* *: Everything old is new again.

It would appear doilies are back with a vegeance.

Hooray !

I love doilies, vintage or new, no surprises then
if I tell you that I have both on display
in our home.

The only doily that I never really could warm
to was the toilet roll dolls from the 1970's.

What I really love is the delicate, lacy doily
creations from the Victorian era, again
no surprises there, if you have read
any of my previous posts.

Here is a very delicate example from my
Grandmother's doily collection.

I have a very simple doily embroided by my
Mum which looks like it was one of her
earlier creations from her youth.

This sweet doily also belonged to my Mum
and she had this on display in her home for many years.

In times past crocheted lace doilies were also
known as an antimacassar which was placed on
couches or chairs as a head and arm rest to protect
from wear and tear, dirt and grime on ones funiture.

Pretty darn practical with the added bonus of
showing off all those beautiful and exquisite designs.

Doilies work well at hiding stains or scratches
on most furniture or protecting fine wood
from getting them and are lovely on top of
a tablecloth that has a few stains on it.

My favourite doilies are on permanent display
in the dining and living areas of our home with

material antimacassars covering

our recovered Gennoa chairs.

Today, the craft industry designers and
suppliers have given us access to a
plethora of doily options to
choose from, which help us recreate
that vintage style or add a feminine look

to any scrapbook layout or card design.

I recently found some creative doily designs here
at Papertrey Ink

check out the all the work submitted by the

talented ladies from the design team.

Another doily "lover" is my card teacher Debra

from Punch Art Fun
who has created a very cute

Valentine's day garland from paper doilies.

I love working with doilys because
they look great added to any

simple or complex design and they
don't break the craft budget.

Here are some of my favourite doilies that
I have found to be a great standby especially
for those "put together at the last minute" cards.

I call them my K I S S cards
( Keep It Simple Sweetheart )

as they only have a few
components and they can
be made in apx 10 - 15 minutes.