Wednesday, December 13, 2017

HOPE

Here I am again.
Drawn back to blogging as we close another year.
As some of you may know, 
2017 has been somewhat of a struggle for me.
Multiple eye surgeries
and the seemingly endless stream of complications
 associated with those surgeries
sometimes left me feeling hopeless.
But I'm almost there
and will be returning to work after the 
new year.

I did manage to play in a few facebook group swaps
when vision allowed
during my "house confinement". 

This piece was a collaborative effort
and so much fun!
There were four of us in our
round robin group.
We each began with a substrate of choice
and a focal point piece.
As they made the rounds,
each of us added some love to
each others collages.
This gorgeous collage is what came home to me.

 Whenever there's a 
white Christmas theme
I can't resist.
 It was a tag swap.
I started with a Tim Holtz
mini cabinet card
and embellished away.
                                           
 I wrapped each one in a vintage doily
accompanied by a vintage
Christmas postcard.

 Each holiday season I
decorate my little white tree
with all handmade ornaments.
Some purchased
but primarily swapped.



 Did you spot one of yours?

These mini textile collaged ornaments
were pure joy to create.
 Layering with little scraps of
antique laces, vintage doilies,
vintage buttons
without any roadmap
was such an enjoyable process.
 Each gifted with a
glass glittered tag.
 Lastly I had the opportunity
to renew my love of paper dolls
with this Sugar Plum Fairy ornament.

One of the blessings
of my imposed mini retirement
was rediscovering my love of swapping.

But as lovely as these swaps were
I miss the intimacy of swapping with blog friends.

I shared facebook swaps that went well, 
also reconnecting with old blog swapping friends.
But not all facebook swaps go smoothly.
Large groups of hundreds of people
some of whom have never crafted in their lives
and people who stiff are all too common
in the facebook world of swapping.

That being said,
I plan on hosting some swaps
via my blog in the upcoming year.
I can't tell how often right now
as I'll be resuming full time employment
and still have some minor eye hurdles,
but this is in part my
HOPE
for the new year.

Bring it on 2018!
I HOPE....
 to reconnect with old blog friends
to swap with old blog friends
for continued healing of my eye
to find peace in our somewhat fractured world
 But most of all,
to remember to remain full of
HOPE.

I won't blog again until the new year
as I am finally cleared for flying
and will be spending the holidays with my daughter in Charlotte.

I wish you all the happiest of holidays
and most sincerely
HOPE
you'll be back to visit me soon.

Valentine swap?

Monday, August 21, 2017

I Know It's Been a Long Time...

but is anyone feeling up to a good old fashioned Halloween Matchbox Swap?

Friday, August 18, 2017

Steampunk? Why not?

I don't dislike steampunk
but it's not my favorite style.
However my partner in a recent
altered altoids tin swap
requested steampunk.

So I dug through my stash of "things"
and found old keys
and wings
and gears
and arrows 
and crowns
and other assorted doo dads.
And this is what I came up with.


That's an actual 3 dimensional
copper and glass case
glued in on the left.
Always exciting to step out of the comfort zone
and spread your wings!

I would like to thank all my visitors
who took the time to leave such kind and comforting
words of encouragement.
All of this...
creating, blogging
is a struggle for me right now.
I feel the need to push myself though
to maintain some level of life as I knew it.
Your friendship means the world to me.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Prayer Flags

Hello dear blog friends.
I'm not certain there are any of you left out there
given my infrequent posts but I'm 
hoping some of you are.
I have undergone 2 surgeries to my eye
and the healing process is not going well
so I am out of work
struggling along on disability.
My muse has been hiding during most
of this process.
But when she was present, creating
prayer flags seemed a therapeutic outlet.





Thank you for visiting.
I truly have missed blogland!

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Little Book of Whispers

Hello Friends!
It's been a while again!
 I am recovering (struggling)
oh so slowly from eye surgery and starting a little book
inspired by artist, Laly Mille.
Just in the beginning stages but will keep you updated on the progress.



Hope this finds you all
happy, well and still creating!

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Valentine Mini Collage ATC's

I love the imagery, softness and of course
sentiment of Valentine's Day.
I came across the image of this little girl 
and the bear
and knew instantly I wanted to use it.
I did a lot with these tiny pallets!
The chipboard base is covered
with a muted pink and green vintage floral pattern.
I then collaged with the sweet image 
as my focal point using
 vintage crochet trim
vintage seam binding
coffee stained paper doily 
lightly distressed hand-torn ribbon
pale pink lace
pink eyelet fabric
frayed chiffon ribbon
All were complete with a tiny
sugared heart
and touches of pink glitter.
Lastly, each tucked into 
lovely envies for swapping. 
 & 
a Valentine tag for the hostess!
Happy Valentine's Day
my dear blog friends!