Upcycled Design Lab Blog

The Party's Over and The Frog Rabbit Done Got Drunk

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

Before I tell this tale....

it should be noted that for this Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party certain creative liberties were taken.  For example:  Alice and the Mad Hatter were not actually in attendance, there were no pink flamingos available for croquette and therefore mallets had to be improvised out of other poor unsuspecting creatures.   

 

Furthermore, no one actually drank any tea and perhaps most importantly the role of the white rabbit was played by the understudy Plush Green Frog.

 

 

 

Here is another picture just so you appreciate the full effort that he put into his character.

 

Does his tail make you want to giggle or is it just me?

 

Now some of you may be thinking that these discrepancies negate the right to call this a Mad Hatter Tea Party but I believe that just about anything goes in Wonderland and it was my party after all.

 

 

As a side note I should also mention (in order to stay out of trouble with PETA) that the frog rabbit was not actually allowed to drink anything as he is under age and well...

 

 

you know.....

 

 

 

stuffed.

 

 

 

 

Honestly I can't remember what sparked the idea to make this party the Mad Hatter theme but I do believe my brain works a little bit like a trip though wonderland.  My thoughts go tumbling down the rabbit hole and get curiouser and curiouser and what comes out is.. well.... often a little left of center.

 

 

This "gift" (read craziness, madness, lunacy or eccentricity if you are feeling generous) is what prompts me to make these:

 

 

 

 

out of bar stools, couch cushions, trash bags and crepe paper. 

 

 

Or do this

 

 

 

 

to our pool table.

 

 

How many people out there above the age of 12, I wonder, are wired in such a way that they imagine their pool table as a giant ladybug? 

 

Surely I can't be the only one. 

 

Right?? 

 

 

Ok, never mind don't answer that.

 

 

Shall we continue? 

 

 

 

 

Do you feel any smaller?

 

 

 

 

How about now?

 

 

You may be thinking that since I am willing to tell you this crazy tale that I do not embarrass easily but I have to be honest.  I am embarrassed about this...

 

 

 

To be fair though, the Hookah smoking caterpillar did successfully cover up the stationary bicycle and I feel that it gives you the full scope of my "talent."  If you are not convinced of my great artistic skill please see blog entry regarding the Green Ceramic Cat.

 

 

But I digress.  Onward.

 

Of course you can't have a tea party without a crazy table.

 

 

 

 

 

or two.

 

 

 

Oh!  Please, do forgive me.  Did I forget to mention that the Cheshire Cat was actually a Cheetah?

 

 

 

 

As always my family were such good sports and played along with my crazy pants party.

 

 

 

 

 A little croquette was played.

 

 

 

 

 

Prizes were discovered.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was served.

 

 

 

 

Presents were opened.

 

 

 

 

And then things got really weird when the guest decided to wear the chair covers.  :-)

 

 

 

 

Oh... it's so good to be silly sometimes. 

 

 

Isn't it?

 

 

 

:-)

 

 

 

 

 

Time out from T-Shirts for a Tea Party

 

Ok so the time out from my T-shirt project isn't really a new thing but the Tea Party is my current distraction.  I have mentioned before in previous posts that I am easily distracted so if you are new here and you are hoping to see some cool things made out of T-shirts you have my deepest apologies and I recommend that you check back later.  How much later I can't really say.  It's any body's guess. 

 

For the rest of you folks that already know about my inability to stay focused on anything for more than than a few hours,  it should be no surprise that I am again off on a tangent, or more precisely that I have fallen down yet another rabbit hole.  I have posted on my other blog about past crazy theme parties.  Gypsy Mothers Day, Viking Fathers Day (sorry, no link I guess I didn't write a post about fathers day after all) and last years Lady Gaga Birthday Gala, but since I am using primarily things that I already have on hand I think it is acceptable to post this here.

 

So drum-roll please........  I am hosting a Mad Hatter Tea Party (Family Birthday Party) tonight.

 

 

 

I am knee deep in cooking, cleaning and of course crazy pants decorating.

 

Sometimes I wonder if I should so publicly admit to my peculiar craziness.  But I am working toward being a little more fearless in my life and just being who I am.

 

After all I believe that everyone wants to feel both of these opposing things.

1) That they are different and unique and special.

2) That they fit in and aren't too weird.

 

At least I know that I want both of those things.  But they do tend to tug and pull at one another something fierce.  Now trust me I know that my plans for a Mad Hatter Tea Party are definitely tipping the scales on the weird-o-meter.  But I think it is a fact that the attempt to fit in and not look too weird is the default for most of us.  There-fore, I believe, every now and then we should all go a little bit out of our way to embrace our inner kookiness.

 

On that note I am off to make my pool table into a giant ladybug and my stationary bike into that dope smoking caterpillar.

 

Wish me luck I am never certain how these things are going to turn out.

 

:-)

 

Upcycling Logos

 These logos may be used for school projects, events and promotional material for upcycling.  Please credit this site and or Upcycled Design Lab when using these logos.  Please do not alter or use these designs as any part of a company logo. 

Thank you.

 

 

Do you think that upcycling deserves its own official logo?  Well I do.  Currently Wikapedia just uses the regular old recycling logo but of course the definition is not the same. 

 

 

Back in February of 2009 I set out to find a logo for upcycling but my google search didn't reveal much.  So I decided to make my own design.

 

Over the years I have tweaked it a bit and these are my two favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think? 

 

:-)

 

 

20 T-Shirt Challenge - Day ?? (Well who cares anyway because I haven't made any progress)

 

 

It's true I am a little ashamed at my lack of progress on the T-shirt projects.  It's not that I have lost my enthusiasm all together it's just that I am so easily distracted by other things. 

 

 

Of late my distraction has come from a little website called Quirky.  If you are creative and have some product inventions or ideas you should check out this site.  But be for-warned it can be addictive.  I used to think that I spent too much time on Facebook.  Well lets just say Facebook has taken a back seat. 

 

Anyway back to the problem at hand.  Do you think that as a creative person by nature you are destined to be distracted by things because you find so many things to be interesting or inspiring? 

 

Did they miss my attention deficit diagnosis as a child or did the internet give me attention deficit? 

 

 

Is one persons attention deficit another persons multi-tasking?

 

 

I personally think that multi-tasking is a bunch of B.S. and is mostly about switching your attention back and forth between two or more things and doing all of them less efficiently.  At least that is the way I "multi-task."  I switch gears so quickly back and forth that the end result is accomplishing a lot of nothing. 

 

 

But it seems to be harder and harder for me to settle down to one task and move from start to finish.  My mind wonders of to all of the other things I want to or should be doing and before you know it I am off doing something completely different than I had planned. 

 

I am curious how people keep themselves focused.  I could use some tips.  Really.

 

 

Niki's advice comes to mind but I still need some tricks that will make it easier for me to "Just Do It."

 

Anyway I hope no one is holding their breath for me to finish this T-shirt project. 

 

 

I can't stress enough how bad of an idea that is.

 

:-P