The Zizzler

Living THE life on a shoestring budget. Traveling, DIY projects, general fabulousness.......

Friday, July 07, 2006

Hi. I Can't Stop Making T Shirts.

I'm moving to New York in 4 weeks. I've always loved wearing I Love NY t shirts, but I don't ever want to be that nerd that wears "USA" shirts in the USA, or that kid that wears the concert T of the band they saw the night before to school the next day (I HATED those dorks.) Yet their simplistic 70s/80s graphic design and cheap cheap cheapness are so alluring! (5 for $10 on Canal Street! are you kidding!) So I'm trying to figure a way I can make this work, without letting everyone know what a totally lame loser I am before they even talk to me.
My first attempt was to slice a larger shirt (adult medium, I'm a total slut and like my shirts very tight. I usually wear a youth Large or Medium) diagonally across the heart part. I then cut off the neck (I hate necks of Ts), on sleeve and the hem of the other. Holding the newly sliced parts together, I cut fringe down the length of the shirt (about 1/4"-1/2" wide and about 1" long). Now, the best thing to do next is put the now open shirt on. It'll look like you just got back from a gift shop in Atlantic City with all that fringe. Do not be tempted to bead it! Or just do it. I'm sure the hipsters will love the irony.
Or follow my advice, and begin tying corresponding pieces of fringe to you as tight as it will go. Do so to the rest of the shirt. If it isn't tight enough, you're going to have to untie and lengthen the fringe piece. It is pretty easy. Now, if I wasn't totally trashy, I probably would not have cut an area right across the boob, but since I am classless, I don't mind if my bra pokes through a teensy bit. Cut off all the excess fringe left over from tying. For the sleeves, tie the sleeveless side with a strip of T shirt, or a ribbon. If the shirt doesn't hang right, re-cut the sleeves, but be careful not to cut too deep into the armpit area or you will have a gaping hole and your bra will show in a more white trash dudes kind of way. If you mess it up, take solace in knowing the shirt only cost for $2. If a vendor tries to charge you more, just tell him that the dude down the street told you 5 for $10. This is guaranteed to work.
I'm still not sure if I will wear this in NYC. It might still be too ironic, even for me. But I'll definitely sport it in Philly or Chicago or my hometown of Bufflkill. Everyone there always makes fun of what I wear anyway. I swear, everytime I go home, some cheesy girl in white capris tries to fight me because she hates my cowboy boots! How does she know I wasn't just wranglin' cattle? At least I wasn't wearing WHITE CARGO CAPRIS!
Those are words to live by:
AT LEAST I'M NOT WEARING WHITE CARGO CAPRIS

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Lamp Shirt

This looks like several things I've made before, so I'll make this brief. My friend Jess in San Francisco really liked the lamp I made... but mailing a lamp to Cali is just beyond my means right now. Also, I am lazy. And a terrible shipper. So I decided to just translate it to a shirt. I bought a cream colored tank from H&M ($6) and used the same stencil I'd made for the owl on the lamp. I stitched the fabric owl onto the shirt in painstaking embroidery style. I used one of those wooden sewing hoops to keep the material flat. It needed a little more, so I bought some iron on letters ($2 a sheet) and ironed "WHO" near the collar by the boob. Maybe that is cheesy! But I like it. It still seemed a bit sparse, so I decided it needed the bow. Since I will assume she washes her laundry (you never know!), I sewed a black bow onto a pin back ($3 for a bag of 25) so she can remove it when washing. Or put it wherever she wants on the shirt. Or not at all.
I know, nothing new learned today, but I think the shirt came out great and really does kind of look like the lamp. Oh, and Happy Fourth of July! USA! USA! USA!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Reel Around the Fountain

My summer has totally been made. I stumbled upon the most incredible old timey fountain the other day called The Franklin Fountain in Old City Philadelphia. My friend Carla and I used to define summer by when we'd start getting chocolate Cokes at The Phantom Fountain, which in time kept closing and re-opening with added on names... Yum at the Phantom Fountain, Sweet Times at Yum at the Phantom Fountain (ST@Y@PF). When it closed and became a shitty art gallery we were devestated that we'd have to start summer by getting 7-11 Slurpees. I mean, sure we could put chocolate syrup in Diet Cokes ourselves, but this place had the atmosphere. Phantom Fountain used to be an old time pharmacy, and they'd left all of the medicines, potions and merchandise behind the counters and in the display cases. There wasn't another authentic type place that in Philly.
Until.. The Berley brothers took over the spot that was formerly Eroticakes (that we all lovingly called MasterBakers.) They got it all right, from the original 2 blade fans, tiles floor, actual fountain, to their old timey dress and waxed mustaches (or maybe they are hipsters outside of work?) No, its not like a cheesy 1950's themed place at all. It feels like its done well.
And then there's the menu. First off, when I was little my dad and I liked that weird old fashioned gum- Teaberry and Black Jack. I was probably the only child who prefered that to BubbleYum, but then again my favorite cereal was also Mueslix. Anyway, my first tasting of the brother's homemade ice cream was Teaberry, and it was the creamiest, most delicious ice cream I've ever had in my entire life. It doesn't even need toppings. They also have a complete menu of phosphates and other fun drinks. I got one called the Japanese Thirst Killer and it was amazing. So, yay summer!