Barbara Butcher of Eunice is one of those who breathes, and sleeps Mardi Gras year round.
Butcher will start planning next year’s Mardi Gras the day after present year Mardi Gras. “I’m always looking to create something new and different,” she said.
Butcher, 75, creates and crafts different Mardi Gras items. They include Mardi Gras pins, dolls, hats, hand painted Mardi Gras molds, Mardi Gras ducks, a Easter Egg Mardi Gras, necklaces, Mardi Gras mini crowns, and much more.
Every Mardi Gras season Butcher sets up her craft booth on downtown Second Street in Eunice. She set up her first craft booth in 1977. “I still have my copy of my city permit,” she laughed.
Butcher’s first inspiration and learning experience to craft, sew, hot glue, hand paint, beaded, threaded, was by watching Georgie Manuel. “I sat on her wooden floor and watched her for hours at a time at her shop, Potpourri, on Maple Avenue. I was always amazed how talented she was, and is!” said Butcher.
Butcher plans to set her Mardi Gras booth today and Tuesday on downtown Second St. nearby the library. She plans to have three 8-foot tables, and plywood shelving to display all her crafts. Her plans are to display come rain, shine, snow, sleet whatever the weather may be. “One year I was the only craft booth opened. It was sleeting!”
The most popular seller is Butcher’s Mardi Gras hats. “I make them with whatever I have at hand,” she added. And whatever she has at hand comes from shopping garage sales, or at home supplies, candy molds, flea markets, or through an order-book catalogs. “Sometimes my friends are throwing out something, and I stop them! I need that,” she laughed.
She made Mardi Gras molds from candy molds, and hand painted designs and faces on them. A duck Mardi Gras necklace was made from a yellow potato chip clip. “Those clips to seal off open bag of potato chips, I save. My Easter egg necklace is crafted from using a part of plastic Easter egg,” she added.
Butcher prices her items from 25¢ on up and her highest priced item is $5 for Mardi Gras hats. She added, “One year I met nice people from overseas and they bought Mardi Gras dolls.”
Butcher has patterns she draws out by hand and uses them each year. She keeps a folder full and she adds more each year as she thinks of something different. When asked what is her favorite Mardi Gras craft..she answered, “I don’t know, but I like making Something out of Nothing.”
One of Butcher’s doll includes a horse rider made out of a Santa. “The rider is made out of a Santa Claus. I dressed him as a Captaine’.”
Butcher’s supplies include scraps of materials, a hot glue gun, sewing materials and essentials, hand paints, and more (anything she can get her hands on, as she says)
Butcher likes to think of her booth as “Friends helping friends,” as she gives away free items to those handicapped or special needs adults and children.
Butcher said over the 40 years of crafting she has had home accidents. “One time I burned a hole on my new carpet, sitting on the floor using my hot glue gun!
Over the many years Butcher has almost “hoarded” her small home with supplies, hats, crafting materials, Mardi Gras beading, and etc. Her daughter Christine says, “She had to rent two lockers for storage.”