Goosemoose Pet Portal

As noted in my previous topic, I live and work at a camp where rats are welcomed, respected and loved.

This Friday I will be racing in a bi-weekly tradition here at summer camp- a good old fashioned regatta!  I race my dinky, hand-me-down 10 ft. catamaran and always lose to the larger, more well equiped boats.  Regardless, I have great fun and sometimes make great sport out of getting myself disqualified just before I lose (shooting other boats with water guns, ramming other boats, blasting music from speakers taped to the mast...there have been antics aplenty).

I realized that my boat, which by now is a tad infamous, needs a name and an official flag for the race.  Ladies and gentleman, may I introduce the "Bilge Rat", complete with her official flag that I sewed up today.....

(http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/4012/dscf0218ur0.jpg)

Yep, that's a rat skull.  I'll let you all know how badly I lose after friday  :BlueDumboSmile:

Oh, and if for some reason you were wondering just how bad of shape the "Bilge Rat" is in....here you go.....

(http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/1230/dscf0294hd7.jpg)

She gets a new sail hopefully sometime late this month.  But for now, I just enjoy its ramshackle appearance!

Your flag is soo cute!  ;D I'd love one to hang up in my house!!

I want one of those flags,too!You should seriously make a few extras to try and sell here!I'd want one next pay day!

I agree with selling copies of your awesome flag! I'd buy one!

Interesting spin on the old jolly roger... I love it!   :BlueDumboSmile:

 That flag is so cute  :yelcutelaugh:

Oh gosh, that flag's not nice enough to make copies of for selling!  Do you see all the little frays that I have to trim up?

I appreciate your kind compliments, though  :BlueDumboSmile:  I'll have to get a picture of Sizzle and I by the boat with the flag at full mast!

I love the whole getting disqualified thing! It's hilarious! I would probably do the same thing. The flag is adorable too! I'd buy one.  :thumbsup2:

I like it too!  Good Luck! :thumbsup2:

that would be sooo cool on a t-shirt!

Yes it would!

And we'd be happy to add it to our CafePress store if you'd be willing to donate the image (I can make a graphic, with full credit to you for the idea)... all proceeds directly support the operating costs to run the forum. ;D

Good luck in your race!!!

And I just happen to have a rat named Roger!

What a GREAT idea!  Let me work up a much nicer digital image....I came up with the pattern using my graphic design program (I traced the contours of the image of a real-life rat skull), and the original design, before being transferred to fabric, was ten times more detailed.

If you make that into a shirt, I will TOTALLY buy one myself!  Could they make a shirt that looks like the flag, with a black background and white logo, or would the logo just go over a colored shirt?  I can design the image anyway you want, so let me know!

It's too bad CafePress does't do flags...then we'd be all set!

Oh yes... I want a shirt!  Very cool!!  :hyper:

Very cool!!!! Yep, count me and the daughter in for buying a tshirt asap!!!!!

Argh matey! What a fine flag!

i actually like the frays on it! it adds to the whole look in my opinion....just what every PiRat needs!!

Alright...I'm sending larger versions of these to Suebee....do you like?

With a black background....
(http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/5186/ratskull2fx3.png)

Just the outline....
(http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/9810/ratskullplainhg7.png)

I LOVE IT!!!  :thumbsup2:

 :thumbsup2:  :thumbsup2:  :thumbsup2:  :thumbsup2:  :thumbsup2:

One little nit picky observation, on the second picture, why is the the outline of the bones thicker than on the skull?

I noticed that too, actually!  ;D

That's a very good observation that I'm tinkering with as we speak!  With the resizing and manipulation involved (I used a photo to get the outline of the rat skull and another photo to get the outline of the bones), the thickness of the lines ended up being different.  I'm trying to figure out how to get the lines in the bones thinner....I know there's got to be a way - I just have to find it!  For the sake of my flag pattern and the image with the black background it didn't matter, but I agree, if it's not going to be on the black background, it needs to be fixed.

A work in progress!  :BlueDumboSmile:

I still want you to make me a flag!

I want a shirt too!!  And I agree, I like that fringed appearance of the design on the flag!  It makes it look more rustic I think.  :)

Deb

How did the disqualification.. er.. race go today?  :cheeky:

Alright, Smille.....if you want to send me a message with the specifications (what size you want the flag, most importantly) I will go do the fabric store and figure out how much it would cost to make.  The original flag is only about 10" x 10".  I would also want to look into buying nylon, which would be better suited for the outdoors, than cotton, which I used for my flag.  I intend on adding grommets to the flag as well!

The regatta was great fun, and get this, I actally got second place in the small craft race!  Maybe my poor old boat has some luck now that it has a name and a proper flag.  I was doing so well that I didn't even disqualify myself, though I did run into a buoy and my flag got lots of laughs and the occasional bit of admiration.

Still working on the design in an attempt to get those crossbones smaller.....I'll let y'all know if I figure it out!

Woo hoo....I just figured it out.....couldn't scale down the bones, but I could thicken up the skull!

(http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/341/ratskullplainus2.png)

Looks good?

That is decidedly IMPRESSIVE!!! I absolutely must have that on a tshirt...you should have the name of the boat on there as well LOL Kind of a rat lovers inside joke ;D

Much better! I'm not too picky on the size, I plan on hanging it in my room! I look forward to the estimate!