Meet Curious & Curiouser

curiosities: an object that arouses interest, as by being novel or extraordinary For Cassie and Laurie, my partners in
Speckled Egg's Petite Inspiration Matchbox Swap: Curiosities Edition.

The Owl and The Pierrot

Some Halloween ATC's for an upcoming swap

Playing With Dominoes Again

These are too much fun! This one is for a swap in my
VPI Yahoo group.




The images I used are from the talented artists of Steam-Dust Studios, Itkupilli and Land of Enchantment.

Getting A Little Gothic

I've been working on Halloween for the many swaps I've committed to and wanted to share these gothic tags I just finished. The scalloped trim and fabric bats provided the perfect finishing touch.

Many swaps are closed but one that's still open is hosted by Debi at the Bloggerette Sorority.
Now I KNOW I have probably a couple hundred sorority sisters out there and hopefully many more who would like to join us. If you haven't signed up to swap yet, what are you waiting for? Something is a-brewing........

Let this 10 year anniversary be a reminder to live each day of our lives treating each other with warmth, generosity and kindness.
Peace.

Can The Moon Predict The Future?

My Papa Moon can! He's predicting an awesome
Handmade Halloween swap in my flickr matchbox group.
What's that? He's also predicting that swap partners have been assigned and they are right HERE!

Not All Witches Are Warty...

Isn't she pretty? Fully articulated, she folds unto the standard size atc she's mounted on.
Just a little more inspiration for the upcoming Handmade Halloween swap in our flickr group. Only a few more days to join us, won't you?

Let's Play Halloween Dominoes!

Inspired by my super talented friend, Laura, of Artfully Musing, I used her tutorial to create a vintage Halloween domino book.
Laura's tutorial (her's is a STUNNING Marie book) is HERE.
Wouldn't this be wonderful to tuck inside an altered matchbox for the
Handmade Halloween swap?

Revisiting Grandma's Attic

There's nothing better than getting that perfect package from a swap partner. You KNOW when someone has taken time and given thought to creating something extra special for you.Lorraine of Over the Rainebeau did just that in our recent Grandma's Attic Matchbox Swap. Her box was a gift in itself and stuffed to the brim with a wonderful assortment of vintage goodies. Thank you Lorraine!

I nabbed a couple other photos of some special Grandma's Attic boxes in our flickr group.. Created by Michele, of Something Special

Created by Lynn, of Trash to Treasure Art.

Our next swap, Handmade Halloween, is open for sign-ups through the end of the month. You can check it out right HERE.

Any Halloween Lovers Out There?

I thought so!
This swap is for the Halloween lover and creator of Halloween art. In addition to altering a large matchbox, you will fill it with handmade items (plus a few store bought for filler).
Make a paper doll
Or maybe some microscope slide art
ATC's are always fun
So are ATC dolls!
Perhaps a festive domino pendant?
Tags are great, in sets
or alone
Swap details are all in my flickr group. If you're not a member already it's easy to become one. Those details are right HERE or you can get there by clicking on the button at the top of the sidebar.


Wishing everyone a wickedly wonderful time!

"Grandma's Attic" is Full of Treasures

By looking at the first pictures posted in my flickr swap group for the Grandma's Attic swap, I can see that a lot of us are old souls.
There are some stunning designs and lots and lots of vintage treasures being shared. If you'd like to take a peek, click HERE.

For my partner Gerri The box is covered with vintage inspired newspaper ads. I then layered a vintage doily, textiles and lace. I dug through my cartes de visites (those are the antique photos that are a smaller, chunkier version of a cabinet card) collection and found that sweet "grandma when she was a little girl" photo to grace the top of the box. I finished it off with some amazing beaded trim and a piece of jewelry I recently picked up at an estate sale.

Tucked inside the box is a stash of Grandma's goodies!
I'll share other swappers pics when more are posted. Stay tuned for the next swap announcement very soon.......

One Woman's Trash is Another's Treasure

I haven't participated in a White Wednesday for a while now but this past weeks garage sale finds were certainly motivation to do so. The woman's bust, vintage pearls with rhinestone clasp and that glorious birdcage cost a mere $7. (Weekend junkin' is the best hobby ever!)

I'm linked to Kathleen's Faded Charm where you'll find hundreds of dreamy whites.

The Generous Spirit of Bloggers

We are kindred spirits, the artsy bloggers. We share techniques, inspire different styles and offer words of encouragement. We also host the best giveaways!
I've been very fortunate to win two this past week.
Cindy, of Lilly's Lace, is one of my newer blog friends. Her Vintage Wedding Giveaway took my breath away. I opened
this box, to find


all of this gorgeous vintage wonderfulness!!!! And-
she included these adorable dragonfly tealights that change colors!

The other giveaway I happily won was for this beautifully altered faery shoe
created by my dear and most talented friend, Kim, of Tabby's Place. Kim and I had swapped art in various groups for many years before meeting up again in blogland. Isn't her shoe an incredibly magical piece?
And she sent all this along with it!

We recently had an email exchange about how we both love the Magnolia Pearl style. What else is tucked away in this fabulous package? This STUNNING Magnolia Pearl shug! (You really need to forgive my photography skills on this one. Just couldn't capture it no matter how I tried.)

My heartfelt thanks to Cindy and Kim for these lovely gifts!

A Frock Fit For a Faerie

No, it doesn't match the faerie shoe in the previous post. That shoe is for attending a faerie ball. This frock is designed for some garden or woodland faerie fun!
Outside of box

Inside cover

The Faerie Frock

All the flower images, including the frock top, and background image are Paper Whimsy. This frock-in-a-box will soon be on it's way to my PW swap partner, Heather. I hope she likes it!

A Shoe For An Elegant Faerie

Upon finishing my tags for the Birdsong Swap I realized I wasn't finished working with black/cream/white. It was an easy transition to the Faerie Shoe Swap that Wendy is hosting over at Bliss Angels.
What faerie doesn't like to play dress up once in awhile?


I think my faerie may be French!

Vintage Patriotic Freebies For You

Wishing all my US friends
a very happy & safe 4th!

The Sweet Song of Birds

I was so happy to be part of Karla's Birdsong Tag Book Swap over at
Karla's Cottage. I recently purchased an image from an etsy seller that I've been wanting to use and it was perfect for these tags.
You probably need to enlarge the photo to see the beautiful detail of the image. I printed it on fabric and used white jute trim to mount on, finishing them with a pearl centered mulberry paper flower.
We're all sending in 7 tags and getting 7 back in a book with covers made by Karla. I can't wait to see this book and will be sure to share it with all of you when it arrives!

A Wonderfully Whimsical Village

A few weeks ago I shared a little house I made for a swap in our
Paper Whimsy group. I now have my entire village to share with you.

From left to right: my house, Jan's (A Journey..), Kim's (Tabby's Place) and Christine's.
Even the "back doors" are sweet. I'm going to get mini hinges so I can display it standing like a village of rowhouses.

It's always such a pleasure swapping with my talented PW friends! So much so that I couldn't resist joining in on the next swap...
How much fun is this? The ideas are already swirling in my head.

I Promised BIG and Old

But first allow me to share a couple of the matchboxes swapped in our just completed Treasures of the Sea Swap.
Jen of On A Journey.... created this stunning mermaid's treasure chest for her lucky partner

And Kim of Tabby's Place spoiled her partner with this beautifully detailed under the sea delight.
To think that these were once matchboxes!!!!

Now on to the big and old new swap announcement. In the first two swaps in our flickr group we altered the small 20 count matchboxes but this time around we're going to go big with 250 count boxes to create something old, antique, vintage and collectible, for

Think of all the great finds in Grandma's Attic! Her old sewing box full of spools, ric rac and buttons galore. Old photos, vintage cards, all sorts of ephemera. Remember this old wallpaper from the dining room? Boxes of lace and trims. And look at the jewelry. She must have saved every piece from the time she was a child! And here's an entire box of old games and toys.
You get the picture. The outside of the box should be decorated in keeping with the vintage theme and the inside stuffed full of vintage and vintage inspired items. Further details HERE in the flickr group.
All in US & Cananda (and it looks like our Canadian friends may have to sit this one out with their postal strike) are welcome to join and swap!
Enjoy your Sunday and hope to be swapping with you soon...