Ehl Ohh Vee Eeeeks!!! I l.o.v.e. it!

I loves me some Vegas decoratin. When I came across this gem, I wasn't so intrigued by the house (there aren't tons of interesting houses there architecturally, except maybe for the Scotch 80s and some of the homes on/near Alta), but the decor! It's like someone stole pictures from my brain of the perfect kitsch and married it all into one place. See for yourself. More photos after the break!

Before and...

I came across this little gem today in my mom's family album. That's my ma on the right there, with the rockabilly haircut and dress, sitting with my Aunt Paula, Aunt Marlyn, Uncle Tom and a mystery girl, there in the pinkish dress. How FABULOUS are those curtains, the French Bulldog, my uncle's suspenders and my aunt's dress (far left)? This is one of my favorites.

On the left is the original scan; the photo was hot pink! I scanned it and took it into photoshop, but I think I'm going to stick with the original... the colors may be whack, but I'm a lover of original flaws. . . everything takes me back to the Velveteen Rabbit. And I could go on a tirade about "people and things earning their scars" and the glory of getting "loved up til your eyes pop out and your fur gets worn," but I'll save it for another day. For now, I'll just say that the vintage actions for photoshop are great, but I'll always have a deep affinity for film.

Which edit do you like better?

Dining room evolution

Here's the house when I first moved in, just bare, sticky floors in the kitchen and dining room where golden carpet had reigned for 30 or so years. When I got here I was totally broke, so I found some carpet sample tiles at the local furniture store on the cheap and cut each to fit a square tile pattern... this took nearly 80 hours (shown below), but fate didn't have it in its plans I guess, because all that work got destroyed in a small accident (I'll say no more to protect the innocent), and eventually I just replaced the hard-won tile job with a simple tan carpet.



And below is the most recent dining room incarnation. It's definitely a little more traditional than Panton chairs and a 50s chrome table, but I was able to keep it funky by painting the cabinets and lining the interiors with reclaimed lumber. Inside each are mostly thrift store finds, a rolling pin hanging rack I made, and two antique windows a contractor friend was replacing and let me have. Above, the 'Egg Room' sign was formerly a part of my parents' horse barn, which was for years a chicken hatchery before we moved in.

Chenille curtain upcycle

 I've been upcycling chenille bedspreads into curtains, and a Victorian ceramic cookie jar into a vase (simply spray painted white).



...and taking some photos around the house, working my styling skills. I made the tufted headboard above with curtains that came with my home when I bought it, some diy covered buttons, a scrap of dense foam and a piece of plywood. Pillows are upcycled from vintage quilts, dresses, doilies, men's western snap button shirts and vintage ties.

A Very Vintage Wedding

This morning has been entirely spent scanning an antique marriage certificate I found on an estate sale and replacing the photos with images I took a few months ago of my dear friend Kristin and her boyfriend, Chris. I'm not sure how she'll react to her face on a marriage certificate, but she and Chris have such cute mugs I couldn't resist. I listed this service on my etsy site just now, with the promise of a tiny photo tutorial for those who wish to have their own mugs on a personalized antique certificate.

Click the see more link below to learn...
HOW TO MAKE OPTIMUM IMAGES FOR YOUR CERTIFICATE:

Kitsch By Numbers

Ooooh, I so love paint by numbers paintings. At the Hwy 36 Treasure Hunt last week, I found 5 paint by numbers, 3 velvet paintings and 2 genie lamps. It was like Christmas. The above leopard in a Roman temple, was the oddest and most intricate paint by numbers I've ever come across.




Follow the break below to see a bunch more of the crazy stuff I found this past weekend.

Arrrgh, she says. Scan, she does. Pillage the house for things that look good pressed against lit up glass, she means.

I've been on this huge scanning kick lately, scanning anything and everything in the house, and looking up all the scans I can find on flickr and google searches for inspiration. I've apparently done a real number on my scanner... let's just say customer service at Canon isn't my biggest fan right now. I say things to them like, "Oooooh, I think I just found the problem, a button and a piece of a cucumber."  It's still broken, and I'm hoping that a magical unicorn will show up on my door and hand me a scanner with a 3 foot by 4 foot scanning bed and a drum scanner for medium format film. C'mon, universe. Gimme some big technology.