Thursday, December 27, 2012

I Think the Necklace Took Longer to Make than the Deer!

Just listed this pink deer, and I worked on the necklace it is wearing last night. It may have taken awhile, because it's just how I am. The way I work is not fast. But I like how it all turned out...

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Photomatic! You learn something new everyday!

I'm an avid flea market hunter. I'm not talking about the serious person who's trying to find that valuable treasure they can turn around and make a big profit on. No. I'm simply a hunter of cool stuff. Cute stuff. Things that just stick out to me and appeal to either my inner child or the love I have of all things vintage.
Also, I'm a flea market digger. Yes, that person digging through the junk boxes that are on the ground or under the table. So I do occasionally come upon what I think is pretty neat. This item was one of those finds.

When I first saw this item, I thought it was cool because it seemed to be sturdy and thick, and I noticed it had a tin frame. I had never seen one of these type of photos before. And the soldier's eyes seemed to look right at ME. I wonder, is he woeful, or just being a stoic soldier?

So I looked online and found that it's a photobooth picture from the late 1930's to 1940's, and this is more than likely a soldier during World War 2.

Printed on back:
Date:
Place Taken:
Taken by the Photomatic
Reg. US Pat. Off. Pat No 1665605
MADE IN U.S.A.
INTERNATIONAL MUTOSCOPE
Reel Co. Inc. New York City

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Emerald - Pantone Color of the Year 2013!

I am always happy to hear what color Pantone has chosen for "Color of the Year!"

I'm a big fan of green, so Emerald is a wonderful choice!

For those of you that missed the past couple of years, here they are:

Emerald - Pantone Color of the Year 2013: - Color trends, color palettes , Pantone 17-5641 TCX..

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Help Keep the Bells in Bell Town!

I'm a big supporter of purchasing products Made in the USA whenever possible. So when I heard about this bell manufacturer (Bevin Bell) that was the victim of a devastating fire that burned everything to the ground. This factory was established in 1836 and actually made the bell that rings at the end of "It's a Wonderful Life." ("Everytime a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!)

Please check out their website...it offers more insight in to their background and gives you a link to donate $12 and receive an actual bell that survived the fire! You're donating to help this company keep its employees jobs secure.

They also make the bells for the Salvation Army!

http://keepthebellsinbelltown.com/

Friday, November 23, 2012

Vintage Finds from the Other Day...

I was on my way to a favorite local home decor and craft store in Salylorsburg, PA called Mountain House Country Store last weekend. As I took the exit off the highway, I realized the flea market was still going on! I thought it was over for the year since it was November, but there were people and tables there! So I excitedly pulled in, actually happy that it was smaller than usual. It can be so tedious and draining after awhile when they (flea markets) are too big. I am one of those people that have to look at every little thing so it takes alot out of me. lol

Anyway, the first group of tables USED to be one of my faves, because they have so much stuff and the lady was so friendly. The stuff is really just junk, not antiques or anything, and the lady wasn't worried about what she made from it, so she wasn't out to gouge anyone. But some guy started showing up, standing next to her and getting involved with pricing, like some kind of guard dog. Then, the lady wasn't there anymore, just the guard dog.

Now the guard dog man is running the show, and he's not very friendly. Kinda gruff. No problem, whatever. I can handle gruff. But he always wants more than what I think it's worth. And I don't like to haggle with him because he just says no.

SO for $4.oo I get this:

Now, when I went up to him to find out how much it was gonna be, I was thinking in my head "$3.00." So when he said "$4.00" I just said "okay."

But then I was thinking later that I got 8 items, so that worked out to be $0.50 a piece, so that was pretty good, I guess.

See this little chicken crate?

There's another chicken inside!

(It doesn't take much to make me happy.)

Then I came across a few other items at some other tables:

This lamb is inspiration for a needle felted lamb I'd like to do...

Thought this would be cool for the craft room. It looks rusty on the outside, but the inside turns soooooo nice.

And then, there were these:

And this!

Don't know what's written on the box for this little lady...but isn't she cool!?

But the find of the day was the snail teapot. I really liked it, but the guy wanted $7.00. And I'm like "Do I really need this? Another item on a shelf?"

(I only go through this inner dialogue when the item is bigger than my hand, and more than $1.00. It's not because I'm cheap, it's because I am a borderline HOARDER and I have to at least pretend to myself that I have some sort of control.)

But he was cute and I wanted it.

Now, this photo isn't my photo, but this is the exact same teapot. I found out on the internet that it was a line of kitchenware from Enesco. "Snappy Snail." He looks cute in my kitchen. :)

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

I Think I'm FINALLY Getting There!

I'm always trying to find just the right BLUEBIRD FACE. I've needle felted quite a few of these birdies, as they seem to be the most popular item in my Etsy store.

Like I posted in my last entry, I try different things in the

"Search For The Perfect Expression."

Different head shapes, different eyes, different eye-to-head ratio...always in search of what would satisfy my inner muse.

Anyway....

I finally got my paws on a Re-Ment box from the "Fairy Tale Tableware" collection that contained a tiny bluebird, much like the Lefton Bluebirds that I aspire to recreate (with my own flair, of course. Don't want to FLAT OUT copy!)

For those unfamiliar with RE-MENT, it's a great source of miniature stuff. I really can't accurately describe what Re-Ment is without going off on a "tangent," so you should check them out if you are curious: http://www.re-ment.co.jp/

(Oh, and don't bother going to Chinatown in NYC and looking for any Re-Ment like I did...it's a JAPANESE company. Woopsie!)

So this is the bird I received when I got the Re-Ment box from Ebay:

Are you still with me? I'm almost done!

So this teeny tiny birdie got me

excited and I put aside my other

projects momentarily to try a crack

at it once again. I needle felted a

bird late last night and was just

getting giddier and happier with

each poke!

Here is THE FACE!

I LIKE IT!

(My hubby says it looks chubby.)

Now, I understand others may not even see any difference, and that's okay. I don't expect anyone to understand what I'm babbling about anyway! But I was excited, and thought I would share it on the Ol' Blog. Perhaps other crafters, artists, BoneSmiths, and Creatives that also struggle with their own nit-picky-ness may come upon this and know

THEY ARE NOT ALONE.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Skeleton Doll the DEADutante of the Ball by MelaniesMenagerie

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Do You Squidoo?

Hello Friends!

Not sure if any of you are familiar with Squidoo, but it's a rather interesting website where people create "Lenses" which are pages with a particular topic. As a "Squidoo-er" you can create as many Lenses as you like, and it's a great source to find out information about a particular subject, hobby, or whatever. Just another source on the Information Highway...

Anyway, the reason I bring it up is because I was contacted on Etsy by a very nice person named Shannon. She was making a Lense about skeleton cake toppers. She wanted to include my DEADutantes among the other skellies by other artists. So I thought I would share that link with you!

http://www.squidoo.com/skeleton-cake-toppers

It was cool for me to see all the other artists and their versions and visions of skeleton couples. It's nice to have them all together in one place too. It certainly seems like it would help someone find just what they were looking for.

: The DEADutantes

Monday, October 15, 2012

It's That Time of Year....for Creeping People Out!

So the other day I'm walking around Michael's craft store, and I had a coupon so I decided to buy one of their skeletons. At one point I looked down and saw how I had placed the skeleton in the shopping cart, and had to laugh....