Aahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Ok...So the photos in this post are more of an eye-sore than eye candy, but I wanted to show you why I've been a little MIA lately....

It's been work work work for the past two months and it I'm still not ready for the three shows I have coming up in least than two weeks! I did clean my studio, believe it or not, but once I get working, it turns disaster zone in no time.

I have sooo many New Year's resolutions regarding my little business. The first one is...redo my entire studio! I'm so incredibly excited about this. Once the holidays are over (but don't get me wrong...I plan to enjoy them fully and don't want them to whiz right by) and January hits, I'm pulling the entire contents of my studio out (where am I going to put it you ask? we'll cross that bridge when we get there...lol) and repainting the walls...I'm thinking either a light sky blue/turquoise or just a cream and add the color with the furniture...what do you think I should do? Then I'm going on Craigslist and Ben is going to cart me around in his work van to pick up unwanted bookcases and shelves all over Boston. I'll paint them to match the room...but I need the walls of this tiny room to be covered in shelving.

Then I'm going to organize all of my supplies and goodies and put about half back in the studio. The other half will be put in storage (for when I move into my big beautiful house a couple of years down the road) or sold (keep an eye out in my vintage Etsy store for goodie packs, supplies and vintage treasures in January and February.

I can't wait for it to be done and I'll be so much more organized and it will speed up the creative process too (I don't know how many wasted 10's of minutes were spent looking for something I was holding five seconds ago!).

Another resolution I'm looking forward to working on next year is changing the way I create and offer my goodies (it will be much better, trust me). And this includes an easy-squeezy wholesale catalog for you retailers out there! I'll write more about it later.
This is after I cleaned up believe it or not.

Yup...that chair is where I sit and work...I don't even use a garbage...I just let the bits and scraps fall where they may.

My crepe paper collection always proves to be in fairly good order! :)

I'll be posting photos of my studio transformation when it happens! Stay tuned!

Show and Tell!!

This blog post is a little over due...but better late than never! I wanted to show you some of goodies I've scavenged up at local thrift stores and flea markets over the last month or two.

The scrumptious pile of vintage delight in the photo above (and the two below) are from Lisa. We did a little one-on-one swap a while back. I just drool over vintage picks and garlands. You'll be seeing little spun cotton cats and children and snowmen and santas holding some of these things in the next few months.

But these little paper mache doll heads are too precious and I don't know if I can bear to part with them!

Are these not the cutest snowmen and Santa picks? Tiny pinecones and tiny ornaments are perfect accessories for my critters. And that patriotic crepe paper is die for!!

This is a bundle of things I picked up at my favorite thrift store the last time I visited my family in New York. It's the kind of store run by little old church ladies and everything is a quarter (well, not everything, but you know what I mean). They have a "Christmas room", which is more like a Christmas closet and it's chock full of everything Christmas. And there's always a sign in there saying "Christmas items are 10% off on purchases over a dollar". lol It's too funny...since almost nothing in there has a price and they just make one up when you check out!

This vintage elf head and little spun cotton elf picks are a rare find for me. I get giddy with excitement every time I spot one!!

And this is the motherload! A few weeks ago I stopped at the local "ghetto" flea market. The first time I went there I had the suspicion that some of the wares were actually stolen (at least the booths selling electronics). Booths were literally filled to the max with furniture stacked and stuffed. I've even seen one of the sellers walking on top of a ten foot pile of furniture trying to dig something out for a woman who was directing him. It was too funny. After a little while I warmed up to the place and realized that it was just a different kind of flea market. Alberto and Dora became my favorite sellers. Dora loves to talk but I can't understand a word she says. She always tells me to come back next weekend and she'll bring more Christmas things...but she never does. She's a character really! Her grandkids are always playing and munching on snacks in her booth.

You really have to dig and get your hands dirty (literally) at this flea market...but you can find some real treasures! :) I've found German glass garlands, old old old Christmas ornaments, little pinecones elves. All buried in a box or garbage bag.

Several boxes of ornaments from Alberto. Button and spools of thread and ribbon and millinery leaves and tulle from Dora.

Later that day (the day I went to the flea market) I had an appointment at a gallery but got completely lost and wound up driving waaaaaaay out of my way. The traffic in Boston and the surrounding suburbs is treacherous (I'm used to open country roads in upstate New York). There aren't alot of things that get me upset and/or anxious...but getting lost in the car by myself is definitely one of them.

Soooo...after finally making it to the gallery, meeting with the director (who's a sweetie and didn't mind that I was late) and then slowly making my way home...I needed to take the edge off. America's Favorite Thrift Store just happened to be on the left while I was driving through Dedham and I knew I'd feel better after a stroll through the aisles.

America's Favorite Thrift Store is sort of like Salvation Army...all the goods are picked through and the prices seem to get higher each time I go...but I managed to find a few good things. $25 later I was feeling calm and content and continued my journey home with a smile.

All of these things are from Dora at the flea market...some bone handled knives and aluminum ribbon. Spools and spools of vintage silk ribbon...yum!

This pretty beaded Christmas tree is from Dora also. And it's big! The frame has sticky tape on it and the beads weighed down the velvet a bit so it's sagging at the bottom...but with a little love, it will be as good as new!

I'll be selling a bunch of these goodies in my vintage Etsy store once I get organized and take some photos. Keep an eye out! :)

Do I hear jingle bells?

I know Halloween has JUST ended, but I can't help but to get excited about Christmas already. I started these little guys a while ago to try and get a head start on Christmas since there's so little time after Halloween, but I just had the hardest time getting into snowballs and Christmas trees when spooky movies were on TV and pumpkins and scarecrows decorated everybody's porches.

So, with the spooky stuff pretty much over (but it was a blast!), this weekend I spent some time and finished these little guys up. They're sort of a soft start to the holiday season because many of them are all around winter themed or even everyday themed.

These little characters above are all about winter. The bottle brush trees and glittery "snow"...not to mention their colorless coats (fur and otherwise).

These guys make me think of Christmas but really are everyday flower juggling kitties!

Same with this sassy girl. She holding a vintage glass "balloon" and sports the yummy blue I've been drooling over lately.

Who needs reindeer when you have your very own giant cat with matching shoes?! This duo is ready for any blizzard that comes their way.

Here's a sugary blue juggling girl. Icy blue for Christmas or powdery blue for spring. She's quite versatile, although her snowy base and snow suit dress kind of give her away.

Here she is in white. This one was most certainly inspired by an antique spun cotton gal who was juggling millinery flowers while standing on a snowball too!

Ok ok...not too Christmasy...but with sugar plums dancing in my head, anything that's not black and orange is all Christmas to me!

And lastly are my new elf children. They come in white, powder blue and pink and are only $12 each!

I'll be listing all of these characters in my Etsy store today and throughout the week along with some other new kids and critters.

Happy Election Day and don't forget to vote!! :)