Santos Doll - Humility and Grace

I've often admired the Santos dolls seen in magazines and recent catalogs.  They look so peaceful and prayerful, while emitting a sense of humility and simplicity.  I love that they have been used in centuries past for in-home altars.  Original Santos dolls are expensive and hard to find, but reproductions are becoming more common recently.  I found a lovely Santos cage doll at HomeGoods for $9.99 to my delight!  Her original green color didn't suit me, so I transformed her with items I had on hand.  Here is the result:

First, I painted her with some Benjamin Moore 'Feather Gray' paint I had leftover from another project.  I simply used painters tape to mask off her neck and hands while painting. 
Next, I gathered some cheesecloth for her skirt.  I wanted to use a nice ribbon with some pattern to gather the skirt.  Although I was saving this printed ribbon (from PetiteMichelleLouise) for gift wrapping, I knew it would be perfect for this project. 
I had some coffee-stained round paper doilies in my stash.  I cut out the middle circle in one, then used the border to wrap around her skirt as added detail on her waist.

Next, I used the border of another doily to make a crown atop her head.  I glued tiny silver stars around the rim of her crown.  The stars were from a bag of 'fun-fetti' from the party section of the drugstore.
I  cut out angel wings from pages of a vintage German/English dictionary, then glittered the edges.

My husband was chuckling at how much fun I was having dressing my 'doll', and my young daugher was very curious about her.  If my Santos gets cold (it is a bit drafty in this old house), she wears a shawl fashioned from one of my crochet project remnants.
Here are her three 'looks':


Angel Wings



Unadorned



Winter Warmth

 
And close-up:

Considering she represents a humble Santo ('Saint'), I think she prefers her unadorned look.  I just couldn't help ornamenting her lovely grace.
She's come a long way from this ('before' pic), so I'll be sharing her at My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday:

You can visit www.santoscagedoll.com/history-of-santos-dolls to read a history of these dolls, and to view amazing reproductions & crowns.  Also, if you want to see an amazing adornment of one of those dolls, visit Rosemary at http://www.ozmaofodds.blogspot.com/.  Her muse is gorgeous! 

Next time you're at a discount store, be open to the idea of taking something home and making it your own.  You'll be glad you did!

White, Lavender and Knighthood

Hello fellow white lovers!  Thought I'd share a few random photos of white around our home this week as I link to Kathleen's White Wednesday.  I recently bought some lavender buds from Ebay for filling sachets, and decided to also purchase a bunch of lavender stems.  They perk the house up while we're waiting for spring. 

The article in the recent Somerset Life by Alice Wingerden inspired me to make some cone sachets with  fabric scraps on hand.

A recent order from PetiteMichelleLouise provided the lovely ribbons on the sachet.

This peaceful spot in our living room is a cozy place to sit, with it's proximity to the fireplace and pillow cover made from an old winter sweater:

Here's a favorite end table, found at an antique mall 12 years ago and perfectly shabby chic ever since.  I only had to add glass knobs to enhance its' charm.  Housing my collection of catalogs and magazines (and various misplaced toys) makes it functional, too. 

Our son loves anything to do with Knights.  He pores over books instructing one how to become a Knight, and loves to practice 'Defending the Faith'!  I thought these tags (also from PetiteMichelleLouise) would be perfect for him.  He's already signed the back of one with his gallant name.  Another tag is hung from this white tureen, reminding us of that noble era:

More Valentine tags...the lovely Marie Antoinette tag on the left was made by Rosemary of Ozma of Odds, included in a purchase of one of her gorgeous paper ex-voto lockets. 

I made the other two simple tags for Valentine's day:

Let's toast to romance, heraldry and nobility!  (and lavender!)

A dash of pink

As Valentine's day draws near, I can't help but get excited about adding a (tiny) dash of pink into our home.  I've been enjoying this time indoors (during our blizzard week) to make some Valentine creations.  I'll post those later, but in the meantime here are some other peeks of pink. 

I leaned this scrapbook paper against the wall as I was crafting, and liked this impromptu combination:

Here is a peek into my daughter's bedroom, where pink is a welcome color.  These photos were taken last summer as the room was being redecorated.  I had fun sewing all the pillows, including these little hearts and the embroidered 'A'.  I try to personalize her bedroom, as well as my son's, whenever I can.  Someday I'll share those rooms in a post (when they're tidied up).

"Two hearts....beat as one..." (love that U2 song!):

Here's a pretty slipper I got from Stampington.com, and dressed up with a paper crown rosette.  She's our Queen, after all!

Enjoy your weekends!  I'm linking to Beverly's Pink Saturday.

Come Tea with Me...

The serenity of winter whites inspired me to sew this table runner the other night, made of rustic burlap and white ruffle.
 

I topped it with a mirror, paper cut-outs, crochet doily, sparkly winter tree and our wedding china.

 

Care to join me for tea and cake?  I really do wish I could host each of you for tea and lots of laughs.

Have a great week! 

Father Christmas...to Father Time

Happy New Year friends!
We rang in our 2011 with a child-friendly 'First Night' in our city.  There were lots of events downtown, culminating with beach balls and confetti being tossed from a building after a 7pm countdown.  We all felt like kids tossing around the beach balls and blowing horns.  
After a long day of taking down Christmas decorations yesterday, I'm ready to start January fresh.  It was melancholy to say goodbye to the reminders of Christmas, but we can hold the spirit in our hearts all year, right?

In October I stumbled upon a simple white Santa figure at a Salvation Army thrift store for $2.  I realized I could keep him around in January to represent Father Time. 
Here he is holding a wreath for Christmas...

I cut out a tea-stained paper image of a clock, glittered the edges and taped it onto the wreath.  Now he is Father Time...looming over the New Year. 

Bon Annee!

Handmade for Home - Part 2

Hello fellow Christmas elves!  Hope you are enjoying this magical time.  I love seeing all your homes in blogland.  Feast for the eyes!
I thought I'd link into Vintage Inspiration Friday, Show and Tell Friday and Feathered Nest Holiday and see some lovelies at their sites. 
Here are a bit more handmade items around my home for Christmas...

Last year I gathered my vintage rhinestone buckles to make easy ornaments.  I stamped and glittered on tea-stained paper, then cut the image to fit inside my buckles.  Tying some twine around the buckle frame made an instant ornament.  A cinch!  This year I'm displaying them on a new white $8 Target tree (this bargain will do until I find a nice feather tree some day).

The garland was made using a strip of cheesecloth and blue seambinding sewed down the center.  I got the idea from Angela Harris's crepe paper garlands in her etsy store.

 (That's my handsome hubby in the frame with me!)

Have you seen these cute Pottery Barn ornaments?

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

Thought I'd make some similar ones of our cherubs using crepe paper, tea-stained images of music, glitter and scrapbook frames.  The white wreath ornament is a vintage brass knocker I found at Brimfield Flea Market, then painted white & laced with twine to hang. 

And to show you how inspired I get from your blogs, here's a stocking I made last year based on this post from Heather Bullard.  I made a few of these as gifts.  Pretty easy to sew - I left the edges raw and attached some lace with a twisted fabric flower.  

In May I hosted a fun tea party for my sister's (big) birthday (I won't tell the number...).  All the ladies received a handmade small sachet as a favor.  I decided to use mine as an ornament this year.  Just some simple 2x2" ticking fabric sewed with hand-stamped fabric, and stuffed with lavender.  Still smells good!

I'll finish off with some more vintage items - creamer & sugar used as vases and some fun blue-rimmed plates.

Handmade + vintage = unique!  Have a great weekend!

Handmade for Home - Part 1

Well, I'm envious of you ladies in blogland sharing your true white Christmas snow.  We haven't seen a snowflake yet, and Christmas is nearing...send some our way!
Our living room has been a peaceful and cozy place to share family time, now that it's fully decked out.  I thought I'd share some items in it that I've made over the years.  It gives it a personal, if somewhat imperfect, character. 
Here's the view entering the room.  I sewed the ottoman and pillow covers, and simple white window treatments at various times.  I'm all for sewing projects that don't take too long.

The Country Living magazine had a great article about painting stripes on fabric to resemble grain sacks, so I did that on this table cover next to the tree.  Easy!

"The stockings were hung on the desk(?) with care...".  I made these 4 stockings a few years ago when our children were very young.  Two feminine boots for us ladies, and 2 tartan plaid for the men of the house. 

On top of the desk are some flea market urns, holding greenery and a mix of new and Shiny Brite ornaments. 

Here's our mantel, with simple snow-sprayed greenery and candles.  I made the stockings a few years ago after I fell for similar ones seen in Country Home magazine.  They were easily sewn with linen, satin ribbon and mother-of-pearl buttons and buckles.  The edges were left raw, and greenery tucked inside.

Recently I thought I'd try etching the word 'PARIS' on this glass vase using some craft store etching cream and a homemade stencil.  The result isn't perfect and I learned a few lessons along the way, but it's one-of-a-kind now. 

I found this Holy Family on eBay.  They look so peaceful here...



This book, "White Christmas" by Tricia Foley, is a favorite of mine.  Natural, light and easy decor with homemade touches.  It was published in 1997, but the look is timeless.

A classic ivory knitted stocking (not handmade by me, but I love the old-fashioned feel).

And lastly, old books topped with a handmade tag by PetiteMichelleLouise. 

I'm linking to White Wednesday.  Hope to see you there.  I'll be sharing more handmade decor later this week.  I love seeing all yours out there!