Mod Mischief

One of our goals with the Promdemonium decorations this year was to use all repurposed materials. Not only did this keep our costs down but it also promoted the event's enviro-friendly values. We needed an arch to draw attention to the venue's second room, so Chris and I rescued some pallets from the trash and pulled them apart. We screwed the reclaimed wood together into a pretty simple structure. We made sure the two sides and top could come apart for easy transport and set up. Once it was reassembled at the NAC, we covered it in Christmas lights and  paper flower decorations left over from last year's prom .

  Our friend Kate caught us examining something at Prom Chris and I have both been feeling a little under the weather, so we haven't been terribly productive over the last week or two, but I thought you might appreciate a run down of all we did in preparation for Promdemonium. As promised, here is the full how-to for the party clothes party lights .   In addition to the vintage clothing lamps, we also made a bunch of other decorations: -Pop-up paper flowers like these and giant bows (large versions of this ) from phone book pages, magazines and old architectural plans - Paper pompoms from phone book pages -Toilet paper roll art like this , but we used a glue gun to put them together faster and then we spray painted them fun colours -Fabric bunting (as mentioned here ) -Silhouettes cut out of used contractor bags - I wish I would have gotten a good picture of these as they looked incredible in all the windows. We first took photos of the Prom volunteers in funny...

I took the day off work to spend some time working on Promdemonium decorations. A recipe for a great Monday morning: Johnny Cash on the record player, adorable rats on my shoulders, a full mug of coffee and yards and yards of colourful bunting Juniper and Potato were obviously a huge help with the decorations. Those triangles were once bedsheets or bits of fabric relegated to the bottom of my craft bins, now they're going to help dress up the NAC on April 9.

As you may recall , I love Promdemonium . I wouldn't have believed that it was possible to get more excited about " Ottawa’s radical, community-oriented, gender-bending, bike-loving, enviro-humping, queer-diggin, slow dancing, big dress wearing prom ," but now that I'm on the decorations committee I'm practically bursting with enthusiasm. to do list and  prototype The whole decorations committee is so ethusiastic that we've taken on a huge list of projects that should make this year's Prom really memorable. In keeping with the spirit of Promdemonium, everything will be upcycled and utterly awesome. One important element will be the lighting made from vintage prom wear. To make it happen, we will need to get our hands on a bunch of floor lamps. I've already posted ads on Craigslist and a few other sites, but if you happen to know of anyone with some unwanted lamps in the Ottawa area, please send them my way!

In the end we decided to go with the vintage fur.  But with a twist. Buck   I still wasn't happy with the fur I had on hand, so I dyed it with Nice n' Easy. I remembered hearing somewhere that the Museum of Nature used Nice 'n Easy hair dye to restore the caribou in their dioramas after their fur had faded from decades under the exhibit lights. So I thought I might as well give it a try. Full instructions on how I made the jackalope are over on Instructables .

My jackalope is starting to look like a rabbit with antlers, but now I'm not sure what to do. I had originally planned to cover it with some lovely vintage fur I have lying around, but the more I think about it, the more I think that I might prefer a more modern look. Chris thinks I should cover it in old book pages like this rhino from Anthropologie . I suggested making it sparkly but unfortunately he nixed that idea. photo from Ramshackle Glam

I really liked using papier maché pulp when I was working on Little Al's head . If you've got scrap paper and glue on hand it doesn't cost anything to make and gives you a lot more freedom than strips of paper dipped in paste. It's really easy to make. First you shred, rip and cut up paper until you have a bucket full of little paper pieces and then you fill the bucket with water and let it soak for a few hours. This time around I used a lot of black tissue paper that came with a gift basket Chris got at work and it gave the pulp a darker colour. The paper and water go for a spin in the blender and then the mixture gets strained and all the water gets squeezed out. You then add flour and water paste to hold it all together and salt to keep it from going gross. I also like to add a generous helping of white glue. The end result is a clay-like substance than can be molded like play-dough and becomes very hard when dry. So what am I using it for this time...

Our homemade pop-up Christmas card Happy holidays! Chris and I are enjoying a cozy Christmas together in Ottawa.  We had an early Christmas with my family in BC last weekend. Everyone was together for my brother's wedding and my mother brought a cute little tree for our guest ranch chalet. We made the garland and star from scrap paper The Christmas Challenge was a huge success. My family is so talented and thoughtful! this photo doesn't do justice to the etched wine glass my brother made for my mom Chris and I had the bride and groom to make presents for. Inspired by pillows I had seen on etsy and the work of Ottawa artist Karina Bergmans , I took two thrifted jackets and turned them into initial throw pillows. In keeping with the font theme, we also monogrammed two hand towels using vintage buttons. It was really easy to do but I think the finished product is pretty cute.

My family isn't alone in going the handmade route this holiday season . There's a great letter from the editor on Instructables about the value of homemade gifts and Anna over at Door Sixteen is also encouraging everyone to make or buy handmade this year. I've been busy crafting a bunch of different gifts but since some of my friends and family have been known to read this blog on occasion, I can't post much about my progress. I'd hate to ruin the surprise. Instead, here are some awesome projects that I'd love to try but don't currently have anyone on my list to give them to. I don't think a bubblegum pink wild boar rug would really work with any of my friends' decor, but I think it's awesome. Hemi*Housewife describes how she made it over on Craftster . Who doesn't love candy? The toughest part would be choosing what to depict and which candy to use. Your friend's favourite pet in Skittles? The Millenium Falcon in Nerds fo...

I started working on this steampunk flux capacitor months ago. Made mostly from dollar store items (and those awesome antique edges from etsy ), I thought it would be a pretty quick and easy project. I somehow forgot that what little I learned about electricity in high school is long forgotten. So Chris and I learned to solder and I discovered the importance of resistors after blowing through a bunch of LEDs. But try as we might, we just can't get it to flux. Maybe we just need to get our hands on some plutonium. pencil case, medicine droppers & pill boxes

This Rocketeer rocket pack cost us a grand total of $0. It's made almost entirely from items destined for the trash or the blue bin. It's supposed to be for Chris' Halloween costume, but I couldn't resist putting it on to get some photos of the finished product. Full instructions over on instructables.com

Another take on pop bottle flowers spotted in Anthropologie. Isn't the spray paint a nice touch? I first posted about pop bottle flowers over a year ago and I still haven't gotten around to making some for myself. I'd better add it to my growing to do list.

Inspired by the transit scroll craze and the awesome Beatles lyrics art over at Cozy Little Cave and in this house tour , I made Chris a present from some junk I had lying around the house. I took a broken Ikea frame I got from a friend,  stretched an old pillow case from the rag bin over it, stapled it down, and then painted the whole thing black. A little bit of stenciling later, voila!

Retro To Go posted about these bookends made from vinyl records being sold at Urban Outfitters . If you like the look but would rather not spend the £20, you can make your own in 5 minutes.  It's as simple as dipping the record in boiling water and bending it to the right shape. I've made a full how-to over on instructables .