Sunday, May 29, 2011

Sara queries: WHY DID THE SPARKLE CLOWN CROSS THE ROAD?




ANSWER: To get to the Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada of course!


Today I'm gonna do something exciting and different (WA-HOOO!) and start a new Sara Says What?! thing - the blog spotlight! As it's Memorial Day weekend and people are road-trippin all over the place; this is the perfect time to feature Vintage Roadside - the blog. When I stumbled upon their adventures on the road from Nashville to the (surely now famous) Clown Motel, I was instantly smitten! Clicky the link to read their post!

And here's some of the digs to be dug at the Clown Motel!



Source: flickr.com via Sara on Pinterest






Of course clown decorations abound! Vintage Roadside only posted a couple of clown pieces that were in the rooms, and it wasn't as intensely freaky as one might suspect.




This may be the best part... a cemetery out back!!! "Next door to the Clown office is the Tonopah Cemetery. It dates to the period of 1901 to 1911 and appears to contain many former Tonopah residents who were victims of mining accidents."


You simply must check out Vintage Roadside's FLICKR to see more kitschy goodness. I love that places like the Clown Motel exist! A concept that, if executed today, would probably be gimmicky and horrifying... *sigh*




Hope you have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend and safe travels!

And remember the reason for the season. Even though it's Creepy Thrifted Clown day, we here at Sara Says What?! salute our fallen veterans...

(image credit: http://crappy_pictures.tripod.com/crap/crap.html)

in our own special way.




Thursday, May 26, 2011

Sara says: WHAT'S GOING ON?

Just checking in! I'm back in school so I'm feeling a bit harassed, haha. Over the summer I'll be studying psychopharmacology and family counseling. Conclusion: Give your entire dysfunctional family drugs! (Just kidding... maybe). Just to prove that I do not, in fact, thrift all the time I thought I would share a bit of goings on and what's on my mind this week.




*strummy strummy strummy strum strummmmm*

Source: npr.org via Sara on Pinterest


Eddie Vedder's Ukulele Songs is out and you can stream it all on NPR. What a calming summer treat! I adore him and what a great concept for a sophomore solo album. Ok, yes, it's sappy... but I for one plan to unabashedly roll around in the sticky sappy goodness of Eddie Vedder and his ukulele. If that's as dirty as it sounds, so be it!


"Rise dark girl. Rise."

Dark Girls: Preview from Bradinn French on Vimeo.

This is a preview of the documentary film, Dark Girls directed by Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry. The full length film is supposed to be release at the end of the year. This preview is about 10 minutes long and features, "clips from the upcoming documentary exploring the deep-seated biases and attitudes about skin color---particularly dark skinned women, outside of and within the Black American culture." I feel like this film is going to be more insightful and impactful than Chris Rock's Good Hair. I'm not at all implying that Good Hair is a failure, but I would call it fairly basic. This is an issue that I feel pretty passionate about... lifting up young women to remove the veil of shame in whatever form it takes. Do watch and discuss!



"THAT'S SOOOO TAKEI!"


In the darkness created by fools in Tennessee, there is some light. Sparkly, sparkly light. Buy some "takei" stuff. It all goes to charity! Oh and I love his twitter!


Trendy Trends
Source: google.com via Sara on Pinterest


I got some of these Sultra Feather Hair Accents in a teal combo (Boho Breeze). Me thinks I'm gonna do a full review on these. Super fun! Available at Sephora.



This lovely lady is sporting Manic Panic in Electric Tiger Lilly and a bit of Electric Banana. Think I could rock these colors? I'm itchin to do silly things to my hair.




Zoya Touch Collection (limited edition) in Minka, Shay, and Pandora $8.00 each. I love these nudie colors and Zoya is a really great company. I want all of them to make an ombre-effect mani.




I freakin love these "earrings".


Yummy


Why don't I have one of these yet? I'm obsessed with the ones at Starbucks. In fact, I think I'm gonna go get one right now...



Y'all have a fab Memorial Day weekend!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Sara was just walkin along, minding her own business: AHHHH! X-STITCH!



I love stitchin. It's something I strive to get better at and I love to collect vintage pieces of stitchery. This week's CTC hails from Blue Suede Shoes Antique Mall and comes as a pair.


Ho hum diddly do...
























AHHHHH!
























ANNNNNDDDDD... someone fucking made that. Painstakingly stitched him bit by bit... That face is gonna haunt me forever.




*BONUS* Here's something yours truly did awhile back. Seems appropriate for a rainy day.


"The Most Ineffective Umbrella Ever" - My first finished (mostly) free-handed piece.



Hope your Sunday leads you to a joyous Monday!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Sara continues to ponder what to do with: OLD KEYS

Let's consider this Part II (here's the first post) of our exploration of this easy crafting medium.

I've noticed that this is a commonly searched topic on my blog -AND- I've stumbled upon a massive stockpile of old keys while cleaning out the garage. So I'm gonna have to think of more stuff to make! Here's some ideas:


Jewelry, of course.


Keys would look lovely on a messy, charmy piece of jewelry like this. Click through my Pinterest pin for the tutorial. :D


Prettify! Repurpose costumed jewelry + super glue.
Source: google.com via Sara on Pinterest


Stick it on a cord!


Embellish and affix to a bobby pin!
Source: etsy.com via Sara on Pinterest



A little committal, but you can nail them on the wall mosaic-style.





These are little porcelain keys, but I think this gives you a good idea of what old keys would look like with a nice, thick coat of paint.



I still like the wind chime idea.
Source: flickr.com via Sara on Pinterest





I love this sweet framed memento idea. Maybe make a little note about the house the key belonged to?





Simple frames!


Pretty, but let's jazz it up a bit...


Just add spray paint and a little fabric backing!



Lastly, make a thing to hang new keys on! Get a board, glue embellished keys artfully, and screw in little hangy things on the bottom! Could look like this:
Source: etsy.com via Sara on Pinterest



Bonus idea that I really like: This is with pennies obviously, but you could totally use keys and a thrifted little table or somesuch.




So, what are you gonna make? :)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Sara says: SOLD!

So yesterday I went to my first estate and consignment auction; which was hosted by The Good Stuff Auction here in Little Rock. In the past, I've been skeptical because I envisioned auctions being mostly for big-ticket items or that I would surely be outbid (being a poor college student and dealing with mostly, let's face it, 70's kitsch and whimsy). My lovely Aunt Cindy convinced me to come with her and I am so glad I did!



Wooden, retro wall clock (battery operated).
Won for $2.
Sweet, yellow, plug-in wall clock.
Won for $2.
An Arcadia self-illuminating stereo viewer (aka a View Master for grownups). I didn't win the lot of slides to go with it unfortunately, but I just love that swanky brown/cream color!
Won for $4.
Lot (vat really, LOL) of cake decorating plastic flotsam, patterns, and a couple of instruction books. Wait till you see that "old-couple" piece in the middle!
Won for $5.
This piece was in the cake decorating lot, but it's actually a bank. The front side says "BEFORE" and the back says "AFTER". Isn't that adorable?!?!
Green floral glass candy dish. From where I was sitting I thought it was a clover, but I like that it's a flower just as well I think.
Won for $3.
Set of German painted stoneware(?) plates. Signed by the artist on the back. So sweet! The one on the left is a little girl with a mustache-lookin nose. The one on the right is a gingerbread-lookin married couple on a pony. TEEHEE!
Set won for $5.
Detail of the larger plate with the little married couple
Detail of the (mustachioed) girlie with flowers and braided hair.










This is my favorite piece. I was just on pins and needles hoping I would win it! It's a Napcoware soap dish with a little golden mermaid baby on it! Squee!
Won for $7.50.















 I learned a lot about junkin at auctions and will definitely go again!


Things Pickers/Junkers/Hoarders/Collectors/All You Fine People Should Know About Auctions

-There is a certain time commitment if you want to watch the whole thing. We were there for about 6 hours. However, if you're patient, the crowd will thin out and you have a better chance of winning!

-Learn the auctioneer lingo so you know how much you're spending. Is it a lot? Is it just for first choice of a lot?

-Bring something to eat!

-Make sure the auction house takes a form of payment you have. Are they cash, check, or credit only?

-If it's a big auction and you want to hurry the hell up and try to buy an item, just ask! They'll probably do yours next.

-Have fun! :)

Monday, May 16, 2011

Sara says: "ROCK, ROCK FASHION BABY"

This is a gorgeous set designed by a Polyvore user, which I've only now just discovered. We're most interested in that shiny, genuine, and relatively uncut meteorite ring at the bottom...



I've been noticing a trend on Pinterest that makes me all giddy inside. Now we all know, since those nice young people over in England got married, that fascinators are on point at the moment. However, I don't fancy looking like this crazy bint Princess Beatrice. No, I much prefer a slightly more subtle, but equally as fascinating, statement piece.

Check out these gorgeous raw stone rings!

Source: urfunked.com via Sara on Pinterest


Source: imgspark.com via Sara on Pinterest



Source: etsy.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Sara on Pinterest


This last one is probably my favorite. Geek confession: my parents collected rocks, gemstones, fossils and minerals. Some of that fuckery rubbed off and I have a small collection of my own. I'm wondering if there's not a way to make one of these babies for myself. Hmmmm... Otherwise, this style varies in price (the fifth one down is from Urban Outfitters and is less than $30). My only caveat, especially when buying handmade, is to educate yourself a bit on gemstones and what the going rate is.

So would you guys rock these gorgeous rocks? What's your favorite statement piece to don?