Hot Butter!

Scary Stuff

2011-10-13T07:54:00.000-06:00

I had a living nightmare the other morning. When I have to ride the bus to work, I get there more than an hour early and inevitably end up at one of the nearby thrift stores. I thought the luck of the mighty bald eagle (I don't know where this stuff comes from) was with me when I spotted an almost full rack of beautiful vintage dresses.

I took an armload to the dressing room, where something horrible happened. None of them fit me. Some were too big, some were just a little too small. I couldn't zip them the last couple inches. I don't have very good altering skills, so I couldn't talk myself into buying the too big ones. I knew they'd just sit there and never get altered.

I'm sure at least some of you vintage lovers will understand how that morning took a page from one of my scariest dreams. A rack full of vintage for cheap, and none of it fits!! Ahhh!

Oh well. 50% off day is coming soon. I might be able to talk myself into buying one of the dresses that was too big if it's still there. In less scary news, I got a message from them on facebook saying I won a $10 gift certificate. Not sure how I pulled that off, but I'll take it!!

Back to scary.

Felix loooooves Halloween, and so do I! I decided some spooky decorations were in order this year. We took a trip to Hobby Lobby and Big Lots, and this is what we came up with so far. The lights are candy corn colored!

Felix is obsessed with this thing. The LED eyes change colors and move back and forth.

And let's be honest here, I might be obsessed with taking pictures of it. They all end up having maximum awesomeness.

In Hot Butter news, I'm still working on a big stack of Half-moon Handbags. I've also been contacted about doing a wholesale order, so there will probably be new wallets in the future (if I ever finish those bags!). Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Horseshoe Review and Spooky Mountain Fun

2011-10-06T07:04:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday was the last Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market of the year.

I made a new Hot Butter bunting the week before. My old HB sign was approximately 8"x10", which means pretty small. I do have sentimental attachment to it, but it was time for a bigger sign!

You can count on seeing a ton of awesome dogs at the Horseshoe.

I didn't bring any vintage stuff this time. I just didn't have any time to get it ready. Oh well! It also didn't go as well as I had hoped, and I'm starting to feel kind of discouraged from doing markets (except for the holidays, of course). They cost money to get into, and then if only make my booth fee back it's not really worth it. Maybe it's the economy? I don't think I'm the only one who's been having market troubles.

Ok, I'm done telling you the whiney, sad truth about all the markets I did this summer. Onto other things!

We took a little trip up to the mountains last Sunday for leaf peeping.

We stopped in Nederland to eat lunch and ride the Carousel of Happiness with my dear sweet girl Laureal.

I rode the peacock! No glorious action shots. The Chainsaw took some, but they're awful blurry due to the moving.

My only leaf shot is this from the road to Laureal's house, where we filled our water bottles with fresh delicious spring water.

We didn't have enough time to get up to Rocky Mountain National Park, so we settled with a stop at the Stanley Hotel.

Oy, this is getting long. I'm working hard on more Half-Moon Handbags. The others cleared out fast! I hope you're all having a great week. Any plans for this weekend?

September Shenanigans

2011-09-30T08:11:00.000-06:00

The last day of September is a good day to talk about what you did in September. Mostly I worked a lot, but I did some other good stuff too!

Felix is officially in Kindergarden. He catches a bus at 7:25, which means I get up at the exact time of 6:18 most mornings. Sometimes Chainsaw does it, but usually it's me. One morning I had the deluxe pleasure of waking up to this sight:

It was glorious! I've also caught some fantastic sunsets lately. The clouds have been doing a great job of catching those last rays of sunlight.

Before you start thinking that I spent all month taking pictures of the sky (you'd be right), I have a few other things to tell you about also. Chainsaw went on a weeklong road trip, so I took the week off. I don't make enough doubloons to make it worth my while to pay a babysitter while I work. I had a girls night the first Saturday he was gone. I didn't happen to take any pictures at the actual event (and for good reason, haha!), but I did get Felix addicted to proscuitto.

The next day we went to the Gem and Mineral Show in Denver.

The rooms with the phosphorescent minerals reminded me of Electric Lady Land so hard. Electric Lady Land is my favorite of all places in Amsterdam and I highly recommend you check it out. Not ashamed to admit that drugs increase it's awesomeness, but it is almost just as mind blowing without them (done it!). I tried to rob a picture from their website, but it doesn't work so well. So do me a favor and click on that link.

We went to Boulder Falls and had the whole place to ourselves. Zero idea why this picture uploaded itself in such a tiny manner. Sorry.

And this is getting pretty long. I might also be out of pictures that are not of the sky. Oops!

Don't forget that this is the last day of my 20% off sale. Enter coupon code THANKYOU20 while checking out of the Hot Butter shop.

100 Sales!

2011-09-27T10:04:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to announce that I sold my 100th item in my etsy shop earlier this month! It's taken me a bit to celebrate because I wanted to get my shop stocked, but the time is now! Without further ado, I'd like to offer everyone 20% off anything in my etsy shop as a thank you for your love and support. Just use the coupon code THANKYOU20 when checking out. I have a craft fair Saturday morning, so this sale runs until Friday night.

Back to business.

My creating hiatus is officially over. I've been making tons of awesome new pouches, such as these beauties:

I also made four Half-Moon Handbags from Keyka Lou's awesome pattern, which appears to be out of print.

I might have accidentally kept this one for myself. Oops.

And this one was claimed by a friend, but I have two other adorable half-moon bags in my shop.

These aren't newly created, but at long, long, long last I have gotten some photos of them that aren't the worst ever. They aren't very good, but that's beside the point.

I do have more messenger bags, but those three were the only winners in the photo department so far. It's like the universe wants me to keep them all for myself, but I already have one!

Anywho, Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market this weekend in the Highlands. Be there or be square (or too far away to come).

Here's some crazy doubloon eyes as a parting gift:

What I did on my summer vacation- San Diego edition

2011-08-31T09:10:00.000-06:00

Oh hi you guys! It's been many moons since I've laid my eyes upon this blogger page, and I thought I'd fill you in on what I've been up to. Although it's not the only trip I went on this summer, my San Diego trip is fresh in my mind (and the Chainsaw has our other trip pictures on his computer...need to look into that for myself).

My best girl Laura and I are both Aries, so I was pretty excited to see this horoscope the last week before I left.

We went to the beach every day, including not one, but two special sunset trips. This was from our hike to the beach on the first beachy sunset trip.

Just feast your eyes on that majesty!

Sunsets, ocean frolicking, and cliff hikes can make a lady hungry for diner food.

And a giant milkshake.

We went to Kobey's swap meet, which was super fun. Laura found her very own magical crystal, which she may or may not love almost as much as she loves me?

I bought this badass cobra ring. Unfortunately it turned my fingers green. Any tricks for this? Can I paint it with clear nail polish or something? It's hard to be a badass cobra ring wearing lady when you're worried that your own fingers are turning snake-like in color. I may or may not have also bought a Mexican wrestling mask.

Sunset number two was viewed at the appropriately named Sunset Cliffs.

Laura and I bought big floppy hats at the swap meet (and I got extrabigass glasses), which turned us into movie stars. It is impossible to not be glamorous in this costume. It's also really hard to take best friends forever self portraits while wearing big hats.

Unfortunately that little cloud bank stopped us from seeing the sun disappear behind the ocean, but oh well, it was awesome anyway and we saw that magic at sunset viewing number one.

Laura serenaded me with a Metallica song at the beach.

And then this happened. Tell me how many times you got to hang out at an impromptu beach jam with your best girl and an awesome accordion playing gentleman.

We also went to the zoo, where we got to take in the sweet sights of polar bear dumpers.

And HOLY CRAP panda bears.

Ok, I think that's good for now. I just got my shop updated with all the creations I made this spring. I haven't made anything new all summer, but apparently I had a righteous stock pile just hanging out, waiting for its debut.

Trunk Show

2011-06-10T09:18:00.000-06:00

My trunk show last Friday at the Fancy Tiger Clothing store in Denver was super fun! There was even a Hot Butter poster on the door!

I had a cute little set up in the middle of the store.

I sold a few things and had a ton of fun. It was much less stressful than an actual market as I didn't have to stand around babysitting/selling my items. I got to drink beer and mingle with the beautiful people of Denver. I was really excited to see a group of my lady friends from work (you know, the work that pays me on a regular basis) come all the way from Boulder to show their support (and wait until 10:30 to hang out with me when I was done!). Big thanks to Rebecca, Allison, and Christine for coming to see me!

I am very excited to announce that Hot Butter wallets are now available for purchase at The Fancy Tiger. I swiped this picture from their Facebook page.

Don't they look adorable in such a fancy setting? There is so much amazing work in the Fancy Tiger. I highly suggest you check it out if you're in Denver and haven't already.

I was going to get my messenger bags up in the shop, but unfortunately my pictures turned out pretty dark. I need to retake them asap. I'm also plugging away on a giant stack of new wallets and have some vintage sheet wallets and ladies with secrets to put in the shop soon!

Extra Big News!

2011-05-31T17:51:00.000-06:00

I'm very excited to announce here that there will be a big Hot Butter Denver Made trunk show at Fancy Tiger Clothing in Denver this Friday. Check out my interview on their blog here (Fancy Times!) and rsvp here. If any of you are in the Denver area, I'd love it if you stop by and say hi. It's going to be fun!

I have been working hard on a new line of vintage sheet messenger bags to show this weekend. I did make a couple of these once upon a time many moons ago, and they well received. I never made any more, and I think I know why. They take both a long time to create and muchos fabric and interfacing. I guess I'm more of an instant gratification sewer. Anyway, I just finished a big stack of them, and I'm happy to say that they are awesome (sorry if that was a self horn toot, but I'm really happy with them!).

So far I only have photographs of one finished bag, which is technically the one I gave to my stepmom Kris.

I'll be taking pictures of the rest of them tomorrow. They have some fun details!

Crafty Peep Swap

2011-05-08T11:24:00.000-06:00

I made this glorious tote bag for Amber for the Crafty Peep Swap.

If that sounds like I'm tooting my own horn, it's because I am. I had the idea for making a tote bag with this awesome crewel embroidered owl. I even had the stuff sitting on the table. Then I got Amber's email with the stuff that she loves, and I knew I must have been channeling my psychic powers. I couldn't not make it for her.

The owl was embroidered onto a piece of linen. I fused it to the bag, which didn't actually work that well because the back of the embroidery was so lumpy. It did help hold it in place for me to double stitch it onto the bag.

I made the bag out of canvas and interlined it with flannel, and it felt so nice- soft and sturdy at the same time.

It's lined with a vintage sheet. There is a good chance that I used the last of my yellow and white sheet on the pocket and front decoration for this bag. I originally planned to line it with that sheet but could only find a little bit. I did send some of it out for the vintage sheet FQ swap, but I was both surprised and a little sad to discover that it was almost gone. It was one of my favorites!

I love this bag so much that I included a note instructing Amber to let me know right away if she didn't love it with all her heart because I would have been happy to get it back and make her something else. It turns out that she loves it, so I'm just happy that it found such a warm owl loving home.

In other AWESOME news, the Denver Post put a picture of a Hot Butter wallet in an article yesterday about the Horseshoe. Check it out!

Meringue Porn

2011-05-05T18:27:00.000-06:00

I took an unintentional break and have lots of things to share. Please tide yourself over with this meringue porn courtesy of Grandma Donna's baking skills.

And a sneak peak at what I sent Amber for the Crafty Peep Swap.

Be back soon!

Washington Part Two: The Beach and a Waterfall

2011-04-12T11:24:00.000-06:00

One not too rainy day, Laura took me up to see the glorious Nooksack Falls. Yes, Nooksack. Say it and don't laugh. Then go to the Nooksack casino for happy hour.

It was a double complete waterfall that sometimes started to look like a triple waterfall.

Extreme Danger! There was a sign by the parking lot listing all the unfortunate souls who disregarded the warnings, climbed on the slippery rocks, and plummeted to their deaths, including one pregnant lady. Yikes!

This is the pretty green pool at the top of the falls.

I love all the glorious mossy green river rocks.

On my last rainy Washington day, we went on a little driving adventure, which led us to this glorious beach where a body can dig up their own shellfish. We didn't do that, but we did investigate many shells and pretty beach rocks.

I officially love low tide.

Special thanks to my lovely hand model Jeffrey Geoffrey (pronounced gee-off-er-ee.

Laura walked on water and I was baptized into the holy order of those with pockets full of sand and shells.

Laura found one delicious crab claw and a shell platter on which to place her feast!

And by feast I mean stanky toothpick.

Laura had a cold. I didn't and was able to smell the unfresh aroma of this discarded claw/arm combo and could not make myself put it that close to my grill.

Ok folks. That's all my best Washington pictures. More variety of the same scenes to be perused on my flickr page.

I'm getting ready for the Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market next month. Can't wait!!

Washington Part One: Laura's House and Mossy Forrest Majesty

2011-04-10T10:04:00.000-06:00

I flew to Seattle on the very last day of March to visit my best girl/soul mate Laura, who lives in the mountains extry close to Canada. We went on a few adventures, and while I did not take infinity of pictures, I have enough that I'm going to split it into two posts. Enjoy!

We spent a few hours in Seattle before heading to the mountainous boonies. We went to Pike's Place, and took this picture. It's the only one we took in the city!

Laura lives in a cute little a-frame house. Her neighbors are technically very close, but the forrest-y backyard made it feel cozy and secluded. If you tune out the occasional sound of gunshots (?) and the sounds of the highway, a person (me) can pretend they're in their own sweet cabin in the middle of nowhere.

The ground was covered in moss and itty bitty pine cones. They were so cute I wanted to glue some googly eyes on a couple so I could adopt them and sew them tiny outfits.

Laura also revealed to me the untold wonders of the mossy forrest.

We especially liked all the giant shroomy fungus prizes growing out of fallen trees.

Black!

Red with Laura's paw for size reference.

This shot is better at revealing its supreme awesomeness.

Another size huge black one. We should have put a size marker in this one.

Surprise candid shot of Laura, whom I think looks glorious in the forrest. I have always thought she looked awesome in green, so it makes perfect sense. Also, sitting on that fluffy ground covering fern looking foliage (uuhhh, whatever) was a rare soft treat. The world smelled like mushrooms.

Belated Birthday Drawing

2011-04-08T16:18:00.000-06:00

If you're not a facebook fan, I may have left ya'll hanging on the giveaway drawing. I started feeling not so hot Wednesday afternoon, which was quickly followed by feeling BAD, which is way worse than not so good, you know? I think it's the flu. Anyway. I'm starting to feel better today. I have written down many names on many slips of paper and will now choose the lucky winners!

Prize #1

This cute card wallet goes to the ever so lucky Anthony Faber, whom I assume will be giving this to a lady friend, unless he's a dude that likes pink and pretty leaves, which is cool, too. :D

Prize #2

The wristlet goes to the also very lucky Juliana.

Prize #3

The pigs and ice cream wallet is excited to find a home with Tara! Yay Tara!

Prize #4

The slouchy bag from the HB archives is pleased to escape my basement and go on the ultimate journey to Italy. That's right. Congrats Silvia!

Thanks to everyone who played along. I'm excited to feel better and check out all you newcomers who commented. Based on your favorite animals, ya'll is good people who like sweet animals.

I have used my sick time to get many things done. I'm going to make a list.

I really broke in that heating pad my midwife suggested we get for Felix's birth. I haven't used it much, but it's officially served its purpose and will no longer go unnoticed under my bathroom sink.
I watched the whole first season of Californication, and it's awesome and I love it. Holy boobs! Seriously, muchos naked ladies are in this show, which means I had to sneak it in while Felix was at school/in bed.
I took 4 baths in 36 hours, which has to be some kind of personal record.
I also watched an awesome program called Snakemaster, which was about a guy in search of a giant anaconda. Sounded a little sexy, but it turned out to actually be about a guy searching for a giant anaconda. He totally finds one, wrassles it, and then holds/plays with it. I can't believe that snake didn't just eat that guy.

Ok, I'm going to get back to work, and by work I mean parking my butt on the couch. Peace out homes! I'll write a post about my trip soon (hopefully tomorrow!), but feel free to check out some awesome mossy forrest pictures on flickr!

Battle Gear

2011-04-06T13:23:00.000-06:00

One last giveaway reminder: I'm going to draw sometime this evening at the exact hour of When I Feel Like It o'clock. The prize giveaway on my blog is here. The facebook fan gift certificate giveaway is here. Thanks to everyone who has entered so far! I haven't had the time to respond to comment entries, but I've read them all and think you are all awesome based on your favorite animal choices.

Last week Felix created this choice "battle gear" set out of his Tinker Toys.

He told me not to tell him to smile for these pictures because that's not a battle face. The thing on the floor is both a dog and a shooting machine.

He even made a cool belt out of one of the tubes so he could wear his swords and knives.

Then I made him make silly faces. I held him down and twisted his arm because this kid HATES making silly faces.

Obviously.

I got home from my Washington trip yesterday evening, and I'll have fun trip pictures to share soon!

Estate Sale

2011-03-30T07:52:00.000-06:00

Please don't forget to enter my giveaway of many prizes! My Facebook $25 gift certificate giveaway is in the "Discussions" section of my Facebook Fan Page. Hardly anyone has signed up for that one so far. Not sure if the discussions thing is too confusing or if people just don't have the time for another click. Oh well! (Also, my birthday sale goes until I'm getting ready for bed tonight! I won't be mailing anything while I'm gone, so if you had your eye on something, get it now! BIRTHDAY11)

I stopped at an estate sale last week and found some awesome stuff. All sheets were $1, and I limited myself to these two.

This one has a couple discolored spots, but it's so awesome that I don't care and will cut around them!

I also found this vintage Sears bath and hand towel set. I love these kinds of towels. They're so soft and absorbent! Yes, I can and will buy vintage towels. Some people say this is gross, and to these people I say, "I WASH THEM REAL GOOD." I pop this stuff in George Washingmachine on HOT with a little bleach.

I grabbed this one too. I think it will be an awesome bathmat.

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for, the best birthday present the universe could bestow upon a lady...

Chippendale's playing cards!

These are from 1982 and are one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

Does anybody have any tips for awesome places to check out in Seattle? I'm thinking awesome craft stores, thrift stores, and anything fun that we HAVE TO DO. Please let me know.

25! Giveaway and Sale!

2011-03-28T10:00:00.000-06:00

Hi friends! I celebrated my 25th birthday this weekend with my friends and family (some in person and some on the phone!), and it was awesome. I scammed up some HB prizes to give away in honor of my birthday. Each prize will have its own winner!

Prize #1:

I just made this pretty wallet last week! Unfortunately I fried my label a little bit.

It is completely functional and needs someone to love it despite it's minor flaw. :)

Prize #2:

This is a fun little wristlet/pouch from the archives!

Prize #3:

Pigs and Ice Cream Wallet

Prize #4:

Slouchy Corduroy Bag from the HB archives

I'll draw a lucky winner for each of these when I return from my birthday adventure to Washington. Please comment on this post with your name, serial number, whether or not you're susceptible to any diseases, and if I like you, I'll pick you to win a prize. Ok, just your name, favorite animal, and make sure I have a way to notify you if you win.

I'm also going to give away a gift certificate on Hot Butter's facebook fan page (link on the right), and I have a coupon code for 25% off purchases in the Hot Butter shop! This sale will only run until Wednesday night. I'm going on a trip Thursday morning, so if you can't wait to win, grab it while its HOT and on SALE! The coupon code is: BIRTHDAY11

Naughty Cat Score

2011-03-25T09:41:00.000-06:00

Chainsaw was in New York all last week, leaving Felix and I to fend for ourselves. Needless to say, I've had a heck of a hankering to get out of the house BY MYSELF for a while. Wednesday I decided to follow my heart to a new thrift store next to one of my grocery stores. It's called Birds of Prey. Of course I needed to check it out.

I found a new blue cardigan and this:

The best naughty vintage cat sheet of all time!

I don't know if this is naughty. Is the mom taking sneaky kittens out of the socks? Or is she putting the kittens in the socks as some sort of time out for being naughty?

It's got a pesky moon howler.

A mouse exploder.

And my personal favorite, this sneaky fellow making off with the birdcage.

I got a full sized flat sheet and the pillowcase. My one complaint is that it's pink, otherwise it would be double perfect super awesome curtain material for Felix's room. He says he loves it, so I know I could easily con him into thinking it's a good idea. I'm just not sure that pink fits in with the race car bed, pirate memorabilia, and random thrift store animal artwork he's got going on in there. Who am I fooling? It would probably be perfect.

I finished fourteen card wallets yesterday. I have two markets coming up in May (assuming I get into one of them), so I'm going to work on creating my heart out over here. I'm putting the finishing touches on my super awesome birthday giveaway, and I'll get that up when the good light visits.

Birthday Week at the Butter House

2011-03-23T10:42:00.000-06:00

My dear sweet Felix had to go and turn FIVE last Sunday.

The nerve of some babies thinking it's cool to keep growing and do crazy stuff like turning five.

Some things about Felix:

Favorite Foods: Pizza and Fruit Snacks
Favorite Animals: Dogs, Tigers, Lions, T-Rexes, Cats
Favorite Colors: Red, Black, and White (Go Scoopers!)
Favorite Band: Vampire Weekend
Favorite Body Part:

Anywho! It's my birthday this weekend. Let the jimmy feast continue!!

My to do list for today includes putting together a sweet birthday giveaway and sale! :D

Happy St. Pouchtric's Day

2011-03-17T11:16:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I said that. I'm a little embarrassed, but it's staying. I decided. Yes, I'm talking myself into it right here, right now. Let's move on!

I started a bunch of embroidered/appliqued/infused with love and magic pouches last week. I actually did a big part of the construction at my new friend Amanda's adorable apartment in Denver. It was fun! She is the sweetest and you should go check out her blog if you have a second. She's been working hard on it, and it definitely shows!

I used more Ruby Star Rising to make new fun Ladies with Secrets Pouches.

Transistor Radio Pouches

Underwater Fish Pouches

and more! I already added them to my etsy shop if you want to see them all. I am having serious trouble finding good photo taking light around here, folks. I was having trouble before the time change, so it must just be the changing seasons affecting the way the light comes through the windows.

Felix and I have been having a fun time playing with jimmies this week. It's his birthday on Sunday, so we made birthday cake batter ice cream yesterday, and things got a little silly.

Handmade Favorites #5: Rainbow Afghan

2011-03-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

I've been desperately wanting this rainbow afghan crocheted by Becky of Strumpets Crumpets for many moons. I was going to ask for it for Christmas but forgot. I thought I was going to have to wait for my birthday. Then Chainsaw asked what I wanted for VD (Valentine's Day sounds cooler to me when referred to simply as "VD"), I knew immediately that the rainbow blanket would be MINE.

(I swiped this photo from its etsy listing.)

It now lives on my couch, where Felix and I fight over it. It's super soft, super huge, and loved by all animals and people in the Butter household.

Felix doesn't hold very still when he's modeling.

I found this awesome dog panel at Joanne in the clearance section and sewed these dog pillows right up. Their names are Susan and Lilly (that's what the panel said), and they look adorable on my couch. Felix tries to steal them.

Anyway, thanks to Becky for making such an awesome afghan. Thanks to Chainsaw for loving me so much that he can't resist my rainbow blanket pleas.

They are finished (along with my sanity).

2011-03-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I bought some patterns from Pacific Designs on etsy. I was finishing up a bunch of wallets at the time, and I was looking forward to making something new without going through all the work of designing it myself.

The Mia Rose has cute leather accents and leather straps- the perfect opportunity to learn to sew more with leather!

I was all too right. I learned more than I wanted, that's for sure!

It converts from a small handbag into a wristlet. It's kind of the perfect size for a small bag, and I love it. I wanted to tell it that before I say what I'm about to say.

I have spent 2.5 days working on these bags. It's not the pattern's fault or anything. In fact, the pattern is well written, easy to understand, and fun. However, I couldn't seem to help but have to do everything at least two times on almost all of these. Oops I sewed too close to the zipper! Oops I can't get my machine to smoothly topstitch those cute pleats. Oops I can't figure out the tension to sew leather. Oops I have to put my walking foot on my machine every time I need to sew leather. Oops this leather is too mothertrucking thick to go through my wussy (but dear) sewing machine.

Sorry girl, I don't know if you're a wussy so much as you're probably not meant to do heavy work like that.

I broke two needles. I used two others, switched to my walking foot eleventy times, and I used a variety of hardware because I was unable to find the pattern required size of super tiny d-rings. Oh well.

Anyway, I got a few of these listed in my shop and will get the rest done soon. They turned out cute, I learned some lessons, and now I have to be done. I've earned it!

I've been working on some cute pouches today, and it feels so easy, like hot drawn butter.

Felix has been trying to slick back his hair. Maybe I should get him some pomade or something? One of those sweet combs they have in Grease??

Crafting by the seat of my pants.

2011-02-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

So this post isn't so much about pants as it is a story about how I impulse bought some gold chains at Hobby Lobby the other day and whipped up this 5 minute crown approximately 10 minutes before I had to go to work. It probably shouldn't have taken me that long, but I'm not that skilled at opening and closing chains.

I wore it to work and then to meet my lady friends at the bar afterwards, where a drunk lady called me a "Greek goddess in zebra tights," which she can say because apparently she's Greek. Anyway. Cough.

It was super simple to throw together. The star chain (star because it's on the front of my face!) was 16", which is not long enough to go around this giant noggin. I opened the chain and added a simpler (cheaper!) chain to one end. Then I measured how big the circumference of my head is using the ever so sophisticated manner of holding it up around my head exactly where I wanted it. I shortened the cheaper chain to the right length and connected the chains. Wa-ton! Theoretically you could add a necklace closure for adjustability, but hopefully my head neither gets huger (it may already be kind of big. Felix's is big, and I think maybe my dad has a giant head?) or smaller.

Bonus blurry Felix because I love his face and his animal pile!

New Wallets!

2011-02-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

I made a whole bunch of new long wallets, including some with some sweet Ruby Star Rising fabric I was lucky enough to find at Fancy Tiger in Denver.

I heart the transistor radios big time! I can't wait to make some sweet applique pouches with this stuff.

Check them out in my shop if you're interested. :D

I got some new patterns to try out this weekend. I'll be back soon to report!

Trashy Tuesday with Too Hot Butter #3: George & the Virgin

2011-02-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

This week's lucky chosen romance:
George & the Virgin by Lisa Cach copyright 2002

I'm going to give this one away. Details are at the bottom!

This book stars Alizon, one of the virgins picked by the townspeople to be fed to the dragon in the yearly virgin/dragon sacrifice. She is obviously not eaten by the dragon. Enter George, a professional wrestler. George gets hypnotized by his psychic, trippy sister using a magic ancient crystal.

George finds himself in a barn, where he is implored by some lady with a virginal daughter up for the lottery to slay the beast! George thinks he's deep in hypnosis, and agrees to slay the dragon.

(You might want to go to the photo and read it, it's juicy-ish.)

Anyway, it turns out the Alizon stopped the feedings of the dragon when she fed the old lady who used to be in charge to the dragon. She now feeds the dragon sheep that the villagers send and is the keeper of many virgins, which she hides from George. If the townspeople knew the virgins were still alive, they'd kill them.

Alizon is pretty sick of being a virgin if you catch my drift. Romance ensues!! It was not super believable to me, but I guess you may find yourself in love with someone for no real good reason if he's the only guy you know.

Choice Quotes:

There are lots of hilarious things said about virgins.

"Damn those virgins!"

"It had taken her twelve years to reach the stage of a fifteen year old boy, but she was there now, and by St. Stephen she did not know what the hungers of her body would make her do!"

"Providing for the care and luxurious comfort of 12 virgins was not inexpensive."

"Behold! The fang of the beast!"

Dirty Parts:

They were ok, but with the point of the book being all virginy, it took a long time for them to actually get it on.

Report Card for George & the Virgin
Overall Story: B
Romance Story: C
Cheesy Parts: A
Dirty Parts: B

Official Word:

The one had a lot of funny virgin references. It made me giggle, which is worth much! Like I said before, I'm not really sure what the basis of the romance was aside from the fact that George possessed the proper equipment to help with that pesky virginity problem.

However, I'd like to pass this one on to one of you lucky readers! Leave a comment if you'd like to get your hands on this cheeser. If more than one of you are interested, I'll pick a winner before next week's too hot read.

I love you so bad!

2011-02-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy this glorious video of Felix's love song as a token of my love and affection!

I made the Chainsaw this mustachio'd case for his Kindle. Now when he sees it he can hear a little voice in his head saying "Your mustache looks so HANDSOME!!"

Felix and I had a little slightly too dark hallway photo shoot yesterday for his valentines, and he was the perfect little model.

Happy VD friends!!

Scrap Swap Spoils!

2011-02-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

I got tons of awesome scraps from my lovely swap partner Janet. Here are some of my favorites:

Pipe dreams!

Fishes!

Pretty flowers!

Pineapples of a different color! There is another one that I super love that has "Eager Beavers" on it.

Super dooper big thanks to Janet for the awesome scraps. Some are already part of half finished projects on my table. I'm still have trouble getting my creating mojo back all the way. I'm not 100% better yet I think! I'll have the next 4 days off in a row, so here's to making some magic with my time off!

Handmade Favorites #4: Wedding Hair Majesty by Kris

2011-02-10T14:44:00.000-07:00

My stepmom Kris used to work at a flower shop and has mad skills with the blooms, yo. (Sorry, I'm currently in gangster training.) When the Chainsaw and I decided to legally unite our spirits, she ever so kindly did the flowers for us, including this pretty flower crown for my hair!

She also made awesome bouquets for me and Laura.

Katie didn't get one because she's mad scared of bees, and I went with the ol' ONE maid of dishonor and that's it routine, but really Katie should have had one made of fake flowers for being awesome. Anyway.

My glorious little crown hangs next to my dirty magic mirror in the hallway by my bedroom. I could clean the mirror, but I'm a little afraid that might remove some of its magic. I recently called Kris for advice on making my own fake (Katie approved!?) flower crown, and she is a genius you guys. I made one so far, and it's pretty cool! I'll be sharing soon.

Kris is going to go work at the flower shop this weekend to help them out for Valentine's Day! Good luck jumping back into the thorn infested VD pool, baby girl!

Also, five minutes before I started to write this I busted a little handmade favorite double cat action going on on the couch.

I think I'm going to survive.

2011-02-09T17:11:00.003-07:00

I kept people fairly updated on facebook, but I will repeat it here- I have been a lazy, sickly pile of couch magnet since I got back from Las Vegas. For reals.

My cleavage and I were lucky enough to hang out with my best lady and her two lovely sisters for a whole weekend. Then I was lucky enough to catch Felix's cold and come down with some kind of half flu, which wasn't as nasty as real flu, but it hurt, homes.

Today is the first day in almost two weeks that I actually created something! It was all Felix, actually. He said we needed to make something together, so I got out my copy of Martha Stewart's Good Things for Kids. It took a while to find a project that we had the junk for. I'm not so good at saving stuff like paper towel tubes and cereal boxes, but I did happen to have an empty half and half container on the fridge.

Can I count this as a Project Restyle?! We restyled the heck out of this carton.

This is The Midnight Cow, a cow truck that is almost invisible at night. Of course, we couldn't find any cows in our house. Dinosaurs, sabertooth tigers, bugs- YES! Cows, no. Oh well!

Felix painted this side, which is a cow getting chased by a bunch of balls. Obviously! The half and half spout is for shooting things, kids. That's what Felix says.

So this was made out of that half and half container, much masking tape, elmer's glue, two empty spools, and a bunch of craft sticks. Felix glued sticks together and helped paint, while I handled the more mom appropriate tasks of cutting the container and getting it taped together just right. We spent all morning working on this and jamming out! I'm going to start saving more junk so we can start doing more of these projects together. It was really fun, and Felix told me he loved me at least 15 times and thanked me a few more than that.

I'll be back soon with more creations and regularly scheduled programming.

Bonus Felix looking adorable before leaving for school yesterday!

Handmade Favorites #3: Graduation Quilt made by Laura

2011-01-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

My breast friend Laura made me this awesome photo quilt for a graduation present!

I really should have ironed it better, but I didn't feel like getting forceful with it. I'm having a busy day.

As far as I remember, Laura made this with the help of our very favorite English teacher Darth Bater, who is not only a teacher, but a quilter, weaver, sheep lover extraordinaire, etc.

I was totally surprised to receive this awesome quilt of friendship and love. She had asked me for some pictures, and I was expecting a scrapbook, which our friend Liz was a total badass at creating. I got her a pink sapphire ring because she was hankering for a flashy jewel!

I'm heading to Vegas this weekend to meet Laura and her sisters! I'll be back next week kids.

Nana

2011-01-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

Felix and Nana on her last day at our house.

A couple of our friends were over the other night to pick up their daughter that the Chainsaw was so nicely babysitting for them when they noticed something was missing. Nana.

I was always a big dirty pug lover, and I was super excited to finally have my own. However, new puppy + new mom + baby= AHHHHH!!!!! I used to cry because she drove me nuts and I didn't know what to do about it. Long story short, I don't think I ever really bonded with Nana.

A couple months ago I found Nana a new home. I had been refraining from doing this because I didn't want Felix to hate me, but it turned out that it was easy peasy- Felix must not have been as attached as he let on! Nana's new best human friend is a 13 year old boy (less mean than a 4 year old). His mother runs a special needs school with a handful of students, and Nana spends her day at school. She apparently cries when her new friend leaves the room, which she never did to us!

Whenever I told people that I didn't like her and wanted to find her a new home, someone would inevitably tell me I was mean (to Nana, Felix, whoever), and I think that's why I haven't advertised the fact that she's gone. However, I stand by my decision as the best one.

Nana finally has someone to love and who is willing to give her the love she thinks she deserves. I don't have to vacuum my couch every day, my yard doesn't smell like poop, and I don't have anyone following me around crying for food anymore. Felix whines about missing her every few weeks, but not one tear has been shed.

Nana was a good sport, and I feel so happy in my heart that she has the perfect family for her these days.

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Trashy Tuesday with Too Hot Butter #2: Rejar

2011-01-25T10:15:00.001-07:00

This week's lucky winner:
Rejar by Dara Joy copyright 1997 (Dang, 1997 seems like just yesterday, but it was 14 years ago!)

Finding a good romance novel tip #1: Look for AWESOME/sexy pictures on the spine.

As you can see, it was nearly impossible for me to leave this one at the library.

This book is apparently a sequel or part of some kind of interconnected story system. In either case, I'm pretty sure Rejar is an alien. That's what I picked up, and I think I'd know more if I read the book about his brother and his wife (from Earth). Anyway, let's get back on track.

The beginning of this book finds Rejar, some kind of alien (see above) also known as a Familiar, which means he can turn into a big ol' pussy cat at will, being spit out of something known as the "Tunnels" into the lap of Lilac, who takes the kitty cat home with her. To sum that up, CatMan falls from the sky into Lilac's lap.

He is infatuated with Lilac immediately, so he sleeps with her in cat form, turns back into a naked man, and convinces Lilac she is dreaming while he performs otherworldly sexual favors on her in order to win her heart. Then he introduces himself to society as a Russian prince, using the powers of thought suggestion, of course. Then he pretty much tricks her into marrying him, they fall in love, etc.

Choice Quotes:
The first lines of the book (copied as seen, with italics and indents and crap)-
"He was a totally sexual creature.
Handsome as sin, sensual as silk.
His name was Rejar."

"It is not seemly to inspect a man so intently!"

"The Familiar had brought her to peak with his kiss alone."

Dirty Parts:
The dirty parts were pretty cheesy in a good way. Lilac thinks Rejar's name is Prince Nickolai and refuses to call him Rejar. So Rejar performs some Familiar ritual known as the 900 Strokes of Love, which is obviously too many strokes for a non-Familiar woman. They dirty parts were cheesy, but delightfully descriptive.

Report Card for Spring Rain
Overall Story: C
Romance Story: C
Cheesy Parts: A
Dirty Parts: A

Official word:

The one had a little twist on the classic romance novel in that Rejar was the main character. We pretty much follow him, and he has to convince Lilac to love him or whatever. So I did enjoy that aspect! The story with Rejar's family was a little confusing, but that may be because I didn't read the first book. The cheese in this book was awesome, and the cover alone should be worth extra credit points.

Oh my Rejar! Do you have a six packs on your sides, too?!

This one gets a B. The story kind of sucks, but its classic romance goodness helped me pretend it didn't suck long enough to get to the good parts.

In news that must be exciting to you all, my dear sweet friends, I am going to review some romance novels in my personal, overflowing collection so I can give them away here when I'm finished with them.

No Hands Part Two

2011-01-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

After loading all my equipment into my fanny pack, I decided that it wasn't roomy enough- for me, at least! So I made a few adjustments and came up with a design I'm much happier with.

I tackled the room issue by adding a gusset, which adds depth and ensures that those of us who carry cameras and have lots of keys don't run out of room!

This one has three belt loops, so hopefully it should keep it's shape a little better when being used. I can think of a couple little things to do differently next time, but I'm way excited about this one, folks!

This one goes out to my best girl Laura. I used a piece of her grandpa's shirt on the flap, and bought her a Swanson's TV Dinner witch yo name on it.

I am most excited to bestow it upon her this weekend!

Scrap Swap!

2011-01-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

I've been working hard at using my scraps, but I still have a million zillion brazillian.

Tara at Sew Tara is working hard on fun scrap projects and is hosting a swap! I already signed up, and you should too!

To sign up, just head on over to this post on her blog.

I'll probably put together a few extra packages to see if anyone who is not my partner wants to swap. I super dooper love new scraps!

My new fanny pack!

2011-01-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

After many moons of fanny packs weighing heavily on my brain, I have at long last created my first one!

I used a pretty scrap of Echino for the flap.

It was the Chainsaw's idea to make belt loops instead of installing a waist strap. I popped it on a black belt quick for photos. Next time I'll put another loop in the middle so it doesn't sag, but this one is alright for me!

I should have probably put on a non clashing costume with a lower waist line for modeling it, but oh well.

It has a zipper pocket on the front, two slip pockets inside, and the flap is secured with velcro. Now my head is filled with ideas for many more packs!

Handmade Favorites #2: Box Made of Pine (from New Zealand)

2011-01-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

My dad made my sister and I these pretty pine boxes for Christmas in 2004. No, I did not just remember that off the top of my head. He was so nice as to include this clue for me:

This box is pretty fancy. I think I recall him spending a whole bunch of time making these perfect! I'm sure he'll relate more of the story on facebook after I post this. It had a pretty blue moonstone pendant in it, which is still one of my favorite necklaces. I get tons of compliments on it. In some new Scooby Doo movie, Velma finds a moonstone on the beach and turns into a witch, so Felix gets a little nervous when I wear it.

It currently contains a bunch of movie tickets from the same year I received it, a receipt for our favorite cheap place to stay in Paris, and a letter Laura wrote after I told her I was working on my hugest creation project ever (Felix!).

I'm making a place on my dresser for all my jewels, and I think I'll use this box to house some of them. Funny how I didn't wear much jewelry for a long time and now I have an exploding collection of it. I picked up the jewelry box underneath it for a song at the thrift store.

Anyway, thanks to my Dad for the glorious pine box made of wood from New Zealand! I'm pretty sure I inherited my craftiness from him.

Trashy Tuesday with Too Hot Butter

2011-01-18T11:39:00.002-07:00

I think I've admitted this before, but my big fat guilty pleasure is ROMANCE NOVELS. I check out 5-10 every week or two, reading one in about a day and a half. I can read one in a day, but I don't get much else done.

Anyway, in an effort to make this place more personal, I'd like to share the best romance novel I read the previous week. The best doesn't necessarily mean it's a great book. If the cheesiness is right, it can cause a book to surpass a much more well written book. I'll be sure to let you know if it was awesome because it was awesome or if it was awesome because it was so bad.

This week's lucky winner:
Spring Rain by Susan Weldon copyright 1996

This book is about Libby Chandler and Reno McCord. Libby's fiance (who she just doesn't LOVE love) leaves her to go look for gold in Colorado to make a better life for her. When he stops writing, Libby starts having horrible nightmares of his death and is doomed to spinsterhood.

When the nightmares won't stop, Libby takes the money left to her by her father and travels to Denver, where she has trouble finding anyone brave enough to search Dead Man's Canyon, which is of course haunted by the specter of a guy with an axe in his head. The only guy she can find is Reno McCord, whom she happens to have to bail out of the Denver jail before they can leave. Libby insists on joining Reno for the search.

She knows in her heart that her fiance is dead and starts to fall in love with Reno, who is a man who will never settle down, of course. Libby wants babies. Lots of them. Reno is having feelings he's never had before.

Choice quotes:
"Heavens. How did you open my camisole without my knowledge?"

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. McCord."

"I've grown rather fond of your teasing..."
"Hell, Libby. I'm not teasing. That's the problem. I want you and I don't trust myself."

"My ego adores you."

"You allow me to kiss you. It gives a man ideas."

Dirty parts:
(No dirty quotes because I don't want you to have to be 18 to read my blog.)

The dirty parts are pretty good, including descriptive words and phrases. I hate dirty parts that start dirty and then skip to the next morning. That is not this book! I blushed several times during the reading of this book.

Official Report Card for Spring Rain
Overall Story: C
Romance Story: B
Cheesy Parts: B
Dirty Parts: A

Official word:

This one is pretty much a classic romance novel. The story of searching for the fiance is pretty weak and was used as a prop to keep these people camping and humping long enough for her to get pregnant. The cheese factor and the romance part of the story were pretty good. I give this book a solid B, and would recommend you hunt it down for yourself if you're into trash and cheese!

It appears that my library's copy will be headed straight to the repair room- a sign of a well read book!

New Patchwork Wristlets

2011-01-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

I spent the last couple days making a handful of new patchwork wristlets. Chainsaw says they remind him of old school Hot Butter, and I totally agree! Maybe that's why I love them so much?

I only made enough sweet rainbow patchwork for one, and I adore it! I have a huge crush on this bright yellow corduroy. I made Laura a guitar strap out of it last time she was here. It's very wide wale and totally pettable!

This blue corduroy is also luxurious!

This is the first one I made. It has boxed corners. I decided to try one without boxed corners, and I'm sure you can tell which version I decided was the most glorious.

I also made a couple red ones.

I found several 18 inch scraps in my bin because I buy half yard cuts. I cut those into 1 to 1.5" strips, sewed them together, and had extra large patchwork pieces. From there it was a snap to make a couple wristlets out of each piece. Super easy and super cute! I'll be adding these to my shop in the near future.

Are you doing anything fun this weekend? I'll be working for the most part and will have more fun stuff to share soon!

Handmade Favorites #1: Granny Square Afghan

2011-01-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me recently that I have several handmade items in my home made by friends and family. I'm going to try to feature one of these items once a week. Enjoy!

My grandma Donna's mom great-grandma Cora made my sister and I each a pretty granny square afghan when we were young. The only way to tell them apart was by their borders. Mine is pink and red and Andrea's is green (I think!).

It appears to me that she was finishing tiny balls of yarn on these beauties. Can you imagine weaving in all those ends? Yikes! Grandma Cora also knit pretty cotton dishcloths, later inspiring me to do the same! I crocheted mine though, knitting isn't quite as forgiving as crochet.

I've loved this blanket for years. I was most likely at an age where a blanket would be a somewhat unexciting present, but it spent many winters piled on my bed. It has found it's way to Felix's bed, a guest bed, my bed (as an adult), and currently resides on the couch, where it can be used as both a cat bed and a lap warmer. It has also been used for blanket forts and a colorful cape (All hail king of the granny square!). I think it could use a repair or two from such heavy use.

We love it with all our hearts in that special way that you love things you use everyday. Grandma Cora isn't with us anymore, but I remember her dearly when my granny square afghan is keeping me warm!

This afghan is also good for impressing your fancy, poodle scarf wearing guests.

What's your favorite handmade item in your home?

Scrappy Heart Pouches

2011-01-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

I made a few more of these babies!

It was a little tricky figuring out how to get the zipper in the side seam/making it not look like a fool.

They're a little odd shaped for a pouch, but a rainbow loving lady could find more than enough stuff in her purse to fill one of these sweet, sweet pouches of love! :D They're in my shop already if you'd like to check them out!

I started work on some patchwork wristlets yesterday, but I need to go to the store due to my sad lack of interfacing. I used all the larger pieces from my scrap bin.

Happy 1/11/11!

Colorful Patchwork Pouches for Ladies with Secrets

2011-01-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

I spend last week working on these fun patchwork pouches.

I spent a whole day embroidering linen scraps, which was super fun. I love "work" crafting that involves sitting on my butt watching "This American Life" on Netflix.

I spent the good part of another day making log cabin style patchwork around the linen.

And another day turning them into pouches. It was pretty fun watching them come together. You can check out the rest on my flickr page or in my shop.

Next scrap project- Heart Pouches!

This is my first one. It's a little wonky on the side where the zipper meets the curve of the heart. Details!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I'm still full from the delicious breakfast I took my fambly out to feast on!

My Vintage Wardrobe

2011-01-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

I bought this pretty vintage shirt at a consignment store in Wyoming on my way to South Dakota a couple trips ago. I didn't actually try it on until a couple weeks ago, when, much to my surprise, it fits me like a glove. Ok, it fits me like a shirt with sleeves that are maybe a little too short, but that's ok with me. It's better than not being able to zip up that last inch. Anyway.

The tag says it's "Trail Wear." Whatever does that mean? I want it to mean that it's a cowgirl shirt, but it doesn't seem super cowgirly to me.

This shirt has gained a spot on "Ashley's Favorite Shirt List," which exists only in my imagination. I love its pretty color and fun design. I wouldn't wear pearls with it again, they did not stay in the shirt, and, looking at these photos now, didn't necessarily accentuate it at all. Oh well. I thought pearls looked good with everything!

In other news, Happy 2011 to you all! We partied across the street, and I stuck to my guns about not having a hangover on New Year's Day. I will admit to having the tiniest headache and taking an afternoon nap, but I done good and switched to water (switching back to champagne just for midnight!). I also spent a good portion of yesterday sorting scraps, so prepare yourself mentally and physically (maybe some eyeball stretches?) for patchwork madness. I also have a giveaway in the works. I hope 2011 is filled with much love and joy for you all!

Tie Turban- Project Restyle

2010-12-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

I decided to start small for my first Project Restyle uh, project? A couple of ties from my stash

a little cut and twist and one line of sewing and..

I made a pretty yellow tie turban headband.

I have super evil scrap projects in the works, and by the works I mean in my brain because I'm still feeling lazy from Christmas. I will begin wrestling them from the clutches of my thinker soon!! Expect much patchwork in my future. I'm thinking scrappy wallets and pouches in new, exciting shapes! I did get the Christmas tree taken down today, which is a start. I need room to breathe in here, people.

1:33pm- must be time to get dressed. Have a lovely, warm afternoon. Peace Outside.

Old family photos

2010-12-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Not sure if you remember, but my dad's dad Grandpa LeRoy passed away due to (the) cancer this year. We went through some of his drawers to look for treasures on Christmas Day, and these are some of my favorites.

When we were little we'd go stay with Grandma and Grandpa on the weekends, and he'd almost always have some kind of creature locked in the bathroom for us to play with. Crawdads caught in the ditch were the most popular specimen, but one time he had a little toad he referred to as "The Great Horned Toad!" He'd keep them wet in the tub for a day or so and then return them to the capture site. I see he's been creature catching long before I knew him.

There are more on my flickr page, and I have a few vintage Ashley pictures I swiped from his large collection that still need to be scanned.

In other news, I'm going to participate in Elsie and Rachel's Project Restyle. I made a tie turban yesterday, but mama needs to take a shower before official photographic evidence can be acquired.

True Excitement

2010-12-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

Apparently receiving True Blood DVDs sends my sisters into fits of excitement. Andrea actually did several vogue model poses with hers, but I think she'd put me in a headlock if I put them on the internet.

My mom's mom Grandma Pam and her husband Kenny have been staying with my mom while they recuperate from illnesses. I love how bewildered they look about Alyssa's excitement.

My 17 year old sister just got herself a new case of brace face at her own request. I think she's a fool. Braces suck, FOOL!

Felix is happy to have become, at long last, the proud owner of a dog pillow pet.

Felix and my mom had the biggest piles of presents (we gave him all of ours that night, too). It was bananas!

That's approximately all of the pictures I took that trip. Felix got the flusies and puked all Christmas day. Then Josh got a turn on Sunday, postponing our trip home by one day. I luckily have today off, so I'm going to be lazy for a while and dread the grocery store trip looming in my future.

My new tattoo

2010-12-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry about leaving a bloody eye picture up on my blog to skeeve you out (specifically Melissa, but could apply to anyone).

Here is a little something many times more painful than the eye thing, but way more glorious to behold:

I got this pretty tattoo yesterday in Boulder at Claw and Talon Tattoo! That artist, Jason Gone, is moving very soon, so I had to do the whole thing at once. He is brilliant and did a glorious job. I super dooper love it big time.

Consider me unsettled

2010-12-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Chainsaw just gave me a weird look and asked what happened to my eye. My eye? Why nothing! It's a nice eye that sees and blinks and looks good with mascara. Until I look up.

Aaaaaaah!!! This eye is a bad seed. It was possibly involved in a knife fight last night when I thought it was sleeping.

Actually, my eye was bugging me the other day, and I might have given it a ferocious rub or two. Maybe something was in there and I am the guilty, eye scratching party? Of course, now that I know it's there, I can't stop feeling the fact that my eye is hurt and bleedy.

Chainsaw says I'll survive and that this has happened to him before. However, there is just something unsettling about having a part of my body that I have spent years protecting having a bloody cut on it.

Starring Felix with special guest- the worst thing that has ever happened to me

2010-12-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

Do you know what kids love? Giant whiteboards + markers!

This is obviously a Butter fambly portrait starring Felix on the left, Chainsaw on the right, and the lovely round character in the middle is most obviously me.

Later that night I was minding my own business when Felix walks up to the sushi bar to ask a glorious man questions regarding the samurai costume behind the bar. Next thing I know the man comes out with the helmet and my little handsome was transformed into my little samurai.

I think sudden samurai syndrome must run in the family?

Also, that Chainsaw has one fine mustache these days. After these pictures were taken I made the worst two mistakes of my life: 1. Trying sushi and 2. Trying saki.

Seriously about the sushi you guys, I kept hearing how good it was, and then my mouth was full of it and I thought I'd be chewing forever. I gagged every time I managed to force myself to swallow. I totally trucked through and choked it down without puking, but I probably would have looked much more ladylike if I had just spit it in my napkin. Oh well. I think I'll go back to not being a sushi eater starting immediately.

Felix and I quickly threw together some pouches for his teachers this morning. He drew a picture with fabric crayons, I made the pouches.

This one is a mouse because his teachers like animals. I had to talk him out of using the drawing with a "pillow with a star" and the "I love school trophy," both of which didn't so much look like their descriptions.

And this is a bear who has goggles on his back in case he needs them, ok? I started them a couple hours before school started and finished (wrapped with bow!) a few minutes before my man folk left for school. Then I took a hot bath and pretended I didn't have a zillion other things to do.

The Green Dress

2010-12-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

I found this pretty green dress at a thrift store for $1, but it had some problems. Problem one- Shoulder pads. Problem two- Pleated tulle or something to make sure those shoulders really stand the hell up, like close to my ears. I felt like a Disney princess. I didn't get any before photos because I felt a little pants on the ground (looking like a fool!) wearing it.

Sleeves, shoulder pads, tulle, and approximately 8 inches of the bottom of this dress magically disappeared this morning.

I elfed it up a bit per the Chainsaw's suggestion with some stripy sweater tights he bought me once upon a many moons ago in Delft at the World's Best Tight Store or something like that. My only beef is that the weight of those shoulders/sleeves must have been what kept the pretty neckline from gaping, but oh well. I like it anyway.

Challenge: Heligoat

2010-12-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

When my friend Will challenged me to create something with a heligoat on it, I accepted immediately. I wasn't quite sure what to emblazon with this mythical heligoat (part goat, part helicopter), so I let it simmer in the back of my mind.

One day at the thrift store I found a green army bag and snagged it, planning on double rainbowing it up for personal use. Then it hit me that Will might need a manly diaper bag (due to impending fatherhood), and nothing says man like a heligoat.

I decided that showing the heligoat mid-takeoff was the only right way to capture the true magic that is the heligoat.

This story is so old, but I'm kind of proud of myself for not sharing it before the present arrived. I was very proud of it and showed it to many people who stopped by my house and also over skype video chat to at least three separate parties, but I managed to not spill its glory here or on facebook so well that I'm only now remembering that it's cool to share!

Thanks to Will for the inspiring challenge. Maybe someday he'll pass it on to his son in some kind of manly, heligoat ritual.

Things are furry around here.

2010-12-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

This week, Felix and I (and by Felix and I, I mean mostly me) have been working on creating for funsies for our friendsies.

You may recognize Ferdinand, who now has friends! The newer creations are all backed with faux fur, which makes them extra snuggly. It also makes my couch and body be covered with fur. Oh well!

Felix still needs his own owl, of course. I need to get that finished and put the fur away before it takes over my house.

In other news, the Holiday Handmade was amazing, as usual. I really can't thank everybody enough- Fancy Tiger friends, awesome vendors, my friend/helper Melissa, and of course- everyone who came out to support handmade.

I did so well that I took my fambly out for celebrational breakfast at The Buff Sunday morning so that we could stuff our gullets and drink alcohol for breakfast. That's right, I said drink alcohol for breakfast. The Buff has delicious (and fabulously priced) Bloody Mary's, which is the usual. They had holiday drinks this time, so I was totally getting Schnapps-ed at breakfast. That is how you celebrate at breakfast, ya'll (unless your mom won't let you have anything stronger than chocolate milk).

Back to present making!

Wild horses couldn't drag me away

2010-11-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm going to put in a quick plug for my shop, and then we'll get to the fun stuff, ok?

I'm taking Hot Butter to Denver for Fancy Tiger's Holiday Handmade starting Friday night. That means I'll be putting my shop on vacation mode sometime Friday and won't turn it back on until Sunday or Monday. When I do, I'm sure hoping that I don't have much stuff left to sell. So if Hot Butter is on your holiday gift buying list, please check out my shop this week. Thank you so much for supporting handmade this season!

I was in the middle of uploading some random pictures off my camera when my trusty apple lappy had a sudden fit of narcolepsy. When I turned it back on, it said something about my iPhoto being unreadable or some junk. It was pretty easy to fix, this time. I fear my dear lappy may not be with us for a whole lot longer.

Anyway, here are some random pictures I've been holding hostage.

This is my glorious wild horses thundering across my thighs skirt. It's friends with the cat lady skirt. Pardon the flashy picture, the strings on the rug, and the keytar. Apparently the editing I did to this photo was sacrificed in the Great Narcolepsy Event of 2010. We're friends, and friends pretend not to see that stuff, ok? :)

I painted up this pretty brown vintage clutch/wristlet the other day, and I kind of wants to keep it for myself.

Here's my one (also flashy) picture of the star of the Thanksgiving feast roster (in my opinion), my turkey. This is my second year making my very own turkey, and I think I might be awesome at it. Like maybe better than my mom (I don't think she reads this, but if she does, I'm sorry. Let me make you a turkey?).

Bonus prize:

Purple striped necktie ninja sighted at the Chainsaw's birthday feast.

Oh Ferdinand

2010-11-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

In the middle of wallet assembly line creation last week, I was overcome with the urge to make a new friend. So I did!

Please allow me the pleasure of introducing you to Ferdinand. He is made from a handmade vintage table runner. I found several sets of owl faces for macrame at a thrift store, which I sewed onto his face with embroidery floss. The beak only had a top hole, so I hammered a hole into the bottom of it with a hammer so I could attach it more securely.

I think he's pretty handsome.

I have a few more long wallets in my shop, including a couple with the pretty pretty Kokka cupcakes we all love. I'm off to work on button earrings. Happy Monday!

The Crazy Cat Lady Skirt

2010-11-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Martina of EyeLab was wearing a glorious cat skirt the day I met her, and I happened to notice the same kitty kitty fabric at JoAnn the other day. Now I too can claim the glory of wearing a cat skirt, which I did at work last night. It's another exposed elastic waist skirt, for the record.

My sweet Double Rainbow is getting so big! I would have like to have gotten a picture of me in the cat skirt holding all my cats, but I don't think Jezebel Lincoln would stand for such humiliation.

And to change the subject completely, Felix once admired a hat in a picture of my friend Matt. Matt got a new green hat and ever so nicely passed his old one on to Felix.

Matt predicted Felix wearing it all the time, and that guy should probably invest in a crystal ball and get a job telling the future. Felix loves it and has already written an adorable thank you note complete with drawing of the hat.

Mega super shop update

2010-11-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

I have been super busy this week working on wallets, pouches, and top secret Christmas gifts. Of course, the Christmas gifts are what I'm REALLY excited about, but I have to try to keep a couple surprises.

I have amassed a doily collection and tried to put it to good use here. I think these turned out super cute, and I'll for sure have to make some more soon!

I have a couple Owl and the Pussycat wallets. I super dooper love these and may end up with one for myself soon!

This is just a random selection. Please go check out my shop if you want to see everything. My shop is at it's all time high on stock. It's glorious!

I made a couple more exposed elastic waist skirts yesterday in new and exciting themes. Stay tuned, kids.

Wristlets

2010-11-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

I finally finished (only) most of the partially done wristlets that have taken over my table for that last uh..way too long, ok?

My topstitching looks funky on this one because the purple fabric hid almost all of the stitches, so the few that are showing look kind of funny in pictures. Oh well! It's super cute.

I love this green and white fabric. It looks like a glorious little forrest on my wrist.

A very nice lady asked me if I'd be interested in upholstery samples at a craft fair a long time ago. The universes aligned, and she wasn't joking when she said she had tons she didn't want to throw away. I still need to make her a special thank you present now that I think about it. Let's add that to the never ending to do list, shall we?

These ladies are present in the newly updated Wristlet section of my shop.

I haven't taken any awesome photos of these yet, but here's a sneak peek at some of the skeleton key necklaces I made yesterday.

I finished six yesterday afternoon and am presently waiting on the rest of my favorite keys to unrustify themselves in a glass of vinegar. I scrubbed them with baking soda first, which got a bunch of it off. Any advice on how to make this happen quicker? Sand paper? I do not want to go buy toxic rust removing chemicals.

I'm going to have a giveaway for one of these soon! Keep your eyes peeled.

Everything that is awesome and delicious

2010-11-06T13:20:00.000-06:00

I haven't been actively seeking garage/estate sales lately, but I do try to stop if I see a sign and have a few doubloons in my pocket. The last two I've been to happened to be on their last leg, which means 50% off!

Thursday I spotted an estate sale sign on my way to pick Felix up from school. On our way home, we stopped, and we happened to have 10 minutes before they were done. I found this beautiful ivory leather coat. It didn't have a price tag.

It's missing a button, which the lady told me popped off that day when someone else was trying it on. I'll be repairing it soon! So anywho, I left the coat on while asking it's price in an attempt to convince the lady that I needed this coat and I needed it for a sweet deal. Then the universe parted the clouds and answered my prayers. She gave it to me for $3!

I had the other night off and chose to focus my domestic energies on dessert. That's right, I said dessert. First I made a delicious vanilla custard to chill in my fridge before becoming delicious ice cream/frozen custard/the best thing ever. Then I got out my super awesome apple peeler/corer/slicer and went to down on a bag of apples, which quickly became the best apple pie ever, recipe courtesy of my friend Mike.

Mike highly suggested the lattice crust top, and that guy only speaks the truth when it comes to apple pie.

I don't have the fancy outer crust making skills, but my pie plate was kind of huge (and I use my Grandma's secret crust recipe- Pillsbury, the kind that's rolled up). The flour/sugar mixture becomes some kind of delicious compote like substance under the crust. Double duty extra awesome, ya'll.

Then I made my man folk grilled ham and cheese sandwiches because that's all the energy my heart had left.

I'm making skeleton key necklaces out of the sweet collection of skeleton keys I risked my life for in Grandpa LeRoy's storage unit. I think he'd think they're awesome. Pictures soon!

Halloween and Unicorns

2010-11-03T13:36:00.000-06:00

My owl costume turned out fabulous, if I may say so myself. I used this tutorial for the dress. For the wings I cut out pieces of felt. I interfaced the bottom piece of felt and added a snap and a loop of elastic to keep it in place. I put the other part of the snap on the shoulders of my dress to anchor the top of the wing to the dress. I think bigger wings would have looked better, but it was a last minute idea and I used what I had.

I've been working on painting some of my vintage bags for the upcoming holiday market I'll be participating in. I'm kind of in looooove with this unicorn. Do you think our babies would have rainbow hair?

There is a core, and it's hardcore. All is hardcore when made with love!

2010-10-28T14:42:00.000-06:00

I had the bestest time ever dancing my pants off last night with Gogol Bordello at the Boulder Theater. In fact, I predicted this would happen and decided to forgo pants all together!

I don't really take many concert pictures. They never look that good and I feel like I'm wasting precious rocking time when I'm trying to hold still for crisper shots. Anyway, it was mutha you know whating packed in there. I have a big nasty blue bruise on my arm and Chainsaw lost his hat. We saw it fly up into the air at one point. People were wicked sweaty, and we received a dog shake head sweat shower on multiple occasions.

Totally worth the health risks. I wish they weren't sold out for tonight because I would TOTALLY SEE THEM AGAIN. You know?

Here's what I've been working on today. This bag is going to be so cute when it's finished. :D

I was picking Felix up from his girlfriend's house this morning when I was overcome with a sudden agonizing hunger for more sweaters. I stopped at Arc and found a bunch of adorable cardigans. I'd like to wear them all at once. I think this blue/purple one is my favorite and looks brilliant with my boots.

Over and out. CHhhhhhhhhhh (that's supposed to be the walkie talkie noise)

Halloween

2010-10-26T21:48:00.000-06:00

I decided to go handmade and NOT SEXY this year, just to shake things up. I saw this tutorial Chelsea from Sea Blanket shared on A Beautiful Mess, and decided I wanted to be an owl. I accidentally spent 4 hours working on this part the other day, and I don't have any pictures of it. You'll have to wait for the final unveiling!

Today I made a couple owl masks to go with my costume.

This one is made using a black plastic mask form I bought at Hobby Lobby because Felix begged me to. It was a three pack, and I have at last used one for good! Unfortunately, it's a little hard to see/breathe and my face gets all sweaty in this beast.

That lead to me making this mask out of a pair of thrifted sunglasses. I popped the lenses out and hot glued feathers on it. This one is much more comfortable although I do need to trim some of those pesky nose ticklers!

This is the first of a few years that we're not hosting our own Butter household Halloweenie party. I usually get so stressed out cleaning and cooking that I have a headache by the time the party starts. Not this year! This year we attend a party not of our throwing.

I love Giant Dwarf's Starlette Crowns so much, but I can't exactly afford them. Therefore I copycatted her in a big way for personal use and felt super cute all night at work.

Scores!!

2010-10-20T12:59:00.000-06:00

3 large (several yards each!) pieces of fabric bought for $1-$2 each! Also one awesome vintage sheet!

Pretty throw/table runner. It looks table runner shaped to me but was marked as a throw. I love this so much and can't wait to make some pretties with it!

Flat and fitted Troll doll sheet set! They're kind of girly, but I'm trying to convince Felix that dreams dreamt in a troll wrapped world are the dreamiest dreams to dream.

Scraps of orange upholstery fabric. I have some fun ideas for this!

Brand new fabrics I bought in South Dakota.

I also found muchos dresses that I found for good deals, which is awesome because some don't fit or are actually pretty ugly on my person. Thrift stores need dressing rooms, ya'll. Anyway, I like to promise that I'll share them, but to be honest the ones that fit will probably just get thrown into the wardrobe rotation. Maybe I should start a vintage dress series?

Vintage Velvet Dress

2010-10-11T12:48:00.000-06:00

I bought this dress at Shangri-La Vintage in Chicago. It was dead stock, which means it's "new" vintage and in perfect condition. I love it super big time!

I love how luxurious it feels!

Shangri-La was an awesome store, run by a super nice lady. Everything was sorted very nicely, and the prices were very good. I rarely buy anything at vintage stores because it's too expensive, but this place was just right!

Of course, right after I bought this dress I found a whole pile of vintage dresses at a thrift store outlet down the street. Those dresses need a little updating, and I probably won't be showing them off until then!

Kitty Case

2010-10-11T10:36:00.000-06:00

I made a last minute gift for our friend Lauren out of an adorable avocado green vintage suitcase. I painted a slightly lazy-eyed kitty and her name on it. I used a sharpie for outlining and details and quick sprayed a coat of sealer over the paint. I hope it holds up!

I sure hope she actually likes it. I know I loved suitcases when I was little!

Wristlet sneak peek!

I'll be adding new wristlets to the shop soon!

Grand unveiling of my market booth

2010-10-05T12:28:00.000-06:00

Me at my very first market tent. I've always just done a table, but this time I had a whole 10x10 spot and made use of it. Vintage items were welcome.

I totally need to get more work done on Hot Butter Vintage. I have so much awesome stuff to share.

Unfortunately I didn't really make so much money at this market. I'm thinking it was maybe due to booth location and/or people kind of waiting to buy Christmas presents. Oh well, my booth looked awesome, I got some adorable new shoes, ate some delicious pizza, and got to hang out with Melissa. The day was a winner.

I'll be back soon with camping pictures!

Totes

2010-09-23T10:34:00.000-06:00

Large reversible vintage sheet totes are officially available in my shop!

Show and Tell

2010-09-21T08:07:00.000-06:00

Watch out for this guy!!

I found an awesome set of Ghostbusters circa 1985 bed sheets at the Hospice Care thrift store's 50% off day.

I know it's all wrinkly, but I just had to share.

This top/tunic/very short dress (?) was one of my barn full of vintage clothes scores. I still need to tell ya'll about that, but I wanted to get a few more of the pieces photographed first. Anyway, it's gorgeous. The orange didn't photograph quite right, but it's good. It also has really pretty seam details on the bust.

Bowie (as in Double Raindavidbowie) has taken over my black felt hat. Cutest thing ever.

A quick shot of my work in progress craft fair booth. I called my stepmom Kris to ask her for ideas, and she had infinity of them in the front of her mind just waiting to escape! I can't wait for my next fair. I'm going to be a fancy big girl creator with a nice looking booth.

Thank you for tuning in to this show and tell. Behind the scenes I've been working like crazy making an odd combination of baby gifts and pouches for a mmj dispensary. Hey, might as well stencil everything at once, right?

Traveling Puppet Theater

2010-09-17T22:20:00.000-06:00

I am currently participating in Rachel and Elsie's Small Craft class and have completed my first project, the traveling puppet theater.

I think it turned out super cute!

I made him a few Halloween inspired puppets as he requested a skeleton specifically.

The Dracula is my favorite. He looks like one of the creatures from this video.

Thrift Scores

2010-09-16T07:55:00.000-06:00

I rarely buy shoes that don't fit me personally, but these Nina boots were way too pretty to leave at the thrift store.

I hope to find a new home for them soon. I still need to figure out what size they are.

I also couldn't just leave this at the thrift store for obvious reasons. I had to relocate a painting in my dining room so I could hang it up stat. The Chainsaw apparently likes clean, mostly naked walls, and I apparently like my walls to have as much majesty as possible. I really need a sewing room to deck out. Too bad my basement doesn't even have real walls.

Also, I'm in the process of adding a few more wristlets to my shop. I actually made them a while ago, but I just got around to photographing them. Then etsy decided it wasn't my friend last night and wouldn't let me list anything. I'll be trying again soon!

Creature Feature

2010-09-15T11:39:00.001-06:00

We met this glorious cat at our friends' Adam and Heidi's wedding last month.

I named him Jeffrey and wanted to take him home. We actually seriously discussed bringing him home as he was thought to not have an official owner. Luckily we decided not to take him. I say luckily because he ended up having owners, and I'm glad I'm no guilty of animal theft. He was so sweet and fun that I decided it was about dang time to let my snuggly cat dreams come true. Jezebel Lincoln is only a little snuggly and only when she feels like it.

Enter Double Rainbow Lincoln, the cutest four month old calico kitten that currently resides in my bedroom. Of course, she had to go and have a respiratory infection that we noticed within hours of bringing her home. It's super contagious, so she's been quarantined to our room since then.

She was actually rescued from Casper, Wyoming. Apparently Pet Smart (I think that's what they said) pays to save animals from kill shelters and move them to no kill shelters. Pretty cool!

She is indeed sweet and seems to have some kind of double motor. She has her regular purr, but when she's REALLY happy, another purr seems to come in simultaneously, resulting in what I like to refer to as her double motor.

Anyway, I can't wait for the quarantine to be lifted. Nana wants to hang out with her (but she's scared of Nana) and DR wants to hang out with Jezebel (who is scared of DR). Ahhh, the circle of fear.

Things I love

2010-09-14T11:02:00.000-06:00

Laura took this glorious photo of me after I did a quick change on account of evening breezes, and I would like to point out some things I love here.

1. I already said this, but my turquoise cowboy boots. They look cool with everything and are super comfortable. Thanks lady in South Dakota who broke them in and only wanted 50 cents in trade. I just spent several times that on turquoise shoe polish and am excited to pretty them up.

2. Fanny packs. Laura told me how sold she was on full time fanny pack use, and I have to agree. The hands free bag action is luxurious. Perfect for thrifting for sure. I think I'm going to make myself a more perfect fanny pack.

3. Plaid shirt/jacket I found at the park. It was there for three consecutive days and soaking with rain. I decided that after three days it was fair game. If someone wanted it back, they would have reclaimed it by then. It's super soft and matches my boots.

4. Favorite vintage necklace, courtesy of Kris, courtesy of Grandma Mary. I never met Kris's Grandma Mary, but I'm pretty sure we would have been best friends. Kris is in possession of her jewel treasures, and we love to go through them every couple visits.

5. The more cups on my table the better.

6. My son owns a camouflage jacket.

7. New bag for my lappy, which I pretty much never take anywhere anyway.

The end!

I didn't even realize how many of my favorite things were packed into this picture. Thanks to Laura for capturing it. What's your favorite thing today?

Excuse me, did you drop these turkey flats?

2010-09-12T23:01:00.000-06:00

Laura and I went on a hot date that included a trip to the fly fishing store. We got a little crazy making feathered hair majesties, and then we got a little crazier and decided to photograph them on my porch owl Diabeetus, Beetus for short.

Beetus needed hair, so the obvious choice here was Beverly, my beloved mullet wig.

Never mind the dog hair all over my body. Just pretend it's not there and don't mind it one little bit.

Then of course we decided Nana would look absolutely fabulous wearing Beverly. I was a little mad at myself for not thinking of it before.

It has been so awesome being reunited with Laura. In addition to our feather projects, I have also started a couple others, including new small wallets and large and in charge vintage sheet totes. I also created a new yellow corduroy guitar strap for Laura. We found the best stuff on our thrifting adventures while she was here.

Hope you had a great weekend!!

How to eat an ice cream sandwich by Felix and Kiley

2010-09-09T09:46:00.000-06:00

Laura and I made ice cream sandwiches for our friends' Labor Day fiesta. The kids ate them the best. We made home made chocolate chip cookies, strawberry ice cream, and vanilla with Reese's peanut butter cups in it. So good!!

Chicago!

2010-09-04T09:40:00.000-06:00

Our first stop on our epic journey was Chicago, which was a beautiful city filled with very nice people. We spent a day wandering around, and I highly recommend renting one of these babies for cruising around the lake.

Of course, Chainsaw got to drive. The wheel on my side was for looks, although I did try to help Chainsaw around some corners by using it.

Accidental shots are the best sometimes!

I met this giant penguin outside of a candy store, and we hit it off right away. We were like peas and carrots. We were like penguins, Ashley, and ice creams.

We found no one offering speed humps ahead.

Eyeball!

The giant mirror bean thing was cooler than I expected. I was surprised at the amount of people getting TO'd about other people ending up in their shot. Hello? There are a brazillion people trying to take pictures of their reflections people. Deal with it, ok?

We stayed with Chainsaw's friend Carlos and his wonderful fambly. He took us to his favorite restaurant, The Kitsch'n.

This is the bathroom. I don't make a habit out of photographing myself in public bathrooms, but I kind of just wanted to hang out in this bathroom forever. It's somewhat next to a giant thrift store outlet, a magical place where I spent $10 on 3 vintage dresses, 1 not vintage dress, and a tank top. There's also a vintage clothes store that is awesome. I got a couple adorable dresses, one of which was brand new vintage. She called it dead stock.

Ok, special thanks to Carlos once again. We had a glorious time in Chicago!!

Snappy Lappy Bag

2010-09-03T17:49:00.000-06:00

I made this lap top bag from the dress I dissected this week. It has its faults, but it's my first try.

This is also my first try at putting in a pocket with a zipper. It was both easier and trickier than I expected, if you can imagine that. My stitching is a little ugly, and I can see why invisible thread is recommended for such a project. Anyway, I love it!

I interlined it with a layer of fusible fleece and lined it with a piece of chenille I've had for forever to make it a soft, luxurious ride for my lap top. The pocket is to put my charging equipment in, and the pockets are from leather furniture samples my friend Eliza gave me.

In other news, I added some love bullets pouches and pocket clutches to my shop. :D Happy Friday night!

I did a bad thing to a good dress

2010-09-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

with fantastic results!

I didn't take any before pictures unfortunately, but I found this gorgeous floor length 60's dress at a vintage store on clearance for $8. Of course I couldn't zip it, but I triple double loved the fabric.

I cut the bottom of the dress off to utilize the hem, made a casing, and inserted some elastic. Voila!

I love it so much. I also loved being able to wear knee socks yesterday. September hasn't been messing around with the cool breezes.

I also made a lap top case for myself out of the fabric and have a couple pieces left. I'll be back soon with pictures of that and some fun new pouches.

Here's Felix on his first day of school.

I like how he HAS to criss cross the velcro on his shoes now. It looks cooler, right? This is what he wanted to wear to school:

2 Hour Sunset, brought to you by the great plains of South Dakota

2010-09-01T16:15:00.000-06:00

I used to drive almost all the way across the state of South Dakota fairly regularly, mostly while I was in college, and watching the sunset across the plains has always been one of my favorite sights. Technically, driving across South Dakota is mostly boring, but it sure knows how to host a fantastic sunset.

This is well after the start.

It started fading out like this, and I thought for sure it was almost over.

Then the horizon started burning.

My camera couldn't capture it, but the sky was painted in rainbow stripes.

This is the last picture I took, but the horizon continued to glow for a long time. I timed it from start to finish at two whole hours. Thank you so much for the pretty show, South Dakota!

I need a nap just writing this.

2010-08-31T10:05:00.000-06:00

We've been home from our epic journey since last Thursday night, but I've had a hard time getting myself to shake the dust off this place yet again. Luckily, I am overwhelmed with pictures and stories, it's just hard to find a place to begin.

Our journey went something like this-
Wednesday: Wake up at 4 am, drive for 16 to Chicago, where we stayed with an old friend of the Chainsaw.

Thursday: Chicago!

Friday: Drive across Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and finally, New York at midnight.

Saturday: Do some morning exploring and go to the wedding that inspired the whole trip.

Sunday: Brunch, Niagara Falls, nap, help take care of the wedding alcohol surplus problem.

Monday: Drive to Madison, WI. Pay almost $30 in tolls to save time.

Tuesday: Hang out in Madison with one of my favorite ladies and her scientist gentleman.

Wednesday: Drive 13 hours to the Black Hills of SD with a stop in Mitchell to see the corn palace and my second fambly (my breast friend Laura's parents!). Smootch sleeping Felix.

Thursday: Drive home to Colorado, pet kitty.

Then I had a craft fair to get ready for on Saturday. Add in the mysterious bites I got at the wedding that were causing me a ferocious itching anxiety and a trip to urgent care (before I amputated my own legs below the knee), and I've been busy, tired, and already missing new and old friends from our trip. I wish all my favorite people would move into our neighborhood!

I'll be working on more fun posts from our trip later today! Today is Felix's first day of preschool. :D

preserve wildlife. throw a party.

2010-08-16T10:08:00.000-06:00

I think these guys would completely approve of that idea.

I had the best time every the other night at Red Rocks. I've always had to sit in the top general admission, but this time we were lucky enough to get a seat in the second row. Of course, it was pretty far off center, but we had a sweet view nonetheless. In fact, I totally got to watch Eugene dancing backstage before going out to join the fun!

I only took a few pictures, and they suck. Those guys dance too hard for good point and shoot pictures. Gogol Bordello put on a fantastic show, and I highly recommend them to anyone who likes to feel the good energy and get down. :D

Other highlights include:

Seeing a guy laying on the ground puking on himself, then watching the security guards send each other flashlight signals (and also point them in drunk guy's face!) and the EMT's carrying the guy out. I'd like to know who leaves their drunk friend puking on himself by the garbage with no supervision. Oh well!

I had a feeling I was going to have an awesome new hair flair to wear to the show, but inspiration didn't strike until 4 pm (and we were leaving at 6). I knew that I needed feathers, vintage metal buttons, and hot glue- STAT! I whipped this pretty thing up in 20 minutes.

I'll take a couple pictures in which you might actually see the details this afternoon when I photograph the new things I created this weekend. I can't believe I didn't get a full body shot of my show costume. I finally got around to wearing my red sequined sash and of course my favorite new boots!

I got the title of this post from this awesome vintage fabric:

My aunt Janna gave me a box of vintage fabric to sort through that she had gotten many moons ago from a family friend. A lot of the fabric was actually reclaimed from other clothes. So this is vintage fabric reclaimed from vintage clothes in vintage times! So cool!

I think this guy's name is Bruno, and wouldn't you know it- Bruno hates seagulls! Oh my, see how he frowns!

The stack. There are a few other larger pieces not in the stack, but I can't believe how pretty it all is and that it took me so long (since our trip to Wyoming) to get this stuff washed.

Also, all my dreams came true this weekend. I'll tell you about that soon. cough cough barnfullofvintageclothes cough cough

Featured Vendor

2010-08-13T08:14:00.000-06:00

I'm a featured vendor for the Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market, which is going to be awesome. Check it out here. I swear the pictures I sent weren't that blurry, but oh well.

I'm super excited for this market. The booth spaces are 10x10, which is more space than I could fill with crafts (unless I got super creation crazy!). I asked if I could also sell some of my vintage things in my space, and they said YES! So I think getting ready for this one is going to be so much fun!

I'll be back later to tell you all my fun stories from last night, which was awesome.

I found this guy on my porch a couple weeks ago. He sure is uh, handsome?

That one thing I've been most excited about all summer

2010-08-11T12:17:00.000-06:00

Is finally happening tomorrow night! I can't wait to see these guys at Red Rocks.

I'm going to go work on my costume.

The Fair

2010-08-10T12:09:00.000-06:00

Let us do some calculations:

Baby animals

plus pony rides

plus friends

times pretty carnival lights

plus Monster Bag of cotton candy

plus fun rides

minus riding the pirate ship with two kids screaming "I don't like it" and "make it stop" (no photo available as people with cameras were laughing at my misfortune instead of documenting evidence)

EQUALS ONE AWESOME TIME. That's a lot of my favorite things right there.

Cowboy Boots

2010-08-10T10:06:00.000-06:00

I had been in the market for a cute pair of cowboy boots since the beginning of spring, when I decided that they are epically cute with a skirt or dress. Of course I expected the thrift or garage sale universe to hook me up, and I didn't have to wait long.

I found these turquoise boots at Whitewood Rummage Sale day for 50 cents. My size. Broken in. Legit cowgirl debris (think hay and maybe poop!) caked up next to the heel.

Unfortunately I had evil pieces of my foot/heel flesh missing from that snowy Memorial Day hike and was unable to wear them for a month and a half.

Pug-truder!

Anyway, praise the universe for being such a good pal to me. I'm in the market for a cute hat these days. :D

Pocket Clutch

2010-08-08T17:27:00.000-06:00

When I bought the owl pouch from Keyka Lou last week, I also bought the pattern for the Pocket Clutch, which is super adorable. I made a few, one being a birthday present for a dear OLD friend. So avert your eyes if you want a surprise, Katie! :D

I got another yard of this sweet, sweet mushroom fabric that everyone seems to love, and it is adorable.

It looks like this inside:

It has a little pocket on the front and closes with a magnetic snap. It feels very, very nice in my hand. I have to give this pattern two huge thumbs up as it was fairly easy and super brilliant.

This one is the present, for my friend who loves Wizard of OZ.

I saved this little piece of Oz fabric just for the occasion. I love it and hope she does too!

I made another out of a vintage sheet, which is so pretty.

They are really small but would be perfect if you're packing light or to keep things organized in your purse. I'm still trying to decide what fabrics to make mine out of. I'm considering enlarging the pattern a bit and making a big one!

I'll be putting a few new things in my shop if you're interested. And a little bonus handsome:

My future grandchild

2010-08-07T21:29:00.000-06:00

The other night Felix was talking about how he's going to have his own kids when he grows up. He was describing one kid in particular who had a mustache for hair, inspired by a picture of a dude was saw on he internet with his head shaved except for a mustache of hair on the front of his head. So of course I asked Felix to draw this kid for me.

Oh my.

I can kind of see the resemblance- mostly in the giant head area. This unborn child has no name so far as I told Felix it is not cool to name your kid Poopy Pants. Felix argued that he will poop his pants because he'll be a baby, which I countered with the fact that he, Felix, also pooped his pants and would not have liked it if I named him Poopy Pants.

I'll be back tomorrow with some cute cute stuff.

The Flock (I'm giving one away!)

2010-08-05T12:16:00.000-06:00

My little flock of Owl Change Purses turned out ever so lovely, if I do say so myself. Photographing owls on a string is kind of like photographing a herd of children- they don't hold still. And two of them kept trying to make out. I busted them in several photos, unable to keep their flaps off each other. It was kind of romantic.

I'm giving on of these away on my Facebook fan page (link on the right). All you have to do is share the Hot Butter fan page with your friends and let me know. For bonus chances, have your friends tell me you sent them. It's really a shameless ploy to get my fan count up so I can reach more people. Expect to see me working hard to make Hot Butter a success in the future. :D

If you can't wait to get your hams on one of these babies, fret not. I'll be adding them to my shop later this afternoon.

Owl Pouch

2010-08-03T19:41:00.001-06:00

I have nearly given in to the temptation of purchasing a Keyka Lou pattern several times, but she got my heart last night with the pattern for this adorable little pouch.

Photo from Keyka Lou.

So of course I had to buy it and a few of its adorable pattern friends. Here is my first finished owl pouch:

Beetus the owl approves.

And so does Spiderman. I have several more of these in varying shades of doneness. I'm going to give one away soon on facebook, so if you're not already a fan, use the link on the right to become one!

Green light!

2010-08-02T14:05:00.000-06:00

I officially opened Hot Butter Vintage yesterday. It is still light on the inventory, but I plan on adding a few things as often as I can. Mama needs to sell some stuff so she can buy more stuff. :D

Also, tips on good thrift stores in Chicago and/or around Buffalo or Akron, New York?

I'm researching woodland creatures for a fun new line I'm working on. I have some big HOT ideas flying around my head.

Polaroid Effects

2010-07-31T22:06:00.000-06:00

I "Polaroided" myself at Rollip.

You have to pay for high quality copies, but it's free to download the small fries. Try it and share! :D

Hot Butter Vintage Preview

2010-07-31T17:02:00.000-06:00

I'll have a couple enamel brooches.

A pretty beaded ascot shirt.

Butter yellow pleated sport skirt.

Plaid short sleeved top.

I should have these and possibly more items listed soon (like tonight I hope, but maybe tomorrow). I'll be sure to let you know!
Bonus pug:

At last!

2010-07-29T19:14:00.000-06:00

New long wallets in the shop! I'm also getting ready to open my vintage shop in the next day or so with a couple items to start. I'm so excited to share my treasures with you!

Progress

2010-07-29T11:58:00.000-06:00

I've been working on this set of long wallets for what feels like ages.

Something seems to be going on at some point every day, and the days that I don't have plans I have to go get groceries or something.

So at long last, I have eleven wallets in their finishing stages. I have more cut out, but I underestimated my interfacing needs. Anyone have a good source for buying interfacing? All the bolts I've found are about the same as buying it at Joanne's with a coupon.

I'm always excited to see my card slot flags. My life got less tedious when I realized I could chain piece the top stitching.

I'll be back soon to let you know when the update happens. If you haven't already, please become a fan of Hot Butter on facebook. My fans there are usually notified of shop updates sooner than I get to it here. I also plan on doing more facebook giveaways and discounts soon!

Fancied Up Vintage Leather Clutch

2010-07-24T18:24:00.000-06:00

I fancied up this vintage clutch by embroidering a diamond with glow in the dark embroidery floss. It looks pretty cool in the dark, that's for sure!

It is currently available in my shop, and it will soon be joined by a couple of its fancy friends.

In other news, I have cut out 15 long wallets today, which is a new record for me. Let's see if I can make them all in one day and kill my old record (10, I think). I'm also hoping to get Hot Butter Vintage up and running any day now.

New Small Wallets in the Shop

2010-07-24T09:39:00.000-06:00

That velvet skirt strikes again!

I'll be back soon with another fancied up vintage clutch. They'll be available super soon! Happy Saturday!

Summer in Photos

2010-07-22T17:01:00.000-06:00

Felix's first campfire.

Sam on the jet ski.

I also have a few new wallets in the shop. Most of my stock went to hang out at Boulder Body Wear in Boulder, Colorado in hopes of finding a new home! Stop in and say hi if you're in the area. :D

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-07-13T09:27:00.000-06:00

Dad giving my baby brother Ross a ride.

Dad and I before prom. He wanted pictures of me in my fancy dress on his motorcycle. haha

And just because he tries to embarrass me with pictures from when I was kid on my birthday, I'm sharing this in the spirit of Grandpa LeRoy, who was really good at reading and sleeping at the same time. Unfortunately Dad heard the camera focusing and started to open his eyes.

So happy birthday Dad!

In other news, Felix went to South Dakota with my mom for the week, and I have actually been creating. I've also been hitting the thrift store jackpot. I'll be back soon with pictures! I'll try not to be such a stranger anymore.

More crazy Wyoming sightings

2010-07-02T07:47:00.000-06:00

These people have a beef with ice cream.

We've got sad faces

2010-07-01T23:00:00.000-06:00

Hello everybody!

I wanted to explain my absences here as I know it isn't nice to disappear. The purpose of our trip to Wyoming was to get together as a family and spend some time with my dad's dad, Grandpa LeRoy, who was very sick with what he referred to as "the cancer."

Grandpa LeRoy passed away last Friday in Wyoming, and my family is pretty sad about that.

(I think he'd like me to point out that he's wearing his favorite and most comfortable shirt.)

Grandpa LeRoy liked books, rocks, arrowheads, making stuff, catsup (that's how he said it!), making sure his hair looked good, feasts, catching fun creatures (like toads and crawfish), records, funny jokes, and Grandma Donna.

Wyoming

2010-06-21T09:33:00.000-06:00

Today is one of the few precious days I haven't been insanely busy lately. Of course I'm going to a solstice even tonight for a couple hours, but it feels so good to not be busy busy busy. I thought I'd break the silence around here with some badass Wyoming pictures.

Felix was terrified of this stuffed bear. I had to stand with him, and I think you can see how badly he wanted to get away by the look on his face!

Romantic smooching at Mile High Pizza Pie in Jackson, WY.

I bought Felix the bear hat of his dreams!

Fambly photo by the river, Tetons in the background. We had to stress how important it was for Felix to not step off that dock into the deep roaring river!

See that speck over by the trees? It's about a third of the photo over from the right? That's a grizzly bear folks! Sorry I don't have a fancy telephoto lens, but I was wicked excited about my first wild bear sighting!!

Lady elk, life and limb risked by Chainsaw to take this photo.

Old Faithful!

All that hot steam is no good for foxy straight bangs.

I haven't even started with the picture on my personal camera. These are all from the fancy pants soul taker!

I should be getting back to creating today- or at the very least getting my creation station set back up after Friday's game night party. Oy!!

New Treasures (previously known as "other people's junk")

2010-06-11T08:41:00.000-06:00

Rummage Sale Treasures

Adorable, possibly never been used tea set. I think Pheobe from Friends had a mug like this!

Pancake Set!

Vintage Spools

Vintage buttons and a whole bag of nice embroidery floss.

Super nice Xacto knife set.

These prizes are from a consignment store:

Pyrex butter dish! My cat licks the butter if it isn't covered. I was so excited to find this!

Vintage Wristlet

Vintage purse. This one has one of those frames in it that opens when you push the sides in. It's pretty cool!

Vintage stationary set with lady bugs.

Belts

Metal dish

This isn't everything by any means, just a few things. I'll get some photos of the rest of my scores sometime soon! I also hope to be opening Hot Butter Vintage in the next two weeks.

Have a great weekend!

Trip to South Dakota Part One

2010-06-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

A few pictures of our trip

Felix in a tractor with stranger at a storage unit rummage sale! We like to rely on the kindness of stranger farmers for tractor access.

The back of Kris's Jeep after a long morning of rummaging.

Playing Keno with Kennasty Dale. We lost.

Hidden danger of curly hair and bangs: Hot dancing action makes me sweat, which makes my bangs wet, which makes them get curly, which made this really hot guy with a mullet refuse to speak to me. I put my best moves on him and only got the twinkle of his gold earring as a reply.

Part two coming soon! I'm doing a smidge of a Hot Butter break. I just had that trip, and now this weekend I'm leaving to spend some time with my family. I'm going to do my best to keep blogging, even if I'm not actively creating.

Anywho, rummage sale bounty plus more in my next post.

Lost Lake

2010-06-02T10:17:00.000-06:00

We went on a mountainous hiking adventure on Monday.

Boys with their sticks.

I was wearing sunglasses most of the time. Usually sunglasses give me a headache, but these garage sale glasses turn the world a magic color. My attempt to share the wonder:

Yes, I shot it through my sunglasses.

A good portion of our hike was through this cold white stuff or it's brother, cold melted snow water. The snow was heavy and wet, so there were many slips and occasional breaks through the crust into the freezing water underneath.

At long last we reached our goal, Lost Lake.

Yes, part of the lake is still icy on top.

I would love to go on this hike again in a month or so, when the snow is melted and the sun is hotter, which would make that cold mountain lake water feel really good!

Felix and I are going to go visit family in South Dakota tomorrow. I'll try to keep up here while I'm gone, but I can't make promises. I hope you're having a great week!

Fancy Vintage Clutches

2010-05-28T10:10:00.000-06:00

I've been finding vintage clutches at thrift stores like nobody's business. I think they are adorable all on their own, but I decided to fancy a couple up for fun this week.

I embroidered a red feather on this camel colored clutch. It actually has a nice strap attached to the zipper. Does that make it a wristlet?

This is a smaller, velcro closed clutch. There is a scuff on the front, and the corners have some of their black worn off. I'm considering buying some leather care stuff and fixing them. What do you think about that? Is part of the vintage magic in their age scuffs?

I'll be listing these in my shop soon!

My goals for today are to make some birthday presents for my mom and another cute dress for myself!