Maccas Munnys and other Monstrosities

Even closer to 'Dancing on the Ceiling'

2010-05-25T14:55:00.016+12:00

Cabinet in current state- 2 speakers not hooked to anything, and one record

After spending countless hours (45mins) on the crate shelf thing, the question is what to do with it. I have had a few suggestions, done a bit of research, and ive found a solution. I am going to turn it into a stereo and vinyl cabinet.

Given that we dont own a stereo/receiver, record player, or very many vinyl records, this may seem a little pointless. BUT there are some super cheap record players hovering around at the moment, and all we need to do is find some good old vinyl to play. Any suggestions?

First of all, the best thing about records is you can grab some great old classics for dirt cheap online or in op shops. These are the ones that you might play every once and a while, but its always great to have them lying around.

I can think of multiple occasions id love to wake up and chuck on Lionel Richie's 'Dancing on the Ceiling', or make dinner to Katrina and The Waves 'Walking on Sunshine'.

Next is the old classic records which might be a little harder to find, and maybe a bit more money, but essentials as far as my record collection is concerned. I might be able to find some floating around, or spend a few hours in Slow Boat Records and pick them up there.

These are albums like Stevie Wonder's 'Signed Sealed & Delivered' (which has the best album cover, its Mari's favourite) Lou Reed's 'Transformer',Some Chuck Berry, The Buzzcocks 'Love Bites', Nick Drake's 'Bryter Layter' or 'Pink Moon', and all of the Pixies albums

And Lastly the essentials and new stuff, which will probably cost a bit more and take me a while to get hold of. Radiohead's 'In Rainbows' and 'Kid A', She and Him's 'Volume One' and 'Volume Two', Beastie Boys 'Ill Communication', M Ward's 'Hold Time' and 'Post War', some Beatles stuff ofcourse, and an album im quite fond of at the moment King of Convenience's 'Declaration of Dependence'.

Any suggestions, contributions, or donations would also be good.

REduce REuse REcycle bum bum bum

2010-05-21T09:46:00.002+12:00

Bookcase/shelf/table/thing, originally uploaded by Macca the Manufacturer.

Mari arrived the other night with 2 beer crates in excitement of using them for some magical creative diy project. I was a little skeptical at first as there were only 2, but I soon came around to the idea.

After making a visit to a used everything store (they had everything from doorknobs to microwaves) we came back with some fancy looking table legs. I got to work while Mari did her own craftyness, and after a few grrr bangs and crashes, taaa daaa, this is the result.

Im not sure what we will use it for just yet, I like the idea of putting a small amplifier with speakers and a record player on it. Mari also has plans to display her crochet wallets on it at the Newtown Peoples Market. We'll see

Getting a lil bit crafty

2010-04-19T21:44:00.015+12:00

Even though I am predominantly a painter (ish) and photographer, after a few creative influences I have started to dabble into craft, and have put most of my other things on hold for now.
Starting with a Bumbag I made for Mari's Birthday. Hand stitched with fabric, some velcro and 2 carabiners. Its a pretty simple concept, but I like the outcome and the fabric I used.

This is a flatmates friend modeling it for me→

And just today I made a mothers day card/present from felt. Probably time to get back into painting and drawing

My Creative Space

2010-04-01T22:53:00.050+13:00

Well after a long time sitting on my bum, not posting, not creating, it took a little bit of competition to get me going again. My partners blog ♥ and sol is that competition, shes posting like crazy, and making stuff every second, soooooo.....
Time to get productive again and get back into it, so here goes:
from concept to product

As mentioned in my previous post, im working on some Babushka Doll concepts. The first is King, Queen, Jack and Joker characters from playing cards. Here is the begin sketches on the King of Hearts. On the last set of these I did, the sharpie i used to mark the sketch lines bled, so ill have to research a new marker for that.

Heres to new beginnings

2010-03-26T12:41:00.059+13:00

Its been a while since ive posted, so I guess an update is in order. Following our trip we headed back down to Motueka, stopping in Coromandel, Rotorua, Taupo, and an interesting campsite in Taihape along the way. We got stuck in what I like to call 'Limbo' in Motueka until we could make our way to Wellington and start fresh. And we made it, and not a moment too soon, we've got a great room with heaps of room for us to do our own little projects, me with my painting and art, and Mari with her craft and sewing she's now getting into.

I havn't done anything new for a while, so I thought id put up some concept sketches and upcoming projects.

↑This is a Babushka doll concept based on

characters from playing cards.You can get

some sweet wooden ones from Iko Iko which

are a little rough, but nothing a bit of sanding can't fix.

This is a film lead in concept done while on our trip→

←And these are the new munnyworld design toys which I have scribbled some stuff on. Once im back up and running these will be my first ones to do. from left they are named Raffy, Trikky and Bub.

And last but not least, these 2 are a couple of concept drawings from previous munnys ↓

Zlork the Alien Earl the Gardener

Week 3- But unfortunately probably our last

2010-01-26T14:09:00.000+13:00

After a few days in Raglan we headed north for Auckland, with a slight tiki tour through Hamilton. After a few minutes in Hamilton we were ready to leave again, but were lucky enough to find a hat and overalls for me. In a few hours we arrived in Auckland and were exhausted. We grabbed some food, and then crashed as soon as we could. As Briar had a day off the next day we decided to go to Motat, which was a lot of fun, especially as I was dressed like a farmers, and people thought I was either in theme, or worked at Motat. Unfortunately the day was brought to a halt by the rain, so we had to call off our visit to the Zoo also. Over the next few days we did a bit of shopping (a bit too much) and helped Briar move house. Our 2nd to last day in Auckland has caused us to probably finish our trip early. In the morning I was helping to pack Brides stuff onto the trailer and tie it down. While I was threading the rope through on the road side, a couple of bikes rode by and caught a loop in the rope causing the man on the bike to fly off. The man seemed alright, and after a call with him yesterday he has a slight concussion, although it looks like his bike will need some repair, which according to his insurance company, I am liable for. To make matters worse, that same day while at the supermarket, we backed the van into a car that had just arrived, giving it a mark and few scratches, but likely to be an expensive one judging by the age of the car. On the sunday following we decided to head out of Auckland and see some of the local attractions. Mari was 'dieing' to see Piha surf beach, after watching the Piha Rescue show. We turned up on the day they were having Junior World Champions, although it wasnt particularly amazing as we couldn't see anything. After picking up a sticker for the van we headed out to Huia for a relax, and check out S + M's old crib, and hopefully find somewhere to sleep for the night. After searching we ended up at Bethels Beach for the night, and headed to Muriwai for a swim the next day. We made our way to my home town after this to see my Grandparents who were delighted to see us and show us all the developments that have gone on. We were lucky enough to score some of Grandmas plum sauce. After spending the afternoon at Shakespear park chasing Peacocks and Pukeko's, and lazing in the sun, we headed back to Auckland to await the outcome of our incidents, and prepare to head back home.

Week 2 of NZ Van Trip. Man its hot!!!!

2010-01-19T22:52:00.000+13:00

To start off week 2 we spent a few days in a Backpackers to try and get some washing done, and have a real shower finally. It was great to have clean clothes again, and beable to cook a real meal, rather than having to cook on our little cooker in the wind. We started the week with a great boat ride with Caddy's Charters around the Sugar Loaf Islands, which was reasonably interesting, seeing animals and learning local history was ok, but the most exciting part was Caddy's fishing dog, who had his own fishing line and would pull in his fish (or try to) once he had caught one. Me and Mari both want a fishing dog, in fact he didnt only fish, he was all over the boat doing all the different parts involved. After this we took a trip out to see Dawson Falls, a local waterfall which came right off the mountain. We finished our stay in Taranaki by staying at a great camp site just out of town, it was perfect to sit in the sun and read, take swims, and have a wee bit of privacy for a few days. On our last day in Taranaki we watched The Woolshed Sessions at the festival of lights, which was amazing, but by then we were ready for something new. That night we drove to Mokau to spend the night, and the following morning made our way up the coast, visiting Te Kuiti and Kawhia before heading to Raglan via a back gravel road which left our van slightly grubby. We have been in Raglan the past few days staying at the Solscape Backpackers lodge, and have been taking loads of swims and naps, and took a trip to Bridal Veil falls. We also caught up with David and Julie and Blair who are my cousins who I totally forgot lived here. They all seem to be doing sweet, and there is talk of a family games in 2010 which is exciting. Tomorrow we head for Auckland for a few days to spend with Briar and visit Aunty Helen.

Marisol wants to have her 2 cents in this but cant think of anything today, although she would like some travelling hobby suggestions, and if anyone knows a great place in Auckland, since we're heading that way, where she can to get knitting books and supplies she would like to start doing it.

Week 1 of NZ Van trip, and trying to find something to make Doco about.

2010-01-12T22:53:00.000+13:00

Ok so we're one week in. After spending around a month with the Whanau in Motueka( with an ice cream each day, and a fair bit of sun) we set on our way starting out with a Ferry to Wellington to spend a couple days with Brides going from Wellington-Whanganui. It was great to hang in Wellington again for the day, but we wanted to make the most of what was to come. We parted with Brides in Whanganui, and made our way up the Surf Highway to Opunake. After a nap we made a long drive up the coast, and found a slightly dodgy rest stop with and abandoned school next to it to sleep the night.

Next day we hung out until it was time for Parihaka to open, mainly eating and sleeping and swimming in Opunake. And that night we set up camp in Parihaka for a great next few days. We had 4 days of good and bad at Parihaka. Good food; with a mix of Hangi, $3 vege burgers, and my attempt at trying to cook real meals on our little cooker. Good music; it was all a good groove and sound, Fat freddys and Ladi 6 were amazing as usual, King Kapisi was a little strange, saw a sweet little band called The Bellbirds, and Tiki Taane was a complete spectacle, with cameras mounted on guitars and fireworks. And good people, loads of awesome vendors, locals, musicians, creators, and heaps of wicked parents and kids all getting into the feel of the festival. The bad was kind of just the types of things you come to expect from large gatherings, we camped next to a group of 14 year olds who seemed to know every other 14 year old in the camp site, Mari was eaten to pieces by mosquitos and sandflies (current count is 27 bites, with some being double ups on the same spot), we were enjoying music on the hill when a delightful fellow woke up from a drunken coma, fell down the hill, stood up, and decided to relieve himself on someone elses tent. All in all is was an awesome time, and would definitely recommend it to everyone, and we have both come out of it with great tans which is definitely a good thing, apart from that we're both peeling.

We left Parihaka in a rush on the Sunday night when it started to rain really hard, and would have been difficult to get out afterwards. We found a good spot to park up and sleep in Opunake. The next morning we decided to make our way to New Plymouth, stopping at a few surf beaches and towns for some serious siestas. In New Plymouth we have been making the most of being back in a city, by going to see 2 movies. We have also been to see some great music and other stuff at the Festival of Lights, including a Reggae, rowing through the lake surrounded by lights, Model Aeroplane flying in the local cricket ground, and a great Jewish Polka Folk band. We are now staying in a Backpackers for a couple of nights to do some washing, and try have a few days of cleanliness.