling at the fact that the whole thing is just one folded piece of paper. And her regular ‘zines are not only full of stories and letters, but also Chinese recipes and artistic techniques. And she incorporates drink umbrellas, dice, fortune-telling fish, chop sticks and more in her regular ‘zines. It’s like getting a goody bag and a short storybook in one! Check out her covers below.

Permit me a serious moment here. We at Pack Rat firmly believe that crafting for a cause is always a good idea. Using the gifts of creativity and skill for the embetterment of others is the best gift your can give anyone, including yourself. More than just giving money, when you craft something for someone in need, you get to give something of yourself. And hopefully in return you get something bigger and deeper back. Emptybowls.net is a great cause dedicated to just that. Empty bowls was started in 1990 by a Michigan school teacher as a way to get the community involved in the school’s fund raising efforts. Seventeen years later, they are still going at it strong. The basic idea for Empty Bowls is simple. The fund raisers create ceramic bowls, then serve a simple meal of soup and bread. Fund raisees or donaters come to the meal and choose a bowl to use. They get to keep their handmade treasures as a reminder that there are always Empty Bowls in the world. In exchange for a meal and the bowl, the guest gives at least the suggested minimum donation of ten dollars. The funds collected then get donated to an orgazination, any organization that fights hunger. This can range from an local organization servicing the immediate community, or an international service involved in world hunger relief. What better way to express yourself than this?

I’m going to have to tape up the bridge of my glasses for this one. Instructables.com is so wonderfully nerdy, so powerfully geeky that I am dubbing it “Official Nerd Kingdom.” The brain child (one of many, no doubt) of MIT alumnus and friends, instructables is the ultimate D.I.Y. site, not only in terms of projects but also postings. All you have to do to post an “instructable” is create a free member account. Then you can add your voice to the thousands of people already sharing their great ideas. And, people can easily comment on each other’s postings, offering tips and advice on how to make the instructions clearer and more accessible. Which is all fine and good, but the real awesomeness of the site comes from the hybrid of scientific and mathematical minds creating tactile goods. This results in projects you won’t see anywhere else, like how to make a Boba Fett mask out of cardboard, how to make a magnetic rubix cube with dice, and how to make a Lego cover for your USB thumb drive. Check out two of my favorites below, the dixie cup spherical dodecahedron and the polygon lamp. Aren’t they just beautiful?