Whimspirations

It has been a long "time out" but I am ready to return to the Land of Blog! I am emerging as a weekly feature called "Whimspirations"....I love names not found in the dictionary.

My goal is to bring you inspiring photos of vignettes that I put together from my Ebay store...Whimrose Projects.

I have recently tapped into a bottomless pit of treasures and will put them together in interesting combinations to hopefully inspire you to mine the fields of Ebay for the best kind of recycling...BUY vintage!

New Year

The Swan

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

Mary Oliver

Find Your Sparkle

Happy Holidays!

"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake"

Sir Francis Bacon

The Darker Side of Santa

Looking for a gift for all those naughty little boys and girls in your life?

I have found the stocking stuffer....coal soap in a personalized bag available from PoofyCheeks Etsy Shop

We have all heard the threat used by some parents at Christmas time in an attempt to make naughty children behave...."If you don't do what Mommy says Santa will leave "coal in your stocking."

That phrase originates with someone named Belsnickle.
In Pensylvania Dutch communities, Belsnickle is a mythical being who visits children at Christmas. If you have been a bad boy or girl you will find coal or switches in your stockings.
The Belsnickel was a creature to be feared, well loved only by parents wanting good boys and girls....you better watch out...no pouting allowed!

And if that doesn't make you a believer meet Krampus.I wonder what it says on the back of this card...."Merry Christmas, Peter. This is what happens when you talk back to Mommy...enjoy the ride!"

Krampus is part of Austrian folklore. If you have been a naughty child, instead of gifts at Christmas, you may be subjected to a beating with a switch, or God for bid, a rusty chain! How evil is that? It gets worse...if you are really bad he might pop you into a sack, and throw you into the river!

And then there is the lesser of these two evils....

Zwarte Pieten
A much more tame character popular in the Netherlands. No abuse for misbehaving by Zwarte Piet...Piet will just confiscate your Christmas booty and tote it away in his huge dufflebag to Spain...Spain?...whats that all about, must be politically inspired.

So you better watch out, you better not cry or you may get a visit from the darker side of Santa.

Just in case you didn't know...there is also an Evil Easter Bunny

Paper Doll Obsessed

My son recently purchased several lots of paper dolls at auction. When he went to pick them up at the auction house the guy said..."looks like your Mom went nuts with the paper dolls".... wrong...my son just has a keen interest in ephemera and thought these looked pretty interesting. I happened to be out of town at the time, other wise I would have been bidding against him to win some lots for myself..not to sell, to collect...woe is me, like I need one more collection.

This is one woman's collection which is always a joy to find because it covers a wide range and always possesses some rare and sometimes unseen beauties. What I am showing doesn't even scratch the surface....there are hundreds that will all be listed in the next week so do your self a favor and go hereto view a unique piece of history.

(Wills new logo designed by Mom)

It seems like a good time to announce the official split of this mother and son business. My son, Will has grown the business from 700 sales to nearly 5400 in 3 years and was ready to make it his own...he was also ready to dispense with such a girly name like Whimrose...imagine handing that card to one of your "bros".
I am ready for a fresh start and will be opening the new "all about girly", Whimrose Projects Ebay Store Monday, November 29.



Mcloughlin Brothers, founded in 1828 was the largest manufacturer of paper dolls in the United States.
Daisy was part of a series made by Mcloughlin around 1860.
I love these French fashion dolls complete with front and back views. Wouldn't this look great framed for a little girls?.... or even a Big girls room!This bride and her trousseau were produced by RaphaelTuck , one of the better manufactures of paper dolls.

In 1919 Photoplay magazine presented Movy-Dolls featuring Movie Stars of the silent screen complete with the costumes they wore in their movies. Here is one of Norma Talmadge.
Paper dolls were also available in many different types of venues like this circus.and even adult publications like Vogue Pattern Book with paper doll cover
And if you were real lucky you may have found this paper doll house under your Christmas Tree.
If your dolls needed a place to fulfill their culinary dreams there was the GE Pop-Out Kitchen, (electric on paper only)!
This scenario seems suitable for framing or dreaming of what could be...one can always hope!Maybe you could build the perfect little cottage in the woods on your living room floor
and decorate with all the furnishings...including taxidermy, Native American rugs and stone fireplaces.I am fascinated with the male paper dolls, they are more rare and so serious... begging "Please don't put me in that ridiculous Uncle Sam outfit!"My personal favorites are a series called Polly's Paper Playmates, a newspaper feature from 1910. Polly and her friends had quite the social life

Visiting brother Percy at West Point

Driving in the country
Attending Christmas Parties
And Art Shows
and of course...Churchand a proper Tea


Who couldn't get lost in an afternoon fantasy on a living room "magic" carpet ride into the past...ahhhh... s l o w and dreamy like the "olden days".

Fabric Bead Cluster Necklace: How To DIY

If you have not seen the November Anthropology catalog, find one! The art direction is magical. I save back issues of Anthropology because I find it so inspirational. How do they keep coming up with such fantastical creations?cute pin cushion idea

On page 49 there is a llama...yes, a llama!...wearing the cutest necklace, well actually 3 necklaces, as you can see they have very long necks.This necklace happened to be one of those "I can do that" projects...and here's what happened next.

I made a quick trip to Michaels and found some big chunky beads with large holes that would accommodate a wide piece of fabric. I rummaged through my fabric stash and found a piece of vintage silk and ripped a piece 6"X 36". I gathered the beads, the fabric, some plain wood beads in 2 sizes, some waxed linen thread (regular thread would work just as well) and a darning needle.Starting in the middle, I wrapped the fabric around one large bead then secured it by wrapping the base with the linen thread.
Then I popped in another smaller bead and wrapped it, keeping it close to the other bead. Then I added a wood bead next to the fabric covered bead.Next I attached one of the large glass beads by drawing the length of fabric through and pushing it down towards the covered beads.Continuing adding as many or as little beads as you like.I mean...how easy is that!

It's A GIVEAWAY!

The winner will receive their choice of

Liberty of London Fabric Bead Necklace Kit
or a Liberty of London Fabric Packet
The giveaway is being sponsored by the multi-talented Jen Price who writes this blog


Jen also writes for todaysmama.com.

Jen and her family are living in Texas while on sabbatical from a mission to South Africa where she has been living for the past few years helping to build housing for orphaned children.

Jen shoots stunning photographyand knits the cutest little diaper coversand she sells them in her etsy shop here


The giveaway is being offered worldwide.
Here are a list of the RULES and the ways that you can enter:

Visit Whimrose Projects
then leave a comment about your favorite thing on Jen's blog
I Believe In Love

To get additional entries you can:
1. blog, facebook or tweet about the giveaway and be sure and tag your tweet @jenprice77 and come back to Jen's blog and leave a comment
2. Become a follower to Froogal if you are not one already
3. Become a follower of Jen's blog if you are not already

Remember, you must leave a separate comment for each action. Giveaway ends November 16th at 9 PM Central time where random number generator might choose YOU!

Woven Hair Jewelry...A Victorian Boondoggle?

Weaving hair.
I'm not talking about the popular practice of adding 5 inches to your already existing tresses. I'm talking about the art of braiding long strands of hair that have been removed from your head into intricate designs and worn as jewelry.

If you are unfamiliar with Victorian woven hair jewelry you may find the concept kind of creepy.

Strands of hair woven into a braided pattern not unlike those plastic coated strands that we braided into lanyards at summer camp. You can find these and many other interesting craft kits for kids here.

Did you know that these are actually called boondoggles?...an often heard word from my husband to describe a scheme that wastes time and money...used in reference to many of my crazy (to him) ideas!...I digress...

I recently acquired a small collection of these beautifully woven works of art and was curious to find out that they were not only woven to commemorate the passing of a loved one (the creepy factor) but were also kept or given as a token of affection.

Understandable to me who has lovingly taped the tiny locket of hair from my son's first haircut into his baby book.Is saving a hair a weird thing or a loving gesture?

How about saving hair for a practical purpose?

A hair receiver was a very common item up until the early 50's. Adorning a ladies dressing table, it was used to collect the hair from from ones brush.Many fine examples are available on ebay. The lovely one above can be found here.

The hair was deposited through the hole in the top and saved to be used in making a something called a ratt (now THAT is creepy and there will be no pictures)

A ratt was made by stuffing the collected hair into a hairnet until it was the size of a potato to be used to create a hairstyle like this (this may look a little TOO rat like!)
Collecting locks of hair was a popular Victorian pastime not unlike scrapbooking today. A ribbon was tied around a strand of hair, the hair was then snipped and placed in an album much like this:
Jewelry made with hair is dated as far back as the 1600's. The hair was woven using a special table with a hole in the center and weighed by bobbins. It was woven much in the same way as bobbin lace.
It was sometimes placed in a locket like thisor fashioned into earrings. These were worked around a mold.With the addition of gold fittings, woven hair was made into braceletsand ringsThese stunning examples are available for purchase from the informative website of Jane Haley Clarke owner of Morning Glory Antiques. Thank you Jane!

There is more to hair weaving than getting extensions!

To see the watch fobs that inspired this post visit Whimrose Projects Ebay Store