The Lord Hates a Quitter

I bought this chair from the thrift store almost two years ago, always with the intention of reupholstering it. I took it apart and painted it with a cream-colored enamel, but didn't really like it. I repainted it turquoise blue, rebuilt some of the frame, and retied the springs. I then upholstered it in a red cotton. I'm happy with it now.

Wounded

This is the first in Randi's new "Purses of Pain and Misery Series". It's pink and red vinyl. Randi has a whole bunch like this planned.

It's Like Christmas!

We received a fabulous package today from a Mr. Paddy Hartley, and we couldn't be more thrilled. Paddy makes wallets, and he sells them on Etsy. I have to say, that I am really astounded by how perfect they are. They're smooth, and the craftsmanship is tight and perfect. Paddy does a stellar job, and y'all should check his shop out.

He'll also be in New York soon, speaking about Project Facade . Paddy's like totally famous, and you should check him out while you still can.

madebypaddy.etsy.com
madebypaddy.com

Hits and Misses

These bags represent what we've done since yesterday. I also had some really thick leather, and I made two wallets from it. I like them well enough, but the leather was so thick, it caused the machine to skip stitches on the corners, so I won't be listing them anywhere. I've decided that I won't sew that leather anymore on the machine. It seduces me every time I go to buy purse hardware, and I must remember what an asshole it is.

I'm starting some Halloween planning. I love Halloween.

Nothing Is Lost

My grandfather made this teddy bear in the upholstery shop around 1977. He made a lot of them, and he gave one to almost everyone in the family. We all still have them, thirty years later. They are like religious icons to us. He died in 1979, and so everyone born after that year never got a bear. I wanted our kids to have one, so I planned on taking a pattern off my bear and reproducing it, but then I thought I'd check ebay first. I looked up every variation of "vintage bear", "vintage stuffed toy" patterns, and finally found the one he used. It's a Simplicity pattern from 1973. I made four bears out of cotton velvet. I gave two to my kids, one to my niece, and one to my cousin. His bears look much nicer, but these will do I suppose.

Fair

We went to the Ohio State Fair yesterday. It was really hot, about 94 degrees, I think. We saw these fabulous Elvis impersonators, baby pigs and ate a bunch of crap. The hand-made exhibits are my favorite part of the fair, but it seems they make it smaller every year in favor of the buildings that house real-life spammers. I had a good time anyway.

True Until Death

Randi's kid and one of my kids entered the Nicktoons Show Off Your Show contest in June. They both made it to the top 50 ideas picked in their age group. We're very proud of them. We had a party. They requested giant cookies (like the size of cakes), so I made giant cookies.

Camel Toe Shall Be My Own

Inspired by Sailor Jerry's bizarre and prolific use of camel toe in his tattoo flash, Randi hand painted and constructed this fine specimen. It's also a nod to our home town, Newark, Ohio. The ladies there feather their hair with combs stuck in the back pockets of camel toe jeans, and they apologize to no one. This one's for you.

Linen: Good for the Soul

I've spent a couple days working this design out, and I'm pretty happy with it. I am especially fond of the boxed/patch pocket treatment, and I think this particular design element has endless possibilities. The front pockets snap, the side ones zip, and are just big enough for my cell phone. I added a zippered pocket in the lining, but I set it higher, and designed it so it created another pocket that things can just slide into. I had my JoAnn's ad in mind here. This bag is mine. It's a prototype also.

I also sent in my 500 Handbags entry last week. I've been nagging Randi like an old lady to get hers sent, because she hasn't done it yet.

I think I might become a Shintoist. They seem to have their shit straight.

How To Make An Apple Pie

First, cut 1/2 cup of butter into 1 1/2 cups of flour (you have to use real butter). When the mixture looks like coarse crumbs, add 1/4 cup of cold water. Form this into a ball, and roll it out, turning 1/4 turn after each pass with the rolling pin. When it's big enough, transfer to a pie dish and fancy up the edges. You can use a fork if you don't want to crimp them up like the photo.

P.S. My grandfather made that rolling pin for my mom when he had to cut down her favorite tree in the yard. It's probably 35 years old.
Next, peel, core and slice five Granny Smith apples. I like to overfill the pie. Five apples will cause some oven spill-over, but if you put the pie on a foil-lined cookie sheet, it will catch them. It's totally worth it. I only use Granny Smiths because they are awesome and make other apples look like chumps. In the same bowl you used for the pie dough, mix together 1 cup of sugar, 4 tablespoons of flour and about 2 teaspoons of cinnamon (I don't measure the cinnamon). Some people like to add nutmeg, but I don't like nutmeg, so it doesn't go in my pie. Mix this up really well. This will make a nice, thick apple-pie gravy, instead of a watery mess when it's baked. Put this mixture over your apples, mix them up, and then put them into the pie crust.

For the top, instead of a traditional crust, I like to make a crumb, strudel-like topping with pecans. I mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 1/2 cup of flour and then blend in 4 tablespoons of butter with my fingers. When it's sufficiently blended, mix in about 1/2 cup of chopped pecans. Sprinkle this evenly over the pie top. If you want a traditional crust, double the pie dough recipe and divide it in two.

Put the pie on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes. I tend to leave it in a long time, because I like the apples to be over done. Put a piece of foil loosely over the pie top to keep it from burning. Those pecans will burn with a quickness.

Mammal

This is so fucked up and awesome. We love this one. Right now, we have a few bags in the works that may or may not get us kicked off of Etsy. Usually, when the ideas make us laugh so hard we can't breathe, we know we have to make them.

Start

Randi made this little gem. It's inspired by the Super Mario world, and the pockets on the front are seriously groundbreaking. She's all up in your ass with this one. Check our Flickr for more photographs.


I made these. They were done last night, but I wanted to wash them to make them shrink before I stuffed them. I put the buttons in today. I also painted my garage doors, and built a new place to take photographs. I used some MDF and bead board I had hanging around, and I painted it a very light blue. I love the concept, and it works really well, but we'll see how the color works out. I would have liked to have brighter light, but it was later when I took these. I'm greasy and have paint in my hair.

White Trash Third Nipple

Randi made this. It's a cat belly. It's also a purse. The teats, or nipples, are made from pink Ultrasuede. It's a little obscene and very funny. She had the idea to make something like this with three nipples and call it "White Trash Third Nipple". It seems like we have a lot of white-trash friends who have third nipples. I don't know what that's about.

This purse was a custom order. I love the way it turned out. I have another purse cut out and started, as well as a couple throw pillows. I might keep them all, I don't know.

Golden Bugs

Randi has started her Golden Bug series. Using a side quest from The Legend Of Zelda as inspiration, she’s handcrafting golden bugs and reinterpreting them in handbags. This is the second installment, and I think the little bug compartment is perfect, almost ethereal.

I’ve been working on exciting projects as well, but I can’t quite talk about them yet, and frankly it’s taking me down. I’m excited, and I can’t keep secrets.

We also went to the Rose Festival today. I took quite a few photographs, and I plan to use them for some projects.

Radish Spirits, Squeeze Frames

RED! I made two of these yesterday. I love the red the most. I also got a purse-hardware shipment which included some fantastic little squeeze frames. I've been making little radish spirit purses, but I've had to hold back a little, because it would be easy to fill my shop with them. I also made salamander sleeping pants for my husband. You'll just have to imagine them for right now.

It's summer finally, my kids swim all day and I sew, and then we all eat things like barbecued chicken off the grill. I'm having a pretty good time.

My Chair Is Done

I just finished this about 20 minutes ago. My house is a mess because this is all I did today. I still need to glue gimp (trim) around the arms, but I didn't have any that matched right now.

Kicking Asses, Taking Names

This is the progress I've made on my chair. I finished all the frame work, I stained and polyurethaned the feet, and I put the springs in. Today I made the attached cushion for the seat. It's filled with loose foam. There is no padding on the frame yet, so that's why it looks weird. Plus none of it is stapled down yet. I think I'm going to tuft the seat to keep the foam from migrating. The back cushion is for tomorrow, and it will definitely be tufted.

I made this little gal yesterday. It's linen, ticking and 1940's era reproduction prints left over from a couple quilts I made for my kids. I'm keeping the reason I made it under my hat for awhile.

Pocket Screws

I've been getting some more work done on my chair. Now, if this chair was a job, I'd have to have it done in about a week. Since it's my chair, and I'm doing it for fun, I can take my time. I can also play fast and loose with the rules, which includes using scrap wood and pocket screws where there should be dowels. I love me some pocket screws. If you're ever in a tight spot and need a quick, efficient joining method, the pocket screw plus glue never lets you down.

Here's what I've done:
1. I replaced both front legs with new ones. I had to knock the remaining leg out, add corner blocks, and use a Forstner bit to drill a hole big enough to attach the legs into the blocks. They still need stained and polyurethaned.

2. I reattached the rocker pieces that had come off. I used a combination of screws, glue and dowels. It's not going anywhere now. I'm going to reinforce the other side, too.

3. I knocked out all the side/front rails and replaced them with poplar. I pocket-screwed the back pieces and doweled the rest. I added oak supports on the inside and little chunks of poplar in the front to create a good sitting angle.

4. I started adding the clips for the springs. I'm using zig-zag springs which are generally considered a cheap and easy alternative to hand-tied springs. I'm using them because the rounded bottom of the chair makes webbing and spring-tying impossible. My other option was to build a drop-in spring unit. Frankly, I didn't want to put that kind of time into this.

I added a photo of what this chair looks like when it reclines. It's a pretty awesome and timeless design. Once I get the springs in, I can start upholstering it. I saved the spring job for tomorrow because it's a huge pain in the ass and I wanted to bake something.

Soap is a Salt

Randi made this to take on her student-teaching adventures. It's a leg with an astro-turf top. I'm pretty sure the red brocade was left over from a Halloween costume I made. Maybe not, I can't remember.

I have been planting things, and making a lot of soap. I planted 40 Impatiens (all started from seed), two days ago. I woke up to a jerk squirrel tossing them about like his own personal snacks. I replanted what he didn't eat, and now I'm short 12 plants. I started those fucking plants in March godammit.

Soap, Tomatoes

Today the tomatoes went outside. I bought these upside-down planters last year, and I was really happy with how they worked so I'm re-using them. I think I could make some more. I started these tomatoes in my house a few months ago. I started four plants, and my cats ate one. Then I re-planted it, but it is at a clear growth disadvantage. I killed the fourth plant today when I tried to put it in the planter. I feel pretty bad about that. I'm going to buy another one to replace it.

I built the structure they hang from. I didn't have a good place to hang them where they got a lot of sun, so I came up with this. It's lasted the year, but I think I may add a couple more 2x4's across the back to keep it stable.

I made soap yesterday. It's cold-process soap, with olive, palm and coconut oils. I ran out of lye so I had to make half a batch. I ordered more lye. I have to order lye and have it shipped because I can't find a local source for it. I think that's because it's used to manufacture drugs. The place I order from required that they have a release form from me before they would sell it to me. This soap smells like roses.

Plans, Executed

I made these yesterday. Sometimes I see an image of something, or read about it, and get a great deal of satisfaction from making it real. It's the closest I've ever come to magic, or experiencing another dimension. I think that's why I like to make things. It makes me feel like a super-hero, like I can manipulate my surroundings.