The Warm-Up

He was a referral from Archer and Spade.  It was a skirt case.

There were too many cases of molls that followed some GI and ended up needing some dough and getting caught up with the wrong types.  So they threw those peeper cases to me.

This time the chick found herself working some flophouse and then making a clean sneak after a late shift.  Of course I was in.  Of course I needed to know where to start.

He dropped a napkin on my desk for the Warm-Up: a hole-in-the-wall coffee joint known to cater to Chippys and Punks.  As soon as this Joe left my office I knew he was over his head.  There was always more to the story in this business.

Allez metier!

"So now America, with an open heart and itchy fingers, I say unto you in the words of someone's uncle: Allez meiter!"

I have accepted the thrown gauntlet.  I have joined Iron Craft.

I found out about it after the first round.

For the second round I bit off more than I could chew and I didn't get anything in.  The second round was a draft excluder and when I finish mine, I'll show you.

So now that I have stepped up and joined I realize that I am going to miss some of my deadlines but I have to take everyone of those challenges and let you know what happened.

So here we go...  

Cuppa' Joe

This Dame loved her Joe.
 
She was hooked.  Grandma slid her a creamer cup full as a baby; she hasn’t been able to shake it since.
 
Come Christmas time – the 'fiver' for a fix just seemed too off the cuff.


I wanted to come up with something better, more thoughtful.  Of course that meant hand-made...
 
I’ve been trying to sew more.  It’s not something I’m naturally inclined towards but I’ll be damned if I let that circus trick beat me.  So I took out two birds with one stone: some sewing and a Christmas gift.  
 
I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on a ‘Belly Cheat w/ Mud’.  Here is the print:

  
 
Christmas morning sis slapped that on apron right over her PJ’s.  She's 18 and screwy.
But it saved the threads from the ‘Blonde With Sand’ and it even came in handy servin’ up some ‘Cluck&Grunt’.  


Not a bad deal: Two birds and some tasty grub.   
 
The only thing I did wrong was not getting a shot of this vintage frock all put together but I guess that gives me an excuse for getting another meal out of it...you know for action shots! 
 
 


P.S.~Check out these old diner slang Links:
 
 
http://www.dinerlingo.com/dictionary/a/

http://www.chucklingpigblog.com/diner-lingo-list

Unwrapped...Book 'Em

So with the new year before us--and Christmas safely unwrapped--I can show you some of my projects. Sadly, a few more are still being wrapped up...no pun intended (this time).  I'll show you those as I finish.

When I give kids gifts I usually try to include a book.  Yes, I am THAT person; unabashedly guilty!

This Christmas the book I found for my little cousin Cole shaped the whole gift.  This book is really cute.

My favorite part is that Jake stays black & white in a color story!

So to go with this nursery noir, I made the little guy a 'police academy workout uniform': royal blue sweats and an academy t-shirt.  Here is a close-up of the 'Storyville Police Academy' seal that I drew on the t-shirt.

               

I checked out Police Department seals and realized they often mix in the state emblems so I realized I needed to use the Landmarks of 'Storyville'.  

I really wanted to put the seal on the cobalt blue pants maybe in a yellow or white outline.  In the end I wasn't sure how that would end up looking so I stuck with only decorating the t-shirt.  Besides when it comes to doing stuff for boys--less is more.

Next up: A Cuppa' Joe