Just in for Christmas: New Abbybelle Creations!

 

Sam, the artist behind Abbybelle, is just so talented (and sweet!) and her creations a filled with fun.  Here we have Santa and Mrs. Claus figures nestled in an old wire milk crate among vintage aqua mason jars.  She also makes these delightful Santa and Cat head ornaments that we have nestled in old jello molds.  (I apologize about the lighting in these pics...I am still getting to know a new camera.)

 

 

Here we have a snowman with a cat building another to his one side and another cat preparing for a snowball fight on his other.  Three little Christmas mice are nestled among hankies in the box below them. 

 



 

This Santa is relaxing in his jaunty overalls.  We found that one of our vintage light fixture bases made the perfect pedestal for him!

 

 

Sam also made these sweet snowman head ornaments.  The pillow tucked in the drawer above is made in Lancaster County, PA by Old Time Gathering.

 

 

This little wooden church is also part of the same display in the shop and I couldn't resist sharing it here.  It is vintage and hand made.  It lights up and there is a nativity scene at the front of all the church pews. 

 

 

This wall hanging is another one of the many pieces by Old Time Gathering that we have in the shop.  It is hand painted and grunged and stitched by hand.  We found that these work great as valances or as accents on curtains.  You can also hang them up on a wall or door. 

 

 

Here is another example of one of their fabric hanging signs. 

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.

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!

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!

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

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

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

Second Sunday Stroll ATC Swap?

During the summer months, there is a art show called Second Sunday Stroll held the second sunday of every month May though September in the town where we have our bricks and mortar shop, Waynesville, Ohio.

The organizers would like to hold an ATC exchange in conjunction as a part of this but we need to know if people would be interested in doing this.

Anyone would be able to come and trade cards and if you wanted to sell your ACEOs or other art at the show you can get more information on participating as an artist at www.secondsundaystroll.com

This could be a good way to promote your business, network and get exposure as an artist. I think it could be a lot of fun and be a great chance to trade and add to your collection as a collector or learn more about ACEOs and ATCs.

They would also like to possibly have a booth where you can learn to make an ATC/ACEO and possiby be able to purchase some goodies to play with at home.

Is anyone interested in coming to an event like that? If possible it would be held each Second Sunday date. Leave me a comment and let me know if this would be something you would come to!

Thanks!

Call For Artists!

Second Sunday Stroll...Waynesville, Ohio Press Release



Second Sunday Stroll Committee Announces
Call for artists Waynesville, Ohio Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - Starting Sunday, May 10th, and running through September 13th,
Waynesville Merchants Association will again host a monthly art event known as Second Sunday Stroll. Local visual and performing artists including painters, sculptors, woodcarvers, photographers, musicians, dancers, singers and magicians are invited to participate. Individuals will be set up along the length of the Main Street historical district and on one block of High Street. All visual arts must be original and made by the artists themselves.
The artists must send samples of their art by regular mail or
electronically to the Stroll Committee for approval. Visual artists will be
permitted to sell their work as well as demonstrate their talents. Sign
up for one Stroll or plan to attend all the monthly Sunday events. The
Stroll Committee will have the final approval of all artists and art.

Artists will be required to pay a promotional fee of $15 per month
which will be used for advertising to promote the art event. There will be
a discounted Summer Pass available for $50 if paid by May 10th. This
pass will register the artist for the whole summer at a savings of $25.

Performing artists may include soloists or small groups who sing,
dance, play musical instruments, or present mini dramas. All performing
artists will be working for tips and CD sales will be permitted as well.
Again, artists must send samples of their work by regular mail or
electronically to the Stroll Committee for approval. Performing artists
are not required to pay any promotional fees.

2009 is our third year to host this event and we are welcoming
supporting guilds and galleries to the event again this year. Any artist
guild, cooperative or gallery who would like to offer support to this art
event would be greatly appreciated. For details about how your guild or
gallery can become recognized for any of the dates in 2009, please
contact info@secondsundaystroll.com or visit our website for more details.

The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars
to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural
enrichment for all Ohioans. Other sponsors include the Canada Goose Gallery
featuring the works of P. Buckley Moss, the Waynesville Area Chamber of
Commerce and several other Waynesville merchants.

The dates for the Second Sunday Stroll are May 10th, June 14th, July
12th, August 9th and September 13th from noon to 5pm. For more
information or to submit your artwork and register for any or all events, please
email info@secondsundaystroll.com or send US Mail to Carol Vacca, P.O. Box 743, Waynesville, Oh 45068 or call Carol at 513-897-3885

www.secondsundaystroll.com

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I can't help it. Right now I am so excited that spring is sooo close. St. Patrick's Day really seems to make it seem even closer. I thought I would share with you some of my little baby plants to show you how far they've come!


First, here is my first batch of little veggies. The peppers haven't really started yet but you can see that the spinach, lettuce and tomatoes are really coming along.



Here is a picture of some baby snap dragons. If you are wondering what that planter is, I took a 24 can cardboard box and cut it in half. I then inserted one half inside the other and lined it with newspaper. I then loaded it up with some Miracle Grow Organic potting soil (I have just discovered this and I LOVE it!) and voila! a cheap and crafty planter which saves your money for something a little more fun, like that vintage tablecloth you've been wanting. As you can see, the little snapdragons seem to be liking this just fine.






Here are some of my crocuses which are just adoring the wonderful weather which we've been having. Fortunately, the squirrels don't seem to have found all of my purple ones yet!