Starting the New Year Right

January started in a grand manner with the notification that I had won the darling Jessica Rodarte's 31 Favorite Things giveaway. Click the link to go to Jessica's blog and read more about the giveaway and see a complete list of the items included. We apparently share many likes as I was totally pleased with everything. As I told Jessica, it's such a clever idea and getting the package was like opening a Christmas stocking!

She and I have participated in a tiny book swap in the past, and have swapped one for one. Her tiny books are adorable. You can see a few in her Etsy shop here.

Last weekend the DH and I celebrated a break in the cold by taking a little road trip to western Oklahoma.  We stopped in Hydro at the Mema's Momma's and Mine Antique Store on old Route 66, where I found these treasures. 

I love the gray hat with all it's leaves and petals, but bought the other just for the black velvet rose appliques - one on each side. 

This vintage tablecloth in my favorites of aqua and chartreuse was also a great find. It's a bit faded but that's fine with me.

We stopped in Clinton at The Mulberry Bush Antique & Vintage Market on Frisco Avenue where I found this lovely lace. As best I can tell, it's rather old, and appears to be beautifully tea-dyed. There were several other bags of vintage lace and it was tough to leave them, but I managed to limit myself to just the one bag. 

We went as far south as Hobart, then took a different route home. I found these items in a thrift store in Fort Cobb. I have plans for them.

Can't wait for a few estate sales this weekend, and maybe a bit of thrifting, too!

A Look Back at 2013

I'm embarrassingly late posting my 2013 review, but here goes! Last year seemed fairly uneventful compared to 2012, but there were definitely some great creative opportunities. This post includes a few photos that haven't appeared before on my blog. You may also click on any month to see to see all the posts for that month.

JANUARY was a bit slow, probably due to Blogger giving me fits, but I did exchange fun gifts with Laurie

FEBRUARY included quite a few great classes, including this darling Valentine banner and crown.

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MARCH was a very full month with lots of wonderful swaps and estate sale finds. These sweet baskets were made for the Creative Wings Spring Has Sprung swap.

For Tabitha

For Lisa

In APRIL  I worked on cards for the Paper Cowgirl Rolodex Art Card swap and found a few good buys at a nearby estate sale, including these sweet appliques, buttons, buckles and brooches..

MAY  was all about finishing up Rolodex cards and creating swap items for the upcoming Birdsong event in June. Here are just a few of the Rolodex cards I made.

JUNE brought the highly anticipated Birdsong 3 event at Karla Nathan's wonderful home and studio in Kansas. It was such a fun and friendly event where I saw several creative buddies and met quite a few new ones. Just click on the June link to see all the swaps.

Photo from Karla Nathan

JULY included junqueing

and a pic of the DH's old car that garnered lots of interest.

Click on the July link to see lots of pics of Birdsong 3, including classes and more swaps.

AUGUST  and SEPTEMBER were single-post months due to problems with Blogger, but I did manage to post about all the fabulous Rolodex cards I received from the Paper Cowgirl Rolodex Art Card Swap. Here are a few. If you'd like to see more, just click on the August link.

Debbie Schuh was in Oklahoma City in September and I was able to take two great classes, but no photos unfortunately. You can find links to other blog posts about the event here.

OCTOBER included classes as well as exhibiting at a local weekend antiques show. The show wasn't a great success, but I did enjoy spending time with friends. I also finally found a mannequin that wasn't too large for my space or too rich for my budget. She's plain, but in this lovely pale aqua brocade and her bling, she's perfect! The dress is for sale in my Etsy shop, but I've already found a potential replacement should Ms. Mannequin (still thinking about a name for her) have to give it up. 

Another October event/class that I never showed photos of was the Halloween Soiree at Paper Crown. Here's the room prior to class. I didn't capture all the cuteness, but it was such fun. There was a lovely treat table at the front of the room as well.

Bobbie led us in making these wonderful - and large - Pumpkin King creations! Love him!

She also included sweet little kits to make a bingo card door hanger.

Some of us made headgear for the occasion. My crown turned out well, I thought.

It was such an enjoyable day!

NOVEMBER  included a couple of classes and another Paper Cowgirl swap - a altered tin this time. Here's the one I made. You can see more pics by clicking on November, and see the amazing tin I received under the December heading.

One of my favorite classes this year was Jackie Peters' Christmas Santos class. Mine will be on display year round.

DECEMBER seemed to be a month for tags. I made tags for family

and tags for a swap

one for a friend and one for me

and one more for ME!

Whew! Now, ON TO 2014!  Hope you're having a good year so far! 

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!