150!!! wacky tacky - We Dig GIVEAWAYS!!!

Can you believe it?  We are now up to 150 followers!  It is hard to imagine, given the ubiquity of self-published stream of consciousness on the internet, that anyone would have found, followed, or "friend-ed" us.  We are grateful for the friendships we have forged here and for all of the funny, kind, inspiring, and thoughtful comments you have shared over the past 183 entries into our wacky tacky journal.

Yes, for your friendship and patronage we are truly grateful.  To commemorate the auspiciousness of the occasion we have, in one fell swoop, both a thrilling announcement and an exciting giveaway (you must watch the video first).

  

Presenting the official wacky tacky t-shirt!  Destined to be the first in a long series of wacky tacky apparel, the wacky tacky t-shirt is designed and printed in the good ol' US of A by Tugboat Studios (the only resource for all of your design and screen printing needs).

"WACKY TACKY, WE DIG OLD STUFF"
Available in sizes Child's XL - Adult XXL

Just in time for the holidays, the official wacky tacky t-shirt, makes the perfect gift.  Aunts and uncles, dads and grads, any shape, any size, there is wacky tacky t-shirt for everyone on your holiday list - even yourself!

See, there is a t-shirt for anyone and everyone.
Yes, this is Mr. Tiny's actual family not a group of highly-trained, professional models.

wacky tacky pride

One of these t-shirts, plus our set of four collectible pinbacks, can be yours by simply entering our 150-Follower Giveaway!!!

Our first giveaway essentially had no rules at all except "follower" status because, as a rule, I hate rules!!!  The truth is, we would love to earn a larger following so we can spread the wacky tacky gospel to a broader congregation.  So, this time around there will be a few rules only so that we can get more people to join in on the fun.

RULES FOR ENTRY:

1. All entrants must be official followers of wacky tacky (new followers are definitely welcomed and encouraged).
2. All entrants must leave a comment in the comments section of this post (it can be about anything - food, your pet, news of the day - preferably something you love about Mr. Tiny's bowtie collection).
3. To earn a double entry, you must show a link, in the text of your comment, where you have shared the giveaway on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account (sorry for my neediness).
4. All entrants must have a valid mailing address to which I can ship your prize (foreign or domestic).
5. All entrants must have a deep and abiding love of wacky tacky, Mr. Tiny, and accordion music (honor system, not necessarily in that order).
6. All entries must be received by Friday, November 30, 2012

There you have it.  It's as easy as one, two, three.  Follow wacky tacky, tell your friends about wacky tacky, and leave a comment about wacky tacky.  The winner will be chosen at random at an arbitrary time (7:03pm PST) after an arbitrary period of entry (one week) and will be announced in an upcoming blog post.  Odds of winning are entirely dependent on the number of entries.  The giveaway is open to wacky tacky followers anywhere in the world as long as they have an address recognized by the USPS.

If you don't happen to be the lucky winner, but you can't wait to get your hands on one of these beauties, fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of adequate joy; the official wacky tacky t-shirt is available for purchase at Mr. Tiny's South Side Market on etsy right now!!!

You'd better enter or I'll sick these toughs on you!
The little one's the meanest!!!

Thanks again for your support and friendship.  We hope that you've enjoyed the blog and will continue to share in the love of all things wacky tacky!


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Sew What?! A Gratuitous Outfit Post

I'm afraid that there is an epidemic of deafness in our neighborhood and it's ALL OUR FAULT!  Day after day, we stumble out the front door deafening our neighbors with the loudness of whatever crazy get-up we happen to be wearing.  Either that, or they think we're totally insane...

I really don't think of our clothes as "costumes," but I'm almost positive that we have sent at least one neighbor running to the calendar to see if they have missed Halloween.  I'll admit, sometimes it can get a bit theatrical.  After all, who wears western wear on a regular basis?  Who isn't a farmer or a five-year-old child, yet insists on wearing bib overalls?  Who goes on a weekend getaway and takes square dance appropriate garb should the occasion arise?  Who can leave the house in the morning in a 30's-style frock, come home, and after a flurry of teasing combs and a heavy cloud of hairspray, can dash back out the door in a 60's minidress?  (not all of these apply exclusively to Mr. Tiny...hahahaha)

(Photo by P. Oeser III)

Oh yeah, and then there's this...

But this actually WAS Halloween!

Last weekend our friends held their awesome, annual "It's Roughly The 4th of July" barbecue.  It is a huge gathering of folks for some old-fashioned, eating, dancing, and merry making; I thought it would be a good idea for Mary to debut the new, neighbor-confusing, ensemble that I made for her - a 3-piece playsuit.

My newest mania is to purge myself of all the extraneous stuff that I have amassed over the years.
This includes the ungodly fabric pile that, like a creature from a 50's science fiction movie,
continues to grow no matter what I do.  Oh, I'm not supposed to be feeding it more fabric?  Huh.

The blue floral, of indeterminate vintage, was used to make the shorts and the blouse;
 it was something I picked up very inexpensively at a thrift store.  The white overskirt was
 made of fabric that I had to go out and purchase...so much for stash busting! 

In my first attempt at applique (beyond ric rac, trims, etc.), I took portions
 of the fabric used for the shorts and top and "traced" them with a machine,
embroidery stitch onto the oversized pockets of the skirt and then trimmed away
the excess fabric...or something.
Sometimes I just jump into this stuff without any kind of instruction
 or appropriate terminology; I just cross my fingers and hope it all works out.

Side Note: Don't sew with your fingers crossed unless you want them to stay that way.

I kind of used the same technique to make the patches that I added
to the straps of her top.  I had recently seen a similar treatment on a
vintage dress and wanted to give it a go.

I've heard from several people that wearing vintage/vintage inspired clothing results in unwanted attention or worse, derision.  Oddly enough, whenever we go anywhere, I would say that 99.736% of the response we receive from people (friends, neighbors, strangers), as it relates to our clothing, is extremely positive.  As a matter of fact, our style choices often result in compliments, nostalgic remembrances, freebies/discounts, invitations, etc.  Furthermore, while they might still be under the impression that we are insane, most of those neighbors that I'm so worried about believe that we are on one never-ending circuit of dances, photo shoots, elegant soirees, and fancy dress balls.  Since it's a myth the absolute truth, I'll just let them go on believing.


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Queen Mary: A Royal Wedding

On Saturday, June 23, we were fortunate enough to be guests at the wedding of our good friends Jesse and Emily.  

The happy couple, Emily and Jesse
Don't they look like the perfect cake toppers?

You probably already know Emily as she and her love letter to old Hollywood, The Silver Screen Affair, have been mentioned numerous times in the annals of wacky tacky.  If you're a lover of classic films and Hollywood glamour, then be sure to check out her blog.  Although, it may be kind of quiet around there for a couple of weeks as they are enjoying a tropical honeymoon.

Emily looked picture perfect in a vintage, 50's,
lace wedding gown and handmade veil.
I love this photo of her, pre-nuptials.

The ceremony was held at a beautiful, historic Catholic church and the reception was in The Queen's Salon on the Queen Mary, a stunning steamliner and one of the premier examples of well-preserved Art Deco in Southern California.

Dappled in the light of the afternoon sun, St. John's
was a beautiful setting for a wedding ceremony.

The getaway car complete with tin cans and "Just Married" banner!

The Queen's Salon aboard the Queen Mary - pretty majestic if you ask me.
You can just barely make out Holly, of The Temperamental Broad, on the right.
I should have been taking a lot more pictures, but I was too busy making a fool
of myself on the dance floor.

Why do I always have to sit at the kids' table?

Mary, Amber, Paul, Jordan, Memo, Ben, and Nicole

I didn't really want to do a feature exclusively on the wedding itself because Emily is a pretty private person and their wedding wasn't so much wacky tacky as it was traditional, elegant, and gracious.  For the record, I like both but I have a hard time behaving like a grown up at either!  So, here are a few snaps of our hijinks aboard the R.M.S. Queen Mary featuring the suit that I made Mary for the occasion.

I really have no idea where the inspiration came from on this one except that I love this kooky color combination and sometimes I like to try and challenge myself a little - two days, three pieces, and a  marginal skill set (I have never sewn a proper collar of any kind before).

Apparently I have developed such a reputation for turning
placemats into hats, that everyone immediately assumed
that was the case for this verdant topper.  This was actually a
 vintage hat that I got from a friend a few years ago.

Mr. Tiny & Mary gettin' groovy.
Once I start, I just can't stop.
(photo by Amber U.)

I am the worst kind of shopper.  I have a very specific idea of what I am looking for before I go out shopping and expect whatever it is to be in the store, happily waiting for me to buy it, at a discounted price.  Needless to say, I spend a lot of time disappointed.  Imagine my surprise when my first attempt to find a chartreuse-y colored fabric, with enough weight to be suitable for a suit and enough drape  to make it feminine, was peeking out of a row of totally dissimilar fabric just waiting for me.  It was the right color, the right price, and there was just enough left on the bolt for my project!!!  That NEVER happens.

The green gloves were bought on a road trip to
Hearst Castle and the red baubles were on loan
from a friend.  Here's Mary wishing that she
didn't have to give them back.

There's room for a dumbbell joke in there somewhere.

I have to stick with the dumbbell jokes; after seeing some
 of the pictures of Mary (including this one with the bride),
she has already been referred to as the Jolly Green Giant!

The free bonus of the evening came when were about to leave the party and ran into a group of friends who just happened to be touring the ship that night.  We ended up joining their tour and I'm almost positive from the looks we were receiving, that guests of the hotel were starting to believe that the Queen Mary was indeed haunted!

Congratulations Emily and Jesse!  It was a particularly beautiful wedding and we really appreciate you allowing us to participate in your special day.  We don't even have to wish it for you, we already know that you'll live happily ever after!  

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

100!!! It's GIVEAWAY Time!

The Banshee wailed, "You've got 100 Followers!!!"  Who, me???

Zowee!!!  100 followers - I never thought I'd see the day!  I have to teach myself that putting too much energy into comparison is never a good thing.  It can be a little discouraging seeing other blogs that have hundreds, even thousands, of followers and wondering if anybody out there even knows that this blog exists.  Having said that, I am really grateful that even one person would be interested in what I have to say!  I hope that wacky tacky makes for some worthwhile reading or at least for a quick diversion from work or school.  My heartfelt gratitude goes out to everybody for reading, with a special thanks to Retro Sandie for being our 100th follower!

"Thanks" - Bing Crosby

I don't know about you, but I think the auspiciousness of the occasion calls for our very first GIVEAWAY!!!

I always wondered if there was a place for a blog like wacky tacky.  It includes fashion, but it certainly isn't a fashion blog.  It covers vintage roadside attractions, but it certainly isn't a roadside blog.  It features some crazy arts & crafts, but I certainly wouldn't classify it as a crafting blog.  It showcases the amazing interiors of some awesome houses, but it certainly isn't competing with Architectural Digest.  We have book, movie, and restaurant reviews.  We have thrift store scores and musical interludes.  We even highlight killer parks and wacky tacky icons. What in the heck is this blog?  Is it even real?

Probably not.  Real blogs have real giveaways with real rules about reposting, twittering, double reposting your twitterings in triplicate, and tweeting your repost in the comments section of your best friend's second most popular post about cats riding unicorns.  Frankly, that is too much for me to think about.  Three rules I will give you, great rules and small, but break just one and get nothing at all!

Rules for entry:

1. Follow this blog (new followers are definitely welcome)

2. Tell at least one friend about our blog (honor system)

3. Tell me one thing (in the comments section) that (a)you truly love about me, this blog, or both,
    and (b)one thing that you think could be improved about me, this blog, or both; this will   

    count as your entry.

To prime the proverbial pump, I will get you started with a few examples:

(a)

"Oh, Mr. Tiny, I love it when you wear a blue shirt because it really brings out your eyes."

- or -

"This blog has changed my life in the following ways:  I had never laughed before I found your blog.  In fact, I thought I was incapable of human emotion before I read your treatise on date shakes.  And don't get me started on your coverage of bowling alleys.  I have forsaken my traditional Episcopalian upbringing to worship at the shrine of wacky tacky."

- or -

"This blog is better than being abandoned in the woods...but only by a little."

(b)
"I think your blog is great BUT it could stand a solid dose of something more - Mr. Tiny in a bathing suit."

- or -

"I have been doing some serious thinking about the state of your blog;  I would love to see more peanut puppet shows."

- or -

"Don't change a thing, except maybe get braces.  Your grill is jacked up!"

Now for the good stuff - up for grabs is this handmade basket purse created by Mr. Tiny and a set of four collectable pinbacks made exclusively for followers of wacky tacky.  It was a bit difficult finding just the right thing to giveaway because while my audience is diverse, it is probably 93.7% female.  So, in the event that a male entrant wins the giveaway, I figured he can give the purse to his wife, girlfriend, coworker, mail carrier, dental hygienist, or female relative, and then wear the pins proudly on his lapel.

I think it strikes a wacky tacky note.
With the vintage burlap and millinery adornments, cheery gingham ribbon
 and lining, and oversized capacity, you'll be all set for some summertime.
I've subsequently realized that this is not the purse's most flattering angle,
but it has gotten too late to take a photo without the flash, so, there you go.

There you have it.  It's as easy as one, two, three.  Follow wacky tacky, tell a friend about wacky tacky, and leave a comment about wacky tacky.  The winner will be chosen at random at an arbitrary time (7:03pm PST) after an arbitrary period of entry (one week) and will be announced in an upcoming blog post.  Odds of winning are entirely dependent on the number of entries.  The giveaway is open to wacky tacky followers anywhere in the world as long as they have an address recognized by the USPS.

Thanks Again!
You've made Mr. Tiny very happy!

Cheers & Good Luck!

Mr. Tiny