2010

Holly Hobbie paper to cut out and dress up

24 December 2010 By Cinzia 7 Comments

Good 24 December to all!

It is not Christmas without any presents, so I thought I'd make one for all incurable romantic, like me, rose to “bread and Holly Hobbie“. Of course I am referring to the first, unforgettable, and now vintage Holly Hobbie.

Who can forget the charming drawings, country environments, the intimate and tender and delicate scenes? I have collected books and tickets Holly Hobbie since I was twelve years old and many have been lost, unfortunately.

Here are some pages to print and cut, maybe at Christmas to play with your daughters or granddaughters to the ancient game of dress and undress paper dolls!

If you want to download find in page download: are in A4 size so you can print to a shared printer.

I do not wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Filed Under: Victorian and Vintage Images Tagged With: Charter, Country, Figurine, Holly Hobbie

English porcelain tableware Christmas

23 December 2010 By Cinzia 14 Comments

A few days ago I came across a stall at the fabulous Christmas market in Piazza Mercanti in Milan! A feast of food, cups, teiere, all in the style of English china.

Of course I got groped, attracted to bright colors and designs of flowers: just what I was missing my Christmas table.

The stand will be in Piazza Mercanti in Milan until 6 January, and you can easily order their products on their site.

See you soon!

Filed Under: Table accessories Tagged With: Markets, Christmas, Shopping

Christmas decorations: polystyrene spheres silver

23 December 2010 By Cinzia Leave a Comment

Today I propose the decorations very scenic, easy to make and very cheap: polystyrene beads silver.

addobbi natale sfere argento

We need some polystyrene balls, color black acrylic, mission (a special glue for vinyl-based gilding), the silver leaf and liquid bitumen (is in the paint factory). Bring a dish brush and a cheap brush very soft, and a couple of clean cloths.

Here is the sequence to be followed: let dry very well color, then given a coat of mission. Before applying the silver foil the mission must be nearly dry, that is, be transparent.

After a couple of hours you can remove the excess of silver leaf with a soft brush and wipe with a light veil of bitumen with the cloth, to achieve an "aged".

Finally, polish the balls and place them wherever you like.

I've lying between the pine branches to decorate a shelf above the door: silver sparkle as if they were true and give a very elegant touch to the decoration!

See you soon!

Filed Under: Christmas Decorations Tagged With: Decorations, Christmas, Tutorials

Vintage packages under the tree: string and sealing wax

21 December 2010 By Cinzia 3 Comments

Christmas is coming and is now preparing the packages for Christmas gifts: is a special moment that I spend more and at least half a day. I really like to change the look of my parcels each year, and invented eye-catching and original solutions: I love making gifts for Christmas and their "live" witness an act of attention and affection to those who receive them. True to style shabby chic, I chose a solution from the flavor vintage and lived: the parcel sealed with wax.

ceralacca e spago

The packages under the Christmas tree are an integral part of the decoration, give the final touch to the setting of the Christmas house and spread a sense of warmth and sharing.

This year also parcels will be in shades of white and natural, to match the balls and stuffed hearts that I have chosen for the tree.

For paper hand-printed sheets of paper needed to pack white, a couple of sponges (those high double-layer, rough on one side and soft on the other), we will use as stamps, liquid watercolors and a cutter.

We choose the simple reason, they are being returned on the sponge (the soft part) and, with the help of cutter, removed the towel round the boundary, obtaining the stamp.

Put a little 'color in a saucer and dip the sponge: before you print it on paper, download a bit 'color by pressing the sponge on the edge of the dish.

We support the stamp on paper (matt side) and give a little pressure. Never mind that the edges are well defined and that the prints are all the same: the charm of handmade things lies in imperfection, nell’irregolarità.

When the leaves are dry, finally we can dedicate ourselves to the packages. After the presents wrapped in paper must close with string and sealing wax, do not use tape to attach the paper outside, best of the squares of adhesive tape hidden.

We need a stick of sealing wax, a candle, twine, a seal and a gold or silver ink pad.

To make sure that does not form a kind of wax on the upstream node, it must be flat as possible. Now I show you the sequence to be followed:

The final touch wax: should be dissolved and deposited on the flame, several times, the center of the node, until it forms a good mark, ready to be imprinted with the seal.

Important: whenever the seal is impregnated with ink or, if we want to use "dry", must have an oil film to prevent the wax penetrates into the incisions.

Latest touch labels on the packages: I have downloaded that.