Zombiepocalypse Crafts: Flammable Gel

Hello my friends!  I hope you are enjoying your lovely lanters.  Well, if you were unlucky enough to not have candles, I have a recipie for you that will help you light your way, keep you warm (ok, not really) or help cook some of that food you might have.

On your next recon or scouting patrol, hit up the local drug store and pillage, er I mean, aquire the following ingredients:

• antacid tablets - must contain at least 1000 mg calcium carbonate per tablet
• vinegar (weak acetic acid)
• isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) - 90% or higher is recommended* (70% isopropyl alcohol will work, but you will need to allow let the mixture from step 3 evaporate until it is a little more concentrated to make up for the extra water in the alcohol. )

Prepare the Flaming Gel

1. Crush 5 antacid tablets into a powder.
2. Stir 50 ml (~10 tsp) of vinegar into the powder (10 ml per tablet) to make a slurry.
3. Allow the slurry to evaporate until it is less than half its original volume. This could take about a day. If you accidentally evaporate all of the water, you can reconstitute the slurry by stirring in a small amount of water.
4. Fill a container with about 2x the volume of however much antacid slurry you have at this point.
5. While stirring, slowly add slurry to the alcohol to form a thickened gel. Do this slowly: If you add too much slurry, the mixture will liquefy and you won't get a gel. So, once you have a gel, don't add any more of the calcium tablet slurry mixture.
6. Place the gel into an airtight container for future use. 
7. Scoop up a ball of the gel and ignite it.

That's it for today kids.  Stay tuned for the next exciting craft!!!

(If there is anything you would like to see in future posts, feel free to suggest!!!)

Zombiepocalypse Crafts: Romantic Lanterns

Beans in a can.  Somehow I can see that as being a staple when the Zombiepocalypse hits.  Eh, it's sustinance, right?  Well, when the end of the world as we know it comes to an end, we don't want to be wasteful, now do we?  Well, you're in luck.  I have a little something that will pass the time a bit and create some ambiance in your base camp.  This is a perfect project for Valentine's Day since the weather, in what seems to be the entire country nowadays, gets to be pretty chilly.

Ok, on to the how to:

1. Have a hearty meal consisting of baked beans, canned corn, soup, fruit salad, or anything else that comes in a can that you managed to scrounge up in one of your recon patrols. 
2. Wash the can thoroughly to remove the label and any food residue. We are going for funky looking, not funky smelling.  And besides, the jury is still out on whether the walking dead are attracted to the smell of cooking and/or rotting food.
3. Now for the cool part - fill the can with water and put it somewhere super cold until the water is frozen solid.  This isn't totally necessary, but it makes it a ton easier to punch holes in the can and it keeps the can from crushing down.
4. OK, you’ve waited out the freezing, now it’s time to get to work. And time is of the essence, ‘cause you don’t want to let the ice melt! Take the can out of the freezer and use the crayon or Sharpie or whatever you happen to have, and map out your design using dots. Flower patterns, Hearts, Random Dots or even Pac-Man are good designs to try. Try to center the mid-point of your design between the top and bottom of the can. The dots you draw will become holes where the candlelight will shine through, so try not to plan too few or too many (remember the light attracts zombies).
5. Position your crossbow bolt over the dot and punch a hole in the can.  Oh, you don't have a crossbow?  Well, if you don't have a crossbow handy, you can use a nail and hammer.  Center the nail on a point in your pattern, grab the hammer, and pound out a hole.
6. Continue the poking/hammering process until you’ve poked holes in each spot, and then put the can somewhere out of the way, like a sink to thaw. Or bust it out of the can and make a nice margarita on the rocks.
7. Once the ice is gone and the can is dry, you’re ready to add a candle. Candle choice depends on can size and what you happen to have handy.  Tea Light candles works well in most standard vegetable cans. Experiment a little. If you can't figure out how to make this work, then you have no chance of survival.  If you don't happen to have any candles laying around, use flamable gel.  That my friends will be our next tutorial.  Just know where the closest drug store is to scrounge for materials for that little project. 
8. Now all that’s left is to strategically place your new lanters in corners and around the room to cast a lovely pattern of lights in your hideout.

Ok friends, until next time, be safe and keep your head down!

A world without Glue Guns? Oh the Horror!!!!

Well good intentions clearly went out the window.  It's been  months since my last post.  But in my defense, October through January is kind of crazy around the Converse house.  I digress...

My adventures the last couple of months have been a blast.  Of course I can't just say my without meaning we.  Cody is the other half of my brain and we have had some righteous times and have met some of the greatest people ever.  But of course our crafting and general silliness has gotten us some attention and it really got me thinking - what would we do when the Zombiepocalypse hits?

The first thought that dawned on me was horrifying.  Was it the hordes of the undead trying to eat me? no.  Friends and family gone forever? no.  The world as we know it has come to an end? no.  It was the thought that without infrastructure, we would have no electricity, therefore making my glue gun something I had to learn to live without..... Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

With that being said, I have decided to start compiling useful crafty things one can do after the Zombiepocalypse.  The first post should be up shortly, and I do hope you enjoy them.  In the meantime, take some tips from one of my favorite people of all time (Martha Stewart) and make sure that you have your Survival kit ready to go.