Article: A charmed life: because her two daughters love fairy stories, Sam McKechnie made them fairy dolls from the vintage fabrics she collects. So began her successful at-home business creating one-of-a-kind dolls, bags, and playful jewelry, all evoking enchantments we never outgrow. "Best of all," says Sam, "I can be here for the children.".

Sam's friends call her "the Magpie," because she'll buy a dumpy hat for its silk flowers or choose the antique curtain with a hole. "I've always made things," she says, "and I love creating something fresh from something old, beautiful, and flawed." Like The Velveteen Rabbit and other children's books she cherishes, her story is all about transformations. Back when printed French textiles were undervalued, Sam hoarded them. They became colorful slouchy bags for her friends, curtains and cushions for her home, puffy skirts for fairy dolls. One day, she ventured into the posh Liberty store in London, hoping it might carry the dolls she crafted. The answer was: "Yes--and ...

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