Sarah Papple

Cupcake Charm

admin — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:26:00 +0000

My six-year-old girl stole this charm out of the envelope before I got a good look at it. It took a few days staking out her turf, and a cup of strong chamomile tea until she fell into a deep enough sleep for me to steal it back.

The appeal of the charm was instantly obvious; the charm was pink and square like a Chiclet, had a cupcake stamped into the polymer clay, sparkles (which is crack for six-year-olds) and a cute, blue polka-dot bead for a cherry.

Though the charm fulfills exactly all measures of cuteness criteria, it was easy to pull off on my silver chain at my job at the library. Browsing through Julie*ann’s shop showed a range of cool and cute bits-and-bobs in prices that were pleasing, like the cupcake charm itself. Julie*ann is able to make things that every six-year-old girl wishes she could, and in a way that is skilled and pleasing to all thirty-something sparkle addicts.

Written by: Sarah Papple, September 15th 2007

Vintage Fabric Squares

admin — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 22:38:00 +0000

By Repro Depot

Repro Depot has been bookmarked on my computer for over a year. Whenever I’m in a creative lurch, searching for some vintage, retro-theme inspiration, it’s the click I clack. Repro Depot is a fantastic source for vintage and new fabrics for anyone who appreciates a good Hula Girl print, or a wacky cowpoke scene on a yard of cotton.

The variety pack of fifteen fabric sample squares I received was inspiring. It was like going to a fabric store, with the happy bonus of avoiding the grainy bolts of polyester. My pile of squares came with a purple, polka dot, shiny sample; a repeated sour apple print; some new stripes; and a big, fat paisley. I laid the squares on my desk and started fooling around with the colors and patterns, giving me idea upon idea for collages, quilts, paintings, home décor projects and some great bags I could stitch.

For inspiration, or full-out crafty maniacal projects, check out the Repro Depot site. It has the fabric, the buttons, the ribbons and some wicked tape measures.

Written by: Sarah Papple, June 13th 2007

Foo Foo Yik Yik

admin — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 22:06:00 +0000

By Dynasty Handbag

Lovepump United

Dynasty Handbag’s Foo Foo Yik Yik is the product of one-woman mind-blower Jibz Cameron with her trusty keyboard samples and drum machine. Her tender and humorous singing, moaning and whispering get into your brain quickly and stays put long after you’ve turned off the music.

The album sounds like I thought I did Christmas morning 1984 when I got my Casio keyboard and spent the morning riffing to the ‘demo’ sample. Except, Dynasty Handbag keeps the low-tech feeling of ‘84, but the vocals and lyrics are decidedly full-grown and bravely mature. The wackiness of it all feels foreign played in rural Canada, and more so when I popped the CD in at the local ‘ladies only’ fitness club. “In My Dreams” crept below the radar with the muttering and ramblings. Later, someone confessed she thought it was “talk radio.” The x-rated sex sounds in “Break Up Day” caught everyone’s attention, though, and held it through to the dance beat that got everyone jogging on the spot super-fast to “Fading Away.” By “Chinese Immigrant,’ we were all grooving.

It doesn’t look like Dynasty Handbag play shows north of Brooklyn, which is probably good. I’d hate to see what would happen to her if she hit the stage at the local Royal Canadian Legion. Foo Foo Yik Yik is very Yoko Ono, which is very cool, but has a selective audience. For now, those of us who choose to live outside the hip urban zones, must be content with guerilla CD tactics at lifeless suburban fitness clubs to satisfy our hunger for brain-twisting tunes.

Written by: Sarah Papple, March 24th 2007

Skinny Bitch

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 15:13:00 +0000

By Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin

Running Press

Skinny Bitch is a book that promises to tell the truth about dieting, diets and the reasons for the fat that puts the junk in your trunk. Authors Rory Freedman, a former Ford Model, and Kim Barnouin, a former model with a Masters of Science degree in Holistic Nutrition, use some ugly language to guide readers into a strict vegan diet regime, which promises those who “use their heads will lose their ass.”

Chapters include tirades against sugar, soda, meat (or ‘flesh’) and slaughter practices, as well as some in-depth diet and menu ideas for those who want to get skinny. The book takes no prisoners when it exposes the nasty truth behind some of our favourite food addictions. Mass farming, aspartame, caffeine, drugs in dairy and the conspiracies behind the promotion of the average American diet are shocking. If you read the chapters titled “The Dead, Rotting, Decomposing Flesh Diet” and “You are What You Eat" word-for-word and didn’t retch the next time you bit into a chicken wing, you’re a callous soul.

As a promoter of thoughtful eating and a call-to-arms against blind consumerism, Skinny Bitch is a well-sourced academic paper written in nasty trucker slang. As a diet book, though, Skinny Bitch is troubling. The twist of adding foul language doesn’t go far to mask the promotion of near-anorexic caloric intakes. Worrisome is the chapter that follows the tirades against the average diet titled "Let’s Eat." The chapter title is ironic; it offers the reader the ideal eating pattern of a starving herself on a piece of fruit for breakfast, a green salad for lunch and a veggie dog for dinner. It insists that the reader will “…grow to love that empty feeling in your stomach and know that the initial headaches, nausea and hunger were just your body’s cleaning crew.”

The average person couldn’t keep this kind of diet going for long before they find themselves madly eating through the entire kitchen's contents, including the old box of Jell-O powder at the back of the pantry. It’s a sad situation we’re in when a book needs to add a restrictive menu and promises of “skinny” to sell, and can’t stand alone as a guide to eat thoughtfully and respectfully, of yourself and the earth.

Written by: Sarah Papple, March 4th 2007