Vintage-Inspired Baskets

 I'm a bit late finishing these in time for listing these in my etsy shoppe as Easter baskets, but please contact me if you're interested, as I can create a listing for you in next couple days, and ship Priority Mail in time for Easter! Or if you're local, I can deliver them to you! They are on sale for $20 each each, plus shipping, if I send to you through the mail.

These baskets would also make lovely gift baskets for Mother's Day, showers for babies and brides, or a pretty place to store washcloths, art supplies, etc.

Here they are... Please email me at cherylensomdack@gmail if you are interested in purchasing. :)

This first one is called "Rose," fittingly, and was made by me using a vintage basket, and adorned with vintage lace and an incredible vintage millinery rose in the sweetest pink.

 On the handle is a flower made from vintage lace, a vintage earring, antique millinery flowers and velvet leaves. 

This next basket is named, "Polly," and is also a sweet and shabby sage green.

"Polly" features vintage millinery flowers, pale pink tuling, an antique earring, velvet leaves and sweet pink ribbon.

Next is "Rebecca," a pink vintage basket featuring vintage lace and millinery flowers, as well as an antique pearl necklace.

"Romance" is the next basket, also a sweet shabby pink. I used some incredible antique lace, a soft velvet antique millinery flower and vintage earring.

This basket, "Annetta," is a charming pink, and a bit bigger than the others. I used yards of incredible vintage satin floral ribbon.

Mabel and Abel

I'm taking some orders again! I hand-embroider these little baby layette sets using one of my favorite vintage embroidery patterns that Emily, my daughter, about 3 years of age at the time time, dubbed "Mabel and Abel," after our cats at the time. 

If you are interested in ordering one of these custom sized sets (0-24 months/you can specify colors of knits, cats, etc.), please visit one of my etsy shoppes HERE.

Vintage-Inspired Easter Baskets

I haven't blogged in ages, but I've been working on some new creations I'd love to share with you.

The photos above and below are of some Easter baskets I'm altering/selling, but others are still in process so I'll be sharing my progress and have them available to purchase in next few days.

I'm really enjoying finding vintage Easter baskets, painting them my favorite "vintage" hues, rediscovering and playing with my collection of antique lace and ribbon, vintage millinery flowers, antique jewelry, and much more.

These would make lovely heirloom Easter baskets for a litttle (or big!) girl. But they'd also be lovely in a bathroom with washcloths in it, or on a vanity table in a vintage-inspired boudoir for keeping lotions, perfumes, and other beauty products in.

Stay tuned for more! :)

Stitching A Dream: "Vintage Roses Cami"

The perfect tee for these warm summer months. Wear with a little skirt at the farmer's market, cut-off jean shorts while relaxing in the backyard with an icy drink or with not-much-at-all while you sleep.

I've taken my favorite vintage embroidery pattern (same one I have tattooed over my shoulder) and hand-embroidered it on some soft, comfy sleeveless knit tees for summer.

They are available in sizes:
-Small (3/5)
-Medium (7/9)
-Large (11/13)
-X-Large (15/18)
-XX-Large (19)

Contact me if you'd like to order one! I can custom-create one with any color roses you prefer.

$35/each & please allow 2 weeks for custom-creating and shipping.

Inspiration

I've got hand-embroidered, bohemian, vintage-inspired fashion on the brain ...

Nesting: A Photo Essay

She built a nest for she and her little ones,
piece by piece. She hand-selected the things that she needed and wanted for her happy life: things that nourish and nurture her heart, mind and body.

She didn't wait for someone to help her, and when asked to co-create nests with others, she actually declined. There would be a time for that. But her own personal nest had to be secure first. She knew also that her nest had to be self-sustaining; it couldn't be dependent on someone else staying in a certain posture in relation to her.

Not only that, but the safety and security of her nest under her would be the only position from which she could relate to others in a real way. With her nest intact, she could experience others not as sources of safety, security and happiness, but rather as people with whom to share time, fun, love and connection without fear.

She must meet all her basic creature needs herself before she can truly love someone else. Too often she'd handed the responsibility for her happiness to someone else and they had of course never succeeded at making her happy. She was made to feel, by her own mind, that her needs were too much and her expectations too high. In reality she was simply going to the wrong person with her needs.

She alone could truly manifest what she needed and wanted to be happy, healthy and whole. She alone could create a life that was a gift to herself. She alone could find herself shivering in the cold and usher herself to a cozy fire in a room full of things that comforted and nurtured her. She alone could fashion the perfect nest for herself. No one else could hand-design her own "one happy life."

When this finally became really real to her she realized that her perspective had changed. She'd gone from living in fear that another person would leave her without the ability to have her needs provided for, to finding herself sitting at an art table, loaded with supplies, and the beautiful burn of art welling up inside of her and spilling out in the form of an intricate but simple handmade nest.