Farewell, 2012, Welcome, 2013!

This was a good year for me, at least fun-wise!  Here are a few highlights. Click on any heading to see the original post.

A wonderful weekend of journaling classes with Donna Downey mid-January:

Won a Becky Shander original art piece:



Was thrilled to attend French General's Art of Craft event in LA at the end of January where I met my on-line friend Terry in person!




Attended Paper Cowgirl in Waxahachie, TX in March with several good friends:



Shared a booth with friends at Pistol Annie's Vintage and Craft Show in April:



Finally took the plunge in June - after years of dithering - and painted our living/dining and hallway blue:



Won a fabulous rug in June from Annie Selke's Fresh American blog giveaway:



In August, Dina Wakely was in town for a few classes:


Participated in LOTS of swaps, including a Breakfast at Tiffany's fabric book swap hosted by Laurie Jackson at Indulge Your Shelf:



Other swaps this year included a bracelet swap at Paper Cowgirl, Something Special's Petite Spring Jar Swap, Paper Cowgirl's Summer Travel Postcard Swap, a one-on-one swap with Terry, and three swaps organized by Creative Wings Boutique - the Prize Ribbon Swap, the Very Merry UnBirthday Cake swap, and the Twelve Days of Christmas Matchbox Ornament Swap. 

I took several classes taught by the very talented ladies at two local paper arts shops, and a mini-workshop organized by my friend Chris.  In June I celebrated my 100th sale on Etsy, but failed to blog about my 250th sale earlier this month!  I received some wonderful gifts from blogging friends this year, including this most amazing fabric book from Laurie:

A memorable year for sure!  I'm looking forward to the new year, and wish you all a happy, healthy and art-filled 2013!

Squirrel!!!

Mr. UPS rang our bell today. I was expecting a package for the DH with compressor parts, but also found a big box addressed to Henry, Georgia and Jake.  I couldn't imagine who would have sent them a gift. I hauled it into the house and opened it to find three wonderful squirrels - dog toy variety! 

If you read my last post you know that in our Christmas card photo the dogs asked Santa to bring them a squirrel.  Well, our sweet and funny cousin and her family took their plea to heart.  I had looked for that exact toy before Christmas and didn't find it, nor did I mention it to anyone, so I was doubly surprised to find just what I had wanted for them.

Thank you Karla, Barry and Lauren!  The dogs are eternally grateful!

Merry Christmas and Happy Howlidays!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We're planning for a white Christmas - up to seven inches of snow is expected starting around midnight. 

I thought I'd share our present Christmas card photo, along with some from the past.  We used to belong to a Basset Hound on-line group and sent Howliday cards every year - where it all began.  We're no longer active in the group, but family and friends seem to enjoy the photos so we still send them every year.  Enjoy!

Dear Santa, We've been good. Please bring us a squirrel. 
Jake, Henry and Georgia

The children were nestled all snug in their beds...
Georgia and Henry

Waiting for Santa
Georgia and Henry

Georgia and Henry

Emma, Walter and Bruiser

Emma, Bruiser and Walter

The Heart of the Matter

If you're a long-time reader you may remember that I had the opportunity to visit French General last January for their Art of Craft event. One of the classes, with Pam Garrison and Charlotte Lyons, was  making a embellished heart.  This is my creation from the class.

I've made several hearts since then for friends and to sell.  Recently a dear friend purchased two from my Etsy shop and ordered four more in burlap.  Since she's such a sweetie AND my best customer, I made one extra for her. Here are the five:

I was pleased with them all, but I think my favorite is the last one I made, in the upper left corner.  The applique is very old and was purchased at a garage sale earlier this year. These were so much fun to make, and were a good opportunity to use some of the trim I've been hoarding.

Christmas Crafting

All those pretty cookie cutter and tart tin ornaments on Pinterest make me happy. Inspired first by Becky Shander, I decided to make a few of my own.  I'm still working on them, but these three are almost done. 

I love the vintage Christmas bling in these two.

The center pieces are from the 1940s, I think. They were on chenille stems. One was tagged five cents, while the other was tagged three for ten cents.  These were things I'd been hoarding but decided were perfect for this project.  The center of the star (shown in the first photo) is an old earring.

I have a few more to make, but want to dig through my stash of goodies first to see what else I can add.  They could be addictive. I'm glad I saved the pile of ugly brown tart tins that came in a grab bag from the thrift store earlier this year.  A little white paint, some glitter and a few embellishments, and they'll be beautiful!

Twelve Days of Christmas Swap

Tabitha of Creative Wings Boutique organized a Twelve Days of Christmas matchbox ornament swap and I'm so happy I participated.  The ornies are lovely, as you're about to see.  I like the ornament I made (Three French Hens, and I used a photo of three flirty girls rather than fowl) but it does lack bling.  I seem to march to a different drummer most of the time, so hopefully no one minded. Anyway, enjoy the beauty! Click on any photo to see a larger view.

Here are all the ornies as they were packaged, along with a pretty tag made by Tabitha.

Here are the first six closed, and then open to reveal little surprises stowed inside.

The second six, both closed and open:

Here's a closeup of my ornament showing the inside, back and little packet of goodies. The lack of bling is much more obvious up close!

Here are the participants, along with links for those with blogs. Not everyone has posted about the swap, but I'll try to update the links when they do.


A Partridge in a Pear Tree - Pamela
Two Turtle Doves - Lynn
Three French Hens - Me
Four Calling (or Colly) Birds - Kimberly
Five Golden Rings - Hope
Six Geese A Laying - Holly
Seven Swans A Swimming - Tabitha
Eight Maids A Milking - Alice
Nine Ladies Dancing - Caroline
Ten Lords A Leaping - Mercedes
Eleven Pipers Piping - Beverly
Twelve Drummers Drumming - Laura