Gifts

Christmas is past but I wanted to share a few pics of some gifts I sent out that I thought others might enjoy seeing.

One dear friend collects these antique photo albums. This one was a bit damaged, but the embossed velvet cover and brass clasp were so lovely that I had to send it to her. I added the vintage lace and millinery band for fun.

There were several photos in the album, including these two.

Most of the other photos were of men, but the backs were printed with ornate and lovely advertisements for the photographers. I do regret that I didn't take pics of any of those!

I sent a few things to another friend in this cute little reusable cloth bag. I've saved the bag for several years, waiting for the perfect recipient. 

Several small items were packed into this vintage card box, ideal for holiday gifting.

One of the items sent was this little stocking I made from a vintage quilt and doily.  It was made especially for her as she loves bird-themed creations.

There's been quite a bit of time to create over the last couple of weeks but it's been so cold that I've mostly just snuggled in to read and catch up on DVR'd TV shows and movies.  Hopefully we'll get a few warm sunny days soon to spark my creativity.

I've yet to get photos of my new craft space, but plan to do that as soon as the weather cooperates and I find just the right spot for a few more things!

One More Tag

As I sat at the computer last night, I kept looking at my little jar of Prima chartreuse green flowers on the shelf above. I've had them for several years and have used two or three but there are a lot packed in there. I decided the flowers could become a cute little wreath.  The Christmas colors in our home are turquoise, chartreuse and silver, and I wanted a little something to hang in my craft room. I've been heavily into tags this year - quick and easy to make and store - so I made a large tag.

The background is aqua paper from Basic Grey's 2012 Christmas line. I stamped it with a silver metallic harlequin pattern. For the wreath, I glued alternating glitter, satin and tulle flowers in a circle, then added silver leaves and faux pearls. The Noel was cut last year at a "let's share" craft get together, so I'm not sure what company it's from.  A little wired ribbon and a vintage earring top the tag.

This will probably be the last of my Christmas craft projects. I have a few creative things I need to do around the house before Christmas Eve. We're at the beginning of what is rumored to be a ice storm of historic proportions, so as long as the power stays on, I should have plenty of time!

More Christmas Tags

Inspired by Lorraine at Over The Rainebeau, I used some paper I'd been hoarding to make a couple of tags.

They're mostly just cut and paste, but I did use a bit of Diamond Glaze to highlight a few areas. The lace is from an estate sale. One of the tags is hanging on a dresser knob in my entryway, and the other will be going to a friend later this week.

Happy Christmas creating to everyone!

White Christmas Tag Swap 2013

Chris at Perfectly Printed hosted a White Christmas Tag Swap this year, and I had the opportunity to join in. I stuck with white and silver, although that wasn't required.

The background paper is Anna Griffin's Winter Wonderland 6x6 pad. I used assorted trims and bling that I had on hand.  The little girl is from a vintage photo purchased at an estate sale.

Here are the wonderful tags I received. I've noted the creator where possible, and linked to any blogs.

1.  Janelle at Sweet Bee Cottage
2.  Laurie at Indulge Your Shelf
3.  Jane at Aralia Jane

1.  Lisa at A Peaceful Place to Be
2.  Shirley at Zetta's Aprons
3.  Pam at Virginia Retro

1.  Jacqueline
2.  Paintin' Patti
3.  DB
And last but most certainly not least, one of the loveliest and most elaborate tags I've seen. I have to show both sides of this one. It was made by Lindy.

I love each and every tag I received. Tag swaps just might be my favorite as you get to see so many interpretations of a theme.

There are other projects underway around here, so I'll be posting more soon.

Paper Cowgirl Altered Tin Swap - What I Received

My original post about the Paper Cowgirl altered tin swap can be found here.  Today I'll show you the beautiful tin I received from Patty Cross, who was also the swap host. Our theme was time, with no restrictions on interpretation.

Patty used a Boticelli drawing of a young man, then covered the top in embossed clay with gears, watch faces and other interesting baubles.

 The inside has drawings by DaVinci on a fold out booklet over the Mona Lisa and waxed and layered on the opposite side.

 Patty included a packet of buttons, gears and other items for future creative efforts. As an additional bonus, everything arrived in a fun embellished envelope.

Thank you, Patty, for this wonderful creation that I will treasure, and for hosting this fun swap!

Let it Snow!

Woke up to this

and when I went outside with the dogs, I saw this on our patio - 

a perfect puffy snow heart. It was actually a big leaf covered in snow, but it made us happy!

More Christmas Tags

We traveled to Texas for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time with family from San Angelo, Odessa and New Braunfels.  My parents and brother and sister-in-law from Oklahoma were also there - 23 of us in all. It was a great weekend!

Before we left I got crafty and made Christmas tags for all the ladies. I made my own tags from cracker and cereal boxes, and made them large - about 7-1/4" x 4".

I used Vintage Christmas paper from My Mind's Eye. The Santa and swirl were already glittered. I fussy cut the Santa, gave him a bit more color with pencils, glittered his beard and hat, added a pompom, and reattached him with pop dots. The swirl was highlighted with a bit of green glitter embossing.

The numbers inside the bottle caps came from a sheet called Countdown from Webster's Pages. The pompom trim on the lower edge is vintage, as is the green and red ribbon.  I added some white and red tinsel and a bit of red seam binding to finish it off.

I have a pile of Christmas papers but couldn't resist buying a few sheets from BasicGrey's 25th & Pine line. I used it to make one more tag.

It was my intent to make several of these so people would have a choice, but I ran out of time.  One of my nieces claimed this one.

  This vintage earring seemed to be just the "decking" this tag needed.