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 :)