Maybe I'm not crafty like the lady in the Beastie Boys song (I've never actually stolen a skateboard - I don't even like skateboarding), but I'll be damaged if I'm not all sorts of crafty these days. With the help of trusty sidekick Beth Bathory (not sure sidekick is the right word since she regularly is more useful than I turn out to be....) I have gone craftinsane over the last few months. Here to review my own crafting is no one other than....me!
Screen printing - this is far easier than I could have ever imagined. I remember having a couple friends back in the day who made this seem lie the most intricate and tough project possible. Well, if that is the case I must just be an absolute genius because I have made over one hundred shirts in the past month. Yup, one hundred shirts. Sure, seventy of those were the exact same design (a Sir Isaac Newton t-shirt for every single one of my students - winter break gift), but they also included an absolutely amazing Aesop Rock one (courtesy of Bathory), a pretty spiffy M.I.A one (Get High Like Paper, Fly Like Planes - although that one was recently given away), an amazing Bladen McLaughling one (thanks again to Bathory....so much more skilled than I!), and then four ridiculous ones for the assorted Wilson's.
Really though all you need is a screen (can be purchased at AC Moore for less than $30 or made if you are at all an artist), a scraper (that's probably not what it is called but it's a piece of plastic you scrape the ink with - less than $4), an X-Acto (for cutting the designs out of paper - less than $6), some cardboard (free....?), some t-shirts (only $2 a piece at AC Moore), and a little bit of patience (if you are making huge batches of shirts). More than hard work though this has proven to just be a fun time, we even made labels for our new line of wine.
Which brings me to....
Wine making - Sure, this ain't Sonoma, and sure, what we made isn't going to taste that great, but we made wine! Yup, toilet wine, just like they do it in the Big House. I'm talking ten minutes of work for a gallon of wine. Now, our first line, known affectionately as 'Repeat Offender' was made in limited quantities but assuming Raleigh Way Winery doesn't go out of business as a result of this one you better believe we'll be makin' this hooch for the selling. The most fun aspect of this was naming it (almost was named Fifi which I can't in good conscious explain on this site). Good times, wanna try? Here is the recipe;
INGREDIENTS
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 (12 fl. oz.) can frozen juice concentrate - any flavor except citrus, thawed
• 3 1/2 quarts cold water, or as needed
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine the yeast, sugar and juice concentrate in a gallon jug. Fill the jug the rest of the way with cold water. Rinse out a large balloon, and fit it over the opening of the jug. Secure the balloon with a rubber band.
2. Place jug in a cool (but not cold) dark place (such as a closet). Within a day you will notice the balloon starting to expand. As the sugar turns to alcohol the gasses released will fill up the balloon. When the balloon is deflated back to size the wine is ready to drink. It takes about 6 weeks total.
Paper Making - I can't really take credit for this one, I didn't do any of the work except put the screen in the water and then catch the paper, sit and wait for it to dry and then peel it off of the screen. That part of the process was fun and incredibly simple though and the paper is really high quality and has so much more personality than regular paper (it is being used for the 'Repeat Offender' labels - only the best for our customers...). Thanks Victoria for the help with this!
Music making - Not sure if this is considered a craft per say but right before break I recorded a song that was god-awful (although thoughtful and meaningful) and I wrote another over break. I've recently been talking to an old musician friend who has expressed interest in doing some real recording with me so who knows, maybe someday this will actually be a craft which I don't blow at.
Card making - As I have stated over and over again, making a card at home means so very much more than purchasing some foolish card from a Hallmark store. Really, anyone who disagrees with me is a tool and has no heart and might not even be human. Sure, that seems a little rough but it is a scientific fact. The effort put forth in making a card speaks volumes about how someone feels about you and it is one of the nicest ways to just brighten someones day. I adore the Paper Source in Cambridge, MA (and I'm sure they have stores all over) - their smaller folding cards are great because they are a nice thick white paper and they afford the option to choose from all sorts of different envelopes. Do it today, I guarantee you'll make someones day.
I have had more fun and gotten more joy out of the last month and my use of spare time than I ever have in my life and I really need to thank Beth Bathory for being so consistently willing to always try something absurd with me (moonshine might be next, I'm going to learn to knit, and it's more shirts since they are so fun!) Thank you Victoria for being willing to teach me new things (I would have added how to make Fruit Brandy but I might have been distracted when I was being taught....)
Got an idea for a design? Let me know! Questions on how to? Just ask! Have fun.
