Congrats to Mary Jenkins, the winner of my first giveaway!
Check back for the next contest, coming later in the week.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wallet Giveaway
Leave a comment for me on my last post (Vintage = Memories) as your entry.
Any comment: about something hanging in your closet that you can't part with. That you were the one who purchased her dress on Saturday. That I am way too sentimental. (that may have been suggested as a possibility before!)
Anyway!
Share some thoughts. I will randomly choose a winner on November 1st. Make sure that you leave a way for me to get in touch with you. The winner will choose any wallet that is available in my etsy shop, Tangled Daisies.
Any comment: about something hanging in your closet that you can't part with. That you were the one who purchased her dress on Saturday. That I am way too sentimental. (that may have been suggested as a possibility before!)
Anyway!
Share some thoughts. I will randomly choose a winner on November 1st. Make sure that you leave a way for me to get in touch with you. The winner will choose any wallet that is available in my etsy shop, Tangled Daisies.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Vintage = memories
I finally figured it out. Why anything vintage, antique, or just plain old is so appealing to me. It has meaning. It has life. It has history. It is someone's story.
This past weekend, my daughter's school hosted a rummage sale as a fundraiser and I spent quite a bit of time helping with the event.
Friday morning, a sweet elderly woman came in and asked if I could help her unload her car. We chatted as we made several trips from her car to the gym. She had done some serious housecleaning and was parting with several items that meant a lot to her. She talked about some of them as she set them on the table.
The one that hit me the most was a cream colored dress and jacket. It has a pattern of branches, leaves and acorns woven into the fabric. She had it carefully wrapped in plastic, protecting it. She looked at it one last time before she left the gym, sort of smoothed it, and told me that it was the dress that she had worn to her daughter's wedding, which was clearly at least 30 years before.
And that was when it clicked. That dress was not just a dress. It held very important memories to her. She kept it tucked in her closet for years because it wasn't just a dress, it was a moment in time.
Did she look at and see her daughter getting ready before the ceremony? Could she picture her husband, whom she told me had passed away a few years before, dressed in a suit, ready to walk his daughter down the isle? It brought some sort of pictures to her mind, emotions to her heart.
And that is it. I love the stories in the "old" things that have stuck around for us to run across today. I don't always get to know the stories that go with them, but I can't help but wonder what those stories might be and make some up on my own.
This past weekend, my daughter's school hosted a rummage sale as a fundraiser and I spent quite a bit of time helping with the event.
Friday morning, a sweet elderly woman came in and asked if I could help her unload her car. We chatted as we made several trips from her car to the gym. She had done some serious housecleaning and was parting with several items that meant a lot to her. She talked about some of them as she set them on the table.
The one that hit me the most was a cream colored dress and jacket. It has a pattern of branches, leaves and acorns woven into the fabric. She had it carefully wrapped in plastic, protecting it. She looked at it one last time before she left the gym, sort of smoothed it, and told me that it was the dress that she had worn to her daughter's wedding, which was clearly at least 30 years before.
And that was when it clicked. That dress was not just a dress. It held very important memories to her. She kept it tucked in her closet for years because it wasn't just a dress, it was a moment in time.
Did she look at and see her daughter getting ready before the ceremony? Could she picture her husband, whom she told me had passed away a few years before, dressed in a suit, ready to walk his daughter down the isle? It brought some sort of pictures to her mind, emotions to her heart.
And that is it. I love the stories in the "old" things that have stuck around for us to run across today. I don't always get to know the stories that go with them, but I can't help but wonder what those stories might be and make some up on my own.
Monday, October 13, 2008
October Showers Bring...
Kittens apparently!
I caught a flash of this tiny little lady as I pulled out of my driveway last Wednesday morning. Just a quick blur of orange fur. She was hanging out by my front porch when we got home. And hiding under my car when we went to leave a few hours later. That was the moment I was smitten. By the time I got home with my wonderful sister-in-law's kitty house (as my Troops have named the carrier), the poor baby was soaked from the rain & looking completely pathetic huddled under a bush.
So, I introduce you all to the newest addition to our family. This is Squeek, named by the Troops for her tiny little meow. She weighed all of 1.1 pounds when we took her to the vet the day after we found her. Squeek is tough - she seems to handle being told "Kitty, Get it!" when my 2 year old decides it is time to play with her. And she has yet to get really upset when my 5 year old gets so excited she can't keep her hands off of her. She will fit right in!
Yay for October showers!
PS - sorry for the not so great photo - camera phone!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
An Official Etsy Addict
My shop is part of sort of an online "mall" full of only handmade items (and some supplies and vintage goodness) called Etsy. If you have never checked it out, you are missing out of an amazing shopping experience.
What is there to love about Etsy?
One-of-a-kind options it offers.
You are purchasing items that have actually been made by a person, not mass produced.
If you can't find exactly what you are looking for, you can request it, and SOMEONE will be able to create it just for you.
There are so many wonderful and talented artisans that you never would have found without a site like Etsy.
This shop, Dudadaze, is one of my many favorites.
I love the whimsical characters Diane Duda creates. The fun of being a little girl, carefree and happy, shines through her work.
This print, "She Believed in Spontaneous Dancing", is my absolute favorite her shop. It makes me think of my daughter, who can't stop herself from dancing when the mood strikes her. I ordered this one for myself - and every time I see it it makes me smile!
And this adorable print makes me think of my niece. When she learned how to do headstands, she just had to do them everywhere!
The joys of childhood- carefree dancing, and seeing the world the way you want to, so vividly portrayed in Diane's beautiful work!
What is there to love about Etsy?
One-of-a-kind options it offers.
You are purchasing items that have actually been made by a person, not mass produced.
If you can't find exactly what you are looking for, you can request it, and SOMEONE will be able to create it just for you.
There are so many wonderful and talented artisans that you never would have found without a site like Etsy.
This shop, Dudadaze, is one of my many favorites.
I love the whimsical characters Diane Duda creates. The fun of being a little girl, carefree and happy, shines through her work.
This print, "She Believed in Spontaneous Dancing", is my absolute favorite her shop. It makes me think of my daughter, who can't stop herself from dancing when the mood strikes her. I ordered this one for myself - and every time I see it it makes me smile!
And this adorable print makes me think of my niece. When she learned how to do headstands, she just had to do them everywhere!
The joys of childhood- carefree dancing, and seeing the world the way you want to, so vividly portrayed in Diane's beautiful work!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
New Tangled Daisies Goodness!
I have been trying for a while now to come up with a wallet design that I liked. Something that was smallish, so you could carry it easily in a pocket if you didn't want to bring your whole bag with you. But also something that could hold all the cards you use most and some cash. Something that would close securely, but without the bulk of a zipper.
After several attempts (None of which I have anymore, or thought to photograph, which is kind of a bummer, because a couple were pretty comical!) I had a design I liked.
(Drumroll....)
Perfect size. Snap closure to keep it slim. Two pockets inside:
Once I am happy with something I have made I have to put it to the test: Showing it to super awesome friends who provide me with honest thoughts on whatever it is i am throwing at them with the words "what do you think?"
The first wallet was actually stolen from me immediately. (Thanks Lori!) And the next two I gave immediately because their responses were so genuinely excited. (Thanks Claire and Carlie!). So I have to say, I was pretty happy in the end, and think they were worth the tragic results it took to get to the end product!
After several attempts (None of which I have anymore, or thought to photograph, which is kind of a bummer, because a couple were pretty comical!) I had a design I liked.
(Drumroll....)
Perfect size. Snap closure to keep it slim. Two pockets inside:
Once I am happy with something I have made I have to put it to the test: Showing it to super awesome friends who provide me with honest thoughts on whatever it is i am throwing at them with the words "what do you think?"
The first wallet was actually stolen from me immediately. (Thanks Lori!) And the next two I gave immediately because their responses were so genuinely excited. (Thanks Claire and Carlie!). So I have to say, I was pretty happy in the end, and think they were worth the tragic results it took to get to the end product!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Why the Happy Dance?
A friend recently asked me what it was I liked so much about working with "found" fabrics. Why these finds would make me do little happy dances in thrift shops. What it was that made them my favorite things to work with.
The best answer I can come up with is that I see the life in inanimate objects. I see old run down buildings or homes that you know were once beautiful. I imagine what it once looked like, what the people who used it once upon a time looked like, what sort of things went on in it, and compare it to the neglect it is facing now. I love the history it holds, the stories of the people and events that once took place there, and value the life it once held in its walls. I can sort of sense the sadness of it now. Not the sadness of the situation, but of the building itself.
Yes, I know. A little crazy. But that is me!
I feel the same way about textiles. That they, especially the vintage things I find, hold a story. About the people who wore them. About the person who bought yards of fabric intended for something that was never made. About the person who spent hours lovingly hand stitching table linens.
I love to take those things, those forgotten things that once meant something to someone, and make them new again.
That's what brings out the happy dance in me!
The best answer I can come up with is that I see the life in inanimate objects. I see old run down buildings or homes that you know were once beautiful. I imagine what it once looked like, what the people who used it once upon a time looked like, what sort of things went on in it, and compare it to the neglect it is facing now. I love the history it holds, the stories of the people and events that once took place there, and value the life it once held in its walls. I can sort of sense the sadness of it now. Not the sadness of the situation, but of the building itself.
Yes, I know. A little crazy. But that is me!
I feel the same way about textiles. That they, especially the vintage things I find, hold a story. About the people who wore them. About the person who bought yards of fabric intended for something that was never made. About the person who spent hours lovingly hand stitching table linens.
I love to take those things, those forgotten things that once meant something to someone, and make them new again.
That's what brings out the happy dance in me!
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