Meet A Few More of the Family

From the time she was a tiny baby, everyone knew there was something very special about Edwina.

Some thought Uncle Harold took his cigar smoking much too seriously.

Hope those brought a smile to your face! Here's a little something I thought might make that smile a little bigger.
My friend Riki is having a giveaway, and an amazing giveaway at that.
Click HERE to visit her beautiful blog and enter for a chance to win one of her fabulous workshops!

Back to the Basics

It was so relaxing, so enjoyable, to sit down and do some good old cut and paste collage.
These pages are for my friend Kim's Vintage GlueBook swap in the blissfullARTswaps group. April's theme is Springtime.
Simple can be very pretty.....

Estate Sale Treasures

It was a fantastic weekend for estate sales in my area. Among my many collections, one of my favorites is teddy bears. I haven't added any in quite some time (I would need to consider putting an addition on to the house if I added to my collections every time I saw something I liked!) but this little sweetheart really spoke to me.
Her name is Emma and she's dressed in a lovely vintage doily that has handpainted flowers. She also wears a stickpin with a portrait of a woman. Perhaps the stylist for this sweet creation?
And look at the back of Emma's doily dress-her name is hand stitched!

I don't have a fan collection but certainly wouldn't mind starting one after this find.I have no idea how to determine the age of this fan but I can tell that it's very old. The paper is aged and appears frail but is in perfect condition. The muted colors and floral design are stunning.

Fairies and all things whimsical are tucked around my house, so yes, I must admit to that collection also.I simply couldn't resist and immediately found a place to perch her.

If you've never been to an estate sale I highly recommend it. This past Saturday was certainly an enjoyable and entertaining day for me and those fabulous finds set me back less than $20!

Another Ancestor for the Books

Cousin Jeanette saw her good-for-nothing husband Ralph much differently than the rest of the family.....

An Old New Ancestor

I've started altering some carte de visites for our upcoming collaborative book project.

Meet Aunt Mary..she loved her garden....
She'll be added to someone's "family" album soon.

Mini Cards = Mega Fun!

I'm loving the swaps at my friend Kim's new swap blog,
Tabby's Swaps!
These mini cards are a fun challenge to create on such a tiny palette. And did I mention addictive?
Here's a peek at cards I'm making for Kim's current swap,
Some Bunny Loves Me.

From My Home to Yours....

a wish for a most
Happy Easter!

A Special Gift from a Special Friend

It's funny when I'm creating or shopping how I look at things now. I find myself thinking "Oh, Michele would love that!" or "Wow, is that ever Linda's style!", with my blog friends in mind. I can shop easier for most of you than family!
What's more special is when a blog friend acts on those thoughts as my generous, kind and talented friend Katherine, of Chatelet did when she created this gorgeous gift especially for me.



I treasure this beautiful gift as I treasure your friendship Katherine,,,thank you!

A Lovely Easter Matchbox & New Swap Announcement

Sugared eggs, lace and flowers....

Sweet springtime verse....

Vintage finishing touches....

The gorgeous Easter matchbox I received from Debi, of
Life In My Studio.
Thank you Debi for this little piece of Easter heaven!

Yes, this is what we begin with. A plain, rather ugly box intended to hold matches but so much fun to alter.

For the new swap in my flickr group we're going to list all our loves: favorite themes, favorite colors, favorite materials, favorite styles. Using our list of loves, our partners will create the perfect altered matchbox gift!
The fun starts HERE!