Being home this season has turned into quite the blur of activities. Between seeing family and friends, making necessary appointments, planning for a move, and trying to figure out my future… I have had a tough time finding any moments for myself.
This week, though, I finally woke up with enough energy and motivation to spark my creativity– I began working on a craft that I had purchased the supplies for months before my trip to Austria.
Enter, the Doily Dreamcatcher!
I saw this idea in an antique mall in downtown McKinney one day when I was shopping with my mom. I fell in love.
Doilies have always inspired me, because of their complexity, symmetry, and handiwork. I am an avid crocheter, but somehow making doilies intimidates me. It’s just that difficult to make beautiful work that tiny! Doilies also remind me of mandalas, which have ALWAYS inspired me. Why not use them in my decorating?
The dreamcatcher has always been a favorite motif of mine as well. As someone who suffered from years of night-terrors, I definitely relate to a blessed object whose purpose is to capture bad dreams. I could use as many dream catchers as I can hang!
Creating the Doily Dreamcatcher was simple enough, once I had collected all the supplies:
A favorite vintage doily (found in an Antique mall)
Embroidery hoop in corresponding size
Yarn, lace, trim, ribbon, and any other embellishments in corresponding colors
I also happened upon some great vintage finds in a thrift store: a lovely strand of pearls, some vintage mohair yarn, and best of all… fragments of a beautiful lace and pearl wedding gown. Somebody carefully cut out the most beautiful pieces of the gown– the beaded roses, flowered lace, and trim– and placed them lovingly inside an unassuming plastic box for some lucky artist like me to find. I was so joyfully surprised when I found this, digging through a box of old lace streamers.
Months later, I came back to my supplies and started working.
The first challenge was putting my doily into the embroidery hoop. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. However… my embroidery hoop was EXACTLY the same size as the doily. No overlap.
Mama and I came together for this advanced crafting mission. I attached yarn to each of the points of the doily and we taped them in tension so that the points intersected the hoop. Then, Mama carefully attached the outside of the hoop in perfect tension.
Then came the fun part! Armed with my hot glue gun, I measured, cut, and attached various lace fragments, ribbons, and trims. I am happy to share my secret weapon with the world: the best thing that ever happened to a ribbon is a hair straightener! Trust me. You can make a ribbon look beautiful, straight, and new in SECONDS using just the right amount of heat from your trustiest hair appliance.
As a final step, I played around with the wedding dress fragments and decided to showcase them in front of everything in the dreamcatcher.
Now, my Doily Dreamcatcher is ready to take its rightful place by my bedside.
“I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?”
― John Lennon