SILVER LAKE - Marilyn McDonald admits she's "flakey."

But "just a little."

And the "True Flakey Lady" as she calls herself, wouldn't have it any other way.

McDonald, who started taking her talent to craft shows about 18 years ago, creates a variety of craft items from thing most people would probably throw away.

Using old pots and pans, bedspreads, baskets, old suitcases, tablecloths and other fabrics, McDonald makes everything old new again.

"I'm not very good at recycling, but I am very good at reusing," McDonald said, adding "I use everything can find. If I can cut it up, I cut it up and use it. If it has a hole, I stick a snowman in it."

McDonald creates Santa faces from fabric and the fringed trim of old bedspreads and angels from scraps of fabric left from other projects, but her forte is creating whimsical snowmen (and women).

From her humble beginnings at her first craft show, which she attended with her sister and sold nothing, McDOnald has build a successful business that sends products to stores all over the United States.

In the early stages, McDonald traveled to a few shows a year, selling her snowmen and building a following. When her twin boys, Logan and Ethan, were born 15 years ago, McDonald made creating the snowmen "my job."

Now McDonald attends many shows each year peddling wares from her business, Just A Little Flakey. In fact, this year between mid-August and mid-December, she participated in at least 20 craft shows, including the Blueberry Festival in Plymouth and a large craft sale over two days in Columbus, Ohio.

She also has attended wholesale shows in Philadephia; Madison, Wis.; and Ohio, and plans to go to one in Chicago next month. Wholesale shows give dealers from around the country a chance to order products that will be shipped in next year.

McDonald calls herself "a caveman, a dying breed" because she makes all of her products by hand. Everything she makes is constructed in a craft room in the basement of her home, which she jokingly calls "the pit of doom."

McDonald uses tea to dye all the fabrics used in her projects then lays them outside to dry behind her house. When the weather is too cold or rainy, she drys the fabric in her garage.

Most of the material McDonald uses comes from garage sales and thrift stores. Her in-laws live in Florida and enjoy garage sales, so they keep an eye out year-round for materials McDonald may be able to use in her business. McDonald's sisters, including one from Georgia, stay on the look out for possible reusable items as well. Her mother, Bernita Goodman, helps her find material and set up for shows.

In fact, Tuesday afternoon during the interview for this story, McDonald received a call from her sister, Connie Olzak, from Georgia.

"That was my sister on the phone, she just picked up another bedspread for me," McDonald laughed.

McDonald also pays a flat fee to people who bring her chenille bedspreads they find or buy at garage sales. Thrift stores give McDonald clothes and materials they would otherwise throw away - whatever she does not use to make the snowmen's bodies, she uses as stuffing.

"I'm always searching for bedspreads," she said.

McDonald's trademark, she says, are the chenille snowmen. The snowmen come in a variety of sizes, including arrangements in painted pots and baskets.

"I put at least one (chenille snowman) in every container I make," McDonald said.

During the peak of her season, usually the end of November and beginning of December, McDonald goes through 10 or 11 boxes of stuffing per week.

"The people at Wal-Mart know me," she laughs, adding that the employees get her a big cart when they see her coming. She usually has to go to several different stores to get enough material to keep up with her growing business.

While the snowmen and hand-sewn crafts are the bread and butter of her business, McDonald has another talent.

"I love to paint," she said. All the pots, baskets and other containers used to house the snowmen feature McDonald's painting skills. She also paints snowmen on long thin strips of linoleum, making hangings to decorate walls.

When asked how many snowmen and other craft items she has made over the years, McDonald paused and said," I can't even imagine how many. Thousands."

In fact, she sold thousands of products in the the past year alone. After looking through records on her computer, a surprised McDonald said so far this year she has sold more that 3,500 snowmen, not including the 500 or so ornaments she made for a preschool fundraiser.

"That's mind-boggling for me even," she said with a smile. [[In-content Ad]]