Happy Mother's Day!

New Swap! Summer's Enchanted Garden Domino Book

Imagine the possibilities!

For details, to sign-up or

to join the group

visit

Vintage Dragonfly's Swap Group

HERE.

Pretty as A Swan....

My friend Mercedes,

All Things Pretty

hosted a vintage pincushion and stickpin swap

and I was fortunate to have her as my partner.

So I had to first find a container

pretty enough

(Mercedes truly is the Queen of Pretty!)

and then transform it into something even prettier.

As luck would have it

I stumbled upon a swan at

one of my junkin' expeditions.

I made her a fleur de lis crown

embellished with tiny white pearls

to wear atop her headpiece/veil of light pink tulle

and white feathers.

She has little pink pearl eyes

and wears a soft, tattered ribbon around her neck.

 A heart shaped rhinestone slider

and teeny pink rose embellish her ribbon scarf.

And that vintage "M" medallion?

Acquired at an estate sale last week...serendipity.

I used pretty pink material for the cushion

and edged it in white lace and pearls.

Three coordinating stickpins

and this swan

is sailing off to Mercedes.

 

Enjoy your weekend!

I'm off in search of more swans...



Wishing you all

a

joyous and blessed Easter!

XOXO



Welcome Spring & Vintage Easter Image Freebies!

Welcome Spring

was the theme for our recent altered matchbox swap.

 Here's what I made for my partner.

 The challenge was to create a

mini side by side

 matchbox chest,

filling the drawers

 with spring and Easter goodies and..

 3 miniature artist trading cards.

 This swap was sent to

my lovely partner

Jo.

 

And for you dear friends,

some Easter images

to enjoy!

 

 

Spreading My Wings

I've admired them on blogs and Pinterest..

even purchased a couple on etsy..

told myself probably a hundred times..

"you really need to try making one yourself."

 

I've had a love affair with fabric books

for some time now.

Told myself for a couple of years now

that I'm not a seamstress.

(And that part is true. I can't tell you how many

times I stuck myself with the needle

and how many attempts it took

just to thread it!!!)

So when I saw a needle book swap posted in the

Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group

I knew it was time to

spread my wings and work out of

my comfort zone.

Plus it was a great opportunity to

use the "good stuff".

 

I had some amazing vintage textiles in my stash..

and it was an enjoyable process

layering and putting them all together

to create this one of a kind gift.

 

Ta da!

Here is my finished needle book. 

 exterior of opened book

front cover

back cover 



inside cover

interior view



interior pocket page

interior view

closure

This book is en route to my swap partner.

 Now that it's not so scary after all

the next one is for me!

 

I hope you've been inspired to

spread your wings.

I am linked to
Blissful White Wednesdays.





Springtime Fantasy

A sweet little winged Charlotte

pokes her flower capped head

through a forest of

feathers, pearls, tulle, flowers & butterflies..

 ..hoping to capture her first glimpse of spring.

 Her pretty little peat pot home

is painted with gesso

and covered in mini fabric white roses.

 This little altered peat pot

will find a new home in Kansas

with my swap partner

Tami.

I must admit

this was one of those creations that was difficult to give away.

But if it brings Tami even

half the joy it brought to me while creating it,

it's a gift I'm happy to give!

Happy Spring!



Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is the final day

to sign up for both

the altered peat pot and matchbox swaps.

The links are at the top of

the sidebar.

Partners announced tomorrow!

Two New Swaps Announced!!!

 Aren't they lovely?

All of the images below are from pinterest.

Search using "altered peat pot"

to see all and for artist credits.

 

 

And we can't welcome spring without a matchbox swap!

Details and sign-ups for both swaps

 HERE.

Vintage...and I Mean VINTAGE! ATC Swap

Kimberly

at

ArtJoyStuff

hosted a

Vintage Paper ATC swap.

You couldn't use faux vintage or vintage inspired papers...

this was the real deal.

What a great challenge and great fun

searching through my

vintage stash.

 Background: flocked wallpaper

Image and text: birthday card

Dresden trim

and a public bus ticket

 (the fare is 5 cents-doesn't get more vintage than that!)

 Background: bingo card

Image and text: needle packet

dictionary definition

section of hook and eye card

Background: wallpaper

Image and text: magazine ads

celluloid flowers

 

Can't wait to see my vintage returns!

Swapping Val Pals

This has been a wonderful Valentine season

sharing the love with

my artsy swapping friends.

Just look at what they've shared with me!

 

Charming domino book....

Jill

 

Beautiful altered tart tin...

Kris

 

Gorgeous altered matchbox....

 Kimberly

 

Romantic fabric tag....

 Michele

 

This wonderful altered journal cover

was technically not a valentine

but definitely tugs at my heartstrings.

My talented friend

Kim

surprised me with it

(she knew I adored it!)

after being chosen as one of her giveaway winners.

Valentine's Day

isn't only for lovers..

I can't imagine my life

without the love of friends.

Happy Valentine's Day

Friends!

XOXO