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!

Going Green With Jadite

Oooh, how I love jadite!  Something about its color makes me happy.  It's kind of opaque and milky.  It's melon-y, celadon-y and sage-y.  Kind of like the colors of the ocean.  I think it's so pretty ~ is that why it's so hard to describe?!  Hahahaha!

After years of oogling Martha's collection:

...I've picked up a few pieces for our cupboards:

Like many jadite collectors, I've snagged most of my pieces from thrift and antique stores.

(These are all vinage except the one in front - a coffe container from Home Goods)

My favorite dish is this vintage compote:

The great thing about collecting jadite is that it's so abundant and much of it is realitively inexpensive.  Jadite was originally manufactured from the 1930's until the early 1970's for restaurants and retail.  It was wildly popular because of its durability, low production cost and cheap retail price (often given away promotionally).

The McKee Glass Company was the first to produce jadite in the US but Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation was the largest producer of jadite.  In 1942, they introduced their line of Fire-King pressed glass dinner and kitchenware that was oven safe and stain resistant.   Produced in a variety of colors including white and peach, jadite was their most popular color and remains the most popular for collectors.

Next on my jadite wish list is a flour sifter:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/47620783/1940s-sift-chine-flour-sifter

...And a chopper:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/46297633/retro-style-vintage-jadite-green-kitchen

Won't these both be great additions to my collection?

If you're interested in seeing more Jadite, check out Flickr's "I Love Jadite Green" photo pool for inspiration.

Do you have a dish obsession?  Do you collect jadite?  Tell me about your collection and you'll be entered to win this month's giveaway!

Every comment you leave on one of my March blog entries counts as an entry so the more you comment, the more chances you have to win!  And for an extra five points into the drawing, please mention this giveaway on YOUR blog with a link back to here!  Good luck:)

Cindy's Got a Brand New Bag

Forget Papa!  I've got a brand new bag - da na na na na na na, HEY!

I'm obsessed with the purse my BFF Melanie gave me for Christmas.  Isn't it gorg?!

(Fantastically pewter colored, buttery leather and four big flowers.)

Actually, I'm obsessed with purses in general and some might accuse me of having too many.  Pfft!  A few of my favorites...

My furry purse:

Melanie gave me this one too!  Doesn't every gal need a furry purse?!

My authentic, 1950's powder blue, frame bag:



My retro red purse:



That has a surprise orange interior:



And even though I certainly have enough purses, I still have purse envy:

(My daughter's fabu lavender flower purse)

This isn't in my closet today but it will be when I win the lottery:

(Lulu Guinness Spring 2011 collection)

And this pink one too, from VixVintage

(I need a vintage pink purse!)

OK, that's it regarding my purse obsession.  For now.  I'm going to end this post and go admire my flower purse again.  And probably dance around to James Brown for a little while longer!

For a chance to win this month's blog giveaway...

...Leave a comment and you're automatically entered!  Drawing is February 28th.  Good luck!