Friday, November 27, 2020

Card Making with Spazzy Crafter

Today, I will be talking about some of the different types of cards I have made. Also, some of the supplies I find that work (for me) the best.

Card kits

I like these because most of the supplies that you need are included... even an unfinished card. Most of them come with double-sided sticky squares (one side sticks to the card, and the other side sticks to the embellishment). Sometimes, there are embellishments that have a sticky back to them so you just peel off the paper. One of the best things about these kits is that they come with instructions so you can see an approximation of what the card will look like when it’s done, but you don’t always have to follow exactly. It’s your choice, so it becomes your design.

Now, one thing I don’t like is that the kits don’t come with glue, and you need that to put the first layer on the card. So I use glue sticks instead of glue from the bottle because it’s easier for me to hold a glue stick than a bottle of glue.

Image: A cream and gold card with ornaments topped with red bows. Near the bottom of the card is a tag that says "Merry Christmas".

Freehand cards

Some of the supplies that work well for my freehand card creations are ink stamps and gel pens. Decorative punches don't work well for me because of the force required to operate them. I have yet to experiment with stencils.

Other types of cards

Diamond paintings kits include: Plastic diamonds which are little rhinestone-type beads, pink wax that you use to pick up the diamonds, and an unfinished card.

Image: On a blue background with white-dot snow, is a reindeer bust with blue eyes. He's wearing a Santa hat with decorations on his antlers and a red and white striped scarf on his neck. His nose is red. Below him in large, red capital letters is "Merry Christmas" with an exclamation mark on the end. 

In my next post, I will be reviewing The Cricut. I use it for making cards, and it can aid in other crafting projects as well.

Image: A light pink card with dark foil cut-outs. The central image is a silhouette of a cat with bats above its head. The corners of the card are also the foil. At the top of the card is a foil crescent moon with the words "trick or treat" in thin, black capital letters.

Does anyone else know of any other types of card-making supplies or techniques I should try?

Friday, November 20, 2020

condition: by Su Zi (a Poem)

convinced of colitis
the accusing finger under the ribs
the worm tantalizing the fish
and with a pain more jointed than any insect,
this is digging fingernails into the arches of your feet
bruising cheekbones with your knees,
that is your position of supplication.
you dream of movies made outside of
    Nonexistent banklike architecture
of neon, Mardi Gras masks,
an illicit silkiness from which
    no one is exempt.
fading is the curry chicken, or the
barbeque ribs spicier than reggae
fading are your speeches not lit with sudden moans
and bloated goes your waist, inflamed inflamed
bloated you go, a dead fish.
~*~
End Note:  This poem is from Su Zi's new collection Chicago Poems. Click here to check it out.
~*~
Su Zi is a poet/writer and artist/printmaker and edits, designs and constructs the eco-feminist poetry chapbook series Red Mare
Publications include poetry, essays, stories and reviews that date back to pre-cyber publishing, including when Exquisite Corpse was a vertical print publication, and a few editions of New American Writing. More recent publications include Red FezAlien Buddha and Thrice. A resident of the Ocala National Forest, with a dedicated commitment to providing a safe feeding respite for wild birds, and for a haphazard gardening practice that serves as a life model for all aspects of her work.

Friday, November 13, 2020

The Cripendy Contest

The Cripendy Contest will be open for submissions of poetry, short stories, essays, visual art, and performance videos by disabled/neurodivergent people from November 20th to April 30th. Entries do not have to connect to disability/neurodivergence (unlike regular submissions).

All work must include a statement to accompany the submission (up to 250 words) in the body of the email. The statement doesn't have to be an official artist statement, but it should pertain to the work
itself. Please submit all written components in English.

Winners will be announced May 10th on the blog.

First prize is $20, second is $15, and third is $10. Payment will be sent via Paypal, check, or gift card. All winning entries (with artist statements) will be published on the blog.

General guidelines:

1. Only two pieces of work will be considered per creator.
2. Subject line should read "Contest Submission" with your last name.
3. Please include your name, contact information, biography,
statement, and work in one email.
4. Send to handyuncappedpen[at]gmail.com.
5. Written work must be pasted into the email itself unless the format
is unusual (docx if you need to send an attachment).
6. Visual art must be sent as jpegs.
7. Performance videos must link to YouTube or some other trusted service.
8. Length limit: Please keep performance videos under six minutes and written submissions under 2,000 words.

We will not open anything we don't recognize.

Miscellaneous:

In the event the contest has below ten entrants, we reserve the right to not award all (or any) prizes. We want a variety of incredible work to choose from.

No friends or family of The Handy, Uncapped Pen's curator may submit. Sorry, pals.

We will try to email you about your entry's safe arrival to our inbox within 48 hours.

We are hoping this will be an annual contest, but we can't promise anything. We have to see how this one goes.