Crazy Crafty: Pixie the Pink Pet Poodle

Just when you think Christmas has left the building (I took the wreath off the front door just today - a consequence more of laziness/forgetfulness than lingering holiday cheer, I assure you), old Kris Kringle rears his bearded head and deposits a few holiday holdouts as a reminder of Christmas past.

This week I had the great fortune to be on the receiving end of some truly out-of-site gifts.  Believe me when I tell you that they could not have come at a more opportune time; instead of feeling renewed, refreshed, reinvigorated by the change of the calendar year, I was feeling sluggish, bored, and depressed.

Then came this!

Knowing how disappointed I was to walk away from an estate sale that was stuffed to the rafters with vintage plush animals (they were just too far gone to salvage), Mary found me this stuffed, pink poodle.  Imbued with the spirit of Annette Funicello's star turn in Pajama Party (a film I've mentioned at least one million times), I don't think there could be a more inspired gift for losing the winter blues than a "Stuffed Animal" - especially when it is a pink poodle!

Pastel Poodle Party!!!
(Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

As evidenced by the above photo of my new poodle, the ribbon around its neck has seen happier days.  Seeing how spectacularly-dressed a pink poodle ought to be (thanks for the unattainable diamond collars, Zsa Zsa, dah-ling), I knew that it was my job to find more appropriate adornment than simply a sloppy retying of that bedraggled bow.

Then came this!
Included in a belated Christmas gift from our dear friends (a veritable
treasure box full of incredible, vintage, Christmas goodies) was
The Pixie Bow Maker!

I love that the MSRP was marked as one dollar but
the price tag from The 88¢ Store was 98¢! 

The dead stock Pixie Bow Maker came with all of its original bow pins, the instruction book, and even a dozen peel-and-stick bow backers.  After semi-successfully making my first pixie bow with the silver, "ideal for home bow maker," Bow Master ribbon that was also part of the gift, I knew I was ready for the big leagues.  I also knew that my gift, in conjunction with the vintage button and baby-pink, rayon, Velvette ribbon that I had in my stash, was the perfect answer to my poodle's problem.  Thanks Pixie Bow Maker!

On a side note, I'm thinking that my next craft project will be that ribbon-rose
topiary as featured on the back of The Pixie Bow Maker - talk about CLASS!

It may seem odd for a thirty-something man to make a craft project out of a pink poodle and a roll of ribbon but as the unpaid child-laborer son of a 1980's, bow-making entrepreneuse, I can testify of the crafting credibility of home bow making.  Furthermore, if the craft seems weird, I guarantee you that it is even more odd for the same thirty-something man to name said poodle.  Frankly, I'm usually not one for naming inanimate objects but given the combination of post-Christmas, Christmas magic that has been swirling around me and the inspiration of a certain bow maker, I figured there was only one name for my pink pet poodle - "Pixie."

This isn't my bed but I couldn't think of a better setting
than a bright-pink, matelassé bedspread and cherry-
blossom mural (hand painted by Mr. Tiny) to give
the newly-outfitted Pixie her editorial debut.

Do you have any vintage stuffed animals?  Did you get any belated Christmas presents that changed your outlook and lifted your spirits?  I hope your new year is off to a great start!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Waking the Dead: Hollywood is Forever

I must admit that I am a sucker for a good celebrity sighting.  The older I get, the less I am struck by the stardom and the more I am struck by the value that our society (myself included) places on celebrity.  As much as certain magazines want to make us believe that they are "just like us," the truth is that celebrities are so very different.  Ask yourself, "When was the last time I worked for a couple months and got paid more money than most people will see over the course of their entire life?"  Ask yourself, "If I got busted for drugs, multiple hit-and-run accidents, and theft, would I still be free to drive my new Porsche?"  Ask yourself, "Will Promises have my regular room available?"  Then ask yourself, "Why do I still love celebrities so much?"  It is a cultural phenomenon which I refuse to battle.

Yes, celebrities are very different from the average Joe in most ways but one; eventually we ALL kick the proverbial bucket.  On one of our patented, absolutely directionless adventure days we headed to Los Angeles and encountered both celebrity and death! 

Do you recognize this house?

Sometimes it seems that the well of excitement around town has run dry; it is at that moment that I break out my trusty list of things that I still haven't seen (or covered here on wacky tacky) and we begin the hunt.  This time we tracked down one of the most infamous addresses in LA - The Los Feliz Murder House.  One Christmas Eve more than 50 years ago, a wealthy doctor, seemingly unprovoked, violently bludgeoned his wife to death before attacking one of his children and eventually killing himself.  As the story goes, the house has remained untouched for lo these many years and the creepy crime scene is still decorated for Christmas!  Every online reference to this property tells a version of the same story, but nobody backs it up with pictorial proof.  Sadly, we will be no exception to the rule; as soon as we got out of the car, a neighbor came out of her house and threatened to call the cops if we trespassed.  Given the house's history, it seems like there are far worse outcomes to exploring its grounds than getting into a hassle with Edison Security guards or the LAPD, but I was really not interested in pushing the limits of the wacky wagon as a getaway car, so we snapped a few photos of the house and hit the road.

With mortality on our mind, we made a short jaunt over to one of Hollywood's most famous resting places, Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

A Rolls Hearse - CLAAAAASSY!!!

Hollywood Forever Cemetery is tucked away off of Santa Monica Blvd. - a quiet respite from the city noise in the shadow of Paramount Studios.  There are many celebrities there, but we ran out of time and steam to track down every last one of them; here are just a few of our favorites.

A modest marker for King Kong's muse.

Fay Wray
(Source)

Finally sedated

Johnny Ramone
(Source)

A really lovely monument, surrounded by roses

Hattie McDaniel
(Source)

Security made it clear that Tyrone Power's tomb is not a park bench.

Tyrone Power
(Source)

Jayne's is just a cenotaph; her remains are elsewhere but a true Hollywood
legend needs a Hollywood address.

Jayne Mansfield
(Source)

C.B. was finally ready for his close up.

Cecil B. DeMille
(Source)

A flock of peacocks roams the grounds

Believe it or not, Vampira's grave wasn't on the map!
Fortunately, Mary found it as she wandered.

Maila "Vampira" Nurmi
(Source)

The most ostentatious temple to to man's ego is found at the grave of Douglas Fairbanks and his son, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

A classical-style temple complete with bronze relief and reflecting pool

Dougy, is that you?

I guess if I had the funds, I would do the same thing.

Junior

(Source)

Senior
(Source)

Movie stars of every kind are buried here, even non-human celebs like Toto!

Toto gets a snuggle
(Source)

Some of the the most celebrated stars are resting inside the Cathedral Mausoleum.

Behind a pane of glass sits a bronze library with a volume dedicated to
tap legend, Eleanor Powell.  If you put your ear up to the glass, you can still
hear some fancy tapping.

Eleanor Powell
(Source)

"I Dood It" - Eleanor Powell

This is one of the finest feats of terpsichore that I have ever seen!!! 

I think this one was my favorite.  Peter Lorre is awesome!

Peter Lorre
(Source)

Hollywood Forever's most famous resident is perhaps the original "Latin Lover," Rudolph Valentino.

There are fresh kisses on the marble!

Rudolph Valentino
(Source)

Other notables include: Clifton Webb, Janet Gaynor, Nelson Eddy, Charlie Chaplin, Jr., Darla and Alfalfa (of Little Rascals fame), Mel Blanc, Norma Talmadge, and even though he doesn't appear on the star maps, David White (Darren's boss, Larry Tate, on Bewitched), is there too!

Hollywood Forever Cemetery is sort of a "must see" for lovers of Hollywood and "Hollyweird."  As morbid as it sounds, this is really my kind of celebrity sighting - no awkward silence (plenty of silence, none of it awkward).  As neat as Hollywood Forever is, I must say that I almost prefer the cemeteries of "regular" people; there I can invent my own backstory about their lives, loves, and losses.  Although they have long since passed on to their great reward, I can't help but get a bit of a thrill seeing the final resting places of so much Hollywood royalty.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery
6000 Santa Monica Blvd
Hollywood, CA
(323)469-1181

www.hollywoodforever.com


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

p.s. Don't forget, there is still plenty of time to enter our big giveaway.  Go!  Enter!! WIN!!!