I remember having a plastic divided plate as a child. I think it had Peter Rabbit pictures on it. I ate off that plate until I was much too old to use such a plate but the pictures never faded even after all the washing.
But that wasn't the only plastic plate I remember eating off of in the 60's and 70's; back then we had what I condsidered to be some of the ugliest pea green dishes. Turns out those ugly dishes were actually Melmac dishes. Highly collectible today.
Melmac or melamine as it is often referred to because of the melamine resin or melamine formaldehyde used to produce the plastic dishes that were popular in the 1950's and 1960's; were found in just about every household in the US.
Melmac was sold as affordable dinnerware.
Texasware- another plastic resin company is popular for it confetti mixing bowls.
Now 40 something years later, I have a few collectible Melmac pieces in my own kitchen. One of which is a pea green divided serving bowl to remind me of my childhood.
Etsy has several tools to help you become a good seller but there is also a lot of teams to help you get to know other seller and their shops. I used to feel like I was competing with other sellers and shops when I saw people with similar items I had- I learned to get past that and embrace the love everyone has for all things vintage. One of the ways I became more open to this is joining teams on Etsy. I tried out a few before I found one that fit me and I am so glad I found them. The X Factor Team(s). I have made some good online friendships and learned to network and promote and others network and promote my shop and items as well. I have not been feeling all that great past few days- suffering from typical January cold and flu symptoms. Sometimes I get inspiration from daily life and this was no exception. I made a treasury, which is a collection of items for sell on Etsy - you make a theme and then you promote it. I made one last night looking for things that might make you feel better during the cold and flu season. Here is the collection I made:
As I mentioned before in a previous post; I have an affinity for vintage patterns, textiles and notions; namely, vintage apron patterns. I also love aprons. I came across a couple of sellers on Etsy who are making aprons similar to the types I like. I also found a couple of sellers that make fantasy related aprons; mostly of the Doctor Who variety. I take great pride in my work and would never sell a handmade item without careful and tedious details maintained. I am notorious for ripping seams and restting my seams or even, most serious cases, recut the pattern piece altogether. Unfortunately some of the handmade aprons I am finding on Etsy don't show the attention to detail I put into mine. However, I did find inspiration to make my own TARDIS apron.
I made this from 100% cotton blue fabric with a modern apron pattern of a vintage apron style. I love how the ruffle goes all the around the to the tie in the back. Once I had the actual apron finished I began my prep on the custom pieces to resemble parts of a police box. I could have put alot more flair on the apron but I thought a simple, cleaner approach would be best. It was suggested to use fabric paint and write "Police (phone call) Box" on the top of the black stripe but I didn't trust my handwriting to look so good. I used a very thin 100% cotton white fabric for the windows. I didn't realize how thin the fabric was until I tried placing the pieces on the apron- I decided to use a fusible interfacing to give it more weight and not bunch up after washing. I also sewed 2 rows of stitches around the pieces and the pieces are quite secure. The final touch I added a small white grosgrain bow to resemble the light at the top but I don't really know how I feel about it. I am thinking I will get some yellow ribbon and see if I like it better. I think this apron took about 1 1/4 yards of fabric and 1/4 yard of contrast fabric and maybe 10 inches of the ribbon- all total I think this cost around $10.00 to make. UPDATE:
Joann's has added licensed BBC fabrics to their stores and I got my hands on a few yards of differnt styles. I have made some aprons with these materials in my Etsy shop.
If you say the word fascinator in casual conversation I think "royal wedding" will be first thing someone will connect it to. The royal wedding of William and Kate is not the first time fascinators have been seen in public. I think it takes an event like this to take notice of something. Women have been wearing fascinators in previous eras only called a hat. Typically they are a headpiece with netting, chiffon or feathers on a base.
I love how fascinators have become a huge fashion piece for Steampunk attire. Now, before you go off and say you can just add gears or clock pieces to any hat and make it Steampunk; WRONG- (in my opinion). The best Steampunk fascinators I have seen don't always have a clock hand or cog. There are lots of great Etsy artisans who hock their wares - some even do custom orders.
Are you tired of that phrase yet? What about Fezzes- Fez are cool? I, myself don't mind it at all and like the reminder of the first time I heard it and just how clever Matt Smith was saying it!
When the 11th doctor finished regenerating we find him sporting a tweed coat, All Saints layer boots and the smartest little bow tie. It is obvious, Matt Smith didn't introduce bow ties to fashion but he sure is rocking the look during the height of its resurgence. Before I go any further I must pay homage to Pee Wee and his trademarked red bow tie.
Paul Rubens AKA Pee Wee
I don't know if you noticed during the past Christmas season, but retail chain stores were displaying bow ties loud and proud- an array of every color, fabric and design. Prices ranged from the teens to $75.00 in some stores. It made my heart sink just a tiny bit see all the commercialism of the cutest accessory for men (in my opinion) because it was a project and new item I planned on adding to my Etsy shop. I kicked a rock or two for a minute and decided to just get over it and move on with my designs.
I searched the internet for bow tie ideas. I already knew that I wanted my designs to be the old fashioned tie it yourself type. I found lots of how to videos and blogs and finally took a little from a few different places to come up with my design. I found my template on marthastewart.com. The template included two patterns; one a butterfly pattern and the second a straight, rectangular style. If you would like to modify the pattern you can make it into an arrow shape very easily.
When I started working on my ties it was around Halloween and I was sort of monitoring the trend for costumes and costume accessories.
The "Ringmaster" costume was one of the more popular outfits this year (according to my daughter). Most of the costumes I found were a combination of red and white with black and white stripes used in various ways. So I made a couple pieces for her with that color scheme. I also set out to make my first bow tie. If you read my blog from a few days ago - you will know that I have limited access to a variety of fabric. I did, however find some cool red and white striped fabric at my local Wal - Mart for only $2.97 a yard. I made these cuffs out of scraps of the fabric. I wrapped a piece of fabric around my wrist and made sure I had a bit extra for hems. I hemmed each side of the cuff, sewed a casing down the middle of the cuff on the inside and added the elastic, again, only measuring how much by what is comfortable on my wrist. When I sewed the sides together I was done! One project down- now to tackle bow ties!
I picked up fabric here and there that I thought would work as a bow tie. I looked for funky and unusual colors and designs. The target customer I have in mind would appreciate a stylish bow tie in neon green or a design of clocks. I laid out my fabric which is exactly one yard if you are using stripes or a design because you need to keep the lines matched up. Next, I laid out my handmade template and cut out the pieces (which, there is total of 4). The last step before I began the actual sewing was lay out the pattern on Pellon. After all that cutting out- you sew a couple pieces together, leave center open turn inside out and use a blindstich to finish it off and that's it.
It has been five days since I heard the news that Malcolm McLaren passed away. When I heard the news I felt ambivalent. I didn’t want to do a “happy” dance or shed a tear. *shrug*. Whatever…So why am I blogging about this? Reflection tends to come with death; any death, and Malcolm’s death has made me pause and reflect upon my fashion influences. I vividly remember trying to recreate the looks that were depicted in the film “The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle”. I saw the beautiful and the vulgar coexisting and that concept excited me! This was the first time I ever heard the name Malcolm McLaren and it was also during this time that I was most excited about clothing. I started to read all the fashion rags including the imported “Vogue” magazines from London and Paris. I thought I was so chic. The 80’s were a great time for me to mix and match and have fun with clothes. Vintage clothing seemed to be teeming from every thrift store and parents of friends were giving it away to me in truckloads! I would put together the most hideous outfits, wear them, knowing I might be put to ridicule but damn it, I was proud of my creations. I ponder what my wardrobe would have been like all these years if I had never seen video clips of Adam Ant on music shows prior to Mtv. Today, I still have fun mixing and matching styles, designs, colors and textures. Now I take cues from Betsey Johnson and designers on Etsy. I’m not hard to miss sporting a Joan Jett haircut, wearing Chuck Taylors and a Max Azria dress while carrying one of Betsey’s signature bags.
Malcolm didn’t put his name on a label, and there are those of you out there to dispute just what he DID contribute to fashion; but acknowledging he was in the middle of an explosive time of fashion is without a doubt.
