I knew it all along

When a woman reaches a certain age, she begins to wonder if her outward persona is still jiving with her inner. At least, that's something that I wonder about. If you don't - good for you. You're either incredibly self-assured, or your delusional, or maybe just in denial...


So, along those lines, I question the potential popularity of my handmade crafts as I'm coming up with new things - and think about what audience they might appeal to the most. When I started making my little hip bags out of repurposed wool sweaters, I observed that my best customer for them was young women who are a little on the "crunchy" "ecologically conscious" side - educated, concerned about the environment, listening to alternative rock  and shopping at the local farmer's markets... also a fan of vintage clothing perhaps. I don't think any sorority members or Ed Hardy fans are carrying one of my bags yet. Anyway, I have hoped that I am creating items to continue to appeal to these lovely ladies, and that I am cool enough inside to know what works and what doesn't for that demographic.

Yesterday at the Fayetteville Farmer's Market a sweet boy in his 20's (that's right, I said boy) was admiring my bags, and applauded my ability to make "hipster" bags and other items that appeal to a different group of people. I was ridiculously excited to be told that I am, indeed, able to execute a hip item properly. My inner cool quotient increased like the Grinch's heart on Christmas day. Silly, I know, but sooooo satisfying.

Crafty Memories

I was out at my mom's for a bit today and found a box in the shop that was full of fabric and a smaller box of clothing patterns. I pulled a of the well-worn envelopes out of the smaller box, and found a little time capsule of sewing. There was the peasant skirt and blouse from the 50's that my grandmother made mom when she was 10. I'm not sure if this is the same outfit, but it's another handmade bit of loveliness created by my grandmother in any case... how adorable was my mom!?

There was also my prom dress, dresses that mom made for my girls, the dress she made for my sister's band formal, Barbie doll clothes from the 50's, the cowboy vests she made out of faux leather for my brothers in 1974, the dress and blouse she made for me when I was part of the chorus in my high school musical, Oklahoma! 

These patterns mean more to me than her jewelry or keepsakes. They are symbols of the love she had for her kids. She loved us through the time and effort she spent making these things for us. I'm so glad she kept them.

Holiday Boutique!

You don't want to miss this! Okay, I might be a little biased, but not unreasonably so...

My sister and I and a few other fantastic women are going to host a little get-together and would love for you and your bffs to join us.

Snacks, drinks, music, shopping... we even have a masseuse involved!! What's not to love!?

See you Saturday!

(click on flyer image to see it in a better format... can't get it to be clearer here for some reason.)

I heart custom requests!

I recently shared a booth at the Bella Vista Arts & Crafts Festival with my uber-talented sister. We met a terrific young woman named Jennifer who works at Denali State Park during summers, and winters with her mom or with friends who live in the lower-48. I am totally envious of her and wish I had been aware of cool jobs like that when I was in my 20s... but I probably wouldn't have taken advantage of them. I'm so not the person now that I was then... thankfully.

But I digress... the cool bohemian girl loved one of the bags I had at the show, but it sold. I wandered by her mom's booth on the final day, and was asked if I wanted to trade a bag for something she had there. I picked an adorable star-shaped candle box with a painted snowman on it, and yesterday I mailed off the bag I made for Jennifer. It's almost like the one she liked - except that it has the buttons from the front of the sweater it was made from. The original was made from the back of the garment.

I would be happy to get to the point where people asked me to make custom pieces for them more often.

Sorry - this is a pretty boring post... I'm in a bit of a funk.

While wandering the local craft fair...

My sister and I spent a couple of nice, relaxing hours at a local craft fair a couple of weekends ago. Two years ago, having a booth at this fair started us both on our way to being professional handmade artisans. We enjoyed looking, and eating, and laughing, and remembering why we love making stuff and selling it to people who love what we make.

There were many beautiful things - not the least of which were the new paintings and prints by my favorite local artist, Temple Moore. There were a few things, however, that were unequivocably not good. Don't ever, ever, EVER do things like this. I love handmade, but THIS is crap.

These skirts are repurposed jeans on top, fleece on the bottom. FLEECE. Like, what you make blankets from.

There is just no way to explain this abomination, nor is there any way to excuse it. I thought when I saw it that I had no words, but obviously I do. Several. Some of them start with the letters W, T and F.

Next in line is this yard art. You can kill two birds with one well-aimed stone if you put this on your lawn. You can call yourself an Art Lover*, and at the same time, you can be accused of sacrilege by your neighbors!

I'm pretty sure that Santa Clause (or anyone else with a similar name) was NOT hanging around by the manger when Joseph and Mary's first child was born. I mean, I'm no biblical scholar, but... I was president of my church's youth group. So, you know... I know stuff.

I don't even go to church regularly, and I read athiest blogs, and I was still offended by this piece of dung. I didn't check the price. But if it wasn't free, it was too much. (hint: click the photo for the full offensive effect)

*not really.

Finally, we turn to the apparel that should not be worn when going to a craft fair. Or anywhere. Maybe in your own house... but only with the lights off.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. This poor woman obviously had nothing but this to wear. I can only guess (hope) that all of her other clothes... the ones that didn't creep into her butt-crack and make her an immediate candidate for What Not to Wear... were burned in a house fire the day before. And all of her cash, checks and credit cards were lost as well, leaving her unable to shop for new clothes before the fair. That is the only explanation I can come up with.

But if I am right, then she should have kept her spandex-encased buttcheeks at home. Seriously, there was no need to subject anyone else - even the person who made that manger scene - to that. I would have even been okay with her wearing one of those WTF skirts if it meant I wouldn't have to see those pants... leggings? Tights? Shorts? What the hell are they??

I won't even get into the fanny/belly pack and shoes. I feel a little faint...

HGTV's Design Farce

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the series on HGTV called Design Star. I really am!! But this season, some weirdness is going on, and I'm ready to call it like I see it.

In the first show this season, Clive Pearse announced that the winner was going to be chosen by judges (and, presumably, the producers) rather than by the viewing public as has been the case in prior seasons. No big deal... I can understand that to some extent. Why leave the decision of who the people want to watch up to the people who watch, right?? Who knows the HGTV viewers better than the stars of HGTV shows? Okay... maybe not. But anyway, it didn't seem like a big deal to me.

Fast forward through a couple of shows... I'm wondering where the hell the personalities are? Isn't this a contest that is based on design chops AND the ability to keep the interest of some people staring at a screen for 30 minutes?

I'm sorry, NataLee, Amy, Jen, Tashica, Jany, Nathan, Jason, Torie, and Lonni - you all are in desperate need of a big dose of creativity and a personality that would stand out in a crowd. Even a small crowd - like, say... a reality show for would-be television designers.

So now we're looking at the final two: Antonio and Dan. Let me get to the crux of my brilliant theory...









A few questions:
Why are all the designers, except Antonio, so BORING? (remember Sparkle Josh!? And that surfer dude guy?)
Where are the knock-out designs we have seen in other seasons? (David Bromstad, nuf said...)
Why are some of the comments by the judges so blatantly fabricated to fit the elimination decision for the week? (Lonni was screwed by installers - not her own lack of planning.)
And WHY did one of the best designers of last week's episode go home?

My answer is this: This whole season is a giant joke built around the fact that the producers found their winner during auditions - Antonio. He's got a strong personality and an attitude that no one else on the network has. He is good-looking in a Stallone-meets-Fred-Durst kind of way. He creates drama with his bully tactics. And did I mention that there is no one else like him on HGTV? Oh yeah, I did.

Antonio can do the job of holding his own on a show, as he's shown in both of his "hosting" challenges, and has decent ability as a designer, so he was picked out of the hopefuls early on and the producers picked other designers to surround him on this season's show that would not only NOT stand out in the design arena, but would also crash and burn in terms of their ability to make people like them. All season I've been saying "gee, there's no one I really LIKE this season." Now I know why.

And for those of you who are sure Dan can pull it off - have you noticed that there is already a designer like Dan on HGTV. His name is David. Yes, his nursery was a better design than Antonio's office - and so was Lonni's guest room - but viewers will understand that they can't pick another DB to win. What would happen if Lonni's room kicked Antonio's ass in the finale? Lonni had to go.

So, you're hearing it here first, folks. Antonio is a ringer, and they've eliminated contestants all season to get it to the point where the finale is between Antonio and someone who would lose for obvious reasons... because he's too similar to another HGTV host. Antonio will take it, and we're all suckers.

Project #847,049

Don't laugh! I feel like that's how many things are on my to-do lists. I have several... one in my head. Or maybe three... and a few written in the odd notebooks and on pads of paper here and there in my purse(s) and desk drawers and car. I read somewhere that one should make lists if one desires organization in one's life. So... it hasn't really seemed to help me much for some reason. Hrrmmm....

Anywho ~ I share with you the pictures I took of my gloriously and horridly vintage bathroom! I love the way the cabinets angle in at the bottom. It lets my guests - for this is our Guest Bathroom - get reeeaaaallly close to the mirror to inspect their enlarged pores or search for gray hairs in their eyebrows.

The tile is not too bad, except that the color is not quite describable. It's a goldy, greeny, odd kind of color that doesn't seem to go with anything. And, it's everywhere. On the counter, on the floor, up the walls, in the shower/tub.

BUT, lucky me, I found this lovely shower curtain with a tropical feel to it (a perfect addition to the vintage tiki god tumblers I use as decor on the counter top) with leaves that perfectly match the goldy, greeny, odd color of the tiles! I couldn't believe it! That was the start of the idea to redecorate. I'm going to paint the bright white cabinets a deep chocolate color, to bring down the visual assault a bit. They were originally a horrible off-white-turned-yellow color, so the white was definitely an improvement, but I think a dark brown will be in keeping with the more modern look I like in bathrooms I see on HGTV.

Then, as I was hanging out on Fabric.com looking at their sale fabrics, I spotted The Perfect Fabric to make curtains out of! If you take a close look here, the current ones are two halves of a pillowcase. A little too "dorm room" for a house with a mortgage and established trees. Doesn't it look AMAZING next to the shower curtain!? I'm ignoring the fact that one of my daughters and my husband, upon seeing the fabric for the first time, pointed out that the design is remeniscent of a Star of David. Not that I care, of course, I have nothing against the Israelis or the Old Testament, but it's RATTAN!!! Good grief. Non-decorators...

So, the final goody that will grace my newly redecorated bathroom will be these gorgeous little prints by soon-to-be-famous artist, Brian Biggs. He has a great little shop on Etsy where you can get prints just like these (and a few others). Oh, and he's my brother. I'm going to frame them sitting on top of the brown burlap you see behind them (also from Fabric.com) and hang them on the wall opposite the sinks. At first I thought I'd paint the walls, but I think once the rest of the stuff is done, it will be enough. The cream walls will be a nice backdrop for the dark cabinets and colorful prints. Or I could put a mural on the walls... hmmm... project #847,050!!