Cheetah Velour

I love music, any kind of music

Just as long as it's GROOVY!

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon, so what better time to check out one of the local thrift stores? Come with me but read the signs first so you don't get in any trouble, ok?

ALL THE TIME?!? Dang it, I don't have any kids. What about MY safety? Doesn't anyone care about MY needs? Good thing this store was closed. I just went to the one next door instead. They don't seem to care about drinks, kids, OR safety.

I always have to check out the record bins when I go to the thrift store. I have a hard time believing anyone would want to get rid of these gems:

Why does this make me think of CORNHOLIO?

There are no words for this, so insert your own caption here: _________________.

Not even by the original artists. By "Hits Machine Unlimited" whoever that is. What a rip-off!

Recorded in Europe for your relaxation enjoyment.

Yes, it's called "Fixin Our Eyes On Jesus" and no, I don't understand this cover. This guy reminds me of Slim Goodbody. That is, if Slim Goodbody had skin.

It's the "NUTTIEST" thing alive...it's the TOPS IN "POPS" FOR KIDDIES!!

That last album makes me wish I actually owned a record player.

Of course, the thrifts are also a great place to pick up home decor deals. You might find an 80's Nagel right next to a religious paint-by-number. Why not buy both, or in my case buy neither?

Maybe clowns are more your style, but who am I to judge?

Next time I'll show you what I actually did buy.

Spring

Spring is finally here. Lately I have been taking a lot of pictures of things blooming around the yard.

Hope you are having a lovely Spring weekend wherever you are.

Pincushions!

I recently tried my hand at making a few pincushions following the instructions I found over at whip up. Let me tell you, it was so, so fast and easy!

Here are the results~

I made these pincushions out of some old barkcloth I found buried in a trunk in a junk store years ago. The barkcloth then served as curtains in my Oakland apartment for about ten years.

I hand stitched the small one to an elastic loop that slips over the arm.

I thought this old barkcloth deserved a new life. Why hide away something so pretty?

If you are have some fabric scraps sitting around, I highly reccomend trying one of these pincushions. So easy!

Pajama Game

(This isn't really about the musical, I just thought this 1954 ad for the Broadway show was really cute. Made you look.)

Not much to post about lately, but there has been some sewing going on. The warmer weather is not quite here yet, so I am all about the flannel pajamas! I recently made a few sets of jammies from McCall's Endless Options pattern 2478. I bought this pattern a few years back and I honestly don't know if McCall's still has this one in print, but I did see one on ebay if that's any help.

If I could wear pajamas out of the house I would. The kids these days do it, but of course this shocks my oh-so-grownup heart. If you could hear my voice right now you would know I am being sarcastic when I refer to myself a grownup.

First we have this  moose flannel that was on sale at JoAnn's for $2.00 a yard. $2.00, people!! You really need about 6 yards to make an adult size large, so that ain't just whistlin' Dixie.

Buttons are courtesy of ye old button jar. Everybody needs a button jar.

Some of you who know me in real life may have already seen the next ones. I got this fabric over a year ago at JoAnn's and I haven't seen it since. Dang, it's cute! It's called "Funny Picnic Foods".

That's it for now. There are more sewing projects in the works, but some of them are surprises for people so I'll save those for another time.

Hope you're having a good weekend wherever you are!

Bring me the head of Walt Disney!

I love ebay. I really, really do.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-WAX-MUSEUM-HEAD-WALT-DISNEY-Mannequin-SO-REAL_W0QQitemZ290206247698QQihZ019QQcategoryZ13878QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That Funky Monkey

Yesterday was a rainy Saturday, just the kind of day for a rainy day craft project!

I started with this Howling Monkey poster. You've probably seen one of these at your local convenience store.  The fine folks at the local market had some extra, and let me have this one for free.

But what to do with it?

This project was inspired by a coworker. He saw someone at work wearing a store bought oilcloth apron and asked me if I had made it out of some sort of banner. I had to say no, but a seed was planted! Then I remembered the Howling Monkey poster I picked up last week.

It's made out of some sort of vinyl or plastic. Feels a lot like a thick oilcloth. A few snips here and there, some double fold bias tape I had on hand, a couple of snaps, and less than an hour later I had this:

I didn't use any pins to hold the bias tape in place. I used little pieces of double sided tape here and there and machine stitched right over the tape.

Delta hijinx

Here are some of my favorite photos from a recent day out.

These lovelies were spotted at the Western Railway Museum near Rio Vista, CA. If you are in or near the Bay Area, it's worth the trip to see and ride some beautiful old-timey restored street cars and trains.

All those trains can make you work up a mighty thirst, which brings us to this place. The outside just doesn't prepare you for what's inside.

Let's just say there's a good reason the door says "no dogs".

We are talking hardcore TAXIDERMY!

It was too dark inside to get any pictures, so these two are from the Foster's Bighorn website.

All those eyes watching you while you drink is unnerving to say the least. There are about 300 animals, birds and fish here, so that's a lot of eyes.

I took the next photo myself. As if having your head mounted wasn't bad enough, this guy is in the front window wearing a Santa hat. What an embarrassing way for the King of the Jungle to spend the afterlife. Please don't do this to me after I'm gone, that's all I have to say.

Last stop is Hazel's.

They have a burger here as big as an entire plate. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, but there is such a thing as personal goals. You never know, 2008 could be the year I eat the Willy Burger. You know I'll post pictures, too.

I told you I was sick

I love a good cemetery. I love taking photos in a good cemetery. So there you have it.

This may be one of my all time favorites. It's made out of horseshoes! Can you see the name 'Jack' at the foot? Just looking at this makes me wish I could have met Jack.

Here's another stone that tells you a little something about the lives of the people who are buried there.  I imagine these two had a lot of good times travelling and exploring the great outdoors together.  I think it's really touching. It also makes me think a little bit about The Long, Long Trailer.

Here is a special section called Babyland for the wee ones. It was a little unsettling to stumble across this.

Not everyone has a fancy store bought headstone. Here we see a few examples of the crafty/DIY approach.

I have more cemetery photos to share, but I will save them for another post. Thanks for looking.

Kitschmas Krafts!

In the spirit of June and Sandy, I wanted to share some of my Christmas crafts with you. Nothing says Happy Holidays like MAGAZINE TREES ! I made these while I was at work and yes, we actually used them as table centerpieces at our party. Mmmm, gold spray paint, glitter and sparkly pom poms- FESTIVE!

I used to make these out of phone books when I was growing up in the 70's. Now you can get the directions on the Reader's Digest website and start making your own holiday eyesore festive centerpiece. You still have plenty of time to make at least one before the big day. These ones were made from National Geographic (large) and Ellery Queen (small). I know you have some Ellery Queen stashed away somewhere, so no excuses.

What would kitschy crafters do without felt? You can make anything out of felt! Why, you could even take some leftover felt scraps & whip up some snazzy gift card envelopes for those hard-to-shop-for-types on your list. I hope nobody in my family is reading this. Somebody is getting "the gift of Oakland A's Baseball". Shhh! Don't tell!

If these ideas aren't enough for you, I highly recommend checking out the glamorous holiday craftstravaganza over at Kitschy Kitschy Coo! Thirteen Kitschy Christmas Crafty Things you simply cannot live without. This tin foil snowman is one of my faves:

I don't want to ruin the fun, but there is also something involving a can of hairspray. If you are a ladyfriend of mine, you may be getting one next year. That's all I'm going to say about that!

Get craftin' people!

Crafty Women's Tips and Fiddles

The holiday season is here and who doesn't appreciate a good holiday craft? Here are some crafty tips brought to you by David Firth and the fine folks at Fat-Pie.com.

Get your Craft Glove on and start craftin' with June and Sandy!