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.

Pack Rat Magazine knows not to mess with The Luggage

The subject of this blog post comes via Crafty Crafty

If there’s anything the British seem to know, it’s humor. Monty Python, Eddie Izzard, Douglas Adams, the list goes on and on. For all of you über nerds out there, I certainly hope you have read, or are planning to read the books in the Discworld fantasy series by Terry Pratchett (p.s. I just googled über to make sure I was spelling it right, and I read a whole Wikipedia entry devoted to that one word. Talk about obernerdy). The Discworld is a lot like our own…only different. There’s way too much to go into here, but essentially the Discworld is a planet shaped like a disc that is carried on the backs of four elephants who ride atop a giant turtle, floating through space. Trust me, it’s hilarious. I especially love the character of Death, who always speaks ALL IN CAPS and who loves KITTENS AND BAKING.

Anywho, the long and the short of it is that I’m hardly the only person in love with these books. Kimberly Chapman and her husband Corran are also fans and they have expressed their love in the best way possible: cake form. Visit Chapman’s website for the how-to for this scrumptious literary dessert.

It’s Pack Rat Magazine, b*tches!

Okay, so I know I’ve been awol recently and I’m sure you’ve all be struggling to find the will to live without my sage words of advice (JK) but I’m back and the reason for my prolonged absence and subsequent return is that I’ve been working diligently on producing for you all (or y’all where appropriate) issue numero quatro of Pack Rat. This issue we help the Earth in the spirit of Earth Day by doing what we do best: recycled crafts and lots of them. We also talk with jewelry designer Becky Houle, a.k.a. The Vicious Kitty, look into what this whole letterbox craze is all about and, with the help of Cat Morley from Cut Out + Keep make our own letterbox stampers, hit the thrifts for some inexpensive crafting supplies, and just about a zillion things more. Head over to www.packratmag.com/zine to get in on the action. I missed you all and I’m glad to be back. Happy crafting!

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

Well, I appologize in advance if this video doesn’t work. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s functional and what’s not as I’m writing the blog. Anywho, this is a quick little tutorial on how to make your own little “transformer” type toy out of paper. While it doesn’t look anything like the famous Saturday morning cartoon of the same name, it is quite clever and would probably keep me entertained for a few hours.

Love your arts and crafts? Want more? Check out Pack Rat Magazine

Here’s a fun take on all of those illustration/doodling sites available out there. The Box Doodle Project is literally what the name says. It’s a website that offers you three different types of unfolded boxes to draw on, using an assortment of markers and colors. Some of the designs people have come up with are quite inspiring (my favorites are below) and it immediately occurred to me that this kind of project could make an easy leap from cyber space (doesn’t that term sound so archaic now?) to real space…more to the point, on to my wall. Maybe I’ll start working on real life box doodles this weekend.

Check out Pack Rat Magazine, Issue #1!

Isn’t it disappointing when you google D.I.Y. and you come up with all these lame country crafts, or nothing but home improvement sites? Where is the variety? Where is the creativity, the diversity? It’s all over at D.I.Y. Life. This collective blog is part of the Weblogs Inc. universe and features everything D.I.Y. in life, from the obligatory crafts and hobbies and home improvement, to Home & Family, and Tech stuff. They even have blogs about recalled items. Many of the projects include handy price guides (just like Pack Rat, only their projects aren’t quite as affordable :0D). But one of my favorite things about them are the little tricks and tips they have, like how to open your combination lock if you lose the combination, and how to chill a bottle of wine in under 10 minutes. Plus, they totally won me over with their Halloween article, “Jawa Jive: Build Your Own Star Wars Jawa. Wootine!” The Wootine had me giggling all morning, I’m just that big of a Star Wars nerd.

Have a loved one getting ready to have a baby?  Do something sweet for the mommy to be.  Check out these directions for the Mommy Blanket.

I bet you just loooooove craft tutorials, don’t you? Well, don’t feel weird about it, we all do. Myself included. And that is why I want to share this site with you. Creative Kismet is by blogger Regina and like many craft blogs out there, it is a fun portal into her crafty life. As many of my favorite blogs do, Creative Kismet includes beautifully arranged pictures, inventive ideas (check out some of her crafts below) and a little peek into Regina’s day to day life. What makes this blog different from many of the rest is the HUGE list of tutorials she has collected. Everything from recipes and clothing revamps to door draft stoppers. Seriously, she has an awesome catalog of projects and I will almost certainly be spending the next few weeks sifting through them and seeing which ones make it on to my own personal bookmarks.

I do not have any offspring. I have, however, reached the age where people around me are procreating and frankly, I’m a little freaked out. But just because I don’t feel ready to be someone’s mom doesn’t mean I don’t love my friends’ kids. I found Wee Wonderfuls the other day and snapped my fingers. Now I know where to go when I’m looking for baby shower gifts and birthday present ideas. Hillary Long’s Wee Wonderfuls has great photos and colorful project ideas for many a kid oriented craft project. And, unlike a lot of kid sites, this one also has the prerequisite design sensibility that Pack Rat craves. Check out this totally rockin’ Japanese craft inspired back pack (below). Hell, I’d wear it. She also has a handful of free patterns (the pointy kitty below is so freakin’ cute I could scream) and a book that you are guaranteed to spend hours pouring over. Plus, in true Pack Rat fashion, many of her crafts involve thrifted materials. For more on this, check out her older blog, Thrifted Craft. I hope when I do finally have a wriggly mass of cuteness of my own people will make this kind of stuff for me. And I will try very, very hard not to keep it for myself.