One World ~ One Heart Giveaway!!

I have decided to participate this year in the One World ~ One Heart Giveaway. The wonderful people I have met through blogging have helped me survive some rough spots in my life and as a thank you, I will be giving away four of my Sweet Abigail PDF files from my Etsy Shop. The giveaway is open to anyone! You must leave a comment on this post to be eligible to win. The contest will end February 12th, you have until that day to enter. I will announce the winners on February 13th. For more information about the One World ~ One Heart Giveaway please visit their blog.



Good Luck! Don't forget to leave a comment!

xoxo~
Abbie

Well needed break from the depths of the internet..

A few of my favorites from Etsy. I plan on taking a well needed break from here until after the holidays. I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday and enjoys it with their friends and family!
xoxo~
Abbie

The Lucky Lady!!

Ok, I know some of you are waiting with baited breath to find out who was the lucky individual to win my giveaway, or you have all forgotten and that's alright too! :) I used a random number generator at psychicscience.org. They are so much fun! There were 71 entries between both blog posts, and the number picked was 17. Who was 17???? Someone whom I am very happy to see get the doll. I am going to include a postcard for her as well. It's Lay Hoon from TravelPostcard! Sweet Abigail is going to MALAYSIA!! How cool is that?! she will be off on her journey in just a few days! Thank you all for playing along, remember you can always grab the pdf from my ETSY SHOP.

Thank you!!

xoxo~

Abbie

GIVEAWAY! Sweet Abigail and Sweet Sophia

Abigail and Sophia had a photo shoot today. All their clothing is finished, the editing is done and the pdf files are all ready to go! Wooohoooo!! Sophia and Abigail really were quite camera shy at first.. but after a little bit these ladies relaxed and we had fun with it!

As we photographed, clothing went flying, littering the floor of their mock studio.

I think it was the hats they enjoyed the most.. there are four different hats, one to match each dressing gown.

There was also jewelry, gloves, flowers and hair to be done. Oh, it was just exhausting trying to keep these ladies composed.

Abigail is on the right in the shot below, with the blond hair blue eyes. She is the original Raphael Tuck design. Sophia is the dark haired, brown eyed beauty on the left. Mysterious isn't she? She is my recreation of the Abigail doll.

Such lovely gowns! Oh, the places these two have seen! Sweet Abigail is, after all, 114 years old. She looks fabulous for her age, don't you think?

Both dolls and all the outfits in these photos were printed from the doll kit pdf files. I wanted to test them before offering them to you. The details and colors are fantastic!

Lovin' the blue hat.. very casual.. perhaps for a picnic in the park.

Oh, the elegant gold toned gown is a must for any fashionable girl from the 1890's. Pearls, a fancy feather fan and fleur de lis finish it off just perfectly.

On to the prize! Below is the portfolio I created to keep Abigail and Sophia safe. I used antique sheet music and the original box cover design from 1894. The girls and all of the their outfits tuck in nicely.

This is a lovely idea for giving Sweet Abigail as a gift. Print out the doll set, which includes the cover page and helpful hints, and tuck her into an embellished handmade envelope, folder or box. Wallpaper or scrapbooking paper would work nicely too.

Tie it with a ribbon and embellish with a glitter letter.

What a lovely gift to give, or to WIN!!! This exact portfolio, the two dolls shown in the above pictures and all of their outfits are my giveaway prize! But don't fret, Sweet Abigail is available to purchase as a pdf from my Etsy Shop for only $5. Print her as many times as you would like, use her in your art and please give her away!

Recreating this Sweet Abigail paper doll has been a project on my 'to do' list for almost a year. Now that she is finished, I am almost sad. I enjoyed playing with her and, to me, the design work for the kit is the most fun of all.

Little details add so much. Giving a handmade gift for Christmas, Birthdays, or just because means the world to those receiving them. Try to make more gifts this year, give your love and a little bit of your time. Reuse, reduce, and upcycle. Who knew vintage ribbon, vintage flowers and old sheet music could look so good?

I will be drawing a winner for Sweet Abigail and Sweet Sophia on Monday, November 17th. You may leave a comment here, on this post or on the original giveaway post. You may enter TWICE!! ( to do that all I ask is that you mention the giveaway on your bog/site.) You can post a comment on both posts if you would like and both entries will count.

Thank you for your patience!

xoxo~

Abbie

All Dressed Up..

Here is my submission to Mind Wide Open. I liked working with a 'real' piece, instead of a digital one this time. It reminds me of a shabby chic Christmas ornament, 'all dressed up' ready to be displayed! It measures 6 1/2" wide and 7 1/2" long.

I used an embroidery hoop as the frame and the 'canvas' is a piece of linen that I sewed antique lace, the picture frame, ribbon and the buttons to. It hangs from a loop of vintage pink ribbon and is embellished with a brass knob at the top and an architectural piece at the bottom. The back is covered in a lovely piece of vintage wallpaper. I think perhaps I'll list it for sale in my Etsy Shop. Thank you Gail for the inspiration! and thank you, ladies, for all of the eye candy you create each month! I can't wait to see what everyone else does.

Remember, voting starts tomorrow! Please leave a comment for your favorite piece!

The first day..

Well, this morning I shipped my three year old off to preschool for the entire day! My 15 month old is sleeping and the house is completely still. Not something that happens very often.. even the dogs sense the peace and quiet and dare not disturb it. (they love to bark at the passing vehicles on the road) So, for now, Mondays and Wednesdays are my 'quiet, regroup, find my sanity' days. Something I found that was missing from my day was music. I LOVE music. I'll listen to anything but prefer bands like Depeche Mode, the Killers, etc.. We have a rediculous number of music channels with our cable so I have been putting it on my favorite (turning the TV off it plays through our stereo system) and letting it run all day. It helps. I have been happier and the girls have been playing, eating, and interacting better without the TV in the background. It is the small changes that seem to be helping my days. It will be nice when my wee one starts walking. 15 months and still nothing. She can stand by herself so it's coming, but it is quite exhausting hauling her all over the place. I am working on a giveaway over at Button Floozies and still posting images daily (or trying) to The Vintage Moth. I'd love to reopen my Etsy shop someday but not exactly sure what I'd offer. The antique papers, etc are all over Etsy and I'd like to do something a little different. Not sure what yet. Something handmade perhaps.. We'll see.

Off to enjoy more quiet time..
xoxo~
Abbie

These are a few of my favorite things...

New bits added to my shop..

Damsel Designs at Etsy

New Box of Goodies, Soon to be available.

Oooohhh... aren't these just dee-lish?? Minski was found on Etsy. Otherwise known as Minna, she creates fabulous button necklaces and brooches.

Below is a 'cute as a button necklace in Definitely Pink'. Oh, I just adore the pink!! Such a bright wonderful splash for the upcoming summer.. can't you see this on a model wearing a fabulous pink polka dot bikini?


Not liking pink so much? (or the thought of bikinis..)

Try this little number on.. 'Water Baby' is a little more 'down to earth'.

How about a little Italian Summer Time Brooch? Minna says

"The colors remind me of the beautiful buildings and oh-so-blue sea and sky in Cinque Terre, Italy, and how hot it was when I was there."

Some wonderful colors and a brilliant use of buttons to get your summer juices flowing!

Please check out Minna's Etsy shop and peek around, she also has some cute handbags and lovely pin sets..

Have a fabulous weekend!!

xoxo~

(I also posted this at my alter ego blog Button Floozies, come on by for great button love, meet the other floozies and just plain crafty goodness!)

The Lovely Art of Paper Filligree and Quilling

I met a friend through Etsy whose work just fascinates me. Paula Bauer uses paper for 3D works of art that are just gorgeous! I have been enthralled with paper quilling for years! Having never attempted it myself, I am very impressed when I see the pieces in person. Photography just doesn't do them justice, as the work is so delicate and tiny.






Enjoy the eye candy! Please stop by and visit Paula at her blog, Give it a Twirl, her Etsy shop, Gem State Quilling, and her website Gem State Quilling. The website has some amazing products and ideas but I was unable to grab the images to show you! Right on her home page is a lovely oil candle lamp with the base wrapped in paper blooms and a dragonfly! Ahhh!!! It's perfect for spring!!
Thank you Paula for sharing these pics with me!

Button Fun! UPDATED!!

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a button floozy! I just love them and can not pass up a jar!
I discovered the button fun on Kathy's Blog and just had to join Sugar Sugar's Button challenge, even though I am a day late.. (ha! my husband is going to lol when he sees this as I am always late for everything!)

If you browse my blog, you'll find buttons all over the place, so I thought I'd share my most recent acquisition. This metal tin, when you first glance in it, appears to be filled with junk, but not to me!! Look at the lovelies that were buried inside! Glass, shell, metal, vegetable ivory..

My favorite is the one with the black velvet flowers and leaf.. how do they do that?? Alas, there was just the one. Now I have something else to hunt for!

For more button fun follow the above links or you can peek at Button Constructions, a wonderful Etsy shop filled with button love!

(my next post will be in response to the wonderful comments and emails I received this weekend! Thank you so much for all the supportive words, they made me cry!)

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UPDATE:

COME JOIN THE FUN AT

Mr. Blue Bird on my Pitcher...

This pretty little pitcher was given to me this weekend.. isn't it lovely? It sits on top of my kitchen cabinets.. I wonder what he sees in there? A little worm perhaps? The plate is a summer plate. Something that is not coming quite fast enough!

Also this large, vintage (or antique) tomato cookie jar! Isn't it so much fun?! Just perfect for my red and white kitchen!

And this lovely birdie I purchased from Kathy. She has one little bird left in her Etsy Shop. Yes, the snow is still here.. you can see a glimpse of it out the kitchen window. We joked yesterday that the only way we could have an outside Easter Egg Hunt was if the eggs were left white and we just threw them into the snowbanks.

I hope everyone of you had a lovely Easter and enjoyed the time with your families!

I roasted boneless leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary. It smelled so fabulous cooking in the oven.. also we had a spiral cut ham, asparagus, homemade bread, carrots, salad, and scalloped potatoes. To finish off, we enjoyed a lemon meringue pie and coconut cream pie. I wanted to take some pictures but I figured my family would think I had lost my rocker!!

An addition to my shop...

Hand Felting, Knitting.. Oh the TALENT!

I received a package the other day from my dear friend Amber. For my birthday she made me some of the most gorgeous hand knit and felted bowls I have ever seen!! I didn't know people could do this! (At least not anyone I knew..) she is such a talented knitter! She has made some lovely treasures for the whole family, but these are by far my favorite! ♥ Thank you Am!

I have been trying to convince Am to post some of her lovely creations for sale on Etsy but so far she hasn't bitten.. If you would like to acquire some similar items then check out Papaver Vert's Etsy shop.. they also have some lovely hand felted bowls.. I didn't snag one of their pics as I didn't have time to ask for permission. But trust me, it's worth a peek!!

Also, from my dear friend Anke (it was her birthday the other day!.. Happy Birthday!) a wonderful box stuffed full of Kinder Eggs, chocolates, tea and art papers!! Wooohhooo!! As some of you know, I grew up in Germany and miss it dearly.. one thing I missed most were Kinder Eggs! Milk chocolate outside, white chocolate inside, and in the middle.. a toy!! How cool is that? It's like Cracker Jacks for chocolate lovers! As you can see from the pic above.. someone else loved the chocolate as much as I did! I couldn't keep T's hand out of the chocolate long enough to get a picture without her in it.. Like momma like daughter!

Thank you for the fabulous response to the Spring Giveaway! I am starting to really like this "custom gift' idea a lot and think I will do it every month on my blog. But instead of having to leave a comment on a specific post, you can leave a comment on any post during the month to be entered.. what do you think??