"and pray, whatever did become of those floral russian scarves, Tif?"...

do you recall the lovely russian scarves, ney shawls, i found a few weeks back in our local thrift store. do not fret if you do not, i only recall it because they are living with me and i see them daily hence i am reminded of the peachy moment. for those that perhaps would like a little recalling help, you may find it over here.

after a few days of passing their floral delightful-ness laid out for all to see on our landing, my crafty cogs started to whirl and then it was a matter of 'eanie, meanie, miney, moe' and then again it wasn't. i thought it would be but then when i landed on 'moe' i could not chop up 'moe' because 'moe' was the green one and the green florally one is so perfectly suited to wearing as a shawl over a frock come springtime it would have been a crime. then it sort of immerged, 'moe' must be my favourite, but its not right to have favourites and i did not wish the others to know this, so 'moe' was taken out of the equation very quietly so the other two would not be alerted to the unfairness of the 'eanie meanie, miney, moe-ing' going on and get all in a tizzy. trying not to draw attention to my most unfair ways i continued with 'eanie meanie, miney' and voila! i had my victim my volunteer.

and so  it came to pass, with help from Miss Ethel, a lovely russian shawl of last week, was now this week, a rather lovely 'brightly sprightly' cushion cover with 'accidental' doily and linen accents

 and a welcoming addition to a chair seat in our entrance-way... 

i say accidental because that is just what it was. needing extra milage from the scarf, so i could achieve two things out of one, i attached old napkins to make the envelope back. however upon surveying the results i noted, the back was in fact my most fabby favourite side and hence it became the front, with a rather delicate doily to add a bit of doily bling to the proceedings. 'doily blinging' can sometimes be the perfect 'cherry on the top' and sometimes it can be quite the opposite. it is always worthy of a ponder before one gets too carried away in the doily department. however i felt the foreign charms of this particular doily was most fitting to my russian floral cushion cover and so i followed my doily loving heart.

and what i hear you cry, happened to 'moe' and her friend 'eanie'. well eanie is of a grand size and she still hangs out on the banister waiting for the day when a table must be laid in such a fashion her ample beautiful-ness will be required and 'moe', oh sweet pretty 'moe', the one that tugs my heart strings the most (but i cannot confess to that, however i just did, darn and drat!) hangs around by the front door waiting for Mr Spring to come a-knocking and an outing to the grocery store will require her floral ways, so she may dabble in a bit of 'bedazzling passing folks' with her glorious technicolor beauty

dancing once again, with dottie angel...

at the beginning of this here shiny new year, i was quite positively thrilled to leave the last year behind. not that last year did not have some grand things within its 365 days, (writing the granny chic book with my buddy Rachelle being one of them) but never the less, i was delighted to say 'cheerio'

the new year came a knocking and with it i cleared all commitments and agendas, and climbed back inside of my dottie angel bubble to nurture her roots. this right here i believe was a most crucial moment in my path to find inner happiness and health again. (i am not going into details here, i posted about this earlier in the year. in all that i have learnt since last fall and the quest i set out upon, the one thing i am so much wiser at is actually not only listening to my inner voice but also my whole self and what it is saying)

and so by going back to my roots, clearing my plate for Mr Opportunity to come knocking if he so wished, i stepped back into where my crafty soul feels most at home, and in doing so, i found dottie angel and i found a creativity so huge, waiting patiently for me, it literally caused me to weep with relief...

i have been spending every spare moment of my days and nights since then, beavering away on the creative thoughts my cogs have conjured up. it is like after so long, the flood gates have been opened and my little fingers are having a jolly tricky time trying to keep up with the whirring crafty cogs. after a few weeks of beavering away, as and when my body allowed, i stood back and looked at what lay before me and out of nowhere, just like it happened all those years ago when dottie angel first found me, the path became so clear and so shiny, i literally caught my breath. for i was surrounded by none other than a collection, a 'dottie angel collection'. 

each handmade item, stitched with fabrics, or crocheted with yarn sat perfectly peachy next to its friend and there was more... not only that, but within each of their stitches was healing, baja, luck, love and happiness pouring out and most of all 'light', yes a light came shining through the likes of which i have never seen before. right there and then i knew Mr Opportunity had indeed come knocking, he had actually not even knocked but walked straight in, bold as can be and presented me with a most thrilling opportunity. to design and make a collection...

my cunning collection plan goes a little like this. with the help of Our #3 and Our #1 i will be building a website for dottie angel and on this website amongst other most interesting things will be an emporium (because i love that word) and this Fall, i will launch my first dottie angel collection! it will contain handmade, vintage, eclectic goodness never before seen in my Etsy store (which after 6 years i will be moving from). the website emporium will give me the ability to present my wares visually that i have not been able to before and this alone makes me thrilled. the theme for my collection is all about lucky, love and happy thoughts

most of it, alas and alack, i cannot show till nearer the time. however for those that perhaps have been waiting patiently for a dottie angel frock moment to happen, yes there will be some frocks and there will be other dottie angel attire to go with them. it will be a limited addition collection and thus, small quantities and when or if they sell out, there will be no more until the following Spring (if all goes according to my cunning plan, i will make 2 collections a year). i do wish i could share more of what i have been working on (alongside of a few fine folks who are helping me with some of the collection), for it makes me so giddy and it is my hope others will love it as much as i do, but alas i cannot, however i will nearer the time... yes i will. so if perhaps i'm a little quiet, or indeed i do not show quite so much of what i am making you now know the reason why, i'm beavering away on my first 'dottie angel collection' and shiny spiffy new website.

so after many weeks of plotting, planning, doubting, reading Mr Wintle's wise words daily and figuring out how i can do this most exciting adventure whilst still on a quest for full health, i am still as giddy as the moment Mr Opportunity came knocking a few weeks back. yes, of course, i have told myself i am just starting out, there is a long path to be trod and many hours of work to be done, but whether it fails, or thrives, does not matter, for me what matters is, i took a chance, i found my light and i danced once again with dottie angel...  and in doing so, i found me again

bonkers, or not as the case maybe...

it would appear in the past few weeks several folks and a few more have contacted me thinking they are going quite bonkers because they are unable to find a comments box upon this here shiny place of mine. well this would never do, no sirree! the thought of folks out there, in the world, fretting and getting all in a tizz looking for something because once it was there, yes they are quite sure it definitely was, but now, alas it is lacking and did it appear that perhaps it never was, had they imagined it, were they now going a little batty, ney bonkers... and so forth

well, let me reassure those lovely folks, you are not going batty and you are not going bonkers. indeed once it was there, but now it is not and that is the way it has been since last summer and will continue to be so.

we appear to be living in a fast paced cyberworld compared to those heady early days, where upon 6 years ago i merrily started to tippity tap upon this here page and only this here page. however, cyberworld got busy, pages here there and everywhere sprung up and then before you know it, you have many fingers in many pies and not enough hours in the day to keep each pie with a finger in it. and then of course we all know what happens then, one just cannot not do a proper job of things. no, not at all, one is stretched too thinly between each pie and alas, each pie is lacking somewhat because it only has one finger in it, or no finger at all.

i love this here place, this is where i can ramble on to my hearts content, however i must say, and i did not think this would ever be the case but i also love my dottie angel facebook. it gives me a place to say odd things which may pop into my head, let folks know about magazine articles, or show a little picture which makes me smile from instagram or just have lovely folks pop by and say hello. i would say it is more of an 'instant & interactive' sort of place, gosh, yes that does sound good, 'instant & interactive' and thus, therefore, quite obviously, for me, the perfect place for folks to comment.

now of course there will be those saying, "but Tif, that is crappity crap, we do not have a facebook page" (mother, this is where you must pay attention) well do not fret nor hang your head and weep, for you do not need one! no the brilliance of it is, you can visit my dottie angel facebook page any time of day and be able to read anything and everything i post on there along with nice things other folks say also. now yes, alright i will admit if you don't have a facebook page you cannot comment, but really truly, that does not matter, what matters is, you choose to come and visit me, see what is going on in the world of dottie angel, note as usual most of the time you can not make head nor tail of what Tif is going on about and then go on your merry way. the same with this here shiny place, stop by, have a ganders, sometimes its a small note, sometimes its a long old ramble of getting to the point ('ummm, like today perhaps Tif!') and then if you do wish to say something, then you can hoppity hop over to facebook where i have my blog post also and say something there. except you can't if you don't have a facebook page... yes ... well moving on quickly ...

please note all pics today have been brought to you by Tif's bead collection, they have most kindly agreed to illustrate this big old ramble despite saying they felt their beauty was worthy of greatness beyond a narrative about blogging comment boxes and a dottie angel facebook page. i so wholeheartedly agreed with them and asked for their forgiveness. they are considering it, which i said was most kind in the circumstances

wordless wednesday... making a nest for spring

beautiful, inside and out...

over the past few weeks 

i have been 

spending my time wisely 

doing hand stitchery things

and 

each and every time

i finish up a project

i note,

to me

the inside

is as beautiful

if not more so

then what is 

on the outside 

raining cats, dogs & russian shawls...

on saturday it was raining cats and dogs outside and inside the thriftstore, it was raining russian floral scarves. i had no intention of going to the thriftstore but i felt the calling and so i did.

i could only stand in wonder as i turned the aisle to discover not one but three in all their dazzling colourful beauty. two of shawl size and one of piano size, waiting patiently for me on the racks of despair

after months of watching from afar, be it on Ebay or Etsy it was as though i had been guided by the thrifting gods up above. as i admired their charms for many a long time, in my head i saw cushions, curtains and bags crafted from their peachy patterns but alas, now i have these sweeties in my crafty mitts, i cannot quite bring myself to snippity snip into their perfect ways. so for now, they will shine brightly on our landing until such a day comes when i pluck up the courage to dabble with them...

quite daringly, Tif posted 'wordless wednesday' on a thursday...

quite possibly...

without a doubt,

there is no mistaking,

surely it must be,

true love

for me

and

my newly acquired vintage tape measure

hip hip hooray!

a thrilling week... turning Japanese

many many moons ago when i set out upon my crafty path in cyber world, part of this was fueled by my love of Japanese Craft Books. can you actually believe it has been near on 6 whole years of this here shiny place being visited. goodness me! does not the time fly in so many ways and in those 6 years so many things have come to pass it is quite extraordinary and none more so then what i have to ramble on about today

Japanese Craft Books have a wondrous ability to leave me quite breathless, not only from the humongous array of crafty bounty they offer up, but their pure and simple way of presenting said crafty bounty, in images which stir my granny chic heart. yes i think it quite true to say, to me, Japanese Craft Books = Granny Chic Goodness. their ability to take what can seem rather dated or old fashioned, such things as carpet slippers, tissue box covers, pinnies, and pot holders to name but a few,  and present them on their pages, in a fresh and quirky way, is the true art of granny chic.

i have a little bookshelf where i keep my most prized collection of Japanese Craft Books and on occasion when the chance arises, i like nothing more than to spend a few happy hours pottling amongst the shelves of our Japanese Book Store downtown. does not matter i cannot read them, for the pictures speak a thousand words to me and my crafty heart. they inspire me and they invite me into their world and make me wish to be part of it...

and now dearest readers, with a large dollop of giddiness and a gigantic amount of thrillingness, i can truly say i am part of it. for recently my book 'dottie angel, the peachy crafty world of Tif Fussell' published by the fabby folks of UPPERCASE has been published by equally fabby folks in Japan. 

yes indeedy! 

dottie angel has turned Japanese and is spending quality time on Japanese book shelves amongst other lovely crafty books

i have yet to see a copy, i am assured one is on its way and i can tell you, truly tell you, when i hold my treasured Japanese copy in my mitts, it will be one of my most thrilling moments of the past 6 years and one i will treasure forever and a day. and yes, i will take a little moment of ceremony as i place my Japanese dottie angel book upon my little bookshelf and step back to admire and quite possibly, i may invite my lads of three to attend the little ceremony along with my constant canine companions (who do not require an invite, not my furry critters, just the lads, all critters are welcome, no invite required, yes just how it should be)

a thrilling week... or perhaps not according to others. wordless wednesday

a thrilling week... daily lucky bunny wisdoms

i was going to call this 'a week of thrills', however the wise voice inside told me i may indeed attract those looking for the sort of thrills i just cannot deliver. so instead we will just go with 'a thrilling week...'

little lucky bunny is quite possibly my most treasured forsaken soul ever. if you happen to have a copy of my dottie angel book, you will know such is my love for little lucky bunny i even penned a story about him (illustrated by my brother Ben). once, shortly after i found little lucky bunny, or should i say, he found me. i mentioned to my man it might be wise we consider taking out extra insurance for little lucky bunny. my man looked at me like i was bonkers and so i proceeded from that day on to use a little bit of blue tack on his derriere to keep him from harms way. i have no idea if my little bit of blue tack would save little lucky bunny from a passing earthquake but i do feel it does keep him safe from a passing gust of wind.

i truly believe if little lucky bunny were to come a cropper i would fall to my knees dramatically and weep. actually i would not fall to my knees at the very moment of the cropper incident. i would have to look around for some duck tape and padding to strap to my knees before i fell to them, because my knees are rather jippy and just the thought of falling on them dramatically, on the wood floor with no cushioning almost outweighs the horror of little lucky bunny having a tres terrible accident. i think i will have to be at the ready, and if such a day comes, make sure i am near a settee so i can dramatically collaspe onto a soft landing and then weep without bringing harm to my knees. either way, i believe just the thought of such an event happening leaves me fretting. thus it is quite true to say, not many things in our mossy shed would warrant such dramatics, but little lucky bunny coming 'a cropper' would

several months back, conversations were spoken with my lads of 2, mainly triggered by little lucky bunny. Our #4 asking quite indepthly what my reactions would be to little lucky bunny having a horrible accident, as he took him upstairs to study for a 3-D animation. i made it quite clear the trust i had placed in his hands as he slothed up the stairs with my china bunny, leaving him with no doubts as to his mother's 'planned and plotted' reactions. then there was the conversation i had with Our #3 and the possibilities of little lucky bunny offering wise words for others to be cheered daily by. off i went to conjure up 98 jolly wise crafty sayings on behalf of little lucky bunny and off went Our #3 to make it all happen...

and happen it did. 

little lucky bunny now proudly has his own app! 'tis an app for the windows 8 phone (other phones i hope will follow if such a demand were required). a daily dose of wise words from little lucky bunny and you can find him right here for free. i have popped upon this here ramble a mere smattering of wisdoms little lucky bunny has to offer, thus enticing those of you who may indeed have a windows 8 phone or know of a folk who does, who may just like to have a little lucky bunny to make each and every day a little wiser...