The Texas Troubadour

Lately I've been spending a lot of time on YouTube watching classic country performances, not just for the great music, but also to drool over the beautiful vintage western wear. All those squaw skirts, Nudie suits, embroidered shirts and neckerchiefs set my little Okie heart a flutter. Here's a classic from The Texas Troubadour, Ernest Tubb. If you'll watch closely at the beginning, you'll see some of the lovely background ladies have "gone bandanas", 50's style.

Going Bandanas

You might think my tastes here at Sweetheartville run exclusively pre 1970, that I have no appreciation for the wonderful fashions, crafts and popular culture of more recent decades. Well, Dollfaces, that's where you'd be wrong. Take, for example, this terrific little craft booklet I happened upon at the thrift store a few months back. I'm absolutely crazy, ga ga, over the moon for it. You might even go so far as to say I'm GOING BANDANAS!


Need to whip up a lil' something special for that hot two-steppin' date on Saturday night? No problem. Just get yourself a T-shirt, a few bandanas and enough fringe to choke a mule, and you've got the makings of an ensemble nice enough for the finest soiree! And don't think they've left out you outdoorsy types. The deer will never see this lil' lady coming! Never mind that they'll most certainly hear the plastic tinkling of all the pony beaded fringe and sniff the cloud of White Rain and Exclamation! surrounding her. A girl's gotta look good, even when she's hunting.


Ah, the classic Fringed Bib. These come in quite handy on those humid mornings when your bangs just won't feather right, despite your best efforts. Simply tie one on and everyone will be too busy admiring your accessorizing prowess to notice that your hair's a little flat.


Here's one the whole family can get in on, assuming little Becky isn't going to break her mother's heart again by refusing to wear the Toddler Bandana Top Mommy worked so hard to make. Right, Becky? Smile, Becky. You don't want to have to get in the closet under the stairs again, do you, Becky? Smile big like your sister.


Next up are those Fringed Bibs again, this time making an appearance as aprons used to cover a bathing suit. Pair one with a homemade halter top and you'll be the chicest torso on the beach! Could the makers of this little book get any more creative? I think not.


I call this pose the "Whatever! Whatever! I know I look good! You know you want this! You just jealous! Whatever!"--perfect for Maury Povich paternity test show appearances. Everyone will wish they were your Baby's Daddy when they get a load of you in one of these fun skirts!


Brandy: "Tiff?"
Tiffany: "Yeah?"
Brandy: "I just farted!"
Tiffany: "Oh, Brandy! Like, gag me with a spoon!"


If any of you would like to "go bandanas", email me and I'll be happy to send you a scan of the directions for any of these clever projects. All joking aside, a couple of those skirts have the potential to be wearable, minus the fringe, beads and conchos, of course. Here's a more modern take on the bandana top from the girls of Styleicious.

El Dia de los Rhinestones

I've been enamored of the Mexican celebration of Dia de los Muertos since I first learned about it in my high school Spanish class. I love the idea of laying out a spread of the favorite foods, flowers and music of a loved one who's passed on as a way of welcoming them for a visit from the other side. It's a much more healthy and uplifting view of death than we, as Americans, often have, and nothing represents the exuberant holiday better than the kaleidoscopic sugar skulls made as offerings to the dead.


Well, I racked my brain for the perfect design for the crafty Enid Collins handbag knockoff I told you I wanted to make a while back. I would love a bag with a peacock or bird design of some sort, and that pagoda purse is the epitome of class, but I wanted to start with something different, something that hadn't been done, something so colorful that it would readily lend itself to such a gaudy medium, something hard to mess up. I went to the thrift store and found a plain black purse for $1.48--not too pretty, but cheap, which is what you want when you're blazing new craft trails and might botch up the whole deal.


I took some gold acrylic paint, rick-rack, sequins, and a crapload of plastic rhinestones donated by my Mama, mixed it all up with a toxic dose of E 6000 glue, and I had myself a Day of the Dead Enid Collins-inspired bag.


I replaced the cheap, warped leatherette strap with a ready made curtain tieback, which was my second choice since the Lobby of Hobbies was clearance-ing their by-the-yard gold chain and wanted me to buy the whole roll. I guess it would have been a great deal if one required 17 yards of the stuff, but I only wanted a little. I'm not sure how much wear and tear the satiny curtain tieback will actually take, for that matter, I'm not sure how well the gems will stay put since the bag is slick vinyl and not as rigid as those canvas bucket types Enid used and those in the old kits. The purse has two sides--one smooth and one with imitation croc embossing. I chose to use the croc side since I hoped the glue would stick better to the rougher surface, and I figured the gaudier, the better for this one.


Despite its obvious flaws, this was one of the funnest craft projects I do believe I've ever undertaken, and no, it's not because of the E 6000 induced high. My only dilemma is how to recreate the "frames" that go around the jewels on the Collins bags and my butterfly bag. I searched high and low, in town and on the net, for anything similar, and the only thing I found was someone selling old stock Enid Collins jewels and their frames on EBay--very cool, but too rich for my blood. I ended up going with a gold fabric paint which I pressed some of the gems into, causing a ridge to form around the jewel. It reminds me a little too much of those awful 80's sweatshirts that way, though. I'm really not out to copy Enid's bags (I wish I was that talented), or even the copycat DIY ones they inspired, only to pay tribute to them, so I don't necessarily have to have all the same elements, but those frames look awfully sharp. Hobby Lobby also doesn't carry the large teardrop shaped gems I really need, so I'll have to find an online source for those, I guess. I'm not too worried about the strap durability issue since this was just my prototype purse. If it falls apart, oh well. I'll just make another one. I see a whole lot more of these in my future, in tons of different designs, maybe even a business opportunity...

I'm Tying One On

So, I'm finally taking the plunge and submitting an apron to Tie One On. The theme this time is "The Pocket", and what could be more fitting than a pocket that covers the entire apron?


I made this from a vintage pattern in my stash using the corner motif of a vintage tablecloth and a lot of red rick-rack. Normally I wouldn't advocate cutting up a beautiful old tablecloth like this, but when you find one with too many holes or fifty year old coffee stains, I think it's nice to give it a second chance at life. I love to incorporate vintage elements into my sewing and crafting, and am getting much braver at cutting into my treasured vintage fabrics as my sewing skills improve. It's not visible in the picture, but there is an inverted V shape topstitched on the pocket so things won't slide down into the point of the front panel, effectively creating two side pockets. I had a little trouble with the waistband, as 1940's patterns can be somewhat vague in their instructions, but I'm pretty pleased with the finished product.

A Thrifty Grab Bag

I made an unbelievable haul at my favorite thrift store yesterday, just in time for Thrifty Thursday! This particular store makes up large, clear grab bags of small odds and ends, most often containing ugly Christmas decorations, awful 80's craft supplies, and old pantyhose. This annoys me to no end, since you can't really tell what all might be stuffed down inside the bunch of worthless junk you can see. Usually I give the bags a quick once-over and move along, but yesterday one caught my eye. I made out an adorable vintage wooden girl and boy on a see saw, probably once an element of a toy or nursery mobile, two old patterns, and some vintage Fisher-Price people. I figured I'd take the gamble for $2.98, and it paid off. All of these things will look really cute on Sugar Pea's display shelves in her room.


I'm not certain what this cool, handmade double mushroom thing with the tiny holes is, but my best guess is some sort of hors d'ourves server? Maybe for toothpicks holding cheese cubes or cocktail weenies. The holes are quite tiny. Any guesses? I also found what I believe are little hand-painted cake pick birthday candle holders. Present are Humpty Dumpty, his wall, several of the king's horses and men, and, inexplicably, numerous butterflies. Perhaps they weren't all meant for the same cake.


There were tons of other things in the grab bag, including a set of three metal Halloween candle luminaries that spell out B-O-O when lined up, pieces of fabric, a bag of expensive potpourri, fabric gift bags and more. Some of it went directly into the trash, like the old bra and golf glove I found together in a sandwich bag, but not before the ever-hilarious Mr. Sweetheart had a little fun. When I wondered aloud about what such items had to do with the general crafty/holiday theme of the bag's contents, he sighed, rolled his eyes and asked, "Do I have to spell everything out for you?" He then proceeded to put them on and demonstrate all the crafty endeavors one might undertake while wearing a size 28A brassiere and a ladies' golf glove.
I bought another bag too, but this one was no gamble, as I could immediately see it was packed with thread, elastic, zippers and other vintage sewing notions and trims, still in their original packaging. This is just a little of it, along with the patterns and a like-new 70's kitchen towel from the first bag.


I also happened upon a grab bag in the book section containing all these great 1950's how-to books, and found two Emmylou Harris records for 45 cents each, along with an Abba record for Mr. Sweetheart.


I almost knocked someone over to get to these two vintage clocks to add to my collection for $1.98 each.


I nearly did a victory dance in the aisle when I found this vintage salon hair dryer that works perfectly for only $12.96. It's not the only one I own, but that's a show and tell for another day!


This is a cool divided Pyrex dish with a blueberry pattern I don't recall seeing before.


I hit the mother lode of vintage coffee cups with cool designs.


These are three of my favorite mugs. The Texas souvenir has a pistol for a handle, and the Nassau one is made from a piece of bamboo. The one on the left bears one of my favorite kitschy phrases, "I'm a beautician, not a magician." High comedy, in my opinion.


You might be wondering what a girl needs with so many mismatched coffee cups. Here's a little hint: they might be part of something especially crafty and vintagey I'm cooking up. Have I intrigued you? Stay tuned, Dollfaces!

Vintage Inspiration for Your Home

Does your home need a little inspiration? Here are some ideas for every room of the house, all tied together by the blue-green shades that I love.
What could be more welcoming than a beautiful entryway? This not-to-be-overlooked part of any dwelling is the first chance your home has to impress your guests. This front hall was spiced up with a fantastic abstract mural the homeowner painted herself. If you do not possess the artistic skill for such a mural, why not let a boldly printed wallpaper stand in? You can afford to be especially daring if you administer wildness in small doses.


Don't have a high-ceiling, midcentury architectural masterpiece for a living room? Neither do I, Dollfaces, but we can all take a cue from its clean lines and cool color scheme which really pops against the warm wood paneling and sleek fireplace. The lesson here is edit, edit, edit, something at which I'm not very adept.


This showstopper of a dining room with its suddenly new again blue and brown palette would bowl over even the most finicky dinner guest. See how cleverly the brass fish sculptures on the table reflect the design of the hooked rug wall hanging? An art piece can become the jumping off point for a room's color scheme or theme. Alternately, the right painting, photograph or wall hanging can tie together dissimilar elements and make mismatched furniture or accessories seem deliberate, which can be of great benefit when attempting to unite several one of a kind vintage finds.


This white kitchen with aqua and yellow pops of color is a marvelous example of how redecorating needn't be a costly, long term commitment. By keeping the background neutral, you are free to explore your current tastes and color whims through affordable accessories and small splashes of paint. When you finally move past your robin's egg and daffodil phase, your lovely kitchen will be a cinch to makeover. Lime and lipstick red, anyone?


Towels and curtains are a simple way to add colorful accents in an all white bathroom, useful for those of us who rent. Touches of black in furniture or accessories are my favorite way to "ground" a room. I'm a firm believer that if you add enough black, any mismatched jumble looks purposeful!

Children deserve a special place to call their own, and what youngster wouldn't love to spend time in this sunny little nook under the eaves? Decorate according to their interests, such as in this attic bedroom for a young aviation enthusiast. Even in a shared bedroom, each child needs a corner dedicated to his or her own taste.


Many of us would be thrilled to own the gorgeous blond wood furniture in this master bedroom, but if the price tag is beyond your reach, something akin to this nearly built-in look can be achieved, even with disparate pieces. Why not paint those garage sale dressers, night stands and bookshelves one unifying color and rearrange and stack to your heart's content? Push two low dressers together, top one with a set of second hand shelves, add a mirror to the wall, and you have yourself a custom vanity slash storage unit. If you or a friend are handy with tools, a long headboard with two shelves for reading lamps would be a simple weekend project.


Decorating inspiration can come from anywhere. Keep your eyes peeled for color schemes in nature, vintage fabrics, artwork, even an odd assortment of objects in a flea market booth. Look at the set design of your favorite old movies or classic television shows. Don't be timid! Do jump into decorating your living space with both feet. If it doesn't work, change it. Think of your home as an ever-evolving work of art and representation of you, but never alter your tastes to suit what's in style. In beauty, fashion and home decoration, let your true self shine.

All pictures are from Better Homes & Gardens Decorating Ideas, copyright 1960.

Never Before a Lipstick So Red!

"Try Viv on your own lips... Or your friend's lips. Viv is not here to judge."



"You're just going to have to take our word for it. We're running out of red things to compare the stuff to. Damn this black and white T.V.!"

Here She Is, Miss Belvedere...

On Friday, Sugar Pea and I stood in a massive crowd in downtown Tulsa and watched history unfold--well, we caught tiny glimpses of it unfolding, anyway. A giant crane gingerly lifted the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere from the vault on the courthouse lawn amid cheers from native Tulsans and world travelers alike.


Then Miss Belvedere was pulled through the adoring crowd on a trailer, still dressed in her shroud and layers of protective wrappings.


That evening, as the world waited, Miss Belvedere finally made her debut after fifty years below ground. The Sweethearts watched as her wrappings were gently removed and the ravages of the last half century were revealed.

Here she is, Dollfaces, proudly displayed smack dab in the center of the classic car show organized in her honor. Despite the dirt and rust, spots of shiny chrome are still visible, as are signatures of several Tulsans, placed on her whitewalls just before she was lowered into her tomb.


Many of her much publicized contents were lost to time, but a few survived, including several cans of "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous".


A few of the contents of a lady's purse were recovered, including two combs, a plastic compact, a tube of lipstick, a cigarette lighter, and the famous bottle of tranquilizers.


The really good news is that the contents of the steel time capsule buried with the car survived in perfect condition.




Had the years been kinder to Miss Belvedere, and had that special vault and those layers of Cosmoline done the job we all hoped they would do, this is how she would have looked on June 15, 2007.


This 1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille made my midcentury heart race, and I'm not much of a car person, really. Those tail fins! Those rocket exhaust-like brake lights! The chrome! That beautiful aquamarine paint job!


What I began to wonder was, why did forward-looking style die after the 60s? I realize these gas guzzlers were from a time when America was on top of the world. We thought gas would always be 24 cents a gallon, especially in Tulsa, The Oil Capital of the World in those days. And even if it wasn't, hell, we'd all be flying around in plutonium powered personal jets with colonies on the moon at the turn of the 21st Century. That was part of the reason Miss Belvedere was buried for us to exhume now. "The Greatest Generation" thought maybe we'd like to know exactly what those "automobiles" their grandchildren would read about in electronic textbooks had looked like up close. That's why they included gas, oil and a spare tire with the Plymouth--the folks in 2007 would need those accessories to take the relic for a spin, if there were still such antiquated things as roads. Everyone was looking forward, and the sky was the limit. It seems we've lost that spirit of progress now. Oh, I know science and medicine make great leaps every day, and really, who among us would go back to a time before women were free to control their own destinies and make their own decisions regarding family, finance and career? Before The Pill. Before a cure for Polio. Before equal rights for all. Before prevalent air conditioning, for god's sake. Though I appreciate the timeless design and many of the values of the 1930s through the early 1960s, and fairly ache with nostalgia for a time twenty five years before my birth, I'm not one of those who look back at the middle of the 20th Century with rose colored glasses and see only poodle skirts and apple pie. There were problems, lots of them. Life could be hard. There was crime and ugliness, even then. But for all the progress we've made, it seems we've lost something, too, not just in the area of design, but in the pride we had in ourselves, our homes, our communities, not only as Americans, but as citizens of a world on the brink of utopia, always one atom away from perfection. At some point we stopped looking forward. We became cynical and selfish and began the move from "us" to "me".


As I stood in that cheering crowd while that rusted old car was being lifted from the ground, and later as those failed wrappings were removed, I was more stirred than I had imagined I would be. I felt the pain and disappointment of all that hope and hard work and those best laid plans that, in the end, were a gamble that didn't pay off. I could feel the pride and confidence with which she was buried that day, fifty years ago, the fragility of human efforts, and the speed with which Mother Nature could reclaim it all, given enough time. Many of the folks responsible for this unprecedented time capsule have long since passed on, and those little girls photographed on the car's hood in 1957 are now grandmothers. There is a lesson to be learned from Miss Belvedere, I think. Though she didn't survive the passage of time as she was intended to, something of the spirit of hope for the future of Tulsa, Oklahoma, of the United States, and of the world remains, if only we can find a way to recapture it.

Dampened Spirits in Tulsa

Well, Dollfaces, if you haven't already heard, there's bad news on the Tulsarama front. Here I am standing on top of the Plymouth's vault a couple of weeks ago.


And here is what was resting underneath my feet.

On Wednesday the vault was opened to assess the basic condition of its contents and rule out the possibility of any hazardous materials, and what officials found was devastating, effectively dashing any hopes that the Plymouth may have survived in showroom condition. Dirt and water filled the Belvedere's tomb up to the car's fenders, with evidence that the vault may have been completely filled at some point in the last fifty years. It remains to be seen if the water and rustproofing measures (layers of special wrappings) taken in 1957 did their job. Sugar Pea and I, along with the rest of the world, will find out tonight.

It'll Tickle Yore Innards!

I've always had a love affair with the Ozark Mountains, and mountain life, in general. I grew up with bluegrass music, the Foxfire books, and regular trips to Branson, Missouri to visit the historical displays and traditional craftsmen at Silver Dollar City. I ended up marrying a boy from the Arkansas Ozarks. One might even go so far as to say that I like things that are "old timey". In fact, I feel such a connection to the mountains and the culture of mountain people, I often wonder if I lived in some misty hollow (or "holler" as they'd say) in a long-ago lifetime. Despite this great affinity for mountain folk and their ways, I am not without a sense of humor, and find considerable amusement in the kitschy hillbilly collectibles and souvenirs of the 50s and 60s. So for this installment of Thrifty Thursday, I thought I'd share my newest obsession collection. While going through my dad's kitchen cabinets, I found this vintage coffee cup depicting Maw hanging out of the cabin window "a hollerin'" to Paw that his coffee's ready. Paw, it seems, is taking his morning constitutional in the "$hitter", if you will, the outhouse, if you won't.

Well, wouldn't you know I'd been hankerin' to start myself a collection of hillbilly stuff, but was waiting for the right piece to cross my path. As I've said before, these things often snowball after one innocent little item falls into my lap, and this case is no different. It seems if I find a piece I love, I'm not satisfied with owning just that one thing, like any normal person would be. No, I have to collect more, more, more of it! One lil ol' hillbilly cup looks out of place in my mostly midcentury modern decor, but a whole slew of backwoods, cousin-lovin' tchochkes is an intentional point of eclecticism. Last week, after telling Mr. Sweetheart I was on the lookout for hillbilly paraphernalia, what do you think I spied that very day at a yard sale so puny I almost didn't stop? This old Mountain Dew bottle for ten cents, once filled with sugary goodness "made from flavors specially blended in the traditional hillbilly style".

Apparently, long before it was fuel for snowboarding, kayaking, skydiving and other extreme pursuits, Mountain Dew was strong enough to "tickle yore innards", and possibly shoot a hole in one's hat with its cork as it was opened.


I swear the hoarding thrifting gods were smiling on me, because that very afternoon at the thrift store I happened upon this little gem for a whopping 45 cents.


So here's the whole little inbred family. Not a bad start to a collection, and I'm only out 55 cents.


Now to find a "Maw" item or two, and one of those little novelty brown jugs I used to see all the time that said, "Lay off, this is the old man's private stuff".

Let's Get Cockeyed and Celebrate!

I was recently honored to be nominated for a "Thinking Blogger Award" by Miss Jungle Dream Pagoda. What an exciting surprise! The protocol, here, is that I must now nominate five other bloggers who make me think, alert those folks with a comment, and they, in turn, must choose their favorites, and so on. Being rather new to blogland, and having blog tastes that run toward the here's-some-cool-old-stuff-I-found variety and the no-longer-updated variety (both venues that don't lend themselves well to this kind of game) I have decided to simply alert you to some great blogs you may or may not have visited from my lil list o' links, rules be damned!

Firstly, I know you probably aren't supposed to reciprocate and re-nominate the blogger that honored you, but I am making up my own rules here, so do go visit Jungle Dream Pagoda. She is quite the fashion plate and a regular vintage vixen, not to mention she has chosen the best blog name I believe I've ever heard. I have been very inspired by her fearless fashion sense, and you will be too.
Another daily read, though I've mentioned him and his generosity before, is Tikiranch. Since that post, he has sent the original cookbooklet bearing the "Lady of Flame" and the "Let's get Cockeyed" cocktail napkin, simply because I commented that I especially admired it. What a blog friend! I tune in every week day to see what fantastic vintage advertising he has served up from his massive collection.
A really fun blog, in fact, a Secret Fun Blog, is Kirk's extension to his entertaining site Secret Fun Spot. Both are a must read for lovers of vintage ephemera, and the design is just fabulous. Stop by and congratulate him on his recent work on the new Hairspray movie.
A fairly recent find, and an amazing source of inspiration, is Cathy of California. Cathy is a window dresser and retail merchandiser, as well as a crafter who takes her inspiration from the crafts of the 60s and 70s. Her blog showcases photos from her large collection of vintage craft books, magazines, and found photos. Go visit her this instant!
Your Daily Awesome delivers just what it promises: "One blast of awesomeness a day".
Last but not least, is a wildly entertaining blog from a crafty, vintagey girl after my own heart, Mary of My House is Cuter Than Yours. I am certainly not the first to recognize her talents, as I see her name in link lists all over the place, and in fact, I hesitated to include her in this list because she is currently taking a little break from blogland, but her archives are certainly worthy of an hour (or two) of your time. I stumbled upon her wonderful site just as I was beginning my own little blog and she was shelving hers. I instantly felt as if I had found a kindred spirit. Go take a look, if you haven't already, and if you like what you see, leave her a comment to wish her well.
There are my hypothetical nominees for the "Thinking Blogger Award". I hope you are as entertained by them as I, and if you are, please let them know. In summation, I wish to thank Mr. Sweetheart, my Mama, and my agent for their continuing support. I promise I will always remember the little people as I continue my ride on the upward shooting star of blogosphere fame.