Paper Craft Onitsuka Sneaker

When you’re broke having a hobby can be very difficult. I think to even consider yourself a hobbyist you have to have a collection to begin with. Yet this requires money to even buy the things you want to collect. But not to worry, there are still some hobbies you can have that require no money. Paper craft is the perfect hobby where you don’t need to spend very much; all you need is some glue, paper and scissors. I’m pretty much a newbie when it comes to paper craft, even though I have been doing it for many years. To get back into the swing of things I decided to start off with a simple sneaker. The sneaker I chose was the Mexico 66 by Onitsuka Tiger. The template is made by Shin Tanaka. Shin is a famous paper craft artist that is not only talented but also very friendly by encouraging others to take up the hobby by offering free templates of his artwork. His background story is also very interesting because he started doing paper craft as a kid when he couldn’t afford to buy the sneakers he liked. To keep faithful to the original sneakers I also used the website zappos.com to copy the placement of colors on the sneaker. This website is amazing because it offers pictures of the sneaker from various angles. Once you print out the template creating or building the sneaker takes about a couple of hours. Like most crafts, taking your time is what gives you the best results so I recommend you take your time and cut neat lines. I also recommend you cut and glue the laces individually because when you’re done it makes the sneaker look so much better. The only problem I had with the Mexico 66 template was that the outer sole didn’t match up when I tried to glue the top part of the sneaker on to it. However I just cut around the parts that didn’t fit and it still ended up looking pretty good in my opinion. This template was fun to make and I can’t wait to make more in different colorways.


YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cljH4eYzEq4
Mexico 66' colorway:
http://www.zappos.com/onitsuka-tiger-by-asics-mexico-66-birch-green
Mexico 66' template:
http://shin.onitsukatiger.co.uk/pdf/paper_Mexico66.pdf

sunshine came softly through my a-window today

Even though my wardrobe is more befitting the fall and winter months, I can't help but adore summer. The lovely warmth of the summer sun gets me every time. Summer makes me think of picnics in the park, flowers in your hair, road trips, amusement parks, shopping sprees, and lazy days at the beach. I am stuck indoors today due to a freak thunderstorm, but these pictures help me keep my summer state of mind.

New York Fries Poutine

Boy oh boy do I love poutine. It’s one of those foods that comfort’s you when you think about it or eat it. It was originally created by French-Canadians, and as such they believe the best poutine comes from Quebec. I don’t care where it comes from as long as it tastes good. One of my favorites is from New York Fries, a fast food restaurant here in Canada. To begin with NYF already makes the best fries, better than McDonalds… or better yet they’re both good in their own special ways. NYF likes to keep the skin on the potato which I think makes it taste even better. Now add to that the gravy and cheese curb and you have poutine. I also like to add some ketchup and make it a real mess. Once you dig your fork into the fries drowned in gravy, and as you lift the cheese gets all stringy, and you put it in your mouth and eat it; you are hooked for life my friend. Yum-O!

New York Fries website:

http://www.newyorkfries.com/

YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QgsDXvJDwI

McMini

I’m on a mission now that I thought of the other day; I want to try every new food item that McDonalds releases. I came up with the idea one day when I was remembering how good McDonalds Pizza was back in the mid 90’s. As far as I know McDonalds Pizza was only released here in Canada, and it only lasted about a couple of months. Needless to say it wasn’t very successful, but from what I can remember it tasted really good. Other tasteful memories that I recall were the Arch Deluxe and the McRib. So now that I have a blog I have decided to write an entry for all the new food creations that McDonalds releases. It’s sort of a diary page devoted to foods that probably will only be around for a short while before they’re gone for good. Case in point, the S’mores pie; it was only around for the Vancouver Olympics before it went away so I never got a chance to try it. With my new mission I now hope to try all this food that McDonalds releases. The first food item that I want to review is the McMini. It was first released on March 30th 2010 and sold for $1.99 Canadian. It comes in a toasted white baguette with mayo, you can choose between grilled or crispy chicken, and you can also choose between a Spicy Thai or Pesto dressing. I really enjoyed the texture of the baguette and the flavor of the sauces. My only complaint about this sandwich was how small it was for the price you paid. I would definitely recommend these McMini’s to anyone that wants to try a delicious chicken snack; warning them that it takes about 5 sandwiches to get full.


YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR_Y3wgaDZ4

Dragon Ball begins for me

What a glorious day it is today, for today I start my journey on an epic quest to view all the Dragon Ball series. I like to consider myself a fan of the series; however I never had the chance to watch every episode. Unlike other animated TV shows, Dragon Ball is a series that follows a continuity storyline from one episode to the next. What made it difficult for me to watch it many years ago was that it was only shown on TV and you had to watch it everyday to follow along. Even when you did watch it everyday, the channel that they would show it on (YTV in Canada) would not show every episode, and would constantly show repeats. Thankfully the internet has solved this problem by having websites that show every episode. This is convenient because you can follow along from story to story, watch it whenever you want, and can repeat any scene that you would like to watch again. While there are many links to the episodes online, the one that I am going to use is dbzremastered.com. I like it because the episodes are organized neatly, and when you view them they are nice and clear and don’t take much to load. So once again.. I am super psyched about starting this journey and I can’t wait to see them all.

Links to every episode:
http://www.dbzremastered.com/
another link:
http://www.animefreak.tv/watch/dragon-ball-videos-episodes-online-free
3rd link:
http://www.watch-dragonball.com/

i'm a barbie girl, in a barbie world

I am an E! addict, I love to spend the day keeping up with the Kardashians and Chelsea Handler on the network. My former favorite show was The Girls Next Door. When it was on the air, I loved watching the three very different girls - Holly, Bridget, and Kendra - navigating their lives in the Playboy Mansion. Always amusing to me was the conflict between Hef's (then) main squeeze Holly and his former paramour Barbi Benton. Holly seemed threatened every time she was in the presence of Barbi, which I think Barbi relished and expected. She knew that she was a part of the Playboy dynasty during a very crucial period for the magazine and the Hefner brand.

Barbi was the girlfriend of Hugh Hefner during the early 1970s, when Playboy was the ultimate embodiment of the swingin' sophisticated bachelor. It was during this time that Hefner had expanded the Playboy brand to clubs, merchandise, and essentially a whole lifestyle. He hosted the Playboy After Dark program and hobnobbed with celebrities like Ringo Starr and Roman Polanski. Barbi was only 20 years old when she met the 44-year-old magazine owner. When Barbi declined a date with Hefner because she had never been out with someone over 25, Hefner infamously replied, "Neither have I."

Though never a Playmate, Barbi appeared on several covers and in pictorials throughout her years with Hef. After their breakup, they remained good friends, cementing her role as a Playboy princess through and through.

Barbi is obviously quite pretty, with Jane Birkin bangs and her charmingly sweet smile. Her style evokes the innocence of the late 60s and early 70s that is seen with Britt Ekland, Birkin, and others.

Knorr Sidekicks Shakers

While at the supermarket one day I noticed that Knorr had a special offer. If you were to buy 3 Knorr Sidekicks side dish packages you could get a free pair of salt and pepper shakers. All you had to pay for was shipping and handling, which came out to $7.29. The shakers are the same ones that are featured in Knorr commercials. The commercial is about a salt shaker that is sad and walks in the rain because Sidekicks side dish packages now use less salt, so he is no longer needed. While it does seem like a sad commercial, it is also funny because Michael Bolton’s “how can I live without you” song is played in the background. The shakers took about a month to finally reach me, but they were worth the wait. They are nicely painted and are made in China. The salt shaker has the letter S and the pepper shaker has the letter P, while both carry the Sidekicks logo on the back of their green shirt. I also really liked the packaging box they came in, which features a drawing of each shaker in white on wood paneling. Although they are salt and pepper shakers I don’t plan to use them as such because I would much rather have them displayed.

Here is the link to the original commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYTkn1w8HUI

YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAI0enWC57M