December 2010
1 post
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November 2010
2 posts
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Prank Cooking: Disgusting Southern Casserole
Behold the rarely-seen cousin of prank crafting: prank cooking. Lindsay Robertson’s account of the made-up traditional Floridian casserole that might have been is hilarious— read it at The Awl here.
(The baloney hanging over the edges in an attractive manner is my favorite part.)
Two knitting needles up from The Knitting War!
October 2010
7 posts
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Turn Up the Mosaic (sorry)
Maybe you really need to dramatically throw down the gauntlet with someone in your life by making them a super unique work of art that will go down in the annals of prank crafting. Consider taking a page from artist Jason Mecier’s book and craft a mosaic portrait using stuff you’ve got lying around your house!
Like this Missy Elliott made out of makeup.
Or, this Taylor Lautner...
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Hooker's Corner
Latch hook is probably the most mysterious of the crafting genres to me, mainly because I don’t understand what you’re supposed to do with the finished product. Do you hang it on the wall? Do you actually use them as rugs? Do you throw them into a secret basket that you never show anyone? I’ve never met anyone who actually makes them as a hobby, so I will of course make a...
August 2010
1 post
7 tags
my little ponies
I recently did a little recon at my local Michael’s and came away with a couple of prank crafting gems. Behold, the Enchanted … Fees? (Sorry about the photo quality, my regular camera is broken …)
I don’t know. But get this: TWO hideous paintable figurines WITH paint AND brush for … ONE DOLLAR. Rarely can you buy so much potential for so little money …...
July 2010
1 post
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Patron Saint of Prank Crafting: George Clooney
So yesterday I was thinking about George Clooney for some reason (do I need a reason?) and remembered a legendary crafting prank that he pulled on his friend Richard Kind. Clooney found a horrible, large painting in someone’s trash and salvaged it, then started laying the groundwork for the prank by casually mentioning to Richard that he was taking art lessons. If they were out together,...
June 2010
1 post
Gut Check
Whoa, Nelly … sorry for the blog neglect. I have been working on this lil’ guy for a friend of a friend and it’s taking me FOREVER:
I’ve been needle-felting the little intestines and lungs and whatnot, and while it’s not a prank craft, it IS the weirdest thing I’ve ever made. And I knit my sister a pink wig and a long beard, so. There’s that. Any...
May 2010
1 post
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Battle Update: The Knitting War
The last salvo in the ongoing Knitting War was mine. I made this attractive beard for Jessie …
As you can see, her husband was thrilled.
It’s hard to know where to go at this point in the war. Once you’ve crossed into mermaid tail/beard/hotpant shortall territory, it becomes harder and harder to figure out how to retaliate … which is why, after years of this battle,...
April 2010
2 posts
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Shine on, you crazy rhinestone
I don’t know what made me google the ol’ Bedazzler just now, but possibly it was God? I just wanted to see if it was still around. And is it ever!
And on looking at it, I just had kind of a brilliant revelation. Do you know what else you can use a latch hook/cross stitch pattern for, besides its intended purpose? Umm, how about as a pattern for THE BEDAZZLER??? Imagine the...
whoopsies, I've been forgetting to blog
Sorry about that. More bad/amazing prank crafts headed your way ASAP!
January 2010
15 posts
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bottle service
One of the major difficulties of prank crafting is answering the question, “Is it worth spending hours of my time creating something that will most likely be mistaken for an item purchased at Goodwill for one dollar?” For me, that answer will always be yes. But it’s a good question to ask yourself when evaluating a potential craft. Prime example, this ship in a bottle:
In...
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whatever you do, don't try to hug this girl
This isn’t something I recommend making for anyone in your life (even I have my limits) — I’m just happy to see that prank crafting has its place even in high fashion. Well done, designer Ben Cho!
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a use for all of those spare shells you have...
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macraME? no, macraYOU!
1. Find this book.
2. Make everything in it.
3. ???
4. Profit.
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you CAN put a face/price on excellence
It’s $130, and it’s this fairy mosaic. I suppose it’s what you would buy if you were very wealthy, but didn’t want to make your manservant do all your dirty craft work for you.
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let's take it to the next level with beads
Another genre of crafting that I didn’t even know existed! Beaded banners. This one in particular is kind of the best thing ever just because of the display hanger.
You had me at “brass eagle carrying an enormous torch in front of a setting sun,” craft! I really can’t imagine where you could display this and have it look like intentional decorating, which is what...
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sketchy
Very little needs to be said about this sketch by number. You’re tracing over a pre-printed design and the result is that you look like a drawing savant because everyone knows you have always been a stick figure person your entire life. “I guess all I was missing was the inspiration,” you can say. “Well, that and forty hours’ worth of drawing lessons!” Then...
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i've got a fever and the cure is more sequins
Have you heard of something called ‘sequin art’? Me neither. But this is apparently a thing that people do as there are a lot of kits you can buy to make yourself a Sequin Masterpiece. (I capitalize it out of reverence)
If you’re a beginning Sequin Artist, I would recommend starting out nice and easy. Not too many colors, fairly simple pattern, etc. You want to keep things...
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this blog is already obsolete because i found the...
You know what’s a surprisingly expensive “hobby”? Latch hook. This fancy wolf pillow is going to set you back like $50! And that doesn’t include the cost of your own labor. But forget about the fact that you could buy someone a set of nice silk covered down pillows that actually match their living room for the same price. Imagine them staring into this face when they...
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fly like an eagle
OK, there’s nothing better than a good paint-by-number for prank crafting. We’re just going to abbreviate them to ‘PBN’s’ to save time because I know for a fact there are about 1.2 million completely breathtaking scenes you can paint and gift to friends/family and I plan to post many of them here. If you’re careful about covering the numbers and lines, you...
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the hotpant shortalls
I found the pattern for these in an issue of Vogue Knits, which I do not subscribe to but appears to be chock full of super crazy knitwear modeled without an ounce of irony. I believe the same issue contained a sleeveless fur trimmed duster made out of a camel-colored chenille yarn (OR DID I DREAM THAT UP?). In any case, the second I saw this little number it was love at first sight. It matches...
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i made you a decorative bowl to hold your hair...
I’m coveting this kit pretty hardcore. It’s a little on the expensive side, around $14, but you get five bowls! Tell your family you’re taking an art class and then give them each a gorgeous decorative bowl for Christmas. Bonus points for snapping a photo of someone holding up their bowl with same frozen, half-terrified smile the girl on the box has on her face. Super bonus...
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dolphin stained glass magic
I’m not entirely clear on where the red is supposed to go on this little beauty. Is the water supposed to be red so we remember the needless slaughter of dolphins? Beautiful AND topical, plus super cheap and no time to make. Endless possibilities — I recommend secretly suction cupping it to the bathroom window at the next dinner party you’re invited to.
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who says blowing your nose has to be boring?
All I have to say about this is, if you stumble on this for sale in a store, buy it immediately. No price is too high. My favorite is the moon and stars one with the side cubby for cotton balls, or possibly a pack of cigarettes. Although the beaded vaguely-Native-American version is fairly stunning in its own right. Nevermind, I love them all, I can’t choose a favorite.
the siege begins
It started with a pair of shorts my sister Jessie knit for our brother for his birthday. Or was it the too-small baby pink dog sweater she made for my dog? The early days of the war are fuzzy now, but Jessie had thrown down the gauntlet. Knitting ridiculous things for each other purely for the reactions they inspired became an ongoing challenge. The battle has been raging for six years now,...