Category Archives: Latina

The Case of the Tablet – Part 2

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Asus Glamorous

Mensa asked me the other day why what is inside our new tablet case is the best choice currently on the market. She also wanted to know if there was any ethical consciousness involved in my selection, which of course there was!!! :]

Here’s the breakdown on why my new Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 is the best out there! Firstly, it has an android system, open source love, the best screen and processor, and it is lighter than an iPad. It’s also fast as lightning and reasonably priced.

Next, the company is Taiwan-based. Free China. Taiwan is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care, public education, economic freedom, and human development. I’m just saying. :]

Also the environment is another factor for me,

Asus even developed a special proprietary chip, the EPU (Energy Processing Unit), in order to coordinate and manage power usage in all of a computer’s major components. In fact, all Asus notebook computers are designed to be Energy-Star compliant. Furthermore, when it comes to the materials used to make Asus products, Asus has made a special effort to be green. There is a company directive that restricts the use of certain known hazardous materials in Asus products, and the list is actually more restrictive than that imposed on manufacturing by the European Union. In recent years, Asus has been developing hardware that can be more easily recycled, as well as offering its own take-back and recycling programs. (source: http://www.roc-taiwan-hn.com/asus.php)

The best part though is how cute it looks its new, glittery case!

Thank you Mensa!

<3

– Mushpa

Crazy Crayons!

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So we can recycle paper, plastic, aluminum and many other miscellaneous items, but how about recycling art supplies?

Did you know that more than 12 MILLION CRAYONS (which equals to about 120,000 pounds) are made in the US EVERY DAY?…that’s about 60 TONS of crayons made EVERY DAY! And crayons are made with petroleum based wax which end up in our landfills…How Eco is that? Not so much…CZCN000010002_dt

This really cool program called Crazy Crayons, takes all your old broken, unused and un-loved crayons from your schools, homes and studios and revamps them into 100% RECYCLED CRAYONS!

They also sell Fire Starters, perfect for lighting up your campfire or fire place with ease. This is another way they recycle and reuse ALL of the crayons, by using the wax covered crayon wrapers. Simply place a handful on top of wood or your fire pit and BOOM! Warmth that comes from a recycled source!

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If you want to participate in the program make sure to check out their site where they give you all the details on how to prep your soon-to-be-recylced crayons, ideas for collecting unwanted crayons, and directions on how to best ship your old crayons!

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 Two MINI DIY PROJECTS:

1.Make Some Funky Crayons

-Take all your old crayons from around your house

-Peel them and break them into small little pieces and put them in an old cookie mold

-Preheat oven to 250 degrees and bake for about 15-20 minutes until they have all melted.

-Patiently wait until they have cooled…Pop them out, and start a new coloring adventure!

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2. Melt some Crayons into Wall Art

-Take a blank canvas or a slab of old wood and align peeled crayons on top of canvass

-Glue them down with either a hot glue gun or strong all purpose glue and wait until they dry

-Take a blow dryer and hold over crayons until they begin to melt…and HAVE FUN! It might take a minute for the full effect to take place and for all crayons to melt, but it is a relaxing and easy project that can add a little color to any wall! :]

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Keep on coloring!

❤

-Mensa

The Case of the Tablet – Part 1

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This is our most recent creation. A tablet case. Wooden buttons, hemp string and felt made from recycled plastic bottles! Perfect… Except for the tablet that could potentially goes inside…image(1)

I will let Mushpa (aka IT Phenomenon) take over on what makes tablets and other technological goodies a choice of ethical consciousness.

I have been guilty of buying into the Apple craze, but my iPod did not come from the best of the environments, and the workers that made my little music player work, have not been treated too well either…

So Mushpa, do you mind filling us in on why it is that inside this new case there should be, according to current research, the best choice of tablet currently in the market?

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Meanwhile, check out our new product at our Etsy store,  and remember, we can always custom make you case with your colors of choice!

-Mensa

The American Dream

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The American Dream

Let’s start like this, I made a commitment to write one entry a day, everyday in the Mushpa y Mensa blog. It isn’t that hard. It doesn’t really have to be about anything specific, just vaguely related to Mushpa y Mensa’s philosophy, ideology or really just the general vibe, so why is it that days have gone by and I have not done one entry? This lead me to the question, what is it that holds people back from being successful? More specifically, what is holding me back from being successful? Am I really stopping myself from what I want to do to go to an arbitrary 9-5 job? What is the point? What am I trying to prove? Why is it for others I can go above and beyond? Why can I make other people successful, rich, enlightened, but not for myself? I have better ideas, I will do better things for humanity, I have the skills and ability to do anything, and I am charming, so what gives? Is it the fact that for the formative years of my life I went to school and was brainwashed into believing that success is based on not only my career choice, but on my monetary value? Is it really so simple in its complexity?

I was saying to Mensa last night, what if we couldn’t get a job working for anyone? What if we had to work for ourselves to make money to survive? If this was our only option to have food, shelter, and comfort, well then I know Mushpa y Mensa would already be on Forbes 50 Most Innovative (and profitable) Companies’ list! Question is, why does it seem that I can’t make it successful without the fear of starvation and homelessness?

When we are children we are told and believe that we can do anything we want, that we can become anything we want. Then as we mature we are made to believe that this is a dangerous way of thinking. The funny thing is it is not dangerous for us to believe, it is dangerous for those wanting to make and control the majority of wealth in the world. Greedy children who never learned how to share. I want the American Dream I was promised. I want what I deserve and the only way I am going to get it is to believe not only in myself, but that if I do the work, if I do the right thing and have faith in this universe, I will attain this…happiness…success…serenity. I want to live my life, not just survive it. I don’t want to get to the end of the road and think, “Is that all there is?”, so today guess what?

I did my blog entry. :]

Much love,

Muspha

Compost This!

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Compost ItIt isn’t just about what we make, but also how we live. Por ejemplo, Mensa and I were trying to figure out a way not to put food waste in the garbage as to not attract flies or create a nesting site for said flies. We also didn’t want to have to bag up food everyday and throw it out. Then amidst the great obvious we realized we should compost. :] The next question is how to compost in a Brooklyn apartment. Let’s find out!!!

First off what can we compost? For us it will be food based only, but if you have land there are things you may compost from your garden you just need to do some research on exactly what. Okay, back to metro composting…

Things you can compost are:

  1. fruit and vegetable scraps
  2. coffee grounds and tea bags
  3. manure and bedding from animals that ONLY eat plants
  4. cut or dried flowers
  5. houseplants and potting soil
  6. sawdust and wood shavings (from untreated wood)
  7. stale beans, flour, and spices
  8. feathers
  9. breads and grains
  10. egg shells
  11. nutshells
  12. corncobs
  13. food-soiled paper towels and napkins
  14. shredded newspaper.

Some tips to good composting are add an equal amount of greens and browns to your compost bin, cut your food trash for faster composting, always maintain a top layer of browns. I said it. :]  Keep your bin moist, but not wet.  Lastly, stir well to aerate the food waste you love to call your compost.

Here is what you MAY NOT compost:

  1. meat or fish scraps
  2. cheese and dairy products
  3. fats, grease or oil
  4. cat or dog feces, kitty litter
  5. colored or glossy paper
  6. sawdust made from pressure-treated plywood or lumber
  7. coal or charcoal ashes
  8. non-compostable materials such as plastic, metals or glass
  9. diseased and/or insect-infested houseplants/soil
  10. biodegradable/compostable plastics

Now where to store it till we take it to a NYC drop off location? Ms. Mensa bought us a sealed, cubed container at the Dollar Store. Boom!

Cool Bin
Artist Rendering of Our Dollar Store Compost Bin

Another option offered to New York City residents are low cost compost bins, they even have coupons for composting worms here. What???

Next, where do we bring our compost scraps once our bin is full? Here is a list of all Brooklyn drop-off locations and for those outside of the realm of Brooklyn here are food waste drop-off sites in other boroughs.

What you want to be a composting super hero??? Here is your chance to take the NYC Master Composter Certificate Course. Nice!

Alright, let’s do this!

-Mushpa

Vertebral: T-shirt Collection

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So what can we add to an already awesome t-shit to make it extra nice?

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trippled-yarned back.

Well, how about some vertebral funk!

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a big bow

Yarn, scissors and a little creative juice

makes these the first set of T’s we have revamped with lots of love!

four little bows...
four little bows…

Testing! Testing! so they are not for sale……yet.

Let us know what you think!

❤

-Mensa

Ps. Gracias Mushpa for the absolute patience when trying these on!

Birthday Month

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Jeffe

It’s my Birthday month. Yes, I said month. :] My actual birthday is February 13th for all of you that want to know. I prefer not to just focus on the one day, but I feel a whole month is more the way to go. I’m just saying.

Today, Mensa tells me to go and get something from another room and when I go in what is there but two balls of yarn, three pairs of gold sparkly clear knitting needles, and some candles with a bow on top (the cat we already had). This is what it is about really. These are the kind of things she does that helps me believe we will be successful in this endeavor or any others we choose to do.

I don’t know what I am going to make from this, but I promise to show you when I’m done.

-Mushpa

“Mama Earth” Soon-to-be Design

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SNEAK PEAK:

Starts with a mama and ends with a cure. Que es?! It’s one of our new crazy cool t-shirt designs! We have received our screen printing materials and are ready to star scanning some designs to begin the screen printing process.

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Hey Mushpa. What do you think about posting soon a how-to introductory screen printing blurb? We want to make art accessible for people, so what do you think about posting  instructions on how to do it yourself? Although, disclaimer folks… it might not be as cheap as a pencil and paper, but it sure will be fun!

All done with much love,

-Mensa