Artisan Spotlight: Toni Kelly of Sugar Cookie Dolls

Today we are featuring one of our favorite artisans in our shop, Toni Kelly of Sugar Cookie Dolls and her fabulous confections!



I started my business shortly after my grandma passed away and I inherited a vast collection of her costume jewelry, fabric, handbags, etc... Using my wonderful memories of my grandmother for inspiration, I began incorporating her belongings into whimsical creations. I named my business Sugar Cookie Dolls in honor of my grandma, Margaret Cooke Milam, aka: Cookie



Toni's Bit of Bliss... when someone tells me that my creations make them feel happy. That encourages me to continue spreading Happy Glittery Goodness to all.



For more insight, please visit my blog



You can also follow Toni on Twitter.

P.S. In honor of Waynesville's Chocolate Extravaganza this weekend, we will be giving away one of Toni's Truffle Fairies. Be sure to stop by before we close at 5pm on Sunday to put your name in!

Vintage Christmas Spotlight: Jello Molds

Today I thought I would share a few ideas on how you can use vintage Jello molds in your christmas decor. In the picture above you'll see that they make fabulous tea-light holders (or if you're feeling crafty, you can even make them into little candles). They reflect the soft light so well, adding to the coziness of your decor. Plus if you use an electric tea-light, you can nestle them among your garlands and decorations! These round ones also make the perfect ornament holder to showcase a special medium sized (3-4 inch) shiny brite bulb!




Propped on its side, it makes the perfect showcase for little gems like this spun cotton elf ornament...



Or a tiny plastic nativity like this one. You can be creative and make tiny little vignettes of some of your smallest vintage Christmas treasures that might otherwise be lost among your other decorations. Use a little bit of wax or display putty to hold it in place!




They also make a great base for your vintage (or reproduction) bottle-brush trees. Wouldn't it be a sweet way to greet your family and guests to the Christmas brunch with a tree at each place setting with their names attached on a pretty tag? You could nestle some batting, garland or a bit of tinsel at the base to make it even more festive!

Hearth Warming Holidays Vintage Spotlight: Christmas Trees

We've gotten all sorts of wonderful vintage Christmas goodies in the shop right now and we wanted to share some of them with you. Here are some of our various Christmas trees.



This Christmas tree is the one that took center stage in Mom's childhood Christmasses. It is laden down with all of our vintage handmade and plastic unbreakable ornaments (after all, we do have to crawl under it to plug/unplug the lights!). The tree skirt is a vintage find as are the great funky metal tree stands.



Mom got the inspiration for this display in the December 09 issue of Romantic Homes (such a great magazine!). You can easily replicate the look in your own home with some polyester or cotton batting. We got a huge bag of it down the street at the Fabric Shack. The centerpiece is a FABULOUS gold and white ceramic tree. It has its original red lightbulb which gives it a faint rosy glow. The little plastic bulbs are actually clear candle shapes with gold glitter. This mountainous tree presides over a village of vintage putz-style mica covered cardboard houses.



This great vintage aluminum tree is covered with old handmade beaded ornaments and is kept company by some of our other ceramic trees. It's skirt features feathers! Underneath is a round Christmas tablecloth. On the green patio table are some reproduction creamy bottle brush trees.



The tree on our Stickley Brothers desk is a new piece but we just love the frosted look of the branches. It is decked out with pieces of Steph's Jewels handmade jewelry, made by a talented local lady who uses pieces of vintage jewelry and findings to make great new creations. We've put a lot of our vintage pieces as well as some of our other handcrafted jewels, pocket mirrors and hair accessories around it.

Hearth Warming Holidays Sneak Peek!

Here is a sneak peek at some of the fabulous vintage baubles we've been busy putting out for our Hearth Warming Holidays Open House which goes on through Sunday. Here we've assembled oodles of beautiful aqua and blue vintage glass ornaments. Don't you just love the old stencilled ones from Shiny Brite or made in Poland?

Here we've got some of our pink vintage ornaments, accented with some of our vintage jewels. We've put some of our pink champagne glasses to good use holding some "baubly"!


Here we've got some of our greens and golds...the old wire basket lends a nice contrast for display.

On our chippy white dresser, we've raided the shop's shelves for pretty compotes and dishes to hold some of our more spectacular ornaments. Those in the hobnail Fenton tidbit (front and center) are unsilvered WWII finds!

New Prissy's Uniques Halloween Wreaths

Pamela of Prissy's Uniques brought in a couple more adorable Halloween wreaths here at Trendy Bindi's Boutique LLC, which you can see in these pics. Both of these are $35 each.

She hopes to have a couple of her Christmas wreaths in by the Sauerkraut Festival ...can you believe it is next weekend? (Oct. 10 & 11th)

*if you are interested in any of these, just send us an e-mail!

Sale in Honor of Country Living Fair!

It's that time of the year again...Country Living Magazine's annual Country Living Fair is this weekend at Ohio Village in Columbus, Ohio. That's about 1 1/2 to 2 hours north of Waynesville, Ohio. If you're thinking of coming to Ohio for the fair make a weekend of it and visit Waynesville..the Antiques Capital of the Midwest and also, according to the Haunted Ohio books, the most haunted town in Ohio.

In honor of the fair, we will be taking 10% off everything in the shop. PLUS, if you bring in your Country Living Fair ticket or guide, we'll take an ADDITIONAL 10% off your purchase at Trendy Bindi's Boutique LLC. We are located in the historic Stetson House at 234 S. Main St. Waynesville, OH.

New Prissy's Uniques Fall and Halloween Wreaths Are In!

Mom and I are so excited to share these new handmade wreaths we got in last night from Prissy's Uniques.

The artist, Pamela, brought in some really beautiful autumn and delightfully fun halloween ones.

In addition to beautiful seasonal wreaths, Prissy's Uniques makes gorgeous shabby floral ones for your cottage home.

*if you are interested in any of these, just send us an e-mail!

End of Summer Reduction on our Motel Chairs

When we come back from being on vacation, we are going to celebrate the end of summer with an end of summer reduction on our lovely vintage motel bounce and rocking chairs. Instead of $80 each, they will be only $45 each! If you are interested in these you can send us an e-mail. As these are quite heavy, they are available for pick-up only at our shop at 234 S. Main St. Waynesville, Ohio.

Trendy Bindi's Boutique is On Vacation!

Just wanted to let you all know that Trendy Bindi's Boutique will be closed until the last week in August as we are on vacation. Can't wait to see all of you then!

New Moondog Cottage and Tole Mountain Goodies Are In!

The lovely mother/daughter artists Janniev and Sheri of Tole Mountain and Moondog Cottage just brought some new goodies yesterday and we'd thought we'd share them with you! If you're interested in any of them, send us an e-mail. We're always happy to ship here at Trendy Bindi's Boutique. : )

From Fence to Fab

Our little shop has a darling set of narrow, curving steps to the upstairs which we use for our own storage and personal use and when we were getting ready to open we were at a loss as to how best close off the steps in a cute way from the rest of the shop.

Thankfully, we've got our secret weapon...Dad (0r in Mom's view Hubby). Carol, the former owner of the property generously left us a number of items including a couple of picket fences sections painted a cheerful little yellow. Dad, handy man that he is, took one of these sections and cut it to size. He put a cross-brace in the back, added some hinges and then used a hook and eye closure to secure the gate. He installed on the steps and now we have the sweetest little gate to "our space".

This nifty little fix would be perfect for a set of basement or attic steps that you need just a little something. It would also work nicely if you have a room or two that you don't want your toddler or pet wandering into unsupervised.

Kerry

Artist Spotlight: Tami Kenner

We have another wonderful artisan which we just had to share with you. She is as lovely as her creations. Tami Kenner is terribly talented and we just love the whimsy and girly touches she adds to everything. She's kindly agreed to show some of her creations below as well as a bit about herself. Be sure to stop by and say hello at her blog!

p.s. Look forward to a later post where we will share some our own personal treasured created by Tami!


Tami at pinkbuttercreme here! I have been designing, painting & crafting for so many years I think I have lost track! I took a tole painting class in the early 80's & quite honestly haven't put my paint brush down since. I have done countless shows, taught painting classes & even owned my own brick and mortar many years ago.

Now I am so content here at home by the Jersey Shore designing & selling my goods on pinkbuttercreme. etsy.

I am currently in the process of making pinkbuttercreme.com a reality where I will sell my little hand painted ornaments for all our favorite holidays.

I am influenced by the color "pink"& the coziness of the cottage style. I feel so inspired in my little studio with bins filled with ribbons, glitter, flowers & unfinished wood shapes ready to take on a whole new life.

Tami's bit of bliss is...baking a batch of jumbo vanilla cupcakes, frosting them with pink buttercream, stacking them on a pretty vintage cake pedestal & surprising someone on their birthday!

Visit me online @.......http://pinkbuttercreme.etsy.com/ and http://www.pinkbuttercreme.blogspot.com/.

Have a wonderful day...with a joy filled heart

Tami

Apparently, We're Fabulous!

Kathy of Junk Heaven has very sweetly given us the Fabulous Blog Award! We're just so flattered! Be sure to visit her fabulous blog!

We'd love to pass the Fabulous Blog Award along to these deservingly fab blogs!

Pink Butter Creme

Vintage Roadside

Moondog Cottage

Sugar Cookie Dolls

Southern Girl Florals

and cause we couldn't pick just 5!

Tin Can Cottage

Artist Spotlight: Moondog Cottage

One day last fall a woman visited our shop wearing the most darling vintage halloween postcard inspired pin. I complimented her on it and she shared that she was the artist. Fortunately for mom and I, when I contacted Sheri Harney this summer she was willing to consign her beautiful Moondog Cottage creations in our shop. I wanted to share her creations with all of you and she has graciously agreed to share a little bit about herself and her creations below. If you have a chance, be sure to visit her open house!
Enjoy!
Kerry

It's really amazing how I started designing jewelry. About 25 years ago I went to a small fair one summer with a friend. She bought me a small pin with a Jack-O-Lantern picture in it. (I love Halloween things!) It was glass on both sides and had a metal "frame" around it. I thought it was just the neatest little thing and tried to find out for years how it was made and finally just gave up. (I still have it!) About two years ago while browsing the internet I came upon some pins like that once again and found out it was actually soldered. So I read all I could on soldering and took a class at a local stained glass shop. After that I took a couple of classes on jewelry making and then started doing my own thing.

I turned a spare bedroom into my "Jewelry Room". Although the rest of my house is usually spotless, this room is always a mess! But somehow looking at piles of jewelry pieces inspires me. Sometimes two pieces will have accidentally landed beside each other and I'll think, "Hey, that looks good together!"

My mother has always been very creative. She has always encouraged me in whatever I've done and helped me in any way she could. I think I got my "creative gene" from her. I've dabbled in almost everything… painting, photography, working with clay, you name it! My husband is pretty encouraging too and sometimes will give me advice on a piece. I'm very lucky!

I love working with antique pieces and find them very inspirational. I always wonder who had them years ago and what that person was like. I've done quite a few pins and necklaces for people using their parent's and grandparent's old photographs. People usually give them as birthday and anniversary gifts. It's always very rewarding when they get back with me and tell me how much the person loved it and what a personal, one of a kind gift it was.

The most exciting thing I have going on right now is getting ready for my second "annual" Moondog Cottage Trunk Show which will be July 18th! The first one was a huge success and I'm really looking forward to this one. We'll have fabulous desserts for everyone while they browse my jewelry which will be displayed on glass cake stands and this year I'm also featuring Janniev's birdhouses and folk art pieces from Tole Mountain . It's advertised in the July and August issues of Romantic Homes and also on my website for anyone who's interested in coming!

Sheri's Bits of Bliss!

• Curling up with a good Stephen King novel at night


• My friend Sherrie's homemade white cake with white icing


• Listening to Garrison Keillor tell a story


• Kissing my husband goodnight


• Sitting by a roaring fire in the fireplace & watching the snow fall outside
  
  

You can come see some of Sheri's Moondog Cottage creations at our shop, Trendy Bindi's Boutique in the Stetson House in Waynesville, OH or by visiting one of these sites below!

http://www.moondogcottage.com/
http://moondogcottage.blogspot.com/
http://ravenslane.blogspot.com/
http://www.moondogcottage.com/Moondog_Blog.html
http://www.moondogcottage.com/Open_House_2009.html

Carousel Organ Association of American Coming to Waynesville, Ohio!

I just wanted to share this press release with you because it looks like this is going to be a lot of fun!

American Band Organs, European Fairground Organs & Monkey Organs Coming
to Waynesville in August

The weekend of Friday, August 14 –Sunday, August 16 the Carousel Organ Association of American will be coming to Waynesville. On Friday and Saturday, vintage and new organs will be on the grounds of Der Dutchmen Restaurant. Free admission for all would like to attend. During the entire weekend the Monkey Organs and their grinders will be performing along historic Main Street in Waynesville. Shows start at 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm on Friday, 10-5 on Saturday and 12-4 on Sunday. Come out and see these wonderful old and new instruments as they were performed in the early part of the 1900’s in such places as ice rinks, dance halls or carousels. The Carousel Organ Association of American is dedicated to the preservation and demonstration of the American Carousel Organs, large European Fairground Organs and all types of Monkey Organs. For more information on Waynesville and their events visit www.waynesvilleohio.com or call 513-897-8855.

Bits of Bliss: Come to a Garden Party!

From the sign across in this picture, we have Diana Knowlton, Marilyn Foskuhl, Nikki Taylor, Toni Bailey and Loretta Liesch giving you a preview of the hat show!

You're invited to a garden party!

Today we had wonderful lunch with some lovely ladies at the Hammel House here in Waynesville. These ladies are members of a women's group at the Greenmont-Oakpark Community Church in Kettering, OH called WINGS, short for Women in God's Service.

They have very graciously invited us to participate in their annual garden party, which will be held August 15, 2009. They will be having a fashion show with our vintage hats and their tables will be quite lovely covered in some of our vintage tablecloths.

If you attend this elegant affair, you will have the opportunity to purchase any of our items on display and 10% will go back to the ladies to help them raise money for their group. In addition to the fashion show, there will also be delicious food and drawings!

If you are interested in more information on this event please call Nikki Taylor at 1-937-427-1774.

Today's Bit of Bliss: Our First Blog Award!

StunningAnnaK (stop by her blog) has very sweetly awarded us the Lovely Blog Award, our very first award for our blog! We are terribly excited about this (thrilled really!) and will be passing this along to 10 other worthy bloggers! (These are in no particular order)

1. Fairy Dust Dreams


2. Anna's Trunk


3. Sugar Cookie Dolls


4. Vintage Roadside


5. Moondog Cottage


6. Black Feather Farm


7. Counting Your Blessings


8. A Field Journal


9. Pink Butter Creme


10. My So Called Junky Life

One Lovely Blog Award Rules of Blog Award Acceptance:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2. Pass the award to 10 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

My Favorite Thing in the Store

This vintage aqua wrought iron table and chairs set is my favorite thing in the store. Doesn't look like something that Doris Day would have in one of her movies? It is just so much fun. I just love everything about this set--the color, its unusual design. Wouldn't it be fun to set a small garden statue or something in the "cage" base of the table. Flowers or tiny lights could be twined in the "loops."

It sat in my garage for a long time before I brought it down to the store. I really wanted to move it into my breakfast room, but my husband doesn't love it like I do. I was a tough decision, but I decided that I keep the husband and bring the table set to the store so that someone else could love it as much as I do. In all fairness, we need five chairs if all of us are eating at home in the breakfast room and I have another set outside, but I really could picture this set in my beach house that I am going to have someday.

Aside from this table, I actually have been buying vintage goodies, when I run into them, that would be perfect for my future beach house. I figure if God put them in my path, then He will eventually provide the means to buy the beach house. I was a Girl Scout and the motto was Be Prepared. Am I the only one out there that is preparing for a future dream home that may or may not come about? If I never get the beach house, I still have some wonderful items that I can decorate with and remind me of the beach and make me smile. Decorating vintage is not only romantic but fun and happy too and is just another little beit of bliss.

Book Review of The Khaki Girls of the Motor Corps

I just love children's books, especially vintage ones. So when we get new ones in I just have to read some of them. I want to share with you a great girl's series from WWI that I read.
"The Khaki Girls of the Motor Corps (of Finding Their Place in the Big War)" by Edna Brooks, copyright 1918
The book's heroine is a spirited teenager, named Joan Mason, who is the only child of a weathy widower. She loves cars and owns one, which she keeps running by performing all the mechanics on it. She wants to join the Ambulance Corps and drive her own ambulance in France. Her father, of course, is opposed to this; however, she manages to wiggle a promise from him that if she proves herself, he will let her go.
She joins the Motor Corps, a women's extension of the army, whose purpose to train for the Ambulance Corps. They are used to drive army officers around. In the meanwhile, they are given alot of training in first aid and mechanics. In order to be sent to France and made a member of the Ambulance Corp, a girl must first complete all the training and she must buy her own ambulance to take with her.
Joan is a lively girl, fighting the social expectations of the day in order to do something worthwhile. The book documents her adventures in her quest to become a responsible adult doing what she loves to do. She confronts terrorists and prejudice with perseverance and determination.
This is a great story with lots of little details of the social culture and everyday life during WWI for the people back home. There is a second book in the series which I don't have called "The Khaki Girls Behind the Lines (or Driving with the Ambulance Corps)."
If you would love to have this great book, contact us, as it is in our shop.

Pay It Forward Giveaway...

***Due to shipping this giveaway is open to US addresses only. It begins today, May 3rd and runs through Mother's Day, Sunday May 10th 11:59 p.m. EST***

Here are the Rules:
1. To automatically win, be one of the first three bloggers to "follow" my blog and leave a comment at the end of this post, which entitles you to a handmade tussie mussie (pictured above). If three or more people have beaten you to it don't worry. I am mixing things up a little. There will be a fourth winner who will be randomly picked from all the rest who have posted a comment and followed my blog.

2. Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first three bloggers who "follow" you and leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift you send can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love

5. If you are not one of the Top Three or the wild card 4th winner to comment on this post or win the drawing, you can still play along. Please start your own 'Pay It Forward chain', and encourage your blogging friends to do the same.

And, I would be most pleased if you could just join in the fun!!

Leave your comments now!! And remember to include your email address so that I will be able to contact you!!

Artist Spotlight: Southern Girl Florals

I was fortunate enough to win one of Southern Girl Floral's hair clips on her PIF giveaway on her blog. I just got it in a couple of days ago and it is just gorgeous. I wanted to share her creations with all of you and she has graciously agreed to share a little bit about herself and her creations below. Enjoy!

Kerry







My name is Lindsay and I live in South Texas. I design floral wreaths, arrangements and hair accessories. I love working with beautiful silk flowers and colorful ribbon. I find inspiration for my designs through many different venues – the flowers themselves, nature, and different color combinations tend to spark inspiration in me. Also, my Mom is a very crafty person; I get my creativity from her. She is probably my biggest influence and inspiration. I remember when we used to make Christmas wreaths with my Grandma. I loved helping Mom put all of the ornaments on the wreaths – that is where it all began. I started creating wreaths and arrangements for family and friends about six years ago and I started selling my creations last year. I have also started a new venture in floral hair accessories. They are quickly becoming some of my favorite pieces. I do have a “real” job in the “real” world, but I truly enjoy my little creative outlet! I absolutely love creating custom orders! They always turn out to be some of my favorite pieces!

My Bit of Bliss would have to be the Twilight series! I know, I know – I was fighting the fad for the longest time until my brother started reading the series and told me that they were the best books he had ever read! I thought if they appealed to a guy (and not just boy crazy teenage girls) then they must be good! I’m totally hooked!



Etsy shop: http://www.SouthernGirlFlorals.etsy.com

Blog: http://www.SouthernGirlFlorals.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SouthernFlorals