Doll Land Inside Piddlestixs!

Since I was a little girl I was always excited to get a doll whether it was old or new, a doll always allowed my imagination to soar. Dolls have inspired me to write, draw and create, its this childhood fantasy that I carried over into my adult world which allows me to keep the magic inside me and to see things differently then others.

An old doll in a grungy condition might be turned away from some, but to me, its a doll waiting to be given life again. I might turn that doll into a new one, mold it, add to an assemblage, draw it, tell a story about it or comprise it of other parts to become something new such as a wand, jar topper or embellishment.


At Piddlestixs I wanted to dedicate a whole section for the whimsy of childhood, complete with dolls and toys, a blend of vintage, modern, broken and artful, a place I call Doll Land and the Circus Follies. There is a magic hidden in these items which can bring back our childhood spirit.

Many of these dolls sit in the hand painted pink glass cabinet, which I created especially for them. Along side is a pink child's storybook hutch, white shelves filled w/vignettes, 2 castle like pillars and doll house curtains. Everyday I plan to add to the collection with furniture, toys and more dolls.

When you visit Piddlestixs in Historic Lafayette, NJ, you will escape to a world of magic. Come stay and play for a while, take a class and make a doll, buy enchanted goodies to bring some magic to your day!

See you at the store!
12 Morris Farm Rd, Historic Lafayette, NJ 07848

Nine Days of Christmas, Post Two!

"Enchanted Woodland Christmas"

Miss Flora Van Huysen, Little Bo Peep's cousin from Switzerland's Sugar Mountain!

For decades decorating with pine cones has been a design treat, using them in home decor, as a vase filler, turned into a wreath, a swag, used in floral arrangements, glittered, turned into dolls, ornaments, holiday decorations, trees and in partyware.

During my move a few years ago, I came upon several boxes of vintage ornaments and holiday decor, inside were some pinecone ornaments, some were pinecone elves, birds, angels, santa's, and a wreath doll ornament. They were glittered, some had knitted hats and gloves, felt clothes, clay, spun cotton heads, wings, a halo and pastel paint.

After studying their homemade presentation, I decided to create a few myself, a carnival of pinecone dollies. If you love to recycle, then this is a great eco friendly/green project by simply recycling pinecones from outside or pinecones from older Christmas/Fall projects. Then glitter them, or turn into dolls and ornaments.

Miss Plume Sugarite, Miss Webb and Miss Flora's Fairy-ology classmate, all are from Switzerland's Sugar Mountain!

Miss Plum signed up for sugar plum magic at the Luppin Stahl School of Magic, just outside Sugar Mountain.

In class she met Flora and Adeline. Miss Plume Sugarite, is learning sugar plum magic, so she can one day open her own sugar plum farm on her vast estate. She already knows how to make magic sugar in 12 colors. She is waiting for the Nutcracker Music Studies Corse, which starts next week.

Miss Adeline Webb, Miss Flora Van Huysen Fairy-ology and Flowers classmate, both are from Switzerland's Sugar Mountain!

Adeline decided she wanted to study Fairy-ology and Winter Magic, so she signed up at the Luppin Stahl School of Magic, just outside Sugar Mountain.

In class she met Flora, both became instant friends. Flora also met Miss Plume Sugarite, who is learning sugar plum magic, so she can one day open her own sugar plum farm on her vast estate.

I have created a project for this which can be found on the Art Glitter Blog:
http://artglitterblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/pine-cone-tinsel-ballerinas-by-lisa.html

and at the Spellbinders Curiosities Project Blog:
http://spellbinderscuriosities.blogspot.com/2009/12/tinsel-pine-cone-dolls.html


Hope you enjoyed all the Enchanted Woodland Creations I have made, my take on a vintage Christmas w/Cupcake Chic Colors!

Tinsel Wonderland, Part Three!

After working on our dolls, eating and sharing laughter throughout the day, singing classic holiday carols echoing from the hidden stereo in the room, we decided to get down to treasure hunting and looking for rare finds and that is what we found, rare finds which brought even more smiles to our faces.
All over the Mill you will find wonderful treasures to collect, use or give as gifts. Leave it to Diana to locate the vintage dolls cabinet, we all swarmed on over to get those finds, it was a chorus of girls giggling and smiling as we shifted through each one, keeping as many as we could find that warmed our hearts.
I found several dollies I loved, one of them was a vintage celluloid bride, the other a bisque dollie and a charlotte. I saw Nancy Ann's and Storybook Dolls in boxes, which I had to have, and went back for the next day, lol. We all managed to buy a vast array of goodies, Patty picked up the cutest twin dollies. One of the goodies Pam bought that I drooled over was the tin doll mold and Terri's cool metal sign, not to mention Gina's old general store receipt books for the late 1800s and Diana's dollies, Tiffany had an adorable book in her hands Joan was adoring the jewelry and Marcel was found looking at some cool stuff outside the Tinsel room, not to mention Agnes as well. We bought so many treasures, lol.
Many of the girls brought me over the top beautiful gifts, which added to the surprises of the day. I have been wanting one of Pam's vintage style ornaments and she gave me them, omg, they will hang on my Christmas tree with all their magic, Terri, My goodness, made not only me, but my mom too, one of her fabulous and famous necklaces. I have worn it twice already, it hangs from my jewelry dress form in all its regal manner. Diana gave me a pair of her signature ceramic earrings, they are gorgeous, a perfect fit. Gina's gifts friday were over the top from the handmade charm bracelet to the Wendy Addison Ornaments to the vintage trims/scraps, cupcakes and more, Patty's beautiful frame book and necklace, my goodness I felt so spoiled by these gifts, and will treasure them always! After the snow storm had presented the area with close to 8 inches of snow, lol, I had to return to the Mill the next day to get the rest of my workshop supplies and props, glad I did, I ended up finding some more treasures and started some Christmas shopping, not to mention getting a few extra things for myself, lol.No matter where you look, you feel like you escaped to a vintage time, in a secret place, its wonderful and added to our special day.

Hope you enjoyed my adventure and workshop: Tinsel Wonderland!

Magic, and Holiday Joy,

Lisa!

To see the full set of images from Tinsel Wonderland, Mill Antiques and My Treasure Finds:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonfaires16/sets/72157622967325834/