i love the idea of something wildly colorful and intentionally imperfect.
below are some vintage examples from ebay that i saved to inpire me. the top one reminds me of a flower or a medical diagram of a cell. looking at it gives me the jitters (in the best way possible).
available here
available here
available here
available here
this is teddy. when my mother was young, teddy kept her company. when i was young, she played with me. she enjoyed borrowing my old dresses, one of which she still likes to wear. ever since she lost her mouth, teddy doesn't say much. she never stopped giving great hugs.
and she always looks up at me when i talk to her.
teddy is totally bald except for a few patches of fur, the largest of which is located on her upper left leg. her back has been stitched to hold in what's left of her stuffing. some bears might find this photo shocking, but teddy loves her body. she is not modest.
teddy wanted to appear on my blog ever since she saw shula's teddy.
there are few things as endearing as a well-loved stuffie.
...but i am happy to be surrounded by it again.
1. glass canister with smiley carrots from my grandparent's kitchen that reminds me of all of the macaroni and ketchup lunches i ate there.
2. ceramic lady in an orange dress who was designed to be a drinking cup (flipped over). i haven't found the card with the artist's name yet but i'll post about her when i do.
3. purple tufted chair still surrounded by boxes.
brwhat's one way to feel old? go watch one of your husband's all male basketball games and sit with the wives/girlfriends while working on a needlepoint rug. :) i went to one of jordan's games last night and despite feeling old it was fun to watch him and the other super nice teachers but on their serious game faces and play. it's funny how a person who is so gentle and laid back can transform into an aggressive ball player.
besides being a cheerleader yesterday, i was also a little girl on christmas morning. or at least that's how i felt when i received four packages in one day, two of which were complete surprises. (perhaps they all know the 12th is the anniversary of my first date with jordan?)
the incredibly whimsical and funny and sweet vanessa sent me a most beautifully wrapped parcel. love the dress. love the striped tights. love the tea theme.
and inside? treasures i can wear to my next tea party! i am totally in love with the little purse...thank you vanessa for adding a little sparkle to my life! i'm already planning my next package for you.
these photos do not capture the awesomeness of julie's wall jewelry. the texture is amazing and when i look at it hanging on our bedroom wall it seems to be some sort of lucky amulet from another time. thank you for the wonderful surprise julie! (i've heard other bloggers mention finding a long lost twin among their blogging friends. julie is more like the female version of jordan. how great is that?)
a most delicious smelling soap arrived all the way from norway. britt-arnhild surprised me with this lovely handmade treat. the packaging is as beautiful as the soap. thank you britt!
little treats also arrived from yael frankel. yael lives in buenos aires and her creativity makes me excited for my trip there in april. it seems like a city bubbling with creative juices.
while it didn't arrive yesterday, the arrival of marieke's package also felt like a special occasion. the terrible photo of her print does it no justice. it is stunning in person. thank you marieke! i even like the blue envelope. (why are european stationary supplies so much better than what we can get in the states? or ecuador?)
thanks again all of you sweet package-sending friends! you brighten my days.
ugh. sometimes typepad can be a real pain! i could not figure out how to make a decent banner for "fluid" length posts so i had to make my posts more narrow which now screws up all of my previous formatting. ugh again. hopefully, i will have this problem fixed in the next day or two.
besides fighting with typepad i've been organizing my craft supplies and was newly imspired by some old images. i love this pygmy hipo (above) and feel like i know this man:
his name is earl and he lives in saratoga, ny. he is a lawyer with his own small firm and loves to bet on horse races. he walks with a slight limp due to a childhood injury that never fully healed. he is married and has four children, three daughters and one son. he hopes his son will one day come to work for him. his favorite food is fresh baked apple pie.
the center where i work is moving next month so i am going to try and take pictures of it this week. hopefully, i will be able to share them with you soon. (i need to get permission from the program head.)
have a great monday!
thanks for helping me celebrate neíl´s birthday. he sends kisses to you all!
i wrote a post a long long time ago about how i love toy food. (i am too lazy to find it again but if you are interested it´s way back...sometime in the fall of 2005.) i don´t know what it is (although i do adore tiny things) but i just love toy food and toy kitchens. and one of my latest additions to this obsession is vintage wolverine tiny toys. they are precious! want proof? here are some items currently available on ebay:
this freaking amazing white and red kitchen cabinet:
check out all the little goodies it comes with:
a tiny crosheted doily!
and how about a pink sink and stove?
or a 1930´s grocery?
i just made myself speechless.
happy monday folks! i hope by now you've all recovered from all of the tea party action. i still can't believe how many of you joined us!
and since i seem to be getting lots of new visitors, i wanted to ask if any of you out there live in denver or colorado? if so, can you please get in touch with me? i will be moving there late summer of this year and would like to meet some new people.
when i was home in ny a few weeks ago i read a bunch of my mother's antiques & fine art magazines and was inspired by many forms of antiques. i plan to share some of these with you over the next few weeks. one of my main inspirations were the antique samplers, from the late 18th and 19th centuries, particularly those that include people and animals. i love the idea of art created by girls and young women.
the following sampler, created in 1797 and available through raccoon creek antiques (for a small fortune) is one of my favorites. i love the washed out colors and i love love the little women.
here they are a little bit closer:
what do you think they are doing? picking fruit?
while most samplers were made in the u.s. and great britain the next example, made in 1820, is actually italian (and available through a dealer specializing in samplers, m. finkel & daughter).
i adore the woman in the polk dot dress:
