Sweet Niece in Smocked Pink Linen Dress

Sweet Niece in Smocked Pink Linen Dress, originally uploaded by stelladanza's confections.

This is a recent scan of a picture I took in August of 1990. My sisters and I and my 13-month-old niece went to afternoon tea at the Horton Grand Hotel in San Diego.

My sister made the hand-smocked pale pink linen dress that my niece is wearing. Her floral pilot cap is by Hanna Andersson. It's hard to believe that my niece just turned 21 in July....

Fair Niece, 1989

Fair Niece, 1989, originally uploaded by confections.

"Moonchild"

a poem in a variation of the Malayan Pantoum Form


She crowned as a redhead, we thought,
this wise newborn girl,
fair niece Laken Julia, a moonchild.
Surprise! Her hair is a halo of flax.

This wise newborn girl,
papa and mama's firstborn.
Surprise! Her hair is a halo of flax.
With delicate fingers, she signs in slow-motion.

Papa and mama's firstborn,
her eyes wide open in her first night of life.
With delicate fingers, she signs in slow-motion,
ancient waves of remembering wash through her.

Her eyes wide open in her first night of life.
She crowned as a redhead, we thought,
ancient waves of remembering wash through her,
fair niece Laken Julia, a moonchild.

Blue Alice Little Pullip

Blue Alice Little Pullip, originally uploaded by confections.

In addition to being obsessed with Blythe dolls (12" and mini 4" ones), Little Pullips have caught my eye lately, too. This Little Pullip, Blue Alice, (about 5" tall) was one of the birthday gifts I gave my sister this year.

We took a trip to Los Angeles in February and found her at The Valley of the Dolls at their old location. She is quite charming. Here she is next to a folk painting that my sister found at a thrift store in July on our Colorado vacation.

My eight-year-old niece is a collector now, too. At last count, she has one 12" Blythe (Lounging Lovely ADG), one Petite Blythe (Little Miss Retro Mama), and at least one Little Pullip (Bohso).

I have a Little Pullip, too (Calfy) and my sister has Froggy. I'll have to organize an official photo shoot with her and her cousins and share them here.

Josef Birthday Angel 9

Josef Birthday Angel 9, originally uploaded by confections.

A gift for my niece, who, although she won't be 9 until next year, was born on August 9th.

My sister and I found this angel and the #10 birthday angel at one of our favorite antique malls. Both vintage pieces have some damage, but not enough to detract from their essence. We gave this one to my niece yesterday as one of her early birthday presents, and she loves her.

Lounging Lovely is Living Large in Colorado

Lounging Lovely is Living Large in Colorado, originally uploaded by confections.

I gifted my 7-year-old niece with her own Blythe doll last month when she was visiting.

Yesterday, her Mom (my sister) sent a photo essay that Grainne made of Lounging Lovely. She is obviously relaxed and happy in her new home. Thanks for the update on our adopted girl!

Needlefelted Butterfly

Needlefelted Butterfly, originally uploaded by confections.

Another in my series of Warholized images, this one depicts a stylized needlefelted butterfly I made originally for my youngest niece. I'll be seeing her again (for the first time in a year and a half) very soon. Hello, Gracie!

Sweet Eden

Sweet Eden, originally uploaded by confections.

I'm an aunt and now a great-aunt and I take the duties that go along with those titles seriously--just kidding! Pictured here in all of her innocent glory is the third of my four extraordinary nieces. I have five delightful nephews as well.

I was present at Eden's birth, as well as at the birth of one of her sisters and one of her brothers. It is a rare and special gift to be invited to witness a birth. I am bonded to her and her siblings and cousins, and since I have no children of my own, I claim them and am honored to do so.

Eden turned seventeen in June; she is a lovely young woman with many talents including photography and writing. The photo below shows her on a visit to us last September cleaning her newly found vintage Royal typewriter--a girl after my own heart♥

Sweet Niece

Sweet Niece, originally uploaded by confections.

This is one of my four nieces; she was three at the time and just turned nineteen this month. Happy Birthday, Liebling!

She's wearing a handpainted silk crepe-de-chine scarf that I made for her--it featured ripe pumpkins on the vine and the alphabet and numbers. This was taken by me in October 1992 in Pennsylvania with my husband's Nikon camera.

Tea Cups & Chopstick Rest

Tea Cups, originally uploaded by confections.

Featured today is a grouping of thrifted tea cups and a chopstick rest that my sisters, niece, and I found during their San Diego visit at the beginning of June. Total eye candy and great additions to our tea table!

Vintage 1930's Royal Portable Typewriter Collage

Vintage Royal Typewriter Collage, originally uploaded by confections.

Recently my teenage nieces were visiting from back east. On their way to California, they had visited some friends in Pueblo, Colorado, and found this treasure at an antique store. We had fun typing up a summary of our days' activities each night.

Back in March, at the same antique store, my sleuthing nieces had found some 100-year-old letters which they transcribed and researched. We were able to locate a relative of the letter writer through Ancestry.com, and share the contents. She, in turn, sent a photo of the author as a child. The letters are available to read at Euterpe, my niece's blog.

Patchwork Quilt Sewn by My Sister for Our Niece

Patchwork Quilt Sewn by My Sister for Our Niece, originally uploaded by confections.

This lovely quilt was sewn by my sister Linda for our niece Eden, who turns Sweet Sixteen in June. It has been in the works (like any quilt worth its salt) for years. My niece hand-selected the pairs of fabrics for the 25-patch squares and my sister chose the complementary whole block squares from her ever-growing stash of quilting fabrics. I once joked to a friend that my sister's stash of fabrics would choke her, but mine would, in fact, kill her! I do confess I love my textiles....

We went to one of our favorite quilt shops ten days ago, The Country Loft, and my sister found the perfect backing fabric, a small-scale creamy plaid. She'll be having this special gift quilt professionally machine-quilted in the next few months, and I hope it makes a stop at our local quilt show before she bestows it upon our niece. I have a feeling a ribbon awaits it!

Vintage Effanbee Doll 3/4 View

Vintage Effanbee Doll 3/4 View, originally uploaded by confections.

My 5-year-old niece and I found this forlorn-looking vintage Effanbee doll last month at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. We had been to tea earlier in the day, and Grace had brought her American Girl doll, Elizabeth, along to the festivities. When we entered the thrift shop, she made a beeline to a group of dolls which included this well-loved charmer.

I did a little research about the doll and it seems she was made circa 1913 to 1917. She's a nonogenarian! I love the little strand of beads around her neck. Someone loved her and decked her out in her time. I'm going to make her a little calico dress soon and take her along to the next tea party. I'm sure she's been the guest of honor at many such gatherings in the past.