Thursday, June 2, 2011

Upcycling Vintage Doilies & May Blog Giveaway Winner

*Scroll down to the bottom of this post to read about May's blog winner*

Another one of my obsessions is


Vintage, hand crocheted doilies.  I've amassed quite a collection over the years, mostly from flea markets and second hand stores and upcycled them into many things, including pillows.

I've used some of them to embellish my aprons:


And upcycled them into valentines for my family and friends:


About a year ago I stumbled upon this image from Country Living...


...and I've been itchin' to stich one myself!  Here's my first one:


I'm so in love with it!


I've listed this one on Retro Revival and Etsy.  For now, it adorns my table and I can't stop admiring it!


The various shades of creamy white and the delicate needlework make me swoon!  I think it's a beautiful blend of contemporary-clean-fresh and shabby-chic-vintage.

If you too have a stash of doilies, it was easy (though time-consuming as hand stitching always is) to create:

First, I laid out like-colored doilies on my table and played around with arranging them until I achieved a look I liked.


Then I pinned them together with safety pins.


I hand-stitched them together with white thread and a needle.


If a table runner's not your thing, take a cruise through blogville and you'll find lots of other creative ideas for upcycling your doilies.  Here a couple that make me smile:

A doily wedding dress!  Gorgeous.
(Image courtesy 100 Layer Cake)

Doily wallpaper.  Just lovely!

(Image courtesy In Bloom Event Design)

A doily pendant.  Fun!

(Image courtesy DosFamily.com)

Thank you all for your comments on my May posts!


Congratulations to Tana50.  The random generator chose YOU ~ yay!
Tana50, please email me your address so I can ship you the book.

I'm whipping up a very special ~ my MOST special giveaway YET, for this month.  Give me a few more days (it's worth it!) and I'll post the details.

LINK LOVE.  I discovered another beautiful, creative blog!  Check out Creative Carmelina.  She hand-crochetes doilies!

19 comments:

  1. This is a great post, the runner, dress, wallpaper, and that pendant are all to die for!! So much fun!! Hugs ~Leslie

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  2. You table runner is stunning! Great handiwork...I am such a procrastinator when it comes to this project, for some reason I keep putting it off! Maybe it's because I'm always so occupied with crocheting!

    Thanks for your link! To any that wish to pop in to visit me, I extend to you a warm and welcome invitation.


    Ciao Bella!


    CREATIVE CARMELINA

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  3. OMG I think I'm in love!
    The table runner is just beautiful!

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  4. I am always grabbing these little darlings at garage sales..mine are mostly colored tho.Hmmm will have to put my nogin to work!!

    Love the wedding dress one..so romantic.

    Okay it has been a year since I entered the last giveaway..am I free to enter now...please...!!!!

    Hugs Cindy from Rick-Rack and Gingham

    PS Ck in at my blog you might likey!!

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  5. I love your doily idea!! I have been collecting doily's just because I like them, not really knowing what to do with them. They have been stashed in a draw just waiting for something like this..... thank you!!

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  6. I love the doily table runner! I have several doiles tucked away...I see a new project coming!

    LaDonna

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  7. That runner is GORGEOUS!!! Awesome job! Loving the stack of doilies! I just bought a BUNCH from an antique shop and I can't wait to use them in a fun way!

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  8. Yay for your winner! And I love the idea here, I have a drawer of them and I just might do this! :D

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  9. Thanks for all your feedback, ladies:) Looking forward to seeing what you all do/create with your doilies ~ should be fun!

    @Cindy (Rick Rack & Gingham) ~ I'm rootin' for you! Dern Random Generator!

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  10. How cute is that doily dress?! In an odd twist of fate, I too have the same CL pics since I am also obsessed with doilies! I work in a Doily Factory, you know. :-)

    Your doily runner is gorgeous!

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  11. I love the heart you made with doilies. So sweet.

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  12. *drool* I love it! I also love the concept of doilies in general but sadly, have none. Anything fabric that lays on a table, no matter how small, gets sat on by the cats and whatever object is sitting on the fabric gets pushed aside or knocked over. Sigh.

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  13. Your stash looks like mine ... love vintage doilies! Your tablerunner is adorable. Love the wedding dress!
    Hugs,
    Donna

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  14. Hello Cindy,
    Thanks for sharing all of these creative ways to use vintage doilies. I love the wedding dress it is so pretty. I hearted your table runner in your Etsy store. Have a wonderful day!
    Smiles, Paula

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  15. I love dollies and your table runner is georgous. That is a great idea to display lovely dollies.
    Hugs
    donna

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  16. i also love doilies... i started to decorate my home with full of different type of doilies... with thicker yarn and colourful ones, not only white. i have put in the kitchen, in the living room, and i find some very modern ones that i just love... if you are interested you can pop in my blog, and gives you some more inspiration ...

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  17. My grandma taught me how to crochey when I was 9years old and have been doing it ever since. I love your ideas about the doiles! I also dont have have a lot of room for all my crafts and i have found that if i use baskets and labeled boxes i was more organized and less cluttered.

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  18. I *love* that doily dress! Hmmm... perhaps they'll be one in my handmade future..

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  19. Congratulations to the lovely winner!
    Thank you for the incredible ideas for creations using doilies! I have so many of them...and, they should not spend their lives hidden away in drawers!
    I can't choose a favorite, although, the little heart is a delight!
    Thank you for your kind visit and comment on my blog, sweet friend!
    Blessings,
    Carolynn xoxo

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