I have just listed a bunch of pretty lavender scented heart shaped pillow sachets for Valentine's Day. They are all double sided, embellished with beads and buttons and have ribbon loops for hanging. In the next day or so I will be listing a bunch of similar hearts only scented with vintage Indian musk and orange essential oils. So sweet and fresh, or seductive and decadent - some very pretty gifts available at my Esty store .

I made a collection of favor boxes made from recycled packaging, which will soon contain small candy bags, for Jayn's dance class friends. I had so much fun, that I thought a tutorial was in order. The boxes are either single serve cereal boxes or other oblong food packages cut in half to be small and cute. 1. Tape any box bottoms that are insecure with masking tape. Paint the boxes with two or so coats of white craft paint. I like to make the paint a bit thick, allowing dimensional brushstrokes to stay visible. 2. Decoupage the boxes with a selection of tissue papers. I used some leftover polka dotted wrapping papers, commercial decoupage tissues, and some of my own tie dyed paper towel sheets in pastel and gelato colors - for a range of boxes. 3. I stamped gold hearts at random, then aged the boxes with a wash made from brown acrylic and stain medium. Once the age wash was dry, I went back over with translucent pink glitter paint from, of all places, Ikea. The color is very light...

I'm pretty horrified by the ongoing news from Haiti. When I don't know what else to do, or how to help, I make stuff. I will be making a Dream Doll, starting at once, to sell with the proceeds going to assist - perhaps the Red Cross would be a good place to donate. I'll decide that later. In the mean time, I want to challenge my crafting and doll making friends to do the same. Perhaps we can set up a day of auctions on Ebay for Haiti Earthquake relief.

In an unheard of rush of timely enthusiasm, I am making some items to add to my Etsy store in plenty of time for Valentine's Day gifting. Here are a pile of double sided heart shaped fragrant sachets that will in due course be filled with either lavender or Musk/Orange oil. The fabrics are mostly vintage furnishings or retro print cottons - here you're seeing the wrong side of the fabrics. I plan on beading around the edges. They will be very sweet hanging in a closet or sitting in an underwear drawer. Stay tuned in upcoming days for the finished hearts and also for some Valentine Gift boxes divinely suitable for candies. I think I'll post a tute as well as having some for sale.

I figure Jayn's young friends probably don't read my blog, so I'm probably reasonably safe posting this gift before it is given. The bag is about 8 x 5 inches with a strap long enough to sling over the body. The patchwork side is a collection of undoubtedly familiar vintage and new remnants left over from recent doll making, while the back is a piece of vintage (I'm thinking 1960's) kimono silk. My mother-in-law gave me the kimono in a couple of pieces. I guess she had altered it some years ago and had worn the top part of it as a short jacket. Since it is now unwearable, and parts are actually faded and rubbed, I felt only a few twinges of guilt in dismantling the garment and the other few remants she sent me. The lining of the kimono was a beautiful flesh toned silk that has and will find new life in art dolls. I lined the bag is some very soft sage green silk that I had lying around from something. I made the patchwork by joining small rectangles into strips and ...

Now that the holidays are done, and I'm pretty sure that the bags have all made their way to their new homes, here are the larger sized OOAK Iggy Jingles handpainted and beaded character purses I made on special order for my good friend. I have to say it was kind of an accident that they turned out so big. I made a template for the painting and the larger size sprang from that. However I took the opportunity to upgrade the design by including an interior pocket, sewn in to the lining, which is always handy in a bag. Plus I made the closures with covered elastic instead of ribbon or plain elastic. Please enjoy...

Starting on one of my goals at once - just for you Pam - here are some photos of an A-Line vintage wool skirt with patchwork, machine embroidery and button embellishments around the hem that I made between Christmas and New Year. It has no waistband which suits my body best, reaches to just below my knee, and boy is it toasty. I want more clothes that let me wear my couple of pairs of cute winter boots. Perhaps the flannel is a little stiff for an A-Line, but I like the look and feel of it. I have more of this wool from my MIL, recently dry cleaned, although I have to cut around some moth holes from ages past. There is probably a matching jacket in my future, with some fancy detailing... The patches are all made from remnants from doll making, so a mix of vintage and new quilting cottons, or clothing remnants I snagged from the last Swap-o-rama-rama where I designed - bits of shirt sleeves or old skirts.