Get Off Your Duff and Do Stuff!

Posted on January 5, 2009 by meghan

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 ). 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

Tuesday Review Day

Posted on November 4, 2008 by meghan

Pack Rat Issue #6 is available now!

Hi friends! I hope you have all been, or are planning on going to the polls soon for this election day ’08. There is some crazy excitement in the air today as everybody waits to see what the outcome of the longest race in presidential history. Make sure your voice is heard.

And as another reminder, we are now Yelping our way up and down the East Coast, bringing you the latest and greatest in one-of-a-kind, dollar-stretching finds. Today we review Papercut ‘Zine Library in Cambridge, MA. Visit the Yelp page for a closer look at this, and other Pack Rat friendly destinations.

Issue #6!!

Posted on November 3, 2008 by meghan

Pack Rat magazine is back for more!

Yes that’s right cats and kittens. Over the weekend Issue #6 of Pack Rat hit the virtual news stands and lets take a quick look at what you can expect from this new issue. We’ve got recipes for tasty cranberry sauce and refreshing face toner, tutorials for a hot embroidery project, a classy bracelet, an elegant necklace, a look at the new Museum of Art and Design in NYC, a retrospective of our early work, reviews, contests and so much more! Download it for free, give it to your friends and family for Thanksgiving, wallpaper your home with it, and just go buck wild!

As you look the new issue over, remember that we are always looking for more writers. If you have a craft project, article idea, or review that you are just dying to do, check out our submission guidelines page. We would love to have you contribute.

And wait, there’s more! To celebrate the magazine’s first birthday, we invite you to be part of our Birthday Scavanger Hunt. All through out the new magazine issue , we have hidden hyperlinks that lead to other fun websites. By hidden, we mean that they are disguised as regular old text, no highlighting, and no underline. The only way to tell that they are links is to hover your cursor over them. If it is a hyperlink in disguise, your cursor will turn to a pointed finger, and a box will appear with a web address. Go through the magazine and try to find all of the hyperlinks (there are 11). Once you’ve got them, send us an email at info at packratmag.com (choose “Birthday Scavanger Hunt” for the subject line) and let us know what page they’re on and to what website each one links to. On December 1st we will have a drawing and the contestant’s whose name is pulled out of the hat will win a free copy of Handmade Nation: The Rise of Art, Craft, and Design by Faythe Levine and Courtney Heimerl. We’ll be notifying the winner via email. Please, only one entry per person.

This is all very exciting! And as always, check back here often for more of the best money saving and craft advice available.

Issue #5 is Coming at You!

Posted on July 14, 2008 by meghan

Heeey-yooooh! It’s magazine time again. Welcome to Issue #5 of Pack Rat, where the fun never ends. This issue we bring you fashion, art, and more crafts than you can shake a stick at. (Well, maybe you can shake a stick at them. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions about your ability to shake sticks at things.) Marvel at the creative prowess of Valiant clothing designer, Mykel Walker. Wonder at the thrifty chic fashion we found, all in the ballpark of $30. Thrill at the grotesque beauty unearthed at the Museum of Bad Art. Plus, we have some cool craft tutorials too.

New Issue!!

Posted on April 17, 2008 by meghan

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!

Issue 3

Posted on February 12, 2008 by meghan

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

Ah, Public Domain

Posted on January 16, 2008 by meghan

For more money saving secrets, read Pack Rat Magazine

I love the Public Domain. For those of you who are perhaps not acquainted with it, let me explain. The quick definition is that it is some body of work that no one can claim the legal rights to and that you can use freely. This can happen for a number of reasons. Copyrights and patents all have expiration dates and when one of these expires the work becomes part of the public domain. Also, the creator of the body of work can choose to leave their work in the public domain (look into Creative Commons for more interesting stuff in this field). But the long and the short of it means that the internet is housing a lot of free content that you or I can access from any computer.

Love books? Check out these sites that offer the full text of all the old classics for free:

Project Gutenberg (which also has free audio books for some of the titles)
Read Print
The Internet Public Library

Need some free images? Wikipedia has a pretty comprehensive listing of public domain images. Also try:

PD Images

The Springfield Township High School Library

Burning Well

That ought to get you started. Use these resources to make your own artistic masterpieces!

Man Issues

Posted on January 4, 2008 by meghan

Need more craft? Check out Pack Rat Magazine

All too frequently, I think, boys and men are shut out of our alternative crafting revoultion (perhaps voluntarily, more often than not). Our crafty talk is maybe unself-conciously femme, and the by-products of our labors are a bit more “frou-frou” then meet the taste of many men. I, personally, am all for any type of craft. I tend to lean toward things that are traditionally “pretty,” and “cute” but that’s just me. There’s a whole world of understated crafts out there and I like the idea that more points of view means more diverse, more inspiring crafts. Anyway, to make a short point long, check out this back issue of the free knitting ‘zine, Knitty: The Man Issue for patterns and articles all geared toward the more “masculine.”

ISSUE #2!!!

Posted on December 12, 2007 by meghan

I’ve been so all over the place that I’ve forgot to tell you guys that if you haven’t seen it for yourself already, Issue #2 is up and running. I would be ever so greatful if you checked it out and emailed some feedback. We’re always looking for ways to make it better, so your suggestions are more than welcome. Happy reading!

Fun Fonts

Posted on October 25, 2007 by meghan

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.

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