Way-Out Wednesday: Hands All Over.

Welcome to a better-late-than-never Way-Out Wednesday!




Some things I always love/admire/give shout-outs to (in no particular order):

* vintage
* kid leather (sorry my loves- but back off my jock, PETA)
* bedazzled crap
* crafty bitches
* crap with a vaguely Victorian/sorta steampunk/mostly "what-the-hell-would-you-call- this" vibe
* eccentricity
* crazy-ass costume & "statement" jewelry
* upcycling crap into other crap
* highly creative peeps
* homages to Janet Jackson's 1993 Rolling Stone cover


...yet even though today's pick has all of the above, I'm beginning to question where my list went wrong...




Why yes, that is an Eccentric Neck Adornment (the Etsy seller's title verbatim- and true on all counts), made from shrunken kid leather gloves and turned into a necklace that reminds me of a 15-year-old trying to cop a feel in the movie theater while trying to employ the cliche and zero-success-rated "pretend to yawn, stretch and put an arm around the shoulder of the chick sitting next to him while his hand dangles precariously within boob-reaching distance" move, thanks for asking. Then again, my mind takes up residence in the gutter quite often, so take it with a grain of salt.




(Huh. Woody Allen has "no apologies." Shocking. I bet he's used that movie theater trick on more than one 15 year old girl in his day. Hey-yo!)

Way-Out Wednesday: Give Me Some Credit.

Today's Way-Out Wednesday pick isn't vintage or way-out at all, in the sense of the day's usual theme of creepy/strange/bizarre- but it is kind of way-out in the "those crafty Etsy bitches did it again! why didn't I think of that? what a coolio idea!" way. I'm talking about ye olde upcycling again, only this time I promise not to rant about how much I despise the "going green" catch phrase. (OK, I lied. I loathe the trendy catchphrase "going green". Now I'm done.)

This time, those wily artsy types took old credit and gift cards, hacked them to bits, added some metal hardware doodads and voila! Wearable art that came from, essentially, junk! I know, I make it sound easy, as if I'd ever attempt to make something like that. Hell, I don't even have any credit cards to hack up, having long since lived without more than a Visa check card for years now. Plus, my credit sucks, so there's that. (Though it's laughable, getting those "you may be pre-approved for a Visa Platinum card!" spammy applications in the mail. I laugh at the irony, you nutty credit card companies, thinking I should have credit. Ha! You fools!)

See how cool crappy plastic cards can look? These chicks even get color-organised! Now that's talent! I can't even organise my sock drawer.



Discs Upcycled Credit Card Bracelet







Red, White & Black Upcycled Credit Card Bracelet








Bright Party Colors Upcycled Credit Card Bracelet

Aqua Blue Heaven Friday: Coffee In The Morning, Coffee In The Evening, Coffee At Supper Time!

Welcome to Aqua Blue Heaven Friday! (Is it just me, or did this week take forEVer to get the hell over with already? It's just me? Great. Give me an IV drip of coffee please and most of you won't get hurt.)


... cheesy segue alert...





Speaking of coffee (there it is!), today's aqua-y goodness isn't vintage and in fact, combines my least favorite current trendy catch phrases: "eco-friendly" and, this one makes me hurl, "going green". Whatever happened to just not being a Hummer-driving asshole and just being a decent person, doing your part to keep this planet on the level? Do we really need to put a trendy spin on things that we should be doing every day anyway like recycling, upcycling and reusing in order to get folks to give a rat's ass about the world under their feet? Because that would make me sad. You know, assuming I was capable of feeling human emotions.

So along comes these super cute Homemade Reusable Coffee Sleeves on Etsy. File this under: "More crafty bitches on Etsy who make stuff that I wish I would've thought of or had half the talent to make something so crafty-ish! Maybe I'll steal that idea and make my own out of vintage fabric scraps! On second thought, who am I kidding, no I won't! But it's still a good idea for those of use who buy coffee, and I mean aLOT of coffee! What's that?! Am I am hopped up caffeine right now?!! What makes you say that?!!!"

Hey Jude

I'm gonna take a break today from my usual cheerful and upbeat rants here, and let you in on a great way to start out your year doing something "green", while doing something decent for your fellow mankind. I almost never make New Year's resolutions, because I tend to break them by the 2nd. But over the past few months we've started to do more volunteering in our community, or anywhere that we can help, and plan on carrying it on throughout the year. We've already volunteered serving Christmas dinner to retired & disabled veterans and have plans set up to clean up a stretch of highway this spring. But the most inspiring of all is how we witnessed the effects of good deed-doing in our 10 year old son who's currently working on an original Star Wars-themed board game so he can visit sick kids in the hospital and play with them. So believe me when I say your actions leave a bigger imprint on others than you can imagine!

I'm sure most of you have long since taken down your holiday decorations- unless you're some of my classy neighbors who are rockin' both Christmas and Valentine's Day decor at the same time- sometimes with a little Halloween still in there, no less. Awesome. But if you happen to have xmas cards still loitering around, don't throw them out! There's a way they can be upcycled and not become useless landfill fodder!

St. Jude's Ranch (the organisation that cares for abused, abandoned and neglected children of all races and faiths from child abuse) are currently accepting all your used all-occasion cards until February 28th. So they don't have to be Christmas cards. Have used birthday cards, Hanukkah cards, get well soon cards, congratulations on your divorce cards, etc. that you don't have the heart to chuck? Great. Those work too!

The children and volunteers participate in making new cards out of your used ones by removing the front, taking off the back that has the writing on it and attaching a new, blank back. The result is a brand new, upcycled card which they then sell in packs of 10 for $10.00.

If you'd like to donate your used cards to St. Jude's Ranch, send them to:

St. Jude's Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program
100 St. Jude's Street
Boulder City, NV 89005

Way-Out Wednesday: Let's Play A Game of....BRAINS...

Welcome to Way-Out Wednesday! In keeping with the Halloween spirit and admiring many an Etsy chick with mad craftacular skillz, I found something that is not only creative but a little odd, in the best way, of course. There is a seller called P's and Q's who makes checkerboards from upcycled wood and hand-painted, unique checkerboard pieces. You won't find the standard plastic black and red circle pieces (like the uber craptastic set I have), nay, she makes her pieces into the shapes of mummies and vampires and even, dare I say, Sasquatches. Because it's like I always never say: "A girl cannot live without a checkerboard set of Sasquatches."

And so, behold her sets of wonder and joy! Perfect for that rare combo of Horror Fan and Super Nerd:



This is what a whole set would look like, including the board. What a swell and creative idea, right? I'd probably end up half-assing it, give up after painting 1/2 of one, get frustrated and end up throwing it outside into the street. But then, I have a little problem with "anger management", apparently.



Vampires Vs. Mummies!

But wait! There's more...



Yettis Vs. Sasquatches (Also, I'm not sure how to spell the plural of "yeti". Stupid spellcheck offered me nothing. That jerk.)



Aliens Vs. Robots




And yes, even Zombies Vs. Angry Townspeople

Way-Out Wednesday: Upcycling Gone Wild

Time for another Way-Out Wednesday, kids! I've talked alot about upcycling lately, and figured I should probably give a quick lesson on what it is before I keep going on about it, for those who aren't quite sure what it is. Upcycling is basically taking something that isn't perfect as a whole anymore but has perfectly usable bits & pieces to it. So you salvage what you can from it and use those good parts for something else. It's a very WWII 1940's-esque way of living: use it up, use it out then turn it into something new and use it again. (Taking off the buttons from a trashed dress that can no longer be worn and using them on something else is an example.) So I think it's safe to say we're all for that, right? Recycling is good, upcycling is grand, yada yada yada.

BUT. And this is a big "but" (hey-yo!): there's a limit to which one should upcycle. Can it go too far? This writer says "hells yes!". At what point do you say enough is enough? When you make small children cry is probably your cue to stop.

I have big love for people with imaginative minds and hands that need to create. I like wacky, twisted and bizarre art as much as the next guy. I appreciate it and I can "get" where they're coming from. But even this has me a little uneasy. Brava, crafty chick Vintage Meg, you rocked it....





Why yes, that is a doll's head mounted to an old trumpet surrounded by skeleton keys, clock gears, tape measures, parts of a child's toy, old typewriter keys and doll parts, thank you for asking.


Perhaps a closeup will clear things up a bit...






Nope! I think it just blinked at me... Go to a safe and happy place...Care Bears and puffy stickers...Care bears and puffy stickers....

Atomic Tuesday: We Got The Beat

Hey there, kids! It's Atomic Tuesday once again!



There's no real "theme" today and there's only just one atomic-y treat I found, but it's a fun one! As you've all read a jillion times, wearing vintage and collecting vintage "things" is considered "green". (I'm sorry, but it's a term I loathe and I don't apologise for it.) Keep it out of the landfill, think of the children, save the whales, and all that crap. Nonetheless, I think most of us wear and collect vintage stuff not for the sake of being "green" and saving the earth but because, among other reasons, it's just so damn cool. AmIrightoramIright? Well today's vintage find does both: it's upcycling broken-down, vintage bits & pieces that would otherwise be considered junk and it's stylin'. And yes, I did just say "stylin'" because apparently it's 1990.


Behold, the Vintage Eggbeaters-Turned-Atomic Clock:




Is it not, in fact, stylin'?! I find it especially cool. It would only really work in a kitchen I think, but if you wanted to put it over your mantel, then have at it, what do I care. It would also rock in a little cafe or coffee shop, because I know there are so many of you who own cafes and coffee shops, and all. But you get my point. The seller will even make the clock a different color for you! I'm sure it'll look slightly different than the one in the picture, depending on the vintage eggbeater parts at hand. Add this to the "why didn't I think of this?" file!