Yeah, you heard me. Let’s just do it. I mean, we all LOVE a good tiara. Recently, Karin did a GREAT tutorial on how to make hers, I’ve seen Heather make one for her dog, and Pam’s are going to be featured in a soon-to-be-released book (in fact, hers is on the cover! oooh….ahhh…). Renee emailed me yesterday and said she has one she wears on her birthday and sometimes while doing housework! Gosh, I wish she was my neighbor! I mean, who wouldn’t want to hang out with a girl who wears a crown as she scrubs toilets?
So, here’s the deal. I have never ‘hosted’ a swap. So, let’s keep it simple! Leave a comment here by Monday. I’ll put all your royal names in a pot or some other vessel, and pull them out two by two by the following Friday. That’ll be your partner. Then, we’ll email each other some info, like our favorite colors, collections, etc. and start assembling our queenly creations. Let’s give ourselves 2 weeks and them ship them off. I’m going to leave this one open international participants, English speaking peeps only, please, since that’s all I can speak (that and baby talk. I can also say “the bread is blue” in French, but that doesn’t really help, now does it?). Soooo, if you don’t think you want to ship to the UK or Australia, or anywhere else, let me know and I’ll try to partner you with someone within your continent! I have good friends overseas (hi Natasha!) and I would hate to leave them out! Moving on…..
Please gals, only put your name in the hopper if you really will participate. I want everyone to have fun and no-one to be without a crown, kay? I’m a little nervous about doing this, but I think we just gotta! No rules on what it should be made out of. if your partner is into sea shells, encrust your crown with starfish and shells, glitter and sea glass, whatever! If she likes vintage paper, there ya go…. If she’s a pretty-in-pink type, that’s your starting point. You know, whatever! Just try to fit her style.
I’ll try to creat a button for your blogs tomorrow. Or, we can just use one of my tiara pics, whatever…..I’m easy-pleasey-lemon-squeezy.
OK, I had so much fun making the crown with my son for our little friend (see previous post), that I decided it would be a super-cool and fun birthday gift for my sweet little niece, who turns three at the beginning of June. Also, if I made one for a friend, and not my nieces, my sister would strip me of the title of “World’s Greatest and Coolest, let’s-stay-up-late-and-eat-popcorn Aunt”. It was fun. Her first name starts with an “M” and I just happened to have an old “M” broach in my stash of broken costume jewelry!
This was sort of a rush job, with 2 kids and a husband *(so, you know, 3 kids) nipping at my heels and making demands requests of me! So, I need to go remove some of the glue gun trails and straighten it up a bit, but in the world of three year old girls, I think it’s above par! These have been so much fun to make. Now, I need more girls to make crowns for! I do have another niece…hmmmm….
My family and I are off this weekend for a visit to my sweet friend, Kasse, and her family. Kasse, as you surely know by now, has the most wonderful shop ever, Miss Duffy’s. I haven’t been to her new location since she moved about a year ago, so I’m excited to scope it out. She has such a great eye for arrangement and such a fun sense of style. Her hubby is going to take my guys fishing. My boys have never been fishing. I’m actually a wee bit nervous that my four year old might be sad for the fishies. That’s him, he’s such a tender heart. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, he’s rough and tumble, but a little so full of love. He’ll make such a great husband someday!
Which brings me to my pictures. My little guy has a serious CRUSH on Kasse’s daughter. I mean BIG TIME. Until he met the Duffy Daughter, he had always said he was going to marry ME. Now it’s HER! I could cry! hahaha…. So, he wanted to do a craft project for her (he is MY kiddo, after all!). This is what we did for her together. He made all the executive decisions. We used a low-temp glue gun and away he went. He wasn’t into doing something pink, so we went with blues.
This little crown is built on a ready-made wedding head piece I got for $4 on sale at my oh-so-favorite craft store, Hobby Lobby. Then we added some Wendy Addison glitter stars snipped from a garland I bought a few years ago…..Sidenote: the garland was cute, but always got tangled. So, now I snip the stars off and use them for tags or whatever. Anyhoooo…. He added some great old costume jewelry and little beads and what-nots. The only thing I did was glue some spots that he was scared would burn him, gave a little centering guidance, and I added the ribbons. Didn’t it come out cute? I think he did a great job! He even wanted the ric-rac around the brim. So cute. He also made her a little bracelet. I think it may be true love. *sniff-sniff*
I made this sweet little box for it, and then my little guy decided to make it even cuter when I wasn’t looking and scribbled all over the lid! AAAAaacckkk! After the initial “oh no”, I laughed and decided this was a gift from him, not me, and that being a perfectionist would take away his joy and creativity, so I rolled with it and told him it looked even prettier that way. And really, it does.
So, I’ll be out of the loop for a couple of days. If you’ve ordered a Doodle Pack from me Thank you! I think there’s only a couple left on etsy. I will ship them all by the end of next week. I’m so excited for you to get crafty with them!
Have a great Memorial Day and a safe weekend. Thank you to all who have served this beautiful country in which we are so blessed to live. I am so grateful to you. To the parents whose sons or daughters have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country, I say thank you. It seems so empty, not enough. I looked at my sons sweet face tonight and thought that every mother sees that same sweet baby face in the child they send off to war. I am so sorry for your loss and so overcome with emotion. God bless and comfort you all.
Oh my gosh. This is my new favorite thing. Do you LOVE this pincushion? It’s made by artist Laurie, of Laurie’s Charming Designs….and is it EVER charming!!!
This gal is so talented. She makes all these little birdies by hand, only AFTER she HAND dyes the wool in this creamy soft blue, or a soft sweet pink, she then affixes them to a sweet vintage silver-plate spoon, which she has bent to accomodate a little birdie. This little guy is hoping to get his beak into the SPOON FULL OF SUGAR that IS the pincushion! *GASP* Laurie makes the pin cushion to sit perfectly in the bowl of the spoon, covers it with vintage white lace and vintage shell buttons, and of course, the little tag that reads “spoon full of sugar”. Now, get THIS…. they’re about $15.00 each! That’s it! This is the best pincushion EVER! I keep it out all the time where I can admire it. I think it stands alone as a work of art, soft sculpture! I adore that, as a bonus, it has a function! LOL.
I saw this on ebay, and sadly missed the auction. So, I emailed Laurie and begged her to make me one. She did and I’m so happy! I have twisted her arm and begged and pleaded for her to start a blog or website, so she now has a blog and an etsy shop, as well as her ebay listings. Go getcha one! I bet they’ll go fast.
Laurie, hope you have your thimbals ready, I think you’re going to be busy!
*The remaining 8 Doodle-Packs are listed on my ETSY shop! If you would like one,please do not leave me a comment, just go over to my etsy and get-cha-one!*
I finally finished making the new Doodle-Packs and let me tell ya, they’re so CUTE! I have done them a little differently this time. I thought about what I want when I buy vintage wallpaper. I want a LOT of it, not just a little! I want enough to do a project, like cover a little box or the cover of a journal, bigger things like that. So, this time I am including two of the MOST BEAUTIFUL vintage wallpapers. They are cut BIG. They are each at least 18 inches by 20 inches. Bigger than that, actually because I cut generously, but at least 18×20. This is the equivelant of 4 pieces of 9 x 10 inch pages for each paper, so it’s the equivelent of 8 pieces of 9 x 10 inch wallpaper! Also included is a page of vintage sheet music, a fat quarter of gorgeous pink flocked tulle with a heart pattern, at least 2 yards each of two shades of vintage pink seam binding tape, a cutie-patootie little feathered bird, and one or two other little what-nots, which will vary from pack to pack.
This is the good stuff, folks! These papers are just gorgeous. One is a pink background floral, the other is a creamy background with pink, blue, & soft carmely-beige floral and scrolls geometric. it took over a roll of each paper to do these packs. I probably won’t offer the creamy one again, certainly not in these quantities if I do. It just took so much to make these. It was hard for me to let go…..I’m sort of a hoarder! But, I’m really pleased to have done the packs this way because I think it will be fun and exciting for whoever buys them. You can do so much more with them this way! If you want to piece it out little by little, that works too! Just more options.
I only made 25 of these. When they’re gone, they’re gone! If you would like one, please leave a comment here indicating so and I will send you a paypal invoice. Please be sure to leave your email address that you would like the invoice to go to. Please don’t leave a comment that you want one unless you really do! Last time several people said they wanted one, then changed their mind. I had a waiting list of gals requesting them, so it was OK, but I hate to turn someone away who could have had them, ya know?
The price is $25.00 plus $4.65 shipping. Sorry shipping is so high, it just went up again. I have to send priority as I’m using their free tube box to ship. I have to do the tube box so I don’t put creases in your yummy papers!
I’ve ordered the boxes from USPS and I’ll ship them as soon as I have them, probably within a week….10 days max. I’m so excited! Yay!
I can’t wait to see what all you amazing artists make with this stuff!
Whew! Sorry I’ve not posted all week. My sister, her husband and her two kids had some crazy stuff happen at their house and unexpectedly came to stay with us on Monday. They’re hoping to go home today. I know they’re feeling so homesick and displaced. Thankfully, we live five minutes from each other, so it’s been easy for them to go back and forth monitoring the progress on the house, etc. My sister and our families are very close, so it’s been fun really. Like a big slumber party! The kids have loved it, of course. They’re more like siblings than cousins and have played so hard every single minute! They’ve never slept better! ha ha ha…
So, with double the kids around I haven’t done any crafting or artsy stuff this week, but that’s changing tonight. I’m cutting all the wallpaper for my new doodle-packs….well, I’m going to start cutting them! This time, I’m going to try to give fewer, much larger sheets of wallpaper. I know I personally like to cover things like boxes, small furniture pieces, other things with the paper, and the pieces you get in wallpaper packs are too small to do much with. So, I decided to try to cut some larger pieces and roll them up to be mailed, instead of mailing them as flat sheets of paper. That’s my plan, anyway! Then, if you want to use small snippets and scraps you can, but if you want large coverage you get that also, without a seam in the middle of your project. I think I can do this without it affecting the price of shipping. I’ll keep ya posted.
Now, an explanation of the picture above! I recently did a personal swap with fabulous Lori. She sent me a Lori-Lampshade-Kit! I LOVE it! She included a piece of tulle from a vintage prom dress, a huge floppy milliinery flower, lengths of lacy trim, it’s all so yummy! She’s going to start selling these kits some time this summer. Yay! I doubt you’ll get any, since I’ll be buying them all….kidding…sort of. I sent her two kinds of wallpaper, some vintage fluffy ruffly trim, and a few other little goodies. I forgot to snap a picture before I sent hers, but here are more pics of Lori’s package to me!
More good stuff soon! XOXO
Holly
Oh, P.S. I just want to tell you that I love your comments. You are all so kind to me and so much fun. I love reading the funny ones, the sweet ones, all of them. I read them all and feel like I’m getting to know you through them! Just thought I would say that I appreciate every single comment you’ve ever left. I’m going to try to reply to them more often. Sorry I don’t do a good job of that. Usually I’m reading them while nursing my baby son and tying my oldest son’s shoe….so I’m a bit distracted and crazed! Then, later I forget to reply back. If I don’t respond directly, I try to make sure I address the questions here. If you ever have a question that I don’t answer here, feel free to email me at holly@hollydoodledesigns.com and I’ll reply.
“All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother”
-Abraham Lincoln
May all you wonderful, beautiful, loving, self-sacrificing Mothers have a beautiful Sunday. Happy Mother’s Day to you all. Whether we work outside the home, are a stay-at-home mama, or somewhere in-between, we all have one thing in common, we love our children DESPERATELY. The greatest Mother’s Day gift of all, is the gift of BEING A MOTHER. Thank you, God for making me a mother. Strengthen my heart, Lord, so I can mother my children in the way you desire!
To all you Mothers who have lost a child, I am stumbling to find something meaningful to say, but all I can think of is to pray…..I will say a special prayer for you today. God bless you and comfort you.
To my Mom, Judy: I love you, mama…Happy Mother’s Day! Thank you for….so much.
May God bless us and our children and their fathers, and keep us safe. Amen.
OK, now some goodies….Went to a couple of antique stores today and here’s what I came home with….mmmmm
Sweet dresser box and cup, but LOOK at THIS PILLOW! It looks like a ballerina’s tutu, doesn’t it? Love love it. It is slipcovered in this tulle with a millinery flower right in the middle….ahhhh heaven!
Also L-O-V-E this tiny table/plant stand with THE BEST super-old shiney pink enamel lead paint! SOOO Gorgeous. That shiny old paint is so cool. I really love tiny or child-size vintage furniture. Here are a few I quickly gathered. I also have some great old chairs and other child things I’ll show some other time. Here are my tables/stools:
Ok, so I’m gathering pink themed goodies for my next Doodle-Pack and thought I’d give you a sneak peek! I’m horrible about keeping secrets, or waiting for anything actually. So what. I accept that.
I’ve found two of the MOST BEAUTIFUL wallpapers. I mean, COME ON EILEEN, just LOOK at these colors!
Can you tell that the vintage flocked pink tulle is flocked with tiny hearts?! GET OUT!
So, now you know. Whatever. It’ll still be cool. Besides, I actually do have several other things I’m including that I AM keeping my lips zipped about……
OK, you twisted my arm…maybe some birdies too! But that’s ALL I’m saying. There are gonna be MUCH MORE fun things. That’s ALL I’M SAYIN.
Everytime I read a good blog post, or write one, or get to know all you cool chicks, I hear that McDonalds song in my head…”bah-dah-bah-bah-bahm, I’m lovin’ it”
OK. I’ve been tagged 3 times….by Natasha, Ele, and Dawn, so I guess ya’ll really want to know my weirdness. I was also tagged 3 times for the thinking blogger thing, which I REALLY appreciated, but I figured everyone had already been tagged for that one, so I left it alone! Here goes on the weirdness of me….
I’m sure you all already know the rules, but here they are: Each player starts with 7 random weird facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog.
1. When I was growing up, my mother would make my sisters and me sandwiches made of toast with peanut butter and Miracle Whip. They are SOO good. Everyone thinks that’s weird and disgusting, but EVERY time I can get someone to try it, they love it! So good. So weird!
2. I delivered both of my children via natural childbirth. This was not my choice, but hey, ya do what you gotta do! The wierd part is, I LOVE natural childbirth! It hurts…uh yeah…. but it’s so worth it! I love the challenge of knowing it will be hard, but everything worth doing/having is hard! I also now understand why God puts pain in childbirth, it’s a great motivator to PUSH and GET IT OUT~ words I remember yelling “get it out!!!”. My babies are huge, by the way. My first was 9 lbs 9 oz and my second was 9 lbs 1 oz. Both were nearly a month early! Ahhh…good times…..
3. Every night, I check to make sure all my windows and doors are locked. It doesn’t matter that I have not opened a window, I check anyway.
4. I say the word “fixin” when I’m not planning to repair anything. In my neck-o-the-woods, “fixin to” means “about to” or “gettin ready to”. As in “I’m fixin to go to the store” or “I’m fixin to get mad”. Ya’ll just gotta love that one!
5. I have a strong aversion to loud or chaotic noise. I think this comes from years of working as a customer service rep for a phone company and having that thingy in my ears all day. I got sick of noise in my head non-stop, I guess.
6. I am not at all afraid of mice, or any furry rodent. I mean, I don’t want them to come hang out in my bed when I sleep or anything, but they don’t really bother me. Now, if we’re talking spiders or scorpions or snakes, that’s another story.
7. I live right next door to my mother-and-father-in-law. When we were building our house, they came out to see the lot and check out what was going on. Their house was not up for sale, they were not planning to move. Well, right next door to our lot, there was a freshly built, brand new house. Just for fun, we all peeked in the windows. Within a week, they bought that house! The moved in within a month! They are not the kind of in-laws to smother or follow their kids around, so this was very unlike them. They kept asking us if it was OK. It’s actually turned out to be fantastic for my kids who just walk right next door to see Gammy and Papa anytime they want. It’s really an idyllic life for them.
OK, there are some MUCH weirder facts about me, but I don’t want to scare anyone
I’m only trying to tag people who haven’t been tagged already, so I’ll have to take a rain check on that part and look at some blogs to see who hasn’t been “it”.
The heart of an all-but-spent Evelyn rose. Pure heaven. Wish you could smell it….close your eyes and think of that fruity, green, summer smell…inhale…..exhale….ahhh~ sweet summer roses. Are these colors gorgeous or what? I love that there is beauty even in imperfection. To me, this rose shows that we can be beautiful no matter our age, no matter our point in our life. The young, fresh, (firm!) rose buds hold beauty to be sure, but this rumply, wrinkly, slightly limp and floppy flower is somehow more regal, more sure, more peaceful. I hope I will personify those qualities as my years and days so quickly flitter by. So far I’ve mastered Rumply, Wrinkly, Limp and Floppy….now I gotta work on Regal, Sure, and Peaceful!
Anyhoo…..This beautiful floppy rose was such an inspiration to me this afternoon, that I had to snap a shot of it in my hand. That led me to snap a few more pics of things that inspire me today. So here we go…
OK, I’ve been really inspired by Lori and her bff Dawn lately. These two knock my socks off. If you haven’t visited their blogs, you MUST. GO NOW. Well, go after you finish reading this one, but definitely do go! Lori makes the most wonderful lampshades out of ruffles and floppy flowers (not unlike my Evelyn!). They remind me of these vintage ones that I bought years ago:
I was so excited to find a PAIR of them! L~O~V~E the ruffles. Doesn’t it remind you of pleated/ruffled crepe paper? And of course, the vintage millinery. THIS is what makes my heart go pitter patter.
When I saw them at the flea market, I made a B-line, probably steamrolling an old lady and a pregnant woman to get there…kidding, the lady wasn’t THAT old.
I was thrilled to later find a pair of vintage creme pottery lamps, just the right diminutive size! I don’t have them in a settled place since we moved to this house, so I’m gonna leave them out and find just the right spot for them this weekend.
Tomorrow is our monthly one-day flea market and I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for supplies to make some ruffly shades. I picked up this little girl’s dress at the thrift store yesterday. I think I’m gonna cut it up and try to do something lamp-shady with it.
Lori, any tips? You need to start making and selling your shades, girly! If you do, tell me first!!!
Next up, my dear, sweet friend Natasha. She is an inspiration on so many levels. She is not only an abundantly talented artist of several mediums (including sculpture, mosaics, painting, drawing, and sewing to name a few), she is also an amazingly generous soul and a wonderful, loving, and fierce mother. This chick is my kind of gal. I SO wish she lived closer, but she is half a world away in sunny Australia! This week, I was honored with a large painting on an awesome old piece of architectural salvage! Check it out….
OH MY GOSH!!! Is this perfect for my kitchen, or what? It’s a birthday gift (my birthday is May 8th). I was completely overwhelmed! First of all, to get an original work of art is such a gift in itself. She was so cute to do a birthday cake! I’m hanging it in a place of honor in my kitchy kitchen this weekend. Even my husband said “hey, that’s cute”. High praise INDEED.
I love her clever and simple writing of the word “sweet” across the bottom. I am touched that she went to so much work for me, I am touched that she did something with herself, of herself for me and that she was so very thoughtful. Don’t you love thoughtful, handmade gifts? I mean, come ON, it doesn’t get any better than a calorie-free rosey pink cake! I adore old architectural salvage, really she could not have done any better. It’s just perfect. Thank you so very much, sweet Natasha.
Natasha’s is another site you must visit. She paints beautiful ball gowns, roses, tutu’s, cakes, and much more.
I am so loving this blog world we all have. Jenny recently said this is “the logical progression of a magazine addict”. Jenny, you hit the nail on the head! HOW FUN IS THIS?!
