Create 365 - Little Lucy Doll

I finished a little sooner than expected :)  Little Lucy is a gift for one of my favorite tiny people <3

Hugs and Smooches,
D

Crafting for the Holidays

If you love making gifts for the holidays, as I do, you know that it's never too soon to begin planning your holiday giving list.  (In theory..I do have a tendency towards procrastination and have found myself in previous years pulling all nighters with a pot of coffee and several skeins of yarn ;-)

I have vowed, however, that I will be organized this year!!  In this spirit, I have started sorting through some of my pins on Pinterest to identify what I would like to try my hand at, and who the gifts would be suited for..because, truthfully, I do sometimes find something I reallllyyy want to make that would only be suited as a gift for me :-)

Here are a few things I'm thinking about so far:

For her

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 These gorgeous origami fabric butterflies would be perfect for hair accessories, brooches or as an accent on a necklace.

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Hand scrub, great in a gift bag with a nail file and some pretty nail polish!

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Embellished cardigans..soooo easy.  (Incidentally, this is also an adorable blog with several other fantastic ideas!)

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Cozy sewn felt slippers (also a great idea for kiddos!)

For Him

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My husband LOVES these.  They're pretty easy to make..I may enlist the children to create a few for their Dad and uncles ;-)

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Despite his protests about the "Fudge Handles" he acquires every holiday season, The Man loveeesss some homemade fudge.

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Create a playlist, could be songs for your sweetheart, running songs, songs to brighten your day, type the list out on fun paper and attach to an itunes gift card..it's like a mixed tape for the 21st century ;-)

For the Kids

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Create a bunch of these.  Use to embellish overalls, sweaters, hats, mittens or stitch them all together to make a scarf.

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Rice filled heating pads to snuggle up to on a cold night!

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I'm a sucker for a cute hat, and this one's about as cute as they come..

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This link is for 25 Christmas Books and crafts to go with them, but you could do this with any book for any age!  My oldest daughter loves the Hunger Games, and I thought a neat combo would be the Hunger Games books and a craft project to make arrow hair sticks out of chopsticks and feathers or felt feathers.  My youngest loves Diary of a Wimpy Kid, so to go along with that, a craft for making your own diary. 

So that's my (preliminary) list!  What are your ideas for the holidays?  Do you make gifts as well?  What sort of items are on your crafting list?  Feel free to share here or over on facebook!

A Sorta Fairytale..

A while back, I wrote a post about some changes to the blog, the shop and my life in general.  I felt like I had lost a little of my direction and needed some time to find my way.

After some brainstorming, I've come up with a few ideas:

• The stunning model in the photo above is my lovely daughter, Shannon.  You will be seeing some more of her and her best friend, Jules, as I transition the clothing photos in the shop over to live models.
• The appearance of the shop and blog will be taking on a bit of a vintage/fairytale/literary quality.  You will see a more consistent theme and a lot of the new handmade jewelry and accessories coming into the shop will be inspired by my love of literature.  (Plus there will still be plenty of vintage!)
• I am moving towards making ConstantlyAlice a more permanent source of income.  This means you will see more merchandise coming to the shop on a regular basis.  You may also see me branch out to ebay in addition to my etsy store to give you more purchase options.  Finally, you will certainly begin to see more activity here on the blog!

I have some other treats in store for you..like a holiday season launch beginning at the end of september/beginning of october and maybe even a look book to show you some styling options :)

It's good to be back, and I'm so glad to be sharing with all of you again!

Hugs and Smooches,
D

First Love

I'm passionate about vintage.  I love the stories behind the garments.  I love that it's unique.  I love that it allows me to dress each day to suit my mood.  However, it is not my first love..

The Gatsby Necklace

My first love has always been creating.  It doesn't matter if it's sewing a new dress, painting, knitting, or writing.  So long as it goes directly from my imagination and comes straight to life in my hands.

For a long time, while my children were young, I considered it an indulgence.  I forgot how happy it made me just to putter around with a paint brush in my hand, or to be able to whip up a new top when I got tired of my old ones.

The Moulin Rouge Necklace

Recently, I've had the pleasure of being able to rediscover that happiness, and to share it with my girls.  I've started making things using my old skills, sewing dresses or sketching, and I've begun learning new skills, like creating jewelry out of mixed media.

The Birds of a Feather Necklace

And I am oh so happy.  When I'm making something, I sometimes catch myself humming a cheerful tune under my breath, or smiling to myself.  I can't wait to share some of my new items with you all in my shop.  I hope they make you smile too :)

Hugs and Smooches,
D