Grandma's Lawn Chair Redux

Remember those old plastic-webbing-clad aluminum lawn chairs from your youth? The ones that your grandparents brought out for the family picnics? April from Rosewebs has found a new, and dare I say, better use for that durable but stiff webbing that was always scratchy on bare legs. She makes the cutest little zippered pouches, clutches, wallets, and messenger bags, all from lawn chair webbing. I found her through her submission to the Bazaar Bizarre/Etsy contest and had to order a little pencil pouch. It was so adorable, and so well made, I ordered a bunch more for family and friends. She uses webbing that she finds at thrift stores and home sales but which has never been used on a chair. It's a clever use for a recycled material and I love the nostalgia factor.

We'd Like to Thank the Academy...

We were thrilled and honored to discover that we were the featured artist on The Little Bitty Kitty Show's Girl Power Moment! If you haven't heard of Little Bitty Kitty go check him out asap. We're featured in episode 8: John Wayne's Ghostie Must Die.

When we first started Four Idle Hands one of our goals was to reach the feline market and Little Bitty Kitty has helped us take this all-important first step. LBK is the definitive voice in feline podcasting and we can't say thank you enough.

Photo Gift Idea

Need a unique and inspired gift idea? Something personal, and above all useful? Then check out PicPads, notepads created from your personal photographs. I haven't ordered them yet but I'm making a mental list of potential gift recipients. The cost is only $27.95 for four 5" x 8" or four 3.5" x 8.5" notepads and you can add an inscription. Starting March 1st they'll have color notepads available but I'm a sucker for black and white photography so I'll probably stick with the original.

Thanks to Lori for the reminder on this! (I think I may have also seen them last year on Fototiller.)

Prolific

I'm reading a book about Picasso. Here is what was inventoried from all of his houses, apartments, vaults, etc. after his death. (And it took 4 years to catalogue everything by the way.)

•1,885 paintings
•7,089 drawings
•1,228 sculptures
•6,112 lithographs
•2,800 ceramics
•18,095 engravings
•3,181 prints
•149 books containing 4,659 drawings and sketches
•8 carpets and 11 tapestries

These are just the works he had in his possession. This doesn't count everything he sold or gave away throughout his life. And I think I'm doing good if I manage to get a couple of print editions out in a semester! ha!

Winners Announced!

Craft magazine announced the winners of their Valentine's Day Card challenge and they're incredible! There are three winners:

Postbird by Ciana Bodini; love the map envelope. Be sure to look at her other photos so you can see what the card looks like unfolded.
Monster Valentine Card by Blythe Church. This one is a personal favorite because it opens to reveal an anatomically correct heart pin. So cute.
Altoids Tin Valentine by Emma Axelson. I love the floating frame in the lid of the tin with the little hearts suspended there.

You can see all of the entries here.

My Bloody Valentine

Have you seen these Bloody Valentine earrings we have in the store? I love these little heartshaped hematite beads, and in two sizes no less. There's also a matching necklace if you're so inclined. Sorry, the knife is not included. You'll have to get your own Valentine's knife.

And if you're just not feeling the love this year maybe you'll relate to these Anti-Valentine e-cards by Meg. I especially like the "Do the Math" cards.

Someone's Got a Case of the Mondays

Okay, not necessarily an official case of the Mondays; just wishing it were still Sunday. I finally have our photos up from Bazaar Bizarre. We really didn't get that many good photos. Luckily Robin took some good ones of the set-up the day before. I didn't make it upstairs for any photos at all of Swap-O-Rama-Rama and of course no sponsor shots, no DIY shots, no favorite vendor shots. sigh. Actually, I'll have to remember this for next time.....on-site professional photography would be a good service to offer at a craft show. That way one person could be dedicated to just photographing everyone in their booths and taking candids throughout the show.

On another note, some fun links:
Check out these really interesting photos by Chema Madoz. via kottke.org

Serious bookbinders rejoice - extensive tutorial on case binding from Indiana University. via the Craft blog.

Don't Go Breaking My Heart

I've always loved that song by Elton John and Kiki Dee. Call me a sap but I can't resist those light-hearted pop songs of the 70's. But I digress....I really want to tell you about Craft magazine's Recycle Your Heart Valentine's Day Card Contest! Put your creative genius to work and fashion a Valentine's Day card from recycled materials. And they're not limiting it to paper either, so this is a good excuse to get crazy with found objects and unusual materials. Hurry though, the deadline for entering is Friday, February 9th at 5 pm PST. Ooooooo, one of the judges is Megan Reardon of Not Martha; I love her blog!

Splenda heart garland by Rakka.

And the Winner Is......

Congratulations to JackRabbit, the first place winner of the Etsy/Bazaar Bizarre Upcycle Contest! There were around a thousand entries and believe me when I tell you it was difficult to whittle the list down. Everyone put a lot of thought and time into their projects and it was very obvious that the upcycling theme really struck a chord with a lot of folks. Over the next week or so we'll be featuring some of our personal favorites so be sure to check back. There were so many beautiful, clever, and kooky items that we just can't resist pointing them out to you. They'll really get you in the mood to think creatively and be more mindful about what you're throwing in the trash. For the complete list of winners check out the Etsy blog. Many thanks to the whole gang at Etsy, and especially Matt, for doing a stellar job with this contest!

Finally, a New Use for Post-Its®

Walt must be very popular and much beloved by his coworkers because they spent a fair bit of time artfully covering his Jaguar with post-it® notes. Growing up in a household of car enthusiasts my first thought was one of concern for the finish on the car. Granted, post-it® notes are pretty benign as far as sticky stuff goes, but I wonder if they will leave any marks. heh heh We'll have to check with Steven (yes, that Steven) to get his professional opinion on the after affects of post-its® on automotive paint. In the meantime though take a look at all of the work-in-progress photos of the Jag. What I'd really like to see though is the photo of Walt's face when he went to find his car after work that day!

Found via the Flickr blog; photo by Scott Ableman.