EFA Articles on tandtnews

The articles that my fellow efa-ers and I have written for tandtnews.com are up! Check out my article on easy eco-DIY Christmas gift ideas!

TheAnticraft Sews!

OK. I love the idea of sewing, but in true Anticraft style, my sewing projects often consist of epic battles with my sewing machine and serger, tears over ruined fabrics, whining over thread tension, and just general chaos. I've completed only two projects without the help of my mom: a duvet cover made from two queen flat sheets, and my latest project - placemats. I just couldn't resist the temptation of another sewing project as a gift for my friend's birthday. I followed these instructions and I think they turned out pretty well. I bought a sweet little fat quarter bundle of Joel Dewberry fabrics from my favourite Etsy fabric store Fabric By The Yard. You better believe I'll be making more of these for my apartment and as gifts in the coming winter months!

My First Etsy Sale

Right now I am so psyched to have made my first sale in my etsy store! A pair of my three little birds earrings is now making its way to Texas! Super exciting news for me. The sale of that item is going towards the adoption of Diablo the melanistic jaguar - a very beautiful, but cranky cat. That's ok... cranky kitties need love too!

Flickred.

I've finally given in and created a Flickr account. Bonus - now I can post my funky pictures from the Nine Inch Nails concert in Hamilton on Friday night! I'm so blowing some of these up as art prints for my apartment!

A Freudian Slip - Easiest Halloween Costume Ever

I had huge plans this year to make an elaborate poodle skirt complete with crinoline as a Halloween costume. I picked out a gorgeous bright pink felt, and I had visions of adorable poodles running through my head. Of course I procrastinated until (you guessed it) October 31, so I needed something a little easier and cheap! My plans were to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show and store-bought costumes were unbelievably expensive, and most were a little on the skimpy side. So I decided to go as a Freudian slip. Definitely an Anticraft-friendly costume idea!

Easy Anticraft instructions:
1. Buy a slip. I chose a half slip and a camisole for coverage.
2. Buy some iron on letters in different sizes/colors from Michael's. Technically it says you're not supposed to use them on 100% synthetic fabrics (like my all-nylon slip), but it worked fine for me.
3. Plan out your design and iron on the letters. Poof! Halloween costume in half an hour!

The best part; it sure does make a comfy set of pajamas when Halloween is over!

Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of doing something Halloween-y, I made this pumpkin for the office carving contest. I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. Let's just say this is an Anticraft-friendly craft from the usually not-so-friendly Martha Stewart web site. Basically I followed these instructions and it was a relatively painless ordeal! I didn't have all the fancy wood cutters that Martha suggests, but as you can see, you really don't need them. I used one regular pumpkin and two minis to do all the parts of the owl. For the feathers, I used a regular tea spoon, and then used a paring knife to fix them up a bit. It took about an hour and a half to complete the entire project, and since I thought it was going to take forever, I was pleasantly surprised when I had enough time to make these yummy candy corn earrings as well!

Thank You Etsy for Animals

Etsy for Animals has posted an article about me and the charities I support on their web site. Click here to check it out. Etsy for Animals is a great organization dedicated to making charitable donations to animal-related causes. Each month a different charity is showcased. If you have any kind of talent for crafts and have a love for animals, joining EFA is a very simple way to give back.

Also, if you're not into crafts, but you enjoy shopping, check etsy for crafts tagged "team efa". This year you can buy Christmas, Chanukah, birthday... whatever gifts and give to animal charities at the same time! Everyone wins! Since the efa team etsy store opened in September of 2007, it has contributed over $4200 to animal charities. See a sample of items from the efa team store below, or visit the store for a complete list. I know who I'll be supporting when I'm looking for gifts this holiday season!

The Sharks Need Our Help

Sharks may not be the cuddliest creatures on the planet, but they serve important roles as apex predators in the oceans and have mostly been unjustly vilified as dangerous man-eating predators who kill wildly and without reason. After watching the movie Sharkwater, I know this isn't the case. Due to the rising middle class in several Asian countries, sharks are facing unprecedented danger from overfishing. With no regard for laws, boats send out miles of cruel longlines, catching everything in their wake, including sharks, turtles, dolphins, and albatross. And in one of the cruelest practices in fishing, sharks often have their fins cut off and then are thrown back into the water alive to sink slowly while drowning.

You would think that world heritage sites including the Galapagos Marine Park and Cocos Island, Costa Rica would be immune to these types of practices, but unfortunately, there is very little enforcement and the citizens of many of these countries have very little incentive to protect sharks as finning is a multi billion dollar business. Taiwanese mafia basically control the shark finning industry out of Puntarenes in Costa Rica, and help the locals build roads in exchange for looking the other way while they grossly exploit Costa Rica's natural resources.

The Galapagos Marine Park and Cocos Island in Costa Rica are a couple of the only places in the world that scalloped hammerheads gather in huge schools of hundreds of individuals. Someday I would love to have the opportunity to swim with scalloped hammerheads in the Galapagos, and I hope that they are still there when I've finally had enough training to do the difficult dive. Watch this incredibly moving youtube video to see how amazing Cocos is and how majestic these beautiful animals are.(Ignore the part at the end with the dramatic sinister music.)The second video is one of my favorites and shows the majestic whale sharks of the Galapagos Marine park.

         


If you're outraged by the cruel and illegal overfishing of sharks all over the world, but especially at world heritage sites, there are a few things you can do:

1. See the Sharkwater documentary by Rob Stewart. I promise you will never look at sharks the same way again.

2. If you're an American Express cardholder, you can vote to have AMEX fund Rob's project to educate Costa Ricans on the value of Cocos and the sharks there. Vote here.

3. Go swimming with sharks. No seriously. Shark tourism is an incredible way to prove the monetary and ecological value of preserving the shark populations all over the world. I'll post some links of reputable shark diving tours available.

4. Do not eat shark fin soup. Refuse to eat at restaurants that serve shark fin soup. Most of the restaurants in Toronto are offering shark fin soup that does not come from legal and reputable sources. If you are of Chinese descent, consider a shark fin soup free wedding.

Please Do Feed the Fish

My fish need feeding on a daily basis. Just click in their pond to drop food and watch them swarm!

Wild Weekend Continued (AKA Why Sulcatas are NOT Pets)

On the Sunday of my Wild Weekend, I went to the Ontario Reptile and Aquatics Expo. As usual, it's a sight to behold. I've never seen so many lizards, turtles, tortoises, tree frogs, fish, and snakes. Oh the snakes. They're everywhere. Many of the animals are bred in captivity... especially the little ball pythons, which dominate the exhibits. They come in all sorts of funky patterns and colors based on weird genetic crosses. The pic to the right is a baby ball python checking out her human captor! It was a very cool expo, and I enjoyed it... my rants below are just an aside!

I, of course, was there to see the tortoises. Looking for a Russian Tortoise in particular. I've always wanted one, and I figure I'd better get one soon or else it'll outlive me. The Russians were few and far between at the show, but there were plenty of other tortoises to choose from, including box turtles and red footed tortoises.

And that brings me to the sulcatas. Inevitably some (irresponsible) exhibitor brings in a couple of very adorable sulcatas (African spurred tortoises), and invevitably some (irresponsible) person buys them. As babies, they're a sweet and lovable 2-3 inches, but as adults, they can grow to a powerful 36 inches and weigh over 100 lbs. So of course when I saw them, I suppressed a groan. They need very warm temperatures (they're from the southern Sahara), they need a ton of space, and as adults, they can be extremely destructive. Oh, by the way, they also live for like 80 years. So consider that if you or your friends are thinking about a sulcata as a pet. Click here to see a great picture showing the size of a baby vs an adult sulcata.

On that note, there were also a few very adorable and tiny little boa constrictors. My favourite question to ask people selling exotic pets is "how big is it going to get?". In the case of these tiny little boas, the answer is "hmm... about 12 feet". I'm pretty sure it's illegal to own snakes over 10 feet in Ontario.

Anyway, consider these things if you're considering an exotic pet. Tigers, lions, and sulcatas are not pets!

Wild Weekend!

Since I've adopted Cole at the "Friend" level, this weekend I was able to take a tour of Bear Creek Sanctuary. The whole thing blew me away. From the vervet monkeys to the wolves, and any of the 16 Siberian tigers that are currently at the sanctuary, it's obvious that the animals are all healthy, happy, and very well-cared for. Many of the animals at bear creek come from zoos that have run out of space or from private owners that didn't realize how big a cute little tiger or lion cub might get. It breaks your heart to think that these beautiful animals might otherwise have been euthanized if the sanctuary had not taken them in.

The tour guide Stephanie, one of the sanctuary volunteers, gave a great tour and was really knowledgeable about all the animals at Bear Creek. After checking out a few monkeys and a sweet little raccoon, we were already into the tigers. We were immediately greeted by a massive tiger who rubbed up against the fence while "chuffing", which Stephanie assured me is a happy noise that tigers make instead of purring like smaller cats. If you want to hear what chuffing sounds like, click here.

We had a good view of Cole's enclosure, but he was sleeping inside. Apparently Cole's sister Kyra, who shares his enclosure, was not in a good mood, so Cole was staying well away... smart guy! After the tigers, we were into the mountain lions and the wolves. Tonka, a beautiful mountain lion, looked unimpressed by his human visitors. He just stared down with his piercing blue eyes. I'm reminded that mountain lions can jump up to 40 feet vertically. Good thing there's a fence between us! A friendlier cougar in one of the other enclosures came rubbing up against the fence purring (cougars are the largest cats that can purr). There's nothing better than a cat purring in my opinion... even if it's a cat that is about the same size as an adult human!

The wolf puppies, Takoda, Cheveyo, Wakanda, and Nequa were lively, very playful, and really fun to watch. On the way out, these 4 said goodbye with lots of howling. It was one of the coolest sounds I've ever heard.

After the wolves, we were on to some beautiful lynxes with their funny stubby little tails and beautifully tufted ears. Then on to Lola and Diablo, Bear Creek's most infamous couple! Lola is a huge and gorgeous African lioness and Diablo is a melanistic jaguar. In the wild, these two don't even live in the same hemisphere, but at Bear Creek, their love has been nothing short of a miracle. Though Bear Creek does not breed animals, little surprises sometimes occur. In this case, the surprise was two tiny jaglions (jaguar/lion hybrids). They may very well be the only jaglions in the world! They're incredibly friendly, especially Tsunami, who's more "lion", though Jazhara (who seems more jaguar) couldn't resist when we turned our backs on her and had to jump down to check us out.

Then we were on to Woody, a beautiful and unbelievably huge lion with no mane (he was castrated by his old owners - a biker gang). Though it was very hot and humid and he was having his midday nap, he eventually humored us by at least letting us get a good look at his handsome and gigantic face.

As we neared the house again, we could see a couple more African lions, and when one of the males started grumbling, the sound resonated through my chest... it made me wonder what the neighbors think of a full grown male lion roaring in the middle of the night!

Back in the basement area of the house, we were in for a treat... monkeys, lemurs, birds, and 4 gorgeous white Siberian tiger cubs that Bear Creek is babysitting for a zoo. The cubs never stopped moving and whenever I played peekaboo with them over the board on their enclosure (there to stop them from climbing the fence and falling), one would inevitably jump up at my face. Then one of his siblings would tackle him and take him down! They were very cute, but already very strong and rambunctious with long sharp claws!

I can't imagine how expensive it would be to run a place like Bear Creek Sanctuary. It's entirely run by a staff of dedicated volunteers who rely on donations to cover their costs. If you can adopt an animal, please do. And if you're in the area, you'll love visiting! Each adoption includes a certificate and a framed photo of your animal. No pics allowed in the sanctuary, but here's me and Cole.

Welcome to My New Blog!

Welcome to TheAnticraft's blog. I'm a crafty individual who's creations don't always turn out as expected. But hey, the mistakes ARE the music, right?

Recently I learned about a wildlife sanctuary that's less than an hour away from my house. They need a huge amount of funding, since they take in lots of very large cats, including tigers, lions, jaguars, and mountain lions. I can't even imagine how much they spend just on meat. I wanted to help them out, so I adopted a beautiful tiger through them. But I wanted to do more, so I've created an etsy shop with the sole purpose of raising money for the sanctuary. Also, after seeing the Christian the lion video on youtube, I frankly became quite obsessed; I ordered the full-length movie on the internet (great movie), and read George Adamson's autobiography My Pride and Joy (excellent book). My shop's profits will be split between the George Adamson Wildlife Protection Trust (ww.wildlifenow.com) to help animals that can be reintroduced into the wild and Bear Creek (www.bearcreeksanctuary.com) to help wild animals who will never make it back to their homelands.