Crafty Doll: The Memoirs of a Crafty, Vintage-Loving Gal

My Girl & I

2012-01-05T08:57:00.002-05:00

The past six months have gone by so fast. The holidays were here and gone, before we know it. I'll be honest though, I'm glad it's over and done with! We didn't go anywhere for Christmas, since all our relatives are back home in California. It was just my husband and I, plus the kids. I sure did cook up a feast though! Here's a pic that I took with my camera phone. It was my baby girls first Christmas.

Vintage Wicker Bag from Etsy... Lost??!

2011-07-17T15:49:00.003-04:00

A few days ago, I came across this 50's wicker bag on Etsy for $8. Yes, 8 US dollars! The seller priced it so low because it reeked of cigarette smoke and was slightly discolored, due to the nicotine staining it. She said that the interior and exterior were great and that these were the main problems. Needless to say, I snapped it up in a heartbeat. I had plans on trying to get the smell out and trying a couple techniques on bringing this cute handbag back to life.

Just this morning, I got a message on Etsy from the seller saying that she cannot find the bag and offered to give me a different bag instead, or refund my money. My heart dropped. I told her that I'm willing to wait it out a bit and see if she can find it. She agreed and told me that she will look in one more place today, but that it wasn't looking good, and will refund my money tonight if it cannot be found.

A huge part of me really wants to believe that she truly can't find the bag, but I'm such a pessimist that everything in me is saying that she isn't being truthful, and probably regrets selling the bag for such a low price, albeit the cigarette smoke related issues. I know I should just give her the benefit of a doubt, otherwise I will just drive myself crazy...but I just can't help myself to being doubtful. I would hate to give her a negative, but it is a binding contract, and I did purchase the item fair and square. I'm not sure what to do.

Has this happened to any of you gals? Thoughts on this situation please? I'm really, really bummed out right now that my awesome find is nowhere to be found. =/

I'm Back and Bigger (More Pregnant) Than Ever!

2011-07-17T12:12:00.002-04:00

Greetings! I know that I made a vow to myself to keep up with this blog and not let long gaps happen in between, but it has been so hard to not be lazy. I'll pull out the 'I'm Pregnant' card and use that as my excuse this time. On top of that, there really hasn't been too much exciting stuff going on in my life. Not much shopping has been done, due to us needing to save up for more important things (baby on the way) and I can only do so much partying with a big ol' belly. I can't even blog about all the family outings we've done over the past few months because to be honest, we really haven't done much! The heat and humidity are not my friends right now, and all I want to do is hang out inside where the AC is blasting. Nice and cool.

Anyhow, I will make sure to add very future posts about the tiny bits of shopping, crafting and sewing that have been going on since February, my last post.

As of today, I am 38 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I only have 9 days until my due date, which means that this baby could be here any day now! I have been in nesting mode lately and trying to do last minute preparations for what will be my first home birth. I'm very excited and a little nervous at the same time.

I did a maternity shoot a few weeks back with a few photographers, one of whom is a friend of mine. It was fun and felt nice to have a reason to get really dolled up again. It's been a long time! I thought I'd share some more of those pics on this little blog of mine.

The photographers thought it would be a fun idea to have me wear my hubby's work uniform. :)

That's it for now, but I will be working on more posts and reading my favorite blogs to try and catch up!

Winter Blues = A Little Online Shopping

2011-02-16T12:37:00.020-05:00

Although I now live in the East Coast, I'm still a Southern California girl at heart. This winter has been really tough on me, as I'm used to having 50-60 degree weather during the Los Angeles winter's... and that was considered cold! With that said, I've been mostly cooped up in the house, waiting until it warms up just enough for me. Yes, many here probably consider me a wimp. Since I've been spending most of my days at home, I couldn't help but do a little online shopping. These are some of my purchases over the last few weeks.

I purchased this Vintage pleated skirt from Etsy, for only $10! It's 2 inches bigger in the waist than what I normally wear, but that's perfect since I can use it with my expanding belly this spring and summer.

Another Vintage skirt from Etsy, for $10. It's too long for my preference, so I will hem it to just below the knee. It has an elastic waist which works great for me, but the colors in the photo are deceiving. In person, the flowers are more of a neon pink. I'm not sure how I really feel about this one. My husband said that it kind of looks like a bed sheet! I'm hoping for it to look cuter once it's hemmed and worn with a cute top and wedges.

Eek, sorry for the ashy skin! These Bakelite bangles are from Ebay. The cherry red bangle was $50 and the green one was $30.

Vintage Coro shell clip-on earrings. $5 from Ebay. I think these will be cute during the summer time, and perfect for the beach!

These three Vintage sweater clips were purchased from Ebay for a total of $8!

Lastly, a box of these. A pregnant girl has got to have her Girl Scout Cookies! :-)

Valentine's Day Or Hallmark Holiday?

2011-02-14T15:24:00.012-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day, or rather... Happy Hallmark Day! No, I'm not bitter. Just over it really. Well, okay... maybe just a little bit bitter! In high school and into my early 20's, I used to romanticize about Valentine's Day and always longed for my significant other to surprise me with love letters, cards, delivered flowers, chocolates, teddy bears, a special day trip... that sort of thing. Well, it never turned out the way I had imagined it. I was always the one to buy my boyfriends' a card, a rose or a balloon and plan something special for that day, yet I never got it back in return!

I'll blame a little bit of my bitterness on my cheap, high school boyfriend who didn't buy or do anything special for me on our first Valentine's Day. Absolutely nothing. Not even a 99 Cent Store card. Years later, it was the boyfriend who had supposedly forgotten that it was Valentine's Day. I found that hard to believe because he was working in a corporate office... which I'm sure many of his colleagues were getting roses delivered to their desks by their significant others. Come on now! Needless to say, I found the sharpest object near me and popped the cute heart balloon that I had hiding in our closet for him, out of anger! I may have torn up the Valentine's card I bought him too. Yes, I have a slight temper.

Oh, there was also a time in high school when my best friend and I were sitting in her room, depressed as hell because we had just broken up with our boyfriends the day before. I think we even cried a little bit, haha. Everywhere we went that morning was just a reminder of how single and lonely we were. All the grocery stores and pharmacies had turned into chocolatiers for the day. Flowers and teddy bears were being sold on every major street we would drive down. We were being pathetic and felt sorry for ourselves. Talk about high school Valentine's Day angst!

After all that, I have come to realize that I don't need one day out of the year for my partner to prove his love to me or show me how special I am. If you love someone, you already show it. So no, I don't expect my husband to go all out, and vice-versa. However, it is nice to have a little romance in your life sometimes, which means that we do mark the day if we are able to. Nothing too crazy though. I'd rather skip all the crowded, over-priced restaurants and just have a special little dinner at home. I don't care for flowers and teddy bears, and would rather get a simple heart-felt card. However, I won't complain about the heart ballon that my son bought me last night, the Valentine's card I found under my pillow this morning, or the little surprise vintage present that is coming in the mail from Ebay for me, hehe. My husband has work until tomorrow morning, so it's just the kids and I, and some good old freezer pasta for dinner.

Although I think of today as a Hallmark Holiday, I can't help but be appreciative to the man I married. He really is a sweet-heart and will go out of his way to make sure that I know he loves me and thinks of me as something special to him... today, and any other day. For that, I am very grateful. What are your thoughts on Valentine's Day?

Crafty Doll's Kitchen - New England Clam Chowder Recipe

2011-02-13T12:53:00.001-05:00

I absolutely love clam chowder and had a craving for it, so I decided to make it from scratch instead of having to leave the comfort of my own home, or even worse - having it canned. Yuck. So with a little internet researching, and tweaking plus combining a few different recipes, I came up with my own version. I wanted a clam chowder that was hearty, clammy, simple, delicious, and most of all- not watery, yet not too thick.

Authentic New England clam chowder is not supposed to have any added thickeners. The starch from the potatoes should be enough to do the trick. One thing I can't stand is clam chowder served at a restaurant that is so thick, you can stand a spoon up in it. Umm, no thank you!

Anyway, on to the recipe. This is especially yummy served in a bread bowl or with some fresh crusty bread. Enjoy!

Serving size- 6

5 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (or smaller if you prefer)
4 unpeeled potatoes, diced
1/2 onion, minced
pepper to taste
3 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams with juice
1 (8 ounce) bottle of clam juice
1 (1.8 ounce) package of dry leek soup mix
1 quart half-and-half (I didn't use up the entire quart)

1. Place the bacon in a large pot and cook over med-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisped and browned, about 7 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pot. Set the bacon aside. Stir the potatoes and onion into the bacon fat. Season with pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Pour the juice from the clams into the pot, including the bottle of clam juice, to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Gently stir the leek soup mix into the potatoes until no lumps of soup remain. Stir in the clams, reserved bacon, and half-and-half cream. Cook and stir until the chowder returns to a simmer and thickens, about 10 minutes more.

4. Serve!

Lunch, Cartwheels and Vintage Shopping

2011-02-10T08:20:00.007-05:00

After having 9 weeks of morning sickness and being stuck at home for the most part, I finally decided to go out with my hubby and son to have lunch and do a little venturing out in the city a few days ago. It felt good to be able to get semi-dolled up and out of my pajamas for once. Here I am at about 15 weeks preggo. I'm finally showing and look pregnant, but I've lost almost 10 lbs. from being so sick. I feel and look so frail. *sigh*

Vintage-inspired dress- Target
coat- Forever 21
Via Spiga boots - thrifted
Vintage purse- www.thebeadedpurse.com
accessories: bakelite bangles and polymer
clay rose ring, handmade by me

Our first stop was to Casa Grande, where we had some delicious Mexican food. I ordered ceviche de pescado and a chicken tamale. They have the best icy-cold margaritas, which I obviously can't have for a while. But they're especially enjoyable on a hot summer day. Oh how I miss them!

After that, we headed to Carytown and made a couple stops. We took our little boy to Cartwheels & Coffee, which is this cool toddler playground/coffee shop. He had a blast and got to burn off some energy and play with other toddlers.

Finally, we stopped into Bygones to exchange something and take a peek at their newest goodies. Bygones is truly one of the best vintage shopping experiences. Everything is hand selected and the shop owner is a sweetheart. I can spend hours in there just admiring all their beautiful pieces. It is on the pricey side here, but every item in the shop is well-considered in terms of interest, quality, condition and sheer loveliness.

Albeit the high prices, I found an great deal on a 50's cashmere cardigan. It's so soft and comfortable. I love it!

Hubby purchased another reproduction fedora hat to add to his collection and I ended up exchanging a pair of burgundy colored cashmere gloves for a pair of black ruffled ones. I got the gloves as one of my Christmas gifts from Hubby, but felt better suited with the black pair, since I really don't have much burgundy in my closet.

All in all, it was a fun day and I'm glad I came out of hibernation!

Our Wedding Day

2011-02-02T20:16:00.001-05:00

Since I'm way behind on blogging, I wanted to take a little trip down memory lane and post about mine and my hubby's wedding. We had a small yet sweet ceremony at Byrd Park. It was just us and the kids for the most part (not including the minister, our photographer and our wonderful friend who was there to lend us a helping hand).

The plan was to have a beautiful private ceremony, with budgeting in mind since we plan on having a fancy vow renewal, shared with family & friends for our 7 year anniversary. With that said, I did some online dress hunting and ended up with this pretty 50's style vintage inspired number below. It even came with a pretty matching bolero, but I ended up not wearing it because it was really hot that day! I was a little bit nervous about how the look and quality of the dress would be in person, since it was pretty darn affordable, but I wasn't disappointed. The dress was purchased from www.unique-vintage.com and the picture below is from their website.

As for shoes, I wanted to have a vintage inspired pair but with a punch of color. I decided on these cute vintage-looking heels that I saw on Tara's blog, "The DC Metro Retro." She did a post on them and I instantly made my purchase as soon as I was done reading her blog. Thanks Tara! Not bad for a $39 pair of shoes. They are super cute, but they hurt like hell! It doesn't help any that I have wide feet. I know my dress and shoes weren't period appropriate, but I didn't care because overall I was very pleased with how they looked when worn together.

For accessories, I purchased a beautiful pair of vintage rhinestone clip-on earrings and a vintage rhinestone bracelet from a vintage shop in downtown Richmond. I wore a birdcage veil which I proudly made all by myself the night before the wedding! Yes, I'm a procrastinator but feel as if I really do work better under pressure. I had my hands full that day and night, shopping around for jewelry, supplies for my veil, trimming the tule on my dress and purchasing flowers for my bouquet. I purchased the netting for my birdcage veil from Pocketsaurus on Etsy. The feathers are from Michael's craft store and I added a few rhinestones and a vintage button that I had in one of my craft drawers.

Hubby and I got married the morning of September 17, 2010 at Byrd Park in Richmond. He stayed the night at a friend's house, while I stayed at our place with the kids. It worked out perfectly because I had time to work on all my last minute things without having to worry about locking Hubby out of the bathroom or bedroom. My 12 year old daughter was such a huge help, I don't know if I could have finished everything in time without her. A very memorable moment was when I had her standing up on top of the toilet while wearing my dress, so that I can trim the tule. It was hilarious and cute and the same time.

So the morning of, the kids and I met up with my then fiance at the park. I remember rushing trying to get ready as quickly as possible so that I can cut the stems from my flowers to bundle them up with floral tape and wrap them with a pretty satin ribbon. We were running low on time, so the bouquet didn't come out perfect like I wanted it to, and was ribbon-less. On the way to the park, I had to stop into Rite-Aid to pick up a can of hairspray because I ran out. Yup, just my luck. I sped into the parking lot and ran in and out as fast as I could. Yes, I had my wedding dress on. People in the parking lot and inside the store were staring at me like I was a crazy woman, haha.

The kids and I finally made it to the park. I sat inside my car for 5 minutes because I had only written my vows on my Blackberry, and I had to copy it down on paper. We rushed outside and I was smitten with how my soon to be hubby looked. He was wearing his Richmond Fire Department dress uniform and looked as handsome as ever. Before the ceremony proceeded, my future-hubby and I realized that there was a huge misunderstanding as far as who was going to bring the rings... and he was ringless at our wedding. *sigh* Yes, I felt horrible! I guess we were even though, because we had both planned on writing our vows, yet future-hubby decided last minute that he wanted to "wing it" instead and just speak from the heart. Well, what do you know... he went a little blank when his time came! Our Jewish minister had a big laugh. And nope, neither one of us are Jewish!

To make a long story short, everything didn't go as perfectly as planned, but we wouldn't have it any other way. <3

And finally, some photos:

The End. Well, more like just the beginning... but you know what I mean.

1930's "3 Hour Sweater"

2011-01-30T09:38:00.001-05:00

This post has been long overdue, but a few months back, I finished knitting myself this sweater which is from an original vintage pattern from the 1930's. It certainly didn't take 3 hours to knit, but I think it's pretty darned cute and was worth all the headaches I endured.

I haven't been in a knitting mood lately because I have had awful morning sickness... which really should be called all day sickness instead! It's been over 8 weeks so far and still counting. Once I'm past this terrible phase, I hope to get back to the needles and finish a much overdue Christmas present that I started but never finished, for my sister-in-law.

I still need to sew on a small button to the front, so technically it isn't 100% done yet.

Cute 50's Dress Find

2010-10-20T16:00:00.003-04:00

I scored not too long ago on this 1950's dress that was in the clearance rack for only $20! I was so excited to find it because to be honest, I've never found a vintage 50's dress for this cheap, and in mint condition to boot. It doesn't even look like it's been worn. The tag is still nice and crisp and the dress came with a matching belt. The fit is perfect on me and the cheery pastel colors really make me happy. Most of all, I love the pleats and peter pan collar. Hubby calls it "The Easter Dress." Ha.

Snow White Headband

2010-08-07T10:17:00.001-04:00

This little headband was a quick and easy knit. Talk about instant gratification! I've only worn it once and it looked quite cute, however I think it looks much better on my little boy... but he begs to differ!

Happy New Year, Changes & Crafting

2009-02-21T11:22:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! Geez, I didn't realize until now that I have been AWOL from my blog for almost an entire year. So many changes have taken place since my last post, such as moving (which I'm sure you all know is a pain in the ass!) and also the creation of a new life. My boyfriend and I were deliriously happy when we found out that I was pregnant. I already have a beautiful 10 year old daughter, and now a tiny addition to our family.
The expected due date for our baby boy is June 8th, 2009. Ever since finding out the news, I have not been working. One reason being the fact that my job was physically strenuous. So, you would think that with all this time on my hands, that I have been crafting up a storm! Well, not quite. Up until a month ago, I've had THE worst 'morning' sickness ever. Morning sickness my butt - it's more like all day sickness! I did get a couple of knitting projects in, which I'll be sure to post very soon. Now that the worst is over and I have finally been inspired to start working on new projects and ideas that I've had in mind.

Last week, I signed up to join a Craftster Twilight Swap. Yes, Twilight. Surprisingly, I thought the Twilight saga books made very good reading material for me. I had such a hard time putting them down because I constantly needed my fix!

Anyway, I have been brainstorming ideas as to what I'm going to make for my partner. I think I'm set now, as far as knowing what her package will consist of. Time to buy a few supplies today. You would think I had all the materials with my non-stop growing stash, but nope. It's okay, because now I have an excuse to go to Michael's craft store again.

I'm excited to finally get the ball rolling. Updates soon to come!