Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Gifts!

Sister Gifts

Dear Readers, My Sister came to visit the weekend before Christmas, so we were able to have our own small celebration together. She does not live near where I do, so it is not very often that we celebrate Holidays together. The unexpected (I think I had five days warning that she was coming North...!) nature of this visit made it all the more Special.... squeezed into the Holiday Season rush! Some of you may remember that last Spring I built a very little Cottage for her... I think it was Therapy for ME because she was so sick with cancer at the time..... But I built it for her and for the childhood memories of making dollhouse items together..... that Shared love that goes deeper than any words can say. I mailed it to her in the hopes that she would Love it and make things for it as we had always loved to do. And I promised you, Dear Readers, that I would show you what she has done with it if I got the chance.
So HERE it is!
Above, you can see the whole Cottage......

And below you can see the details of the lower room.....
The two dolls were made by Her Daughter, my niece, many years ago when she was eight or nine..... don't they look so at HOME?
The little angel on the rocking horse is a Christmas tree ornament.....
My sister stitched together the lace throw from scraps I sent her.....
And the rug on the right was made by our Dad's partner Diane, who is learning to weave....

And here, upstairs, you can see My Sister has covered the bed with a Delightful flannel coverlet and lace trimmed pillows! I had sent her scraps that I have been keeping for SO MANY Years..... and it is SO MUCH FUN to see the things she makes with them! I Just Adore it!
The two tiny dolls are from a worry bracelet..... and she "decorated" the ceramic tree I sent her (It comes in the teabags I buy.... so there are lots of these....) with glued on beads!!!

Here is a view of the other end of the upstairs....
Sewing basket at hand and books on the shelf...
And the lovely painting propped against the wall.....

Here is another view of the whole Cottage.... sort of.....
she sent me these pics from her mobile phone and I wasn't sure what order they would upload.... I LOVE the way the light is coming in the window..... and if you look closely on the right side you can see the little oak tree stump she made when she visited me last Summer!

But LOOK what else she is making.......!
The most Beautiful "crazy" quilt.....
complete with embroidered seams.....
just like they made in Victorian times......

Just look at her beautiful stitching......!

I Just think this is SO BEAUTIFUL!

Made with tiny scraps of Silk that I gave her years ago when I was making craft products from silk and had Tons of tiny scraps........ so PERFECT for dollhouse sewing!

So, you can see that my Sister is filling the Little Cottage with
TREASURES beyond price!

But THAT is not all!
Look at the Exquisite tiny beaded Rosary that she made for me!
(Or for some lucky dollhouse resident who is yet to arrive ....!
The Lady of the Castle Perhaps?)

Just look at all the beads and knots tied exactly so....
and tiny beads added to the little cross.....
I think it is just Truly Beautiful!
(And I sent her home with a supply of tiny crosses....... :)

I tell you Truly, Dear Readers, My Sister IS a Gift....
the best gift I could have on this Christmas!

But there is MORE!
A GIFT from my Friend Ewa in Poland!
It arrived just in time with this Beautiful stamp......
(when I was little I collected stamps that had art on them .... wanting to use them in a Dollhouse, of course!)

Wrapped in these beautiful layers.....

A GORGEOUS Brocade Handbag........
Just because I had admired them on her Blog when she made them.......
Isn't it Beautiful?
Thank you, Ewa,........ you are SO Generous!

I think Joanna is VERY Happy with her new bag......
Shall we let Victor take the credit....?
It is Exactly what he would have chosen for her!


And Look at the Gifts I got from my Dad and Diane.....
Dad sent me a lovely photograph that he took of beech trees in Autumn foliage .... for my 1:1 scale house... (Hmmmm perhaps I can copy this and reduce it to dollhouse scale and have it in my dollhouse too...?)
And Diane sent me a Beautiful scarf she wove for me.....
to keep me warm this Winter....
AND she added a tiny "rug" she wove for the Dollhouse!

She said it was a "rug" but I think it makes a Gorgeous blanket for the Lovely Old Dollhouse! The colors go so well with the wallpaper.... and it IS a cold New England house, after all!
In fact, in the Colonial times they used heavy coverlets for the beds that were Woven and they called them "Rugs"!

So, Dear Readers...... One would Think that was enough gifts.......
but I cannot neglect the "Gifts" that Mrs. Santa (Who knows me SO Well....!) brought me....

This is , of course, because I went to that Dollhouse Shop that is not very far from here.... and I spotted some Treasures that I had Never seen before in that shop........ they Immediately went on the "List" of what Must be Purchased....... and Mrs. Santa must have been looking over my shoulder........

But just LOOK at this little kitchen hearth set....... the "range" is all cast metal with working doors..... and all the little treasures are securely glued down.... so If I wish to alter it I will have to do so carefully. This is a European style range that I have never seen made here in the States... it speaks to me of eighteenth century cottages....... in Wales or Ireland...... Do I HAVE to make ANOTHER Dollhouse now to use it?.................. The list just gets Longer.......

For now, it can sit beside my computer...........
all set up with the kettle about to boil......
Bacon and eggs almost ready to eat......
because nothing falls off when I bump the table........

A Quarter past nine..... such a lazy Sunday breakfast time.......
And that cat all curled up on the mantle........

Isn't he Sweet? Would YOU have been able to Resist this Treasure?

And speaking of TREASURES...... just Look at this table!
Carved, unfinished wood........ just Begging for a HOME.........
The Only question being .......What KIND of home?
I swear...... it doesn't really FIT into any of my current dollhouses.........

But Really.... I am NOT capable of passing up such a Treasure when I see it.......
so I guess I will have to design it a Home.... or a Roombox at the very Least!

So, you can see..... I have received GIFTS beyond my imaginings this year!
And I am SO Thankful!

And even though it is Past Christmas and NOT quite the New Year......
I wanted to share with you all the Christmas Card I painted this year.....
the Twenty-eighth year in a row that I have made one.....!


Gifts!

23 comments:

  1. I cannot do anything but think: Why do nobody of my close family ever think of minis as presents?

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  2. Beautiful story and pictures you shared! Enjoy your presents! Best wishes for a Happy new Year!

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  3. Wonderful, thoughtful gifts and the best if your sister cured and healthy!
    Happy 2012 and a hug

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  4. I am sooooo happy You, dear Betsy, and Joanna liked little bag!!:D
    And lucky you! So many thoughtful gifts! And all of them so beautiful!
    And your treasures are fantastic! Love this table! Can't wait to see the houses or roomboxes you will build to put them in!:D

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  5. The best post yet! Yes, all the gifts look wonderful in the tiny houses, and (dream on!) future houses.
    The Christmas card is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! I can't wait to get mine. It will have to have a place of honor.
    Lots of love,
    Mom

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  6. Enhorabuena por esa fantastica hermana que tienes.
    Felicidades por todos los regalitos, son geniales.
    Feliz Año Nuevo!!
    besitos ascension

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  7. Hello Daydreamer!
    Everything is absolutely lovely, but knowing the sentiment and the story of your sister's dollhouse, I think it is one of the most beautiful dollhouses I've seen.
    All the best to you and yours,
    Giac

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  8. What a beautiful post! Happy New Year to you and all your dear ones,
    --John

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  9. Oh Betsey-what a wonderful gift, just the idea of making a cottage for your sister, and then to have it bloom into a collaboration. I love what she has done with it, filling it with family. And that crazy quilt in the making-woah. In a way the cottage is a quilt, don't you think? Bits and pieces from the pasts, the present, arranged just so, telling stories without being completely literal. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

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  10. Beautiful gifts!
    Diane
    http://myminiaturesjournal.blogspot.com/

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  11. I didn't get any minis too from my family , Rosanna! 3 years already! Common!!! Right? Thank goodness for the mini friends I have made here. :)

    Sorry Bets, for using this space for some ranting :).

    I don't know where to start. So many special gestures, meaningful creations, deep felt moments..that little house you did for your sister is too precious for words, Bets and I agree your sister's gifts to you, especially that rosary and the quilt are in turn, exquisite works.

    From Ewa's little bag to Diane's blanket, every item you have received this Christmas speak of the love you are blessed with.

    But of all the little things I saw today on this post, I have to say my favourite is quite decidedly your Christmas card. That to me, is one of the prettiest card I have ever seen. Such a great card and you know why? You make me want to know more about every single character. Will you tell us ?

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  12. Dear Rosanna, Happy New Year! My Family has only JUST started giving me things for the Dollhouses.... probably because EVERY conversation we have begins and ends with ME talking about my Dollhouses! LOL! This Year I have been very lucky!

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  13. Thank you, Anna! Happy New Year to you too!

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  14. Thank you Drora! My sister is doing very well! She says Thank you to all who prayed for her!
    Happy New Year to you as well!

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  15. Thank YOU, Ewa! These new pieces are Definitely going to have to Wait their Turn..... I need to finish at least ONE of my other Houses before starting another project...... I think! LOL! I have too many projects already! But they are Lovely to look at and Daydream about!

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  16. Thank you, MOM! I'm glad you like it! Happy New Year!

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  17. Thank you, Ascencion! Happy New Year to you Too!

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  18. Thank you, Giac! It certainly fills ME with Joy to see what she is doing with it! I'm glad to share the joy!

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  19. Thank you, John! Happy New Year to you too! (I hope you are feeling better!)

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  20. Thank you, Amy! It IS like a quilt... that is a Wonderful analogy! It has Always amazed me how similar and yet different my sister and I are... we are less than two years apart in age (me the older, bossier...) and shared SO MUCH in terms of likes and projects and ideas..... and yet her style and viewpoint and expression have always been so different than mine! I suppose we have both acted on each other as stimulants to creativity... new perspectives and fresh desires... but I am ALWAYS enriched by her contributions.... and often felt as though I would NEVER have thought of or learned of something but for HER awareness of it.....
    Maybe it is just the egoism of the older sister feeling as though I was the leader or the owner of all "our" ideas.....but really, I never was, still am not... And it is MUCH better as a collaborative Quilt!

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  21. Thank you, Diane! Welcome to my blog! And Happy New Year!

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  22. Thank you, Sans! for your kind words about my Christmas Card! To me it is one of the Least "Christmas-y" cards I have ever done... It was a difficult year in so many ways... and yet, Many of my friends tell me it is the most beautiful card I have done....
    It is Hard to be brief, because every year the card has included the family "history in pictures" for that year...
    But to TRY....
    The letter is "E"... for Eve, evening, Elusive, Eleven....the tree is broken because of all the tree limbs that broke from my trees this year and the feeling is battered but not destroyed!
    The vine climbing around the pictures is "bittersweet" a rampant vine that is beautiful but a nuisance.... and Bittersweet is the theme...
    The top vignette is my older son, Alex, who has epilepsy and Aspergers Syndrome... he lives with me and has had a LOT of hospital visits this year for testing and trying to get a successful treatment for the epilepsy. So he is shown with the EEG wires hooked up for a ten day hospital visit in November...
    Below that is my younger son, Jake, who is in the Army... shown arriving home on leave last July... with his wife Livy... at the airport... I think I showed them on this blog back then.... He has just gone back to Afghanistan where he will be posted this year.....
    The middle vignette is my house.... with all my dollhouses... with my Sister and I looking into the Lovely Old Dollhouse.... it is by the Grace of God (Any God and All Gods)that she is here to visit at all....!
    And below that is my niece (my sister's oldest daughter) with her Moroccan husband and their two beautiful children... She has converted to Islam and they live an hour and a half from here so I see them ... not often enough!
    And the bottom vignette is the crossover into the Magical world of the blog...with the Elf noticing "Tommy" outside the little fairy house...
    And the elf on the lower right hand is sawing up the fallen branches.... showing the real story that SOMEONE I don't know who.... came into my yard and sawed all the fallen branches into small movable pieces while I was away at the Hospital with my son....!!!! A Good Samaritan in deed!
    The Elf at the top right corner is trying to catch the moon..... so elusive, so beautiful... so im-permanent.... so futile... but What I think I am always trying to do.....
    The Garden is my back yard garden all lit up with Christmas lights just at dusk..... you have visited this Garden in the Summer....
    So that is the History in Brief...!

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  23. Thank you for sharing Bets. I knew there was something really special behind all those pretty drawings. I don't know if this is indeed the most beautiful of all your cards but it is definitely the most beautiful Xmas card that I have seen.

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