Craftivism

Craftivism - activism using craft (cross stitching, knitting, etc) as the way of protest.

So i found this website called craftivist collective and they are totally sweet. they combine the idea of activism with the awesome craft of cross stitch. the idea behind it is the idea of gentle protest. for example: if there an injustice in the world that you don't like, say equal pay for workers (meaning a company isn't paying their workers equally/fairly), go to the store that isn't paying their workers fare wages and sit outside that store and cross stitch a message for them. not blocking the way to the store or anything, but for sure in front of the store. then when you are done, you can mail the message to the CEO of the company so that they have the message you made. like a handkerchief that says 'don't blow it. pay your workers fare wages'. the gentle protest in this is that you are sitting outside the companies store and people might come up to you and ask what you are doing. so you kindly tell them. you aren't shouting in peoples faces what you are protesting. but you don't shy away when being asked what you are doing. after your 'sit-in' at the store, mail the handkerchief to the CEO and they have a gentle reminder that they should pay their workers fare wages.

i really like this idea of the gentle protest. you aren't shoving your ideas into peoples faces, but you still aren't backing down with what you believe in. and using cross stitching to do this just makes it even better!

Craftivist collective has a bunch of starter ideas/projects on their website to help you get going with how you can gently protest what you see in the world. i bought their starter kit, which gave you a book, some stickers, a button and the project Footprint kit. here's a picture of all the stuff i got in my starter kit:

the idea behind the footprint kit is this: "helping you find the wisdom that inspires you to walk through life as the best global citizen you can be." (from the craftivist website). and with this you get a piece of cloth cut and dyed to look like a foot, some string, a needle and a booklet to help you with inspiration to create your foot. what you do is cross stitch a quote onto the foot cloth and then frame it however you want so that it is on display. so when it is on display the person who has the foot thinks about their impact on this earth.

so for my footprint kit project i used the quote "when people ask me where my roots are, i look down at my feet, and i see the roots of my soul grasping the earth." by rudolfo anaya. i really like this quote.

here's some pictures of me working on my foot.

now another part that the craftivist collective talk about when making your projects is what your thinking about when making your projects. your 'crafter thoughts'. when i had tweeted to craftivist collective that i had picked my quote and started my project, they asked me what my crafter thoughts were. my crafter thoughts for this project were this: 'my feet make an impact on this earth and it should be a positive one. since my feet impact this earth i should help take care of her and all that are on her.' and i believe those things. my feet do impact this earth and so i should take care of the earth and take care of the people who are on this earth. this is where my quote comes into play. my soul is connected to this earth. and if i treat mother earth badly, i treat my soul badly. it is all connected. 

i really enjoyed making this project and enjoyed the thoughts it put in my head. i'm going to keep this project that i made for myself. i need to remind myself that i am connected to this earth and she is connected to me. this is a gentle protest to myself. i need to never forget my impact on this earth and how i can be a better citizen of mother earth. here is a picture of my finished work. i really like how it turned out. 

so overall i really like this whole idea of the craftivist. i really like craftivist collective and all that they stand for. i really suggest you check them out! i for sure will be doing more projects inspired by them. i'll make sure to share what i make and to who i send them to. i already know the next projects i'm going to get and who i'm going to send them too. so more to come for sure!!!!! 

Good advice

Here's some good advice.

the pen is mightier then the sword

quote

here's a quote that a friend sent me. i just had to share it with everyone. hehe.

Everybody wants a shortcut in life, my guidebook is simple: YOU WANNA LOSE WEIGHT? Stop eating, fatty! YOU WANNA MAKE MONEY? Work your ass off, lazy! YOU WANNA BE HAPPY? Find someone you like and never let em go! - friends with benefits

quotes

here's this months installment of quotes. i can't believe it's june already! summer here i come!

-"so bottle up old love, and throw it out to sea" - all american rejects
-"why can't i feel anything from anyone other than you? - taking back sunday
-"every closed eye isn't sleeping and every open eye isn't seeing" - the cosby show
-"i wish you only knew how good it is to see you." - the foo fighters
-"when your standing at the crossroads and don't know which path to choose let me come along 'cause even if your wrong i'll stand by you." - the pretenders
-"he's praying more than friendship will survive." - craig's brother
-"despite the righteous belief that you profess you still can't cover the stain that marks your sunday dress." - craig's brother
-"because of you i'm running out of reasons to cry." - shakira
-"couldn't get out of bed ten ton bricks layin' on my head." - stone temple pilots
-"i forgot to tell you how much you mean to me" - rooney
-"sometimes we walk like we are already shot through our head" - marilyn manson
-"there's no time to discriminate, hate every motherf*cker." - marilyn manson
-"love keeps us together and love will drive us insane" - talking heads
-"i don't mind spending everyday out on your corner in the pouring rain." - maroon 5
-"phantom limb: revenge, like gazpacho soup, is a dish best served cold, precise and merciless. the monach: yeah, yeah, you can never have enough precision in your soup." - the venture brothers
-"it's hard to leave all these moments behind." - the shins
-"so close to touching freedom then i hear the guards call my name." - tori amos
-"you just have to see her, you know that she'll break you in two." - the airborne toxic event

quotes

here's this months installment of quotes. my sister and i are going to get matching tattoo's and we are looking for a quote that will be good for us as sisters. maybe i'll find something in my quote books.

-"everybody lookin' at you here take hold of my hand." - tori amos
-"i never thought that you'd lose that light in your eyes" - pink floyd
-"you're right next to me but i need an airplane." - tori amos
-"don't it make you feel bad when you're trying to find your way home, you don't know which way to go?" - led zeppelin
-"hold onto the dream" - pink floyd
-"wake from your sleep, the drying of your tears, today we escape, we escape." - radiohead
-"life is pleasant. death is peaceful. it's the transition that's troublesome." - isaac asimov
-"never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right." - isaac asimov
-"a little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men" - roald dahl - charlie and the chocolate factory
-"imagination is more important then knowledge." - albert einstein
-"the weak can never forgive. forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.  - mahatma gandhi
-"so i'd prefer to be remembered as a smiling face not this fucking wreck that's taken its place." - bright eyes
-"we are never so helplessly unhappy as when we lose love" - sigmund freud
-"what could i do for you to make me ok in your eyes?" - pink
-"and we are the coolest motherfuckers on the planet." - outcast
-"hunger hurts, and i want him so bad, of it kills." - fiona apple
-"the gift you give to me, no one knows." - queens of the stone age

captain america quote

this is my favorite quote from captain america. i don't know who was writing the comic at that time, but whoever it was, this is great. the italics are from the comic, not from me; but the bold at the end was added for dramatic effect.

"doesn't matter what the press says. doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. this nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. when the mod and the press and the whole world tell you to move; your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world--

-- no, you move."

darkness/light hate/love

my sister sent me a quote at 11:30pm last night. i thought i would share it with everyone.

"darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." - martin luther king jr

quotes

so in my old blog i use to do this and i thought i would bring it back. here are some of my favorite quotes.

- i guess in the end things seldom work out exactly the way we expect. sometimes fate is on our side, other times well you've kinda sealed your fate. - scrubs
- you may not be her first, her last, or her only. she loved before she may love again. but if she loves you now, what else matters? she's not perfect - you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together. but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. she my not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break - her heart. - bob marley
- if you are not too long, i will wait here for you all my life. - oscar wilde
- is all or nothing the best we can do? - ani defranco
- even if i now saw you only once, i would long for you through worlds, worlds. - izumi shikibu
- a man without hope is a man without fear. - frank miller (daredevil)
- ...that is the decision all lovers must make - whether their relationship will destroy... or heal the other. it's often the most difficult decision they'll have to make. - don mcgregor
- love is a friendship set to music. - e. joseph cossman
- they do not love that do not show their love - shakespeare
- love is everything it's cracked up to be... it really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. - erica jong
- in dreams and in love there are no impossibilities - janos arnay
- somewhere between good and evil, there's love. - ?
- ...to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed. - cassandra clare
- transmit your love to me and silently make me whole again. - live
- you might regret what you do, but you regret what you don't do so much more. - ?

election time

here is a quote from karl marx that i thought works for right now.

“The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.”

what's the matter with kansas?

so i am reading the book called what's the matter with kansas? by thomas frank. and i'm only in the second chapter but it has proved to be very interesting. in the first chapter he talks about 'the two nations'. how america has divided into the red state/blue state nation. red state being the consevatives and the blue being the liberals.

there was a quote that i just had to share. mr frank is talking about class seperation and he quotes dos passos from the american enterprise magazine. mr passos says "class-consciousness isn't a problem in Red America," he assures them; people are "perfectly happy to be slightly overweight [and] a little underpaid."

i just had to share that. for all my 'red state' friends would you agree with this?