My Studio: “The place isn’t fit to grow penicillin.”

After months and months of dragging it out, the move is finally here! By the end of the week I'll finally be home. Hooray! Can’t wait to show you the new place :)

As I was packing up, it occurred to me that I never showed the place that I make half the stuff that goes on this blog--my studio. I showed the window a while ago, but I never showed you the room itself. Why? 1. Horrible lighting for photographs. 2. It’s always a mess.

These are some photos I took back on a tidy day. You don’t want to see it on a messy day. It's ugly. As the great Julia Suragrbaker used to say “The place isn’t fit to grow penicillin.” 

Note the half-empty shoe bags nailed to the wall. At one time they were used for sorting glitter. Now the glitter is gone. Sniff...

Thanks for dropping by! 

So Cute I Want To Pinch His Little Blow Hole

Please excuse the crude self portrait above. In all the excitement, I forgot to put on lipstick. Ooops!

Newsflash: HSN is having a major sale on their Jonathan Adler collection. Wonder of wonder! Miracle of miracles!

These happy, blue striped bud vases came home with me a while ago and I can't tell you how they make me smile. Most of Jonathan Adler's pottery is way out of my price range, so I felt particularily proud of myself for scoring such a bargain....but now, whoa, the price was slashed even further! Think I'll pick up a few more in gold and split them up as holiday gifts.

Note To Friends Who Swap Holiday Gifts With Me: pretend you did not read this.

Note To Everyone: This is not a sponsored post.  I just like being the bearer of good news. And stripes. And a ceramic whale diffuser so cute I want to pinch his little blow hole.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I can't tell you guys how much I enjoyed reading all the comments last week. I need to do this more often!
Without further delay, the winners are...

*Autumn Paper Goods: Lanie
*Jewelry Kits: Lisa Bartlett
*Vintage Lace: Suzy
*Vintage Hankies: Justin
*Custom Flowers: April Cole

Y'all should expect an email from me today-- if you don't see one, assume I'm having trouble and you should contact me :)

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to comment.
Your words made smile, laugh, snert, and even tear up a time or two. I can't imagine a better way to spend my birthday!

Goody Bag: Custom Coffee Filter Flowers

I know, I know, this giveaway is a little bit of a cop out. It’s not new or glittery or valued highly, but it’s “my thing.”

Between feedback from you guys and Google Analytics, my best guess is that well-over half of y'all came here through an outside post on my coffee filter flowers. It’s been months since I have made a single flower, but not a day goes by that I don’t read a comment, inquiry or question about them.  For a while now, I'll admit I have *almost* felt slightly resentful about it, but somehow I am OK now. Some people are known for their talents, some for their skills, some are known for their story....I will be known for my coffee filters. It's strange, but I'm embracing it. It is my birthday and I am embracing it!

So, with that in mind, I’m just going with the crowd, get back in the habit, and give some away.

This Goody Bag Giveaway includes:

• Two Dozen Coffee Filter Flowers, handmade by moi, any color way you want.

This week's Goody Bag Giveaways are open to anyone, anywhere, no “following” necessary. To enter, leave a comment answering the question below. No more than one comment, per person, per post, please. Be sure your email address is included in the comment or via online profile. All Goody Bag winners will be chosen at random and announced 8am CST Monday, September 26, 2011

Question: What is your favorite flower and why?

Goody Bag: Vintage Hankies

My mother said there are always three hallmarks to a true “lady”

1. She always carries a handkerchief.
2. She never smokes on the street.
3. She would never use a swear word ("Even if her hair was on fire.")

Which is very funny coming from a woman who, 1. Taught the neighborhood children five ways to say "Asshole" in French, 2. Once got kicked out of a bank for smoking in the safety deposit vault ("What? This isn't a gas station, asshole.") 3. Told me to blow my six-year-old nose into a map of Tennessee the day I had a cold and there wasn’t a tissue to be found in the car. (Johnson City: I sincerely apologize.)

As you can imagine, I have been fond of handkerchiefs ever since.

Project and Image courtesy of Tif Fussell

Mostly I like to collect the fancy ones that look like they were never used, but recently, after becoming a fan of Dottie Angel, I have developed a soft spot for bright white hankies with delicate details. I keep saying that one of these days I’ll get around to making one of her glorious projects, like these curtains, but sadly it has yet to happen. One day I’ll do something great with my hankies, but in the meantime, I’m giving away a ready surplus to one special person....



This Goody Bag Giveaway includes

·        15 vintage hankies, various sizes, all of them in excellent condition.

This week's Goody Bag Giveaways are open to anyone, anywhere, no “following” necessary. To enter, leave a comment answering the question below. No more than one comment, per person, per post, please. Be sure your email address is included in the comment or via online profile. All Goody Bag winners will be announced 8am CST Monday, September 26, 2011

Question: My mother thought a handkerchief was one of the ultimate “ladylike” hallmarks; what other ladylike behaviors did your mother teach you?

Example: “Ladies always cross their feet at the ankle”...“Ladies never order a drink in public”... “A lady is always the first to say thank you.”

Note: I’m not asking or suggesting anyone follow these maxims, I just think they make for *interesting* discussion!

Goody Bag: Vintage Lace

I adore lace. Old lace. Good lace. Handmade lace. Natural fibers and yellowed at the edges. Fifteen years ago, I saw a bunch of Croatian nuns making silken tatted lace by hand and have been hooked ever since (Watch this video. It’s Crazytown!) I love the look. I love the feel. I love the smell. I can’t get enough of it. It’s an art form that appeals to my inner grandmother and compulsive need to keep my hands busy.

But, thing is, since I don’t have the patience to make it myself, I acquire it. Big time.

If I see a good piece in a thrift store for less than $2.00 I’ll snap it up and squirrel it away. I hide it away like a dog with a bone...all secretive and selective...I bury it in tissue and plastic bags, only to rediscover it when it comes time to move house.

And here is the bigger problem: I don’t do anything with it. The lace just piles up in my closet. I appreciate the artistry too much –cutting it up would feel like a sin. I have no problem busting up a crystal vase, or reupholstering my couch in faux fur...but cut up an old doily? NEVER.

Then, this summer, Dale and Aunt Nancy went and cleaned out her attic and found GOBS of stuff their relatives brought over from Switzerland back in the day. Good stuff. Better than most anything I ever picked up in a thrift store. Oy.

So, now, not only do I have my own collection, I have Aunt Nancy’s swiss stuff too. Know what that leaves me with? A ridiculous surplus.

What does that leave you? An opportunity!

But Peaches, what am I going to do with all that lace?

     

Here, let me show you...

Salvaged Doily Table Runner; Lace Necklace; Starched Lace Lamp

 Now all you need are the supplies!

This goody bag includes 30 pieces of vintage lace in a variety of shapes and sizes. All items are old/used, most of them pre-date WWII. Some are damaged and/or stained, but I would consider them all to be in overall “good condition.” Some are handmade, some are machine made, but to the best of my observation, all items are made from natural/non-synthetic fibers. There is no “acid lace” in the bunch (like I said: it’s the good stuff).

This Goody Bag Includes:

• 11 doilies, 6 -12” in diameter
• 8 handkerchiefs with lace edging
• 6 pillowcases (three pairs with lace edging)
• 2 table runners
• 1 peach satin and lace bib
• 1 knit lace collar (21” diameter)
• 1 round tablecloth / jumbo doily (37” diameter)

One Time Condition: If you win this goody bag of vintage lace, you have to pinky swear to do something with this stuff. Put it on display or turn it into something else. It’s been hoarded in the dark too long. It deserves a good home!

This week's Goody Bag Giveaways are open to anyone, anywhere, no “following” necessary. To enter, leave a comment answering the question below. No more than one comment, per person, per post, please. Be sure your email address is included in the comment or via online profile. All Goody Bag winners will be announced 8am CST Monday, September 26, 2011  Sorry, this giveaway is now over and the comments are closed.


Question:

What is, or was, your favorite thing inside grandmother’s house? Was it a special pink potholder? Or a crystal ashtray? A collectible spoon rack? Please share!

Update 9.21.11: This post has been up less than three hours and already, the remarks below are some of the most fun and heartfelt comments I have ever read (here on this blog or anywhere, ever). Even if you don't have any interest in entering the giveaway, I suggest you take a minute to glance what people are writing. No where else on the internet can you read about coin coffins and square dancing skirts in the same place! :)

PS: If you like vintage treasures, be sure to check back Thursday afternoon!

Goody Bag: Jewelry Making Kits

Know something about me? I don’t own a single piece of “real” jewelry.

And you know what? That’s just fine by me :)

If a diamond necklace fell out of the sky and into my lap, I would probably make it into a cat toy.

You think I’m kidding.

However, I will say, as someone who knows so little about the real stuff, I fancy myself an aficionado when it comes to making my own jewelry. I have a MAJOR soft spot for jewelry making kits and these floral themed kits from Laliberi are some of the best I have seen in a long time. Cute stuff! What's really nice is that they give you the tools to get going, but you aren’t limited to anything provided. Once you use the kit to create a sample, it’s easy to bring in your own materials and start making your own custom creations. This is a fantastic collection is for anyone learning to swing on the ropes of jewelry making, or long-time experts who want to add a few new tricks to their repertoire. This Goody Bag includes:

• EK Success Laliberi Idea Book, 20 Projects
• EK Success Laliberi Idea Book Flowers and Brass Collection, 20 Projects
• EK Success Laliberi Chiffon Chic Kit (for making chiffon flower brooches) 143 pieces
• EK Success Laliberi Deco Sway Cuff Bracelet Kit, 14 pieces
• EK Success Laliberi Ready to Wear Flower, 2 pieces
• EK Success Laliberi Necklace Kit with Swarovski Elements, 77 pieces

This week's Goody Bag Giveaways are open to anyone, anywhere, no “following” necessary. To enter, leave a comment answering the question below. No more than one comment, per person, per post, please. Be sure your email address is included in the comment or via online profile. All Goody Bag winners will be announced 8am CST Monday, September 26, 2011

Question:
If money was no object and you could purchase a single piece of jewelry, what would it be?

Drag Queen Cows Rise Again

Sylvia just informed me that she is busy preparing coffee filter flowers, as Almatrieb (aka the Cow Parade) is going down in her village in Switzerland this weekend. How exciting! If anyone else out there attends the festivities and spots some paper flowers in the crowd, pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohPLEASE SEND ME A PICTURE!

I'm just aching to see the latest in bovine fashions :)

Madame Violoneux made from a plastic Halloween mask.

Goody Bag Giveaway: Autumn Paper Goods

I am not organized enough to keep a proper fanci-fied scrapbook, but that doesn’t prevent me from appreciating the tools of the trade! This goody bag has all sorts of my favorite things, perfect for playing with paper or decorating your home for Halloween and Thanksgiving. All items are new, unopened, and ready to go!

One lucky winner will receive....

• K&Company Autumnal Specialty Paper, 12"x12", double sided, 24 count
• Martha Stewart Crafts Spider Web Punch Around the Page
• Two sets of Martha Stewart Crafts Halloween Themed Beverage Labels (one reads FROG SYRUP!!), six count each
• Martha Stewart Crafts Rat Silhouettes, 12 count
• Five, Inkadinkado Halloween and Thanksgiving Rubber Stamps
• K&Company Paper Pumpkin Boxes Kit, 235 pieces (these are so cute it hurts!)
• Two, Jolees Boutique three dimensional stickers, seven and 13 pieces each
• Two, EK Sticko glittery stickers (THERE IS A GLITTERED TURKEY Y'ALL), 14 and 17 pieces each

This week's Goody Bag Giveaways are open to anyone, anywhere, no “following” necessary. To enter, leave a comment answering the question below. No more than one comment, per person, per post, please. Be sure your email address is included in the comment or via online profile. All Goody Bag winners will be announced 8am CST Monday, September 26, 2011

Question:

What was your favorite Halloween costume?

  

This Week: Goody Bag Giveaways

Dahlia Flower Gift Bags made from cupcake liners, November 2010

It’s my birthday this week (woot!)

Instead of receiving presents, I’m giving them away (double woot!)

Every day this week I am giving away a Goody Bag; one day might be a bundle of new items provided by a generous sponsor, the next day might be a collection of delicately curated treasures from my very own crafty closet...you’ll just have to wait and see. There will be a new Goody Bag every day this week, Monday through Friday (that’s five times the woot!)

Please note: This is not a gimmick to generate more followers or push products down everyone’s throat. I’m just sharing the love. I am fortunate enough to have hoarded collected a whole cupboard full of creative items that need good homes: your home. So sign up!

Winners will be announced 8am CST Monday, September 26, 2011

  

Happy Weekend

You see what happened? Now I'm finding Muppets everywhere.  

Or, maybe, they have been here all along and I just never noticed.  

Wait, wasn't that the true meaning of Fraggle Rock? 

WHOA.

 

It's a Floyd Colored Fall

1. Bell Peppers 2. Purple Carrots 3. Eggplants and Tomatoes

Has anyone else noticed that fall is looking a little more saturated this year?

I am seeing brighter, richer, friendlier shades of tomato red, orange, purple and green all over the stores right now. It’s a distinctive color combo and it’s EVERYWHERE this week. At first, I thought it was inspired by produce, but then I thought, Hmmm, you know, this looks a little familiar...

That's right: Muppets y'all. It's a muppet colored fall! That tomato red was really just a shade of Doctor Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Scarlett. But then I looked a little further and realized, well, what I'm really looking at is Floyd. 

No mistake about it, this fall is Floyd colored in and out! Huzzah. It's about time this man came back into fashion. Long may he rein. Now if only I can convince NY Fashion Week to shine up to the idea of a Missy Piggy colored spring (Help Me Rhonda, I don't know if I could handle it!)

Between this recent realization, the new Muppet movie AND the new album, I can hardly contain my excitement. Viva La Muppets!

By Popular Demand: The Wall

Some folks asked me about my “salon wall” (fancy name huh?) after seeing it on Apartment Therapy...What is that red thing?... Are they related?... I have that piece, where did you get yours?...Where can I get one of those things?

Since my home has never been featured in any sort of public forum, I was a little taken aback when it came to identifying my possessions the way they might be listed in a catalog. Very flattering, but it’s a little weird too! Especially when your whole creative ethos is based on glorifying the mundane. In short, this is new to me!

So while I sat on the couch this weekend emailing the responses, I looked up at the wall for a moment to see what was there, and thought, Wow I have a lot of crap. If I ever wrote where this all came from people would think I am really flippin weird.

But y’all knew that already :)

1. My Grandfather’s ashtray. It reads May you be in Heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead. Surprise! He had a tracheotomy (a surgical hole in the throat) and died of smoking related cancer. He lived with us for a while when I was a kid and sometimes I'd get a lemon flavored lifesaver for using a special vacuum hose to suck the phlegm out of his throat hole. (tmi? sorry!)
2. Olive green mirror from Aunt Nancy’s farm house.
3. Tin Candy box featuring the Presidential seal that my cousin John stole for me from the President’s box at the Kennedy Center. Apparently our Commander-in-Chief gets free M&Ms wherever he goes. Who knew?
4. Silhouette 1968, from the childhood friend of my fairy godfather, Dale.
5. Scrap of a green oil pastel project. (Click here to read more)
   

Wow. Way to ruin the moment, Cookies.

I found this bag of Born and Baked in the USA Snack Cookies in my scrap book this weekend. Yes, I realize most people keep photos in their scrap book. I keep cookies. Don’t you judge me!

Hey, you remember the days after September 11^th when strangers smiled at one another and hung their flag and kept a good thought for the families of those who were lost? How people started paying attention the news for once, and international relations became a common topic of conversation? How folks hugged their kids a little tighter, and children seemed to play a little nicer?

Then, remember the weeks after September 11^th when flag manufacturers in China couldn’t keep up with our demand, and companies started washing their products in patriotism just to make them sell better?

Wow. Way to ruin the moment, Cookies.

  

Moving Skeleton: 50 Pairs of Black Socks

There are two kinds of people in this world; people who pair their socks together and people who let their socks roam free in the drawer. There is also an unusual sub-group of folks who safety pin their socks together before putting them in the washing machine (nerd alert!) but that’s a discussion for another time.

Me? I fall into the non-pairing, free-roaming sock drawer camp. I like to think my socks throw little mixer parties while I am not around–the pantyhose play saxophone while the flannel gray trouser stockings dance the merengue. Pleasant thought. But it only disguises my true hatred: pairing socks.

My housewife skills leave a lot to be desired in the cleaning and cooking departments, but if there is one thing I won’t do, it would be pairing socks.

I hate it.

Many moons ago, my ex and I celebrated our first anniversary.

He gave me jewelry. I gave him fifty pairs of black socks.

Why? He asked.

With delight, I told him, Because I’m tired of pairing your bastard socks together. Now we can throw out your mismatched pairs and you can have one giant drawer of the same type of sock. No matching necessary! See, this way you’ll never have to wake up in the morning and rifle through your drawers yelling WHERE THE HELL IS MY OTHER NAVY BLUE SOCK WITH YELLOW TOE STITCHING because now it’s all the same. Genius right? No need to thank me.

Somewhere in the world, a family therapist is reading this while condescendingly shaking their head.

Nine years later, when we were splitting up possessions, in the middle of a heated argument, right after I threw a crockpot out the window –and no I’m not kidding, and yes it was full of chili– he told me our relationship was doomed because he resented me twice a day, every day for nine years; once in the morning when the socks went on, and once at night when the socks came off. He hated the way the black socks looked, he hated the way they felt, and hated me for forcing him to dispose of his old sock drawer.

Nice.

Should I have left his sock drawer alone?
Should I have never forced him to wear socks he didn’t like?
Should I have been less lazy and paired his socks together for him?

Answer: I should have let the man do his own damn laundry.

So when I moved out of our home and into this apartment, where I truly started living on my own for the first time in my life, what was the first thing I  bought?

Fifty pairs of black socks. 

And I love the shit out of them.

My Studio Window

This is my studio window. But, can I even call this my studio? That sounds a little pretentious. But I don't like calling it my craft room either, since it's 80% storage and 10% working space and 10% ribbon wall.

I'm big on ribbons y'all.


Well, whatever it is, it's dark in there. I wanted the window to let in as much light as possible,so I just recycled the snowflakes I put up last winter by taping them together. The end result looks a little like Tord Boontje's Before Dawn curtain --my favorite!


The silhouette of ruffles you see around the window is a garland made from my old Can and Cup Christmas wreath. I was worried it would look too Christmasy up in here, but honestly, it doesn't. And even if it did look a little jingly, I'm OK with that, because this girl knows how to jangle. 

 

My Kitchen Window

This is my kitchen window. It makes me muchos muchos grande happy.

Sometimes I go to wash the dishes and fantasize that I'm in a Mexican restaurant where a portly woman in an elaborately embroidered dress serves me jalapeno poppers until I bust. Her name tag reads: Xiomara.

I'm waiting Xiomara!

A while back, I had a withered old papel picado banner (Mexican paper flags) laying around the house. I was going to throw them out, but they were way too cool to toss (and let's face it: I save everything).

So instead I decided to tear them into chunks and ‘paint’ them on to my kitchen window using a 50/50 mix of water and Mod Podge. The end result looks a little like stained glass. Wahoo!

Better yet, Señor Matador Barbie feels right at home.

I like to keep it classy.

My childhood neighbors, the Robersons, liked to dip things in gold. Brass, actually. Shoes, watches, army hats, pieces of machinery...even a guitar pic from a guy who played backup for Elvis. Nothing was too good to get the dip.

The Robersons, a lively retired couple, were known across the neighborhood for throwing impromptu Samba parties in their driveway complete with Perry Como music and custom cocktails with exotic names like Swamp Gas and Singapore Sea Breeze.

Well now we know how I'll be spending the weekend.

That's right folks.

 

Cat speakers.  

 

And they dance.

 

Like Santa Claus.

But hairier.

Well, now we know how I'll be spending the weekend.