Decisions, Decisions...

What should you do when struck down with indecision over the best way to spend a festive evening with your partner-in-crime?  Let the cards decide of course!

• Select a card at random from a shuffled pack.  
• The suit of the card determines the theme of the challenge:
• Hearts = go out for dinner
• Diamonds = get a take away
• Clubs = 'Supermarket Sweep' - find something meal-worthy from your nearest convenience store on a limited budget
• Spades = 'Kitchen Cupboard Challenge' - cobble together a meal from a limited number of ingredients, also restricted to whatever is already in the house
• The number of the card (ace = 1 or 11, picture cards 10) dictates your menu choice if eating out or getting a take away, or your supermarket budget (in £), or the number of ingredients to use for your makeshift meal.
• Once the initial theme card has been selected, the rest of the group can take a card to add some different numbers to the mix if necessary.

The results...
Stop reading now if you get bored by hearing what other people have eaten (that's everyone then).
We picked the 9 of diamonds, followed by an ace, so went for an Indian take away, selecting options 1 and 9 from the starters, special mains and sundries.  I would never have willingly chosen the 'girl curry' we ended up with, or a paratha naan, but I'm very glad the cards made me do it, as it was all delicious and experimental.  We could also laugh about 'what could have happened' had the ace of spades come out (giant pile of fish fingers anyone?).

Verdict:  A late 2013 goal for experimental living.

Christmas Special

Like many people, I struggle to feel festive at this time of year.  In a bid to offset my annual December meltdown, I threw myself into some hardcore crafting.  What better way to ignite that warm fuzzy glow inside* than to think of the great joy brought to your loved ones by some hand-made 'glad tidings' in postcard form?!

Here are a few of my little creations before they went in the post box:

And I found myself with silver card and enthusiasm to spare to make some mini 'Winter Wishes' too:

Merry Christmas Everybody!

*Ah yes, gin.

*Guest Artist Corner*#2

So a very dear friend of mine recently hosted a 50-hour game-a-thon to raise money for the Child's Play Charity.  He even made his own website! I'm so proud of him that I just wanted to say so on this blog.

Here is my baked contribution to the event:

#5b Cards Within Cards

...and look what was waiting on the doormat when I arrived home from Berlin!

The second returned 'card within a card', lovingly crafted by my little sis, who is actually pretty nifty with real-life cake too.

Hallo Aus Berlin!

Winter is coming, the nights are drawing in.  Time for some more experimental travel!

I went to Berlin for 4 days and squeezed (squoze?) in a lot of stuff.  Here are my experimental highlights...

Fliss' 'fread

This is a version of Ariadne's Thread from the Lonely Planet Guide to Experimental Travel.  But I didn't know any Ariadnes who'd been to Berlin.  I do, however, know a Fliss who has lived there for a bit, so this seemed a good replacement.

The idea is to follow a thread between 10 locations in your travel destination, chosen by Ariadne / Fliss.

We made it to all 10, but not strictly in the right order.  But hey, rules were made for breaking!

Here are the 10:

#1 The Gallery of 50 faces

#2 The reggae beach on the east side

#3 The dome of the Reichstag

#4 The East Side Gallery

#5 The DDR Museum

#6 The streets, shops, cafes and bars of East Berlin

#7 Warschauer Strasse U-Bahn Station

#8 Bebelplatz

#9 The Holocaust Memorial
(I cried)

#10 The hotel that Michael Jackson dangled a baby out of
(conveniently part of the Festival of Lights too!)

Here is the (blurry) map:

 

Big up to an artist / tour guide called Penny with the Alternative Berlin tours, who showed us a lot of street art, and also told us the story of the man who built his tree house at the foot of the Berlin Wall:

 Counter-Tourism at the Brandenburg Gate

You know all about counter-tourism by now right?  Here's some at the Brandenburg Gate:

Spontaneous Postcard Art

As you can tell, it was a bit rainy in Berlin.  To escape the rain, we stumbled into the Akademie Der Kunste, where quite by chance there was an exhibition of...  'Mail Art'!

Yes dear reader, it is 'a thing'!  (I bet you knew that already, didn't you?)

So overwhelmed was I to learn that I was actually part of a proper art movement, that I had to 'do an art' right then and there.  So we sent an arted postcard from inside the gallery to...  none other than Fliss, she of the thread!

Other Random Spontaneous Things That You Only See With Your Eyes Open...

 

And of course... lots of bears:

#5a Cards Within Cards

Credit where credit is due:  This is not my idea.
(It was given to me by the venerable partner-in-crime.  Big up.)

It's actually a slight modification of the original 'Why don't you write me', except:

1. Postcards are targeted at people you actually know...
2. ... but in a way that (hopefully) they won't be expecting
3. It uses commercially available postcards specifically designed to tease out nuggets of creativity from those who receive them.  (One of my birthday presents!)

I can't say much more for now or I may spoil a few surprises, but here is the prototype result...

P-I-C sets the bar high as usual

Return of the Spontaneous Holiday Postcard

This postcard lark's not all about giving, you know.
It's only right that I should point out I have received not one but two spontaneous holiday postcards these past months from my all time favourite art-physics-ist / fabulous friend.

I've looked at postcards from both sides now, from give and take, and still somehow it's postcards' illusions I recall.  I really don't know postcards at all...

(With all credit and sincere apologies to Joni.)