April! Airline Destroys Shadowbox! Fabric Collage! Snippets! Freebies!

Hello Friends!

April showers!!
Well, not really here, it is San Diego, after all!

This next piece is something I've wanted to blog about for awhile,
but wanted to make sure it got safely in the hands of it's recipients first!
My nephew married a delightful young woman last December,
they had a beautiful Christmas themed wedding,
and I wanted to make something special for them--
a shadowbox using bits of their wedding invitation along with
pictures of them during their engagement,
leading up to the wedding.
And I wanted to hand deliver it to them
at their rehearsal dinner.
I should mention that we live on opposite coasts.
I thought I would be safe in hand carrying it in
my onboard luggage.
Well.
Our connecting flight was on a smaller regional jet,
and hand luggage is stowed in the baggage compartment as you board the plane.
Well.
They unload the baggage compartment,
and send it up in a little elevator to the gate for you to pick up.
Somehow, some way, lucky me,
my bag got caught between the elevator and the shaft,
it wouldn't open, it wouldn't close,
the only way to dislodge it was to send it back down
and let it drop 30 FEET!
They claimed they tried to catch it...

I wish I had a picture of the suitcase...
But I do have this...
This is what the shadowbox looked like when I packed it:

This is what I received when I finally got my baggage:

They (the airline personnel) were very apologetic,

but I had worked long and hard on it,

and I had so wanted to give it to them in person at the RD...  :(

But...

there is a happy ending!

After begging for bits of the invitation from various relatives,

I pulled myself together to to try recreate it,

which was a bit tricky, 

now that they are married,

and I needed to work the wedding in.

 Well, I did,

and the happy couple just happened to come to San Diego last week,

and I was able to give them this:

 in person!!
They loved it,
and we had a lovely time together!

Catching up on some other projects...
I was in a snippet roll swap earlier this year.
I had wanted to do one of those for a long time,
and had so much fun making them!
They are quite addictive!
I love the idea that you can take bits and pieces of fabric and lace
and add to it and make something so lovely!

 

This next is a 4 x 6 fabric collage sampler

which I made for my partner in

Swap for All Season's monthly fabric sampler swap.

I made this very vintage lace butterfly the focal point,

not realizing but delighted to find out my partner loves butterflies!

 

Some Spring-y freebies for you:

Click to enlarge, right click and save!

More Friday fun to be had at Fabulously Creative Friday!  

Lots of great ideas at Show and Tell Friday!  

Lovely blues at Anything Blue Friday!

Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday!

Creative living, decorating, and craft ideas at Inspired Sunday!

Lovely tablescapes at Seasonal Sundays!

Be inspired by Inspire Me Tuesday!

Vintage creativity at Vintage Inspiration Wednesday!

For links to lovely, shabby, chippy whites, stop by Blissful Whites Wednesday!

Beautiful greys at Grey Dey Thursdeys.

Lovely things to be found at

French cottagey links at Feathered Nest Friday!

 

♥♥♥ Thank you so much for visiting and for all your lovely comments!! ♥♥♥
Have a great weekend!

Blogging Again and Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hello Friends!

I feel like I'm sending a signal out to the vast unknown...
like I've lost touch...
It's been so many months since I've made a blog post,
I really did not intend that to happen.
But
I'm still here, I'm still creating...

And
I'm not going to try to catch up
all in this one blog post :O

I am in a yearlong swap project hosted by Linda
of Swap for All Seasons,
which is a monthly sampler/fabric collage.
I am loving it!!  These are so much fun to make!
This is my January swap:

I wanted to incorporate a heart into it,
since she didn't actually received it til February!  :)

And this is my February swap:

 I just love combining all the fabric and lace bits
we all accumulate along the way. 

This is a little altered heart box that I made for
my Paper Soiree group's February swap:

It's so hard to put the glitter away when Christmas is over :)

Just a couple of cute projects,

some cute images,

and best wishes for a Happy Valentine's Day!!

I will be back next week, so please don't give up on me :)
Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

More Friday fun to be had at Fabulously Creative Friday!  

Lots of great ideas at Show and Tell Friday!  

Lovely blues at Anything Blue Friday!

Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday!

Creative living, decorating, and craft ideas at Inspired Sunday!

Lovely tablescapes at Seasonal Sundays!

Cute and crafty stuff at Make it Monday!

Be inspired by Inspire Me Tuesday!

Vintage creativity at Vintage Inspiration Wednesday!

For links to lovely, shabby, chippy whites, stop by Blissful Whites Wednesday!

Beautiful greys at Grey Dey Thursdeys.

Lovely things to be found at

French cottagey links at Feathered Nest Friday!

 

♥♥♥ Thank you so much for visiting and for all your lovely comments!! ♥♥♥
Have a great weekend!

Nature's Blessings Art Journal! Freebies!

Hello Friends!

I am delighted to be participating in the
"Nature's Blessings" Art Journal Swap,
hosted by Karla Nathan of "Karla's Cottage".

 We were to make a four page layout
with any nature theme,
with plenty of space for journaling and doodling..

I chose "birds" as my theme.
I think this page has lots of space for journaling:

 I added the bow and trim for texture.

Pages 2 and 3.

There is space on page 2,

and when you lift up the top page,

there are a couple of blank pages underneath.

Page 3 is a page ripped from 

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady,

with a glassine envelope

filled with tags for journaling.

Page 4 has two pockets for tags
and space around the page for journaling.

 

 

 And here are all six of them,
ready for mailing.

        I'm going to miss them!  :)

Well, can you guess the nature of today's freebies?

Yep.

Some of my favorites!!
Click to enlarge, right click and save!

More Friday fun to be had at Fabulously Creative Friday!  

Lots of great ideas at Show and Tell Friday!  

Lovely blues at Anything Blue Friday!

Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday!

Creative living, decorating, and craft ideas at Inspired Sunday!

Lovely tablescapes at Seasonal Sundays!

Cute and crafty stuff at Make it Monday!

Be inspired by Inspire Me Tuesday!

Vintage creativity at Vintage Inspiration Wednesday!

For links to lovely, shabby, chippy whites, stop by Blissful Whites Wednesday!

Beautiful greys at Grey Dey Thursdeys.

Lovely things to be found at

French cottagey links at Feathered Nest Friday!

 

♥♥♥ Thank you so much for visiting and for all your lovely comments!! ♥♥♥
Have a great weekend my friends!

Peat Pots! Nests! Freebies!

Hello Friends!
Flowers are blooming, birds are singing...
Yes, it's Spring!!
Actually there have been some days here lately when it's been more like Summer!
I'm not complaining...but okay, I am a little.
  I am not ready yet to start wearing summer clothes!

I have been busy this Spring, creating and swapping. I created this peat pot for a swap I was in at Vintage Dragonfly.

 My partner was Mercedes, who makes such beautiful and feminine things,

and I wanted to make something I knew she would love, 

using beautiful lace, vintage flowers and a vintage rhinestone button.  

And, as the fates would have it,

we were on the same wavelength,

as Mercedes also had the idea to make a bird topiary!

I love the soft colors, vintagey materials,

and the adorable little felt birdie which she created from felt and vintage fabric:

 

Thank you Mercedes, I love it!

I joined a card and tag swap at

Wendy's Blissful Arts group,

and the theme was "Spring Nest". 

This litttle fairy image is one of my faves,

and when I saw this Nest and Eggs graphic,

I knew what I wanted to do with it:

 I stitched it onto a fabric piece and onto the card, with a few vintage flowers, lace and moss.

This nest is made with some fine kraft paper shred 

which came in a gift basket I received long ago...attached to a 

branch cut from a die that I've had for years
and I think this is the first timeI've used it, lol:

 I like the fresh look this touch of moss lends to them:

 They went to my partner Kimberly, whose work I love also.

In return Kimberly sent me these lovely cards and goodies:

Very sweet and Spring-y!

Thank you, Kimberly!

Here's some Spring Birdie freebies for you:

 

 

Click to enlarge, right click and save!   More Friday fun to be had at Fabulously Creative Friday!   Lots of great ideas at Show and Tell Friday!   Lovely blues at Anything Blue Friday! Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday! Creative living, decorating, and craft ideas at Inspired Sunday! Lovely tablescapes at Seasonal Sundays! Cute and crafty stuff at Make it Monday! Vintage creativity at Knick of Time Tuesday! Be inspired by Inspire Me Tuesday! For links to lovely, shabby, chippy whites, stop by Blissful Whites Wednesday! Beautiful greys at Grey Dey Thursdeys. Lovely, cottagey links at Feathered Nest Friday!  
♥♥♥ Thank you so much for visiting and for all your lovely comments!! ♥♥♥
Have a great weekend!

Baby! Vintage Marketplace! Altered Peat Pots!

Hello Friends! 

Life has been very exciting around here!

The much awaited, anticipated Baby Colton is here!

Not without some drama and scares,

but Baby and Mama are now doing great!

They live about 1 1/2 hrs. from me,

so I have been going up about twice a week

to feed the parents, tidy up and revel in my new grandson!

Boys are new territory for me,

having had two girly girls,

but my heart is so full when I'm with him:

I know!!

He is a such a good baby as well!

Loving the whole Grandmother thing.

The fabulous Vintage Marketplace in Southern California

was held the first weekend in March.

I love it, it's so inspiring, a great shopping opportunity,

and a chance to catch up with some favorite vendors.

Here's a brief tour:

A closer look at the lovely ladies:

Fairy garden magic:

And of course it was a lovely day.
Looking forward to the June show!

I have been involved in a number of swaps lately, as well!
Here is an altered peat pot I made for my Paper Soiree group:

Covered the pot in a little French text papers, a little lace and a little burlap.
The bird is a wood shape which I covered in text,
on a wood birdcage, which was stamped in brown ink with a text stamp.
I was not able to attend the meeting, but I was delighted to receive
this adorable peat pot created by Michelle:

I love the fabric wrapped wire, and the twig with the birdie on it,
thanks so much Michelle!
I have another peat pot to share,
but I want to wait til my partner receives it,
plus more swap fun to share with you,
so please check back soon :)

Hope Spring is making its way to you,
especially to those of you who have suffered a harsh winter!

Some cute Spring-y images for you:

Click to enlarge, right click and save!
 
Thanks for stopping by,
wishing you all a lovely week!

More Friday fun to be had at Fabulously Creative Friday!  

Lots of great ideas at Show and Tell Friday!  

Lovely blues at Anything Blue Friday!

Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday!

Creative living, decorating, and craft ideas at Inspired Sunday!

Lovely tablescapes at Seasonal Sundays!

Cute and crafty stuff at Make it Monday!

Vintage creativity at Knick of Time Tuesday!

Be inspired by Inspire Me Tuesday!

For links to lovely, shabby, chippy whites, stop by Blissful Whites Wednesday!

Lovely, cottagey links at Feathered Nest Friday!

 
♥♥♥ Thank you so much for visiting and for all your lovely comments!! ♥♥♥
Have a great weekend!