Silver Bella part deux

I have a feeling there are going to be LOTS of Silver Bella posts. There's just no way to condense so much fun activity into a few paragraphs. 

My roommate was Kerry Berrick, who is one of the most talented, interesting and fun people I know. We stayed up late every night going over all the activities of each day and preparing for the following day, then overslept on Sunday and had to fly home with funky hair! Thank you, Kerry, for being my roomie and for being so helpful and sharing your creative input any time I asked. My projects were better for your suggestions! Here's Kerry showing her fun side in a Viking cap (could have used those for the trip home.)


Our other traveling companions were Sheryl and Teresa, the "sisters" from Duncan.  Everyone thinks they're sisters so they just go with it.  They're truly a blast and everyone loves them.  They're also extremely talented, and kept everything lively.  I just met them this year, but I wish we all lived closer so we could get together more often.  Here they are with Kerry.

Chris Mack rounded out our little group.  She traveled to Omaha by car with her husband, John.  They were our heroes, hauling so many of our things there and back.  John even went to UHaul and got us huge boxes to pack everything in for the return trip!  Chris, who bills herself as a "beginning mixed media artist," proved that she has real talent.  Everything she made was just beautiful.  Here we are at the opening dinner.

After dinner we had our first project, led by Silver Bella organizer Teresa McFayden.  None of us finished but it's going to be a wonderful reminder of SB and the joy of spending time with people who love doing the same things you do.  The centerpieces for the evening were tophats perched atop a stack of white boxes wrapped in tulle.  The boxes contained our craft kits - very handy! This photo is from Sheila Rumney, who hosted two of the swaps I was in. More about that later.

My camera is the worst, so I'll be borrowing most of my pics from other Bellas. Thanks, ladies!

Ciao, Bella!

Silver Bella was simply amazing.  I met many of the wonderfully talented people I've been blog-stalking for the past few months (or years, in some cases), and learned so many things that will give me more confidence in what I create.  It was interesting to observe each artist's take on the projects.  Everyone put their own unique spin on their work, and all were so willing and happy to share ideas and techniques. 

There's a huge box to unpack and a few pieces that still need finishing touches.  I'll be posting swaps and projects over the next few weeks, but here's one to get things started.  

Sheila Rumney's Trading Trims Vintage Trim Swap
was packaged in an egg carton - so cute!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in this swap.  It was so enjoyable to find the trims I shared, and to get so many new ones back in return!

It's Time!

The time has finally come.  I'm off to Silver Bella, and am so very excited! The DH is staying home with the fur babies and I'm sure will enjoy some peace and quiet after hearing me go on and on about everything SB for the past six months.  But it may be even worse when I get home and he has to hear every tiny detail.  Ha! He's the best!

I Love Autumn!

It's a beautiful autumn day in Oklahoma!  Some of the trees haven't turned yet, but I'm loving our yard.

Silver Bella Swaps

Spoiler alert - For the one or two readers participating in the vintage trim or Junque Journal swaps at Silver Bella next week, don't read this post if you don't want to see what you'll be getting from me!

Silver Bella starts on Thursday in Omaha.  All summer it seemed like it would never get here, but the time has flown by the last month or two.  I had no idea when I signed up just what would be involved, other than taking classes with fabulous artists including Lisa Kaus, Sally Jean Alexander, Kaari Meng and Kerry Lynn Yeary.  And of course the amazing Teresa McFayden who developed Silver Bella five years ago, and a closing luncheon with the inspiring Jenny Doh.  SB has actually turned out to be much more involved than signing up and showing up.

I now know that you have to gather lots of your best vintage bling and supplies to bring. You also get to meet new friends and have a great time just preparing for the trip.  You get to participate in on-line chats that will make you laugh until you almost wet your pants.  I know that SB will involve not much sleep, the opportunity to shop in Omaha's Old Market district, and consumption of cupcakes and frosting shots (another new thing for me but I can't wait!), and much, much more.

I also now know that attending SB involves something called swaps, which I had no clue about before.  SB participants had the opportunity to sign up to swap various hand crafted items including crowns, charm bracelets made from vintage bling, journal pages, banners and more.  Swap size was limited so participants were determined by drawing, and I was fortunate enough to get into two vintage trim swaps and a journal paper swap. 

The first trim swap, hostessed by Sheila Rumney, involved gathering 21 pieces of vintage trim and sending it off to Sheila who is putting it all together in some amazing way for the 21 participants.  I wrapped each piece I sent with a paper band and tied it with seam binding and a tiny bunch of flowers.  I have a fairly large collection of vintage trim, but had to find lots more in order to fulfill my two swaps.

I also learned that it's customary to send a little something extra to the swap hostess, so I put together this little tin tray with vintage ribbon, lace, a hanky, etc. for Sheila.

My second vintage trim swap is hostessed by Heather Buhaj and requires that participants collect three one-yard pieces of vintage trim and two vintage embellishments for each of ten participants, package these creatively, and bring them to Silver Bella.  For this one I made drawstring bags from striped silk with
matching "flower" pins, and decorated a tag to hold two of the trims.  The third trim is vintage camisole lace I found several years ago on its original card.  I had about 18 yards, so it was perfect for this swap.  I tied each piece with seam binding and added an earring or pin.  I also included a vintage napkin or hanky tied with an old button and some white seam binding.  I found an ad for crocheted edging in a 1946 McCall's Needlework magazine that made the perfect tag. 

My third swap is the Scraps from the Past Junque Journal Swap, also hostessed by Sheila Rumney.  This one requires ten sheets of vintage or vintage-inspired paper, ten vintage embellishments, and one large embellishment for each of ten participants.  We'll each receive an abundance of materials to create our own journal.  Sheila is making a journal cover for each participant from an old album page.  Some of my favorite finds for this swap were a 1915 Tulsa yearbook, magazines from the early 30s and large embroidered butterflys.  My contributions fit into standard file folders so I made embellished fabric envelopes to hold the folders.  The tag for these was inspired by a photo from one of the 1930s magazines.

Now I'm off to finish up some final details and pack!

Halloween Happiness

I really love Halloween decorations.  I've never been a big fan of trick or treat and we have no kids, but I decorate anyway.  Several friends and I had planned to have a Halloween craft day so I accumulated a ton of vintage and new papers and other items, only to have to cancel.  I've made quite a few things on my own, but we'll still have lots to work with next year.

When I retired in February my friend and co-worker Kathy made me this gorgeous bracelet.  Isn't it amazing?

I told her I'd make her something, too, and she suggested something for Halloween.  Well, the time has arrived.  Last week we met for lunch and I gave her these:

The starfish is a painted and glittered earring

She's from Florida and loves flamingos. There's a little tag on one of the wreath ribbons showing Alice holding a flamingo - perfect! Hope she's enjoying them! 

I got the wreath idea from the Tattered Angels web site here. 

Vacation 2010 - Deep In The Heart of Texas (Days 4 and 5)

On Monday of our vacation, we drove to Lockhart for barbeque.  There are several well-known barbeque "joints" there, and we tried Black's, which is the oldest.  It was excellent. The only downfall to Lockhart was that the only antique store we saw was closed.  I did find a couple of nice pumpkins at a farm stand, though.  The ones at home all seem to be about the same size and shape this year, so I've been on the lookout for taller ones. We've actually carted home pumpkins from more distant locales, but I don't recommend it.  They take up quite a bit of space.

From Lochart we took the backroads to Boerne.  We were on the lookout for a particular place called The Junk Shop that I'd read about in a magazine a few years ago, but couldn't find it anywhere and no one we asked knew of it. We visited several antique stores and TK's Cottage, where I wanted to buy one (or more) of everything, but I settled for a snowman to add to my collection.

Then it was on to Fredericksburg for a quick stop at Homestead.  I had read about this store years ago and had always wanted to visit.  We had about an hour to browse through all the amazing antiques and charming vignettes, and had a chance to meet Rose Hicks, the charming proprietress, who was even more charming in person than she appeared to be in the magazine articles.

The Texas Hill Country is really beautiful.  I didn't get any pics, but there were so many varied shades of green, white stone, and a beautiful blue sky.  We entertained thoughts of moving there some day.  Only time will tell.

Tuesday was spent at antique and junk shops around Austin, going to a movie, and getting ready for the trip home.  On Wednesday we made the trip home with a quick stop in Justin, TX for lunch and a last little bit of junquing.  Here's what I found on the trip. 

Can't wait until the next trip!

Vacation 2010 - Deep In The Heart of Texas (Day 3)

We spent Saturday night in Austin.  On Sunday we drove back north a bit to IKEA in Round Rock.  Had lunch there and bought a few things.  IKEA is a fun shopping experience.

Then it was time to head to the ACL Festival.  Got there just in time for Robert Earl Keen.  My music guru Sandy turned me on to him years ago, but this was our first time to see him live.  We missed the Flaming Lips but heard Band of Horses and Norah Jones.  Then - The Eagles! They were awesome.  I do love me some Don Henley!  Read a review and check out their play list here.  Or check out YouTube for video or the ACL Flikr site here for photos.


photos by ACL Festival

Kudos to the ACL organizers for a great job!  The Sunday line-up was excellent, the grounds were clean, the lines for food and water were short, and there was a great art market.  We stayed to the very end and then flooded out to the shuttle stop along with tens of thousands of others, expecting to wait at least half an hour to get on a shuttle, but were able to get on a bus as soon as we arrived at the pick-up area.  Well done!

Vacation 2010 - Deep In The Heart of Texas (Day 2)

Neither of us had ever been in downtown Fort Worth so on Saturday morning we walked around for a while and took some pictures. We both loved it - so many unique buildings and lots of activity.  



We left downtown to travel a few miles east to Handley for the Handley Street Festival car show. There were some really nice classic cars, an arts festival and an antique mall. Bob found a print that included a 1939 Chevy in major disrepair (kind of like his looked when he first got it), and I got a small print of downtown Waxahatchie. I've not been there but I hope to go someday, and I just liked the colors. I also found a cross made from old cutlery.



Street Festival Finds

From Handley we headed south toward Austin, with a stop at the Style Station. This is a weird and funky place. They have a fairly good selection of vintage clothes with an emphasis on western wear, but they do have things from the 60s-80s and some jewelry, hats, etc.  I'd recommend a stop if you like vintage clothes and have a little time to chat. One of the owners is quite the talker and very opinionated.  His wife prints Style Station t-shirts - they're fun and only $10 to $12.

And of course we made a couple of junquing stops between Fort Worth and Austin.

Vacation 2010 - Deep In The Heart of Texas (Day 1)

We returned from vacation last Wednesday and I've been trying to get vacation posts up ever since.  Lots of pics, so I'm doing it day by day.

Our main destination was Austin for the ACL Festival to see The Eagles and Robert Earl Keen, but we spent the first night in Fort Worth.  We were guests at The Fort Worth Club downtown - very nice!  We had a lovely big room with the most comfy bed - I wanted to take it with us - and a wonderful dinner.  Thanks, Peter and Linda! 

 

Sweet and Sinister Swap - Part II

For the Sweet and Sinister swap I made my first-ever crown (Queen of Halloween) which turned out better than I expected, although certainly not on the same level as so many that I've seen.  I also made a cute little vintage trick-or-treater.  For the home decor item, I found a fun black and white bead garland.  The thrifted item was a black sheer/velvet scarf with feathery trim (perfect for dressing up on Halloween or maybe even for a night out).  I also included funky black rubber gloves with black and white pop-art ruffled trim for use in her art studio, vintage papers and trims wrapped and tied with vintage seam binding and bling, black and white hand-crafted flower pins, a do-it-yourself black and white journal (pages prepped and embellishments supplied so she can create just what she likes) and three funky black ornaments that can be used for Halloween or even a black and white Christmas. All this and more was packed into a black and white print storage bin.  I hope she loves everything!  Here are a few pics: 

Sweet and Sinister Swap - Part I

After reading about Kari Ramstrom's annual Sweet and Sinister Swap on a fellow Silver Bella attendee's blog, I decided to sign up. Although I'm participating in three swaps at Silver Bella, this would be my first ever complete swap as items were due to be mailed by October 10. The rules required that most things be black and white, and that there be a handmade item, a home decor item, and a thrifted item. 

I started preparing immediately and came up with some fun things to send to my swap partner, Terry Frias.  Yes, Kari paired up Terry and Terri for this swap, and I'm so glad she did.  We've been communicating via e-mail and she is so nice, funny and talented. We found that we have a lot in common, including husbands named Bob!  How spooky is that???

Today I received my Sweet and Sinister Swap items from Terry.  In a word - AMAZING!  The items she created are SO well-done and darling, and everything was packaged in such a fun and creative way.  She made me a beautiful Halloween necklace and bracelet and a banner that is so detailed and just perfect!  She sent a cute LED skeleton candle - which looks great flickering inside the clear bucket - and lots of embellishments for Halloween projects including glitter glue, stickers, rub-ons, beads, crepe paper and so much more.  Everything was packed in a beautifully decorated can and each little tag is unique.  Here are pics, but I promise everything is even nicer than it appears in the photos (must get a new camera).  Terry is truly artistic and loaded with talent! 

As soon as I know she's received them, I'll post pics of what I sent to her.
 

More Spools

I found a couple of cute pics and decided to make more spools as gifts.  I made one other one using the photo of the little girl, but different papers on the base.  I think they're cute.  Hope the recipients think so!  The photo is awful - taken at 3:00 a.m.