Richela Fabian Morgan's Blog, page 10

Tom Cruise and I hit the BEA stage: An Epilogue

                     

I took this picture right before I left my house last Thursday. My phone had been buzzing all morning long with Twitter and Facebook notifications, and for a brief time I felt like a rock star. A friend of mine even told me that I was one, but since Dave Grohl is not likely to hang out with me I didn't take any of this seriously. I did run into Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys once, and but at the time I was 7 months pregnant and didn't feel like rock star material. In fact, I was leaning against the side of a building because my swollen feet hurt. Not very rock star-ish at all.

So what did I do with that large duct tape flower I made the day before? I actually brought it with me and headed to Cutler Salon on West 57th Street. Emily, a young and very rock star-ish stylist, figured out a way for me to wear it without looking matronly or silly. She twisted my hair into a side ponytail and secured the flower with what seemed like a thousand bobby pins.

This is me in the backseat of a cab going to the Javits Center. You can't tell from the picture, but I am nauseous from the smell of the cab as well as the jerky stop-n-go motion of the traffic. Yuck. Check out the duct tape necklace I am wearing. I decided on the shorter orange beaded necklace because the longer and bigger one would have clashed with the enormous flower in my hair.





When I got to the Javits Center, Eric Lowenhar of Barron's Educational Series was there to meet me. Not only was I late, I also had forgotten my BEA pass for the show. Eric baled me out with a replacement pass and a personal escort to the stage. Wow, now that I think about it, that was rock star behavior! I should have showed up with a bottle of Jim Beam in my hand. Oh, boy.

Click on the pic below to view the video of my presentation:





After the presentation, I went back to the Barron's Educational Series booth to sign some books. The bag I had made for a giveaway was in a gift basket and surrounded by some lovely rolls of Platypus designer duct tape. Oh, and a HUGE poster with my photo on it. When I saw it, all I could focus on was the dark circles under my eyes. That woman in that poster looked tired! I took a picture of the whole display, but my subconscious cut my photo out of the shot. Oops. 

 After signing books and talking to duct tape crafting enthusiasts, I was free to roam the aisles of the book expo. I actually came back the next day because I found out that Giada DeLaurentiis was going to be signing books. My kids--especially my son--are big fans. Here are some pictures of what I saw.  Giada and me. Billy and me?? ALL THINGS PAPER (the book!) by Ann Martin, proudly displayed at the Tuttle Publishing booth. (I'm in it!) A copy of Sebastiao Saldgado's GENESIS, published by Taschen. This thing is huge! 

There were a lot of goodies that wound up in my free tote bag (oh, I love expos), which were later given to my kids as a thank you for being patient with mommy. I also grabbed as many advance readers as I could and started reading them this morning. 
Overall, I had a great time at this year's BEA. It's not every day that a crafter is asked to do a presentation on the live stage at the biggest book fair in the world. I'm forever grateful to the people who believe not only in the books that I've written and the crafts that I make but also in me as a person. You know who you are and I love you guys!
xxoxRichela 

1 Day 'til BEA: Flowers and Bags

I made this flower while watching my son's baseball game. And while I was cutting this and taping that, my fellow baseball parents kept tabs on the progress of not only the game but my flower. It's, er, a little too big for my hair. I think that this is a craft fail despite how pretty it looks in this pic. Iphone camera apps are pretty awesome, arent' they? A crappy flower can look like a million bucks with just the right frame and filter.

I made a second duct tape Tom Cruise bag. This wasn't necessary since I already have a fairly kick-ass TC messenger bag but I wanted a smaller one for my trip to the BEA. I have a tendency to bring a lot of stuff if my bag is big. Knowing this about myself, I thought it best to bring a small bag. But my TC messenger bag happens to be my good luck charm, my source of mojo for any public events. So I made  a half-size version, hoping that my labor of love will grant me success tomorrow.


One last thing: I am a guest blogger on Clippings In The Shed, author Francine LaSala's blog. Throughout the entire month of May, Francine has invited many of her writer friends to submit a story about being a mom. I slightly veered off the topic and wrote about my high school biology teacher and my kids learning a little impersonation I do whenever I duct tape craft. Check it out if you can.
Okay, off to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a hot, sticky mess in the NYC area, and but I'm going to be one cool cucumber at the Javits Center. Wish me luck at BEA! 

2 (and 3, 4, and 5) Days 'til BEA: Weekend Games and My Letter Banner

My kids are all-stars! They both made their respective all star teams and I spent yesterday shuttling between their two games. The Little League gods frowned upon us and scheduled both games for 10:00 AM. I was able to hoop and holler at the start of my daughter Masana's game, then make the last 3 innings of Mack's game 1 1/2 miles away. 


By the end of the morning I was tired, but my sister, her family, my sports-loving cousin, and my Dad had come to the games, too. They were hungry and ready for a little barbecue action. So we spent the afternoon dining on grilled rib steaks, shrimp, girelle pasta with arrabbiata sauce, and corn. If it weren't for my son's unquenchable need to throw a ball around, we would have been napping in various nooks around my house.

I spent today prepping for my BEA presentation. We are going to make flowers and I cut 16 individual azalea petal patterns. And I also decided to make this letter banner for the display table:


I've already placed it in my bag so I won't forget it.

Tomorrow I'll decide on the necklace and hair flower for my outfit. Decisions, decisions.

6 Days 'til BEA: Making A Table Mat

This table mat is approximately 20 inches x 40 inches. I know it doesn't look like much, but it took all afternoon to make it. Weaving duct tape is a fairly easy task, but one this large requires patience and a lot of duct tape.


I used Platypus brand grass and white linen prints. This duct tape is great for table mats because they are extra thick and have a matte finish. It's built to last. I cut fringes along the outer edges to make it look more like cloth, but my kids think it looks like a rug.

 

This is the last project I am making for BEA. I sent my publisher a box full of duct tape goodies this evening and I will take a break this weekend from crafting--or at least that is my intention.

It's Memorial Day Weekend and both of my kids made their respective All Star teams (baseball and softball), so I will be to-ing and fro-ing until my head is spinning like a top. I'm secretly hoping that we do not get invited to any barbecues so I can collapse on the floor at the end of the day. The phone is already programmed with the local restaurants so I can order in pizza or sushi. I have a post-it on my phone with a reminder to stop by an ATM to get cash. And the wine rack is fully stocked with Cote du Rhone and Beaujolais. I have this image of myself surrounded by my kids in their dirty uniforms, pizza slices on paper plates adorning our laps, and a glass of wine in my hand. If that's not heaven, I don't know what is.

Happy Memorial Day!

7 Days 'til BEA: The Home Stretch

I made pig pillows today!
You can find this project in my new book TAPE IT & MAKE MORE, which will be available September 1st. I'm a bit of a bacon-aholic (is that even a word??), so pigs make frequent appearances in my crafts. In the book I've included not only this pig pillow but a piggy bank, too.





Anyway, these two pillows will be on display at BEA.

I also decided to re-work the chevron necklace I made yesterday. Take a look:

Well? Much improved? No?

So far I've made 4 necklaces, and I'll probably make 2 more this weekend. I think that hair flowers will be next. I need something to wear in my hair at BEA, so why not?

8 Days 'til BEA: A Bouquet of Flowers Plus Another Necklace

I finished the bouquet of flowers! I also made a vase, but I'm thinking that this should be displayed in a stack of duct tape rolls. My vase looks a little less finished than the flowers.






I also finished another necklace:


I could have used more duct tape, but there were all these leftover hoops in my art bin. Maybe I'll revisit this one tomorrow and replace some of the silver hoops with duct tape ones. Or maybe I'll make...another duct tape necklace!

Off to bed. Good night.

9 Days 'til BEA: Getting Distracted

This will be a quick post.

I got distracted today with a chandelier project and spent almost 2 hours loitering at my favorite lighting supply store, interrogating the proprietor about sold out sockets and special ordered light bulbs, and examining the pre-made fixtures for clues on how each one is assembled.

So to make up for lost duct tape time I've spent the last two hours cutting out petals for 7 white azalea flowers. I'm going to put together the flowers after I finish writing.
 

Wish me luck!

10 Days 'til BEA: An Afternoon in Roxbury

Today I made my way to the Roxbury section of Boston. I was teaching a duct tape crafting workshop at the Dudley branch of the Boston Public Library, and it was fun as usual.

Tatiana and Smyrne were my new duct tape crafters, but these two young ladies have a lot of other creative outlets and barely needed my help. Smyrne talked about upcycling various old clothing and other objects while Tatiana said she knitted. So how did they do with the sticky stuff? Well, I think they did great! So did Akunna the teen librarian who joined us and made a great little purse. We talked a lot about the different jewelry that can be made out of duct tape. I showed them pictures of my necklaces and got maybe a little too excited about making accessories. But they seemed to take it all in, especially the manic hand gestures I used while describing long feather earrings. Sorry, ladies. I'm just a duct tape geek.





After I finished packing up my things, two young ladies came by and wanted to do a little crafting. I had given my extra tape and some other materials to Akunna for any teens who couldn't make it to my workshop but wanted to give duct tape crafting a try. As I slung my huge bag over my shoulder, I heard Akunna giving the ladies instructions on how to make a wallet. Tatiana and Smyrne proudly held up their own wallets to show the new girls what they made.

I couldn't help but smile when I saw and heard what was going on.  I thought to myself, "Ah, more converts to the duct tape cause!" Maybe I didn't get a bigger turnout than I wanted, but I knew that there were three individuals who would now get other people interested in duct tape crafting.

My job here in Roxbury is done!

11 (and 12) Days 'til BEA: Switching Gears

This weekend I took a break from my obsessive bag and necklace making, because I needed to give my hands a break. While I did make this flower and a pair of bi-fold wallets for these adorable twin boys, I mostly stayed away from my studio.





Yesterday I received my badge to the BEA in the mail! (Thanks, Eric.) When I opened the envelope, I stared at the pass for a few minutes before reality sunk in. I'm going to the BEA as an author and not a spectator or publishing industry worker. An author! ME! It says it right under my name, so it must be true. This is proof to anyone who has ever doubted me. (Gee, I sound so insecure; but then again, I am a writer.)

Oh, and don't think that I won't imbed this thing in translucent resin and or decoupage it to a tabletop when I'm done with it. (For posterity, you see.) Check back with me in mid-June to see how it's upcycled. I don't call myself Crafty Richela for nothing. Okay, I know self-anointed nicknames do not portend actual character traits, but this one is definitely true on so many levels.

Good night!

13 Days 'til BEA: Making Necklaces

I made two duct tape necklaces today!

The first one was a little easier since I was still working with the orange linen color from the two previous necklaces. It came together quickly as I strung rectangle duct tape pieces to some brown embroidery floss. I cut fringes into each piece. When I put it on, I was able to see that it lacked shape:

 

My problem was solved by trimming down the larger sections at the center of the necklace.

For the second necklace I took the advice of my daughter Masana and used green and white linen duct tape.

It started out like this:



It felt incomplete, so I kept adding to it. I gave it wood grain printed tape pieces, but it still looked wrong. It looked over designed. There was too much going on!

  

Eventually I got it right.

Thank goodness for a little perseverance! I was about to give up when my son Mack asked me why I was using the wood grain tape. It dawned on me that maybe I was trying too hard to make it work. Once I replaced the wood grain pieces with green ones, my design suddenly came into focus.

Which brings me to tomorrow and my duct tape goals for the weekend: flowers. I'll be making flowers for BEA, lots and lots of duct tape beauties to display in a duct tape vase. Wish me luck!