All Things Pretty...

Regal beauties....

Several recent projects have included crowns and queens....  I noticed, as I was putting together this post, that I've been using more and more of the faded creams, ecru, and soft grays and tans tones in my projects.  

In the BlissfullARTSwaps Group, we made ATC's for  the theme "Where's My Crown?" 

 I used Shakespeare's female characters as my muse.

(images are courtesy of The Graphics Fairy)

 

 

 

 

Also for the BlissfullARTSwaps Group (make sure to check out the work of all the amazing artists in this group)....  I joined the "altered Pierrot paperdoll" swap...  

The Pierrot doll image is from The Graphics Fairy...we were to alter/dress our doll using any medium/materials we desired.

 

I had all these divine laces I've been saving for a special project,

so I decided to use them for my doll's gown.  

 

 

The bodice of the gown is made from a scrap of very, very old silk (1800's dress). 

Oh, how I wish I had seen the actual dress back in it's day - I guarantee is was magificent!

 

of course, every royal beauty needs her jewels... 

 

The original doll had a traditional Pierrot hat which didn't quite work with my "beaute royale" look, so off it came.... and in its place, a beautiful crown.

 

I am quite pleased with how she turned out... and she is enroute to her rightful owner: my swap partner, Janet.

(this is actually the second Pierrot doll I've made for Janet, as the first one never made it to its final destination!  Thanks to delivery confirmation; we were able to identify where it went... seems like my first beauty is "stuck" somewhere in the St. Paul, Minnesota USPS routing center).

 

So there they are.... my regal beauties.

Thanks for letting me share them with you!

 

Nancy's rosettes...

My mother, Nancy, asked me to make her a rosette to wear for a relative's upcoming quinceanera celebration....   

She had admired the one I wore last summer for my godchild's First Communion, and thought it would be a great addition to her somewhat plain gown.  

Not having seen her dress, and armed solely with the information that it is "light bluish/gray" and  "flowing" ... I decided to make a couple of rosettes.

this version is the closest in style to the one I wore last year.... it is made out of pale blue silk (almost a periwinkel) and vintage lace.

 

A second option is in creamy whites, with just a hint of blue in the ribbon.

 

And her third option is the more traditional "rose"

 

I also made this tag for her....

(which I'll need to translate, since her English is very basic)

 

(I fell in love with this blue roses paper, from Michael's $1 bins....)

 

I'm including another little surprise in her package...this lovely vintage hand towel monogrammed with an "N"

 

And there you have it:  Nancy's rosettes!

 

I hope she likes them!

la boite aux tresors...

Do you love pretty little boxes?  

Whenever I see one, my heart beats just a tad faster....  I need to touch it, to look inside.    It's a weakness that I am not ashamed to confess.  ((sigh))

Imagine my delight when the MAMA group hosted a "vintage tre'sors box" swap!  The catch here was that we were to finish our petite box using crackle paint (no problem... except I hadn't used the stuff in over 10 years!)

My swap partner, Thespa, likes turquoise... so I thought I would surprise her with a very traditional French color combination of turquoise and lavender.

 

The ribbon color was perfect (and extra special because it came from my late MIL - Bebe's- stash)....

 

A bouquet of handmade fabric flowers and a few vintage silks grace the top....a touch of the vintage soft bluish/green tulle (also from Bebe's stash).

I handwrote "Paris" using an embossing pen (my new favorite tool!) -

and voila!  

love how it turned out....

(I forgot to take pics of the "tre'sors" I stashed inside: vintage gloves, vintage earrings, lavender crocheted doily, laces, ephemera...)

When I opened my package from Thespa, I knew that she had doneher homework... or else she's a magician.... after all, how else would she know just how much I love the natural colors she used and that tattered rosette?!?

 

 

...she totally spoiled me with all the lovelies stashed inside my box...

 

And the best part?  The rosette is not attached, so I am already planning on attaching a pin to it so I can wear it... yay!

(ahhh... see the lovely lace and crochet pieces?)

 

Thank you, dearest Thespa, for my fabulous box and "tre'sors"

Marie's garden...

Ever since joining the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group, I have been challenged to try new things and new ways of expressing my creativity.  

A recent swap titled "Marie's Garden Tea Party" proved to be another "first" for me:  it required that we create a garden using a teacup as our base.  

My swap partner, Melanie, sent me this divine piece....

...which she titled "The Queen 's Garden Tea Party"

Here sits Marie....enjoying her tea and sweets 

These little pastries (handmade by Melanie!) are tiny concoctions of sweet perfection.

The teacup itself is gorgeous; with painted blooms in the softest colors.

Thank you, dearest Melanie, I aboslutely love my teacup garden!

 

My garden in a teacup for Melanie was titled:   Tea and Roses for Marie"

Melanie loves pink, so I decided to use lots of roses in varying shades of pink (to match her teacup pattern), with a few accent flowers in other colors.

 

I made two rose topiaries for Marie's garden....

Marie herself is wearing a gorgeous chiffon yellow gown, with flowers and feathers in her hair...  as she stands prettily under her rose arbor.

 

What a wonderful swap this was!

I had almost forgotten that I fell in love with "Crafting" when I made my first dried flower arrangement.... this project, which required working with lots of silk flowers and various little elements, reminded of those days.

 

Another creative swap for the MAMA group was a paperweight....again, the main theme being "marie" of course....  this time under glass.

 

I decided to go with the heart-shaped paperweight... and used vintage sheet music for my background.

For this project, Marie got decked out in her pearls and crown....

I went a bit overboard with the luscious pink ribbon (couldn't resist!)... but love how it turned out.

...ahhhh.... love working with Marie images.  

Can't get enough.

What projects have you been up to lately?

p.s.   Linking up to Pink Saturday (Beverly's party over at How Sweet the Sound)

Love the glove...

I had very good intentions when I wrote my last post... I was going to try to post several times this week because there was (is) so much I need to share...  but Monday came/went, then Tuesday, and next thing I knew - it is Friday!  

Where did the week go?!?

 I've recently noticed that the days get shorter as I get older (funny, nobody warned me about that!)

(So I still have tons of estate sale finds to share at a later date and since I'm attending a few more this weekend, I may never catch up!) 

 So today, dear friends, the topic of this post is gloves... vintage gloves, to be specific.  

I was born on a year that is right at the end of the Baby Boomers generation, so by the time I was old enough to wear "adult" clothes, we were in the late 70's/early 80's... and no gloves were worn by the ladies.  But oh, I do sometimes wish that I had "turned of age" in the 40's or 50's!    

... so many styles, colors and textures to choose from....some with embroidery, others have the tiniest button... all the options!   

 My most recent swap for the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group was the "altered vintage glove" swap; where we started out with a vintage glove and used vintage laces and materials to embellish and alter it.

This is the glove I sent to my swap partner, Melanie.

...it started out as the softest pink glove, and I added a beautiful piece of lace and pearls.... some pieces of vintage lace.... ribbon.... and made a rosette in the same peachy/pink hue using several layers of materials...

 

A gorgeous vintage earring (I had hoarded this one for a few years) was the highlight...

...it turned out with a bit of a "bridal" feel to it...

(I think all the wedding planning going on in my life right now is influencing every aspect of my creations....)


We were to "fill" our glove with little gifts for our partner.  

Melanie likes soft pinks and creams; so I hope the glove and gifts were to her liking!

For my glove, she went with a very vintage feel, in tones of ecru, cream, sepia.

Just look at the beautiful glove I received...

Melanie added so many gorgeous details that I see something new every time I pick it up.

...and as much as I love this glove, I have to admit that my heart skipped a beat when I saw one of the gifts she included...

It is a button brooch which she made especially for me! Isn't it fabulous?!?  The MAMA group recently held a swap, whereby the ladies made and exchanged these brooches.... I was fairly new to the group and did not join the swap (okay, I admit it, I was a tad intimidated)... and later had deep regrets about not participating when I saw all the amazing creations.  (this is one talented group of ladies!)

Thus, when I opened the little chocolate pouch and saw the brooch... well, it was instant love.

Melanie was very generous with her gifts.

 Lucky me!  I'm still smiling...

 

linking up to:

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound

French market petite bags...

I participated in a swap with my Marie Antoinette Mail Art group which required that we purchase three small muslin bags (3"x4") and, using bits and pieces of laces and other materials, embellish them for our partners.  We were to fill our mini bags with bits of vintage materials and bling that our partners could use for future projects.

When I gathered my materials and saw that a 3 inch-by-4-inch bag really wasn't much of a surface to work with, I got just a tad worried.  I mean, how much can you embellish such a small space?!?

I was soon proved wrong; and once I started working on my first bag, I was hooked!

These are the bags I made for my sweet partners: Terri, Bobbi Ann and Lisa.

I wanted to use my crown stamps and the "mon amie" pink ribbon I had purchased years ago and was saving for a special project.

If you are like me, then you have a special bag full of bits-n-pieces of pretty lace, ribbon,  left over from prior projects.

I cannot even think about trashing an inch of vintage lace!

...even ribbon scraps were used for mini rosettes.

Overall, I was happy with how these turned out and I hope my partners enjoy them.

Speaking of partners, would you like to see what they made for moi?  The catch was that we were receiving petite bags from three different partners (not the ones we made our bags for)... lots of logistics and tracking for our swap hostess (who did a fabulous job of it!)

This exquisite little bag was made for me by Debi.

She used the softest hue of a wonderful bluish/turquoise...and the most gorgeous lace and crochet pieces.

...and my wee bag was filled with beautiful buttons, bling, pearls and laces.

 

Next, my darling little bag from Denise...

Look at all the goodies she was able to fit inside the bag....  

So many pretty little things!

 

My third swap partner was Lorraine, who sent me this

little beauty...

...filled with fabulous supplies and lots of bling! 

"Merci" Denise, Lorraine and Debi!

 

(p.s.  these little bags are so sweet and easy to individualize, that I may be making 100 or so of them for my son's wedding in December...for wedding favors...)

(p.p.s. stay tuned...I have lots of wonderful estate sale finds from this past weekend to share with you later...)

Happy colors...

Are there colors that just bring a smile to your face?  For me, it's always been pink... and over the past couple of years, my palette has expanded to include the softest shades of blues, turquoise, lavender, gray (I call it "silver lining" gray), creams/ivories (melting vanilla ice cream).

During this time of year, after all the white and blah dreariness of Winter, I am especially happy to see the yellows, pinks, and other sorbet colors springing up everywhere.  I have been known to stop the car in front of a complete stranger's house, get out to admire their garden (and maybe snap a photo or two)....  it is a bit scary for my husband, as he thinks I am trespassing and infringing on people's privacy.   But I promise, I stay on the street (never even setting foot on their actual lawn) and never ever look into windows!  I could be called a "bloom stalker."

Anyway, I digress.  What I really wanted to share with you today were these blooms I purchased at the local grocery store.

 

Yes, I know that some of them are not naturally this color and they have had a bit of assistance from the Dye Fairy.... but nonetheless, I could not resist them!

They were inexpensive, colorful... and last forever!  

(I brought them home over 10 days ago and they are still looking pretty!)

 

(pardon the crooked labels on these... not sure what happened, since they looked fine before posting... urgh!)

And while we are on the subject of "happy colors," I'd also like to share the April tag I made for The Altered Paper's "Tag-a-Month Swap."

The bunny is holding his very own Easter basket...

and is surrounded by lilacs and other Spring flowers.

 

(one of my favorite color combinations:  lavender and teal)

This was actually the second tag I made for my partner, Tina, due to the fact that we experienced a mishap with the first one.  My partner patiently waited for me to make another tag to send.

The sweet tag Tina made for me....

Miss Molly Cottontail is adorable!  She brought a smile to my face, and will be a lovely addition to my tag book... thank you so much, Lisa!

 (Linking up to Show & Tell Friday over at My Romantic Home)

Fabric roses...

The Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group has been keeping me busy...several wonderful swaps have come and gone; many photos have been taken, yet few posted.  

I have lots of catching up to do!

 

For starters, I'll share the fabric roses I made for the "Spring Flower Swap."  We made five flowers and will receive five flowers back from different people.   After seeing some of the beauties the ladies have created, I can't wait to receive my "bouquet" in the mail!

 

...the swap details did not specific whether we were to create 5 identical flowers; so I decided to make mine in various Spring colors...

The fabrics used were soft and easy to work with... making the roses curl nicely.

For one of the "turquoise" flowers, I experimented with a close center for the rose; I really like how it turned out.

 

I included one extra flower for our lovely hostess, Terri.

Six...or half a dozen...

Just when I thought I had embellished, altered, glued, decoupaged and blinged just about any item you could think of.... along came a new challenge:  turn an egg carton into an Easter basket.

So off I went to purchase the organic, cage-free eggs - aka "the healthier eggs" - because these come packaged in the containers I needed (the gray paper-mache looking ones).

After some ghesso, a sweet coat of pink (for one swap partner who loves pink) and mint green (for the other swap partner)...  the fun part began!  

For the top of the "basket", I decided to create a Spring garden in bloom, along with a bunny, some eggs and maybe a butterfly or two.

The blooms consisted of new and vintage silk flowers, in addition to handmade ribbon and fabric roses....   

... the inside of the "basket" was filled with Easter treats and vintage goodies...

 

The second egg basket also featured a garden... this one in bloom with pinks

and whites... featuring a sweet white bunny hiding among the flowers...

 

...a butterfly perched on the edge of the garden...

 

...lots of pretty little things inside... 

(the hardest part was getting the carton/basket to close!)

 

These were such a delight to make~ 

 

They are now enroute to their rightful owners... I'm hoping they will like them!

 

I'm off now - more Spring/Easter swaps to finish (whew~)

plus a menu to plan for Easter brunch (yes, I'm a last-minute planner).

p.s.  linking up to Beverly's Pink Saturday party and sharing my pinks...

Pretty eggs...

I've surrounded myself with flowers this week.

Both real...

(magnolia from my yard)

 

and not so real.

Is there anything during this time of year that doesn't look prettier when embellished with a flower (or two)?

That's the question I asked myself a couple of nites ago, when gathering materials to complete my project for Cassandra's swap...

 These little eggs just beckoned for a bit of adornment....   and I, as usual, responded ((gladfully)).

 

So instead of working on my egg cartons for the swap,

I got a tiny bit side-tracked.

Once the ribbons, laces, millinery and feathers were strewn all over my dining room table, it was difficult to remember what was on my "to do" list for the nite.  (does that happen to you?)

 

These little eggs gave me that "instant gratification" feeling...

 

And when all was said and done, I did manage to squeeze in a bit of work on my egg carton project (primed and painted each).

 

What project(s) have you been up to lately?  

I'm enjoying stopping by to visit friends and seeing all their amazing Easter and Spring creations.

Spring comes in many colors...

There is something magical, peaceful and refreshing about the colors of Spring...   

Mother Nature sure knows what she's doing when she showers us with the many hues of green, pink, violet, yellow, peach...  

as if to reward us for enduring the grays of Winter.

We bring the season's colors into our homes with flowers, bunnies, chicks, eggs... all things that are symbolic of Spring.

In my home, the rabbits definitely take center stage.

One can be spotted in every room; and they come in every size and color imaginable.

I have also been busy working on several Spring-inspired swaps... 

like these egg-shaped ATC's created for the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group.

 

... and the "Springtime in Paris" gothic arch swap 

The wonder of the season seems to inspire creativity; don't you think?

I can't wait to see what everyone's been up to at Beverly's Pink Saturday party - we are celebrating everything Spring this week...  

I've got babies on my mind...

I got married very young.

 I became a mother very young.  

As a result, my own mother became a "grandma" at age 43.   She loved babysitting and going out and about with my children (by age 45 she had two grandbabies) and having people think they were her babies!

 

(tag made for Tabitha upon the arrival of her baby girl, Gillian)  

 

I always thought I would become a young grandmother myself.  So last year, when I turned the big "50" and was asked (quite frequently) what I wanted for my birthday, I would respond "to be a grandma before I'm too old to enjoy it!"

Yes, I know that 50 is the "new 42" and all that... but I want to have enough energy left in me to run after and with the little ones....   to see them start Kindergarten, graduate from college, and maybe even attend a wedding or two.  

Is that too much to ask? (sigh)

I know I drive my kids crazy whenever I mention it.

Nobody in my family is surprised that I like to "ooh and ahh" over baby clothes when passing window displays.  Or that I am attracted to vintage baby items...

  Like this sweet little bonnet. 

 

 

 

Or this cute little girl's  hat and purse...

 

 

LOVE the millinery....

 

 

 

Can never resist baby gowns...

 

 

 

This one is homemade from dainty silk fabric....

So sweet!

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

 

Beautiful greens....

 

There is one day of the year when most of us celebrate the color green...  whether it's a shirt/blouse, an entire outfit, maybe an accessory... but we all like to don a bit of green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and, of course, to avoid the pinching (do people even do that anymore??  it was really popular when I was growing up!)

 

It's fun to see how each person interprets and celebrates this day....  

personally, I like to wear just a hint of green... like a handmade green rosette...

Last year, I was fairly "green" to the world of blogging and swaps, so I contented myself with creating rosettes (above) for my coworkers and friends.

This year, I joined a St. Patty's Swap being hosted by Kim and JoAnne.  For "The Luck O' the Irish" challenge, we were asked to make 12 ATC's, one for each of the participants.  Our hostess, Kim, assembled a St. Patty's book, incorporating everyone's ATC, and added some gorgeous covers.  Another participant donated charms....   the result?  

 

 

An extraordinarily special St. Patrick's Day keepsake!

These are the talented artists who participated...

Peace

 

Oliva

Laurie

 

Kimberly

 

Michele

 

Karla

 

Karen

 

 

 

Lynn

 

 

Linda

 

 

My ATC Page

 

Our Hostesses...

JoAnne

 

Kim

Thank you, ladies, for such a wonderful swap!

 

 

I'm sharing my St. Patty's greens with everyone partying with Beverly for her Pink & Green Saturday event... stop on by and celebrate with us! 

Beauty in a box...and a few other things

 In my last post, I mentioned the "Paris Wall Pocket Swap" being hosted by my Marie Antoinette Mail Art group.  I also shared the gorgeous supplies my swap partner, Wanda, sent me.

 I've started working on my wall pocket and let me tell you, it was HARD deciding which supplies to use and where... they are all so beautiful; I have to be careful not to overdo things and make it look "junky."   My late mother-in-law, Bebe, and I would joke about both of us (or neither) never knowing when to just stop ("put the project down")... always wanting to add "one more pretty thing."  I've had to learn to edit - and that will always be a challenge for me, I think.

Today I'm sharing the supplies I sent Wanda for her wall pocket.

This recycled fabric box, tied with a vintage velvet ribbon and a handmade tag... contained fabrics and ribbons.

 Many of the supplies came from my stash of vintage fabrics and laces, but I did go on the hunt for some special pieces.

My search lead to me a wholesale fabric place about 32 miles from home...  a huge facility that caters to designs and crafters alike... their selection is incredible, and their pricing is competitive.

I was there for over two hours and still didn't see everything!

I have to admit that I was a bit derailed by the 50+ bins near the entrance.  They were labelled "European scaps."  And there I stayed for at least one full hour, digging through it all.  ((sigh))

 

Those of you who have swapped with me know that I love the presentation part of exchanging gifts....   I have been known to leave a pretty package unopened for a bit because I am reluctant to even undo a bow!   

 

 

A little vintage box filled with pink embellishments, silk ribbon and a handmade rosette.

 

 

.
Some handmade ribbon and fabric flowers...  this was the most stressful part for me, as my very talented swap partner makes the MOST AMAZING silk flowers I've ever seen!  She sells them here...

I'm truly an amateur in this arena.  My flowers tend to be asymmetrical and not perfect; I love the scrunched and shabby look of them.

Ribbons and laces, both newer and vintage.

 

We were to include a couple of "Marie" images.

 These were printed on silk habotai.

 

Another peek inside the box... 

 

 I can't wait to see Wanda's Paris Wall Pocket; I know it will be extraordinaire!

 

(p.s. I'm sharing my pretty pink supplies with Beverly and her Pink Saturday party)

 

 

Flowers in bed...

If you are having trouble sleeping, you might watch television, read a book...   personally, I prefer to make something with my hands.   

Recently, I brought my needle, threads, ribbons and a bagful of beautiful fabric scraps purchase for nearly nothing (39 to 79 cents)... oh yes, and my "cheaters!"... to bed with me for some late-nite creations.

So with hubby snoring softly at my side, our German-Shepherd puppy snuggled in her bed, I happily cut, twirled and sewed my way into midnight (actually, more like 1:30am).

 

 

There's something magical and peaceful about making beautiful things, late at nite while the entire household is sleeping...   I was having fun with the variety of textures and colors...

 

 

These are all still in their "raw" form;

lots of frays and bits of threads that will need trimming...

 

 

While I love experimenting with different shapes and types of flowers, the roses are always my favorite.

 

 

 

I like making them "scrunched" and inperfect...  

 

 

(the gorgeous cone is a gift from JoAnne)

(the antique box is available for sale here)

 

 

I was working on Spring colors...  the beautiful lavenders, pinks, yellows that we see crop up in the early days of Spring.

 

 

 

 

Next, I will be trimming threads and finishing each flower with pearls, beads and a little bling here and there.  Some will go to swap friends, others are embellishments on upcoming Spring and Easter creations...

 

Happy Saturday!

 

I am sharing my "roses at bedtime" with the pink-loving ladies at How Sweet the Sound.

 

 

Hearts, flowers, love....

As promised, an update with some of my swap gifts and creations!   

JoAnne hosted "Be My Valentine" matchbox swap.  Not just any ole matchbox, but the smaller ones, to be filled with three teensy ATC's (these were a true test of dexterity and vision!)

My swap partner was Kimberly, who created the sweetest confection for me...

 

 

 

 

I absolutely love these teeny ATC's!

She knows me so well!   Thank you, dear Kimberly, I love all my treasures!

This is the matchbox and ATC's I made for her.  Lots of pink-upon-pink ribbon roses in all shapes and sizes...

 

 

 

 

 

I also joined Wendy's "Heart and Flower" Valentine tin swap.  My wonderful partner, Michele, awed me with her magnificent altered tin...

 

 

She has a gift for mixing the unexpected... like these pink girly flowers with the touches of nature, rustic.   Don't you just love it?!?

 

 

At first glance, you can't even tell there's a tin in there somewhere... even the back has a pocket, which held a vintage card and sweet tag.

Thank you so much, Michele,  I love it!

 

I went a bit "out on a limb" for her tin and made a Valentine's garland using vintage tins.

 

 

 

I also included a few little Valentine's trinkets;

like this teeny tussie mussie made out of paper mache...

Another fun swap I joined was Tee's  "Tag a Month" Swap; here's the tag I made for my swap partner, Marcia.  Hope she likes it!

 

I'm sharing all my Valentine's lovelies with Beverly and her Pink Saturday party... don't forget to stop on by for the most beautiful pink eye candy ever!

 

 

Romantic notions...

Don't you love it when you are browsing Blogland, hopping from place to place, enjoying all the beauty and creativity... when, all of a sudden, you <click> on a link to some unknown site (because it looks interesting) and then...  

quite by accident, really...

 

 

You discover a new favorite.

 

 

This is my new "favorite" of the week.  Full of the most beautiful and diverse supplies a girl could ask for...  and the prices are reasonable; shipping is ultra fast, customer service is amazing!

 

 

When I received my order just 5 days after placing it and saw how gorgeous everything was, I immediately went to my computer and placed another order!

(I ask:  is that considered impulsive buying????)

 

So what exactly is this "new" discovery?

It's called FrostItPink and you can find it here.

* * *

In between all the blog hopping, drooling and shopping, I did manage to finish a few of my Valentines swaps and other projects.

Everything was prettily packaged and is on its way to its recipient.

 

 

* * *

Hope you are enjoying your week!

I have lots more to share with you... but need to wait a few days until deliveries arrive at their rightful destination so as not to spoil surprises.

 

Doilies...hearts...ribbons....

I'm having a great time in my studio these days!  

My work area has been invaded by heart of all colors, shapes,  and sizes... sweet vintage Valentines.... doilies... laces and more laces....  ribbons... buttons, sequins, pearls, vintage beads, millinery.... (and hundreds of other little things that I have no clue how they got there).

Several of my Valentine swaps are finished and enroute.  Here's a sneak peak at the sweetness...

For art JOY stuff's Valentine Swap, we were to create five Valentine ATCs and send them to our hostess, Kimberly.  

We will receive five ATC's in return; how fun is that?

My ATCs were individually and  lovingly wrapped in a doily envelope...

 

And inside each pretty doily, my swap partner(s) will find any one of these...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And although I may be spoiling the surprise just a bit by revealing them now, I don't know which five participants will receive my ATCs, nor which ATC will go to whom... so still a surprise for the recipient!

For this group of ATCs, I finally broke down and "cut" (gasp!) several of the vintage greeting cards from my stash (I must own hundreds that I've collected over the years).   Thank goodness for scanners, as I will have a digital image of each for future use.  My husband asked me if (maybe) I wasn't going about this backwards...   1. scan the image,  2. use the scanned image (not original)....   Makes sense, right?  

But I really wanted to use the "real" stuff on these; it made them feel all that much more special, that a little piece of a card made in the 1940's, 50's or 60's made its way onto an ATC in 2012.  I bet the American Greetings and Hallmark folks back then would have never, ever guessed that this is how their cards would end up 60+ years later!

*   *   *

Another package on its way to the recipient contains ribbons; yummy ribbons in all sorts of colors, textures and widths...

 

 

 

 

The assignment was to share 6 different ribbons (in 2 ft. lengths) with our partner.  

This clever swap is being hosted by Elysia and is my very first ribbon swap.  

One more pic, but I have to be careful not to spoil the surprise!

 

 

 

 

"The Colors of Spring" ribbon collection

Hope my Canadian partner likes her gifts!

*  *  *

 

linking up to Beverly's Pink Saturday!

 

* * *

h.e.l.p.

ON A SEPARATE NOTE, I RECENTLY PURCHASED ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS AND AM FIDDLING AROUND WITH IT.  HOWEVER, IT IS SLOW GOING AND I'M FEELING A TAD INTIMIDATED BY THE WHOLE 'LAYERS' THING.... SO, PLEASE PLEASE COMMENT OR EMAIL ME IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON STRAIGHT-FORWARD (AKA "EASY" AND "clear") TUTORIALS YOU KNOW OF!   

 

 

Winter Wonderland... and other things January brings

I'm participating in Tee's "A Blog a Month Swap" at The Altered Paper, where we create a different tag for a new partner each month.  At the end of the year, we will have a lovely tag book comprised of 12 different tags showcasing the talents of 12 different artist!  Sounds like fun?  Absolutely!

January's theme was "winter or New Year's"... I decided to create a winter tag for my swap partner, Judith.  

Judith lives in Australia and their seasons are the opposite of ours; so needless to say, she's not celebrating winter or snow right now.

 

 

The skater image came from a vintage playing card received in my "25 days of Christmas" swap and I thought she would be the perfect star for this theme.

She skates amongst a background of snowflakes if all shades of blues and teals, with snowdust, silver and pearl accents.

 

No sooner had I put the finishing touches on my tag, packaged and posted, when a few days later I received Judith's envelope.

My heart beat a bit faster when I opened the envelope and fosaw this mini tag attached to the wrappings:

How sweet is that?!?

This is the amazingly beautiful tag I received...

All the details are superb... the layers of lace, the gown with just the right amount of irridescence, the white feather with the "2012"    Exquisite.

Thank you, dearest Judith, for my beautiful tag!

The fun continues...

I can't believe a whole week has elapsed since my last post!  Is it my imagination, or are 24 hours turning into 23, 22, 21... they are never enough to get everything done!   Yikes!

In the middle of completing all my blog swaps, Christmas shopping and shipping, working, decorating, baking/cooking for the holidays....  I'm so far behind on photographing and sharing more gorgeous, thoughtful gifts I'm still receiving and a few projects of my own.

Also, my husband and I are are going to Spain for Christmas to visit our "baby girl" Bianca!  So there's lots of planning and packing to do as well...   We are so excited!   I truly admire her  accomplishments and independence; at 22 years of age, Bianca has graduated (with Honors) from a top academics university, travelled/studied in France, and now has a job teaching English in Spain (Palma Mallorca, to be exact).  Lucky girl!  She has worked hard for her opportunities and truly makes the best of each one.

She will be back in the States in June of 2012 and will be starting law school that Fall.

(not sure where yet... but I'm hoping somewhere fun to visit!)

You go, girl!

 

* * *

 

Okay, now for some catching up on the sharing...

 

I created this ATC for my swap partner, Karla, for the Winter/Christmas ATC Swap hosted by Tee at The Altered Paper.

I included some other little items for Karla...

 

These cuff bracelets are so much fun to make!   I got my inspiration from (a different) Karla's tutorial... they are relatively simple to make, and the options for creating a "one of a kind" cuff are unlimited!

 

We were sending to and receiving from different partners.  

This beautiful ATC came from Tina...  I just love the color scheme she used!

 

Tina was so sweet... she included lots of fun holiday treats in her package.  

Thank you, Tina!

 

***

Karla and I also swapped other creations...

She asked for this ATC which I had available for trade on Flickr:

 

... and in return, I received this wonderful altered domino!

 

... along with lots of other fabulous gifts!

Thank you so much, Karla, you have truly spoiled me.

 

* * *

Still more sharing to come...

Hope you are having a lovely week!

Giving... as much fun as receiving

In previous posts, I've shared the gorgeous handmade ornaments received from my swap partners in Cassandra's Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap.

Today I'm sharing the ornaments I made for my sweet partners.

 A mini Christmas stocking....

made from a vintage angora sweater, with vintage laces, crochet, tatting....  

soft and sweet.

Tucked inside the stocking is a mini "wish upon a star" wand

 

A Christmas heart sachet...

...also made from a vintage sweater... stuffed with lavender seeds, so my partners can stow it in a drawer, instead of hanging on their tree (if they chose)

 

Christmas Angel hanging tag...

...lovely laces were used to embellish, along with beautiful vintage bling.

***

For the Bloggerette Sorority's swap, this is what I made for my partner, JoAnne.

Titled:  "The Sugar Plum Fairy"

 

When I first saw this image of the little ballerina, the Sugar Plum Fairy came instantly to mind.

... creamy white roses, vintage millinery, silver leaves, icy blue sprigs...

A vision of loveliness.

***

I'm linking to the White Wednesday here.

Stop on by for lots of white eye candy and holiday loveliness.

Christmas sneak peak...

I've been working as hard as a little elf this past week... putting together several holiday swap projects. After signing up for three different Christmas ornament swaps, I realized that I'd better get started asap! Knowing how I work.... experimenting as I go along (why don't I ever create something that I've made a million times before and can finish with my eyes closed?)...

I like the challenge and thrill of creating something fresh spanking new.

The problem with that is, it usually takes me several attempts at a given project before I am pleased with the outcome. So you see, it may take me hours and hours to put together ONE tiny ornament. However, once I am satisfied with my creation, things run a bit smoother.

This is one of the reasons why it would be very challenging for me to create 15-20 of any one item to sell. I would probably starve to death if my livelihood depended on my crafting/creating!

So here's a little sneak peak at what's on my work desk right now...

...angora, tulle, yummy vintage laces...

 

And this is a corner peek of my Christmas swaps stash...

items I will be using in my projects and gifts for swap partners.

... as you can see, lots of bling.

I've fallen in love with the cranberry pink color and will be combining it with silvers and/or golds this season for many of my projects.

 

My dominoes patiently waiting in a corner for their turn to receive their holiday makeover...

 

I am feeling very much inspired by this sweet vintage holiday ornament I found during one of my thrift shoppe trips this summer.

What have you been up to?

Are you feeling it yet - the holiday spirit drifting into the November air?

 

I'm linking up to these fun s parties:

Show and Tell Friday @ Romantic Home

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Groundir?

 

Playing with paper...

My inner self was craving pink, sequins, glitter, pretty girls, angels, fairies...  

after all the Fall oranges and blacks, it was like a coming home.  

So I spent some time making pretty little things that brought a smile to my heart.

... like these "fairy dresses"

They were created to showcase the stick pins I made for my partner, Victoria, for the stick pin swap hosted by Tee at The Altered Paper.

The set included five pretty paper dresses, each with two coordinating pins.

... each was embellished to my heart's content!  

...these two were not pink, but equally lovely in shades of green and lavender.

Thank you,Tee, for hosting such a fun swap!

 

I also worked on a few new ATC's, again succumbing to my inner need to use lots of pretties.

"Dreaming of Childhood"

I tried something a bit different with this ATC; using textiles for my background and lots of three-dimensional touches.

 

"The Queen"

She has a rather austere look, so I thought it would be fun to soften her a bit with some femme touches.  I'm loving the use of ribbon on the ATCs!

 

"My Mother is a Lady"

* * *

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

I'm joining Beverly's Pink Saturday party and sharing my paper pinks.

 

Short and sweet...

I'm trying something new with this post...

few words....

and just one photo.

 

"Meghan Anne"

Embellished original (vintage) photo...

it is so hard to part with her.

However, she is going to a dear and deserving friend.

 

Happy Wednesday!

I'm linking up to the White Wednesday blog party at the Faded Charm Cottage.

 

Is it Halloween yet?!?

I don't know about you, but I feel like I've been celebrating Halloween for a very long time this year...  that could be attributed to the fact that I started working on Fall/Halloween swaps back in early September...  in any case, I think I'm ready to move on.

But before I do that, I'd like to share some of my favorites photos taken around my home this season.

  

"The witch's reading corner"

Some of my favorite fresh flowers of the season.

 

 

Did you know spiders love Hershey's kisses?

 

..even the dining room chandelier gets 'dressed for the occasion'

The spray can was my BFF this season, as I turned inexpensive orange pumpkins into spooky black pumpkins.

 

Wishing you a spook-ta-cular Halloween!

 

(linking up to Beverly's Pink Saturday party... stop on by for an amazing array of Halloween and pink posts)