Hello friends. I’m so happy to share some exciting news with you! My humble blog is included in the beautiful Summer edition of Artful Blogging. So so exciting! All of Somerset’s publications are always so gorgeous and Artful Blogging is no exception. It’s a beautiful quarterly publication and this season’s offering features some really stunning blogs (as always). I’m so honored to be featured here.
Isn’t it a lovely layout? I love the pictures the editors chose and doesn’t the banner that Heather made look so great? I’m so grateful to Staci Dumoski, the editor. She made this whole process so much fun. She was always open and available, which was perfect for a first-timer like moi! It was great fun writing the article too. It’s so cool to think that my photos are published. I’m tickled.
This issue is scheduled to be out on May 1, but I bought mine at Barnes & Noble a couple of days ago. I’m supposed to get one from Somerset, but I just couldn’t wait! This issue also includes LOTS of eye candy from other yummy blogs, so go getcha one!
That’s me. To the point of ridiculous sometimes! Last year, I actually thought twice about trading in my son’s shoes on a recall because they were his first little croc-knock-offs from payless. OK. That is ridiculous. I know it. But they were so tiny and camo and cute! I did end up returning them, but I still kinda regret it. I’m really overly sentimental about things. But not all things. I mean, I can let go of all the other shoes, it was just that he really loved these shoes and I had memories of him being so excited about them. *sigh*
I’ve found that most of the things I am drawn to have some sort of sentimental meaning too. Maybe not a memory that I personally hold dear, but they were treasures from someone’s life. They were saved and tucked away in an attic or a shoe box in a closet, too special to be thrown out. They had to be saved. Somehow over the years those things made their way to my hands. How special is that? When you find a pair of vintage baby booties or a cake topper from a wedding… those are momentos of a special time in someone’s life. I always wonder about them, don’t you?
Here are a couple of things that I was playing with today that got me thinking about what their previous lives were.
The cradle…. was it a toy? Did some sweet little pig-tailed girl rock her dolly to sleep in this cradle? Or could it have been something more decorative…. perhaps a special centerpiece at a baby shower many moons ago. I’ll never know, but I know it was special to someone long ago and now it’s special to me. I love that it’s blue, because I have sons, and so another point for sentimentality!
This other little sweetheart is a hand-made, hand-stitched little draw-string bag. It’s made of chiffon, lace, and maybe organza and is made over a paper form that’s kinda the shape of a butter tub, but smaller and paper. The ruffled lace and chiffon layer buttons on and off. Why did the maker decide to make it removable? What was it for? Perhaps a wedding? Did a flower girl carry this? Or maybe a little girl’s Easter purse? The millinery is original to it. Such a sweet little detail. Oh, do I love the details!
Anyway… thanks for taking this sentimental journey with me this evening. I’m a total sap, I know it.
I’ve been really working to organize the craft room lately. I notice that once my supplies are orderly, they almost become as enjoyable as the works of art the supplies are used to create! This stuff made me so happy today that I had to take pictures and show you.
This is about a third of my ribbons. So pathetic. But I love them and I really do use them a LOT. I put my faves in this cool old divided tray thing I scored at the flea market a couple of months ago for ten bucks! Woo Hoo! Many of the ribbons are vintage, but some of the velvet ones are from One Hundred Wishes, as are the gorgeous pearly and crystal head pins. Yummy.
And check out the sparkle! All of my vintage rhinestones are in this darling vintage musical jewelry box. It still works and the ballerina still dances. Love it.
I’m so enjoying making our craft room more pleasant and orderly. It really is so much prettier and condusive to creativity than when it’s a tangled mess!
Hope you’re having a neat and orderly day! Now to tackle the rest of the house, which is a complete disaster!
Isn’t this soooooo pretty? In the perfect slightly-over-the-top, feminine, yummy kinda way? I looooove this right now.
I have a pair of these gorgeous carved alabaster lamps that I got a million years ago at an antique mall, before they got so expensive. I love the shade on this one. It’s a new shade that is actually a linen slipcover over a ribbon-wrapped wire frame. The frame itself is gorgeous and with little ones, I love that I can wash the shade. I can’t remember the name of the company that made it, but I got it at The Cloverleaf in Oklahoma City (There’s also a huge Cloverleaf in Ardmore that I’ve been to a few times that is AMAZING! You can read more about The Cloverleaf Boutique in the May issue County Living…page 89.) Anyhooo….
I love the shade already, but I was playing around today and I had that garland I made (see here) in my hand and just on a whim wrapped it around the top of the shade and I LOVED it so much! I am just a tiny bit concerned about the seam binding, glue and millinery being a fire hazard. Not really sure. So I think I’ll use a low wattage bulb on this lamp until I decide to move the garland.
I didn’t pin it on here or anything, I just tucked the end in after I wrapped it around. The littlest things can be so fun.
What are you doing around your house to fluff it up for spring? This week we’ve completely cleaned out, organized, and painted my sons’ room, brought in new bunk beds, and cleaned their room from floor to ceiling. I also completed cleaned and organized our craft room. I can’t tell you how good that feels! Next up, my closet. Ugh.
So I’m a day late for Lori’s Doll Challenge and more than a dolly short, so you know I had to go with the pun! I meant to take new pics of my little Nancy Ann’s, but I didn’t quite get to that. Mainly because we’re painting my son’s room right now and doing a little makeover in there for the kiddos, so it’s been seriously nutty around here. Their mattresses are on our bedroom floor! Truth be known, I love it. I sleep so much better with all my little chicks in my nest at night! I can hear them breathing….ahhh….heaven.
Anyway… I did manage to take a few pictures of this sweet little baby doll. I got her in My Easter basket when I was a little girl. I love her. My sister had one too but she lost her somewhere over the years. I just recently saw one on ebay and I bought it for her and gave her a little goody basket of things that I had found here and there that reminded me of childhood times. It was such fun!
Isn’t she just so sweet?
I love her little face. She originally had a little white slip dress, but I lost that along life’s highway!
Sorry I’m so late with this! I’m off to surf around and see the other dollies.
So I’ve been spending too much time trying to FIND stuff in my craft room. I don’t dare call it a studio, as that would be an insult to studios. It’s such a MESS. So this week I’ve been trying to bring order and beauty to my little crafty space.
The fun part about organizing and spring cleaning is making new little vignettes out of things you already had. It feels like new stuff again. These are three of my favorite things to collect and they’re all together for me to enjoy just staring at them.
Vintage Wallpaper boxes, fabulous millinery hats, and sweet little tutu dresses. What more could a girl need?
This room is sort of our family craft room. Both of my sons have their little desks in here and a set of plastic drawers that hold all their craft supplies. So we often hang out and do crafty things together. This makes it even harder to keep clean! Not only am I tripping over ribbons and trim, but also lightsabers and random rocks, bugs-in-a-jar, tennis shoes, and other niceties that boys tend to leave laying around.
And although the rest of the room looks like a pig-sty right now, this corner, this one pretty corner, the fun part, makes me smile. I knew it would make you smile too!
Yep, it’s the first Friday of April, so time for another installment of Flea Market Friday. This time I have LOTS of sweet things for you. Here are several photos, so take a peek! See you at 7:30 central time.
The biggest rhinestone brooch I’ve ever seen! Over 3 1/2 inches long. Vintage and wonderful.
Several vintage fancy aprons made by the mother of a dear lady. She said her mother made them all and wore them every Sunday. How delightful. The millinery is all original and chosen by the lady who made these. So special and sweet!
A dear little baby dress
Darling vintage doll clothes.
A sweet little lamp of a little girl with bloomers. Little Bo Peep or Little Miss Muffet perhaps?
Two sets of FOUR in each set vintage pink flower nut cups.
A fun and funny coconut bra top! My five year old took one look at this and said “mama, I think this bra was made for someone with skinnier boobs” LOL!
Gorgeous vintage tutu skirt with it’s original vintage millinery still on it!
Don’t you just LOVE these? Vintage celluloid is so yummy. I particularly love these old carved pieces.
And I also love these vintage celluloid watch and ring boxes. SO great for display.
These are all from my personal collection. I’ve actually decided to part with some of my beautiful celluloid. They’re listed right now on ebay, under my seller name hollydoodledesigns, so go check it out if you are so inclined!
Tomorrow I’ll be back with peeks of the flea market friday stuff!
Can I just say it? I TOTALLY miss Jim and Pam. I really want to marry Jim Halpert. Yeah, so I’m already married, and he’s a fictional character, and so cute I could pee my pants….. this is my daydream and I can do what I want.
Anyway… The Office comes back April 10! WooHoo!
In other, more reality based news… Flea Market Friday is this week. I’ll show you some sneak peeks tomorrow.
I also miss Dwight and Angela… Micheal and Jan and all the other nutty Dunder Mifflin peeps! Yeah, I know it’s just a tv show. Whatever.
