2024 - A New Year

 

January 13, 2024 - another year.  Right now it is snowing outside and it's VERY cold - 12 degrees if my computer is calculating correctly.  BRRRR!  2023 wasn't the best of years for me, I lost a dear friend who I had known since I was 16 and I lost my sister.  Those days were pretty rough.  Well, I got through them but due to the nature of "trauma" on the soul, I slowed down a but and let everything lapse, including the website.  While I hope to be back on track soon, I am still trying to juggle 7 venues at once - Ruby Lane, ETSY (2 shops), EBAY, Poshmark and my own website.  Oh, not to mention this blog.  Hmm, maybe I better stop working on something - I might catch up a little quicker (lol).  

So, my New Year's resolution is to do a little better - work a little harder and try a few ideas I have been wanting to try for many a year.  Getting older is a blessing but I realize that with each passing day, it's one less day to tackle a new project - and I do love tackling new projects.  

Happy New Year Everyone!  Till next time.....

Ornament 4 - Repurposed French Pharmacy Pill Box

A Gift for You - French Pharmacy Pill Box with Victorian Graphic

Let's skip a little forward in time.  In 2017 I discovered the Spellbinders embossing - cutting machine.  To say I got hooked immediately is an understatement.  I was cutting paper and pasting paper and designing all manner of items.  It was at that time I decided that my hoard of antique paper wasn't really being used to the best of its ability and so I decided to start working with it.  This small box was the first I created with my small collection.  

 

Starting with a C.1990 pharmacy box (round) that I had found in Paris, France, I found an old trade card that couldn't be used in its entirely.  Using the Spellbinders machine, I cut a perfect round out of the card and attached it to the top of the plain box.  Then I added a small sentiment - A Gift for You.

I left everything else as I found.  The interior of the box is plain and the side bands of pink and pale lavender made for a nice bit of femmy decoration.  

The box can be used for a small trinket, maybe a small piece of jewelry - all that's needed is a bit of cotton padding.  The new owner could add a touch more decoration to personalize it a bit more.  Because the 2 pieces are genuine antiques, the box makes for a very nice ONE OF A KIND gift item.  

Once I get a little more settled with loading in my own craft creations, I will be adding a lot of these little beauties to the website.  In the meantime, stay tuned while I try to catch up to 2024!

 

Till next time....

Ornament 3 - Panne Velvet Heart Ornament

Mauve Panne Velvet Silk Ribbon Heart Ornament

During the 1980s there was another crafting fad that took hold - cross stitching.  Now there was a company that brought in the most wonderful designs that were handcrafted in the Phillipines.  You could buy a finished product or you could buy just the cross stitched panel and apply it to your own design.  Well I fell in love with the finished product and I, like others, bought item to "pad out" my inventory at a craft show.  But one thing I fell in love with more than the cross stitch panels were the foam forms that were sold by Banar Designs.  You could buy hearts, ovals, rounds and for a limited time, squares.  Since I loved making fabric ornaments it was a quick way to save a few minutes of time by using pre-cut pieces rather than having to cut my own.  This is one of my designs that I came up with using the small heart shape.

Using 2 forms back to back I added panne velvet to the center sections, edged the piece in beige lace, added a bit of rat tail cording around the heart line and then embellished the top with some satin and 100% silk ribbon.  On the very top, a silk flower I made myself and a small faux (sometimes a genuine) pearl.  The finished piece was very femmy and made a nice ornament for a tree or simply to decorate a small area on a lady's dresser.  As fast as I could make these beauties, I sold.  They were easy to make, the components were not too expensive and I could make at least 3 each hour.  My only real decision was which center fabric to use!

Right now, I don't have any of the hearts listed on my website but I do believe there are a few in my ETSY shop - RobinsHolidayHome.  If you want to check them out, just take a gander over there.  Price is $6!

 Until next time....

Ornament 2 - Country Rabbit Cute as a Button

Muslin Cotton Rabbit with Wood Wings - Cute as a Button

Country was a favorite craft back in the 1980s.  I actually preferred the more romantic items with lace and frills but I did try my hand at doing country crafts, that is, if the right item came along.  Made in China, Wangs started bring in fabric dolls, rabbits and other critters that could be tea dyed and then dressed or decorated.  This little rabbit is one that worked quite well for me at shows.

Starting with the tea dyed rabbit, I added wooden wing, painted them mauve and applied the phrase CUTE AS A BUTTON.  I had the rabbit carry a small garland of plastic buttons and wood beads.  Adding a fabric bow tie and a couple of buttons all that was needed then was a black wire hanger which I attached to the back wings.  

This ornament was the prototype for my making more and now that I can no longer get the rabbits, I will offer this item for sale.  

This little fellow can be hung on the wall or hung on a Christmas tree.  He is also poseable to a certain extent - he could sit in a tree or on a chair.  

So, ornament number 2, a leftover from days past.  If anyone wants, just contact me here through the blog.  Price is $9.50.  Eventually I will get it listed over on the Troll Market - I've just got to find it (don't worry, I think I know where it is). 

Till next time.....

Ornament 1 - Country Bear - Angels Gather Here

Vintage Plush Bear Angel in Mauve - Angels Gather Here

The year was 1984 and the advent of the glue gun was causing a real resurgence in handcrafted items.  Craft Festivals such as The Harvest Festival of San Mateo, Ca, The Fullerton Park Festival and the Santa Barbara Old Mission Days Festival just couldn't keep adding crafters fast enough.  Crafts in the 80s were so different from crafts of the 2000s - they were simple and fast.  Gluing one thing to another was the norm.  While it did involve imagination it also involved buying a lot of merchandise from suppliers.  Some craft festivals wouldn't allow "glued items" - the Laguna Beach festival being the biggest show to say no.  The other drawback was that one had to be a resident of Laguna Beach to even be able to apply.

So at the beginning of my arrival in California, San Diego to be exact, the first show to accept my work was the one in Fullerton, Ca.  The show was in a large park and the variety of crafts was amazing.  The only thing I didn't like was the heat!  But with a white tarp over my head and my products shielded from the sun (and lots of ice on my neck) I managed to complete the 2 day show and ended up with a tidy sum of money for my efforts.  It was actually that show that prompted my move from San Diego to Los Angeles.

The picture above is my small booth at Fullerton that year.  Sorry the image isn't that great - all I had at the time to shoot photos was a small camera that I really couldn't focus too well.  But you get the idea as to where I was in what I was creating at the time.

Everything was lace.  Lace, lace and more lace.  And Satin.  And Bears.  And Baskets.  The two put together always elicited gasps of ah and almost always ensured a sale.  Times were simple then.

So back to my country bear.  Wangs International was one of the biggest craft suppliers of the day and if you were lucky to score a wholesale account with them you were able to purchase all manner of items to decorate.  This is one of their bears.  The wood pieces were from a small supplier located somewhere in California (I can't remember where) but they were a staple at Beckman's Wholesale show during gift week in Los Angeles.  I scored a wholesale account with them so was able to buy wood decorations in bulk.  A little paint, a little bought fabric, some black wire and voila! an Angels Gather Here Bear.

It's an ornament I still have around and if anyone is interested, price is $9.50.  Once I find it again (don't worry, I have an idea as to where it is) I will list in Robins Troll Market. 

Till next time....