Richela Fabian Morgan's Blog, page 11

14 Days 'til BEA: Road Trip To Mattapan And Gaffigan In My Head

Today I drove to Boston and back. The reason for my 3 1/2 hour journey (both ways) was a duct tape crafting workshop at the Mattapan branch (of the Boston Public Library). Click on the pic to see more photos from today's event.





Okay, now I have to make a confession about today's long and boring drive. I ate a Big Mac--and I loved it! In my normal life, I stay away from fast food and I haven't been to a McDonald's in seven years. But when I hit the 3rd hour of my Boston drive, I heard the comedian Jim Gaffigan's voice telling me how delicious McDonald's hamburgers are. (If you are familiar with his stand-up routine, he's a man obsessed with foods like Hot Pockets and fast food chains like Waffle House and McDonald's.) After spotting the golden arches from a distance, I exited off the highway and found the nearest McDonald's.

No, I didn't even try the "healthy" McWrap. It was a Big Mac all the way--and it was fan-tastic. I would say it was finger lickin' good, but I don't want to mix up my fast food slogans.

That was several hours ago. And I'm still awake because I can feel it working through my intestines. (Ouch.) It will probably be another 7 years until my next Big Mac purchase, but I don't regret one single bite!

15 Days 'til BEA: Long or Short?

I'm having another duct tape dilemma.

Right now I'm making myself a necklace to wear at BEA. I can't decide if it should be long or short. Please excuse the bad "selfies" but I'm tired and in need of someone telling me what to do.

Long or short??? Please let me know what you think.

What I do NOT need help with are my shoes. I found a really great pair of sandals:


I can't wait to wear these at BEA!

Yeah, I know. I'm such a girl...

16 Days 'til BEA: Duct Tape Necklace

Today's project was inspired by a paper bead bracelet from my book THE GREEN CRAFTER--which was actually inspired by paper rosary beads I found at a craft fair many years ago.

This is the bracelet. I used magazine paper to make the beads:





To make the paper beads, you need to cut long triangular strips and roll them around a bamboo skewer while applying wet glue. Once the glue dries, you should be able to slip the beads off the skewer and string them together.

Through trial and error, I discovered that you can use duct tape to make beads, too. It basically involves the same instructions, cutting long triangular strips and rolling them to make a bead.


I used paper clips to wrap the bead around. You attach the paper clip to the growing chain first, then wrap the duct tape strip around it. And when you have the desired length, you can add a tassel or charm.

Not too shabby! 

17 Days 'til BEA: Wood Grain Duct Tape

Can you believe this is duct tape?

This is a wood grain print from the Platypus duct tape line by Fortis Design. And I absolutely LOVE this tape. At first I used it as only accents on bigger pieces, especially with my bags. Then I decided to use it for a faux wood look on a lantern:


                      



When I made this flower today, I did so as an homage to the wooden flowers that my Mom had around our home. They were from the Philippines and she displayed them next to the dead/stuffed (can I say this??) fighting cocks (that were also from the motherland). I cringe when I think about how I had to dust those relics. The flowers fell apart and had to be reassembled every time a dust rag touched it. Don't ask about the fighting cocks...

In a fit of nostalgia I did a Google search for wooden flowers. The closest match was this listing on Etsy by RoniSea Vintage (click on pic for a link to the listing):



I'm still searching for that perfect wooden flower. Until then I'll keep making them out of my current favorite duct tape.

18 (and 19) Days 'til BEA: Happy Mother's Day!

My son Mack's latest installation piece entitled, "MOM."
Yes, those are his feet.Today is Mother's Day! So Happy Mother's Day to anyone who is a mom, a grandmother, a godmother, a foster mother, a step mother, or even a den mother! We all deserve breakfast in bed that we don't have to clean up later.

I spent the morning watching my daughter Masana play a great game of softball. During the 3rd inning, she was up at bat and crushed the ball, shooting it past the opposing team's short stop and third baseman for a monster triple. And as she landed on third base, she smiled and pointed at me as if to say, "this one's for you, Mom."

I usually don't get misty during a softball game, but she made me so proud! And since I am not sure what direction Masana's softball career will go in (Little League World Series?? High school Varsity team?? College?? ), I soaked in the moment as if we were at the Olympics (oh, please bring it back, IOC!). Sure, she was only standing on third base, but in my mind's eye Masana was on the podium at the medal ceremony, and she pointed at me as the National Anthem filled the airwaves. Me! Her mother in the stands. It didn't matter that there were only 5 other people sitting with me. I stood up and clapped!

So how did I commemorate this Olympic size moment? By having a very indulgent meal at BLT Steak. And, yes, I had a glass of wine.

Cork wine bottle by Masana. (Digital re-touching by Masana!)
Happy Mother's Day!

20 Days 'til BEA: Finding An Old (Duct Tape Bag) Friend

Look what I found!

Last year I made this messenger bag. If you live or have lived in New York City, you will recognize the design as a partial subway map. And if you really must know, I got tired after laying out 3 of the subway lines and stopped. I still used the bag despite its incomplete map, though I had to explain more than once what the design was--or was supposed to be.

A few months later it was replaced by my Tom Cruise bag and I didn't give it another thought. I think it was Tom's eyes (quite hypnotic if I say so myself) that made me forget all about my subway bag. But today I found it hanging on the back of my studio door. While that may not sound like a difficult place to spot it, you must consider the four other bags that were stuck in front of it. I re-discovered my subway bag only when I bumped into the door and knocked the other bags down.

I may take my subway bag out for a little jaunt tomorrow. Can't wait for someone to ask, "what is that??"

21 Days 'til BEA: Rocking The Fringes

I've resorted to carrying a small 3 1/2 inch x 5 inch sketch pad for my duct tape bag obsession. At the suggestion of my friend Claire of claireabellemakes.com I started to make the bag with a green duct tape. While I couldn't find a nice lime green, I did find a sour apple one.


It still needs a strap and closure (and maybe a pocket) but I think it's looking okay.

22 Days 'til BEA: Indecision! Flap or No Flap?

I made this bag and and was about to put a flap on it when indecision set in. Flap or no flap?
It needs a closure, so maybe place the flap inside? Or use a magnetic snap closure along the top edge without a flap?
Flap, flap, flap, frickin' flap! To flap or not to flap: that is the question. I flap, therefore I am??
I'm going to take a break and return to this bag in the morning. Good night!

23 Days 'til BEA: A Busy Day

I can't help myself and perhaps an intervention is needed.

I made another duct tape bag. But in my defense I had to see if the houndstooth pattern duct tape in my possession was still viable. Someone told me that a roll of tape dries up if you don't use it after a while, but the definition of "a while" was never given. Was it a month, a year, or longer? What was "a while?" My roll of houndstooth had been in my bin for almost two years, a material forgotten after a project started going south. I threw out the cockeyed duct tape thingamajig but kept the remainder of the roll.

Well, the tape was still usable. And look how pretty my bag is! And when my publisher politely asked (through somewhat gritted teeth??) if I finished the bag for my BEA promotion, my response was that I had not one but FOUR bags for them to choose from. I sent them the photos of the bags and...the consensus was that the first bag was the best one. (What??)
Oh, no. I wasted over a week making these bags. I should have stopped after making the first one. Well, at least I know have three kick-ass new bags to play around with.

This evening I went to White Plains to run a duct tape crafting workshop. I had a decent turnout plus quite a few moms stayed to craft, too. How incredible is that? The power of duct tape is ever growing and I hope that it will finally be recognized by more adults as a crafting material. It ain't just for kids, people!

If you want to see some of the great stuff we made tonight, you can check out my photo album on Facebook by clicking on the photo below.
 

24 Days 'til BEA: Bag Numero Tres

I wanted to make a simple bag today, so I chose a white linen printed duct tape: a clean, bright, and classy look that is the signature of summer style. I don't know about you, but I'm soooo ready for the summer.

The shape of my bags lately have been these large squarish things, so I tried to add more curves to this one. But despite my deliberate swerves along the top edges, I still ended up with a rectangular bag. Oh, well.




It came together pretty quickly and I was finished with the main construction in less than an hour. For the closure I used a jeans button, which I bought in bulk over a year ago. I'm still working through my bag of 250! 
It still looked a little rough, so I added some wood grain duct tape "piping":

So far this is my favorite bag--but then again, I always say that about the last bag I make!  
Tomorrow I have a crafting workshop at the White Plains Public Library. Not sure how many kids will show up, but I am hoping to make duct tape piggy banks using empty tape rolls. I only have enough for 8 kids. Hmmm. It would be nice if the class were full, but duct tape piggy banks are so cute! We shall see...