Walrus Says Hello

I got overtaken by life events and my other work this past month, and forgot all about updating this blog.  So sorry about that!

In the meantime, I've dreamed up several new furry creatures, but only one has been listed, so far--the lime green walrus. Think I should make him available in other colors? Someone also suggested I make a top hat version.

I've been fitting my crafting exploits into the evenings, in front of the television, but I'm rearranging my schedule, now, to see if I can improve things. It's not good to neglect my customers!

Over the past month, I've been listing lots of scarves in a wide variety of colors.  Some have been dry-clean only, but I've tried to include easy-care scarves that can be hand or machine washed, as well.  Today I listed a decorative metal tin that was made in Germany, in the Cold War era (it is marked "Made in West Germany").

If you are shopping for Father's Day, stop by either store and see what I've got.  If you are looking for something in particular, let me know. I would be happy to help in any way I can, either by listing the thing you need (if I have it), or by pointing you in the direction of someone I know who sells it.

So, for a parting question, what's your favorite memory of time spent with your dad? Leave me a story in the comments section!

Pinterest and Procrastination

Well, I've been busy around here and thought I'd drop in for an update. I just mailed my first vintage scarf to France, and I'm thinking about opening up a few more things for France, such as my poodles.

I made a prototype the other day. It looked kinda like a snake that had swallowed a bunch of softballs. It was supposed to be a bookworm, lol. I gave up on it and haven't made myself get back in the saddle this week. I'm tagging this post "philosophy of crafting" because I think that is my philosophy in practice: Try really hard, give up for awhile, and try really hard again.

The shops don't always show a lot of new activity where the public can see it, but I do check them constantly and do a lot of tweaking behind the scenes. For instance, you might not have noticed yet, but I've been brightening a lot of old pictures and adding watermarks to try to increase my advertising through Google images. It appears that image searches are driving a lot of traffic to my Artfire shop right now. For instance, I fixed up this picture of "Leaf o'Gold" dishes from Taylor Smith and Taylor (they're from the 50s).

I also spend my days writing a novel; blogging (unfortunately not enough on this blog); visiting with others, including my dog; enjoying the pretty flowers in my yard; and cooking.  Yup, it's boring stuff for a blog post, but that's my life.

Oh, and I'm also wasting plenty of time on Pinterest now. Are you? If you are, just look up my store name to find my Pinterest boards. I've been posting a lot of vintage inspiration there, such as travel posters and nostalgia from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.  You might like it!

Well, that's enough for now. I'm off to check the photos I took earlier so I can get five new vintage scarves ready for listing. Hope you love them!

Long Overdue Update, with Travel Pics

Hello everyone! I got back from Colorado earlier this month, and totally forgot to update the blog since then. Oops! Guess my brain is still in vacation mode.

 I had a wonderful time and took a lot of pictures. I don't think I could turn around without seeing something I wanted to capture in a photo. I'll only share a couple of pictures here. 


Call it "Colorado Spring" inspiration, but these views make me want to create something, like a painting or print, maybe.  I don't know, yet.  I think it should be more pom-pom creatures, since you may be anxiously awaiting them!

Unfortunately for all of you, I've only been making progress on my writing projects since I got back.  I plan to list something else in the coming week.

In fact, two days ago, I bought some brown felt on sale at Wally-world. Unfortunately, I forgot and left it the cash register!  I guess I made a donation to the store. :P

Seriously, though, I'm trying to figure out which animal I'm trying next. I wrote down all the ideas suggested during the contest, and I'll try those, first.

Off to look into it! I'm sorting through my vintage stash, too, for a few cool things to share with you later.

Contest Winner Pictures!

I thought I'd hop on over here to show you the prize for the first Menagerie Contest Giveaway.  The tip was "A Cute Bunny."  I hope I have accomplished that with this one.  I was going for something not so "Easter," since one of my other entries was an Easter Bunny.  I want to be fair, and also I want my work to be the kind of thing a person could display year-round if desired.

This was a very labor-intensive idea, mainly because of the legs, which had to be sculpted out of flat sheets of felt. I also had to trim the pom poms to make it look less "lumpy."  Of all the things I have made, this is the closest I have come to true sculpture, using construction techniques inspired by the little figures used in 60s animated specials like Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  I actually saw a few of those movie production figures on the Antiques Roadshow awhile ago.

 Because of the labor intensity, I am wondering if I will ever put one in my shop. I could do these, but can't produce them on the scale of my poodles.  This bunny would be costly compared to my other ones.  Would you buy a bunny that is about one to two inches tall, and priced at around $20 to $25?

Let me know in the comments. Otherwise, It's back to the drawing board to find a more mass-marketable bunny. :)  Thanks for reading!