Tonic of the Woods
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Edna St. Vincent Millay Tree Top Angel

11/23/2020

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My Edna St. Vincent Millay dresses made from the pages of her iconic poetry take on a new look when it comes to Yuletide. I only made a couple each year and I have one for sale before the holidays at my Etsy store.
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Here is the small pine in our front yard decorated with Druid/pagan fairy ornaments and the tree topper.
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The dress is handmade with a light wash of white sparkly glaze. Adorned with tulle, tiny pearls, ribbon, paper fringe silk petals and real feathers. It is mounted on a white-washed stick with a clamp at the bottom to attach to a tree.
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Here's another I just crafted, very similar. This will be for sale at our Craft Fair December 5 and I won't be making any more.
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Miniature poetry in a magnolia tree

5/8/2019

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Here is my latest Edna St. Vincent Millay dress
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©Kay Stephens
This one of a kind dress is made from this sonnet:

“She had a horror he would die at night.
And sometimes when the light began to fade
She could not keep from noticing how white
The birches looked — and then she would be afraid,
Even with a lamp, to go about the house
And lock the windows; and as night wore on
Toward morning, if a dog howled, or a mouse
Squeaked in the floor, long after it was gone
Her flesh would sit awry on her. By day
She would forget somewhat, and it would seem
A silly thing to go with just this dream
And get a neighbor to come at night and stay.
But it would strike her sometimes, making tea:
_She had kept that kettle boiling all night long, for company._”
― Edna St. Vincent Millay

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©Kay Stephens
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©Kay Stephens
This is Camden, Maine, where Millay grew up.
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©Kay Stephens
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Bridal Shower & Wedding Gifts

5/4/2017

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I've made miniature dresses as gifts for my friends as little tokens. I've given them to  remind someone to hold on to hope, to celebrate someone's birthday, and to bring a moment of joy. Now, I've made them specifically to give as a bridal shower or wedding gift.
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©Kay Stephens
These one-of-a-kind dresses have been made specifically to give to someone in your life who is about to get married.
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©Kay Stephens
The bodice is constructed with carefully chosen wording (taken from a wedding ceremony) with one line prominent: "Knowing that day would lead to this one." The skirt is made from tulle and silk rose petals and decorated with miniature pearls. Each comes with its own custom hanger.
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This other design also lends itself to a beautiful wedding or bridal gift. This particular one-of-a-kind dress is made from an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem.
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©Kay Stephens
It has a tulle and silk petal skirt with fairy feather wings and comes with its own handcrafted hanger. I can also make these designs from the Kahil Gibran's classic poems and writing. 
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©Kay Stephens
I listen to music and almost become meditative when I make these.  If you are interested in one for yourself or a friend, please contact me. I can ship them.
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Miniature Edna St. Vincent Millay dress

4/18/2017

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I found a second hand paperback copy of Edna St. Vincent Millay sonnets and have made a series of miniature dresses out of them as April is National Poetry Month. This dress, made from an unnamed sonnet of her earlier work (see below). These one-of-a-kind dresses are $25; if interested, contact me

Not with libations, but with shouts and laughter
We drenched the altars of Love's sacred grove,
Shaking to earth green fruits, impatient after
The launching of the colored moths of Love.
Love's proper myrtle and his mother's zone
We bound about our irreligious brows,
And fettered him with garlands of our own,
And spread a banquet in his frugal house.
Not yet the god has spoken; but I fear
Though we should break our bodies in his flame,
And pour our blood upon his altar, here
Henceforward is a grove without a name,
A pasture to the shaggy goats of Pan,
Whence flee forever a woman and a man.
-"Unnamed Sonnets I-XII" by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)
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    Tonic of the Woods

    the inspiration behind the creations
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    Photos, stories and concept ©Kay Stephens

    Where to buy one
    Look up the story behind a fairy dress by clicking on the name below

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