Mama Says Vintage

It's that time when we begin to reflect on the year that's come and gone, and start looking forward to the fresh start January 1st will bring. I'm a planner and a dreamer, so my list-making tendencies are in overdrive. Art, craft, and home projects are filling the pages of my notebook as quickly as I can jot them down. One of the projects at the top of my list is a new bloggy collaboration between my sweet friend Heather and I.



Mama Says Vintage is a blog about living a simpler, more self-sufficient life and raising a family in tune with the wisdom of the past. You'll find posts about natural homemaking, thrift and making do, and simple, inexpensive activities for children. Of course, it's about more than just recipes, gardening, and kids--we'll also throw in a few country girl glamour tips and some vintage fashion as well.

I'm a gal who has many widely varying interests and passions, and I sometimes feel that some topics I want to write about may not necessarily be a good fit with Sweetheartville. I mean, in this big huge world, probably not all that many folks are as excited about vintage hairstyling, kitschy crafts, and Nudie suits as they are about homesteading, Farmer's Almanacs, and folk wisdom. Mama Says Vintage gives me the opportunity to write about mothering, gardening, and cooking, while leaving Sweetheartville for art, craft, rhinestones, vintage beauty operatin', and kitsch. So there you have it. Swing by Mama Says Vintage and let us know what you think!

Happy Christmas and Merry Holidays

Merry Christmas to my Christmas celebratin' Dollfaces! All my dreaming paid off this year when a Christmas Eve blizzard left us with a White Christmas, a truly rare event for us Okies.



The Sweethearts are about to venture out into the Winter Wonderland for visiting and gifting, but before we do, I thought I'd give you a tiny little tour of our Christmas Fancies.



This year our tree was a turquoise and vintage Santa and His Elves affair, and I think it might be my most favorite tree to date.



I love, love, love my vintage bells tree skirt!



Here is my entryway with its growing collection of trees. I took Ms. JDP's advice and just used some pretty, faceted bulbs in my chartreuse lamps in lieu of the elusive perfect pair of vintage shades. I also prettyfied my front door with a vintage net hostess apron draped over the curtain rod.



I hope everyone is warm, safe and happy on this sparkly Christmas Day!

An Exclusive Peek Inside Craft House!

And now, dear readers, you are in for a real treat. Follow me to The Creative Center for America's Tremendous "Do-It-Yourself" Movement. That's right. The creative geniuses at Craft House have granted Sweetheartville exclusive access to their secret design lair, hidden deep inside the earth's core, constructed entirely of asbestos and Styrofoam balls which have been dipped in Cosmoline and glitter.



Step number one in the creation of a Craft House "do-it-yourself" design is a planning conference of all the department heads. From left to right are: Virginia-Fashion and Design Director, Mary Lou-Toxic Substance Sourcing Department, Jean-Accounting, Betty-Department of Sequins, Gertrude- Human Resources.


Now Mabel takes the "sparkling ideas" of the department heads and brings them to life by smudging bits of coal on old newspapers. Have you ever had a sparkling idea? I have had several, and they can be quite painful. However, I've been told by a doctor that my ideas are more sparkling than most, so don't be surprised if yours don't hurt.


Virgina calls all over the world looking for sequins and trim. Materials for Craft House kits travel from exotic Oriental lands like Hong Kong and Sheboygan.


Once the materials and decorative trim have arrived safely, they are carefully coordinated and organized using a specialized system of ropes, pulleys, and boxes from The Container Store.


Here is where the model-making specialists come in. These highly trained workers are entrusted with the important task of assembling the prototypical kits only after they've completed 700 hours of hands on Styrofoam adhesion and sequin pinning training. They must also pass rigorous physical testing and mental health screenings.


This finished "Drunken Snowman Leaning on a Light Post" model represents 40 man hours of labor, and untold tens of dollars in ruined supplies. Such is the level of Craft House's commitment to quality. Quality which will surely give holiday cheer to millions of nursing homes this year.

I'm Dreaming Of A Styrofoam Christmas

It happens that Irving Berlin's White Christmas is my favorite movie of all time, so when my mom found a little vintage craft booklet put out by Craft House in 1954 which features Rosemary Clooney on the cover, you know I was thrilled. It seems that "Smart Gals" "From Beverly Hills to Boston" are making their own holiday decorations this year. Well, I could have told you that.



Look at these darling centerpieces! Look at them!



I will share with you how you, whether a resident of Beverly Hills or Boston, can craft these beautiful, tasteful holiday decorations yourself. You may want to grab a pen and paper, because there are a few steps. Ready?



Okay.
Step number 1: Obtain a 1982 DeLorean DMC-12.

Step two: Dig up a small nuclear reactor and some plutonium. You are going to need this to generate the required 1.21 gigawatts of power. Also, and this is so, so important, you're going to need to get your hands on a flux capacitor.

Step 3: Find a large expanse of open ground, perhaps a parking lot or airport runway. You are on your own here as I live in Oklahoma and am not familiar with the layouts of Beverly Hills or Boston.

Step 4: Somewhere on the DeLorean's dashboard you should find a mechanism featuring some buttons. Use those buttons to enter the date 12/1/54 (or 1/12/54 if your DeLorean was manufactured for the European market.)

Step 5: At one end of the above mentioned parking lot or runway, put your foot on the DeLorean's gas pedal and drive that mother until the speedometer reads 88 mph.

Step 6: The directions get a bit fuzzy here, because if I'm being perfectly honest, I have not tried this myself. DeLoreans, even ones from 1982, are expensive, yo.
If you have arrived safely in 1954, (and if you have followed my directions to the letter there's no reason why you shouldn't have) find the nearest dime store and purchase those Craft House Christmas Decoration Kits which you desire. While you're at it, buy a few for me. I will totally pay you back.

Step 7: Return to 2009. At this point, head over to my "Vintage Crafts" set on flickr where you will find the directions for assembling many of these kits.

If for whatever reason you are unable to follow the directions outlined above, I am including these Styrofoam Snowball ornaments which you should be able to recreate using components purchased right here in Aught Nine.



Stay tuned for installment number two of the Do-It-Yourself Magazine Special Holiday Issue!

Deluxe Numero Tres

Another excellent Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar is over. Despite getting only four hours sleep the night before and managing to forget several pieces of my display, the show was a success. I met lots of new folks, received many, many overly flattering compliments on my work, and generally reveled in the company of hundreds of art-loving, handmade-supporting, like-minded people.


My Beauty Buttons were, once again, a hit.


The dryer chair, of course, made another appearance, this time to hold throw pillows made from vintage textiles.


I was so excited to debut two brand new products, both near and dear to my heart. It's a big step for me, putting my artwork and photography out there for public scrutiny, but I received so many lovely compliments on my new postcards featuring six of my photographs of vintage signs.


Another brand new offering were these prayer candles featuring my digital collage of Saint Tammy, Patron Saint of Hairstylists. My very dear friend Christie suggested the idea, and after a lot of hard work and experimentation with different papers and methods of applying my artwork to the glass, I couldn't be more pleased with the final product. The Beauty Operators loved them!


I hope to have these and some other new items listed in my Etsy shop very soon!

Beauty Collage Drop Out

The last minute scramble that always precedes a show is on. Some brand new, top secret Sweetheartville products will be making their debut at Deluxe and I couldn't be more excited about them. Here are a few of the little collages I'll be offering on Saturday. I'm selling this trio as a set, complete with matching vintage metal picture frames.




Stop by and visit Sweetheartville if you're in the Oklahoma City area Saturday!

The Pine Cone Folk

I'm hard at work preparing for Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar. It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since I participated in the first Deluxe, my very first craft show. This year I'll be bringing a wide assortment of handmade goodies, including these vintage-style pine cone people crafted mostly with vintage elements. In trying to pay homage to the spun cotton head Japanese Christmas ornaments of days gone by, I ended up with some rather angry faced little elves who look as if they'd just as soon assault you with a candy cane as bring you holiday cheer. I, for one, am in love with them.