She Is A Friend

In order to celebrate the Grand Opening of my Etsy store

I am giving away one of my Shadow Box Pendants!!!


It's simple to be eligible to win! Become a follower on my blog or a fan of my Facebook page. There are links to do both in the column on the right. I suggest you do both, I will be giving special discounts via my blog and on my Facebook page, they won't be the same or at the same time so if your linked to both you won't miss out on any!

You have until the end of the month to become a follower and/or a fan, spread the word, tell your family & friends. I will have a random drawing and announce the winner on March 1st.
Thank you my friends!
xoxox

Broken But Loved

When I discovered Frozen Charlotte dolls
I immediately fell in love.



I have been building up my collection for about three years now. All of mine have been dug from the grounds of old doll factories in Thuringia Germany. If a doll was broken or not quite perfect it was discarded and buried in the ground around the doll factory. They are now excavating at the doll factories and resurrecting these beauties. I'm collecting them hoping to give them a new life! I find the imperfections charming, most of mine are broken and quite dirty, to me this just adds to their charm. I absolutely adore the broken dolls, but on occasion I have found "perfect" ones and couldn't resist, I have them set aside with all

my special little things.

Frozen Charlotte dolls were manufactured between 1850-1920 and range in size from under 1" to 18" plus. There was also a boy version made which is distinguished from the Charlotte doll by his boyish hair and called the

Frozen Charlie.

Usually made from porcelain, some have china fronts and unglazed backs making them floatable. The tiny versions were frozen and then placed in cups to cool afternoon tea, while the large versions floated in bath tubs. They were also given as special gifts; a small one would be baked inside a small cake or pudding to surprise a birthday child or guests during the holidays.

The name Frozen Charlotte came from an American Folk Ballad, Fair Charlotte which was attributed to William Lorenzo Carter. The song was inspired by a poem, Young Charlotte written by Seba Smith after he read a true story in the New York Observer...."A young woman...was frozen to death while riding to a ball on Jan 1, 1840."

To me, this tragic story makes these

little beauties even more special!

Click here or on the Frozen Charlotte Story link at the top of my blog to read the poem written by Seba Smith.

Fit for a Queen

My husband is great at picking out gifts,

& he didn't disappoint at Christmas.

I wanted to share the new treasures

he gave me this year!

He got me this wonderful chair for my studio,
he calls it my Queen Chair.


He added this exquisite crown to my collection.


And my favorite gift is this beautiful Ex-Voto,

complete with a wish for me already inside!


I'm so lucky to have a King that knows

the perfect gifts to give his Queen!

A Few of My Favorite Things

A couple of weeks ago I went antique shopping with my friend Amanda. I found some wonderful things and wanted to share a few of my favorites with you.


I have a love & obsession for old vintage canning jars & anything "crowned". I was giddy with excitement when I found these vintage Canadian canning jars!

I love old books and found the publication date, 1888, title and images on this book irresistible.


Anything Christmas, especially vintage is always on my wish list, when I found this old tinsel still on it's string and these tree candle clips I just had to bring them home.


I've been looking for coasters for my studio & came across these glass ones, I love the scallop edges!


Amanda and I always have fun shopping together, whether it's antiquing, thrift stores or boutiques,

we always find yummy treasures!

Angel Queen

I love my Angel!

I call her my Angel Queen!

I recently took a class with Beth Quinn in her new beautiful home studio. I had a great time in class, Beth made an error on the date for the class & I couldn't make it on the correct date, so she held class for me anyway! I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of hours of chit chat & yummy snacks with Beth!

Once I got her home I gave my Angel Queen a head using one of my vintage Frozen Charlotte doll heads, added a pearl necklace and the tarnished glass glitter heart, chandelier crystal & vintage text to her skirt.  She was supposed to be a holiday ornament but I love her so much I am going to keep her up in my studio year round.

"I Believe"

I've really been missing the snow this holiday season

so it felt great to be able to make a snowman yesterday.

I sculpted, painted, glittered & decorated

this fun little delight who I will call my

Dreaming of a White Christmas~I Believe~SnowGirl!

I am so in love with this little darling!


I gave her vintage shell buttons and

used vintage thread to "sew" them on her plump little belly.


I carefully chose the section of a page from a

vintage book to cut out her hat so the words

"I Believe" would be front and center!


If you ever get a chance you should jump to take a class from
Jenny Hernandez aka The Polka Dot Pixie.
She is one of the most generous teachers

I have ever taken a class from!

I thoroughly enjoyed myself & the time I got to spend

with all the fun, creative women yesterday.

~♥Love to you♥~

xoxox

Christmas Came Early

I finally finished painting the furniture &

got to start unpacking all my goodies yesterday!

Opening the boxes & removing the paper & tissue

from all my pretty little things made it fell like I was

unwrapping presents on Christmas morning.

I can't wait to get everything hung & placed around the room.

I had a vision of what it would look like when I started,

but it's far exceeding my expectations and

I am so ecstatic with how it is turning out!

Sorry about the lighting in the photos,

I don't have my curtains hung yet,

I will be working on that this weekend.