Zinefest 2012

Our table at Zinefest this year was full of many things; found object key chains, yarn earrings, yarn and monster watercolor cards, the Land Sick Pirate zine, Projects zine, Emptied Pockets zine, a vegan baked goods cookbook, and the Penny for Your Thought zine and project.  All of these items are available on our infinitemonster Etsy page.

The Materials

We currently have a long list of projects. And now that school has started again, we have even less time to do them. Because of the amount and the lack of time, I am not sure what will be finished, soon or ever and so I will simply give a list of materials we are currently working with, both at home and at work.

yarn
t-shirts
paper
fake coins
trains
the internet
word documents
emails
tables
chocolate milk
plastic forks
post-it notes
plates
cotton fabric
empty frames
sketchbook
camera
hard drives
motorcycles
eggs
chili
photos
glaze

Making Monday: Glazing Bowls

 This year we are volunteering with Empty Bowls at Powderhorn Park. Our first volunteering was to help glaze bowls for the event. It was really fun to be told here are all of these bowls, other people made, now, paint them! Done and done.

Western Sculpture Park Festival

Western Sculpture Park is a well hidden, rather impressive sculpture park in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Located between 94 and University on Marion.  We volunteer for art projects with kids in the summer and helped direct and greet visitors at this festival.  Much fun to be had with free t-shirts, face painting, spin art, sculpture making, and food trucks.  Check out the park if you haven't already.

Zinefest!

Zinefest is this Saturday! 

I have all of my items packed up and ready to bring to Powderhorn Park, and have big expectations of fun. Come visit and take in all of the crazy amazing zines. Also if you are feeling really adventurous come to Boneshaker Books to hear me read from the zine pictured above, this Friday evening. 

Hope to see you there.

Making Monday: A Red Scarf

 While in San Fransisco I saw all sorts of lovely cotton red scarfs. And so I decided to be spend thrifty and use already bought red yarn and knit one for myself. I am really happy with the result, the colors work really well, and the yarn weight is perfect for fall, and I made up a simple but not boring pattern to follow. My only, tiny complaint, is I wish I had had a little more yarn to make it long, but it will get worn and stretch so all will end well. What is your favorite scarf for fall?

The Beauty of Line Drying

Today, a roommate's lady friend asked us why we line dry our clothes.  We added line drying to our efforts at the beginning of summer.  Our response:
1. It saves electricity (or gas depending on the dryer)
2. It saves money on utilities
3. It is much more gentle on clothing. 

I had assumed people knew how good line drying was and just thought it was too much work, but perhaps not.  Line drying is also a nice way to be outside on comfortable days.  A few things we have learned from line drying:
1. Tie rope between trees or poles.  Find or buy clothes pins.  Now you are ready.
2. Make two lines if you have a lot of laundry or want the clothes dry quicker.
3. Put the lines in the shade if you don't want to put clothes on the line in the hot sun.
4. Give the clothes space, they dry faster.
5. Try line drying big things first, they are less tedious and will help you get comfortable with the process.
6. Check the forecast before you begin, you can always throw things in the dryer if you are in a hurry, but waiting for a clear day is best.

Even if you only line dry sometimes, it still helps save energy, save money, and wears less on clothing.

Complete

Monster's tattoo is complete and healing up quite nicely.  "Esperanza" is a Spanish word that means both waiting and hope.

Making Monday: A Wallet

I have been using the same wallet, that my mother and I bought in San Juan, Puerto Rico, almost 10 years ago. I love this wallet it was gold silk with butterflies all over it, and had a very Asian feel to it. It was really solid and I could almost always find it without looking in my bag. But after 10 years it was looking, quite worse for wear, lots of fraying. And so I recreated a replacement, using rocket ship print cotton! It is slightly smaller, which simply allows for less wasted space, but otherwise an exact replica, and it is perfect.

you are beautiful

There is a new sticker surge coming from the you are beautiful project. We got an envelope full, and we are excited to get started on spreading the love.

Mini Camp

We set up a mini camp in the backyard with our newly acquired picnic table, and newly found pup tent.

 

Making Monday: Skirt

 I found this amazing fabric at Glad Creations and had to make a skirt with it. I created the pattern from a skirt I already had and avoided sewing a zipper by making the waist with elastic. It sits and hangs quite nicely, and twirls perfectly.