It's a Retro-Robot Christmas!

Sometime in the summer, Maureen got stuck on a retro-robot fix. She found some cute robot merch, and she just kept going on and on about robots-this and robots-that. Well, we decided to use some of that energy to plan and execute a robot family Christmas display.

Luckily, we've got a great resource in Maureen's in-laws. Her father-in-law, Charley, is an automotive and welding genius, and he gave us free reign over his backyard "junk pile." We sketched out some ideas, and picked out some parts, and we were off to the races!

ROB-E2010: His head is a muffler (Charley), springs (REStore), weatherstripping (Lowe's), and old knobs from a stove (REStore). His teeth are connectors (Lowe's). His body is an old propane tank (Charley); his hands are forks and spoons (Rummage Sale). His legs are Heineken mini-kegs (convenience store), and his feet are extra casters Mo had lying around. Total cost: $17.00!

Mamabot: Her head is a colander (rummage sale) and an old Buick hubcap (Charley), with LED lights and a mouth from a Mrs. Potatohead. Her body is a muffler (Charley), with two headlights (REStore) and a computer fan for a belly button. Her arms are old desk lamps we got from a rummage sale. Her "skirt" is an old bell housing (Charley). She's set on an old air filter (Charley), and her tracks are made from 4x4s and rubber mats (Maureen). Total cost: $2.50!

Data (get it? Dada): His head is an old air filter (Charley), with the face of an old car heater/radio (Charley). His hat is an oil cap. His body is an old keg (Brown Distributing), and his legs are truck mufflers (Charley). His hands are clamps I found at Big Lots, and his feet are bread pans (Dollar Store). Total price: $29.00!

With the additional cost of the rope-light tree, some ornaments, the fireplace, and some robot toys for Rob-E to open, the total cost of this display was about $175! (We found the TV for free in someone's garbage on the side of the road. We asked permission and hauled it away, much to their amusement!) Also, BIG THANKS TO STEVE THE UPS GUY for helping us locate Data's keg!

Winter Wonderland

We took a little break in November, and put up a simple display of merchandise, so we could focus on preparing our Christmas/Holiday windows. We decided on two different approaches to the holiday windows. One would be fun and whimsical, the other would be luxurious and glamorous. We decided to call the glamorous window "frenzy's Winter Wonderland."

We were shopping for something totally different, and we came across the brown burnout velvet that makes up the backdrop. We originally had planned to use dark blue velvet, but at $3/yard on clearance, we realized we could make a gorgeous backdrop from the brown velvet. What a bargain! Maureen, of course, sewed the backdrop, and it hangs beautifully!

Maureen had found the dress for the mannequin in October and picked up the mask on Halloween clearance, and we set to imagining a scene around an "ice princess" theme. We bought the Marie Antoinette wig and the small pieces to make her hair distractor. We also began to accumulate snowflake ornaments and large glass crystals from wherever we could find them.

On a trip to the Habitat for Humanity REStore in Mount Vernon, we came across the bumpy glass chandeliers and the frames for the topiaries. We bought them and painted them, which was all that was needed for the chandeliers to look like crystalline ice drops. Kris created the crystal topiary out of firepolished glass beads purchased in bulk from an online seller and chandelier crystal drops found at Farley and Moore, a local antique store. Much thanks to Robin and Maureen for stringing many, many beads on wire so Kris could work on constructing the final topiary!

Maureen wrapped presents like it's her JOB! Aren't they gorgeous? We used presents, deer statues, pedestals, trees, and blocks to display merchandise. All told, this window display cost us close to $700, but we had fun making it, and we're loving having this art installation in our window through December!

Los Dias de los Muertos/PINK!

I can't believe I just jumped right over our early October window displays and jumped right to Halloween! We had a lot of fun making our Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead) window displays. We know they were early (they ran in early October instead of November), but we couldn't wait to get them up. And we HAD to start off the month of October with a Breast-Cancer Awareness window, that we called "PINK!"

There is a LOT of handmade stuff in the Days of the Dead display. Maureen made the blue backdrop, the papel picado, and all of those paper flowers. Maureen also added the ruffles to a basic navy blue skirt, made sleeve extenders to match the skirt, and made the ruffled placard, bow tie, and cummerbund out of fantastic Dia de los Muertos fabric. Kris painted anatomically-correct hand and arm bones on the lady's black elbow-length gloves and made the skull masks from paper mache. The patterns on the masks was done with paint and rubber stamps/ink. From there, it was a matter of acquiring frames and photos, a couple of candelabras, wax fruit, and hats.

The PINK! display was a collection of pink merchandise off the racks. We included a sign in the front window to remind people that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Simple, but effective!