Who Says Valentines Have to Be Red!

A special white valentine

for my swap partner

in the

Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group...

 It's a vintage heart shaped tart tin

trimmed in silver tinsel

white paper flowers

and white pearls.

The resin cupid centerpiece

holds a rhinestone and pearl heart.

I finished the ornament

with a fabulous winged charm

I found at Michaels.

The hanger is

vintage seam binding.

I'm linking with
Blissful Whites Wednesday
at
Timewashed.



For the Love of Dominoes

Do you find miniature works of art

enchanting?

I was totally mesmerized

the first time I saw

a book made from

two dominoes.

I've since made a few,

this most recent for a Valentine swap

at

An Altered Place.

 

I think it's all the fussy little detail required

working on such a small palette

that interests me.

(You can click on the photos

for more detail.)

 From The Heart

The cover is embellished

with tiny pearls.

The rose images are highlighted with

Stickles & Liquid Pearls.

 Inside of book

The images I chose are from

Lisa's Altered Art.

I used Stickles, Liquid Pearls,

tiny beads and bling

to accent.

Covers

I used a shabby rose fabric trim

around the outside

of the dominoes.

Probably the most difficult part

of making this

was adding the tiniest ever

pink pearls to the center

of each rose.

 

Pieces of vintage seam binding

serve as closures.

 

I have a few more Valentine projects

in the works

as well as some image freebies

and pictures of my antique

valentine collection to share.

I hope you'll stop back!



Putting a Little Gleam & Glimmer Into My Life

On a recent Friday evening

I took a stained glass jewelry class

at

Gleam & Glimmer,

a local studio and shop.

 

In addition to being a lot of fun

I find it rewarding

to learn new skills.and

challenge myself artistically

 

These are the pieces

I am proud to say

were designed and created by

me!

 I struggled for awhile

with this pendant.

What I visualized

and what I was able to make happen

weren't always one and the same!

But I am happy with the finished piece.

 

My heart pin

came about as a result

of falling in love

with the pink glass and beads.

And I've always been a fan

of  pink and silver

together.

The heart design was a no-brainer!

 

Can't wait to play with stained glass and solder again.

Off to check out

February's class schedule.....



Glimpses of Christmas in NYC

It's one of the most

magical and exciting places..

especially during the holidays.

 

No visit to the city

is complete without a visit to

Tinsel Trading...

especially at Christmas time.

 Trims and treasures galore...

 charming vintage displays... 

 so many gift choices...

and of course gifts

 to give yourself.

 

Radio City Music Hall

and the Christmas Spectacular

is always a must see..

 

 and I adore Bryant Park.

In addition to skating

there are numerous artisan shops

and places to enjoy

food and drink.

 

But if you have a sweet tooth

you HAVE to go across the street to

Crumbs Bakery.

 And yes,

that Peanut Butter Cup cupcake

was worth every single one

of those

550 calories!

 

Nobody solicits donations

in such an entertaining manner

as the many Salvation Army volunteers

throughout Manhattan.

 This woman in particular

was so creative and enthusiastic

that her "performances"

should have been televised.

 

Window displays

 so enchanting

you could almost forget

to go inside the store...

Well I did say almost!

 

I hope you enjoyed my

mini tour.

I have one more Christmas related post

of my 12 Days of Christmas swap.

I'll get those pictures

together soon.

Until then

stay warm and keep creating!

Won't You Be My Valentine?

Our first swap of 2014...

Details and sign-ups

HERE.

White Christmas Swapping

My friend Donna

of

A Little Bit of Jumble

and I swapped white ornaments

this Christmas.

 

Donna sent me this

beautiful Joy cone

adorned with a sweet little

white bottle brush tree

and sparkly flakes....

 ...and this very unique and exceptionally pretty

mixed media ornament.

Love the dangling pearls and

vintage 25!

 Both wonderful additions

to my white

all handmade ornaments

tree.

 

I was fortunate to have found some

vintage tart tins

at an estate sale

shortly before the holidays.

I also was thinking bottle brush trees

and the fine

silver tinsel trim

seemed the perfect finishing touch.

 This was my other frosty

layered creation for Donna.

 And while the flakes were flying

and the tinsel sparkling

I couldn't help but make a few extras

for friends and neighbors.

Hope you all had the opportunity

to holiday swap

with friends.

 

I still have the

12 Days of Christmas Swap

from the 

Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group

to share

as well as some

NYC

decked out for the season pics.

Be back soon!