Masks As "Art"....?

Once upon a time there were thousands of little children in America poised on the brink of Halloween and searching for the perfect costume. A costume that said "I am cool. I am hip. I have little to no taste. I don't breathe through my mouth."

These children begged and pleaded with their parents for this super-hot character costume trend. Prepackaged and designed by Ben Cooper or Collegeville, I may be dating myself by admitting that I was one of those kids. I believe that I was Wonder Woman one year. Another year, a princess. And, dang, that Miss America mask looks awfully familiar.....

As a tribute to Halloween I thought I would post the awesome decorating potential of these possibly lead-based paint masks. Hung on the wall in a collage they could be fantastic! Funky, retro, nostalgic and just plain creepy. If
you have a taste for the odd, or a yen for large smiles and empty eyesockets check out http://www.ebay.com/ and search Ben Cooper or Collegeville to bring up a plethora of the good, the bad, and the fugly!

My passion? Superheroes. I found these lovelies on Ebay and am considering a purchase. Also spotted: Batman and Wolverine. How cool is that??












Is it just me or is Spiderwoman BUTT UGLY?? GAD!! The mouth paint doesn't even fall on the lip creases! LOL! All the better!!











Some more fun styles I found: Beatnick Man and Woman. Too adorable!















The ubiquitous Miss America..very white and very blonde.


















Listed as "Oriental Dancer" (!) the Geisha-esque is one of the more artistic examples.



















Great ones here: Scary tomato (wtf?) and black cat.

And who can resist the juxtaposition of Chuck Norris and Alfred E. Neuman????

For more Ben Cooper/Collegeville fun check out http://retrocrush.buzznet.com/costumes/
for a selection of more obscure and hilarious examples.

So come on, 'fess up....what plastic mask did you wear??

Global Responsibility

I want to take a minute to talk about Ten Thousand Villages.

"At Ten Thousand Villages, we work with over 100 artisan groups in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to bring you fair trade jewelry, home decor, gifts and more. As one of the world's oldest and largest fair trade organizations, we build long-term relationships with artisans that are based on mutual understanding and respect.
Fair trade enables artisans to earn a fair wage and provides the opportunity for a better quality of life."

The bonus for the consumer is that these beautifully crafted pieces are very reasonable price wise. You know that I am always looking for inexpensive ways to make my home pretty, and by purchasing items from Ten Thousand Villages I know that my money means something...not just to some anonymous corporation that would rather exploit the foreign artisan.

And now, for your viewing pleasure:

And like many of you, I am a SUCKER for trees!!

Items are:

Wooden Giraffe (Kenya) $14.00

Mother and Child Sculpture (Kenya) $28.00

Tree of Life Box (Vietnam) $38.00

Animal and Flower Pillow (India) $28.00 Can you BELIEVE that???

Tree Of Life Bedcover (India) $110.00

Tree Of Life Jute Wall Hanging (India) $68.00

Chulucanas Vase (Peru) $38.00

(And if anyone can clue me in as to how to put my tags directly under my photos without using the html I would sooo appreciate it!!)

Eugenio Recuenco Makes Me Swoon!

Oh boy, oh boy! I scored big time! I just won a Lavazza Coffee 2007 calender featuring the amazingly beautiful photography of Eugenio Recuenco. The calender is The Incredible with these fun scenes of the superwomen doing their day's work....with a cup of Lavazza coffee of course.













Below are some examples of the hauntingly gorgeous art-photography that is Eugenio Recuenco. I urge you to visit his website and be knocked off your feet. You will most definitely want to see these photos full sized.

Cool Things On Craigslist - Boston/Hartford

Being wrapped up in the AT Home Cure I have neglected to post. To be perfectly honest I feel so ashamed that I have the nerve to write a design blog when my own house looks like total CRAP. Oh well, I am working on it, aren't I?? (Defensive, aren't I?)

So as usual I was poking around Craigslist Listpic and there is nothing good in the Vermont and New Hampshire area so I branch out to Boston and Hartford, CT areas. Found some cool things, too. Since I won't be getting Mr. DesignAnxiety to drive 3 hours for one fab piece I may as well share the wealth for those of you who are a bit closer.

Great original bar stools! Three for $90.

Cool vinyl chairs...free!

C&B Laminate table .. $40.

Metal doctor's cabinet .. $80.

Table (w/leaf) and four leather chairs...$85.

Why, oh why, don't they make tv's like this anymore?

1960 GE B/W TV WORKS!! ... $95.

Addam's Family Chic

Inspired originally by the photography of Douglas Little in Grown Up Goth, I thought a creepy and kookey post would be in order.

Although, personally I wouldn't completely goth up my living abode, I do enjoy the tongue-in-cheek cemetery chic (I just coined that phrase!) that the Addams Family embodies. Why not add a dark touch to your room...a skull and crossbones, some black lace or an onyx drop chandelier. Some more ideas (budget as always) are below:

And wouldn't you just LOVE a sign that says "Beware Of The Thing"?? I certainly would. With four kids, three dogs and three cats it wouldn't be entirely inacurate. :)

For fun check out Gothic Martha Stewart, a website devoted to creeping out your pad.

Photos are (in order):

Addams Family Movie
Doug Little Photograph
Pillow - Resist Today
Mirror w/sconce - Urban Outfitters
Lace pattern curtains - UO
Skull and Crossbones stencil - Stencil 1 Graffiti
Frankenstein stencil - Stencil 1 Graffiti
"Toxic" goblets - UO
Black chandelier - UO
Manbat art print - Resist Today
Black picture frame - Well Dressed Home
Fishbone soapdish - WDH
Doug Little Photograph
Black roses candle holder - UO
Addams Family TV series

Palest Blue, Red, Black and White

I found this delightful picture on MidcenturyJo's Flickr set "Color Scheme Ideas". She describes it as her "latest color passion" and I have to agree. This pale blue with the bold red makes me drool. I would love to do this somewhere in my house but where?? My bedroom maybe?? What would you think of a bedcover in my favorite Urban Outfitter's spread: Flowering Branch or a plain white Matelasse with pale blue sheets. Mmmm. Like sleeping in the sky!

Well, since one of my favorite things to do is copy a look on the cheap, here is a super-budget-friendly way to get a similar look to the picture above.

1. A simple Ikea Tullsta chair in bright red would look sweet in a pale blue room.

It isn't quite as bright as the original but at $99.00 it would be hard to find too much fault.

I would pair it with this fantastic red coral pillow from Amazon.com which is adorable and a steal at $20.99. Too pretty! (and for some reason I can't upload the photo so click the link and enjoy!)

Then again if you prefer a shinier, bolder chair, you can pick up this cute slipper chair for $180.00 although it is a bit 'orange' toned for me. (and not all that cheap for an occassional chair, IMO) Again UO.

For the walls, Ikea will sell you the Fjallasta black, matted picture frame for $19.99 which will nicely contain (with perhaps a bit of creative trimming) the Red Coral 1, 2, 3 and 4 prints from AllPosters.com, each are only $17.99 unframed.

I have to admit, even if it is trendy or "so last year" I just love the look of red coral. I love trees and branches so coral gives you the same look but in red. So sparse and lovely.

Now the blue vase on the floor of the picture turns out to be the trickiest bit of all. To find a pale blue glass vase of that size you are going to pay some big bucks unless you find one at a thrift store, ebay (like the 25" example to the right) or someplace like TJMaxx. I can't see spending 200 bucks on a vase that one of the dogs or one of the kids will knock over. I mean, come ON!!

Anyone have any suggestions? What could take the place of that gorgeous vase for people who have REAL LIVES?? Let's here it.