Speck & Sprocket's Day of Beauty

Today was a beautiful sunny and warm day ~ the perfect day for a trip to Picasso Groomery for the boys' spring makeover. The boys were all excited about the ride in the car ~ until they realized where they were going! Since they are both male and terriers, getting spruced up is not their favorite activity, even though their groomer is Tak, a celebrity! Grrrdy, Sprocket's sister likes getting pampered ~ she was honored with the PDG CLient's Star of the Month for June 2010.

After several hours at the groomery, the boys were bathed, trimmed and clipped and were looking pretty darn handsome. Sprocket wasted no time getting back on the deck to keep an eye out for trespassing squirrels and rabbits.

I think Speck has not quite forgiven me for taking him for a day of beauty......

Wish I could get Speck & Sprocket to pose like these guys. . . . .

{Walter & Delbert from here}

Antiques & Alpacas

{ancient embroidered silk lampshade~ beautiful needlework and colors}

Had fun this weekend going to the KC Antiques & Collectibles market and the MOPACA Alpaca Show ~ I managed to spend the entire day at these shows! Got up and out of the house early (for me!) and hit the antique show first ~ it was a combo show and included the KC Toy & Doll show as well as the regular antiques and collectibles. Here are a few items I saw at the show I thought were worth sharing.

{great advertising sign for Nehi soda ~ the peeling paint was an added bonus}

{A set of Creepy Crawlers complete with heating unit and the metal molds!}

I had a Fun Flowers set ~ I made dozens of plastic flowers! I think we also had Incredible Edibles ~ those were bug shaped molds that came with edible goop. These days one can't find anything remotely this fun on the market ~ how on earth did those of us survive this sort of toy? Somehow, despite the plastic fumes, the lead filled molds and the molten plastic, I managed to live to tell about it! So did this guy.

{Beautiful baby book cover}

{Wiggles, a funny little dog ~ a book from the 30's about a runaway scottish terrier}

{great graphics on these tin toy tanks with rubber treads}

{saucy little tin duck}

After the antique show, I headed to the Alpaca Show which was held at the American Royal ~ where oddly enough, years ago, the antique show used to be held. Depending on the weekend, sometimes the smell of manure would waft through the air as you were shopping for treasures ~ just part of the ambiance.

Since I like to knit and crochet, I am familiar with alpaca yarn, but didn't know much about the animals the fiber comes from, so this seemed a perfect opportunity! Alpacas are part of the camel family and look like a small llama, although alpacas are less aggressive than llamas. There are two types of alpacas: suris (their hair looks kind of like dreadlocks or a puli dog) and huacayas (their hair is fuller and fuzzier). The alpaca farmers and breeders that I talked to were very friendly and shared all sorts of information ~ alpacas live about 20 years, a female alpaca will usually have one cria (baby), and their hair comes in 16 natural colors. While their hair is soft and wonderful to touch, most alpacas don't seem to like being touched. Here are some photos from the show:

{two suri alpacas}

{three huacaya alpacas}

{this little guy won a ribbon}

{ears up, ears down!}

{two beautiful skeins of alpaca yarn ~ a souvenir from the show!}

Confessions of an Antique Addict

Last Saturday I decided to treat myself to an afternoon at an antique mall ~ after all, it has been weeks since I have set foot in one (on a Saturday), so I was having withdrawal symptoms. Before I hit the antique mall, I stopped by a few thrift shops only to find every one stripped bare of any sort of interesting items. Thankfully, the antique mall (Brown's Emporium in Independence) didn't disappoint. I picked up a furniture catalog from the 1880's that had some nice engravings in it, a pink McCoy planter, an old German scissors and a few other miscellaneous smalls.

{fabulous vintage scottish terrier rocker ~ 1930's-40's?}

I also saw this vintage scottish terrier rocking toy ~ while I really liked it, I really don't have the space, nor do I have any children to play with it. This was one of those items I just couldn't get out of my mind....I had taken a photo of it, so when I got home, the more I looked at it, the more I realized I had made a terrible mistake by not buying it ~ especially when I rationalized that it would be the perfect prop to use for a Christmas photo with Speck & Sprocket (yeah, right ~ as if I will be able to get them to stay still anywhere near or in it!!). So, that is how I managed a second day of antique shopping ~ not only did I revisit Brown's Emporium, but since I was already out that direction, I felt obligated to hit The Brass Armadillo.

PS. I was the first shopper to arrive on Sunday ~ the scottie rocker is safely tucked away in what used to be my "yarn room". More photos coming soon!

Speck is 9 today!

{image via retroroadmap.com}

Today is Speck's 9th birthday ~ Speck is my black Scottish terrier AKA Spectacular, Mr. Speck and Speckita. When asked, I usually tell people that Speck is short for Spectacular, which is true, but I liked the name Speck also because it was one of my favorite places to go when I was little. Speck's (the original one) was a drive in/diner on the road we took to visit my great aunt Verna ~ I remember getting soft serve dipped ice cream cones there. Now I'm not even sure the one we used to stop at is there any more, but there is one in Collegeville, Pa ~ apparently known for their broasted chicken.

While Speck enjoys chicken now and then (although I'm not sure he has ever sampled any broasted chicken), Burger King was his restaurant of choice for his bday meal. This year he ordered a cheeseburger and fries along with the traditional Burger King headwear. The gold crown suits him well, doesn't it?

As the appetizing smells wafted his way, Mr. Speck was licking his lips in anticipation.......

Just couldn't wait, he had to sample a fry before all the guests were served.

Sprocket, the lone party guest, patiently waited for the meal to be served. Happy Birthday Speck!

Happy Halloween 2010!

{Beelzebub (Speck) & Lucifer (Sprocket)}

Happy Halloween from Beelzebub and Lucifer ~ my very own Scottish devil dogs! The boys are very patiently modeling my Devilish Dog Accessories ~ aren't they hideously handsome?

This year we had to give up on costumes for home as it has just been too busy to squeeze another project in. I did manage to whip together a quickie costume for work though ~ and found a way to incorporate Sprocket as well. As I am the art director for the American Girl Crafts line, we went as an American Ghoul Doll and her pet, Lucifer the devil dog. Beelzebub remained at home ~ he's not one to embrace the corporate life. Another coworker showed up as an American Girl Doll, so we were a great pair - we both won prizes ~ I won for scariest, Kristen for most creative.

Sprocket did very well on his first (and only) day on the job ~ he wore those devil horns all day long with no complaints. He also cleaned up after the breakfast party, managed at least 10 rooster crows, and networked with everyone at the event. After the long day at work, he too was looking forward to a good night's rest! Happy Halloween!

So long, Summer ~ til next year!

{caprese salad}

Good bye to summer ~ and my favorite summer delicacies. No more caprese salads with fresh heirloom tomatoes and basil, and no more corn on the cob ~ until next year!

The boys also feel a bit nostalgic about summer treats ~ the cicadas are gone as well... Every summer evening around 9:00 the scots get mighty restless and demand to go out so they can rustle up a crunchy snack. I don't know what it is about cicadas that they find so tasty, but they go to great effort to find them ~ Speck is especially fond of them and will do whatever he can to snatch them away from Sprocket. Apparently, it isn't that unusual for dogs and cats to find cicadas tasty ~ if they eat too many though, they can get blocked digestive tracts ~ read more details here.

Can't say I am sad to see the cicadas go ~ they aren't anywhere on my list of favorite summer snacks!

{mmm, mmm, just ripe for the picking!}

{Speck has his eye on an extra crispy cicada}

{Sprocket is busy rustling up a cicada in the potted urn ~ it is the first place he checks}

If You Missed the Opening . . .

Just in case you missed the Curious Sofa Halloween Show or live too far away to make it, I thought I would post some photos so you would get an idea of what you missed! The photos below are of the artists' work at the show ~ visit here, here, and here to see some wonderful shots of the store display. As some of the artwork is remaining through the Halloween season and more items are being added daily, make sure to visit Curious Sofa to see everything in person ~ it is an amazing store and always provides great inspiration every season. For those of you out of town, Curious Sofa has just opened an online store here.

{Greg Johnson's wonderful display of paper treasures}

{Diane & Madeline Tompkins' array of masks & letterpress}

{Michelle Spaw's beautifully crafted treat bags}

{Lesa Dailey's lovely paper shoes}

The remaining photos below are of the work I did for the show ~ thanks to Scurvy the opossum and a printer problem, I didn't get as much finished as I would have liked, but the show must go on! I managed to get through the stressful parts and had tons of fun participating in this show

My approach this time around was to stick to a limited color palette and avoid obvious Halloween icons ~ my main reason for doing that is because the work I do is time intensive, thus higher priced, so I wanted to make sure that those that purchased an item would be able to wear it for more than one day of the year. I did try to incorporate some themed imagery in my packaging ~ and then of course, the Devilish Dog Accessories broke all of my self imposed rules!

{Selection of brooches inspired by mourning jewelry}

{New brooch designs ~ inspired by Victorian ribbon cocardes used in millinery}

{Crocheted masks in cream and black}

{Crocheted earrings complete with spider themed packaging}

{Devilish Dog Accessories ~ devil horns for your dog to wear}

{Dog stand~in for when Sprocket is not available}

{Devilishly handsome models & spokesmen ~ Dick & Sprocket}

Duck, Duck, Goose?

Tonight when I pulled up in front of my house and got out of my car I was greeted by a pair of mallard ducks! Since I live in a residential neighborhood which is within city limits, this is quite unusual! I ran in and got my camera, then tried to get some photos at a respectful distance ~ the ducks seemed on a mission ~ they stopped at a few puddles in the curbs, but hurried off down the sidewalk seemingly aware of the danger of the street.

I'm glad they didn't decide to visit my back yard ~ the scots probably wouldn't have given them a proper welcome ~ after all, they have a stuffed toy that is a dead ringer for that green headed duck! Angus, a scottie from the 30's had a run in with some ducks ~ recommended reading for all! Read more about Marjorie Flack and her "Angus" books here.