Old Paris Flea Market

I love flea markets! And this one in Carpinteria was fabulous. About a dozen booths offered a bountiful collection of eye candy and special things for sale. I was looking for a birthday gift for our daughter Stacey, and a mannequin for the studio. I scored both! I simply had to wear the apron I found for her as I finished shopping. It has a little fairy applique on the side, and since she LOVES fairies, it was calling her name.













I didn't buy this mannequin because it is so small, I didn't think I could really use it to display things on when we shoot craft videos. But I did find one that was a bodice, and scored that one for 20 bucks.













I am so stoked, with the apron and a necklace and other cute finds, Stacey's birthday gift will really be special.

Yarnzy Stool

One of my fave and outrageous places to hang out, is on the Free People site. I got my mail order catalog yesterday and then went to the site to sneaky peak at all their cool stuff, and this darling yarnzy stool was there. I fell in love! You can buy it from their crafty artsy shopping pages. I don't know how durable it would be, but who cares?

Pompom & Tassel Crazy

My fingers are so sore, and I have no idea how many pompoms and tassels I've made this week. But, I'm finished with my projects I've been working on for my website and for Coats & Clark to demonstrate my tools. I love everything! Okay, for one shawl I made 22 tassels. Not to mention all of the felt rosettes and leaves. I just can't hardly wait to get them all up on my website with the instructions so that everyone can make them, too. My amazing web designer is working on a brand new site, and it's crazy picking out all new colors and backgrounds. I'll keep you posted. This pink hat and scarf set was so fun to do, with the cute little felt flowers and pompoms. Makes me want cold weather to come sooner. Whoa, I better get to bed because I think I'm starting to ramble.

Tassel Purse

I'm crazy for this tassel covered purse, since I am crazy for tassels. I've been busy as a bee on projects this week, using my Pattiewack Tassel Tool and Pompom Tools. As soon as I am finished, I'll get them posted to my website with the instructions for you to check out. I love tassels!

Cute As A Button

You've never seen "buttons" like these before! I used just ordinary wooden plaques from the craft store and decoupaged them, drill holes in them to turn them into buttons, and then sewed them into the pillows. What do you think??

Materials Checklist:
Drill
Two(5" or 3-1/2")wood discs for each pillow
Sandpaper
Acrylic paints (coordinating colors)
Acrylic or sponge brushes
Aleene's Instant Decoupage glues (Matte)
Decoupage paper, gift wrap or greeting cards
Paint pen (gold metallic)
Pillow(s)
Cording or ribbon (narrow enough for upholstery needle)
8" upholstery needle

Steps:

• 1. Drill two "button" holes in each disc. Sand wood discs.
• 2. Paint disc and allow to dry.
• 3. Apply decoupage paper onto disc with Instant Decoupage. Let dry. Embellish "button" with gold metallic paint pen.
• 4. Sew button on front and back of pillow with ribbon, using upholstery needle. Tie ribbon into bow on back.

Tip: Other ideas for decoupaged buttons...old photos on tapestry pillows, nursery rhymes on gingham or plaid pillows, cartoon characters - on primary colored pillows or snap shots on denim pillows.

Candle Jewelry

Did you know that you can make jewelry for your candles? Well, just click on over to LifetimeTV.com and watch while I turn beads, pins, sticky sheets and eye-pins into jazzy jewelry that pokes right into the sides of your candles. I was so excited when I saw that this craft video was up on the list of 16 projects to watch. It is absolutely one of my favorites, because it's so fast and easy, but it really delivers a lot of punch! The thing is, you can make these in less than an hour for your home, or a fancy gift for someone special. Sooooo, come on over and hang out with me, while I craft my crazy butt off at LifetimeTV.com!

Creative Home Arts

There I am again, in the latest issue of the Creative Home Arts magazine. The Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue advertisement is right in the front cover! I have been slammed with hits on my website and blog since Friday, and was wondering what the deal was. Then I got my magazine in the mail and figured it out. I just want you all to know that I will answer every single email, but it might take me a few days. Whew!

Just in case you haven't become a member of the Creative Home Arts Club yet, I would love to tell you all about it. They have over 280,000 members who receive their magazine and enjoy the benefits of being in the club! The Creative Home Arts Club is a national, membership-based organization designed exclusively for the most active home arts enthusiasts. The Club welcomes crafters of all skill levels and offers the following benefits:

• Today’s Creative Home Arts—a members-only magazine delivered six times a year
• Opportunities to test and keep craft products
• Giveaways of various craft products and services
• Unique member-to-member forums
• Product purchasing opportunities
• Members-only competitions and contests
• Discounts on selected products and services
• Access to a members-only, project-packed Web site














Our production company, Crafts Studios has been producing craft DVDs for Creative Home Arts for the past 2 years.

The Pattiewack DVD Series includes...

• Let's Craft with Pattiewack
• Get Creative with Pattiewack
• Ready, Set, Craft with Pattiewack
• Creative Keepsakes with Pattiewack

We are busy producing another Pattiewack DVD right now, and I can't wait to see how it turns out! So, if you want to be a member, just check out the Creative Home Arts site for more info.

Dia de los Muertos

To celebrate the Day of the Dead, we decided to go to the Sea Breeze Art Gallery in Ventura, and view their amazing art, the unbelievable shrines, and hang out with all of the beautiful people. The photo was too fun! One of the artists had a stand-up that we stuck our faces through, for a quick pic, and then they gave it to us to take home. I think Scott looks a little bit pimp-daddy, and I simply love my huge red bouffant hairdo.













Our friend, Xavier Montes was there playing his harp, which set a wonderful mood. We picked up one of his CDs and have been playing it constantly. Xavier also had wonderful paintings and lots of people surrounded him with hugs and love. It was quite a festive place, with marigolds strewn on the floor to lead the spirits of dead relatives in to the shrines that were carefully and playfully decorated with familiar objects and foods, and photos. The art was spectacular. There was a whimsical Elvis shrine, some amazing metal sculptures, ceramics, and photography. It's hard to choose, but my favorite was the mixed media and assemblage art by Jeanne T LaRocco, where she had shrines made from old shoes! I went nuts. I would put pics here, but that would not be fair to the artists. They would love for you to visit the Sea Breeze Art Gallery and experience their creativity first-hand.
















We ended the evening at Hush Restaurant and Lounge where we yummed out on seared ahi tuna, lobster mashed potatoes, and several glasses of wine. The dinner rolls were nothing short of luscious, and I kept dipping mine in the corn salsa that was meant for the ahi. We sat by the fire on the veranda and cuddled where it was just perfect with a bit of chill in the air and the smell of the eucalyptus trees. Ohhh, what a great weekend!

Halloween Party!

Happy Halloween to all you ghouls and guys! I hope you’re busy making plans for a frightfully fun evening with your friends and families. We had a fun fondue party last night with friends from Tucson and Oxnard here at the house, so I simply HAD to decorate! I took the obvious route and turned my decoupaged mannequin into a mummy for the front entrance.






















The eyeball looking out the window of the soul, looks pretty creepy, peeking out of the mummy wrappings. I had a ton of vintage lace from my mom, and wrapped it around the mummy to add a little texture. I promise you, that no vintage lace was harmed in the making, as I didn’t even cut it! That way I can take it off and use it on a sewing project. I think that some of the lace is probably 50 years old.

Remember the Barbies I picked up at the flea market? I just KNEW they would come in handy for something, and yes! I wound bathroom tissue around them and turned them into Mini-Mummies!




































It didn't take very long to wrap the Barbies, and they turned out so cute! That's a plaster cast of Scott's hand holding onto one of the mini-mummies. I made it years ago, and I use it for a candle holder.


















I have a collection of body parts. Don't ask why, it might be the artist in me. I just love them. That's my hand with the finger pointing up. I use it for a bracelet holder.















I used two rolls of tissue, and a bunch of tape on the big mannequin mummy. I love how it turned out, and it was toooo easy! Our guests loved it, and I don’t think I’ll want to take it down after Halloween, especially after spending all that time to make. But, it was worth it.

Everyone raved over the fondue, too. I made two pots, one with cheese and one with chocolate. The girls brought fruits and veggies. The boys brought wine and beer. We had a fabulous time, and couldn't stop eating! Yummers.

The fondue recipes I made are below. I went online to get recipes, and then changed them up a bit to fit what we like to eat. You can do the same thing. We don't eat much meat, but I found these amazing sausages made with chicken and sun dried tomatoes. We pigged out. You can use whatever cheese you love in the cheese fondue, and whatever liqueur that you prefer in the chocolate, like amaretto or rum. I hope you enjoy yourself and be safe, and have fun tonight.
Happy Halloween everyone!



















Killer Cheese Fondue
From the kitchen of: Pattie Donham-Wilkinson

2 - 8 oz. Pkgs. Cream Cheese, cut up in chunks
1 – Round of Brie Cheese, cut up in chunks
1 – Block of Gruyere Cheese, shredded
1 – Dark Lager Beer

Place cheeses in a large bowl, and pour the beer over the cheese, stirring it in. Melt slowly in the microwave, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until melted. Pour into a fondue pot, and light the flame underneath to keep warm.
Serve with:

Sour dough bread chunks
Blanched broccoli
Sausage bites (pre-cooked)
Deglet Noor pitted dates
Honey crisp apples (our favorites)
Oh, and open a can of those crunchy fried onions to dip into, after you dip into the cheese, and prepare for your eyes to roll back in your head!


Death By Chocolate Fondue
From the kitchen of: Pattie Donham-Wilkinson

1 – 11oz. Pkg. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bits
1 – 11oz. Pkg. Ghirardelli milk chocolate bits
1/2 Pint Whipping cream
1/2 Cup Kahlua liqueur

Place chocolate bits in a large bowl, and pour the cream and liqueur over the chocolate, stirring it in. Melt slowly in the microwave, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until melted. Pour into a fondue pot, and light the flame underneath to keep warm.
Serve with:
Marshmallows
Crushed graham crackers
Strawberries
Crushed nuts
Pineapple & Apple chunks
Shredded coconut

Craft Videos

Have you seen my latest craft videos at LifetimeTV.com? The six-pack organizers project is one of my favorites, but some of the most popular projects are Painted Martini Glasses and Girl's Night Out Invitations. You won't want to miss those. You can watch me make everything from lunch bags and a polka dotted ice keeper to cuff bracelets. There are over a dozen ideas to craft with me. Kathy Murillo, aka Crafty Chica, has some crafty videos there too. Oh, and while you're there, be sure and register so that we can chat on my portrait page! Let me know which craft videos are YOUR faves.....and I'll see you there, at LifetimeTV.com.

Peek-a-Boo Ghost

What a great idea for the kids! This is so easy, but fun. A perfect Sunday afternoon project or classroom craft, since it takes so few supplies. I found it at the Parenting.com site, where there are tons of parenting tips and ideas. Here's how to make your own Peekaboo Ghost.

• Poke a hole in bottom of black paper cup with chopstick. Slide stick up into cup. Plant a small Styrofoam ball on chopstick.
• Glue two 6-inch squares of cheesecloth (or tissue paper) and black-paper eyes onto ball.
• Slide stick up and down to play peekaboo.

Peek-a-Boo Ghost

What a great idea for the kids! This is so easy, but fun. A perfect Sunday afternoon project or classroom craft, since it takes so few supplies. I found it at the Parenting.com site, where there are tons of parenting tips and ideas. Here's how to make your own Peekaboo Ghost.

1. • Poke a hole in bottom of black paper cup with chopstick. Slide stick up into cup. Plant a small Styrofoam ball on chopstick.
2. • Glue two 6-inch squares of cheesecloth (or tissue paper) and black-paper eyes onto ball.
3. • Slide stick up and down to play peekaboo.

Halloween Tree

I found this amazing Halloween Tree at Turkey Feathers Typepad, and fell in love! It is so simple, but simply darling. She has the most adorable things, and such a pretty blog. I love surfing through all of your creative blogs out here in the wonderful world wide web. I'm really getting excited about Halloween, now that the fires are starting to die down. Thank you for all the concerned emails and phone calls. We're doing just fine, and things are starting to be normal again. I feel so badly for everyone affected by this horrible tragedy here in California, and my thoughts are with you.

California Fires

A lot of you have emailed to check on us because of the horrendous and devastating California fires. We're doing fine here on the side of a mountain in Santa Paula. Highway 126 to Santa Clarita is closed, but we can still get to the grocery store. The fire in Piru is just minutes away. We had brown-outs all day yesterday so I had to stay off the computer. So sorry, if you were trying to get through to me in emails. I'm slowly plugging away to answer everyone. We lost a tree out front and one out back is laying over. When I walked outside Sunday morning the wind blew me down! I felt like I was back in Oklahoma with the tornadoes! The ash filled the sky, and we couldn't even see the mountains yesterday. It was like we were living on Mars with an orange sky. And it sounded like our roof was going to take off any minute. Weird, scary!
















Today the skies are more clear, there is a little less wind, and it should start improving. I have tons of freelance design work to do in my studio, and Scott just finished up LA Fashion Week, so he's back home doing editing. Perfect timing for us to be stuck at home.


















We also have a tin roof that should keep the embers away, and we are located just below a mountain ridge and just above a huge avocado farm. Yesterday I went to check the mail and realized that the ground was covered with avocados! The wind had blown them out of our trees, and I picked up about 50 or 60 off the ground. Yummy. Can you say guacamole??

Glitter Glow

Make all different sizes of jazzy jack-o-lanterns to fill the center of your table for a beautiful centerpiece. Sit the lanterns on a bed of luscious fall leaves, light the candles, and enjoy the shimmer and warmth of the colors and glitz. I made several of these in no time at all.

Steps:
1. Mask off a jack-o-lantern face, or stripes on each of your glass pieces.
2. Cover the entire glass piece with glue, using a disposable brush.
3. Pull off the masking tape.
4. Hold the glass over a sheet of paper and pour glitter over the glue, covering the entire piece. Use gold on the jack-o-lantern faces, and black glitter on the striped pieces. Sit aside to dry.
5. Fold the sheet of paper in half and pour the unused glitter back into the jar of glitter.
6. Place a tea light inside the jack-o-lantern to complete.

You can find lots more Halloween Crafts at my website!

Christian Audigier

I just have to share a few more pics from L.A. Fashion Week, since Scott got home and helped me load them onto my computer. The colors were simply yummy. It's great how the most simple things that are done in a collection of hot colors look so amazing. These were hanging over the entrance.
















Don't you LOVE the Eiffel tower? I fell in love with the Christian Audigier runway! Be sure and click on the videos when you go to the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Show site, because they were all shot by my shooger, Scott!














This is the editing room. Cramped and crazy. As soon as he finished each show, Scott ran the tapes back to this room, uploaded to the computer and created a DVD to give to each designer. After that, the edited runway shows were added to the L.A. Fashion Week website for us to watch.


Okay, it's time to get a leopard hoodie, some silkscreen leggings, a graphic t-shirt, and a HUGE metallic bag, girls. And we simply MUST have a French Chapeau. You know, all we need are some stencils, fabric paint, and some creative juice to get our bling on!

I'm glad fashion week is over, and Scott's home, and I've got tons of new ideas to jazz up my wardrobe. Hey, don't worry. You won't see me sporting silk stockings and a garter belt anytime soon.....

Monster Umbrellas

These crazy cool umbrellas are great for Mommy or Daddy to carry on a trick-or-treat outing with the kids. Or, have a crafting party for the whole family by cutting out different shapes and letting the kids create their own scary or fun faces to glue onto their Monster Umbrellas! When I did them on Channel 6, they were great on the set, and we decided that they would also make great party decorations. You can find over 100 FREE crafts at pattiewack.com, and dozens of Pattiewack -n- Crafts projects from the Six in the Morning show on CBS in Tulsa. If you have picked up my book, The Crafter's Guide to Glue, you will find the instructions on page 120.

Hairy Spider Wrist Band

Looking for a Halloween craft project for your child's classroom or neighborhood party? The Hairy Spider Wristband Party Pack provides an instant activity for 24 kids. The kit includes black beads, fuzzy pipe cleaners, googly eyes, glue and a colorful instruction sheet with step-by-step photos. I found it at Family Fun and I just think it's terrific!

L.A. Fashion Week

Scott keeps sending me sweet pics from L.A. Fashion Week. He's the cameraman who is filming the runways explicitly for the designers, and the rest of those peeps are paparazzi and media! Every time they finish a show, he runs his tape to the editing crew and they edit it on the spot to hand over to the designers. Pretty hectic and wild!

















He has seen tons of celebrities, including David Hasselhoff. Scott said that he was totally surrounded by people trying to interview him before the show started. It's crazy busy and when he calls me I can barely hear what he's saying. Especially when the music is blasting.
















Check it out! Can you find Scott? Totally nuts! I can't imagine what it's like to stay concentrated on getting every shot just right. The designers will be using his video for their promos and marketing after the show is over, so he has to get the best shots. I miss him! I know he's not eating good, although he said that the Whole Foods Market is one of the sponsors, so maybe he's scarfing some tasty snacks.

I promise to send more pics tomorrow, as soon as I figure out how to send them from my phone to my blog. Scott emailed these to me, so I'm spoiled. *sigh*

Heatherette fall 2007 show opening outfits

Well, I’m a production widow while Scott is gone for L.A. Fashion Week. But, he keeps sending me photos and giving me the rundown of the runway scoop, and it’s so fun!

Richie Rich and Traver Rains, created a lot of razzmatazz at the show with their tattooed models and fashions with a sexy factor in the Heatherette line, as you can see in their YouTube video above!






Kevan Hall

This choker is divine! I’m crazy for the beaded trim and rick rack style, and the way it finishes the whole outfit. Wear this with a denim or leather jacket anywhere!











Elsie Katz

Check out the embellishments on the Elsie Katz couture. The sheer yo-yo styled appliqué is very chic and fun at the same time, and I adore the little rosette on the waist. So feminine, and timeless.











Nicky Hilton

For me, the Nicky Hilton jackets are calling my name. I totally LOVE the little red bolero, and the white jacket with black piping is simply darling. Very cute, and wearable!











Sue Wong

Scott says his fave fashions so far have been Sue Wong’s collection. The colors are bright and wild, which is why I think he likes it. I really dig the red leggings, and the beaded trims.