201 Reasons for a GIVEAWAY!

Well another milestone has been reached here at wacky tacky and true to our word we are having a giveaway!  We are now in the 200+ followers club and it is our pleasure to show our appreciation by offering our third, and may we say, most exciting giveaway to date!

You might remember that for our first giveaway, we offered a handmade basket purse of Mr. Tiny's own design plus our entire selection of wacky tacky collectible pinbacks.

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Our second giveaway saw the debut of our wacky tacky signature tee and the set-of-four wacky tacky collectible pinbacks.

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For our third giveaway, we are upping the ante and giving away our wacky tacky signature tee, our set-of-four wacky tacky collectible pins, AND a handmade basket purse by Mr. Tiny!!!

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A-tisket, A-tasket, a green and yellow basket!
A yellow, rectangular basket in a traditional basket weave is topped by a lined,
green, burlap upper, and trimmed with vintage brocade ribbon and three yellow roses.
This weird yet wonderful basket purse is the must have accessory for spring and summer.
According to our sources, "Goes with nothing" is the new "Goes with everything." 

This giveaway has something for everyone!  The t-shirt is unisex.  The purse is ideal for a woman, a gift, or an adventurous gentleman.  And the pins can just as easily be applied to the lapel of a fine suit as they can be to a denim, biker vest.  To win all of these great prizes, all you have to do is enter!

RULES OF ENTRY:

1.  All entrants must be an official follower of wacky tacky, meaning your face must appear in the followers section over here ------------------------------------------> somewhere.  If you are not yet a follower, don't be ashamed; quickly become a follower and you too will be eligible for the prize.
2.  All entrants must leave a comment in the comments section of this post indicating your desire to be part of the giveaway (worth one entry).
3.  Entrants may share the giveaway on another social media outlet (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc.) to earn additional entries (each share is worth one additional entry; you must leave a link in another comment on this post).
4.  All entrants must have a valid mailing address that is deliverable via the USPS (foreign or domestic).

5.  All entries must be made by 12am (PST) Sunday, May 26, 2013.

6.  All entrants must be able to play the tuba.  This point is negotiable pending a valid argument in the comments section of this post and/or the ability to play the kazoo.

On a serious note, I would love to broaden our base (figuratively speaking, of course); if you know of someone who would enjoy our type of fun, please spread the wacky tacky word.  Also we are always looking to feature cool houses, cool collections, cool shops, and cool people; if you have any or all of these things and would like to be featured on wacky tacky, please email us: wackytackytiny {at} gmail {dot} com.

Stay tuned; one winner will be chosen at random and announced here after all entries have been collected.  Thank you for your support and participation; I've got plenty to be thankful for!

"I've Got Plenty to be Thankful for" - Bing Crosby

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Crazy Crafty: Putting All My Eggs in One BAG-sket!

I've never been a huge fan of the word "craft."  In the world of "arts & crafts," it is somehow implied that of the two, crafting is the lesser form.  What real skill set is needed to perform any given craft?  A craft is something that we set in front of the elderly and the feeble-minded just to occupy their time.  A paper plate mask is a craft.  A lunch bag hand puppet is a craft.  Peanut marionettes are a craft for heaven's sake!!  I wonder, would Monet look at my glitter-covered gnomes and flamingos and see them as art or would he deride them as mere crafting?  Crafting really is the red-headed step child of the art and design world.  Perhaps I should think of crafting in a different way.  Perhaps I should embrace the word.  After all, I am no high-brow artiste.  I employ everyday objects and the minimal skills I have to make what can most easily be understood as crafts.  I know that many crafters love the word.  In fact, the idea of me besmirching the honorable name of "crafting" is enough to have scrapbookers everywhere calling for tar and feathers.  Nevertheless, I suppose that - in my own way - I craft.

What me crafty?

The lightening bolt of craft inspiration can strike at any time.  One day while perusing the local flea market/junk swap, we found a purse.  No ordinary purse, this wacky tacky number was made of a painted basket, burlap, plastic handles and was decorated with flocked foliage.  Mary was absolutely thrilled because among the things she found inside were vintage lipstick cases (some still filled with what can only be described as fossilized lipstick), hairpins, tissue and various and sundry Avon products.  At three dollars (haggled down from five) the purse was destined to be hers.  Upon further inspection, we noticed a label inside that read "Susie Lee Original by East Texas handbag Co."

The inspiration

Usually, my laziness gets the better of my desire to research, but when we got home, we immediately began our internet search for the East Texas Handbag Company.  The very little that we were able to learn about Miss Susie Lee and The East texas Handbag Co. came from the blog The Thrift Store Divas.  According to the divas, East Texas is prime peach country and bushel baskets were used to harvest the ripe fruit and take it to market.  Essentially, the retired peach-picking baskets were "upcycled" (to use a very trendy crafting term) and turned into fun and folky purses.  

Lovely examples of East Texas Handbags

The Label

(photos from Thrift Store Divas blogspot)

Another example of the handbags

This one is available for purchase at 

graceblackvintage.etsy.com

Apparently, the production of East Texas Handbags was halted in the 1970's and the rest is left to memory and the surviving handbags.  Without delay, I began to think how I could pick up where Susie Lee left off.  "You can easily find baskets," I said to myself.  "Remember the two yards of vintage burlap you have," I continued, " and believe it or not, you have a huge stash of handles, trims, flowers and lining fabrics."  I was about to launch into a detailed monologue about amazing ideas for all the many purses I was going to make when I stopped and said, "You really need to make some friends so you don't have to talk to yourself so much."

The Rose Garden Basket purse (handmade by Mr. Tiny)

A cheery lining of red and white gingham

Yeah, they're kind of corny and according to our research, their heyday was the 1960's, but I think think that they have a naive, folky quality about them that hearkens back to an even earlier era.  Couldn't you just see Jeanne Crain carrying one in State Fair?  

Dick Haymes, Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews in State Fair, 1945

Jeanne's clothes in this movie are pretty much the inspiration for everything I make!!! 

Mary carries a Mr. Tiny "Bag-sket"

Because the basket purses are a novelty, thy truly lend themselves to all kinds of cornball themes.

Tiki

Cherry Blossoms

Daisies

Magnolias

I've never followed the cupcake trend, but this was a custom design for a cupcake-aholic.

South of the Border

Mother, may I?

Floral & Fancy

Hydrangeas

Scottie

I admit, these are far from high art.  They're probably even a little too lame to be considered folk art. At best, they reside comfortably in the world of wacky tacky!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny