ponyinarope tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2011-04-15://1 2012-05-16T00:19:05Z Melody 1.0.0 (RC 2, build 36) Friday Five tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.307 2012-05-18T17:13:50Z 2012-05-16T00:19:05Z The temperature has been heating up, so here are a few albums I like to listen to while enjoying the nice weather.London Calling- The ClashINXS- INXSBody Talk- RobynOn- Imperial TeenGa Ga Ga Ga Ga- Spoon... ponyinarope
  1. London Calling- The Clash
  2. INXS- INXS
  3. Body Talk- Robyn
  4. On- Imperial Teen
  5. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga- Spoon
]]> Friday Five tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.306 2012-05-11T17:12:35Z 2012-05-11T06:23:08Z Long time no list! Working on being more on the ball with the posts.So here's 5 of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs, just because I had a discussion about it recently.HeartbreakerLiving Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)Immigrant SongDazed and ConfusedSince... ponyinarope
So here's 5 of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs, just because I had a discussion about it recently.
  1. Heartbreaker
  2. Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)
  3. Immigrant Song
  4. Dazed and Confused
  5. Since I've Been Loving You
]]> Crafty Birthday tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.304 2012-04-26T17:05:59Z 2012-04-26T07:34:02Z For Steve's 33rd birthday yesterday, I went with a very specific, one time only theme. One of his all time favorite bands is the Smashing Pumpkins, who happen to have a song called "Thirty-Three". It also happens to be one... ponyinarope

For Steve's 33rd birthday yesterday, I went with a very specific, one time only theme. One of his all time favorite bands is the Smashing Pumpkins, who happen to have a song called "Thirty-Three". It also happens to be one of my favorite songs of theirs, which is good because I've had it stuck in my head a lot in the last month.

The Goal:
Create custom wrapping paper (inspiration) with the lyrics from the song as well as the sheet music, and do it on the cheap.

The Supplies:
Kraft paper
Packing paper (I don't know what to call this, it came from a Sephora box)
Gift bags
Alphabet stamps
Ink pad
Gray paper (optional)
Sheet music
Scissors
Rotary cutter & mat (or paper cutter)
Glue stick
Tape
Pencil

The Process:

Wrapping paper:
  • I made sure I had the lyrics for the song and divided them up based on the number of gifts (it worked out to be about 2 lines per gift).
  • I precut the kraft paper to the sizes I would need for all the gifts.
  • For each piece I drew some rough guidelines to try to keep the spacing consistent.
  • I stamped each letter separately (to get them closer together). Each piece took about 30-45 minutes (I have plenty of time on my hands so this wasn't a big deal). I wanted each piece to have a handmade feel so no agonizing over making perfect lines.
33-inprog

Tissue paper:
Rather than stamping the plain bags I bought, I decided to stamp the tissue paper instread. I figured normal tissue paper might be too thin to stamp on, but luckily I had some paper from a Sephora box lying around that was thicker. Upcycling!

33-tissue

Sheet music:
I scanned a couple of the pages of the sheet music, worked some Photoshop magic on them to clean up the scans before printing them out. And then...

The Make It Work Moment:
I didn't realize you can't wrap a cd using a single sheet of paper until after I'd spent time scanning the sheet music (which was fairly time consuming). So instead, I found a tutorial on creating bows from magazine pages from How About Orange. I followed the tutorial except I used a glue stick rather than stapling all the parts.

33-bow

The Results:
In the end, I spent less than $10 out of pocket on this project, thanks to using supplies I already had on hand, getting things for free (my mom very happily gave me the alphabet stamp sets cause she didn't want them), and shopping at the dollar store.

33-gifts]]> Book It! tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.300 2012-04-16T17:14:44Z 2012-04-11T00:53:52Z Now I've tackled the bear that is Daniel Deronda, I have a backlog of library books to get through. Apparently it's my mission to read every book I can get my hands on that sounds remotely interesting.Just Read:Ready Player One-... ponyinarope Daniel Deronda, I have a backlog of library books to get through. Apparently it's my mission to read every book I can get my hands on that sounds remotely interesting.

Just Read:

Ready Player One- Ernest Cline
I loved this book. It hooked me pretty early on, no doubt because my love of the 80s. Although the majority of the references went over my head since my nerd cred is practically non-existant. I can definitely appreciate the encyclopedic knowledge of all things pop culture that the characters had.

American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis
Oddly enough, I found this book tedious and boring. The graphic parts were pretty graphic, which I expected, but the in-between parts got more and more tedious to me as the book went along.

Daniel Deronda- George Eliot
I enjoyed the overall story and the depth of the characters, but this was a really tough book for me to get through. It got really long-winded at certain points. I think I would've enjoyed it even more if it were 100-200 pages shorter.

Currently Reading:

We Need To Talk About Kevin- Lionel Shriver

Up Next (probably):

The Sense of an Ending- Julian Barnes
]]> Friday Five tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.302 2012-04-06T17:02:54Z 2012-04-05T22:12:52Z ponyinarope
5 songs I've been obsessed with lately:
  1. "Antenna"- The Church
  2. "We are the Dead"- David Bowie
  3. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around- Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
  4. "What's Going On"- Marvin Gaye
  5. "Stone Rollin'"- Raphael Saadiq

This list pretty accurately represents the ratio of old to new music I've been listening to recently.

]]> Friday Five tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.297 2012-03-23T19:07:36Z 2012-03-22T06:14:35Z Mad Men finally starts up again on Sunday and I've been rewatching the whole series. Here are my favorite episodes.Red in the FaceGuy Walks Into an Advertising AgencyShut the Door, Have a SeatThe Chrysanthemum and the SwordThe Suitcase... ponyinarope
  1. Red in the Face
  2. Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency
  3. Shut the Door, Have a Seat
  4. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
  5. The Suitcase
]]> Book It! tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.298 2012-03-19T17:13:53Z 2012-03-19T06:53:32Z Been a one-book wonder for the last month.Currently Reading:Daniel Deronda- George Eliot (I'm about 2/3rds through with it now.)Up Next (Probably):American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis... ponyinarope Been a one-book wonder for the last month.

Currently Reading:

Daniel Deronda- George Eliot (I'm about 2/3rds through with it now.)

Up Next (Probably):

American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis]]> Etsy! tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.296 2012-02-23T18:16:25Z 2012-02-23T00:51:29Z My Etsy store is now up and running! For the moment it's patterns only, but I plan to sell some finished pieces once I move in a few months (fingers crossed for that). I'll also be adding some new patterns... ponyinarope Etsy store is now up and running! For the moment it's patterns only, but I plan to sell some finished pieces once I move in a few months (fingers crossed for that). I'll also be adding some new patterns in the next month. I am taking custom orders for patterns and finished pieces though! ]]> Book It! tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.293 2012-02-20T18:18:49Z 2012-02-19T03:44:21Z Stepped up my reading game this month by reading shorter books. Go me!Just Read:The Help- Kathryn StockettI haven't read a book this fast since I read The Lovely Bones in one night a few years back. A pretty easy read... ponyinarope
Just Read:

The Help- Kathryn Stockett
I haven't read a book this fast since I read The Lovely Bones in one night a few years back. A pretty easy read but still had plenty of depth. Looking forward to seeing how they screwed up the movie version.

The Leftovers- Tom Perrotta
Interesting premise (life after a Rapture-type event) that was pretty well done. Made me think about my reaction if something like that were to happen.

A Wild Sheep Chase- Haruki Murakami
Really enjoyed this one, wished it had been longer though. I like sheep.

We Are All Weird- Seth Godin
I thought the basic concept behind this book was interesting- the rise of niche markets, but the book was boring. I was hoping for more stories about the niche groups and their growth, but instead I just felt like the same point was being repeated over and over.

The Leopard- Jo Nesbo
The Leopard really picks up where The Snowman left off. It's an interesting mystery and Harry Hole is still a deeply flawed character. I'm really getting into foreign mysteries. I think it's the foreign names and places.

I Want My MTV- Craig Marks & Rob Tannenbaum
This book was awesome. I think it gave a pretty in depth oral history of MTV from all the important perspectives: MTV execs, record label execs, artists, video directors, etc. You can see how great MTV's impact was on the music industry and the beginnings of the industry's collapse. I'd be interested to read a book about MTV's second decade just to see how it's turned into the joke of a network it is today.

Currently Reading:

Daniel Deronda- George Eliot (I'm going to finish it finally)

Up Next (probably):

Double Dexter- Jeff Lindsay
]]> Friday Five tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.294 2012-02-03T22:50:37Z 2012-02-03T22:59:42Z It's been awhile since I've found any INXS vinyl that I didn't already have, but yesterday I found a 12" copy of "Devil Inside" which means now I have the 12", 10" and 7" singles. And I can check that... ponyinarope
  1. Live Baby Live
  2. Welcome to Wherever You Are
  3. "New Sensation" 7" (how I haven't found this is beyond me)
  4. "Mystify 7"
  5. "Listen Like Thieves" 7"
]]> Book It! tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.291 2012-01-16T18:19:21Z 2012-01-16T05:58:13Z Fewer finished books this month since I've taken to reading things that are at least 500 pages.Just Read:The Corrections- Jonathan FranzenHad a hard time getting into this one because the characters weren't all that likeable at first, but by the... ponyinarope
Just Read:

The Corrections- Jonathan Franzen

Had a hard time getting into this one because the characters weren't all that likeable at first, but by the end I understood them more. If you liked Six Feet Under, you'd probably like this.

The Snowman- Jo Nesbo

This is the first of the Harry Hole series I've read. I decided not to read them in order because this one sounded interesting and I didn't want to read 4 books before I got to it. I think it was worth it.

1Q84- Haruki Murakami

Enjoyed this one, reminded me of those movies that you don't fully understand the depth and complexity of until you watch them a second time.

Currently Reading:

I Want My MTV- Craig Marks & Rob Tannenbaum


Up Next (probably):

The Leopard- Jo Nesbo]]> Friday Five tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.292 2012-01-13T19:40:39Z 2012-01-13T19:59:36Z Right now I'm reading I Want My MTV, which is an oral history of MTV from 1981-1992. This book is so relevant to my interests it's insane. In some of the chapters they talk about specific videos, and despite my... ponyinarope I Want My MTV, which is an oral history of MTV from 1981-1992. This book is so relevant to my interests it's insane. In some of the chapters they talk about specific videos, and despite my ridiculous memory for videos, I find myself wanting to watch them anyway. So here's a few that are mentioned in the book, from the parts I've read so far (I'm only to 1985):

Eurythmics- Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)



Eurthymics- Love is a Stranger (I'd never seen this one before but it's one of my favorite Eurhymics songs)



Tears For Fears- Pale Shelter



Duran Duran- Hungry Like the Wolf



Billy Squier- Rock Me Tonight (I hate Billy Squier, but there's a whole chapter on this one because it's so special)

]]> Friday Five tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.287 2012-01-06T18:14:53Z 2011-12-22T18:49:53Z Happy New Year!5 things I hope to be doing more of in 2012WorkingMovingStitchingBloggingEtsy-ing... ponyinarope
5 things I hope to be doing more of in 2012

  1. Working
  2. Moving
  3. Stitching
  4. Blogging
  5. Etsy-ing
]]> 2012: Music Resolutions tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.289 2012-01-05T18:24:28Z 2012-01-03T19:49:36Z Typically at the beginning of the year I'm so burnt out on albums from the previous year from all my list making activities, I take a break from all those albums and listen to older stuff. Last year, I made... ponyinarope list of albums I wanted to spend more time with, which ended up being pretty nice (I never did get around to listening to the Bright Eyes ones though). So here's what I'm planning to listen to more in 2012.

R.E.M.: once the Bowie journey is over, the plan is to listen to all the R.E.M. albums from the beginning.

Destroyer- Trouble in Dreams: never got into this album when it first came out

Okkervil River- Black Sheep Boy

Pearl Jam- Vitalogy

Sonic Youth]]> 2012: Crafty Resolutions tag:www.ponyinarope.com,2012://1.290 2012-01-04T18:05:25Z 2012-01-03T19:35:00Z I don't usually make resolutions of any kind, but I like the idea of having some crafty goals for the year. These are definitely subject to change depending on my employment status this year.1. Make those Christmas cards I flaked... ponyinarope
1. Make those Christmas cards I flaked out on last year.

2. Try knitting again. It was a frustrating, borderline disaster that really made me question wanting to knit in the first place. I'll try again in the fall.

3. Open an Etsy store. this is going to be my big project of the year (like my site redesign was last year). I've gone back and forth on the whole Etsy thing for a few years, but I think I'm ready to do it and see what happens.

4. Finish (and stitch) at least one pattern that I've put on hold.

5. Stitch something I'm really proud of. It's been awhile since I've done that. Still taking my stitchy break though.]]>