Trendy Tuesday: Doilies Are Everywhere

Doilies Are Everywhere
By: Kathryne Knowles

A new and emerging trend in paper crafting recently are doilies!  My first memory of these lacy little items was my Grandmother’s house.  She had handmade doilies everywhere!   On the arms of chairs and the backs of furniture, on tables holding flower vases, on the dining room table as a trivet, even embroidered pieces in frames on the wall.    I found some a modern take on doily decorating , this great linen pillow with a vintage doily sewn on is a great example of the type found in my Grandmother’s home as I grew up.

 On of course you must have doilies on tables but this one just looks so much more modern maybe it’s the white and the non-plasticized furniture!  Do you remember the plasitic covers on furniture?

My next Clear doily memory was kindergarten. We added paper doilies to our valentine bags, we also created special valentines for our parents using construction paper and white paper doilies.

Jump ahead 35 years and here we are using doilies in paper crafting as adults!  I have always loved the look of these cute, lacy, versatile crafting power house pieces.  You can use them as accents, as stamped images, as masks, as embellishments and whatever else your creative spirit can come up with Stampin Up came out this year with a Doily stamp which is awesome to use on projects of any kind.  This one reminds me  Of the doilies my Grandmother use to make.

 There is also a smaller version that incorporates different shapes and allows for more versatility in your stamping called Delicate Doilies – this set also incorporates matching DSP to add more depth to your creations!

Of course Stampin Up is not the only place to get your doily stamp fix!  Hero Arts has  some great doliy stamps in the cling line:

Papertrey Ink also has some cute doily stamps too that match their collection of Dies.

 

I am a huge fan of dies for any cutting machine.  And I created this card using one from Stampin UP!

I made the doily from Cherry Cobbler and then placed it on my card and cut it to fit my image.  Another great technique for using a doily is to place the doily on your cardstock with dotto or any repositionable adhesive and sponge the doily leaving  a dreamy image behind when you remove the doily mask. And check out the intricate design in this 4” die from Papertrey Ink

How beautiful is that?  I would love to use this for a scrapbook page and you get to choose the colour to suit your project when you have a die at your finger tips.  And you can match it up with the stamps and three piece die collection pictured earlier.  Oh the possibilities!

Never fear though colour in our doily selection is not a problem. We can find doilies in varying colours, sizes and patterns from craft stores to dollar stores for your crafting needs and budget.

If pattern paper is your thing than check out this gorgeous selection from the Restoration line at Crate Paper

 

Basic Grey cannot be left out of the mix with their double sided patterned paper.

Up next is Basic Greys lines by Pyrus and Curio

Can you imagine the possibilities with this laser cut die sheet?  You can use the whole sheet or cut it down to fit your project or even use each one individually.

This next set just makes me think of snow projects and making them just so much more pretty with a lacy doily look with glitter

Sassafras has some really cute patterned paper that I can see making some pages with really soon!  I just love how it already looks layered before you even add your own touches!  These will be quick pages for sure!

 

Cards and scrapbooks  are not the only things screaming out for some doily love

Here is a stunning Wedding Banner that I found on the Spellbinders Site made by Kazan Clark. You can find the article here

http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/Community/Blog/Post/12-02-11/Romantic_Bridal_Shower_Banner.aspx

The Doily image makes a fabulous background for words.  To make this banner for any occasion just change up the colours and words and you have a birthday banner, congrats banner, sorry to see you go banner, you name it!  You are only limited by your creative mind and your ability to creep the net for inspiration.

Doilies are not just for paper crafting either!  Check out this awesome lamp shade made from vintage doilies   You can check out all the instructions for this cool project here http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/decorate-with-vintage-doilies-0408#slide-1

And of course we cannot forget scrapbook pages I found this lovely page created on Shimelle.com

I love how she used doilies not only as a patterned paper but as a back ground for the word happiness and just a decorative element to the page.  And the pink is just the prettiest.

Lets not forget out good friend the paper punch,  I used the Triple layer punch from Stampin UP ! for this card

I started with standard card base and then the Boxed Heart Cuttlebug impressions folder, smooch spritz and then I made a cute baner by layering the doily punch and hearts on Linen thread.

And I used one from EK Success for this Valentines card that I recently created.  This is was a wide boarder punch but I cut it in half to suit my card pattern.

Of course if you are a boarder punch crafter you will love this punch from Martha Stewart . So pretty and I love all the different sizes and shapes on the border.

If you are a digital crafter then you are not left out of this trend either. Martha Stewart actually has a free download for you to play with.  Although this next collection is for Valentines day from House of 3  I think it could be utilized year round too

Over at Two Peas in a Bucket they offer digital images for your die cutting machine as well.

Doilies do not have to be paper. Check out this fabulous card I found at Scrapbooksetc.com

This card uses Spellbinders to cut and emboss the floral doily accents and motif images using Copper from the Precious Metal Premium Craft Foil Assortment. The images and copper foil  just make this simple design pop. Created by Mona Pendleton.

If you have a copy of Scrapbooks etc. February 2012  check out the article on page 94.  There is a great tutorial  about folding doilies into cute flowers for your scrapbook page with a pictorial. Here are the instructions found there: 1. Fold Five doilies (the same size) in half 2. Fold each Doily again this time a little more than half. 3. Fold the last fold back again only halfway. 4. Glue the tips of the folded doilies together and adhere a punch cardstock circle to the center to secure.

Another great place to look for pre made doilies is in any cake decorating store or even bulk barn carries the traditional white and sometimes coloured doilies.  You can colour these to suit your project with reinkers  your favorite ink company,  or colour mist sprays such as tattered Angels or Tim Holtz

Be sure to get your hands on   some pretty little doilies and expand your creations with these lacy little mulit-taskers!