Wait what?!

It's New Years Day some how. I have no clue how this happened it kinda snuck up on me. So guess who had no plans for last night? That might have bothered me a few years ago but after the holidays that kicked my ass (in the best way possible) I guess I was looking forward to a not so quiet night home. I'm also looking forward to my usual calendar hunt, and there are so many fun ones on my radar.



Not only does this cutie from Mod Cloth reek of retro goodness it also pairs my love of corn dogs and Carmel apples (never in that order, not since the state fair of 98) and features the cutest version of the two all dolled up and proclaiming their "Careless love".



I also really love this Saffrom Universal art filled planner, from
An Artful Agenda
It features hand-drawn images and lettering on each page. I love the free form that allows you to feel like your writing in a journal that someone has already kindly illustrated for you.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year! May this one be even better.

XOXO-
M.M.

I am so feeling the luv...

I'm pleased as punch to announce that fabric napkins from Moxie Madness were chosen to be featured in Chow.com's Holiday Gift Guide Woot!



Making their debut are the latest design from the shop , The Switchblade Silverware Set. Which started as a joke between Andy and I. I pressed a few for us and decided we might not be the only ones with a little dinner time argo.



I also received some love from one of the sweetest girls on the east coast, my new pal Darcy Danger. She sent me not one but two of the cutest mini notebooks from the The Black Apple.





I have been coveting these lovelies for ages now and after coming clean to DD that I have a collection of journals that I'm scared to "ruin" with my serial killerish handwriting, she sent them my way and I'm SO very grateful. Not only do they have uber cool graphics, but also a sweet little poem on the back about how important it is to fill up your notebooks. Something that I'm slowly learning to do. Thanks for the lesson Darcy and happy Tuesday all!

XOXO-
M.M.

So last night I had some beers

while poking around one of my Nigella cookbooks and found a recipe for hasselback
potatoes, but figured I would improvise with larger potatoes, garlic olive oil and some rosemary.



Now we use ALOT of potatoes here in the land of madness and these are becoming a fast favorite. Not only are they the perfect savory, herb infused fix but they are so dang fun to eat. For serious.



Anyhoo, I recently got my hands on some kick ass rubber stamps recently and decided to use my favorite on these tiny envelopes I acquired for thank yous to include in orders and such. I love this wide eyed cat, it totally reminds me of those old kitty wall clocks where the eyes and tail would tick back and forth. Member those?



In other news, there's a new design in the shop and a few new limited edition styles as well with more to come.

Off to make breakfast for dinner. My ABSOLUTE favorite!!

Tah,
-M.M.

Hip-Hip Hooray...

It's sewing machine day! Well it was yesterday but this post got eaten. But even if your calendar company is like mine and made the foolish mistake not to include this holiday, it's not too late to celebrate.



Although I didn't have any sewing originally planned for today, there's no way I can sit idlely by. Oh and to share the love I'm giving away a nice fat pack of my sewing machine patches to a random commenter on Saturday the 12th, so get to stitching...and commenting! You all can thank the awesome Creative Jar who not only informed me of national sewing machine day but also featured me on her blog and put a bug in my ear to offer a giveaway. She's having two great giveaways herself in honor of this dandy of a day so make sure to check her Blog
out. Good luck lovelies!

X.O. - M.M.

This just in...

Does anyone remember these things? Ahhh...80's technology at it's finest. A friend picked this up for me at a thrift in PA and I adore it. And yes, it still works. That'll teach me to make fun of her and what I thought was her ancient calculator.



There are oodles of new designs and shirt styles available in the shop



The above design "Threads" is part of the Sewing Circle line I mentioned a few posts ago, and is one of my personal favorites.




I found a new supplier that has amazing duds so be expecting something a little out of the ordinary from now on. Here are a few more of the newest styling's.




I especially love this squirrel tunic top with it's slight cowl neck and the heart shaped buttons and all. There is plenty more coming but not before I relax for this long weekend. Surely lazy days are ahead, hope you all have plenty of perfectly lazy moments.

XOXO-
M.M.

The Protector

Just a quick post to show off the newest design in the land of madness "The Protector". My homage to the remarkable art of sewing by hand.



The tunics are now avaliable in the Shop with T-Shirts soon to follow. This is the first design in a new line called "The Sewing Circle". I have a real soft spot for thimbles, they recall memories of my grandma's sewing basket and of her fretting when her tiny protector went missing. This designs for her and I'm oh so fond of it and hope you are too.

Ciao!

-M.M.

I'm a bit of a magazine whore.

There I said it. From over sized glossy fashion rags to tiny hand bound zines, monthly or bi-monthly they arrive to be cherished for the next week or so then set aside to be forgotten, retrieved occasionally for a forgotten article or recipe. While I enjoy them, it feels like such a waste. So with most of my subscriptions coming to a end I've chosen to do without all but my beloveds Croq, Bust and my new favorite Wired (Which at only $10 for a year wasn't a hard choice). Insert clever way to still get my fashioney, crafty, grass roots goodness without the clutter and well the hefty subscription rates. I'm talking about N.E.E.T. of course.



Filled with amazing treasures from indie businesses, dreamy fashions, D.I.Y projects and eye popping photos. Not to mention interesting articles with neet peeps. One thing I really love and find slightly dangerous about this online mag is when you see a uber cute item featured you just click on it and it takes you to the site that sells them. Another online read that I always look forward to is Craftier, a bi-monthly jaunt of tutorials, artist spotlights and up and coming projects and events.



Not to be missed my lovelies. So now that I will have a slightly smaller stack of magazines I've been on the look out for a unique rack to put them in. I've never actually owned a mag rack mainly because I've never been to impressed with the boring bulky builds that I always associate with keeping my rags neat and tidy.



This ditty is a serious contender in my search. I adore the tea pot shape and the good folks at paper doll wood shop Paper Doll Wood Shop just happen to offer this beauty in turquoise. How can I resist? No seriously.

Here's to happy reading and less clutter!

XOXO-
M.M.

It's no secret

That I love to sew. Which is why when a friend came across this insanely cute brooch he knew it would have a good home with me. I've been meaning to share this little ditty for quite awhile actually. I've seen these pins before but never one so detailed. My favorite part is the tiny eye glasses and thimble. Swoon.


Anyhoo, Andy and finally saw Grey Gardens this weekend. It's the riches to rags story of reclusive mother and daughter, Big Edie and Little Edie Beale. The pair shared witty banter, bizarre antics, and a overly dependant relationship in a decaying mansion filled with squalor and cats, lots of cats. The Edie's also happened to be aunt and cousin to first lady Jackie O, which caused quite a stir with the press when photos of their home were released.


The dialogue captured my attention the most as well as the costumes. When Little Edie declares that "one must have the right costume for the day", I was instantly spellbound by these women and their bizarre existence. Seriously worth checking out if you have a soft spot for eccentric characters, as I tend to. Before I sign off on this post I wanted to show off the newest color available in the golden poppy tunics.


I do lots of custom orders for the black and gold and it just occurred to me to offer them in the Shop. Sometimes the obvious escapes me. Happy Tuesday all!

XOXO-
M.M.

Kitchen Threats

I seem to be obsessed with all things kitchen lately, which is why the dinner table just got a little more dangerous. As promised fabric napkins and place mat sets are making their way into the shop, aprons and table runners are soon to follow. Summer has this way of keeping food on my mind at all times, I'm either hungry, scouring for a new recipe to take to get together's or giving my veggies a pep talk so they'll grow faster (You too basil, I want pesto NOW!) Salads are my weakness at the moment so when I found THIS I haven't even thought about buying salad dressing. I'm not even a buttermilk fan but this has changed that, let me tell you.

It would seem that I'm one step closer to the grandma kitchen-ish feel I'm going for now that there's always' buttermilk in the fridge. Just to make sure I finished the mini table runner for my kitchen table from my gram's scraps of feed sack material that I've been hoarding away forever. I've since added trim but couldn't resist snapping these shots before it was officially finished.
Time for me to turn off the food network and get back to work already.

Tah!
-M.M.

Weekend Finds

I found lots of things this weekend, and yes my way back to my blog was one of them. I've had a rather lengthy absence due to newly found lower back issues and well, life in general.
Turns out, nothing gets grand ideas in your head quite like being not being able to do any of said ideas or even move on your own for days on end. This has been the first weekend I was able to do weekendy things like thrifting and flower picking and finally planting my dill and cilantro seedlings and best of all not smelling like minty back ointment. One of the most noteworthy of finds this weekend has to the Anscovision memory master 8mm projector that we found at a new thrift store down the street for $5! Note the tags are still on it. I love the sound this baby makes, I swear it pur's.
I image this is how the men folk must feel when they hear a vintage car revving up. Ang and I are going to have lots of fun with this. Not only is it an excuse to pick up that Super 8 camera I've been eyeing (all I needed was a reason) but Ang has already found some old horror movie reels for projecting on walls when such a need arises. I also found a new love for cloth napkins and have been sewing more then the two of us could ever use, so a few printed pairs may be coming to the shop soon. You no doubt will hear more of this later, consider yourselves forewarned.

XOXO-
M.M.

And the winner is....Fatally Cute!

Congrats! Thanks to all who participated in my first little giveaway. I had a lot of fun and met some new peeps (hi Tara!) and I see why people do these giveaways so often. I'm planning on doing more soon so be on the look out.

XOXO-
M.M.

Ahem....

I'd like to announce my first ever give away! I've put together a nice fat patch pack along with a few mix tape note cards for the lucky winner.
I'll be picking the winners on Tuesday, March 10th and will contact and post the winner by Wedsday. All you have to do is leave a comment and don't forget to include your email addy so I can reach you if you win.

"Mega Patch Pack" includes....
*2- Large Back Patches
*3- Felt Mix tape Patches
*3- Mix tape Gift Tags

Good luck lovelies!


- M.M.

Because the last thing I need...

Is yet another coffee mug. Despite the fact that I'm that girl who religiously drinks her coffee or tea from the same mug everyday, I've acquired quite a collection of awesome coffee mugs. When my favorite cup breaks (cause when your uber clumsy like me you know they're gonna) I choose a new favorite from my collection and the saga continues. Even if I hadn't broke my coffee cup this morning I'd still want these babies sitting on my shelf.

The Pessimist's Mug is perfect when I'm in my negative Nadine coffee swigging moods.

THIS baby is the winner and will soon be residing on my kitchen shelf awaiting the next mug's demise. How could I say no to such a tough cup of joe (please excuse the lame rhyme)

I also came across this design of a zoom lens and thought it was pretty fun and kinda wished it were available.


Just wanted to show off my fun finds and give my blog some love as I've been quite bad about it lately. There are new 2 color designs coming to the shop as soon has I can get some decent pictures. Happy Tuesday all!

Drink lot's o coffee!!! Unless you don't wanna.

XOXO
-M.M.

Egads!

What a whirlwind the holidays and this new year have been so far. It feels like I've barely blinked my eyes and a whole month has somehow disappeared! So in a desperate urge to get back on track, I've taken to looking for my own studio space that is not in my home. As much as I love working from home, there are just too many distractions, not to mention the "officialness" factor of having a headquarters for my next phase of world domination. I've started the studio hunt, looking for something close to home and most importantly something I can afford and seem to have found some promising spaces within a old school that's only a block away from my house. More details in the next month or so, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm also keeping my eye's on these lovely moss terrarium's by Made by Mavis
They envoke such a curiosity with me and since I've never been known to have the greenest thumb, the easy care is just a bonus. I really love this one in the ball jar.


Happy Tuesday all!

- M.M.