Extreme Craft

Snoopin' in the Kitchen

I can't believe I overlooked this email from my friend Jill.  Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg need their own sitcom vehicle.  I can't wait until the episode when they get trapped in the elevator and have flashbacks.

LINK thanks Jill!

Sitting on the Bone Throne

As I write this, there's a big ol' stockpot on my stove, slowly simmering the carcass of yesterday's turkey into stock that will fuel some of Claire's amazing soups this winter.  Other people have found more novel uses for a used up turkey.  Today's Wall Street Journal took a break from chronicling the country's financial meltdown to explore some of the best contemporary and historical turkey bone sculptures.

One of the artists they covered was Eugene von Bruenchenhein, an outsider artist who lived and worked in Milwaukee.  I got to see some of von Bruenchenhein's work this summer at the Kohler museum in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, including the turkey throne above.

Museums and galleries didn't begin buying Mr. von Bruenchenhein's work until after his death in 1983. These days, the thrones are estimated to be worth up to $10,000 each, and the towers -- if you can find one -- as much as $70,000, according to Carl Hammer, a Chicago gallery owner that has sold some of the pieces.

Other artists in the article include a woman who makes turkey leg angels and a high school teacher who anxiously awaits Thanksgiving every year so she can ply her trade.  Lest you think that you can just put your leftovers out to dry, the article gives you some great tips about boiling and drying the bones without accumulating mold and other unwanted goo.  I'm sticking with soup.

LINK thanks KATE!

Turkey Dressing

Check out the awesome dress Claire made for Thanksgiving!  She converted a stuffed turkey pattern into this Holiday-riffic dress.  I love that lady!  We're going traditional this year, with a free-range bird, oyster stuffing, green bean casserole and sweet potato souffle.

If You Want to Destroy My Sweater

Check out this short video by Sarah Cox.  It's entitled "Don't Let it All Unravel", and it's been making the rounds of film festivals this year.  The entire thing was created using knitting.....and the unraveling of said knitting.  Don't try tugging at a real polar bear's fur.

LINK via MAKE

You've Come a Long Way, Baby?

This is slightly off-topic, but Claire just gave me permission to post this link to the TOP 9 DISTURBING MISOGYNISTIC OLD PRINT ADS.  If you're faint of heart, don't follow the link below to find out what's dangling from that string in this old French Tampax ad.  If you can read French, you probably just threw up in your mouth.

LINK

The Hottest Invention of the Season

Last week, I posted about my reluctant embrace of Twitter.  To be honest, I had been hearing about it for a while, but I couldn't possibly see why it would be interesting or beneficial.  Twitter isn't for everybody, to be sure, but for all of the scoffers out there, consider this Twitter interaction.  About a month ago, I was sitting in my cold office, catching up on some paperwork.  I checked Twitter, and my friend Diane in Portland was in her cold studio, where she sent out a tweet about a candle heater that is made out of terra-cotta flowerpots.

  

I followed the link, and was sufficiently interested (AND COLD) that I decided to order one.  When I visited the "order" page, I noticed that it said the heaters were "Proudly made in Humboldt County", which is where I live.  The inventor thoughtfully included a phone number, so I reached for my phone and dialed it.  Doyle, the inventor of the kandle heeter answered the phone, and I asked him if he sold them in any of the stores in Eureka.  He didn't, but he asked where I was.  I told him I was at the college, which turned out to be right down the road from his studio.

Half an hour later, I was hanging out with Doyle at my college.  I bought two kandle heeters from him, and he dropped them off in person, as he was out running errands.  A random Twitter post had brought me face to face with one of the most interesting people in my community.  I liked Doyle instantly.  Have you ever met an inventor who is constantly marketing their work?  Doyle bubbled with enthusiasm about the kandle heeter and other inventions, but not from a money perspective.  Doyle knows that his inventions will make the world a better place, and shares his excitement with the rest of us.  In addition to my candle heaters, Doyle brought me an egg one of his hens had just laid and an apple from his tree.

We talked about his other inventions, which include a portable greenhouse, several passive solar heating devices and my personal favorite:  THE WEARABLE HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER!  The above video dramatizes the genesis and construction of the device, which lets the wearer feed hummingbirds from a modified welding mask.  The hummingbirds feed from a drip device placed directly between the wearer's eyes!  The final product is a monumental work of such whimsy that it can only be described as extreme craft.

As for my candle heater, I'm sitting in my office next to it right now.  It's a great example of harnessing low-cost everyday materials for comfort and conservation of resources.  In my little office, the kandle heeter takes the heat from a 3" dollar store candle and radiates it from the stacked flowerpots.  It sits on a beautiful metal base that holds the device together.  The heater is perfect for my little office--it only takes a few minutes to make a difference in the overall temperature, plus having a little hearth glowing away on my desktop makes filling out paperwork much more cheery.

Not only is Doyle a great inventor, but he's also a firm believer in the value of D.I.Y.  He provides step-by-step instructions for creating your own candle heater.  His other inventions are also very accessible--for the most part, made out of everyday materials that Doyle wrings maximum function out of.  I'm incredibly glad to have met one of Humboldt County's most interesting people, and it's all because of Twitter, which I initially thought would be a total waste of time.  Every time I sit down in my office to write by the glow of my candle heater, I think of the real world connections that the web can bring about.

LINK

Taking the Cake (Carefully)

Lori, over at the Clever Cake Studio created this amazing Indiana Jones tribute cake for a boy's birthday party.  The golden idol on the top is made of marzipan, and she thoughtfully created a little marzipan bag that can be switched out (quickly! quickly!) to avoid death from raining on the birthday celebrants (in the form of a giant rolling marzipan boulder, I would guess).  

LINK via Neatorama

Collecti-Bull

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Back in Black - Obama Merchandise

We're big Lewis Black fans at chez Extreme Craft, and even bigger fans of shitty souvenirs.  In this Daily Show clip, Lewis Black gives us a tour of the myriad bullshitty souvenirs that have already come out since election day, including a porcelain collector plate that was rushed out so quickly, they didn't even include North Carolina and Missouri in their electoral college count.  

I've now seen what hope looks like....I just never thought it would come with a certificate of authenticity from the Franklin Mint.

LINK

A Major Award!!!!

Longtime Extreme Craft readers probably know that I'm a dyed-in-the-wool football fan...it's one of the hazards of growing up in Nebraska.  One element of College football that I've always loved is the goofy "team rivalry" trophy, which usually dates back to the 1920's, when football fans wore raccoon fur coats and straw boaters, and waved triangular pennants that said "rah".  The football trophies are never just a trophy with some dude on top....they're bizarre objects like an old boot, a whiskey jug, an old oak barrel, or the Gipper's bronzed jockstrap.

Sports Illustrated recently did us the favor of highlighting the 35 most bizarre college football rivalry trophies.  The trophies pictured above are:

First Row:

The Bones (Battle for the Bones):

UAB Blazers vs. Memphis Tigers (2006)

Platypus Trophy (Civil War):

Oregon Ducks vs. Oregon St. Beavers (1959)

The Cannon: Purdue Boilermakers vs.

Illinois Fighting Illini (1943)

Sweet Sioux Tomahawk: Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats (1945)

Second Row:

Keg of Nails: Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Louisville Cardinals (1929)

River City Rivalry Trophy: Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (2005)

Silver Shako (Military Classic of the South): Citadel Bulldogs vs. VMI Keydets (1977)

Shillelagh Trophy: Purdue Boilermakers vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1957)

These are pieces of functional Extreme Craft, hammered out by the brother-in-law of the coach, in a night of fevered creation in the garage before the big game.  I wonder if two teams ever brought different trophies to a grudge match, then had to have a separate grudge match to determine whether the gold spittoon or the taxidermied platypus was going to symbolize their rivalry.  Enjoy the last week of the regular football season, folks.  GO HUSKERS!!!!!

LINK

Embroid-Ear-y

Craftster member Weird Lover Wilde embroidered this tribute to her doctor--apparently one of the kindest people on the planet.  When she gave it to the doctor, he praised her anatomical correctness (and probably worried a little bit that she was going to boil his bunny).  This is one of the best bits of geekcraft that I've seen since the knitted frog dissection.  Turn it up to 11!

LINK  via CRAFT