candy colored craft and a question

hi..

here is my crafty shop update pile..
(The mushroom box bunny is in there too..)
The wee fancy boxes have tiny baskets with tiny shiny earrings in them.

Stage One will be on Monday at noon...

There will be a whole Parliament of Various Owls on Tuesday at noon...

But I need some feedback from you. I decorated the baskets and now I need to know if they should be filled up or empty in the shop.
And should they be filled for ladies or kids?
I must admit I never get a decent basket anymore, since my mom quit making mine, so I am tickled to make craft baskets for big kids...

The problem I see is that a properly outfitted basket would end up in the 35.00-45.00 range, in all likelihood. Quite a splurge. But it would be overflowing with all sorts of fantastic goodness.

Hmmm.. What do you say? Be my market research team...

Mushroom Box with Chewy Bunny Center

Springcraft!

I don't want to torture anyone but it is spring here in California. Daylight Savings and Easter are right around the corner.. my shoes are muddy. Sure, it may not last but right now it feels like it is mine to keep.

I am going mad with cute-craft and pastel colors.
Mad I tell you!
Perhaps it's the spring fever that is making me dizzy.

Wooden mushroom box was found at the thrift store..
but is was covered with weird flowers and melted on plastic bag ink...
repainted.
And I added some felted sweater grass
and a great big lady bug
and some forget me nots...

And what about the inside? A tiny bunny.

Grey and white needlefelted bunny,

with blue glass eyes.

Sally Stitch: Chapter 6: Buttonholes

Wildly, I am unable to complete anything to post.. By complete, I mean "photograph and write about anything that I am making"... And I am making stuff ( Utili-Obis, Easter baskets, Spring Bling earrings, tiny bunnies, pompom animals, Mrs. Home Maker accessories), as well as big messes. I blame my affliction du jour : Vertigo. It is minor but very distracting. I did go to the doc and it is supposed to clear up on it's own. It gets better then occasionally worse... Now, on day 11, it is quite tiresome. The computer really seems to make it more noticeable. So I have a stand in post today and hopefully something delightfully crafty tomorrow. I am planning a big shop update with Easter-y Vintage-y goodness which should happen about next week. I hope.

Until then: Buttonholes.

( click on the image to enlarge for easier reading)

I Have a Posse!!

The Posse after a couple Margaritas

Well, all you, self depreciating "not cool enough for Betty" folks... You are all my official BBI- BFF Posse, (including Michelle, and if she wants to bring Heather Ross over for Margaritas.. I say, "come on down". She does seem so very cool.) I was so totally amused and cheered by your comments and all your links and near links to celebrity.

Which Brings me to "The You Make my Day Award" which I so was pleased to receive from
Drewzel. Man, she is a talented thrifter and crafter and glorious in her wealth of good embroidery skills. (Dear god... she has like 3 blogs and I can't keep up with one.) It really did make my day. These fantastic Australian Ladies... They all blow my mind.
( and I was tagged by Futuregirl too... but by now I expect the whole world knows that the respect there is super mutual. We got a thing goin' on.)

Yesterday, these were the people that made my day:

Alice and Stef and Angelina feel like craft sisters to me.

Sonya is a partner in crime, plus she taught me to needlefelt.

Amber has her own fabric store and holds an incriminating picture (or two) of me.

Maddie has been a fantastically funny new friend. And she has a cat like mine and she sleeps with the toy I sent him. Devoted!

Mary- Laure takes gorgeous photos and saves her pastry boxes.
(and I swear it is like a life goal to have a friend who lives in Paris and is a dancer.. and she is as sweet as can be. because she eats pastry. even though she's a dancer.)

Ambika makes me want to try harder to pay attention to my outfits.

Susan make me want to take a photography class and redecorate. Plus, I have her earrings on right now.

Wende makes me want to be a better mom.

Amy has a quality of elegance that is simple and unpretentious.

Dorie reminds me that it is quality that counts and detail matters.

Pam has a way with color and people, she is charm itself.

Moonstitches shows art in the everyday. Composed photos that reinvent their subjects. And crafty too.

Minnie is a Brand New Friend . Coooool! Relatively local and a spats pattern? She's in.

Catherine is a Treasure Hunter Extrodinaire and designs good handbag.

You can forward the award, if you are into it. I found it hard until yesterday.. and then suddenly it was easy.

Oh and BFF dream candidate, Bre Pettis?
He * hearted* my Etsy Shop. I am in Craft Geek Heaven.

I am going to make a video podcast to celebrate this momentous occasion.

Wanted: New BFF... Must have Mad Skills and be Incredibly Good Looking

Hey Ya'll..

Been In Absentia a bit lately. Just feeling cruddy, you know? Little PMS, mixed with mild virus, mixed with the rain starting up again. Meanwhile, my favorite Kitty smashed one of my favorite things I ever made, my son bailed on trying to do well in school, his teacher called him a rat in front of the class... and my latest New Vintage dress is like an albatross around my neck.
Actually I blame it on the exercise. I have been walking an hour a day and exercise always makes me feel horrible. All sweaty and tired. eew. But I am vain so I will don my raincoat and do it again today.



It might be partially that I need to find a new BFF since Michelle is going to throw me over like yesterdays news for Heather Ross. If you want a new BFF yourself, I'm currently taking applications. If you are a celebrity, semi celebrity or craft star, you will be even more seriously considered.. especially if you are Matt from Etsy, Bre Pettis, Johnny Depp, or any form of non-hair-band rockstar, (Beck Hansen, this is your big opportunity, my man. Robot needle case? I Will Send You One). Also Inside a Black Apple and Heather Bailey might have a slight advantage as those people could definitely help me get a seat at the cool kids table... Maybe not BFF but I could may be see my way clear to BFFN ( best friends for now). Frankly, my life is not full of celebrities, like some people's, so if you act now you can easily get a real prime spot.

What can I offer you? I make a wicked Margarita... and you can play with my doll and my kitten. My craft cave is chock full of goodies to share and my glue gun is always hot. And if Johnny Depp actually calls, I will totally let you listen in on the extension... as long as he can't hear you giggling.

Oh.. and Michelle.. I am So Not Insecure. So, there.

**edit: " ;) "

Happy Heart Day

here's hoping you spend today close to the hearts you *heart*.



ooh... and Mrs. Home Maker's Valentine's Prep was featured on Vintage Indie.. how sweet is that? Thanks Gabreial!

Mrs. Home Maker Gets Ready for Valentines Day

Well, Here we go getting ready for Valentine's Day! And none too early either! There are Vintage cards to be glittered. These were so cute as a freebie on Vintage Indie, those thoughtful darlings!! ( These are fantastic too! and there is still time to print glitter and deliver if your sweeties are nearby.)

... and a tart to be baked, raspberry jam with local chocolate ganache...Yummy.


Just a quick check in the mirror before I take my reusable grocery bag to the store for some sustainable fish to grill and some organic veggies to roast for tomorrow. Thank goodness I finished the scalloped skirt from Blueprint's Second Issue, it's cozy and festive in red. Such a shame about that magazine though.
Oh! and I better get a cupcake to celebrate Calamity Kim's Birthday today! Happy Birthday Kim!!!


I got a fun question about my doll and whether it might be a "Lenci" which was what Edith from Edith and the Bears was... It was actually the second time someone commented on the similarities. Wow, don't I wish?




Well definitely not a Lenci, the bag I got from the thrift shop had 9 of these "pressed cloth doll faces", most were babies and larger sized. There were a couple that were really different, one had googley eyes and looks flapperish, one was a familiar look from the 70's and one had a letter, sock, and the name "Seventeen" stamped into the bottom. The letter was regarding a doll making contest sponsored by Seventeen Magazine. It appears to have been typed on an electronic typewriter and has hand drawn images of how to make a body from a sock to complete the doll which would be sent to the Foster Parents' Plan Inc.

I have no idea how old these are and can't find many examples on Ebay or anything. So, I made up my own patterns for everything and am having a ball. Most of the other faces will end up in the shop, I think... better be soon too..

I always did like playing with dolls.

Blame it on the Moon.

( note to self: I think that when you are making tiny robot needle cases..
perhaps you could have better spent your time,
I dunno, checking bloglines, cleaning the fridge or something...maybe.)

I have been crafting overtime. I have been head down, ignoring blogs that I know I want to read, in the zone, crafting. Partially, it is because of my new toy. But I also think that with my grumpy PMS downside, I get this great creative influx upside to this whole "monthly thing". Not going to create a new life?... Well, then we'll just make do with an entire farmyard of pom pon animals, robot needle cases, a new quilt, and a doll with an extensive array of accessories.

I have a couple of finished New Vintage pieces that I need to post but ever since my photographer was accused, by a peer, of being a "mama's boy" after a photography session, I am having a hard time getting into his schedule. I have a third item "In Progress" that is going to be great but stalled when I had zipper trouble. The smallest problem and I hit dead stop with some of these things. It needs to be revived though. I just need some self discipline.

I am going to be making some Sign Language Sampler Kits for my shop too. I am working on stitching my third and they are really fun to make. So far I have made Vote, Practice, and now I am working on Build.

Mrs. Home Maker will be back in Blogland in the next couple of days, because she really adored basking in all your kind comments. As do I, my dears, as do I..

Thanks!

Mrs. Home Maker Action Figure

Thrift Thursday and WIP Wednesday Join to present:

The Mrs. Home Maker Action Figure.
Saving the world one reuseable shopping bag and organic rutabaga at a time.

She buys used. She makes it herself. She has handmade new vintage dresses. She gardens, line dries her laundry, has cute reusable grocery bags, cans organic produce, buys local, raises chickens, and has brilliant, politically aware, sensitive artistic children. Plus she always looks adorable... and she wears aprons in public whenever possible.

Right now I have just started on Mrs. Home Maker or Little Betty, as I like to call her. She has no shoes and her skirt is just basted and tragically unhemmed but in my dolly dreams she will be fully accessorised, armed and outfitted as the perfect future retro house honey. My ideals and aspirations all in one huggable package.

Somehow putting all this together at 1/5 actual size just seems more do-able.

(Mrs. Home Maker is made from a vintage doll face from the local thrift shop and stash busting wool and wool felt. She is dressed in a wrap dress made of Joel Dewberry fabric and has restrung vintage "pearls"... all clothes and accessories provided by Bitter Betty Industries.)

Tutorial Tuesday: Make your Own Mid Century Daybed

Click on Images to Enlarge

Here you go... Your own Mid Century Daybed/ Couch. Just a mattress and some elbow grease and you could DIY a whole couch. ( And I was proud of my little throw pillows!)

Let me know if I should start a flickr group for everyone who is going to make this one. I am telling you it makes me want a rumpus room, or a ranch house.

This Tutorial courtesy of The Mechanix Illustrated How- To-Do-It Encyclopedia Volume 6, 1961 edition.This encyclopedia is awesome. Of course there is no info on the slipcovers for the bolsters and mattress.. In the DIY world of yore, this info must be common sense... or maybe it is covered in Volume 13 , under "s" for slipcover. I only got two volumes this so I am out of luck, apparently
But at .50 each on "Thrifted Tuesday"... both are chock full of handy dandy goodness... I am sure there is a slip cover 'how to' I can punt with.

And I am so totally tickled to get the "Make My Day" award from Drewzel..
How cool do I feel? Pretty stinkin' cool. I will be pondering who to pass it along to...
So many blog crushes these days!!

Okay? Ready.. Set... go make a couch!

Made it Myself Monday: Go Vote !! Pillow.

This is my new crafting for the home from the last several days: I thrifted the lamp. The deal included a small dent in an otherwise swanky shade. I used a thin strip of wood veneer around the dented spot, and good as new. The golden color is great for counteracting the weird glow from the new florescent light bulbs that I finally gave in and installed. I paid a whooping 12.00 for the lamp and shade but I think it really looks great there and without the floor lamp that was there it looks a lot less cluttered. I have an idea of someone who could use a cute cottagey floor lamp in their window display, so I think it will go to a good home.

I also made the patchwork pillow. I used some of the fabrics I got from Whiplash last year and they are so fun to work with.

I made an American sign language embroidery awhile back. I really liked the way the sign looks. The idea of putting in your vote. Contributing your vote. And we are pretty politically vocal around the home, so I felt it was also "a family value" that I could see as a modern day sampler for our house.
Samplers are such an old fashioned notion, but the whole hand stitched motto idea has such an interesting, meditative ambiance about it. (The sign language diagrams are just something I have been fascinated with since 2nd grade when we had a teacher who taught us all to sing and sign at the same time, and I like the way they make words graphic.)

I have been doing a lot of reading lately, especially books and magazine articles from the first half of the the last century. I guess I am trying to access my inner housewife.. Anyway, I came across this excerpt from an article that was originally published in the Ladies Home Journal March of 1919:

"Many have thought that the longer woman suffrage could be postponed the better prepared women would be to exercise the privilege and duty, and the less the voting women would effect the average intelligence of the electorate.
I have shared this view and have not observed that women are denied any substantial property or civil rights because they can not vote. Indeed, laws in non-suffrage states are quite as liberal as laws in suffrage states."

William Howard Taft

Please ladies, if you are in a Super Tuesday State, please get out and effect the average intelligence of the electorate.

Your country needs you.