And all the pipe cleaner animals stood erect-- a fierce wall of nylon and wire defiance--
with one voice they exclaimed, "We shall not be silenced!"

Friday, November 20, 2009

I pity the fool who don't think pipe cleaners are cool! - Mr. T

One of my guy friends at work, Chris, is into quirky things. I usually get a good Internet link at least once a week from him that would be categorized as "interesting." He's been a real supporter of my Fuzzington efforts, and he was the one who recommended that I make some mainstream characters, like the mini-Yoda.

He's also a real Mr. T fan. A couple of weeks ago, he found a scanned Mr. T cereal box from the 80s. Do you all remember this?



He downloaded the high-res file (it was like 50 MB), printed it out, assembled it, and had an exact replica of the cereal box in his cubicle!! I was so envious, I practically begged him to make me a mini one. A week a later, he stopped by my desk while I was on a conference call, and dropped a mini cereal box off at my desk! I was so stoked!! You too can have this awesome box by going to this site: http://tinyurl.com/yj5g8o3

At any rate, to return the favor, I thought I'd make him a little present. He'd asked me in the past if I could make a Fuzzy Mr. T. So last weekend, I gave it a try, and while it's not my best work, I found the end really made me smile!

Have you bought tickets for the Gun Show?
Look at the guns on this little guy!!




"I pity the fool..."

I got the gold chain from a quarter machine at Frys. Mini Mr. T was able to stand on his own until I put the gold chains on him. Then he kept toppling over because the chains were too heavy. So I had to glue him to a little wooden disc to stabilize him. I now realize why Mr. T was so buff in his heyday-- so he could support all those gold chains on him and not fall over!!


So Mini Mr. T is now sitting in Chris' cube next to the Mr. T cereal box! :)

Monday, November 2, 2009

Extraordinary Uses for Pipe Cleaners

I've been getting several messages from people about how they have bags of pipe cleaners and don't know what to do with them. Well, fret not my friends! Here is a list of uses for pipe cleaners from the Readers Digest book, Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things.

I hope that this list will give you a few ideas!

Decorate a ponytail
Need a fresh look for your hair? Tired of using plain old ribbons? Once you have your hair in a ponytail, twist a pipe cleaner around the hair band. Twist a couple together for an even brighter effect.

Use as an emergency shoelace
Your shoelace broke and you're about to go out on the court to play that grudge match in basketball. A pipe cleaner is a good stopgap tie-up. Just thread in your shoe as you would a shoelace and twist it up at the top.

Safety pin holder
Safety pins come in so many sizes, it's hard to keep them together and organized. Thread safety pins onto a pipe cleaner, through the bottom loop of each pin, for easy access.

Clean gas burners
Have you noticed that your stovetop burners are not firing on all their jets? Do you see an interrupted circle of blue when you turn a burner on? Poke a pipe cleaner through the little vents. This cleans the burner and allows it to work more efficiently. This works for pressure cooker safety valves, or pressure cookers' too.

Make napkin rings
Colorful pipe cleaners are an easy and fast resource for making napkin rings. Just twist around the napkin and place on the table. If you want to get adventurous, use two, one for the napkin ring, attach the other pipe cleaner to it, shaped into a heart, shamrock, flower, curlicue, or something else.

Use as twist tie
You're ready to close up that smelly bag of kitchen garbage when you discover you are out of twist ties. Grab a pipe cleaner instead.

Use as a travel toy
If you're worried about having a bored, wiggly child on your hands during your next long car or plane ride, throw a bunch of pipe cleaners into your bag. Whip them out when the "Are we there yet?" questions start coming your way. Colorful pipe cleaners can be bent and shaped into fun figures, animals, flowers, or whatever. They even make cool temporary bracelets and necklaces.

Use as a mini-scrubber
Pipe cleaners are great for cleaning in tight spaces. Use one to remove dirt from the wheel of a can opener or to clean the bobbin area of a sewing machine.

Decorate a gift
To give a special touch to a birthday or holiday present, shape a pipe cleaner into a bow or a heart. Poke one end through a hole in the card, and that runs its length. Line the vase with a plastic bag before you fill it with water and add the bouquet, giving fresh life to a treasured heirloom.

And my own little Addendum to this list: Make super cute pipe cleaner animals!! =)