A Very Sassy Ornament Exchange

Our hostess for this swap is Marsha of Sassy Mini Dolls. I was attempting to limit the number of swaps I was participating in (remember when I was looking for my local chapter of SA, Swappers Anonymous?) when Marsha announced her swap. I HAD to sign up though - because it was Marsha!
She was one of the first bloggers I met when I entered the blogisphere about 8 months ago. She's been a cheerleader, an awesome swap partner, an inspiration, (check out her blog and you'll KNOW what I'm talking about!), a sweetheart and now a dear friend.
And what's one more ornament in the big picture anyway? I decided I could use a break from paper and burlap and pulled out the beeswax.
Here's what I made for my partner, Kate of Crazy Purple Mom.
I used this vintage Brown Bag Cookie Mold to make the bear,

then finished him with some pigment highlights and a Christmas plaid ribbon for hanging.

Kate does absolutely beautiful cross-stitch and gifted me with not only this very special ornament, but a cross-stitched tea towel and some funky buttons as well!

Many thanks again Kate for these cherished gifts.

I hope you'll all stop back tomorrow. It's the start of See you then!

A Purr-fect Way To Kick Off The Holidays

Some ATC dolls for my cat loving friends....

A Tribute to Gina Wise

I write this with a heavy heart upon learning of the sudden passing of a dear friend. Gina was a wonderfully gifted and creative artist whom I've had the pleasure of knowing for many years. I never met her in person but that wasn't necessary to know Gina. A smile or a laugh was attached to every email. Each page in a deco was accompanied by some special little personal touch. Every post to a group was positive and joyful. The art she created and shared was wonderfully diverse - beautiful, whimsical, quirky - oh so Gina. She was a lovely and gracious person who will be sorely missed by many.





ALL ARTWORK BY GINA WISE

Sharing A Little Turkey With Friends

Hope you enjoy these vintage Thanksgiving postcards. Bertie is an atc I made for a bingo themed swap, but she seemed at home with the other turkeys!
Happy Thanksgiving to each of you who celebrate this holiday and my warmest wishes to all.

What DID That Giveaway Winner Get?

Remember the Celebrate the Sisterhood Giveaway? The one where I would put together a package JUST FOR YOU, based on what I knew about you via your blog?
Michele of Something Special won that giveaway and her blog is a delight! She's a scrapbooker, collector of vintage and all-around gifted artist. So it was lots of fun putting together a little something for her.
USPS Track & Confirm tells me it's been delivered so I can now share Michele's surprise package.


Enjoy Michele! Thanks to everyone who entered and left such thoughtful and kind words. I'll come up with another something soon.....

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Like so many of you, I've been busily creating Christmas. I have a couple more swaps to complete before I start decorating the house, but it's been awhile so I thought I'd share some pages I recently finished for a holiday recipe book in one of my yahoo groups. I had some help on these. Those wonderful pocket tags are from my friend Alda's etsy shop, Flying Unicorn.

This didn't photograph too well but is actually very sparkly and pretty. The diecut snowman (Tim Holtz Alterations) is removable
and the recipe is on the back. If you've never had a Tom & Jerry, you really need to try one-DELICIOUS!

We Have a Winner!!!!!!!

Michele, of
Something Specialis the winner of my Celebrate The Sisterhood Giveaway.
Congratulations Michele! Please contact me with your address and I'll get busy gathering things JUST FOR YOU!
October was a very busy blogging month with lots of Halloween and autumn parties, swaps and giveaways. I've been contacted from a few of my new blog friends with invitations to pick up awards at your blogs. I am truly VERY honored that my blog came to mind as one you would select. However I decided not to participate. PLEASE, PLEASE, do not take this as ungratefulness on my part. (I was always the person who broke the chain when chain letters were popular.) Honestly, there are way too many wonderful blogs out there (dozens I follow that I visit as often as time allows) that I could in return forward the honor to, but I need to be selective with how I spend my computer time. And I like to spend it visiting each of you! So again, thank you so much for thinking of me. I'm happy that you enjoy visiting me as much as I enjoy visiting you.