Pack Rat is one angry dwarf…and don’t forget our black t-shirt.

Imagine if you still lived life like you were in the second grade. Your boss denies your vacation request? Demolish him on the 4-square court. Know your multiplication tables up to 10? You’re a freaking genius! Have a blue foil star. And you glued a stack of popsicle sticks together in one fire-hazard sized pile? Instead of sad and slightly disturbing, it’s artistic. Looking at the stash of reclaimed art supplies at the Materials for the Arts warehouse in Long Island City, NY brings back those grammar school feelings of standing in front of the open art closet–big possibilities. MFTA opens their art and crafts treasure chest to artists and groups who need cheap or free swag in order to make their creative vision a reality. For 31 years, MFTA volunteers and staffers have been saving perfectly good arts supplies from the landfills and playing matchmaker, pairing them with the appropriate causes. Their warehouse is a veritable candy land of paint, glitter, yarn… So, actually, maybe not so much like a land made of candy, but definitely as good. Just seeing it will make you feel like a kid all over again. And knowing that a bunch of schools benefit from the MFTA resources, means that they’re helping today’s kids have that same kind of excitement. So support them how you can. Live near by? Volunteer: volunteer@mfta.org

However,  unlike second grade, if you eat the paste there will be repercussions. You know who you are. Actually, depending on the kind of paste you ate, maybe you don’t.

photo copyright by MFTA/Susan Springer

photo copyright by MFTA

Pack Rat refuses to give back any fillets of fish

Is there anything sadder than a discarded lotto ticket? It pretty much screams of dreams lost, broken, and disappointed, be they small or large. However, before that thought has you drafting  a suicide note, take heart. Not everyone out there is a pessimist. Take artist Jean Shin, who sees these slips of sad trash more like prayer offerings to the gods of success. She has collected about $25,000 worth of lotto tickets and assembled them into a booming burg in a piece she calls Chance City.

Her city of  cards, much like the dreams the lotto tickets represent, isn’t held together by anything permanent or stable. She uses no adhesive to bolster these paper slips, just a steady hand and gravity to assemble the sky scrapers. And, like a deeply cherished dream, somehow her precarious city works.

Shin says, “I feel like these are reflections of cities. Most people who move to cities experience a lot of hardship and work, not a lot of instant successes. So they learn the hard way by living in a city what defying odds is all about. Picking up your life and moving to the city and giving it all you can, your dreams may change — transform, but somehow, I think all of us retain that memory of something that they really wanted to do, and against all odds, are able to succeed.”

Hear more about Jean Shin’s efforts to look on the bright side of refuse at Morning Edition on NPR. And see more of her work in her “Common Threads” show, on display  The Smithsonian until July 26.

photo copyright Jean Shin

Pack Rat is currently using the Sword of Omens’ Sight Beyond Sight function to suss out how long the lines at Target are

I am in love. I know, I know, you guys must get tired of me swooning every day over a new artist/blog/etc. But I can’t help it! There’s so much good stuff out there to see. Today, via Junk Creation blog (which I also adore), I came across Craftynest and the home stylings of Monica Ewing. Her low cost, recycle-based projects are the bomb diggity. (Remember when people used that phrase? Oh 1999. What were you thinking?) I was especially taken with her very smart, very chic modular bookcase made from salvaged drawers. It seems that I’m always passing dresser drawers in my many roadside scavanges, and this is an excellent idea for how to repurpose them. And she is not only inventive, but helpful–as she has supplied a how-to on her blog for copy cats like me. Take a gander at the before and after below.

photos copyright by Craftynest

Vox populi, vox Pack Rat!

Good Monday morning to you all! When I was little, I used to be OBSESSED with Garfield cartoons. Garfield, as some of you may know, hates Mondays. They are the arm pit of the week. So I don’t know if it’s being an adult and having to go to work on Mondays, or whether that fat orange tabby predisposed me from a young age, but Monday is my least favorite of the weekdays. Fortunately for me, I am super lucky and managed to snag a job at a super awesome school that let me have TWO WHOLE weeks off for the holidays. Boo-yah! So today isn’t as much of a drag as normal. But just in case, here’s a little pick-me-up for you and me both, in the form of today’s internet discovery.

We all need to spend plenty of time at Leethal.net reading, watching, and absorbing creativity via osmosis from Lee Meredith. This young lady is a whirling dervish of activity, be it knitting, sewing, screen printing, or ‘zining. Her latest ‘zine, Do Stuff, is dedicated to her favorite things, including an incredibly cute monster hat that she provides instructions on how to create. She is such a flurry of activity and ideas that I feel all motivated to get going on my own projects after reading one of her blogs (note: check out her recent post about her new Bad Movie Bingo creation. Sounds like it could be a good drinking game :P). Read over her site. Gawk at her recycled fashions (love the tea t-shirts!). Buy the ‘zine. And get moving on your own creative cocktail!

Photo of Lee Meredith copyright leethal.net

Pack Rat saves the date, every date

Hullo Pack Rateers. We are fast approaching the first anniversary of the magazine and in celebration I think I will order a set of these clever Circle the Date patches from Chakra Pennywhistle. Only $7, these patches help you commemorate with love all of your most important events. Made from thrifted tea towels and embroidered with love (literally, a heart), these patches are not just a fanciful graphic element, but also a way to subtley remind friends and family about impending special events. This way you can make sure no one forgets Arbor Day again.

photo copyright: Chakra Pennywhistle