a 'thankfully glee' giveaway...

whether you celebrate thanksgiving or not, it is always good to every now and then, count one's blessings and give a little thanks.

i am thankful for many things in my life that go without saying,

my family that have strong opinions on doilies,

my aging but healthy body and dubious sanity,

my creatures that reside at mossy shed and don't talk back,

my nostril hair of the worst kind and the path it took me down,

and one other thing...

a 'thing' that has been my constant companion for 41 years, sometimes i've used it and sometimes i've neglected it, but it has always been there, lurking in the background patiently waiting for the moments i allow it to shine.

so this thanksgiving

i am thankful for...

my imagination...

quite simply i would not be who i am without it.

and so dearest readers it is now your turn to count a blessing or two, for some this is not always an easy thing to do, for the road can be quite rough at times. but i do think with a little thought, even the smallest of things can be worth being 'thankful' for.

and when you have done your 'thankful' thinking, leave me your 'giving thanks' comment here or send it in an email to tif@dottieangel.com and i will pop you in a 'thankfully glee' dish and announce a winner on Thursday Dec 3rd.

i'm hoping that Speedy will pick out the winner but he has just informed me that he's busy redecorating his 'pad' and so might not be available. if that's the case then i am hoping for a 'passing stranger' to aid me with this giveaway...

of course it has just occurred to me, that i haven't actually mentioned what i have to 'giveaway'.

i can assure you, it will not be,

my family with opinions on doilies,

my aging body and dubious sanity,

my creatures that reside at mossy shed,

nor my nostril hair of the worst kind

(i hear cries of relief over at least two of those things).

no dearest readers,

i have to offer in the way of thanking you most kindly for being nice and lovely people,

one copy of Artful Blogging winter 09/10

("ooooh, Tif, that's special"... i hear you gasp)

but wait, there is more

one yarn ball wreath, from the archives of my crafting epiphanies, made in November 2007, yes i do believe it could almost be called 'vintage dottie angel'.

so there it is,

a magazine and a ring of yarn balls,

surely that makes for an excitingly 'thankfully glee' giveaway.

so it just leaves me to say, my sister-in-law and her little one are coming to stay at mossy shed tomorrow, and so i shall be gone until the 3rd.

but do not fear dearest readers as i have made you a 'to do' list in my absence.

for some of you that don't craft, it may be a little tricky but i'm sure this may be the very 'to-do' list that gets you going down the crafty road i travel everyday...

1. make a 'grandma twinkle' garland courtesy of the fabby michelle

2. find someone else to clean the toilets and wash the floor

3. make a wonky crocheted tree courtesy of my dodgy directions (and you will have to scroll down on the post to actually find the directions, because as usual i have waffled a whole ton before the instructions)

4. avoid looking at your nostrils up close for a whole week

5. visit the 'challengers of the utmost kind' on my sidebar and be inspired by their thrifty handcrafted 'gleeful' creations

6. eat lots of chocolate

7. make a grandma tree courtesy once again, of the wonderfully generous creative brain of michelle

8. cut up a 'boiled' gleeful sweater belonging to your man, or mother-in-law and make a simple but gleefully charming garland

9. be thankful and gleeful as much as possible, it's quite contagious and spreads rapidly

she is looking forward to reading your 'thankfully glee' comments and wishes you a 'gleeful' 10 days without her ~ Tif

a 'week of glee' ~ day five

i thought it most appropriate, seeing as today is the two month anniversary of starting my handcrafted thrifty challenge, that we focus our final day, within this gleeful week...

upon 'vintage and handcrafted' glee

"hang on a mo, Tif... surely that's what you've done all week, it's all handcrafted and vintage gleeness as far as we can see"

and quite right you are, it has been, hasn't it.

i am it would appear, most predictable...

in the space of two months i have found many lovely secondhand finds for the shed, and many i have left on the shelves... wishing to give a home to, but knowing my man would leave.

in the space of two months i have found, but only one item for my closet.

a rather dubious vomit colored leather coat that i am telling myself the color is so mesmerizing, passersby will not notice the pen marks,

and after all, what can one expect for $15

in the end my need was so great for paint, as it truly plays a big part in the transformation of my thrifty finds, that i could not do what i wished to do with a scrapping of leftover gloss white and my 'neverending' can of scary pink paint.

i confess, i bought some eco paint...

when all is said and done, this has been my only new purchase since the challenge began

and so to end our 'week of gleeness'

i bring you,

'snippets of glee'

little bits of secondhand or handcrafted 'loveliness' to bring a gleeful mood to mossy shed this season...

a lovely red midcentury modern, lamp base, found in ethanollie's etsy store

a kitschy angel, perfect in her colors, made in japan and as if that weren't enough, she's a money box as well (i know! isn't that peachy)

yarn balls in a thrifted red dish (always a winner in my books)

a seasonal tin tray sporting a 'gleeful' design

a pair of glossy red clogs for the wall that any little elf would be proud to own

the 70's gleeful tree 'wall hanging' found on etsy and waiting to be turned into an advent calender when a creative moment appears

and the insides of my little box of 'glee' from the attic, waiting to shine this 'gleeful' season

i do hope this 'week of glee' has been most 'gleeful' for you dearest readers and that you may go forth into your own 'gleeful' worlds and spread the word of 'glee', making the world we live in a bit more 'gleeful' for others, so they too can 'feel the glee'...

(did i really just pen that last paragraph, truly quite a 'gleeful' message i feel)

she will return on monday with a 'thankful giveaway' full of glee ~ Tif

a 'week of glee' ~ day four

for today's dollop of 'glee'

i have delved into the 'gleeful' past to bring you something i made two years back...

it is quite truthfully my favorite 'gleeful' item of all time.

i look forward to getting it out of the attic and i dislike having to put it back in the attic after the 'gleeful season' is done and dusted.

it is i believe, to be a perfect example of how a handcrafted piece made from 'leftovers' can bring 'glee' year after year.

so without further a do, i bring you

a 'cluster of glee'

quite simply made

and

brings a whole lot of 'glee' to a front door this season

as i said above, i did this in 2007 but i am willing for you, my dearest readers to delve into the archives of my crafty memory and tell you how i made it,

so in turn you can go about your 'gleeful' day, gathering odds and ends, to make your very own 'cluster of glee'

now here's the tricky bit, i did start with a string of bells as my base.

i had these lurking in my christmas box...

this could be a problem for any on the handcrafted thrifty challenge, and then again perhaps not, for you are a crafty lot and have plenty of inspiration of your own.

my thoughts are perhaps some vintage baubles hung on a cord or lace may make for a nice starting base,

i could just see a wonderful little grouping of colored ones,

or perhaps just plain silver.

i took some

yarn

(wrapped into snowballs)

felt snowflakes

(i saved from a gift given to me)

red felt hearts

(a garland from ikea i chopped up)

odd scraps of lace

(you could cut up old doilies for this)

and

large vintage shell buttons

i proceeded to thread them all together in a pleasing order.

i made seven strands, all varying lengths,

finishing off by handstitching them together at the top

of the cord, holding the bells.

this looked a little messy and so i hand stitched a nice piece of vintage lace over the 'mess', thus disguising the 'messy situation' that had occured and making it look like it was all part of my master plan in the first place...

and that's it.

i do like a 'gleeful' project that can be made from leftover crafty bits,

has the potential to shine in it's handcrafted 'gleeness'

and does what handcrafted things do best,

makes a house into a home.

and she is thinking, one can't ask much more than that from a little 'cluster of glee' ~ Tif

footynote: just a thought, as it's impossible to tell the size of my 'cluster of glee' in the pictures, this little sweetie measures 26" or 66cm, from top to toe :)

a 'week of glee' ~ day three

there is nothing quite like the anticipation of giving a gift,

be it new, handcrafted or thrifted.

if the perfect gift is found in advance,

the anticpation can begin several months before the gift needs to be given.

or in the case of my man it can happen the day before, and even then it's not the perfect gift and even more importantly (perhaps men take note, across the land), do not leave the receipt lying around.

i can only imagine that when i met my man at the age of 16, he did not think he would still be with me as i turned 40, thus instead of taking 24 years to think ahead... he suddenly went "oh crap, Tif's 40 tomorrow, i know i'll go to Costco, buy her a panini maker and leave the receipt lying around so she knows how much it cost and the date i bought it")

"STOP TIF!!... enough, this is not good for a 'gleeful' post, this is bringing down the tone of 'glee' and also you promised 'closure' on the panini episode of 2008" i hear you exclaim, dearest readers

and quite right you are, thank goodness i have you to keep me on a 'gleeful' track and not drift off on a negative 'non-gleeful' note.

for today's dose of 'glee' i would like to bring you...

the gift of giving 'glee'.

i do believe that giving a gift of 'glee' is a terribly exciting thing to do and even more so if it's wrapped up 'gleefully'

i like to do this, just as i do my etsy orders, with thought and consideration

and a whole lot of lovely catalogues that come my way...

for Etsy i now use recycled tear outs from magazines that i have ferreted away,

inspiring images of lovely interiors,

but when the 'gleeful' season rolls around i produce my pile of 'specials'

i'm talking anthropologie

i'm talking toast

and

i'm talking noa noa

for their pictures are beautiful

and they really do make for wonderful recycled wrapping paper

for today's purpose of showing you how i wrap a box of 'glee' i have retrieved

one half used box of tissues

one box of chocolate pudding mix

one box of banana pudding mix

one dvd from our #2's collection

and

one something else,

that i cannot remember for the life of me what it is

(only wrapped it yesterday, for goodness sake)

and as it looks so lovely all wrapped up i'm not willing to undo it

if i'm giving a gift that isn't conveniently box shaped, then i find a box to fit it, even if i have to go looking in my food cupboard

and then i get to work,

tearing catalogues

sticking tape

and when my little bit of glee is covered

i wrap some cream thrifted yarn around it

and finish it off with a vintage button card

and that's it, quite simple and i am quite sure has been done a million times before but i thought i would share how i like to give glee

and as if that wasn't enough

another 'glee giving' idea is to customize your 'gleeful seasonal' cards

i was fortunate to stumble across a set of unused vintage ones at the thrift store a few weeks back and i was really rather happy with the little birdie on the front.

but i couldn't leave it alone,

i have added some frayed little rosettes to the branches

i do believe these little cards are now a 'gift in themselves'

and wait, there's more glee going around

the lovely Victoria has been sharing my little gleeful garland over at her place

and just before you are all 'gleed out'

the talented Ingrid has just unveiled her new 'gleeful' website, it's in english and best of all, you can order her beautiful crocheted wares direct from it.

i don't think it gets more 'gleeful' than that dearest readers...

but then again does it?

only tomorrow's 'day four' knows the answer to that

she is spreading 'gleefulness' wherever she goes and hoping you forgive her 'bah humbuggy' panini begining ~ Tif

a 'week of glee' ~ day two

when i decorate my shed with glee i do the usual 'gleeful' things,
i put up a tree, no higher than 5ft, add ornaments and then i decorate our two fireplaces with such 'gleeful' delights as garlands, fairy lights, pesky gnomes, little trees, yarn balls and other such 'gleeful' things and then i tend to stop there.

my reasons being, if i continue with adding 'glee' all over the place,

within the week it's doing my head in, i can't breath for feeling i'm being attacked by 'gleeful' things wherever i look and i am just counting the days until i can remove all the 'glee' and put it in the attic.

now we all know this does not make for a very nice 'gleeful' atmosphere and so i have learnt over the past few years the best way to add 'glee' around my shed is to put out things i would usually have around but they just happen to be in the colors of 'glee'.

white, red and green

and best of all

they are handcrafted or vintage.

thus i am less likely to have the urge to purge

(you got to love that last sentence, it just came over me and i was like "oooh, Tif, that's fab... the urge to purge", one could almost say it 'gleefully' and in a sing song voice.

"i've got the urge to purge")

so i thought it might be nice if we went looking on Etsy today for 'gleeful' items that lend themselves to the season, but actually would be things i would happily have in mossy shed any day of the year.

so without further a do, i give you

a 'little Etsy glee'...

a lovely set of green canisters from

{the cottage cheese}

a sweet garland from

{3 GIRLS and a goat}

a wonderful vintage dutch tin from

{blue bell}

a little bit of peace from

{elizabeth wren vintage}

a pop of red dansk ware from

{selling vintage}

a beautiful paper doily garland from

{kristina marie}

a perfect home for pesky gnomes from

{yesstreen}

a vintage ornament in 'granny chic' colors from

{emily lynch}

a festive feeling stool from

{wood & wool stool}

a little collection of jolly colored spools from

{paut luck}

a gleeful grouping of vintage ladies from

{space jam}

i do hope you have found that to be a nice filling 'quoter of glee' and that it puts you in a gleeful mood for the rest of the day

she has counted the use of 'glee' for today as over 16 times and she is thinking that's not bad for day two of glee ~ Tif

a 'week of glee' ~ day one

i thought it might be nice to have a 'week of glee'.

of course for some it may seem super duper early to be thinking about 'gleefulness' and all it encompasses, but i do believe the 'crafty masses' think way ahead of time.

knowing the hours that go into creating handcrafted goodness, means we must be 'one step' ahead...

therefore we shall spend the week on the topic of 'glee' and things that make us 'gleeful'... well actually it will be things i find to be 'gleeful' and as you are all the 'gleeful' type, i am hoping you will find the 'glee' i have to offer, to be most appealing.

today's dose of 'glee' is

a little 'gleeful' garland

because quite honestly, there is nothing more gleeful than a garland...

this little garland is so 'gleeful' in her simplicity that really, very little direction is required

and like always dearest readers,

all you will need is a little imagination to take what i have to offer, and make it your own...

my little 'gleeful' garland is crocheted,

but you could easily knit it.

i made all the little flags whilst twiddling my thumbs waiting in the car during chauffeuring duties.

yarn garlands are most perfect for that sort of occasion...

i used worsted weight yarn,

one thrifted cream

and

one lovely speckly red,

kindly donated by my friend Trish down the road, who listened to my sad tale in the grocery line about little old me trying to crochet up some 'christmas glee' without any red yarn. not two minutes after arriving back at the shed, she was on my doorstep with a bag of red 'odds and ends' for me. truly a grand neighbor indeed, sharing her bag of 'glee'...

i double crocheted

(american terminology)

10 cream flags

and

5 speckly red flags

and went for a rectangle shape

measuring roughly 4.5" x 3"

or roughly 11cm x 8cm

the beauty is you can just do what ever size you wish

next, i took some wide vintage lace and cut five pieces off,

lay them upon my red flags and hand stitched the lace in place.

i then laid my little flags out nicely to admire,

being careful not to leave them where little olive would also do some admiring.

i then rummaged around my lace stash, but alas i had no lace skinny enough for the string,

so i rummaged some more and found a thrifted packet of skinny cord in cream, a little shiny for my liking but our #4 assured me as it was a 'gleeful' garland it could surely take a little 'shine'...

i threaded the flags onto the shiny cord in a pleasing order,

hammered two pins in the wall and voila!

a little 'gleeful' garland completed

so simple i know, and some of you clever ones are perhaps 'rolling in the aisles' as to the simplicity of my 'gleeful' garland, but i wanted to 'show and tell' this little piece of joy because i think it most important to remember that bringing a bit of handcrafted 'gleefulness' to the home this holiday season, doesn't have to involve lots of steps, knowing lots of techniques and spending hours of time on a project.

quite honestly, i'm thinking if you can't knit or crochet, another way to do this would be to get a woolly christmas sweater that your man insists on wearing every year, boil it alive in the washing machine, bemoan the terrible tragedy to him, then quick as an 'elf' get out your scissors, chop out 15 rectangles, add a few bits of lace, sew on the string and voila!

your man can admire his sweater on the wall,

where we all know,

it looks a lot more 'gleeful' as a garland,

then it ever did on him...

she is thinking you may tire of the word 'gleeful' by the end of the week but then again, perhaps not ~ Tif

footynote: i have to just say once again, your comments here and in my inbox over the weekend have been most wonderfully received... truly without a doubt, you have been most generous with your kind words

'living out loud' with dottie angel...

some of you have known me for years and others for a short time,

i believe you choose to visit me,

to read my ramblings,

to find some amusement in my words,

to share my crafting inspirations,

and

to glimpse 'snippets of my life'.

and so when i was invited by the lovely editor of Artful Blogging to ramble upon their pages this winter, i was rather 'moved' to say the least.

and when i found the 'said article' within my mailbox a few days back i was 'moved' once again.

to see with my own eyes, myself 'in print'

me and dottie angel 'living out loud' together,

making this 'blogging journey' i have taken seem so very real

to be recognized as having an artful blog is something that truly makes me 'gleeful'

(note, how i am getting my new word of the moment in, where ever possible)

but i didn't ask you here today for a cup of tea and a chat, so you can watch me pat myself on the back and look 'gleeful'...

no dearest readers i've asked you to stop by so i may thank you most kindly,

for coming to read my ramblings,

for supporting my crafting epiphanies

and

so very kindly making me feel i have something worthwhile to 'show and tell'.

in short, for making my blog what is it,

for without you,

i do not believe i would be the blogger i am...

i am thinking perhaps some of you may not get a chance to peruse a copy of Artful Blogging, and so below you will find an excerpt from the article i wrote, thus allowing you to see just how much you all mean to me

in the meantime i will continue to ‘ramble’ upon my blog, the place that makes me feel okay to be me. this truly is down to the readership i have, for they are ‘readers of the utmost kind’, who positively encourage me and my alter ego to go about our daily business, dressed in a customized vintage slip, looking peachy in a summer apron wrap and more often than not standing on a stool living ‘the good life’ wherever and whenever possible… and for that, i must thank them kindly.

(artful blogging volume 3/issue 4)

and it's true, you are my 'dearest readers of the utmost kind' and i count myself most fortunate to have you by my side in this journey i am taking...

she is wishing you a weekend of 'gleeful' moments and many more of them to come ~ Tif

footynote: i will have a copy of Artful Blogging up for 'grabs' on monday 23rd nov along with other goodies, just as my way of saying 'thank you' out loud :)

me, florence nightingale and some little blue clogs...

"excuse me, do you work at the hospital?" the nice lady next to me in the grocery line enquired

"ummm... no sorry, i don't"

(as soon as the words left my mouth, i wondered why i would say sorry, what a twit, Tif)

"oh, that's strange, you look like someone who does" and she smiled

"oh thank you" i replied "i'm so happy to know i look like i could be one of those lovely people that work in a hospital" and smiled back at her, all the time thinking in my head, why would i say what i just said.

once again... a twit.

on returning to the shed, with a few 'useless' items of groceries in hand and nothing resembling the makings of a dinner of any interest, i glanced into a passing mirror...

silly me! of course, i have been so busy beavering away in my studio the past few days i had forgotten to remove my florence nightingale attire.

how perfectly understandable that the nice lady should mistake me for 'the caring sort'.

later that night after feeding the clan a 'concoction of disaster' for dinner, i sat in my studio between chauffeur runs and decided that tomorrow's little shop update will be the last one until after thanksgiving. where upon i will do one more update, the week of Dec 3rd and then i will be done. i am most pleased i have popped new goodies in the store for three weeks in a row but the truth be told i'm a little weary...

the elves miraculously (because don't forget 'tis the season for miracles) have been pulling their weight with little pots of paint and mini brushes. i have left out notes as to what 'forsaken soul' is to be what color.

they obviously cannot, (or as i suspect), chose not to read my writing and just do as they please, but as i don't pay them anything other than left over 'what is it' scraps from the dinner table i can't really put any objections in.

i would be most delighted if you joined me in my little store tomorrow morning, say around 10:30ish pacific time. i'll be there with used dog and little olive underfoot, pottering around placing little vignettes here and there,

stringing several 'whatnot' vintage garlands with the wise words

'wake up and love me'

and one for the holidays

'gleeful and goodly'.

wooden dishes accompanied by vintage knitting needles and button cards,

lovely candle holders in perfect teal with their doilies,

and i will also have a stool to put out

i'm rather in love with this stool...

the sweetie has been in several of my pictures but i recently gave her a makeover and am rather pleased with the results...

but there will not however be any little wooden clogs,

for they have stolen my heart and so

i said they could stay

do pop by and say hello, just perhaps a little browse, no need to buy... it will be lovely to have a bit of company, being a soul proprietor can be a little lonely at times.

and then i thought it most nice if we met back at my place afterwards for a cup of tea and a chat, for i have something i wish to say to you dearest readers...

("ooh, she's a canny one that Tif, leaving us with a cliff hanger again" i hear you cry)

the clouds have parted, the sun is peeking through and it's 'watch the birdie' time, to capture her 'wares' in all their glory ~ Tif

forsaken little souls...

it would appear that i have gone from

rescuing 'thrift store slips' from the racks of despair

to

saving 'forsaken souls' from the shelves of despair

it would appear i cannot walk past a shelf of figurines

without them talking to me,

notifying me of the color they would best suit

and how they are very good at keeping their little eyes closed

it would appear i may have lost my tiny mind but

i am going to take a chance with a little gathering of thrifted

'forsaken souls' that now reside upon my studio mantlepiece

and add them

to my little store on friday...

there will be pretty birdies

there will be a wise owl

there will be thee deer

there will be a little leaf

and there will also be other 'rejects',

including a pesky squirrel,

all busy drying in my laundry room as i tippity type

each little forsaken soul comes with their very own doily, button card and cotton spools...

thus, these little sweet 'outcasts' can perhaps look forward to putting their days of abandonment on the 'shelves of despair' behind them...

she has had a 'christmas crafting' epiphany that makes her heart sing out with 'kitschy gleeness' ~ Tif