Mod Mischief

from Curious Expeditions Lately I’ve been wasting many, many hours browsing through images of all things Steampunk on the interwebs. This works well with my Etsy addiction. So when I came home last night to find my television broken, I saw it as a golden opportunity to try my very own steampunk mod. Okay, I’ll admit that when I first noticed the power button was broken off I didn’t immediately see this as a good thing. Fortunately, Chris was able to open my eyes to the possibilities. Worst case scenario: I’ll open up the tv and never get it working again. But as the tv was originally found in a dumpster, then sold to a friend who gave it back to me years later, it cost me a grand total of negative 5 dollars. While it would be missed, it would not be a great loss. If everything goes well: I’ll have bragging rights to the coolest television around that only gets 3 channels. I’m so looking forward to satisfying my anachrotechnofetish. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on my progress.

I kept busy while home for the holidays by finishing off a few more records. These two make for an interesting pair.

 find these images so captivating. Rush Hour from Inner City Snail Sprinkles by Matthew Carden They're not pets, Susan from Little People I'd love to get my hands on some of these minature people. Just think of all the fun places you could leave them... If Matthew Carden and Slinkachu aren't enough for you, check out more amazing photos by Akiko Ida and Pierre Javelle at minimiam . George Wendt's painted faces are also pretty cool.

I've been wanting to try making a record into a clock, so when my friend Neil requested a Beatles record for his mom, I thought it was the perfect opportunity. I just wish you could tell that Paul is barefoot .

Vintage cords in a 36" inseam? For only $5? Or course I had to buy 4 pairs. My favourite part of these high waisted, super wide leg pants has got to be the fabulous labels. How these beauties came to the North Shore Liquidation World after what must have been at least 30 years in storage remains a mystery.

Another record under the tree. I painted this James Dean for my friend to give to his sister. I wasn't sure how this one would turn out, but I'm really happy with the finished product. Hopefully she will be too.

I'm still reeling from my fabulously 50s Christmas cocktail party on Saturday. I'm currently fantasizing about all things swanky and cool. Most popular drink: Polar Bear Martini with an After Eight straw Bonus feature: Didn't stain my sofa and guests walked away with minty fresh breath Soundtrack for the night: Classics from Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra Don't forget Eartha Kitt ! Must-have decoration: Vintage aluminum Christmas tree The real deal is a little pricey so I made ours out of a bamboo pole, some wood dowels and lots of silver garland.

I was finally able to get my laptop working long enough to upload some pictures. This is my first commissioned painting! A coworker is going to give him to her husband for Christmas. Won't he make a great addition to their music room? As soon as word spread that I had done this one for Anita, orders started coming in. I'm currently working on James Dean, the Beatles, P! nk and Elvis. I hope I can get them all done before I head home for the holidays next week. You can see some of my other records here .

Ottawa is expected to get 30 cm of snow today. from This Old House Naturally, I'm daydreaming about green things growing again. If I ever own a lawn, I'm so going to make a lawn living room set. There's a cool design for a literal lawn chair here . Just think of the possibilities...

I splurged a little on this fabulous Kikkerland timer but I just had to have it. And I thought baking gingerbread cookies couldn't get any better...

I am so in love with this idea. They're so beautiful and so po-mo , I'm itching to try to make one of these. Bulbs Unlimited sells kits and Helen Bilt makes some incredible ones, but it looks like it takes little more than some glue and patience. Oh, and hundreds of old lightbulbs.

If only I had a spare bathtub kicking around... and room to use it as a sofa. Terribly expensive, but oh-so-cool. I can't imagine it would be too hard to do if you had the right tools.

So now that I’ve started to sell some of my paintings, I figure it’s time to do this right. This ought to be a good catch-all to record my progress, collect some cool inspiration and share some of the ideas bouncing around in my head. So far, so good. -Allison