pretty spaces

I stumbled across these beautiful photos on the blog Daydream Lily.

This one is so ethereal, with the window's lighting.


and this is so fun, but in a different way.

I guess the two of them together is slightly like my room, though mine has more background colour and is less minimalist. I'll never be able to be a minimalist!

today we went to a friend's house and a bunch of us watched a film and relaxed. i love their house. every wall is painted (mostly deep oranges and turqoise) and the house is filled with African furniture and wood, since they are from SA. there was a huge collection of large colourful candlesticks on top of a bookshelf. they do a lot of crafting as well, so hopefully we'll get together sometime...also she gave me some advice on the local markets.

do you prefer deep, bright, or pastel colours? I find myself liking a mix of the three. Deep, deep deep...but also bright, and we can't forget pastel pink!

collared dresses and sparkly noses.

(a few new sketches)

Dahlia has a new outfit! The poor girl has been sitting on my dresser since we got home from Europe, which must have been a pretty traumatizing time for her anyway. Her hair was bent out of shape all over the place from being wrapped up in my bag.
I added a twist to an old PuchiCollective pattern and this is what came out.

I'm pleased! It's not as plain and simple as her other dresses. Also some fun red boots arrived from etsy. As I collect red shoes myself I thought it was time Dahlia Oz had a pair too.

And finally; I got my nose pierced on Wednesday. My cold is still lingering but is not too bad. I'm very happy with it and have wanted one for a long time, especially since going to India.

hope you are all well?

love, Cait

Treasure Boxes

Good afternoon!

Today I have quite a head cold (which isn't good considering the surprise scheduled for Wednesday) but I worked on these little tins while listening to my counseling lecture.



They're tins from cheap candles here, and I've taken the candle out of a few and left it in others, so people can decide what they will use them for. I love keeping my earrings in pretty little cases. For these, I peeled off all the labels and stickers, glued fabric to the top, covered it with primer, and then a pink, peach, or baby blue background before the pictures.


I was very pleasantly surprised when Willi-Nilly Waterlily gave me this award. She is a very creative and talented girl and I am always amazed at the little creations she whips up and the way she dresses her Blythe, Loovee. Thank you Rima!



Now, I have to pass this on to five other bloggers, which is a pretty hard task, but here we go.

A Fanciful Twist. Vanessa is an incredible artist and dreamer, and such a colourful little girl at heart. Reading her blog (which is sadly blocked from the UAE's network) always inspires me.

Be What You Mean. Krystal is my friend and co-artist in the Joi-Opaque project, and her photography is unique and beautiful. Her thoughts are always enlightening and challenging. She refuses to think typical, in the best sense.

Paper, scissors...glue. Stacey, the only fellow artisan in the Emirates that I actually know, although there are a lot of us! She's sweet and an incredible scrapbooker!!

Drum of a Different Beat. My sister! Because I love her and because she's a talented, encouraging, and challenging writer, and because she made the beautiful new banners for my blogs!

It's supposed to be five, but the two I'd have to choose between are both impossibly friendly and talented, and I'm pretty sure have received the award before. Nevertheless, Milkberry and Tizzalicious were two of the first crafters (and Blythelovers) I 'met' in the blogging realm.
I still really must do a post on all my favourite blogs!


In other matters; I've moved my personal blog to Wordpress, so you can now find it here.

Love, Cait

Summer Treasures

I managed to use my money well and buy very little this summer while we were in the states and in Europe. And, as it often is, the things I most value cost the least. Here are some of my favourites.

This is from a little Amish Thrift/Antique shop in Pennsylvania. A (very) vintage Ralph Lauren black watch satchel. It was originally $2, marked down to $1. It meant packing extra things in my suitcase and using it as a carry-on for the rest of my flights, but it looked like it held so many memories I had to get it, since it was beautiful and cost nothing.

At the same shop I found these tiny antique lovelies - a little vintage cat, and a miniscule victorian vase. They are very at home among Anne of Green Gables, fairytales, and my nutcracker.

The beauty of everything we saw (including friends) was far better though.
What did you buy this summer, whether you traveled or no? More importantly, what are the memories?

good night,
Cait

another little peek

Hello darlings,
Here is one of my favourite corners of my room. It's by the window above my bed, and on a big, olive green, vintage dresser that was my grandfather's. We brought it with us to Dubai and it is absolutely beautiful. And I do love my big yellow teapot!
The weekend has been busy, and I had to say good bye to one of my best friends, who is off to university in Ireland. This past week I began covering the tops of little tins with fabric, and painting tiny victorian profiles on them...preparing for the soukh.
I hope you all have a lovely, relaxing weekend :)

- Cait

ironic?

Something I just realized about my internet habits: Half of my favourite blogs are fashion blogs, yet mine is not a fashion blog, nor do I have an inherent interest in the subject. Funny...
This is not to say that I do not like clothes, because the opposite is true. Though I am very aware of fashion and current trends, and most definitely love clothes, I have never had any desire to follow those same trends. The most common descriptions by others for my dressing is 'weird,' 'original,' 'eccentric,' or, several years back in my taste, old fashioned. And strangely enough, I consider them all compliments, definitely. The past six months or so I noticed a tendency to the safer side of apparel, and am challenging myself to take risks again - to dress how I would like to dress. Fitting in should not be what's funnest.
I enjoy looking at some of the more bizarre name brand high fashions, because they are so 'out there' that they can reflect my preference a bit more. Also, everything vintage or 'old fashioned' is so timelessly pure, beautiful, and feminine. Not to mention more flattering for my classic size! Hooray for little 50's dresses - I wish I had more.
All that to say that I absolutely love some of the blogs I've stumbled across that are dedicated to fashion, its meaning, and even the breaking of its rules. They are right up there with my still beloved crafting blogs ;)
I really must introduce you all to my favourite blogs, since many of you are in the habit of reading them, like me. They can be such a source of lovely photos and inspiration, even if you don't try to emulate them. I will save that for another post though.


On another note, I have new paints and canvases again so more art will be forthcoming!

Aaand, I won't disclose the secret yet - but either tomorrow or next week, hopefully, there will be something new and interesting in terms of...my face. Yes, that's confusing and it's meant to be for now!

What about you? What is your general browsing category and how does it relate to you?

with love,
Cait

a dainty pink miss, and a more haughty one.

Yay! I've finally gotten around to taking photos and can show you all the new

lovelies I've finished.

a very special and elegant sylph (gouache on canvas)

I couldn't get a picture without the shine, but here's a glimpse of my tiny golden heather painting. It was the first time I've done anything non-whimsical and more (slightly) realistic.

And the somewhat arrogant Madame, my first art doll and probably the last, unless polymer is to be had in the UAE. This terracotta just didn't work. I must say I should have altered her waist piece before sewing the clothes on though, as she's somewhat shapeless! I like her funny look and the sparkles though.

What have you been working on lately?

love,
Cait

Rothenburg op de Tauber Doll Museum

Imagine my excitement when we heard about this during our day in Rothenburg! After walking along the city wall we spent some time in the little town and my mom and little sister and I went to the doll museum.

A lot of the photos are blurry or have reflections from the glass, but thankfully you could actually take pictures...just without flash.

Ironic occupation for a little hedge-piggy!

Darling vintage cewpie dolls!

Very solemn wooden dolls.

Marie Antoinette

A nursery of life-sized dolls!

...dead doll?
these ones made me smile.

doll-sized toy store!

Cake shop =D

Sweet little bower.

Some amazing antique molds and models.

Antique asian dolls.

Original kawaii? ;)

Fairytale puppets

Loads of little markets and candy stores.

Elegant paper theatre

German fairytale books :)

This was a huge doll house! ...with a wedding on the lawn.

She has a much nicer dressing table than I do ;)

Again, lovely antique dolls - my grandma has some similar.

Oh!

So much detail!

Kind of scary.

Little play tea set

Really fancy dresses

I found this...interesting...

Have you ever been to a doll museum before? This one was in an old little house or shop, covering several floors but quite small and containing so many beautiful dolls!