Random Ad Lines

Vintage The New Yorker Magazine OOAK Fridge Magnets

Random bits from vintage The New Yorker Magazines that by all rights I should have thrown away years ago after suffering water damage causing foxing and bleeding. But I just can't throw anything away! So I started making these magnets from the good bits last Christmas for stocking stuffers and they were a big hit. Then of course I just had to start making them for my shop. They are, as I said, original bits from ads and text so no two will be alike. They are fun and great conversation starter and party favors! 

Random Ad Lines Magnets

I love making these magnets. I get to enjoy the old New Yorker Magazines again. I have spent many many hours in my life flipping through these. Even before I could read I would look at all the cartoons The New Yorker is famous for. My education in social history begun when I would have to have my father explain the cartoons to me. You had to know what was going on in the 20s 30s 40s to get the joke. Now I get to turn bits of them that would have ended in the trash into cool little magnets!

Each set is, of course OOAK (One of a kind). I did some grouping of like subjects but with variety. The New Yorker was from the very first the epitome of cosmopolitan sophistication. Sophisticated humor was an aim of the founders, Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant. The New Yorker evolved into a magazine that featured the most renowned writers and journalist of their times. And the ads, the ads were from the elite companies catering to the elite New Yorkers! Fashion, Liquors, Home Deco, World Travel, the Theatre the Night Life and oh yes the Cuisine!

And through out the magazine the best illustrators, humanist, and artist scattered their best works. The New Yorker Magazine even gave us a catalogue of all the art and entertainment weekly available in New York. "Goings On About Town, A Conscientious Calendar of Events of Interest". Boy how interesting to see whose art was showing in the galleries at the same time what was a hit on Broadway!

Goings on About Town Magnets

I guess you can tell I have a life long love of the New Yorker Magazine. Can't say I read most of the articles but I can tell you my love of vintage advertisements and ad art started with the New Yorker. 

 And how can I end without speaking of the forever famous New Yorker Magazine Covers. My favorite, I think, is Mary Petty and her Peabody family. Arnold Hall, Perry Barlow.....I could never name them all. But I love them all!

The New Yorker Magazine Cover Mary Petty

And to close:
To my father, the man who purchased all The New Yorker Magazines from the first one till the last published before his death, thanks. To all the people who have been part of The New Yorker Magazines, thanks.

   

New Business Card Holders

Quick Stop To Introduce My Newest

Business Card Case Bicycle for Two 

Business Card Case Retro Orange and Purple Flowers

The Ultimate Control Freaks Power Grab

You can find on pretty much any forum, news source, news opinion source, social media platform many grievances against our Government! Against our national government, or our local and state governments. No matter what your political or social beliefs and agendas are almost everyone has a beef with “government”! I have a beef with our government. Many beefs!

But one of my biggest even though it is one of the most minor beefs, is our government plain flat screwing up our lives twice, yes twice a year! So idiotic is this manipulation I tend to believe it is malicious.  Government’s cruel joke.  The ultimate control freak’s power grab. The control of time. My time and your time.  Day time and night time. Daylight Saving Time.

Someone needs to tell those fools that eight o’clock is eight o’clock. Not sometimes seven o’clock or sometimes nine o’clock. It’s just eight o’clock. It’s like telling me you are cutting government spending when you are really spending more just calling it less.

I’m not going to fall for these lies and manipulations of the true anymore. I revolt! I am not changing even one single clock!

And I am going to make sure the rest of my life I do not vote for anyone who has shown they believe they can manipulate me into believing eight o’clock is seven o’clock or that spending more is really spending less!

I Have Realized That After Living Alone For Three Years Now

Many of my habits have changed

Many I would never mention! But one I noticed this morning that I had not consciously acknowledged to myself before has to do with my morning coffee. I admit my morning coffee habits are not very interesting. I make the coffee when I first get up before I plant myself in front of the computer. Usually downing my first cup reading my emails.  Then its back to the kitchen and here mornings do vary. I might realize it's time for my medicine or I might realize it time to feed the 4-leggens (i.e. the cats and dogs). So I move to the bedroom, I move to the cat room, I here and there. I go outside. I come inside. I carry around buckets of water. Sometime I answer the phone so early. And of course during all this I must have another cup of coffee! 

Maybe I should explain a bit about myself. Well only this relevant bit. I don't see very well. I only see with one eye. And that eye doesn't have much peripheral vision and I have been told has macular degeneration. Just in case you are thinking doesn't that mean...yes it does mean. I have very narrow vision and the center of that narrow vision is kind of blank.

You probably know where I am going with this to the point you have all ready guessed that I have lost, misplaced my coffee cup. Yet before I get breakfast or start making my orders I need more of coffee! I used to go back walking through the house scanning for my cup but I rarely ever found it. Just not having the time to scour with my limited vision every inch of every rooms. I stopped trying and started grabbing another cup. It was not that worrying. Sometime during the day I would see the lost cup and carry it back to the kitchen. More dirty dishes. Who cares. I live alone so no one even knows.

Well I started simplifying life and at night when I washed the dishes I put the TWO coffee cups over by the coffee maker. Ready for my morning coffee! Never thought much about it again. Till this morning. This morning I realized there were THREE coffee cups over by the coffee maker!  One for each cup of coffee I was going to drink this morning. So did I recently start drinking three cups of coffee instead of two or did I always drink three cups but now I lose the second cup therefore needing a third coffee cup?

Oh who cares and thank goodness I live alone! No one is saying something like "What's this?" and no one is grabbing one of my coffee cups!

Today I Saw...

Oh my goodness! I never click on internet ads but I almost did! Out of the corner of my eye I saw something that quickened my heart rate. I thought I was looking at a spray bottle of Tabasco! WOW! I was so excited! Yes Yes! Then I notice the spray bottle sure looked a lot like Febreze's bottles. Then the big big disappointment. I won't be able to spray my pulled pork with Tabasco anytime soon it seems..........Wait I can buy empty spray bottles! Yes got to get to the store!

New Twist On An Old Item

Dictionary Book Page Giclee Prints

I have been selling Dictionary Book Page Collages on Etsy since 2010 but recently had a customer who wanted to string hers across her window like a banner or bunting but the printing on the back side of the book page could be seen when the light shown through and ruined the image.  

Of course I had to come up with a solution. And not only did I come up with a solution but I made the decision to make this solution available to others. 

I had been wondering if maybe I should branch out on eBay and list more than the select few Dishwasher Magnets I have been listing there for a good while.  I sold extensively on eBay before I went to Etsy in 2006 about a year after they opened.  And with all the changes at Etsy and the sudden crash in sales that happens with no known reason I had gotten that nervous twitch that come from having all my eggs in one basket! Or most of my eggs at least. So I found myself thinking maybe I'll try a couple of these new dictionary book page prints. 

These are not the same as what I sell on Etsy. On Etsy the picture is printed on an original dictionary page for the customer. These are images of those collages that are printed on medium heavy card sock. These look wonderful strung across the window or above the couch. They are, unlike the book page collages, sturdy enough to hold up and not tear up. And there is not any back print to clutter the image when lit from behind.  Also I was able to adjust sizing so ready made mats and frames will work with ease. 

And another little perk. They can be purchased on a slightly vintage motley color cardstock or purchased on white cardstock giving you a glorious black and white piece of artwork.

Dictionary Book Page Giclee Print Bears by Txalteredart 

Call Me Optimistic

Not that anyone who has ever known me would, but I am betting a quarter pound of Butter that the hot hot hot of summer is over. I put the quarter pound of Butter in my butter dish that sits on my kitchen counter. Last time I did that I found the dish swimming in the butter that was melted all over the counter.  That was about the end of June. My butter has had to stay in the fridge since then cold and hard as, well as hard as cold butter. It might be great for making biscuits. But who the heck wants to make biscuits in a kitchen that is so hot it melts your butter!

Of Course I Love These New Business Card/Credit Card Cases!

Tropical Floweres Business Card Credit Card Holder

 

 Early Morn Business Credit Card Case

Batik Business Credit Card Case

More of the Story This Coming Week End

Just enough time to show off my listings!

My Alteredart on Etsy

and here my Mini Night Light Boxes all lite up

Couldn't get the flickering to show of course but they are really so so cute!

Mini Night Light Boxes

I never thought there would be so many little problems pop up!

I had decided I would start off with just a few Christmas themed mini light boxes. 

Early on after I had been left with a couple of unsuccessful holiday product lines, I swore off sinking any time or resources into such time limited products. But the idea of these cute little light boxes adding just a bit of Christmas cheer was more than I could resist.

I designed three that would go very well together. Matter of fact a trio always linked at Christmas. 

I have stated before and do state often, I can not design anything on paper and have it work out as I wanted. Or work out at all. So my creating is often a long process (and my favorite part of the process). I have to make something to find all the problems. Too be able to see what I need to adjust. To see what won't work. And to see what does work! 

Well I needed to add a bit wider border here and the flap was just too short there and that fabric just did not look good. 

Those were easily conquered. But the next three were not so easy. 

Number one, I ran out of stiff enough chipboard. I live in a area with very little shopping options so my first impulse was to check online. After all how much could chipboard cost. Cost was not the only problem I ran right into. Weight of chipboard was a total mystery to me. Online I could not touch to see if it was strong enough but not too stiff to cut and fold. I found lots of light weight, medium weight, and thick rigid chipboard. What is .022 or 22 pt? How different is .030 from .022? Online was not going to work till I had answers!

Since I don't have money or a good enough car to go wandering around West Texas hitting the larger towns that have shopping options galore, I went to Brownwood. I went to every place I could think of in Brownwood. I found no .022 chipboard, nor .030, nor thick rigid for sale.  I came home dejected. I stopped even thinking about my cute little mini night light boxes. 

But ha ha! What popped into my mind? My Stay Flat mailers I had purchased from Uline. They would be perfect. And cheap but I found out there was a lot of waste. And if I used them all up what would I ship my Dictionary Book Page Prints or Vintage New Yorker Magazine Covers in?  Bet you are ahead of me. A simple check of my invoice to get the item number and off to Uline online to see their description. I now know what .028 chipboard is and that it is perfect. 

This is the first of the three hurdle. Later on the next hurdle.

Back To An Old Favorite Of Mine

Button Earrings

I just got distracted when I was suppose to be cleaning and organizing my work room. And I love buttons! I love button earrings! (button magnets too you can see them in my shop) So I made a few. Some are fabric covered buttons and some are just buttons. 

Check them out. Even if you are not into wearing button earrings. They are so cute you really should look. And your looking will help me fell better about getting so distracted and still having a messy unorganized work room!

Button Earrings by Txalteredart

It's Almost Halloween!

And I found this wonderful vintage art work from an old children's book that for me is just perfect. Had to collage it with a Halloweeny background, add a bit of flame to the pumpkin and Voila! My new Halloween Magnet!

Halloween Cat and Pumpkin Magnet

She looks a bit surprised that she is sitting there with a 

pumpkin!

Mixed Media Scenes 

Altered Diorama Ornament Shadow Box 

Deer Fawn Grazing in the woods

Ornament

Mixed Media Little Scenes 

My Next  Creations

I love doing sneak peeks!

A Bit of Bragging

So Far The Favorite 

Vintage Image Night Light Box is...

 

 

Playing at Cowboys and Cowgirl

You might think that maybe these people are cowboys and cowgirl. It's a vintage photo. Maybe they are cowboys and a cowgirl totally decked out in their fancy duds. At the time this picture was taken there were many a cowboy and cowgirl living that life. Uh but no. Not only was this taken at one of those photo booths with the fake backgrounds popular at that time at fairs and holiday destinations that supplied "costumes", but if you remember I said they are family photos. Take my word for it. They are playing at cowboys and cowgirl.

Finally Design Complete Photos Good Enough

and 

My Vintage Photo Light Boxes 

are for Sale!

The leap over the last hurdle was yesterday when, after trying this and trying that, I got listing pictures that I think are OK. Pictures are not, shall we say, easy for me. Most of my items are listed with either digital image or scanned images. I'm just not good at photos. Never the right place. Never the right light.

And to boot I had the "new" phone. Like many my phone is my only camera now. The new phone had to charge up. Then had to download all the new updates. Then had to be charge up again. Then it wanted to do more updates! Not only that it is a replacement Galaxy 5. You would think it would be just like my broken Galaxy 5. But no. I have spent two days trying to figure it out. Still baffled. Enough rant about smart phones!

Back to my new items!

Sisters Night Light Box

 Love this image of sisters from early 1900s. You might not be able to see that they are both barefooted. But they have their big beautiful bows in their hair!

Long Tiring Week

But I had a great idea

I was away from home for the best part of this week. Down at our other place we were having problems. AC not cooling in 100 degree weather and our aerobic septic systems pump stopped working. In the mist of trying to get these fixed my phone died! 

(I felt naked without my phone)

But at some point I had an idea for a new Dishwasher Clean Dirty Flip Magnet! 

Subway Tiles

I would love subway tiles in my kitchen and bath. But that is not to be. I do now have a Subway Tile Clean Dirty Dishwasher Magnet!

Txalteredart Subway Tile Clean Dirty Dishwasher Magnet

Subway Tile Dishwasher Magnet 

two sided flip sign

Hard at Work Developing My Designs and Construction

Vintage Image Night Light Boxes 

Maybe you can tell from this picture there are differences in construction. It is a process and I have never been able to take my idea and get it right the first time! Just like when I want to rearrange the furniture I can't "see" it till I drag everything around, get it all spaced just so and then I know oh yes or oh no! But I believe the process is just about completed.

 I had a frustrating day yesterday and had to walk away from the whole mess. But this morning when I was cleaning my work space so I could make my orders of Dishwasher Magnets and Pill Cases my mind made a brake through. Unfortunately I don't know when I will be able to work on them again.  Hope to get some blanks made up tomorrow but I may have to wait till my monthly trip is completed next week. After that it is full steam ahead and on to Christmas!

(and I can't forget the next product line I have bubbling in my head needs to be ready before November too!)

Just a moment to vent!

The last 5 items I have searched the internet for I have not been able to find. I know they are out there. They are not strange unusual items. I can see on Etsy or Pinterest that others have found them. Why can't I?  I use DuckDuckGo for all initial searches (unless I am needing a map). If that fails I try Yahoo then Bing and lastly Google. What I find amazing is that the first pages of all the searches are almost exactly alike. And that at least half of the results are not even related to my query. You always hear that once it's on the internet it never goes away. It may not go away, but I sure can't find it!

And Now You Can Purchase

My Newly Revamped Original Clean Dirty Dishwasher Designs

Blonde

Sweet

Nightmare