Artsy Opportunities Abound

At a class last night, my friend Lisa S. said something to the effect that we're so lucky to have so many wonderful classes on offer here in Oklahoma, and she's right!  I've had three great classes this week, and missed one last week due to illness.  There are so many classes coming up - including amazing local teachers along with four Donna Downey classes - that I can't decide what to take. Of course, I'd love to take them all, but that's just not feasible so I may have to draw straws!

My first class this week was taught by Bobbie at Paper Crown.  We made the cutest little Valentine's banner and a lovely "Message in a Bottle." 

This was my first class with Bobbie, and we discovered that we went to high school together.  She's a few years younger, but it was a small school so everyone pretty much knew everyone.  Someone else in Tuesday's class knew another of our classmates.  Small world!


Thursday evening I had another class at Paper Crown, this time taught by Jackie.  We made Valentine's crowns, and they were so much fun! Jackie had lots of different images and embellishments for us to work with, so every crown came out a bit differently but they were all beautiful. You can see them all on her blog, Good Grief Girdie.

Bow close up



In addition to the cute nametags and wonderful treats Jackie is known for, she also has lovely door prizes. I was fortunate to win one of her Character Construction paper dolls, and I just love it!

This morning I had yet another class, this time at My Heart's Fancy. Lisa B. showed us how to make this fabulous steampunk heart - love, love, love!

In addition to all this wonderousness, I was so happy to see old friends (great to see you, Lisa S. and Bobbie!), make a few new ones, and learn some new techniques.  I told Lisa B. today that one tip she gave me was worth coming to class for on its own - I needed a straight pin to open my Paper Glaze. She popped a "pop dot" (the little foam circles used to elevate paper elements) onto my bottle, stuck in a straight pin, and now I'll always have one handy when I need it.  Now, why didn't I think of that?  Thanks again, Lisa!

Creative Gifts

January is flying by! Before the month is gone, I wanted to post about a couple of holiday gifts.  The sweet and generous Laurie from Indulge Your Shelf surprised me with a lovely pendant/ornament, all dressed up in the sweetest package. Excuse the poor photos, but it was dark out when I opened it and I couldn't wait until the next day.  The pendant is so pretty. It was on my tree, but I'll most likely wear it for the holiday season this year.  I love the darling card, the vintage coaster and the lovely silver leaf, too.

I was behind as usual, but sent Laurie this little trinket box and prize ribbon in time for New Year's, along with a few other goodies. It's not quite her favorite Tiffany blue, but close!



Blogger is giving me fits today. A lot of people have noted recently that they suddenly can't upload photos to Blogger, and that's what I'm experiencing today.  If I go into HTML mode I'm able to upload from my computer, but otherwise I can only upload from the web or my phone.  Hope to figure this one out soon. If anyone has any hints, I'd love to hear them.

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

Winter Wonderland

As a birthday treat to myself Tuesday, I took a class at My Heart's Fancy.  Lisa Bruno taught a Winter Wonderland box class - so cute, and in turquoise and green, which are our Christmas colors this year.  Yes, that is a lighted lantern inside, from Tim Holtz. The photo definitely doesn't do this piece justice.  It's very glittery and magical and will be a new favorite for sure.

I've been working on some embellished burlap hearts commissioned by a friend and will show those soon, along with the Twelve Days of Christmas matchbox ornament swap.  Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving and Fall Decor

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!  We celebrated last Sunday with my family, and hosted the DH's family this year on Thanksgiving Day - twenty-seven of us in all, including two beautiful baby girls born just this month! This is nephew Ryan on the left with wife Laura and baby Sarah Elizabeth, and niece Kimberly on the right with husband Robert and baby Autumn Jocelyn.  Cute couples and cute babies!

I wanted something fun for the mantel since we were having guests, so I used my new Cricut Ribbons and Rosette's cartridge to make a garland.  It's a bit annoying that you have to make four pieces for each rosette and glue them together, and it's annoying that you can't make just a very plain rosette.  But the number of amazingly cute rosettes and borders you are able to create makes up for both of those little issues.  Add to that the fact that I got it for less than half price at Michael's with a rare sale/coupon combo opportunity, and what's not to love about that?

I sewed burlap to cardboard to make four pennants, and then made four rosettes with the Cricut. I cut out little doily-like pieces for the centers, and added buttons and leaves.

I intended to put FALL on the pennants, but I liked the rosettes so much I changed my mind!

While I had all my fall paper out I decided to make a few tags.  The little turkey was a recent estate sale find.

I think the tag below is my favorite, because of all the handwork. I love combination of rick rack and crochet in the edging, along with the tiny tatted lace and doily. None of the handwork is mine, of course - it's all from estate sales.

Now to pack all this away until next year, and haul out the Christmas decorations!