etsy mini

Friday, May 23, 2014

Poor Old Oscar

A few months ago I went crazy in a junk store and bought a bunch of stuff that I had no immediate plans for.  Among those items was somebody's entire stamp collection, which filled a large box until I took the stamps out of the hundreds of tiny envelopes and dumped them in three jars.  Still, that's a LOT of old stamps.



What I know about stamp collecting can be written on the head of a pin.  I guess some stamps are hard to find and therefore worth big bucks (at least to other stamp collectors)?  It's unlikely that a rare stamp is somewhere in these jars, but there is still a tiny chance that there is something valuable. I now have a fantasy:

I am holding court at a party in a trendy gallery.  My stunning dress shimmers as I converse wittily with my many admirers.  (In my fantasy this is totally plausible.  Also, I'm a size 5.)  On the wall behind me is a series of my brilliant collages that incorporate the aforementioned stamps.

One of the guests idly peruses the art.  He is a short man in an ill-fitting tweed suit and a bad toupee.  His wife dragged him to this party against his will, and he's hoping he can leave before someone tries to engage him in conversation.  Let's call him Oscar.

Oscar glances at one of my pieces and is about to move on when he does a double-take.  Surely it couldn't....no...wait....it IS!

"Noooo!" he wails.  "It's the rare ten-cent three-headed red eagle stamp!  Generations of stamp collectors in my family have searched for it in vain!  It's worth three hundred dollars!  And she's glued it to a canvas!  There's PAINT on it!"  He breaks down into sobs.  "How could you do that?  Did you know? Did you?"

All eyes are now on me.  "Of course I knew.  What you don't realize, my dear man, is that art is more precious than mere money," I say.

Spontaneous applause erupts.  Oscar is led away by kind people as I calmly sip a cocktail made of his tasty, tasty tears.

When no one is looking, I whip out a pen and write a new, hugely increased number on the price tag.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Chain Gang Pouch

Let's get this blog started for reals, shall we?  I abandoned it for far too long while I was learning more about how to make stuff.

My fabric painting skills are developing nicely, and I'm branching out into upcycled jewelry.  Unfortunately, my sewing is still a bit shaky.  For example, today I whipped up a zippered pouch out of some painted canvas.




I'm mostly happy with the way it turned out, but the zipper ended up a bit sloppy.  Curse you, zippers!  Why U No E-Z?  Whenever I'm attempting to sew one, I think, "Would it really be so bad if everything fell out of this bag?  Maybe people LIKE picking up their stuff every thirty seconds..."  Then the voice of reason smacks me upside the head.

I'll try to focus on the positive, like how much the unexpected touches of houndstooth makes me happy.  I was going to go with an orange zipper and ribbon, but I'm glad I decided to take the risk.  I also like the beaded wrist strap.




I probably won't put this clutch on Etsy because of the sloppiness.  However, I will soon have some awesome jewelry for sale!  I'm working on some pieces made from vintage wooden blocks and cassette tape ribbon.  I will post on this blog when they are ready.