Project: Snow Globes

I'm trying to plan some fun homemade crafts to do with my daughters this holiday season. Just wanted to share this with you in case you would like to do it too.



The shimmering magic of snowfall is always transfixing, whether it's outside your window or inside this classic toy. Homemade globes let you create a wintry scene straight out of your own imagination.

Almost any jar works for this project: Baby-food, pimiento, and olive jars are good choices. Look for plastic or ceramic figurines (metal ones are prone to rust) at flea markets and hobby or model-railroad shops. Synthetic evergreen tips are available at many floral-supply stores.

If the jar lids are not in seasonal colors already, paint them with oil-based enamel paint. Sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough. With clear-drying epoxy, adhere the figurine to the inside of the lid, and let the epoxy dry.

Fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water; add a pinch of glitter and a dash of glycerin (available at drugstores) to keep the glitter from falling too quickly. Don't add too much, or the glitter will stick to the bottom of the jar when it's flipped. Screw on the lid tightly, being careful not to dislodge the figurine. Turn the jar over and back again -- and let it snow.

From Matha Stewart.

Hot Babes & Steampunk...

It's been a while since I posted anything. The holidays are keeping me busy. Not the typical busyness one experiences at this time of year but the busyness of keeping the fat off my ass. See:
(Bad photoshopping, I know.)


Speaking of asses, I watched the Victoria's Secret fashion show last night. I felt it was not quite as good as last year's show. But there was one outfit in particular that caught my eye:

This look is what you call "steampunk." Don't know what that means? Neither did I a couple of months ago. Google it. Steampunk is a subculture that encapsulates the aesthetic expression of a time-traveling fantasy world, one that embraces music, film, design and now fashion, all inspired by the extravagantly inventive age of dirigibles and steam locomotives, brass diving bells and jar-shaped protosubmarines of the 19th century. (-NY Times) I'm not quite sure how into it I am but I do find it very fascinating. Here's another look from last night that has a steampunk flavor:

And, here for your viewing pleasure, some more steampunk finds from the web:

Steampunk iPod






Steampunk Guitar





Steampunk Computer





Steampunk Laptop






Steampunk Nerf Guns





Steampunk Computer Mouse





Another Steampunk Computer






Steampunk Guys



I think the style is pretty cool, but it teters on a thin line between ultra cool and 40-year-old-virgin-living-with-his-mom-and-reenacts-medival-battles-in-the-park-on-Saturday-afternoon kind of nerdy. It's an extremely risky fashion statement, but some can and have pulled it off. Will.I.Am (& The Black Eyed Peas) did a commercial in which he was dressed in steampunk fashion, at this time I can't remember the commercial but it has aired recently. (If I remember, I'll let you know.) The Black Eyed Peas also performed at the VS show last night and I did recognize some steampunk influence there, too.

I don't know. What do you think? I'm just saying, I think we might be seeing more of this style soon. You've been warned.

In the meantime, if you are interested in Steampunk fashion, check out Steampunk Emporium.

More Cute Toile Items...

50's Swing Dress in black & white toile from Blue Velvet Vintage.com.





Vintage style black & white toile dress. Unique-vintage.com


Imagine wearing either of these dresses with the boots in my previous post!

ATCs...a great (new) pastime.

I absolutely love to make ATCs. What are ATCs you ask? Artist Tading Cards.

Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball cards, or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (6cm X 9cm), small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets. The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland. Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc). The cards are usually traded or exchanged rather than sold. You always need to label the back of your card. Include information such as Title, Artist's Name, Date Created, Address (these things are swapped through the mail, someone might want to send you a "thank you" for your amazing ATC), and any other contact info you would like to share.




I have mentioned this subject before, even to artistic people, and they roll their eyes. "What will they think of next?," they say. Well, I don't know but I love 'em.
For me, ATCs help me become more inspired. Working on a small canvas gives me great ideas. I have a very diverse collection--mine, of course, being my favorites. I have a 3-ring binder filled with pages and pages of wonderful ATCs. I love to look through them and get inspired. You can find binder pages to hold your cards at Walmart (in the trading card section--usually near the front of the store) or at a comic book store. (For the locals: Vintage Stock in Springfield) Here, you can also find protective sleeves to insert your cards into prior to swapping.



I have joined ATC trading clubs on Yahoo Groups but I have a history of being disappointed with them. I do not like to blindly swap. Too often I have made beautiful cards (in my opinion) and recieved something that was, well, less than lovely (in my opinion). I prefer to peruse artist's cards and request a swap. Many artists have their cards on flicker and it it easy to view and contact these artists.



Another site I am fond of is Swap-Bot. There's not a lot of pressure here and there are a plethora of different items to swap. So much fun, go check it out.






In the meantime, grab a stack of old playing cards and start using them as your own little canvases for your own ATC masterpieces. Hey, maybe we can swap sometime!

Book Review

I read two books this past week. Which is an amazing feat for me since I rarely read books. For some reason I've been craving to read lately. Weird.

Anyway, this week I read "Dropped Dead Stitch" and "The Hunt For The Seventh."

Dropped Dead Stitch, well, I found it, hmm, mediocre I guess. I'm into knitting right now so I kind of had a kindered relationship with it in a way but I felt that it was in no way a very exciting book. It had potential I suppose but the author really seemed to give away the plot points very easily. Several chapters before the killer was revealed I already saw it comming. I give it an "eh" on my scale.

The Hunt For The Seventh, it's funny because I bought this book for my 9-year old daughter at the book fair this week so it is geared toward the juvinile crowd. However, I still found it much more interesting than the previous read. This book instantly drew me in. I started reading it at night and it freaked me out--I fell asleep with the TV on that night. I thought it was a pretty cool book. I'd reccomend it for a good Halloween read, but I don't think my daughter has the courage to read it yet!

This week I'm reading the "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young. Can't wait to share my thought on it.

A.D.D. Artist

It didn't take long for me to tire of my regular work after the craft fair was over. The weather is turning chillier and I've been eyeing all the goodies on Etsy lately and found my newest obcession: Knitting.

I already know how to crochet fairly well. Learned that at my telemarketing job when I was younger. We'd sit there crocheting blankets while trying to sell some lame credit card insurance.

But crochet is not my preferred style. It seems a bit...elderly, I guess. Probably because my grandmother always had crocheted afghans around her house. But knitting, that's in a whole other sophisticated catagory.

It sucks for those on Etsy trying to sell their wares because you can go to the store and buy the same thing way cheaper. But those items don't hold the same aesthetic quality as something you know was created by someone's own hands.

But, alas, I'm cheap, crafty and have a little bit of time on my hands so I'm working on my own knitting projects. It's comming along.

Heritage Days

We had a great time at Heritage Days in Warsaw, Missouri on Saturday. Every time we go it makes me want to go camping. But not just any campsite. Some place you'd have to hike to. I guess I enjoy it so much because it reminds me of how my six cousins and I used to play when we were children. We spent large amounts of time on my grandparents' 200 acre farm, so we would venture far away from the house and be gone all day. We'd play like we were pioneers or Indians or whatever. It brings back wonderful memories.
Thanks for visiting!

Boot Hunt...

I would actually love to have areason to buy these simply because I love the black & white damask pattern. However, since the '90's, I am not a big fan of Doc Martins. Still cute, though. Wanna buy them? Go here! They're on ebay.


I do, however, desparately want these boots:



They are way more expensive than I want to pay but, O! They are sooooooo cute! I have diaper bag and tons of other things that would match them! MUST have them!

Halloween Treats...

Just a quick post--

Just wanted to share these super cute cupcakes with you from Family Fun Magazine. I have GOT to make these this year. Hopefully mine will look a little like this picture!




Also, I just thought these pumpkins were gorgeous! marthastewart.com

Lazy Sunday Afternoon...

Aahhh... Just had a nice nap. Still exhausted from the craft fair.

Also, thank goodness, I'm blond again. Finally. (Those of you who I met at the craft fair, I've never been brunette before--I hated it!)

Here at the Shoemaker household, we have been cleaning out the garage and putting up the Halloween decor, getting ready for the annual Shoemaker chili cookoff & Halloween Party. We have lots of fun and everyone is invited. Literally. People just walking by Trick-or-Treating with their kids are invited in to have a bowl of chili. I couldn't tell you how many different kinds of chili we had last year. It was a very good time. In the neighborhood? Stop by! Pix to come soon.

Craft Fair Aftermath...

My family room is wrecked!



My studio is ground zero. (That hideous floor doesn't help anything.)




Miranda is wearing my pendants.


My studio (and my home) truly suffered in the flurry of busyness prior to the craft fair. (As evident in these photos.) Time to clean up and get organized. (Yeah, right.)

However, if you're going to have a massive mess in your house, what's better than having that mess made of vintage papers, glitter and other tiny treasures? (a mess of 100 dollar bills.)

I would love HGTV to come & surprise me with a studio makeover. But, alas, I suppose I'll have to do it myself. Hmmm...I'll let you know when that happens. Hopefully I'll get the flooring replaced soon, (it was there when we bought it--I did NOT pick that out!).

Until then, I'd like to know if you have an inspiring space to create? Post your pix here, I'd love to see them.

Ozark Craft Fair 2009

Well, it's over now and I have trouble remembering that I can relax now. This year's profit was not nearly as much as 2006 & 2007. Which I automatically attribute to the bad economy. However, a vendor my husband spoke with who was set up in a barn space said that her profits were 3 times as much as they were last year--which the craft fair organizers claim was one of the best years ever. So, that being said, I believe in the curse of a tent booth and the blessing of a barn booth-- I won't participate in the Ozark craft fair again unless I get a barn space.

Speaking of the curse of the tent space... Friday was one of the worst days of my life. The wind was awful. My husband, Brian, and i had to hold on to the tent and the bookcase from 11am to 6pm so things wouldn't fly away or fall down. It was extremely stressful. Thank the good Lord it's over!

Thank you to all who came out and supported us. Overall, we had a great time. I always love to meet with the people and to see how the are moved by art.

I'll let you know about any other craft fairs or art shows I'll be particpating in later on.

Thank you.

Still Working...

This is a lame preview of my booth.

Still working? Then what am I doing on the computer?

Waiting for thunderstorms to move throught before I set up my booth. Hopefully it won't be too windy, my tent is pretty flimsy.

SoMo BoHo art

Running out of time...

Today is Wednesday. The craft fair starts Friday morning. I still feel like I have a ton of work to do. Ugh.

What really sucks is that they are forcasting storms for tomorrow night, which is when I'm supposed to set up my booth. :-( It's gonna be a late night. And an early Friday morning.

I still have yet to get my website up & running. I think I will just forward it here & not even worry about doing a website this time. I might change it back later when I feel more ambitious to get my website designed.

Brian is working in Kansas this week. He should get home in time to help me set up. Hopefully. O, the stress!

Wish me luck.

I've found my home...

...in the world of craft fairs, that is. All this time I've considered applying to this art festival or that art festival. Come to find out it's not art festivals I want. It's Indie Craft Fairs. Oh, everything there is something I want! I almost wonder if some of my stuff is too grown up. But, I would feel sooo much more comfortable at an indie craft fair.
Now that I've made this discovery, look for me to be posting new craft fairs I will be attending. I hope to attend the Big Ass Indie Craft Show in St. Louis in December if I can get my application in on time & they are not totally booked up.

I'm back.

I'm back online. Atleast in the blogging sense. My website is yet to grow legs and the craft fair is less than 8 days away!

Posts will be short & sweet until after the craft fair.

The "craft fair" BTW, is the Ozark Utopia Club Craft Fair which is held at the Finley River Park in Ozark, MO. Starts October 2nd! See you there.

Until then, enjoy the pretty pictures at the bottom of the page.

Bye.