It's a dog eat dog world! Collecting Thursdays

There are a few things you should know about me. 1-I love animals, in particular puppy dogs and 2-I'm an avid collector. I don't mean one of those creepy hoarders that will die by an avalanche of papers but one who enjoys collecting what she likes and not getting concerned with having one of every color.


One thing that I LOVE to collect is anything vintage with puppies on them. I mainly collect ceramic dogs but I want to branch out to vintage photos, linens and books.

There is a great book called Flea Market Fidos that is a great place to start if you are thinking of collecting puppy stuff. I constantly drool over everything they have in there.


These pups are from Occupied Japan. I love the little bug on the butts.




Even though I don't have Bulldogs, I think they are so cute in ceramic form. I love her little pink flower.


This poor little guy! I really hope he cheered someone one at the hospital. A lot of the planters are Royal Copley. You can usually find their at a fairly cheap price and is another good way to start collecting.


These guys are usually another common piece you will see around. They are great at parties to hold your snacks.



My advice to anyone wants to start collecting is to have fun with it. Enjoy the art of the hunt, sometimes that can be more fun then the actual prize. Remember the golden rule-three is a collection (yes, even if it's ex's husbands).

What do you collect? Hit me up and let me know! I would love to feature you!

A little doe-c-doe!

Many of you in the embroidery world know doe-c-doe. She is the queen of vintage patterns and is an absolute sweetheart for putting them up on flickr to stitch and share. She is amazingly talented and I don't care what she says, she is the ultimate cool kid!

Tell me a little bit about yourself
I’m originally from a small town in western NY but now live in the mid-west, am not married but have been with the same wonderful guy for 20 years & work as a graphic designer. Basically I’m pretty much an introverted homebody who is addicted to thrifting. On a daily basis I swear too much, am socially awkward, drive like a maniac & act like a complete dork. It’s taken me 40 years but I’ve pretty much come to terms with the fact that I will never be one of the cool kids.

You are the queen of vintage patterns, where do you find them (and thank you for sharing them!)
You’re welcome! I started out buying a couple lots of cut, loose transfers on ebay, but the prices were just so high that I stopped looking on there. Then I got connected with a woman locally who collected vintage sewing items & she sold me a portion of her collection. I’ve added since then just from thrift stores, estate sales & flea markets. I really enjoy sharing them with everyone & love to see how people use them!

Speaking of vintage, you seem to have a love for thrifting and antiquing. What's your favorite find?
I do LOVE to thrift! My favorite find has got to be the signed Charles Harper rooster print I found at an estate sale late last year. I still get all giddy when I think about it!

Who/What inspires you?
So many people & things inspire me, it’s hard to be specific…blogs, flickr & vintage things are pretty high on the list.


Do you have a website/blog?
I have a blog called doe-c-doe but no, I do not square dance.

Any advice for the masses?
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Sometimes I see the amazing things people are making and get very self-conscious about what I make and wonder why I even bother! But I think any kind of creative activity feeds a person’s soul & that is more important than what anyone else thinks of the final product. So make what you like, what gets you excited or makes you happy - don’t focus on what the reaction of others may be.

Describe the perfect day
Bonus: Breakfast at a diner, thrifting, more thrifting, a carnival for lunch & photos, thrifting, more thrifitng, homemade pizza made by my guy for dinner, hot fudge brownie sundaes or his flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce for dessert, a funny movie, and finally off to a bed made with freshly washed sheets that were dried outside so they smell like fresh cut grass & sunshine.


If you want to check out some vintage patterns you can at Hoop Love. Also be sure to check out doe-c-doe's blog. Thank you so much for the interview. Your work is amazing and I so want to come thrift with you!

Tie One On Tuesday

Whew! The heat is rising in P-town! We are having a heat wave! What does that mean in Casa de Pedersen? It means that I've lost OMP this week. He has gone down into his nice, cool, dark studio and is refusing to come up for this week's blog entry. No worries though-I've got this thing covered! Don't fear my little kiddies-he will be back next week to make some stiff cocktails just for you!
So, to honor the heat and summer-I give you the "kittykill" cocktail.

Directions:
Go to refrigerator and open
Look for beer that was left from Christmas party-it's there, past the left overs from Easter.
Check date (if it looks good, proceed to next step)
Twist off cap
Drink and finish with an "ah"
This must all be done with as little clothing as possible-it is HOT!

If the beer has expired or you're just creeped out by drinking Christmas beer, put on clothes and shoes and head to local convenience store.
Buy a six pack of cheap beer, a bag of chips, a slurpie, and a candy bar-just in case you might be hungry later.
Take out 2nd mortgage on house to pay for the "convenience " food.
When back in house, throw off clothes, pop open a cold on and take a dip in the pool (not really a pool, just your bath tub filled with cold water)

Ahhhh,,, I'm feeling cooler already!

To The Moon and Beyond!

To help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo landing on the moon I've picked some classic gems to help you really appreciate the moon and beyond!


The first and probably OMP's favorite is Frankenstein meets the Space Monster. In this space tale we have a martian princess and her doctor trying to conquer Earth. At the same time NASA sends an android into space. Of course the martians think that it is a warhead and try to destroy it. "Frank" comes back to Earth and goes on a rampage that only a crazy fried brain android can go on.

Here's where the movie gets good. "Frank" decides to rampage Puerto Rico (androids need vacations too!) The aliens invades beaches and pool parties, making off with the bikini clad beauties that they need to restock their planet. Oh wait, did I mention that the martians have a monster? Well, they do and without giving too much away, there is a final raygun battle between Frank and the monster. It really makes you think about who is the monster? The martians or us.....

Keeping with the same low budget, high entertainment, we have Starman. Incase many of you didn't know Starman is "the creature made of the strongest steel". See, here's the deal, he's not really a creature. He's an actor in an awesomely bad space suit. I mean, I guess the suit could be strong steel but that would get a little heavy. I digress.....Starman was a Japanese series that was cut into movies, dubbed and sent to the US.

Wanting Earth for themselves, some creepy scaly salamander men begin to invade and kill people with their radioactive breath (mint anyone?) One of the salamander ladies loves to scare children and has a dance company, I'm guessing these are side jobs for when destroying the human race is a little slow. The "Council" call on Starman to stop the salamander people and save the world. Of course, he delivers with high kicks, great weapons and super strength (maybe there is something to the suit)


The final movie is The Day the Earth Stood Still. Now let's get one thing straight. I'm talking about the original not the completely horrible and useless remake that came out last year. I made a promise that after seeing The Matrix, I would never see another Keanu Reeves movie again and I haven't. So Keanu, you can suck it! Okay, I feel better now.

The basic premise of this excellent movie is a spaceship lands in Washington DC intent on capturing the attention of the world. The peaceful alien revels his mission but unfortunately not a single government will listen to him. The human race is very distrustful of the alien and causes another problem for our friend in delivering his message. Our pacifist alien has no other choice but to bring out his robot Gort to destroy the Earth. What will happen to Earth and to our alien friend-you have to pick up the movie and find out. I promise you will not be dissapointed and you might even feel a little bit better about your fellow man after watching it.

So, space rangers, what have we learned today? The martians are out to get us and breed, steel suits make you strong and Keanu Reeves still sucks. If you want to be really space age-check out these movies on the "internet" via Netflix or just jump into your hovercraft and fly on down to the video store.

Scrappy Dog Sunday!

Many of you in the embroidery world know doe-c-doe from flickr (if not, you'll find about her later this week-hee hee), well, she has an awesome dog, Jack. It makes me so happy that Jack found a happy home with such wonderful parents. Let's find out more about this handsome devil!

Who is the real Jack the Dog
I’m pretty goofy, love to play fetch, run off-leash in the woods, roll in the grass & can’t get my butt scratched enough.

How long did it take you to grow your mustache?
Only as long as it took Gina to cut the ‘stache out of felt – she had to make it just the right shape…she can be really picky. Seriously, that girl would make me wear a beard if she could…she’s got a thing for facial hair!

You seem to have two personalities, a business side and a country side-which do you feel more comfortable in?
I definitely feel more comfortable with my country side! I was born feral - Gina & Mark found me as a 3 month old puppy living in a hole in a junk yard. They had to lure me into a fox trap with chicken & hot dogs because I was so skittish. So I’ve still got a little bit of that wild side in my personality, although in general I’m a well behaved gentleman.

What's a typical day for you?
There’s lots of sleeping although I do get to go for a walk and/or play fetch pretty much everyday. As the house security guard I’m always alert to noises that need to be barked at. I also help with the house cleaning by checking the floor for crumbs after each meal.

What's your hope for the world?
That there will someday be no more animal abuse & no more homeless, hungry, unloved stray dogs or cats.

Me too, Jack, me too.

Welcome to the world of Lovely Little Deer

I just recently met the sweetest and probably the cutest person EVER on flickr. Lovely Little Deer. She is beyond belief adorable, talented and amazingly beautiful. Oh yeah, did I mention that she likes scifi? She basically rocks!


Please share a little bit about yourself with us.
My name is Rebecca, I'm 34 years old. I live in England, In a lovely town by the sea. I'm married to David, my soulmate and best friend and we have 3 amazing kitty cats and 2 awesome chihuahua dogs.
I love to spend a lot of time at home, I'm a real homebody. When at home I love to cook and bake for friends and family, play with the furry kids and craft.
I love to go swimming, I swim nearly every day and I do yoga and pilates every week. I suffer from Fibromyalgia which causes a lot of pain and stiffness in my joints and the swimming etc really helps me manage my condition.
I also love to walk my dogs and love to shop, going thrifting is one of my fav things to do as you never know what you might find!


You do so many different crafts and cooking projects, which one is your favorite?
It really depends on my mood, some days I like nothing better than to work on a piece of embroidery, then other times I am really into sculpting some clay or sewing etc



What do you like to do when you're not crafting or cooking?
I love to spend quality time with my husband and close friends.
I love to interview great inde-artists on my blog and host giveaways, they are a lot of fun!
Watching sci fi movies and comedy shows, my fav is 3rd rock from the sun!
I love to take photos too!


Do you have any tips or advice for the masses?
Do what brings you happiness and joy in your life. Life is so short to be in a job/relationship/situation that you are unhappy with, so take baby steps to start creating the life that you want.

What/Who inspires you?
My husband, my friends, animals with their innocence and lust for life, nature, food, fashion, other indie designers.


Do you have a blog/website?
I sure do!
http://alovelylittledeer.blogspot.com/ my blog
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dollyday/ links to my active flickr account!

Bonus Question!
You are a self proclaimed SciFi nerd, if you were on lost in outer space, what scifi movie, book and show could you not live without?
It would be the whole box set of Star trek the next generation, without a doubt!!


Thank you so much for being such a great inspiration! I can't wait to see what your next adventure is. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be pink and frosted with a hint of sass!

Tie One On Tuesday! Happy Bastille Day!

Today is Bastille Day, so what would be more appropriate then a few French Drink recipes to enjoy while your storming your favorite Gov’t building!!

First up, a rather nice combination fit for sitting and sipping on the ChonDileste

Pompier: This cocktail is a refreshing black currant recipe straight from the Jazz Age of 1930s Paris.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 oz crème de cassis (Black Current liqueur)

- 3 Oz.dry vermouth

- Top off with Club soda

Preparation: Stir the ingredients together and serve over ice.

The Americano: Next is a rather familiar named drink but with a French twist.

- 1 oz Campari

- 1 oz red vermouth

- Twist

Preparation: Pour over ice and serve with a swizzle stick. Top off with a very little bit of soda water.

The Rose: This was a very popular drink in Paris in the '20s, but has since been forgotten. Be careful – there are two different recipes for this drink – this is close to the original that was popular back in the art deco era in France:

Stir well with cracked ice:

- 2 oz French vermouth (Noilly Prat)

- 1 oz kirshwasser (Alsatian Trimbach) it's an eau de vie, dry and clear

- 1 teaspoon raspberry syrup or (if you're in France) sirop de groseille

Preparation: Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a rose petal (okay, that's not how they used to make them, but it sure looks nice).

So there you have it – three different yet the same French concoctions to enjoy the Revolution by. So until next week kiddies - Give me liberty or give me Booze!!!