Just Another Thing to Take a Gander At

I'm not sure how this would hold up outside or how much shelac-type substance was involved in creating this, but it's pretty neat to look at.

ooooo-- and after following the link for this, I found that there's a whole company/group called bokjadesign that covers all kinds of things in bright delightful vintage fabrics.  I want to see their stash! 

Button Art

I just stumbled across these crazy funky button coated tights over at Burda Style (tons of great free patterns there).  They're certainly conversation starters, and you must be a brave, confident soul to wear these.  I appreciate the time that went into these fancy pants-y tights.

Colleen Atwood- Amazing Costume Designer

Colleen Atwood has designed many of the costumes for Tim Burton's films- from Sweeney Todd to most recently, Alice in Wonderland. I think I mentioned before how much I loved the costumes in the film, and I just stumbled across this video that shows a lot of the detail on some of the costumes:




Who knew there was even very detailed embroidery on the costumes?!

Fantastic Mr. Fox in Stop Motion

I already got super excited about this once, but I'm excited all over again after checking out the website for The Fantastic Mr. Fox in stop motion film-form. It's based on Roald Dahl's book (all of which I adored as a kid). I wish I could sit in a theater!! Maybe by next week when it comes out, I'll have some graceful lucky hand make it possible. In the meantime, I don't mind geeking out over the website and watching the little "Featurettes" that show glimpses of the process-- including hand painting, sewing, and sculpting all of the lovely lovely puppets! Their teeny tiny little clothes sure tickle my fancy.

Sewing on a Button

Helpful Hints...
I've been making a lot of buttons to sell lately, and I thought "hmm, maybe people aren't motivated to buy interesting buttons because they're not into sewing the button on." So, I figured I'd print a link to this post on the back of my button cards so that people can find some easy peasy help. Maybe they will turn into button and sewing lovers!

Here's the first good tutorial:



And the second:
For another knot-tying method, the "Quilter's Knot" is a super easy way to tie a quick knot and not have to fuss with the thread (I promise it's even easier than it looks in the video).

Thanks for coming by, button-iers!

Another Ode- This Time to My Sewing Machine

Dear My Lonely Sewing Machine,

I haven't seen you in quite awhile, but it's not because I don't still love you. Our distance has made my feelings for you stronger and stronger every day. I long to hear your gentle purr as you connect threads faster than my thoughts can go. You inspire me, and I long for the times when my leg was able to push your pedal without pain. Soon enough, lovely, soon enough.

-Natalie

P.S. I never realized how fun it is to write exaggerated love letters to inanimate objects.

(these are a few of the gobs of paint sample cards I gathered from the hardware store for a little color and inspiration in my impermanent sewing room here since I moved in with my parents...there I admitted it. Screw the economy. No, I should be grateful...and I am)


(my somewhat pathetic duct tape dress form that is missing me and sick of this unfinished tank top that it's still wearing from July)

A Squirrel to Make My Day

The featured Etsy seller right now is TsuruBride , and she has one of the coolest purses I have ever seen:

(Orwell Clutch Gold Squirrel Purse)

I am obviously quite partial to the squirrel and all things squirrel-related. If I saw someone walking around with this, I would instantly want to be their best friend and would probably scare them with my enthusiasm. She has tons of other really great stuff in her shop too, and I'm glad that Etsy decided to feature her so I could be graced with seeing her super quirky designs.

(Geek Love Vintage SLR Camera Card Holder)

In her seller interview she also mentioned the all-too-familiar feeling of talking about something like "making a purse shaped like a snake digesting an elephant" and people looking at you, "like you have two heads." I often feel this way when I talk about making double-headed birds with crab claw beaks...it is certainly nice when others are doing similarly eccentric things.

Thanks for the inspiration, Meghan! (photos all from her Etsy site)

Ode to the Shy Button

Dear Button,

You are nostalgic, sweet, plentiful and harmonious. You blend in with a crowd, but you have no qualms when it comes to showing your pretty feathers. You are like a little treasure buried just beneath the sand-- your adorable nature oft goes unnoticed. You are good at the things you do. Your variety and quirks are hidden in plain view. You morph and blend yet still remain the same. You bring me quiet enthusiasm. Your charms are truly endless.

You are as cute as a button.

-Natalie

(Poppalina)

(l.ona)

(shagpiledesigns)

(krisiewalter)

(westcoastcrafty)

(iwantvintage.co.uk)

(ButtonFlowers)

(kellwood)

(siennaorlando)

Halloween Woes

Halloween is my favorite. Dressing up makes me so happy and having a good excuse to do it with other people is so fun. My health is getting better finally (yay!), but I am still going to have to sit this one out....regrettably....very regrettably....especially since my boyfriend is playing in his new band for the first time at a big party.

Anyway, if I could dress up, I think it would be fun to be Little Edie from Grey Gardens, even though not many people would know who I was...

Last year Nick and I were Hans und Hilga and had a Halloween party at our apartment. We don't live together anymore--- not because we don't want to by any means, but we have a lot of obstacles to get through right now (money- yuck and health mostly).

I made our costumes in a flurry fury right before Halloween. Nick's Lederhosen was complete with Wurst on the waist panel (his idea).

I'll just have to start planning for next year...

Buttons, Buttercup!

I have buttons on the brain. Today I think I'll try stamping some vintage buttons I have into some clay to see if it gets a nice result. In the meantime, I've been looking at some great vintage buttons on Flickr. Here are the highlights of my trip through the pages:

(green and brown-intage by button candy)

(Celluloid, Bakelite and Lucite by lorimarsha; love that one on the left!)

(Vintage Buttons by mame*)
(Vintage Lightening Button by Britex Fabrics)

(it-just-makes-me-happy by button candy...me too!)

(Owl Collection by Betty Jo Designs; how clever!!)

(An assortment of green by teaoclock)

Do You Feel "The Bubble?"

Anyone who has ever created something or felt like creating something, I think, will know what I mean here. I often feel that there is something bubbling in me when I have an idea or want to make something very badly. I'm curious though about how others experience "the bubble."


Right now, I am unable to sew for physical reasons (sorry if I keep mentioning that all the time), and I keep thinking of things I want to make. It feels very bubbly/boiling-y not being able to do it and not being able to get these ideas out of my head and into a concrete form. I find that keeping notes in an idea journal helps a ton. But, not being able to sew also helps me to get more deeply involved in the things I can do-- like knit.


On a related note, feeling the initial spark toward creating an idea also involves the executing of that idea. In his book, Trust the Process, Shaun McNiff writes,

"While he played the piano, Duke Ellington said 'I'm not playing, I'm dreaming.' It is like the Islamic Mystics who quote the Koranic saying, 'It is not you who throws the dart when you throw it.' Creativity is a force moving through us, and only through practice do we learn how to cooperate with it. The "process" is like a muscle. It needs to be exercised in order to function properly."

What does it feel like to you to have an idea or want to create something? Or, what do you feel when you are creating? Is this something you think about on a regular basis? I think artists-- no matter what their medium may be-- are driven to create by this feeling of serenity (or however you'd describe it) and motivated by the challenges "the process" brings.