doily dilettante

they are everywhere right now!  on shirts, purses, lampshades, scrapbook pages, other art mediums...the list goes on and on.  and i couldn't be happier about it:)  love doilies; simply love them.  a year ago or so, i found this pretty piece in a thrift store for 3 or 4 dollars (which i thought was a lot!) until i saw one like it on etsy that sold for around $35, described as "art noveau"...

notice the pretty velvet trim on the glass - it appears that this lovely doily was simply placed between two round pieces of glass and glued around the edges.

i have alternately loved this and not liked it all since i bought it.  but recently i feel less fickle - and i think we'll have a longterm relationship;)

more doilies from my stash

now look at these!!!  aren't they just so tempting and inspiring and happy?!?  these came to me all the way from the chip chop shop, a new and fun etsy shop in australia.  (more on that in a minute!)

hand dyed (and just mouthwatering, aren't they?)

i'll be using these in my scrapping and other craft projects

here are some crochet trims from the same shop - i couldn't wait to get these in the mail:)

leann, the owner of this embellishment/trim etsy store, is having a giveaway on her blog!  she is offering doilies and her exclusive chipboard shapes, along with a few other beautiful embellies...what a wonderful crafty giveaway:)

the color of memories (show and tell friday)

well, today my ADD led me to consider color; and contemplating color led me down memory lane; and memory lane led me to an older photo album; which led to a dress in my closet that i haven't looked at in years.  it started while i was looking at some beautiful new scrap supplies that arrived in the mail, and i realized that i have been ordering things that have color.  and especially things that are aqua/tealish. wow.  i have avoided strong, bright colors for a number of years now.  but something has shifted again.  either i am fickle; or it's spring fever; or it's just some cyclical thing.  i will always like whites and neutrals for my home...always.  but since i live with a husband who likes color - there will always be some in our decor.  and now it looks like there will be more in my craft supplies...at least for a while.  and that's fine - i know that it's not either/or!

contemplating the color aqua made me think of this...a wonderful vintage dress that i bought for a 50s party, back in the early 90s.  i found it at a thrift store and had a fabulous time wearing it:)  i just had to share it with my vintage-loving friends here - it's so fun to have a blog to share things like this!

and...a few photos of me in the dress at said party:)  i remember being disappointed that i couldn't get my hair into a beehive hairdo that night!  so i went "plain"...(this is just a family friend, and we both happened to be living in san diego at the time - i married his first cousin a few years down the road)

you know, i wouldn't want to go back again - but it's fun to remember these more carefree days and moments...and i'm thankful, once again, for photos to help jog my memory!

(edited to add: i am linking up to show and tell friday at my romantic home..."re-finding" this dress and memory have made me smile a lot this week!)

tears in my eyes...

yesterday, a very special package arrived at our home. it was from my dear niece, kate, a kindred creative spirit:) she and i decided to do a "things we love" swap; her very first ever. i just have to share the beautiful things she made for me - so perfectly done, i can't believe she hasn't been crafting for years already.

you can probably appreciate why tears sprang to my eyes when i opened the package and saw this collage on burlap. she took one of my favorite quotes and put it with this vintage photo, representing my two sons...

the clock face is just beautiful, too. i love the simplicity of this piece - the sentiment, the vintage feel, and the white space.

a wonderful chalkboard paint-covered jar, along with...

an ingenious little handmade eraser (felt on a stamped wood block) and two pieces of chalk tied in soft ivory ribbon.

look at the simple beauty of these hand decorated clothespins - covered in toile paper, burlap, and darling ivory fabric

i love it all, kate:) thank you so much for these wonderful gifts from the heart!

fabulous shabby trims!!!

i doubt there are very many scrappers out there who aren't eagerly awaiting (read: impatiently drooling over) this luscious trim from American Crafts Dear Lizzy line! most specifically - the gorgeous pink flowers on tulle at the bottom of this card...oh. how. i love it!


but here's the thing: i want it now and i want a lot of it. not necessarily with the other pretty trims on the card. and in lots of colors.

(photo courtesy of american crafts/moxie world)


so i did what any tenacious and determined girl would do - i set out on a hunt for a similar trim:) i was immediately taken with this beautiful ivory trim that my niece found on etsy...isn't it gorgeous?!? as soon as i placed my order, i convo'd christi - the owner, and inquired about possibly getting more colors. and she was so responsive and helpful and fast!!! while she did a little research - my gorgeous ivory trim arrived in the mail:)

i grabbed some past layouts of mine and threw them down on the floor this morning to photograph and show you how the trim looks...i love it! now, of course, it doesn't "belong" on these pages cuz they're already finished - but it gives you an idea of size, etc! (sorry - but i didn't take time to edit - i was too excited to share the rest of the story with you!!!)

i ordered the ivory trim - but she also carries black and white...

and here is the really exciting news!!! christi convo'd me last night and told me to check out her new colors....look at what she found!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i think these are simply gorgeous...and i can tell you (after a lot of research) that her prices are sooo reasonable. and no - i didn't know christi before and i have nothing to gain from spreading the word:) but i did warn her that she might need a lot of this...


oooh - i love this and i'm not even a purple-lover

gorgeous salmon color!

my personal favorite: eek!!!

and of course - we must have pink!

would anyone be interested in a link to her shop?!? (just in case - here you go): christi at frogfeathers! she has wonderful customer service and carries other fabulous treasures and trims in her stores:)

happy thursday everyone:)

rain man was bookless...i'm wordless

well. i am still here. still sorting. still sifting. sometimes delighted with forgotten treasures. sometimes not delighted with forgotten "treasures"! oh my. i have been uncharacteristically wordless; made mute by the sheer quantity of things i need to sort through - even my extended family has noticed. they call and ask what i'm doing. still sorting, i say. recently, they have stopped asking. they know what the "before" was - and frankly, i think they doubt there will be an "after".

my studio has not been sorted, purged, cleaned thoroughly in 5-7 years. it has been the respository for all my crafting and thrifting purchases...a room i love to sit in and admire the things that inspire me. the thing is - i can't work in there - it's too crowded and very not zen!!! so i will not stop until this project is finished. or until i expire. whichever comes first. and i have been doing this since january, just so you know.

oh! this is one rediscovered garage sale find that i'm thrilled with. last summer, i ran across a sale by a family who had owned a hair salon. they used these plastic open containers on the counters for scrunchies, barrettes, etc. they were mine for a song and how i love them:)

(i promised my husband i'd finish within the calendar year. better get back to work...)