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!

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.

Vegas Gypsy

When I tell people I lived in Vegas for seven years, their minds instantly flash to some sort of image created by the people who brought you casinos, rather than an up and coming downtown, an indie music scene, an ever growing arts community, which finally is getting its due with support from Zappos and even a few downtown casinos. Today we found one of the greatest new addition to the downtown arts district: Gypsy Caravan. A full sized stuffed lion (with a disclaimer he died of natural causes), circus signs, dinosaur statues, a fully stocked vintage boot room, and some 60s hanging lights we were dying over. Everywhere I turned, fabulous! The endearing photos were in the entry, and I fell in loooove with these dancing kids.

Somewhere between boho and kitsch

via buttonkopart on etsy

I'm at an impasse; I love the kitsch and I love the bohemian... somewhere right in the middle is where I live. I love the wackiness, weirdness and zef qualities of kitsch, the soulfulness of boho. These finds were just about perfect for me, in bringing these two styles together.



From top, clockwise:
via CrudeThings on etsy
via UTHAhats on etsy
via CrudeThings on etsy
via MoondialGypsy on etsy
via CrudeThings on etsy



Many more wild head pieces, head dresses and wigs after the break... just click below.

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.

400 miles of garage sales

In September every year, I drive up and down Hwy 36, on Kansas' Treasure Hunt, stretching the length of Kansas on a rural highway which barely lands in a town with a population greater than 3,000.  So far, in two days, I've only made it through 3 towns worth of garage sales: Mankato, Scandia and Belleville. Above are most of the goodies I picked up, minus a bunch of cutter quilts, scarves, a seashell hanging lamp, a burgundy velvet Stetson, two really old tennis rackets and oh boy oh boy oh boy, three little 'hooptie' bikes with chopper-style handlebars and banana seats.
On my run, I met a man who spent 4 months building a Longhorn bull out of old wrenches, scissors, railroad spikes and about anything else steel he or his farmer buddies could find. It's a miracle of art, of engineering and of humor. The bull's balls are made from nuts, and when you kick them, a bell rings. That's pretty much 1,000 times better than most of the crap that's found its way to Chelsea this year.




More photos after the break...

Awakening the carpenter within

I finally finished my wood slat wall a couple of weeks ago and then came across these amazing wooden chairs at the Catholic Thrift Shop, five bucks apiece!  I found the kilim pillows and the cardboard moosehead on etsy... links to the shops provided. We seem to have a lot of musical instruments laying around; people just seem to keep leaving guitars, amps, drums, all sorts of things at our house. Not that I'm complaining, I just wish someone would leave me a fiddle. I can ROCK the fiddle. And that's all brag; I think I'm really good; everyone else seems to run and hide. Ever since I heard 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' the first time, I've dreamed of playing it, with some pyrotechnics in the background maybe.  Guys screaming and throwing their boxers at the stage. Bob Dylan watching from the audience entranced by my playing, and ohhh, they don't even know my name is Jonnie!!! And it might be a sin, but I'll take your bet and you're gonna regret, cuz I'm the best that's ever been....
Okay, I'm better with a camera. Silently searching for just the right light, just the right odd combination of people, trees, cars, weather. Sometimes I think I'll finally take "the photo" like the one that says IT, that does IT, that explains the whole universe to me and we become one, I turn into square little biological pixels, and the pixels crumble, scatter to the winds and I become a rainbow. That's what happens, they say, when there's too much magic in a rectangle at once. I haven't done it yet, but there are a few photos I'd at least call memorable. I'll get around to scanning and posting them one of these days; the meantime, here's another example of the carpentry skills, not necessarily a photographic awakening:

Kitchen: Accomplished

After four long years, I finally feel like the kitchen's complete. There have
been arguments about color, style, appliances, but at long last, it was all
worth the huge pain in my ass. I hated to paint over the beautiful wood in
the top photo; that was one of the biggest hold-outs. Problem was, and you

Livin' the Kitsch Dream

and needin' a life sized fiberglass horse lamp to go with my upcycled velvet painting pillows...

Shooting down etsy

New fun stuff in the shop and brand new photos!

Junk Jaunting through Kansas

Every year in late September, Kansas's Hwy 36 is blessed with miles and miles and miles of thrifting... from Colorado to Missouri in fact. I made it about 100 miles before all things vintage and kitsch started to blend together into a hazy fog of "car full of junk"...

I've GOT to make one of these...

Loving this upcycled suitcase chair... I've got to try this.  Thanks inhabitat!

Gettin down with DaWanda

Entdeckt auf DaWanda

Von: Hasenfratze

Postkarte, 3er Set - einzigartige Postkarten

Pretty fun to browse through DaWanda, Germany's version of Etsy... some great finds, and some really odd ones too. Even found a great vintage shop...

Entdeckt auf DaWanda

Von: ProjektVintage

50er/60er Spiel | Der magische Roboter

Thanks Etsy!

I was really excited to get an email from Christine that I'd be in Etsy's "Get the Look" series on the blog. It's always a wild ride when this happens... tons of things to box and ship (which is great!) and everything feels as if it's happening at once. Geesh! I can't imagine when it happens to handcrafters... if you suddenly had TONS of orders for custom pieces, I'd imagine it would get really stressful and crazy! And, thanks for the blog love! From 8-31 to 9-9 I'm offering a 15% discount in the shop for anyone who becomes a blog follower. Just enter the coupon code "bloglove" and, of course, sign up to follow me here. Also, some upcoming contests and giveaways!

Some inspirations from Casper James

Casper James had me at "living room," this living room to be exact. Maybe it was meant to be, me and Casper being contacts on flickr. Perhaps it was pre-written in the cosmos. But, oooh! every time I look through my favorites I'm drawn to this image:

If you need some more CJ goodness, follow the see more link to see more of the stuff he's creating now. It's nothing short of magic!

Tuesday Flickr Favorites

Speaking of plates...

Here are a few of my FAVORITES from beat up creations on etsy:

Layers of goodness

Some may call it hoarding; I call it suitcase mountain. Once I put my collection together, I decided to stack 'em. When I had to grab a chair to finish piling my vintage suitcases, my mind instantly went to images of people with 150 cats and boxes stacked to their ceilings telling their therapists on national t.v., "I don't know how it got this bad." Well, I've made a pre-emptive strike on my natural tendency to hoard and begun selling what I can and throwing away the rest. Yesterday, on trash day, the curb was lined and my neighbor looked at trash mountain, looked at me, questions in mind, then just sort of turned and went into the house.  Sometimes it's better to make up your own fictions.

When do I get my antlers?

Quick Crafty and Kitschy how to

If you're like me, you LOOOOOOVE velvet paintings with a passion that can only be described as obsessive. I want them all: the good, the bad, the Elvises, the poodles, the faux Rennaissance girls on fainting couches, the men with big mustaches, the pretty sunsets and palm trees. Yes, my love for velvet jammed into wooden frames is equal opportunity. But, eh, there's only so much wall space, so compromises must be made. Get out the scissors and the sewing machine and recycle those paintings into pillas. The kitsch gods will shine down on you.