2014 Year in Review

2014 seems to have been the Year of the Book for me. I made books for gifts and book pages for swaps and started on a handmade journal.

I made pink fabric books - one in February for Laurie



and another in September for Terry.



In August at a craft day with friends, we made little books from 12x12 paper. I've made a couple more since then. They're fun and easy.



In September I made pages for Karla Nathan's Nature's Blessings Journal Swap.



In December I finally got around to posting photos of the Nature's Blessings journal I received. There were so many lovely pages, and it took two posts to show them all. You can find them here and here.




In November I joined in on the Button Floozies White Christmas Button Book swap, which I posted about in December. I loved the book I made...



as well as the one I received.




I participated in a December journal swap... 



and made another December journal for a family gift exchange.



In addition I started on my first handmade journal, using Mary Ann Moss's Full Tilt Boogie online class as a guide. I've yet to finish it but hope to soon. I'm also trying to finish a journal I started in 2010 after attending Silver Bella. More on those in 2015!

Vintage lace is one of my favorite things, and I found lots of it in 2014.
















Cindy Winter at Paper Crown invited me to be a vendor for their Spring and Fall Glitter Markets. This was a great opportunity for me as both markets were truly enjoyable and I was very pleased with my sales.





In February Paper Crown hosted a Valentine Soiree - lots of fun and a beautiful project.



Another highlight of the year was attending Karla Nathan's Birdsong 4 event in June. I did several Birdsong posts in June and one in July. Click here to see the class projects.



In addition to journal swaps, Laurie hosted a heart-themed 3-Inchie swap that I joined. Mine is in the lower right corner. I love them all and need to make them into a little book or banner - another project for the new year.



There were also swaps at Birdsong, including a banner swap and altered bottle swap. Here's one piece of the banner I made, but if you haven't seen it, you'll want to click here to see the beautiful banner Tami made for me.



Then there was the Vintage Darling's Snippet Roll swap hosted by Heidi of Sugah Beez.  Click here to see what I made, and here to see the wonderful snippet roll I received from Tabitha.



Laurie and I swapped vintage Christmas goodness in October. She sent me mountains of wonderful things that you can see here, and see what I sent to her on her blog here.



That pretty much wraps up my 2014. Hope yours was wonderful, and I wish you a very creative and enjoyable New Year!

December Journal Swap

My lovely friend Kerry hosted her first-ever swap last month - a December journal swap. Eight of us made pages and Kerry made the covers, put the books together, and packaged them in cute striped boxes.

I love how she combined the elements for the front cover - so cute! It's a bright shiny red that looks much better in actuality than it does in this photo. For some reason all the photos I took make it look like there's a haze on the upper right corner.

There's a handy calendar on the inside front cover.

This is the front of the page I made. The sweet Santa came from a vintage Christmas card. That wonderful diagonal stripe vintage crepe paper came from a pre-Christmas swap with Laurie (I posted about the swap here .)

And the back of my page. I used a bell image clipped from another vintage Christmas card and added vintage ribbon. My use of the Wish ticket was inspired by one Laurie used on a snippet roll she made for me. 

This cute page was made by Teresa. I haven't added my favorite Christmas recipe yet, but plan to do that.

Teresa left lots of room on the back of her page to add photos or other items. I love this green polka dot paper and the holly sticker.

Leann made this lovely page. She's one of those people who can take anything and make something amazing from it in no time at all. 

And the back of Leann's page. So pretty!

Lisa made this precious page above and below. I love her style! There's a pocket and a tag to pull out for journaling, photos or ephemera.

Lisa also left room on the back for photos or other items. 

Chris used several techniques on her awesome page. Embossing, stencils and embellishments - and there's space under the flap for journaling. That blue is one my favorite shades.

She used chartreuse - another of my favorite colors - on the back of her page. There's a card tucked in for photos, etc.

Jeanne used a vintage Christmas card as a pocket for two tags.  I love this pretty scene and the poinsettias.

The back of Jeanne's page is ready for photos or memorabilia.

Tammy's page has lots of pretty papers, layers, and techniques. There are two other flaps besides the one shown above - lots of spaces for photos, etc.

The back of her page has a pocket with "The Real Meaning of The Twelve Days of Christmas, plus two tags.

Jeanne was in creative mode and made an extra page.  This one has a cute red/white chevron sack with a tag and a chenille candy cane.

The back of Jeanne's second page has lots of room, highlighted by the metallic starburst - love that!

Sheryl's page includes lots of layering, pom poms, and a photo of her adorable grandbaby - something to make us all smile!

The back of Sheryl's page is plaid - one of my holiday favorites - with a cute banner and snowman.

Kerry used a chalkboard tag, flower and doily to embellish the inside back cover. I added the cute tags from the box.

And the back cover - as cute as the front!

Thanks, Kerry, for organizing this fun swap, and thank you to the other participants. I just love having these sweet books of art from others.

Click on any of the photos to see a larger view.

Seasons Greetings

Wishing everyone

peace,

love,

and goodwill

for the holiday season

and throughout

the coming year.

Jake, Henry and Georgia

A Christmas Eve Anniversary

Wishing a very happy 60th Anniversary to my cute and wonderful parents, who were married on December 24, 1954. They're amazing, and beloved by many.

Much love to you both!