How to Make Cool Zig-Zag Rocker Shorts

Zigzag Shorts

Story by julieincharge, yomissnicole

Published on June 14, 2011 in Make

Photo by yomissnicole

When a heat wave rolls in, I find myself reaching for sandals, sun tea, and scissors for snipping old outfits into something more summery. For this week's How-Tuesday, Etsy Admin Nicole Licht (a.k.a. yomissnicole) and her daughter Lucia (a.k.a. Luciaa) penned a post on transforming a pair of bland second-hand jeans into some rock star quality duds with a few household materials and some geometric ingenuity.

I love combing through my closet and drawers at the beginning of each new season. More often than not, potential springs forth in something once overlooked. For summer, my sweet teen, Lucia, and I worked together using thrifted jeans, masking tape, bleach and an old studded belt, to create some killer summer shorts. Super fun and super easy — rock on!

Supplies you’ll need:

• Natural bristle paintbrush
• Old jeans
• Metal studs reclaimed from a studded leather belt
• 2 cardboard rectangles cut the length and width of the legs of the shorts you’ll be cutting
• 1” masking tape
• 7 : 8  bleach to water solution

Directions:

1. Dig through your closest and find that pair of jeans that you’ve been thinking of cutting into shorts.

2. Cut them down to a bit longer than you might want them to be.

3. Using masking tape, create a zigzag pattern. Try and leave about 1” between each tape zigzag.

4. Insert cardboard into the shorts. This will keep the bleach from seeping though to the other side.

5. After laying the shorts flat in your bathtub, paint the bleach solution on the exposed jean zigzags. Let sit for about 15 minutes.

6. Remove cardboard inserts and rinse. After a few minutes, remove masking tape and finish rinsing out all bleach residues. Hang to dry.

7. Remove studs from an old belt, if you have one, making sure to bend prongs outward. (You can also use new metal studs.)

8. Lie out studs on jeans and poke the prongs through the fabric. Use pliers to bend back prongs and secure.

9. Try on your shorts and perfect the length. Trim away any additional inches.

Voila!

How Not to Kill Your Kids' Dreams ??

Teaching Kids to Think Big

Story by calebgardner

Published on June 13, 2011 in Read

Photo by Andrew d'Entremont on Flickr

Caleb Gardner is an amateur father and husband who writes at The Exceptional Man and dabbles in photography, design, and music. When listening to the cacophony of modern-day America, Caleb prefers a side of Scotch. He calls Chicago home, and in winter, less-nice things.

I recently saw an adorable video by Red Balloon, an English-language school in Brazil. The students say what they want to be when they grow up, and the school makes them official business cards for their chosen profession – even if it happens to be “Dinosaur Hunter.”



Imagine if we were all given this degree of creative freedom from such a young age. We start with this kind of imaginative power and the uninhibited ability to create any sort of future for ourselves — then “growing up” becomes growing to fit into any number of predetermined societal boxes. What I like about Red Balloon's project is that it gives these kids something tangible, something they can literally hold in their hands in order to remember how big their dreams were. (Plus the cards are just cool. I really want the “Ninja Ghost Super Hero” one for myself.)

My son isn’t yet at the point where he’s dreaming of being a dinosaur hunter, but this video got me thinking about how to eventually do something like this for him. He’s just at the age where his imagination is starting to bloom, and my wife and I see it as something fragile that needs to be cultivated. We want to be intentional about it. His imagination – or lack thereof – will affect his entire life.

In my experience, parents are often the ones who end up inhibiting big dreams in their children – not for sinister reasons, of course, but because “real life” demands a certain level of grounding; one can’t always play, so he'll have to buckle down and get to work. My wife and I will also have to eventually pass along these modern-day mores, and therein lies the rub: how do we let him think as big as “dinosaur hunter” while impressing upon him common sense and work ethic? How do we encourage him to keep his head in the clouds, while keeping his feet moving on the ground?

Photo by Red Balloon

My parents always focused on the outputs of what they saw as a successful life: get a steady job, get married, have kids, open a 401(k), die as materially well-off as possible. Their motivations were pure, of course, and I think there is something to be said about each generation working hard to help the next get a foot in the door. But I think this is where we can change the definition of success for our son. I’d much rather encourage him to do something he loves, to make a difference, to think for himself – to live life to the fullest. The outputs can be a natural extension of that, but I’d rather focus on the outcomes of a life well-lived.
Thankfully we have a few years until we seriously have to think this through, but until then I’d love to hear from some more experienced parents about how you tackle this challenge. How do you help your kids “think big”? Any tips for the rest of us?

I love getting postcards from around the world with Postcrossing!

My friend Wendy told me about a website called Postcrossing at http://www.postcrossing.com/, where you send and receive postcards to and from people all around the world. It's so cool!
The way it works is, you can send up to 5 postcards at a time to randomly selected people in the world, and as they arrive, you are randomly assigned to other folks for them to send to you.
The ones that are the best include a photo and written message about a special place in that area and a personal message from the sender.
I have sent cards to Germany, Brazil, UK, Lithuania, Russia, China, Taiwan, Belarus, Croatia, and The Netherlands.
So far I've received cards from Brazil and China, and the senders told me a little something about the place shown on the card, like the clay people that are believed to keep ghosts away.
I love that the website tracks your miles too, so you can get kind of competitive with friends about it too.
And you can exchange cards directly with people too instead of just being random about it. I always include my address on the postcards so the one who receives it is welcome to send me a card as well.
Like there's a girl in Lithuania who's doing postcrossing for a school project, and she offered to send cards back, so I've asked her to send a card to my sons, because they love to get mail, and I think they'll enjoy receiving a postcard from Lithuania. I will be able to show them on the site where Lithuania is and how many miles the card had to travel.

This Ring is Super Cool! Uber Cool!

Venus Fly Trap Ring (Sterling Silver)

From donmoti

Depicted is a silver Venus Fly Trap. The Venus Fly Trap plant in nature lures and captures insects, causing death and demise.

Yet in the case of this ring, the Carnivorous Venus Fly Trap has done the opposite giving birth to the seductive mythological goddess Venus, marking the "birth of venus"

Round tube ring band, which together with the exterior of the Sundew is finished off with a mirror polish, whilst the mouth of the Sundew is oxidised to exphasise the form of venus.

Hallmarked: MARC BARER, 925

Ring size: Available in any size, simply specify after purchase.

I can also make the ring in a variety of bronze's or brass, to make it cheaper, again contact me if you would like this option.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/22936705/venus-fly-trap-ring-sterling-silver?ref=storque&show_panel=true

Alot of work went into this thing! Love it or Hate it?

Skull and Cross Bones

From sculptureplus

Skull 4" tall x 3" wide carved from deer skull. Teeth carved from deer antler. Cross bones 3.5" each from deer bones. Base made from two deer antlers 6.5" tall which can be separated from the skull. Entire piece approx 10" tall

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57560009/skull-and-cross-bones?ref=fp_recent

Just Because I'm From Texas Doesn't Mean I Like Country Music

Ugh....a country western finale for American Idol. A first and a new low.  Wake me when The X Factor debuts.........

Lauren has no personality, and Scotty is a one-trick pony.  I understand...yes, they're just kids, but give me a break! 

The only reason I'll watch the finale is to hoot and holler as the producers drag out more fossilized guests the contestants have never even heard of for the obligatory finale duet performances.  It's hilarious to watch the finalists pretend to be excited to sing songs twice their age with artists they can't relate to and don't give a fig about.

And the audience, don't even get me started...how much Red Bull do they give those 12 year olds to get them hyped up enough to act like they care?

There Is No Gravity - The World Sucks

Zippo Lighters From the Vietnam War

Story by chaps676

Published on May 19, 2011 in Read

Photo by The Selvedge Yard

So often when we think of Zippo lighters, visions of Don Draper dance in our heads. The mid-century modern era, replete with highball glasses and boomerang tables, wouldn't be the same without them. That's why it's jarring to consider the Zippo in another context: one in which it serves as a morbid reminder of the ephemeral nature of life on earth.

A lighter was one of the few possessions and connections to life back home that a soldier could carry into battle. In the uncharted jungles of Vietnam where soldiers had little understanding of the culture, language or terrain, a lighter engraved with a personal phrase or motto served as a mental touchstone to a distant but familiar life. "Many were like tattoos not worn on the body, but carried in a pocket," writes Jon Patrick of The Selvedge Yard. "It was a way for the soldiers to express who they were, and how they felt."
[Ed. note: Some of the lighters featured in the original article on The Selvage Yard contain profane language. Please click through at your own discretion.]

Photo by mEyegallery on Flickr

The deeply personal and dark phrases engraved on Vietnam-era Zippos are even more haunting today, entwining an emotional point in history with a now iconic design. For Jon Patrick, this connection between war and a fire-producing object is profound: "There is something mythical, primal and powerful about fire that has always captured a man's soul — whether it's a lighter, a campfire, or waging a war."