Contemporary Shell Craft

Nothing says "kitschy craft of yesteryear" like seashells glued to one another. I have a real soft spot in my heart for this kind of stuff. Maybe it comes from being born a landlocked Okie, but more than that, I think I'm just struck with the ingenuity and creativity of the human mind. Since the beginning of time, people have looked at shells on the beach and admired their beauty. Maybe they even made pretty jewelery. But who was the first person who thought, "If I stick this shell to this one this way, and then attach this little one on top, it would look just like a mouse!" Yes, I think about this kind of thing.




Here's Miss Gayle Pearson, the author and creator of these seashell pretties, of whom great things were expected. I wonder what she went on to achieve in her future career as one of the craft movers and shakers of the 1960s. I love the artist bios in these old craft booklets. These gals were the craft bloggers of their day.




Okay. These mermaid candy dishes just killed me dead.

Little Chairs

Last weekend I got to go to one of my favorite thrift stores for the first time in probably about a year. I went on a mission to find something, anything to wear for that super fun window between maternity clothes and pre baby stuff in which I still find myself. Wouldn't you know, I didn't find one single article of clothing, but I did come away with a few good books, a sweet vintage baby dress, and this perfect little handmade twig chair. I have a serious soft spot for twig and bentwood furniture. It comes from my love for The Ozarks (and my Happy Place) and my childhood obsession with all things pioneer and old-timey. As a little girl, I wanted to live in a log cabin full of the stuff. Making twig furniture is on my list of "someday" skills to learn.

Apparently, I have a bit of a thang for little chairs, in general.






Another collection that just sort of snuck up on me!

A New Crop O' Saints

I am just tickled to death to share with you some new art I've been cookin' up over the last couple of weeks. Allow me to introduce you to some lovely ladies, those Patron Saints of the Domestic Arts.

First we have St. Flora, Patron Saint of Gardening:



Then comes St. Helene, Patron Saint of Sewing:



The lovely St. Charlotte, Patron Saint of Crochet:



Followed by St. Lucy, Patron Saint of Knitting:



And finally, St. Maribel, Patron Saint of Embroidery.



All of these lovely lady Prayer Candles are available in the shop with more to follow, I'm sure!

An Exclusive Peek Inside Craft House!

And now, dear readers, you are in for a real treat. Follow me to The Creative Center for America's Tremendous "Do-It-Yourself" Movement. That's right. The creative geniuses at Craft House have granted Sweetheartville exclusive access to their secret design lair, hidden deep inside the earth's core, constructed entirely of asbestos and Styrofoam balls which have been dipped in Cosmoline and glitter.



Step number one in the creation of a Craft House "do-it-yourself" design is a planning conference of all the department heads. From left to right are: Virginia-Fashion and Design Director, Mary Lou-Toxic Substance Sourcing Department, Jean-Accounting, Betty-Department of Sequins, Gertrude- Human Resources.


Now Mabel takes the "sparkling ideas" of the department heads and brings them to life by smudging bits of coal on old newspapers. Have you ever had a sparkling idea? I have had several, and they can be quite painful. However, I've been told by a doctor that my ideas are more sparkling than most, so don't be surprised if yours don't hurt.


Virgina calls all over the world looking for sequins and trim. Materials for Craft House kits travel from exotic Oriental lands like Hong Kong and Sheboygan.


Once the materials and decorative trim have arrived safely, they are carefully coordinated and organized using a specialized system of ropes, pulleys, and boxes from The Container Store.


Here is where the model-making specialists come in. These highly trained workers are entrusted with the important task of assembling the prototypical kits only after they've completed 700 hours of hands on Styrofoam adhesion and sequin pinning training. They must also pass rigorous physical testing and mental health screenings.


This finished "Drunken Snowman Leaning on a Light Post" model represents 40 man hours of labor, and untold tens of dollars in ruined supplies. Such is the level of Craft House's commitment to quality. Quality which will surely give holiday cheer to millions of nursing homes this year.

The Tiny Glittery Forest

Lately, I've been a bit obsessed with teeny, tiny worlds under glass. The seed for this obsession may have been planted when, as a child, my green thumb-havin' Hippie Mama helped me make my own little terrarium. I don't remember the little ecosystem thriving under my care (I'm sure I quickly lost interest), but the fond memory of designing my own magical landscape, all contained in a glass bubble, has stayed with me all these years. I've wanted to craft up my own snow globe for a while, but hadn't gotten around to it. While trying to think of creative ways to reuse glass food jars that can't be recycled in our area, I suddenly had the thought to combine my love of terrariums, snow globes, folk art whimsy bottles, miniature shrines, kitsch, and glitter all in one sweet little package.


So, I spray painted a jar lid my favorite aqua color, and set to work armed with paint, glitter, and other vintage bits.


The result is a tiny, magical forest inhabited by an itsy bitsy deer.


I may have to start asking the neighbors for jars, because I'm going to need a bunch.

Kitschmas in Sweetheartville

So today I went around snapping shots of a lot of my Christmas decorations, for you Dollfaces, and for posterity, I suppose. Sugar Pea and I have been sick for three weeks between us, so this Christmas was a bit of a bust. I did force myself to make three varieties of cookie and two types of candy, sick as I was, but was then too miserable and exhausted to take any shots of how dang pretty they all looked laid out on a big aqua platter. You'll have to take my word for it.
Now, if you'd please, come this way for a little tour of my home at Christmas time. Please remember that it's a work in progress. I'm afraid one year later we haven't made as much progress as I would have liked.


In the entryway, I displayed my growing tree collection. I'm still searching for the perfect pair of shades for those awesome chartreuse lamps.


About a month ago, I found a real life Nylon Net Novelty tree! The old men running the charity junk shop just couldn't get behind my enthusiasm, even when I explained that it was a real life Net Novelty. They took my fifty cents with nary a hint of excitement for me.


Just ignore the half stripped wallpaper behind the giant styrofoam Santa head as you behold the tree.



After an email from Christie with a picture of some nesting doll ornaments, I had the idea to give Sugar Pea her own little tree to decorate and redecorate to her heart's content. Plus, I figured it would take some of the heat off of my tree. So, I set about making six little felt "open babies", and she helped me string a garland of pink pom poms. I also gave her a dozen shiny, unbreakable ornaments.


Well, imagine our surprise when, a few days before Christmas, a lovely package of cookies and these precious handmade Open Baby ornaments arrived for Sugar Pea from the oh-so-generous Ms. Christie. She is just about twelve kinds of awesome, as evidenced by the spectacular octopus chandelier she just made.


I overloaded a little tree with my vintage angel ornaments on the dining room buffet.


My favorite part of the Christmas story has always been the part about the Bug People who followed the star, riding reindeer for three days and nights to bring the Baby Jesus peanut brittle.


This summer, my Mom found me a box of six of these Shiny Brite angels. I want to hug them, and squeeze them, and call them "George", but I don't because they're very fragile.


Here's the pantry, all decked out. Really, with a pantry like this, it would be a sin not to decorate it for Christmas. Possibly, it would be illegal. I'm not taking any chances.


Here's where our tour ends. If you'd like to see more, have a look at my Kitschmas Set on Flickr. Happy Holidays!

Gonna Peacock Around The Clock

It seems I'm not the only one talking about lovin' some peacocks these days. A while ago, I stumbled upon Dr. Julie-Ann's cute blog, A Modern Retro Woman, after she linked to my "Nylon Net Novelties" post. During her search for a crafty peacock project she recalled from her childhood, lots of peacock themed posts from all over Blogland came up, and she shared them with her readers. She never did find any information about the wall hanging she remembered her step-grandmother crafting from cut up meat trays, so I thought maybe I could help. Unearthed from my collection of vintage Pack-O-Fun magazines, is this gem from the April 1966 issue.


This elegant beauty is made from nothing more than some discarded egg cartons, wire, and gold paint. But don't think that the fun stops at peafowl, because all sorts of wondrous creations can be crafted from empty egg cartons, including a poodle, various flowers, a ring box, and even a hanging lamp! If you'd like to cut and glue an egg carton masterpiece of your own, you can click on any of these photos to make them really ridiculously huge, or you can mosey on over to my Vintage Crafts Set on Flickr, where they'll be as well.




And I just couldn't write a peacocky post without including this pretty fellow who made our acquaintance a couple of weeks ago on a visit to Woolaroc. The cheeky beggar got within a couple of feet of us Sweethearts as we ate our barbecued buffalo sandwiches, and shared bits of chips and bread with him.

Magnets!

Whew! I've been working my little fingers to the bone here in Sweetheartville. I just updated my shop with lots of vintage crafting books and kits, and this awesome vintage metal owl sculpture.




Not to mention tons and tons of one of a kind magnet sets made from vintage children's books and vintage wrapping papers. They would make wonderful, inexpensive gifts, and are easy to mail. I'm really having fun with my new-to-me garage sale button maker. Can you tell?