NOFX in Cincinnati: My First Punk Show

I’m not a punk kind of girl. But somehow I ended up with a ticket to a punk rock show in Cincinnati this past Wednesday. Not only that, but my sister insisted that I need to experience “the pit.”

For those of you who don’t know, the mosh pit is the area in front of the stage where fans crowd together to jump around, punch each other, and go crazy. My best friend, a seasoned veteran when we were in high school, had told about the “wall of death” and going home with bruises and beer-soaked Converse, so I knew kind of what to expect.

During the (three!) opening acts, there was a baby of a mosh pit. I stood on the edge and watched the small whirlwind of kicking, punching the air, and shoving while watching out for the empty beer bottles being thrown in the air. By the time NOFX came on stage, the place was full and I could barely turn around. I was not prepared for the first song.

I’m not gonna lie – I screamed. It was like being on one of those fair rides where you’re being slung around helplessly with scary music blasting in your ear, and you’re screaming, but no one can hear you over the music. I’m being pushed in different directions and the sudden change knocks me off balance but I can’t fall because I’m surrounded by other people but now they’re moving too and I almost fall over but someone grabs my shoulder and helps me up and the same person keeps hitting me in the base of my skull and that can’t be good because I need my cerebellum working and gross(!) I think I just touched that fat person’s armpit with my face. Then, all of a sudden, the song is over. Repeat this a few more times and you have yourself a NOFX concert.

I stayed in the pit for about half the set before retiring to the back of the venue where all the calm people stood. Even though I’ve decided that punk shows are not for me, I can say that I enjoyed going on this trip, and I can see why some people would enjoy them.

Here’s what I learned at my first punk show:

  1. One spilled beer turns the floor into a dangerous and smelly slip ‘n slide. All of a sudden, moshing to the opening acts just got a lot harder. Give it an hour and it turns into a sticky trap.
  2. (Most) people in mosh pits are as polite as they are violent. One second you’re getting punched in the head, the next you’re being lifted from the ground by five strangers before there is even a chance to get your fingers stepped on (a very impressive feat).
  3. Mohawks are scary and hilarious. I was cracking up watching these guys standing behind a mohawked girl banging her head to the music. They would dodge and put their hands up every time she turned her head.

On another note, I just bought tickets to see my favorite band, The Avett Brothers, next weekend in Indianapolis! Did I mention I have an Avett Bros tattoo?! I can’t wait! I will definitely be posting about that next week 🙂

PYO (Paint Your Own) Pottery at Funky Monkey

I went to a Paint-Your-Own pottery place called the Funky Monkey in Draffenville, KY the other weekend with my grandma, aunt, and a couple of my cousins. It’s a lot of fun! You just choose a piece of pottery ranging from plates to piggy banks to giant containers that look like cupcakes (I really wanted one of those), which will have a pre-determined price on it. That price usually includes the piece, the paint, and the firing. I chose a shallow, oblong, wavy-edged plate for $25. However, items range from $1 to &60+ depending on size, so there’s something for everyone’s budget.

Here’s the final product!

Scroll through to see it step by step.

       

DIY Dorm craft: picture frame

On-campus housing is THE worst for decorating. Even if you can get something stuck to the brick walls with duct tape and a prayer, you’ll have to take it all down at the end of the year and carry it somewhere else. Determined to hang something pretty on my walls, I decided to make my own picture frames using cardboard and some fabric I got at a thrift store for $1.

These are great for several reasons:

  1. They’re cheap (Yayyy, college budgets!)
  2. You can make them any size, shape, or pattern you want.
  3. They’re easy to take down, move, or store…
  4. And if you do break one, it’s not a big deal.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  1. Cardboard (you can also use cereal boxes)
  2. Ruler
  3. Ink pen
  4. Scissors
  5. Fabric or paper of your choice
  6. Hot glue gun

Trace and cut your frame, measuring each side to make sure they’re even.

 

Cut a piece of fabric large that is bigger than your frame (it needs to be able to wrap around the back enough so that the cardboard is completely covered). Start cutting the material inside the frame until you get to the edge of the cardboard.

 

I cut the material into strips and glued each one down.

Tada! I also made a circle frame by tracing the base of a round container and measuring one inch around the circumference for the outer edge of the frame. Rather than use personal photos, I traced silhouettes onto paper I painted with red watercolor.

          

Paper Lovebirds

I just bought an X-acto knife to use on various projects, but I especially love paper cutouts. I decided to start with something simple and cute. Here’s what I came up with!

 Trace lovebirds onto red paper and cut them out (carefully!) with an X-acto knife.

Draw a bird cage the right size for your birds and cut the paper out from between the bars. Make sure the bars are thick enough they won’t rip too easily.
Glue the birds and cage onto another piece of paper and cut around the image.
Tie a string through the hole at the top of the cage and hang up the final product! This would also be cute to use in a scrapbook or an installation with other images of birds. Voila!
Here it is hanging on my wall with a few other images I like.

Customized Anthology Project (pg 1-3)

I came across the idea of making my own anthology here. So far I have three poems although I plan on including some of my favorite book excerpts and a few of my own drawings as well. Once I have a fair collection going, I’m going to type up a table of contents to attach to the first page, which I left blank. Here’s what I have so far!

Soaking up Sun by Tom Hennen
Soaking up Sun by Tom Hennen

I sat outside my dorm one afternoon this spring and drew this tree. It actually had leaves on it, but drawing leaves seemed too daunting a task, so I left it naked.

To Ellen (Imitated from Catullus) by Lord Byron
To Ellen (Imitated from Catullus) by Lord Byron

I used watercolors here and traced the flame shapes from the internet onto patterned paper for some embellishment.

Sonnet by C.B. Trail
Sonnet by C.B. Trail

I love this poem but can’t find out anything about the person who wrote it! When I searched his name in Google, this poem is the only thing that comes up, and no one else seems to know who he is either.

The lacy tree/leaves were cut out of a piece of scrap material. I used a hot glue gun to attach them.

Start your own anthology

You’ll need

  1. A bound sketchbook (or loose paper if you want to bind it yourself
  2. Poems, stories, excerpts, etc. that you want to include
  3. Creativity! Use whatever you have around the house to decorate/illustrate the pages.

Tips

  • Leave the first page or two blank so you can attach a table of contents later.
  • Number the pages (I numbered mine on the back, left hand corner of each page).
  • If you’re using paints or anything that might bleed through the page, protect the next page by putting scrap paper between the two.
  • Be sure to write down the name and author of everything you include.
  • If you do illustrations in pencil or charcoal, be sure to use a fixative so they won’t smudge as you flip the pages. If you’re cheap like me, a few coats of hairspray does the job just as well.

Crocheted Cuties

Now that I have a short break between school and starting my summer job at Kenlake Foods, I’ve picked my crocheting projects back up and started some new ones. Here’s what I’ve completed so far:

“Penny the Panda”

I tweaked the panda pattern, which I got from the Lion Brand yarn website. I freehanded the two kokeshi dolls after being inspired by this and this on etsy. Most of the crocheted kokeshi dolls I’ve seen on the internet have obi belts or something on. I might add some later, but I kind of like them plain.

original crocheted kokeshi dolls