Some St. Patrick's Day Fun with Vintage Hankies

A Little St. Patrick's Day Welcome!

Happy St. Patrick's Day - Hanky Hearts from the Hanky Dress Lady

I love to make Hanky Hearts almost as much as Hanky Dresses. These two were actually made for a client of mine. The photos show both the front and back sides of each with shamrocks on one side and buttons on the other side. (click to get a closeup view)  Both of these were made from just one handkerchief. You can use Hanky Hearts as door decorations, on a cabinet nob or almost anywhere you like. I slipped  one through the hanging loop of the other here to create a chain effect.

St. Patrick's Day Puzzle Handkerchief

This St. Patrick's Day hanky belongs to the same client...and what a lucky Irish lady she is! At first glance one might think it just a rather odd and old damaged hanky. Not so - this is a rare St. Patrick's Day Puzzle Handkerchief. I have a collection of Valentine Puzzle Hankies, but this is the first St. Patrick's Day Puzzle Hanky I have ever seen. When folded properly the lovely Irish shamrock design is revealed. It may be damaged but I think it is still a treasure.

Create a Hanky Bouquet for St. Patrick's Day

I don't have an ounce of Irish blood in me - but I do love the color green! You can create a hanky bouquet with all sorts of containers. Look around and see what you might have to work with and give it a go. You'll want to starch and iron those hankies to give them a little stiffness so the points will stand up and not flop over. Check out the close-ups below and let me know which is your favorite.

One Duck - Four Easter Hanky Bouquets

Looking for last minute Easter decorations? Well I am. Here is how I am going to spruce up my bathroom a little for my Easter guests.

I have this sweet vintage duck vase which just happens to be the exact same age I am. I know this because I found it many years ago at a yard sale and the man that sold it to me said it was given to his mother as a gift by a friend when he was born....and he told me when that was....however, I am not going to tell you, hee! hee! hee!, that's my secret.

So which hanky do you think I should use in my little duck for Easter? 

Duck #1 has a lovely purple and yellow hanky.

Duck #2 has a vivid spring flowers hanky.

Duck #3 has a hanky with more pastel colored spring flowers.

Duck #4 is all yellow and so adorable!

The duck hanky bouquet is actually setting in front of a house plant in my bathroom...he just looked pretty there. So which one do you like best? Please leave a comment below and let me know. 

Wishing you all a blessed Easter with your family and friends.

Decorating for Valentine's Day with Vintage Hankies

Here are few more quick and easy Valentine's Day decorating ideas using vintage hankies! I don't know any handkerchief collector who doesn't adore Valentine hankies. I want to share with you a few ways that you can show off your collection.

Use your hankies as decorative shelf edging. As you can see, I also enjoy collecting jadite and dog figurines. My dogs are all interspersed amongst my favorite dishes. They stand silently and faithfully guarding my treasures. Cats would be just as sweet - if you are a cat person.

So much for the dining room. Now, let's move on into the bathroom. You've probably seen my hanky bouquets before, but you have never seen this! Yup, I've been holding out on you...

The Hanky Dress Lady even decorates her TP with vintage hankies!!!

Valentine Hanky Dresses for Shelley

What fun I had making Valentine Hanky Dresses for Shelley. Pictured below is the fabulous collection of Valentine's Day hankies she sent for me to use. Need I say I was in heaven when these lovelies arrived in the mail!

The red dress above is very special and I think it is probably my favorite. (I say, "think" because it is so hard for me to decide...I really like them all.) It was made from an older and more delicate hanky than the others. The border is actually a sheer transparent fabric. I chose pretty carved mother of pearl buttons to embellish this sweet Valentine dress.

Below you can see the completed Hanky Dresses. Can you match up the hankies with the finished dresses? Which one is your favorite? See how hard it is to decide!

She also asked me to make some dresses from the pattern I sell. If you click on the photo and zoom in you can see the imitation rhinestone embellishments used. I didn't have enough valentine hankies for four dresses. So, I improvised and used pretty little white hankies for the skirts and added the Valentine aprons for more color. I managed to make all of the aprons from one Valentine hanky.

I have made dresses for Shelley before, and it is always a pleasure. She uses them for party decor and gifts; and has kept several for herself to frame and hopefully share with grand daughters one day.

This is one of the hankies Shelley sent to me. When I told her that it was a puzzle hanky and also that I collect these, she gave it to me for my collection. I simply love it and every time I see it I remember Shelley and smile! 

Click this link to learn more:    Valentine Puzzle Hankies

Easy Valentine Hanky Dress Display Idea

This is a quick and easy way to show off those Hanky Dresses you've been making.
I thought of this when I was taking my Christmas decorations down. This is just a shabby white frame with red satin ribbon strung from side to side around small nails hammered into the back of the frame. I made it to display my Christmas cards. You can attach it to the wall using removable adhesive Command wall hooks. Patterns can be purchased from my Etsy Shop.

I Have a Treasured Hanky - Part 3 - Look What Susie Did

This is picture of Susie's kitchen and where she hung her other Hanky Dresses I made for her. 

I think that is just the sweetest idea she came up with!  And notice that unique piece of trim above her doorway.

Pictured here is Susie with her granddaughter Chandler and daughter in law Jami. They are just two of her crafting and baking "partners in crime." She has two other granddaughters, Macie and Hanna, who join her in her these adventures, as well. Susie is a retired professional baker and has traveled to Paris to for lessons. While there she enjoys visiting Paris street markets too. (I secretly want to stow away with you next time.)

Susie made these bags from fabric scraps and vintage hankies. The fringe on the bags and the rug were made from damaged hankies.





The rugs she makes are an old style that originally was created with 2-inch strips of fabric woven with an old toothbrush cut off at the brush end and filed to a point at the other end. The fabric strips are threaded through the hole and worked in a fashion similar to how you do a buttonhole stitch. There are several variations on this theme.







So creative! 

I just love that rug.  

Thanks so much for sharing with us.

New Display at Willow Artisans' Market

Next time you're in downtown Littleton be sure to stop in at the Willow to check out my new Hanky Dress display which I will be changing seasonally. 
You can use this same concept in your home...a changeable shadow box is the secret. 

If you have something specific in mind that you don't see in the shop or have a family hanky you would like to have made into a dress - Just ask Helen...I do custom orders all the time.

Willow Artisans' Market is located on SW corner of Prince and Main in historic downtown Littleton, Colorado.

Living Vintage Hanky Dress Giveaway

Kim at Living Vintage and I are hosting a Hanky Dress giveaway. This is the lovely vintage hanky that Kim graciously provided. It is such a sweet classic! A precious pink floral cotton hanky!

This is the Hanky Dress that I made from it.

And, this is how you can enter to win it.  Just go to Kim's blog LivingVintageCo to find the complete story about how this all came about and leave a comment. For extra chances to win you may leave a comment on this post or visit my Facebook Page and leave a comment in the post about the giveaway there. The winner will be chosen randomly from all comments received. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only and runs until 9:00 pm on Monday, July 27, 2015.  Good Luck!

These are Kim's Hanky Dresses hanging in her spectacular laundry room. Go have a look see. You'll find some great decorating ideas!

Several of my customers have also used Hanky Dresses to decorate their laundry rooms. 

Some have put them in open Shabby Chic frames on the wall while others have just lined them up on a string to create a sweet grouping. My friend just has two hanging from tiny nails on the wall above her folding drying rack. 

Hanky Dress Featured on House of Hawthornes

I  was surprised to find one of my dresses featured on Pam's House of Hawthornes blog yesterday along with some other nice ideas for vintage handkerchiefs. 

Click to see full story.

House of Hawthornes on Facebook

Details about this Hanky Dress here.

St. Patrick's Day 2015

I'm all ready for St. Patrick's Day. Not a drop of Irish blood in me, but I do enjoy the Irish culture and I adore the color green. I've placed a lovely green and white Hanky Dress along with an ivy heart I made into a shadow box. This is a great way to display your Hanky Dresses because you can just switch them out to fit the season. You'll being seeing my new shadow box a lot. It made it's debut at the Valentine's Day Boutique Sale with a a very special red and white Hanky Dress.

Anyone can have a hanky bouquet like the one shown here. I've gathered up a few of my favorites to create this one. Take each hanky by the center to form a cone. Group them all together in a pleasing manner and stuff into a pretty vase. Hint - if you want your shamrock's to look their best, put the right side to the inside so that when you fluff them outward the right side is showing - as they are on the lower edge of this bouquet.

The Hanky Dress Lady at the Checkered Corner June Marketplace

Here are a few photos from my booth and and my lovely neighbor vendor, Diane at the Checkered Corner Marketplace. We had good weather and it turned out to be a wonderful day.

Early morning set up.

A little closer look.

Hanky Cottage Pillow Covers - made from upcycled vintage hankies.

This is my lovely next door booth vendor, Diane.

A Little Bit of Green for St. Paddy's Day

Here is my little dress form all spruced up and ready for St. Paddy's Day. You may recall that I debuted this idea for Valentine's Day. If you missed it, just scroll down to see it. 

You'll need eight handkerchiefs all about the same size.

Pick up each handkerchief in the center 

and stuff each one into one of the 

eight squares below the waist.

What a pretty little Irish lass she is!

Display Idea for your Valentine Hankies

TURN THIS

I found this small wire dress form about six months ago at the thrift shop. I usually go for the vintage stuff. Although this is not old; it just spoke to me and I knew I would find a use for it. It had some fluffy fabric around the neck which I remove right away. Then I used it to hang some of my jewelry on for a while. Then a few weeks ago when I was going through my Valentine hankies, it hit me. Using just the smaller and more sparsely decorated Valentine hankies I created this display.  

INTO THIS VINTAGE HANKY DISPLAY

All I did was pick up each hanky in the center and stuff it into the spaces just below the waist line. One hanky for each square. Eight vintage hankies were used. Then I just cross-crossed a pretty ribbon across the bodice taking it to the back and bringing it back to the front to tie a big bow. So simple and so pretty! If you set this on a dressing table with a mirror to the back, you'll be able to view both sides.

Have fun - I'd love to see your valentine hanky creations.

A Little Valentine Play Time

I was in the mood to play today. So I decided to put together some Valentine's Day decorations using a couple of my Hanky Dress patterns. I selected a few hankies from my stash, folded up the tablecloth and let the fun begin. Shown here are Pattern No. 105/106 and  Pattern No. 107/108. I printed one out on red card stock and one on white. A little red and white paint, a couple small paint brushes and a little red ribbon, and I was good to go.

A few simple hearts and some polka dots  in basic red and white were all I used to decorate these bodices. They were then cut out with a pair of small scissors. Here are the tops ready for attaching to their respective hanky skirts.

The hankies are attached with a little ribbon with no sewing involved.

The vintage hankies are not harmed in any way.

Wouldn't they be sweet tied to the back of chairs for decorations at a little girl's party and then given away as party favors?    

Hanky Dresses make great party decorations simply displayed on a string.

Here, I used a button magnet to attach the dress to a shabby chic white metal tray. A ball chain is attached to the tray so it can be hung as it is on this door with the aide of a removable stick-on plastic hook.