Tuesday Treasures

This is the first of 3 posts today - very rare that.

Later today you will find ATCs for The Stamp Man swap and the early evening will see my first contribution to the Unruly PaperArts Blogozine, so I hope you will come back again to see me.

Those who know me will often see little 'treasures' on my creations. These may be bits of jewellery, small pieces picked up from ebay, car-boot sales or charity shop finds, and I have a couple of small boxes filled with old watch pieces, game pieces, vintage sewing things, vintage ephemera, keys, frozen charlotte dolls, bottle tops as well as new things like the TH Idea-ology range. 

I have needed some new inspiration lately and am not stamping quite as much as I was. I just love the shabby vintage creations that can be found out there in blog-land and find myself playing with all the ephemera that I have been gathering.

Here are some frames I picked up at a car-boot sale last year, which have been sitting waiting for me to alter.

Originally there were three of them, but I have taken one off and created this. The frame was painted with Fresco Finish snowflake. The back piece was also painted then stamped  and I have added another of my treasures bought last year off Ebay - a Frozen Charlotte Doll. I have used crackle accents and alcohol inks on it which for some reason has made it appear blurred in this photo. 

You can see I also added some glitter EP over the frame to give it some more dimension.

I re-photographed the frame on a dark background and got a better image of the Charlotte Doll.

I find it so inspiring looking at other people's treasures so I would love it if you would leave a link to this post. Just tell me what is your special treasure this week and we can share with each other.

Have a very treasured week.

hugs {brenda} xox

Mr Inlinkz is below.

FSC - Butterflies and Bugs

Hi Everyone

I hope you will join me in another great challenge at Fashionable Stamping Challenges, where today we want you to show us your butterflies or bugs of any sort. Just remember please that this is a stamping challenge and we do need to be able to see what you stamped as part of your project.

My contribution to the design team today is an altered frame. I just loved making this and had great messy fun with the gesso and acrylic paints as well as inks.

The frame has 2 layers of gesso, 2 layers of white acrylic paint and some picket fence crackle paint. when completely dried I sanded some of the edges and added vintage photo DI and some stamped tissue paper.

The inside of the frame is a piece from T!m's crowded attic paper stash but if you look closely you will see I stamped and painted butterflies from his Papillon set and adhered these and a downloaded vintage bee to it.

I decorated the frame by using more of the stamped butterflies, painted and heat embossed and one of my Charlotte dolls, a vintage pen nib, an old key, some buttons and a vintage moth and small butterfly (again both downloaded and heat embossed like the others).

Don't forget to come over to the challenge blog to see what incredible inspiration awaits you from my fabulous team mates and to see what stamp is on offer to the winner from Marina at Cottage Crafts.

I have listed my new class schedule for The Art of Craft in Farnborough at the top of my blog,
but they are not yet on their web-site.
It would be great if you come along and join me though.

Have a wonderful day and have fun whatever you have planned.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox

Challenges to have fun with -
Blogger's Challenge - Wings and Things
Fabulous Friday Challenge - Paint
PolkaDoodles - Vintage//Retro
Everybody Art Challenge - Shabby
Little Claire's - Anything but a card
CES - Vintage

Frozen Charlotte Dolls

Hi All

I have been bitten by the bug. I have totally fallen in love with the little Frozen Charlotte Dolls. Tim Holtz calls them Fractured Dolls. I have used a couple lately, made by myself from a mould - but guess what????

Look..........................



I have been and bought myself some real ones, all the way from Germany where they have been dug up from the grounds of an old factory - you can see some still have dirt on them. Aren't they amazing?

The largest is 3 1/4 ins and the smallest is 1 1/4 ins tall.

Wikipaedia describes them as -

Frozen Charlotte is a name used to describe a specific form of china doll made from ca. 1850 to ca. 1920. The name comes from the American folk ballad Fair Charlotte, which tells of a young girl called Charlotte who refused to wrap up warmly to go on a sleigh ride and froze to death during the journey.

The Frozen Charlotte doll is made in the form of a standing, naked figure moulded all in one piece. These dolls may also be seen described as pillar dolls, solid chinas or bathing babies. The dolls ranged in size from under an inch to 18 inches plus. The smallest dolls were sometimes used as charms in Christmas puddings. Smaller sizes were very popular for putting in doll's houses. Occasionally versions are seen with a glazed china front and an unglazed stoneware back. This enabled the doll to float on its back when placed in a bath.
They are also made in bisque, and can come in white, pink-tinted, or, more rarely, painted black. Some rare examples have moulded chemises. Male dolls (identified by their boyish hairstyles) are called Frozen Charlies.

Other places describe the dolls being used by ladies to stir and cool their hot tea and after they would be given to little girls to play with. Some historical articles say they are called 'frozen' because they are unjointed, with no moving parts to them.

So there is a real history to these little things. Of course the painted and unbroken ones are worth quite alot of money but these ones have not been sold before and would have been thrown away at the factory, so probably were classed as seconds, but even so I think the fact that they are broken adds to their character. (My husband thinks I am mad!!!)

I have also purchased some vintage pen nibs and I am waiting for some little glass bottles to arrive - I think my altered art is going to increase don't you.

Hope you are having a good day. I will be back later with another wedding book page.

TTFN.

luv and hugs {brenda} xoxox