Manic Pop

So I am absolutely dying to make curtains like these: These are specifically made for a kitchen as they are much shorter than what I would do. I have curtains that desperately need replacing  in my living room (the front picture window) and this project is definitely on my list. It's daunting though because each curtain will have to be around 4 ft. by 6 ft. Yikes!  I also would sort of update this look by using more subdued hues like a pale green and a pale, sheer blue. This would be fun to try on a much smaller scale - like a kitchen window in this photo. (Photo credit: The Complete Encylopedia of Crafts, Volume 1 from 1975.) For anyone in Chicago, a great place to find lots and lots of cheap fabric is Textile Discount Outlet . Go there with some time on your hands as there are 3 warehouse-sized floors of fabric, notions, etc. and always check their hours! Another fun home idea is this, though I may be the only one crazy enough to actually do this: (Photo:...

I've mostly been busy hackin' up a lung my past 2 days off, but I managed to dress a little cute today in hopes of shaking off this ridiculous cough. (So far, the only thing that has helped is the Echinacea Throat Coat tea - Dayquil is no match for this thing.) Some of you may remember this is the same watercolor print vintage dress that used to be a pantsuit this summer. I found this thing at a vintage sale in Wicker Park - a woman who owns Onomatopoeia Vintage in Hammond, Indiana. I'm not sure how thrilled she was at me taking this and making it into a dress, but I love-love it as a dress. It might be my favorite. Before and after photos:  I simply cut the seams of the inside legs open, fit and pinned it accordingly, and drastically pulled up the hem. It took me less than 20 minutes and it's super-easy to do with any pants you have. Test it out on a pair from a thrift store! Brian also convinced me I needed this bottle of nail polish the other day. I...

I was beyond delighted to find yet another vintage crafts book on an outing to a local Chicago thrift store with my friend Kat last weekend. I almost didn't see it! This one was published in 1975 and includes many DIY projects such as paper crafts (including amazingly cute pop-up cards you can make!), knitting and crocheting, clay crafts, plastic crafts (!), metal jewelry making, simple woodworking, glass etching, creative mural and wall painting, and candle-making. From my research, about 7 volumes exist in this series, perhaps more. I'm pretty sure the plastic crafts one included in this book is now dangerous to do at home, but maybe it wasn't in the 70s. The chemicals alone are enough to do some damage, right? When I was little, I remember my mom getting us color drip candles somewhere and I was fascinated by them. Looking online now you can only buy 2 of them usually for around $7 - seems they are mostly a thing of the past. I have an awesome thrifted can...

I usually make a mix CD every year just for the hell of it - sometimes it will be smack-dab in the middle of the year, sometimes it will be appropriately at the end, but most of the time it serves as a time capsule for the frame of mind I'm in and a means to "visit" that year again, should I so choose. (Cornball, I know but hey!) I started them in 2003 (my junior year of high school going into my senior year) and continued up to 2006 but somehow forgot about '07, '08, and '09. I always feel like 2005 and 2006 were awesome years for music and I suppose after that, there wasn't anything exciting enough going on that was noteworthy enough for a mix CD.(There probably actually was, but I was unenthusiastic at the time.) My mix CDs are all about telling a story, in a way, of the year. Some songs are attached with specific events, some are a new artist I was excited about, some are songs that came out that calendar year... a true mix CD. This past year was...