Urban Debris is just about the coolest blog ever (except for yours truely, of course). I wasn’t able to get a bead on who the lovely lady is that provides all of us with the wealth, the treasure trove of info, but Urban Debris is all about “art from recycled culture.” Art? Recycle? Culture? Jackpot! This blog is especially Pack Ratty with the “Friday Freebies” a keen list of free craft related resources culled from the highways and biways of this world wide web of ours. Things like embroidery directions, links to public domain images, collage sheets and more are embedded through out. And she provides directions for her own projects. She is an especially handy source for ATC’s (artist trading cards) and specializes in vintage images. It’s collage central over at Urban Debris, so take a trip to artsy town.

Some people are intimidated by art. They think of it as something only an artist can create. Maybe this is true, maybe its not. Regardless, whenever I see someone take a common, everyday object and make it art, instead of feeling cowed by their genius, I am elated. For instance, if Peter Callesen can take something as mundane as paper and make it take your breath away, then the world is full of possibilities. All it takes is a willing pair of hands and a good idea (and, most likely, a lot of trial and error). Check out his artwork below and click the images to see bigger photos. See more of his handiwork at his website. His designs are as intricate as lace and his use of negative space is… mwha! (that’s the sound of me kissing the tips of my fingers on my left hand). I am in love.

(A list of pieces from left to right: The Short Distance Between Time and Shadow, Cradle, Down the River, and Closet)

Hello world. If you’ve been with us these last few months, you know that here at Pack Rat we are not only interested in creating innovative, money saving projects, but also using our imaginations and inspirations to help change the world around us. Another site to add to the list of craft activism groups is microrevolt.org. Concerned with what she sees as a growing problem of exploitation of sweatshop workers by major corporations, Cat Mazza created this group to help generate awareness of labor conditons and what she calls the “feminization of labor.” As stated in Knits magazine “Cat realized how thoroughly advertising has obscured consumers’ ability to honor the labor process.” Headlining the major offenders is Nike (no surprise). In order to call attention to what Nike, and other major brands like Disney and GAP, are doing, Cat and other microrevolt members are knitting their own versions of corporate logos (see below). To this end, Cat has provided and awesome program called knitpro that can convert any jpeg, gif, or png into a knitting or crochet pattern. And she is inviting seasoned experts and novices alike to donate white and orange crochet squares to a large blanket she’s making that sports the Nike logo. Once it is complete, the plan is to send it to Nike’s Chairman of the board, along with a petition calling for Nike to step up and comply with established International Labor Organization regulations. Taking the skills you have and using them to try to make a better tomorrow? That is totally “turning what you have into what you want.”

I am super excited about today’s find. Check out www.thetoymaker.com for some beautiful, free paper toys. Artist Marilyn Scott Waters creates intricate, whimsical designs like her otter paper dolls, Charles and Brook, or her wagon pulled by polar bears. If you’re anything like me, then you’ve never really outgrown the thrill of seeing a colorful, warm toy. And Marilyn provides patterns for all her lovely creations. But, if you’re not like me, don’t write this site off yet. She also provides patterns for gift boxes and cards, for those of you too mature to get wrapped up in toys. These will make great gifts, I can’t wait to start spreading them around!

If you are familiar with this new wave craft movement, this crafting renaissance as it were, then you know one of the main corner stones of most craft fairs today is home made soap. Home made soaps are superior to regular store bought soaps in almost every way. They smell better (you can find ones with all sorts of natural essential oils), they tend to look nicer, and you can be sure they aren’t animal tested. To be honest, they do tend to be pricey compared to, say, a bar of Ivory. But at least if you pay $4 for a bar you know its hard won earnings for the small craft business person, and not just another dollar in the pocket of a large corporation. But I’m getting off track. The point is, hand made soaps are a wonderful luxury that you can make at home. And today I bring you a website that gives you the A to Z in making your own soap. At teachsoap.com, you will find a series of instructions into the basics of soap making, like how to use emulsifying wax and how to render tallow, not to mention recipes for particular scents of soaps and a gallery where people can share their soap creations, like the Jade Dragon and the Sushi Rolls pictured below. What really sets this site apart is that not only its extremely comprehensive range of topics, but the comprehensive writing as well. The articles don’t just tell you the how, but also the why. The section on using emulsifying wax not only explained why it is necessary, but broke down the chemical process that happens when you use an emulsifier so that it was easy even for someone like me, the layest of laypeople, to understand. I’m going to try to work it into conversation at my next social function in order to impress people. I’ll say “Did you know that oil is hydrophobic?” and push my glasses up by the bridge. It’s going to be great.

The hunt for cool d.i.y. continues. Cruisin’ around today and I stumbled (more like fell flat on my face) on to an interesting little website called allfreecrafts.com. Hmmm. Could they really be sportin’ over 500 original craft instructions as they so boldly claim? Or was this just some sort of gimmick, some trick to get me reading, get me hooked and then give me the sucker punch, that to finish what I started I’d have to cough up some dough? I decided to try it out. I clicked on a project, bread crumb beads (dough–bread, pretty good pun, huh? Oh, forget it. Check out the picture below), that I thought looked interesting. I started reading. I kept my eye open for the sales pitch, the catch. I scrolled down. I finished the article. Huh? I went back to the menu and started again, this time with a knitting pattern for a cardigan (also pictured below). It was the same. It is true, they are all free crafts! Now before I get you peeing your pants with excitement, like everything good in life, I have to issue a caveat. A lot of these crafts are a little school marmish. But, with over 500 for free, there seem to be plenty of little jems among the doilies. Take some time to scavange through it. I know I will.

I have many, many guilty pleasures. The one that is the hardest to reconcile with my Pack Rat frame of mind is my love of raw fish. There’s nothing better in this life (and I would guess the next as well) as sushi. I’ve been indulging for over a decade now and there’s no sign of stopping. My love just keeps growing and growing. It’s now reached the point where I have to have it at least once a week. As you can imagine, this is seriously putting a strain on my purse strings. So I was delighted when I came across sushiday.com (”where every day is sushi day!”). This fun website is full of sushi recipes, rolling directions, tips on how to pick out fish and other tidbits and chat about the enchanted world of maki, nigiri, and more. And, sushi connoisseur Allison has plenty of experimental recipes besides the same old traditional fare. I can’t wait to try the Bee Maki (unagi, honey, imitation crab stick, shoyu). While I realize that sushi will never be a “cheap” endeavor, I can only imagine making it at home will help cut down on costs. Also, visions of daily sushi binges are dancing through my head

You know whose style I love? Kathy Cano Murillo, a.k.a. Crafty Chica. Her site is a collission of bright colors, wild ideas and a little va-va-voom. Her site is chock-a-block full of great craft ideas and a little bit of that Crafty Chica sass. And most everything she makes has a Latina flair that’s got my drooler drooling. Like her shadow box table, or her puffy fabric appliqués. With articles about finding your signature style and reclaiming your creativity when you feel stuck, not to mention her podcasts with a myriad of people on a ton of different subjects, this site will keep you busy for weeks!

Okay, today’s blog is purely window shopping but I couldn’t help myself. While the jewelry at d-liciousmetal.com is woefully out of my price range (things tend to run $50+), designer Dana Roth’s beer can bracelets are just the tip of her clever ice berg. While we all want to wear a TAB on our wrist, let us not overlook equally amazing and unique pieces like the coffee and cigarettes ring, or the definition necklace. While we may not be able to afford Roth’s charms (and if you can, send me pictures so I may be properly envious), admiring and appreciating good design can only help us crank up our own think tanks. And now we have something to try with all those beer cans lying around, right?

I’ll admit it. Today I am not feeling very insightful and creative, so I’m phoning it in a little by recommending you go to homestarrunner.com. I say phoning it in (a.k.a. half assing it) because I realize that most hip and with-it people already know about Homestar, Strong Bad, Strong Sad and the rest of the gang. But, on the off chance that our hip and with-it readers have simply been too busy and have up to now miss out on the greatness that is
homestarrunner.com, I humbly present it to you. Homestar Runner is a cartoon character and his dimwitted adventures and those of his friends are free (Pack Rat’s favorite word) for viewing at the website. There are two things that make this site fan-freaking-tastic. A) Its freeness. Viewing the cartoons are free, playing the games are free, most of the down load are free. Free. B) Strong Bad is the weirdest, funniest, most out-of-left-field character this side of Space Ghost. He is Homestar Runner’s nemesis and he is a luchadore (spanish wrestler, like Nacho Libre but waaaaaay funnier. Check him out below) that never wrestles. He and his brother, Strong Mad, and his side kick The Cheat stir up trouble for Homestar and his friends…Did I mention it is free? Anyway, it is hilarious and a wonderful distraction at work, err, thing to do on your lunch break. And one last bonus, you don’t have to download anything to view the cartoons, they’re all flash video and run directly off the site. Yee-haw!