Pack Rat Magazine drove its Chevy to the levee and guess what? The levee–she was filled with whipped cream and booze, man.

I first fell in love with the work of Chris Van Allsburg when I was a wee Meghan. Like millions of other children, I was transported away on the Polar Express and caught up in the game of Jumanji. And my favorite adventure was walking through the wild topiaries in The Garden of Abdul Gaszasi where the shrubs can walk, jump, and run, or so they seem.

Usually, childhood pleasures lose their allure as we grow into adults, but for me, Van Allsburg’s illustrations, with looming, shadowy figures baring down on his children protagonists, are as startling and exhilarating as ever. And one of his books in particular, The Mystery of Harris Burdick, will always captivate me.

The Mystery is a fairy tale told as fact. Van Allsburg writes, in an introduction to the first edition in 1984, the “true story” of Harris Burdick. Many years ago, he claims, a man called on editor Peter Wenders. This mystery caller identified himself as Harris Burdick and said that he had written and illustrated fourteen stories. He presented Wenders with a portfolio of fourteen drawings, captions, and story titles– one for each story–and promised to return the next day with the remaining tales. He never came back.

Wenders, as Van Allsburg writes, hung the intriguing pictures in his home and for some time his children, and then grandchildren would look at the illustrations with their captions and story titles and they would make up their own tales, filling in the blanks as they went. Until one day he showed the drawings to Van Allsburg, who subsequently decided that more children needed to admire them. Hence the book.

I have to admit, it has taken me about twenty years to realize that this is all a ruse. Not until I began to write this blog and I went back and revisited The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, did I see with adult eyes that “Burdick’s” style of illustration was remarkable similar to all of Van Allsburgs other books. Oh well. A little of the magic has died, but the intrigue is still there all the same. Thousands upon thousands of children have written stories to accompany “Burdick’s” illustrations over the last two decades (you can read some of them online). And adults are equally captivated. Stephen King wrote a story called “The House on Maple Street,” inspired by one of the Burdick drawings, an animation company has created short films based on some of the images, and a songs have been written in tribute to the mystery.

Van Allsburg may have children in mind when he sets pen to paper, but his stories have captured my imagination for a life time. Enjoy some of the Harris Burdick images below and let me know if they stir you into writing a tale of your own.

Title: A Strange Day in July

Caption: He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back.

Title: The Seven Chairs

Caption: The fifth one ended up in France.

Hi kids!  the Feb/March Issue is finally out and rarin’ to go.  Click on the pdf link below!  And remember, if you think you could do better, you’re welcome to show us what you’ve got. Submission deadlines for next issue will be March 20th.  Happy reading.

issue3.pdf

Check out Pack Rat Magazine, Issue #1 and stay tuned for Issue #2 available Dec. 1st.

Hey Peeps. Sorry about this week. I just needed a little vacation from the blog (I’ve been bombarded by all sorts of crap). But, since I have deprived you for a while now, I’m going to cut to the chase and give you a whole lot of what you want. Less of me blathering, more fun links for you to check out. So here we go:

Miss Hawklet: Check out this online store for hand spun yarn in scrumptious colors and handmade books.

Get ready to be snug as a bug in a rug this winter season with a pattern for these adorable mittens from Potter Craft News

Speaking of patterns that will make you squeal with joy, check out Stitch crafting blog for a free pattern on how to make this Bender amigurumi.

Who doesn’t love street art? Graffiti is one of the most amazing things born out of city living (please, please don’t send me emails or make comments about the semantics of when and where graffiti actually originated. If you want to consider hieroglyphics and cave paintings graffiti then knock yourself out). Check out this entry on baekdal.com’s blog about Skelewags, a graffiti project by “Chewie” that incorporates the physical reality of the surroundings into the surreality of his cartoons.

And finally, you might recall from one of my previous blogs that I was taken with a wiki knitting site. Well here’s another wiki for you to have, to hold, to bookmark and that is SewWiki: A Beginner’s Sewing Community. According to the main page, “This site contains Beginner Sewing Lessons, fabric shop directories and information, advice on buying a sewing machine, and all sorts of other information for both new and experienced sewers.” It seems (ah, I love puns) a little sparse, but I love the idea of craft wikis so why don’t those of us with some sewing knowledge meet up there and get this ball rolling.

Check out Pack Rat Magazine, Issue #1!

It’s my personal opinion that you can’t spend your money on anything better than a graphic novel.  They have it all!  Great story telling, amazing art, and like a movie they have immediacy as well as  the clarity of vision.  But, like a book, they leave so much open to your own imagination.  They are, in a word, brilliant. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.  Graphic novel sales have skyrocketed in the past ten years. I remember having to drive an hour away when I was a teenager, just to get a look at the good stuff. These days they are in every major chain bookstore.  But maybe you haven’t caught the fever yet.  Maybe you’re trying to avoid superhero comic book cliches.  Well I found a helpful article from Time magazine, published about a year ago, called “5 Gripping Graphic Novels for Grownups.”  The titles they recommend are a good place to get your feet wet.  And after that I guarantee you’re going to be going back for more.

Looking for more crafting goodness? Check out Pack Rat Magazine, Issue #1!

All of you who work in publishing crafts (you know, books, ‘zines, etc.) get ready to get excited. I found some wicked awesome free fonts at TypeNow. They are based on movie logos and I LOOOOOVE them. My favorites are Apocalypse Now, Bewitched, Dark Crystal (natch), Mars Attacks, Ren & Stimpy, The Simpsons (obviously), Star Wars (of course), Spongebob Square Pants, and 28 Days Later. Plus they have fonts from band logos and video game logos, and really all the awesome, pop culture fonts you could ever possibly want. Be sure to bookmark this site.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

It hurts my heart to see people abuse books. On the other hand, I absolutely love new art forms. So I was a bit torn when admiring the handiwork of artist Brian Dettmer. His sculptures, some times called “Book Autopsies,” made from old books are fascinating. Part shadow box, part magnetic poetry and part ” lost city of Atlantis,” his artwork is another world that will swallow you up (much like a good story will). I’ve decided that the quality of art far outweighs my knee-jerk aversion to cutting up books. Word on the street is that he makes these unique pieces with only a set of tweezers and an exacto knife. Oh, and if the book thing doesn’t do anything for ya, check out the life size skeleton he made out of cassette tapes.

Check out the Premier Issue of Pack Rat Magazine!

Not all of us can be graphic art majors and design students. Thankfully, the people at Maryland Institute College of Art are aware of this and the faculty and graduate students have brought all of their creative talents to bear on D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself, a book that covers all things design related, especially those that deal with the written word. And, in true cutting edge fashion, the publishers have provided a website with some serious resources as a companion piece to the book. Totally free and chocked full of useful information, the DIY website gives you the basic run down of most of the books topics. Design guides for blogs, business cards, flyers, gifts, housewares, invitations, logos, newsletters, presentation, press kits, stationary, t-shirts, websites, ‘zines (whew!) are just the tip of the ice berg. Plus, the website has all sorts of fun downloads like the the tea party invites, or a bevy of images you can print on to iron-on paper (below). While the reading is a whincy bit dry, it’s totally worth powering through because there is a crap load of good information there. It’s like an introductory course in design…for free.

Oh thank the Lord. The wait is finally over. Issue #1 of Pack Rat magazine is here. It is ready and eager to be read by you. All thick, juicy, meaty 28 pages of it. So go ahead and sink your teeth in. Just click HERE. And when you’re done, drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Free books. Now that I have your attention, check out bookmooch.com, a website dedicated to helping match up books and their readers. I’m sure most of us have more books than we really need. I myself have a sickness that results in my owning over three hundred books (and get this, my life mate has the same sickness and the same number of titles to his name) with the insatiable desire for more. But at this point, can I really rationalize buying more books? No, but thankfully BookMooch makes it so I don’t have to. There are other book swap sites out there, but BookMooch is my favorite because they have the best design, hands down and they seem the most down to earth. BookMooch is a book swap that works kind of like Netflix except that it’s free and doing business with them never feels like a swift kick to the crotch. You sign up and list books that you are willing to part with. People who have those titles on their wish list contact you and you send them books, thereby earning yourself points. You can use these points to request books be sent to you. And the circle of life continues.

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.