Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Another funky findz CASALUPE on etsy


















I love bracelets and simply adore this creative
masterpiece from Casalupe another recycled artist!!!
charming.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Found this FUNKY CANDY recipe, make you own Taffy


MAKE YOUR OWN SALT WATER TAFFY!!
The old fahioned way

Recently in my mini trip to a
much beloved land in Branson
Missouri I came across this
recipe in
Silver Dollar City
where salt water taffy abounds.
I love it and so do my children.


• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons glycerin *
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 to 1 teaspoon flavoring (such as vanilla, lemon, maple, or mint)
• a few drops food coloring (optional)

Mix together sugar and cornstarch in the saucepan.
Use a wooden spoon to stir in the corn syrup, glycerin,
water, butter, and salt. Place the saucepan over medium
heat and stir until the sugar dissolves Continue stirring
until mixture begins to boil, then let cook, undisturbed,
until it reaches about 270° F. Yes you need to buy a candy
thermometer if you don't have
one, but it is worth the investment.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add food
coloring and flavoring. Stir gently, pour onto a greased slab or
into a shallow greased cookie sheet to cool.

When the taffy is cool enough to handle, grease your hands
with butter and pull the taffy until it's light in color
and has a satiny gloss. Now is the time to bring in your kids
or a cherished freind, your will need the help. PULLING THE TAFFY!**

Roll the pulled taffy into a long rope, about 1/2 inch in diameter,
and cut it with greased scissors or a butter knife into
1-inch-long pieces. Let the pieces sit for about
half an hour before wrapping them in wax paper
or plastic wrap and twisting the ends of the wrapper.

*Glycerin is a sweet, slippery, colorless liquid that's
made from fats and oils and is most often a by-product
of the soapmaking process. It's used in many soaps and
cosmetic products, cake icing, as a lubricant, and to make
nitroglycerin—an ingredient in dynamite! (Note: glycerin
itself is not an explosive substance, so it’s safe to use
in your kitchen!) In this taffy recipe, glycerin helps
give the candy a soft, creamy consistency.

Glycerin can be found in many drugstores, as well as some
supermarkets and craft stores in the baking supplies section,
or in cake-decorating stores. Be sure to purchase food-grade
glycerin. (From the science of cooking)

**The final important step in making taffy is pulling it:
Stretching it out and folding it in half, then stretching
and folding again, over and over, until you may reach the
point of exhaustion. Really it is true. But dont give up.

Good exercise—but what does it do for the candy?
As it turns out, pulling taffy aerates it,
or incorporates many tiny air bubbles throughout
the candy. This makes it lighter and chewier.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

This months Funky FINDZ-Funky Luke, kindred soul


Funky Findz found artist Funky Luke ...SPIRITUAL,COUSCIOUS... ART FOR YOUR HEART AND SOUL

This is a blog of an artist that I simply have fallen in love with. She is a fellow recycled artist and goes by "Funky Luke". I feel that we are kindred souls. She lives in Florida, any one who knows me, knows of my yearly journey to Florida, The Keys, OK... Key West , my second home or my home away form home.

Her store name on etsy is Funky Luke and her art is nothing sort of FUNKABOLOUS!!! Please Check out her art. It is filled with color, whimsy and humor. She makes prints from her original paintings and also sells these images on Zazzle.com which are place on coffee mugs, tea shirts or aprons.




When I first saw a picture of Funky Luke , I picked up on her wild and carefree heart. Which is made clear on her fun and colorful blog you will find plenty joyful images such as the VW bus with "Old Hippie" plenty of peace sings and crazy sayings like " You say Diva like its a bad thing" , "Crafts not War" or " Don't Assume I cook." She ships her creations out with "good karma" and is a member of Greenwalla, a green social network community.


why did Funky Findz & Designs LLc close its downtown loction?

Funky Findz & Designs LLC closed its downtown Wausau two store
locations on Jan 9 2009. Factors such as a poor location,
( downtown in its entirety) massive and rampant theft, a fast
approaching recession , and finely, a ever increasing unreliable,
untrustworthy staff, and demanding consignees, were weighed in the
difficult decision.

After surfing the web and in google, I
typed in "Funky Findz". I was amazed at what I all found.
It is what has motivated me to tell my story. On one
hand, I was pleased to see all my hard work has
begun to pay off, our on line store etsy site is
listed right on top, along with my and Funky Findz my space,
face book, twitter etc. But I was stunned by some of
the other links I discovered.

One that really stands out, was a posting from someone who
never had a monetary amount vested and minimal sweat
equity to measure, who really had no interest in the business,
who claimed that they were a partner. They were not. Her post
reads "I'm famous"...This individual came in like a tornado,
exciting from a distance but deadly on impact. She is an idea
person, who flooded the room with "I can and will do that, you
can count on me"...making believers of the greatest septic, myself.
I found myself disappointed and holding the bag for their
pet project. She started something that left the business
exposed negatively, if not completed. She would periodically
disappear , no phone call, no way to get ahold of her, no
idea what had happened to them. She left as quickly as she
came in. This type of individual is dangerous to any hard
working entrepreneur. I can only fault myself however.

Then there was the post I found from a news source that did not
understand why Funky Findz left downtown, when Goodwill and other
thrift stores ( one that was mentioned has since closed.) were
doing just fine. Vintage, they thougth, was alive and well. They
obviously never were in the vintage Boutique, for to compare it to
Goodwill, is absurd. One is a major corporation, remember that
all their inventory is gifted to them. They have no inventory cost
other than storage. This was compared to myself, a mother of four ,
who purchased or consigned all the inventory for sale. To make this
comparison is irresponsible journalism at best.

And lastly, there is the issue of the business partner, the real one ,
she ran out of town,leaving behind unpaid bills and her business,
to chase a man. This bartender/pseudo mother/con and in my
estimation certifiable social path , devastated the true
potential of the business . She left no forwarding address,
demanded payment of an absurd amount, knowing that to pay
this amount would crush not only the business but my family
personally. This blog story is title "The SHE devil who knew HOWE"
a play on words of her first and last name. As it is public
record who Funky Findz LLC members are, I see no use in
withholding her name...Shelia Howe. In this blog I will
relate my story of my experiences with this self centered
"she devil". Am I a women scorned? You bet.

that has hit.( Thank God we left before it really hit)
and then there is the continuing debatable topic of the downtown venue as a viable location for a successful business. It is not. Take a
look at the empyty stores.

I have never addressed these issues publicly. I have
wrestled with them on my own. In many cases licking my wounds
and finding sollice in the world that the Internet has provided
for me. For here, I can not have my merchandise stolen from me
by people whom I have given an opportunity , by those who pretend
to be my friend, while behind my back, they stuff merchandise in
there purse or hand it out the door to their friends. Yes this
went on. Check the police reports of the theft issues Funky Findz
suffered. The Police never did nor could do a thing.

After my google investigation , and the perpetual insitiance on
original content and not spamming ( advertising?) in ones blog,
I deduced OK, here it is . My story about Funky Findz.

So, this is the first post of a series that will deal with the whys,
all the brutal truths. I know that many other business
owners have suffered similar fates and who can empathize
with what befell me. And for those who are just downright curious.

A little savings from funky findz on line

Visit Funkyfindzonline's Studio
SAVE $ 10.00 On Items between: $20.00 and $25.00
Use Coupon Code:
B4728F42C8-D65EB06B17
during checkout.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

A funky free way to post your art. Have you heard of Twittgoo ?

Twitgoo. Have you even heard of it yet? I have enjoyed this ,
I use it to post my art , not silly images of what I had for
dinner or pictures of my back yard. Here is the home
link http://twitgoo.com/ If you have a twitter account
it will post right away to your site. If others on twitgoo,
like your images, they will "retweet" or RT, them, on
their site and on yours. It is just another FREE venue
for getting your work out there and being seen. It is
far better than sitting in your studio or wherever it
is stored. I am referring to your art, not you, the artist.
We want people to veiw our work, or at least we should.
Ohterwise, isnt it just self indulgence?

Let me know what you think of this venue. I gave you
the home link, here is 'mygoo' if you are interested
http://twitgoo.com/u/Funkyfindz it shows how many views
you have received and how many times you have been RT or
retweeted. Just sharing what I have learned in
my internet journey.

Thank you Catherine Reinke

Shareing art from the members of United Artists, 23 members strong!


Find more photos like this on United Artists

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Saturday, May 9, 2009

So sad to live in the days of blue jeans and tennis shoes. watch this and lament.Where has our Funky fashion gone?



These wonderful gowns are some of the finest I have ever seen.
I have often lamented how women have lost so much pride
when it comes to how they present themselves. Few bother to even put
on a dress when they go out to dinner , to church,
or even to the theater.

Granted this does not hold true in the bigger cities,
where, thankfully women hold a competitive edge with one
another in how they present themselves.
I moved to Wausau, from Milwaukee and will never forget
the culture shock when my family and myself were completely
overdressed the first time we went to
the civic center for a play. We sere out of place,
we stuck out like sore thumbs. Well I was dress Funky, admittedly,
but with a touch of class. S.o I like to think

In the bigger cities, one tends to dress when they go the theater.
Not so in Wausau Wisconisn, it was blue jeans, tennis shoes and tea
shirts. The majority mind you, not all.

So for those of you who deep down wish to dress bit more
extreme, maybe even Funky...do so. You will feel better about
your self, bright color influences our emotions, and make a
statement. And encourage others to do so too.

ki897hqyb2

Friday, May 1, 2009

Another example of the Funky and creative work of C.Reinke

The collage artist C. Reinke considers herself
both a Funky collage and recycled artist. Dumpster diving
is imperative to her work. Taking items that others have simply
thrown away, because they lost there value somehow:
it went out of fashion, got dirty,or they simply grew tired of
it and out to the trash it goes. Reinke believes that our
society far to often treats individuals similarly. Nothing
nor anybody should ever lose its value, not in Reinkes eyes,
neither people or what others call junk. Reinke has a passion
for old chairs and suitcases and bringing them back to life.

Here she takes a 1960's hairdryer
that still works and collage it with vintage newspapers
and handmade papers and trims. This is a delightful and Funky piece
for anyone who owns a hair saloon. For sale for only $65.00.
See more of this item at



The wonderful Funky recyled bikes of Catherine Reinke






Collage artist Catherine Reinke takes old vintage bikes,
many found in junk yards and re purposes them into fun,
funky fantasy. Many of her bikes are the classic shwinn or Huffy.

When Reinke was in Key West Florida, this concept was not new
to the local "conchs". They have been taking their bikes and
making them individual by painting them because of the high
rate of bike theft was such a problem. This was reported to
Reinke by a reliable source.

It is easy to spot a crazy colored painted bike as your own, Reinke
however, took it one step farther by applying glitter, jewels, papers,
trim and fur seats.

There is nothing on this earth better than riding one of
these Funky bikes in the warm Florida sunshine, palm trees sighing
freedom.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

RARE SHOES RARE SHOES are Funky!

Click on each picture to see a quality enlargement.
I had to share these with you for in all my years
of collecting, I've never come across anything
like these. I only seen shoes like these
at the museum. They are tiny and narrow and
I wonder who wore them over one hundred years ago.









Highly collectible antique museum quality
shoes form as early as the mid 1800's.
Look at the "witches' shoe, or bridal shoe,
high quality silk and glass beads with a
lovely star on each toe.
These are one of my personal favorites.

They are so well made that they are really works of art.
The leather soles, the tiny nails, the softness of the
leather, I have never felt any as soft as some
of these shoes.

here is a small sampling of our many quality vintage hats

Double click on each picture for a quality enlargement.








SPECIAL SALE on Vintage Hats $20.00 each when you purchase five or more.

A white Floral spring necklce



WE have a large selection of prime vintage jewelry, ranging from 1950's plastics, glitter Lucite,fabulous enamels, (like this piece) rhinestone, Bakelite and more.

NECKLACES BRACELETS EARRINGS (clip-ons)

Funky cool phone still works...yummy






This vintage phone was with created with candy wrappers
and hand made papers by C. Reinke. and yes, it works.
Why does Reinke have a passion for redoing rotary phones?
...it never needs a battery!!! and you always can find it!!!
Two features she loves and learned can not live without.
This phone was created for those who love chocolate.

Reinke has created several recycled art pieces using
candy wrappers.It was her daughters idea, who started
using bubble gum wrapperson a purse. Candy is yummy
and comes in wonderful colorful packages!

Vintage is the wave of our funky future

Wearing Vintage is good for the environment. It is GREEN.

Womens vingae Dress's from 1930 -1980!

We here at funkyfindzonline have hundreds of dresses,
long and short sleeve, so many fabrics wool, silks cotton.
classic black.All the colors of the rainbow.
Reinkes favorite are the bright floral and
psychotic paisley prints of the 1960's
and the durability and resilience of the polyesters.






Cotton,natural fibers, silks, lined bodice,
bright colors, unique sytles, one of a kind,
quality made (made in the UNITED STATES and/or UNION MADE)
detailing, swinging style...all marks of the vintage women's dress.

Be unique...make a statement...wear vintage...BE GREEN
wear recycled clothing i.e. vintage. no packaging,
no slave labor, no creation of additional waste products.

Think about it.

Large selection of vintage long gowns. The Funky Maxi!
























One of the largest collections of beautiful "maxi" gowns,of the
1960's (Remember those?)they are becoming very popular with the
novo hippie. Other gowns can be purchased for those special
brides wishing to put together a truly unique presentation.
A wedding that is green and less formal.

Retail from $35.00-$250.00

Many sizes available. Bright bold colors and all one of kind
and rare pieces in very good condtion. The long dress is back
in style this spring.

Large selection of mens Funky and Groovey shirts



I have found it amusing in many ways that men have picked up
their fashion sense.Thankfully! Many in the bigger cities have
turned increasingly to vintage clothing. The tuxedo shirts
with the ruffled collar are simply divine on a strong tight
bodied man. Yes the light pink and coral especially make a fashion
statement that is both sexy and distinctive.

Remember men, leave those buttons open for us

Rare Vintage show girl dress, cursed from its previous unfunky owner?

This rare circa 1960's vintage Las Vegas Show Girl dress,
zippers down the front. It has fingerless gloves, panties
and bra. it has been featured in The theatrical production
"Gypsy Rose Lee". It is somewhat notorious however
and maybe cursed.

It was last owned by a nefarious unethical stripper,
who not only striped for a buck but she stripped whomever
she could con. A gifted Physic reported that the busty stripper
who left the dress behind, in from yet another friendship
gone sour, may have even stolen the dress!

She also said that her peaceful seductive demur, was a camouflage
for near demonic pent up anger against men and women
alike for she was sexually frigid.

Her mean spirit may still reside in the dress, henceforth, it is very
alluring to men and women alike. This dress should not be wore
for more than a few hours or the evil "She" women that once wore
it could take temporary possession of the wearer.

Watch out men and ladies alike for a blue eyed lady with
long eyelashes but short on conscience.

Can clothing be cursed?


Does this dress entice you? Covet it not, for it is under lock and key. Safe in frankincense filled wooden chest. Some say her pre-ghost is searching for her lost beauty and figure that she once had when she could fit into the small sexy gown.

Find our Funky hand made art and vintage clothing

All posting only .2o cents each!!! Allot better than EBay to be sure
but not as good as free. Etsy is very sophisticated when it come
to search engines. Within a week on myspace it was and has been
my primary sponsor. And they do have a great link .

I have to admit that I have had disappointment
however, with this venue. I am not alone.
It is a beautiful presentation. It is very large.
My biggest criticism? It does not allow you post any
links whatsoever to any site outside of its own.
This seems unfriendly to me. The world of the web to
me is about linking, creating your own personnel mini
web of connectivity.

Always as a gallery director, I sincerely believed,
that the more an artist could get his/her work exposed,
the better.I never had an artist enter into a contractual
non compete clause. I hope that etsy.com changes this policy.



Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Catherine and Mariah at Exhibtour

A large selection of handmade Jewerly

A Funky Gallery for funky artists, maybe moving to Key West?

Funky Findz Gallery hosted several talented
artists, including Nancy Doering, Bruce Wittenberg-Martin,
Jack Rucski and Rhiannon. Catherine Reinke was the
featured and most prominent artist.
Funkyfindonline artists are patiently waiting for
that 'reopen'. However, Reinke is reconsidering a Wausau
location. Her love of Key West, it's free lifestyle
and community of artists, is alluring.




Friday, April 3, 2009

A place to buy and sell handmade art and jewerly or vintage items.

Wellcome! We give you a big Funky kiss!!!

One of our first postings. We thought that this was a
funky fabulous picture of lips. We here at funkyfindzonline
believe in lip stick, allot of it. For many of us are admitted
addicts, who refuse rehabilitation.




Lip stick a women's greatest fashion statement. For Catherine Reinke
it can not be bright enough. Her favorite? Yvesaintlaurent from
Pris France. Once only I could find it in Macy's in Milwaukee
Mayfair Mall, then they up and left. OK $28.00 is allot for gloss.
Yet, their colors were couture! A vintage pink I will never forget.

A Funky and frightening monkey head necklace


















A Funky and somewhat
frightening photo from C. Reinke of
a Tibetan Monks prayer necklace,
with monkey heads and jade beads
from Key West Florida
Ripley's Believe It Or Not,
on Duvall St.

check out this link for writters of books and poetry

http://www.booksie.com/write4change

Photos by C. Reinke HAUNTED HOUSE