Cookbooks and Daughters

I have two daughters that are at the edge of not living at home anymore.

They both were interested in having cookbooks, and since I love making books. . .  

I made them cook books. 

This one is decorated with the paper from used tea bags

with a collage from my hand decorated paper added.

I love the colours and patterns the tea leaves make as the bags are drying. 

Daughter # 2 (birth order that is) loves grey, 

so I added some greys and blues to the cover  

before adding a copy of some birds i drew 

and a smattering of collage bits. 

I have no doubts these books will be filled with yummy recipes

and enjoyed for many years to come. 

Fabric Book

This beautiful piece of hand printed fabric arrived at my house over a year ago.

It was an unexpected gift from Julie Booth 

I used it as the base for this soft covered book

And I still have more of her fabulous fabric to play with. 

Handmade for Christmas

 

 

Very close to Christmas I decided to make

my daughter

a pair of moccasins.

 

I have only made a pair or two before

so I needed to be brave.

 

I finished these off in the last minutes of Christmas Eve.

 

 

 

Leather decorated with bits of felt

were hand stitched together,

and finished off with a wrap of

beaver fur.

 

 

They made her smile.

Which made me smile.



Blogging Blessings

 

I had the wonderful good fortune to meet a blogging friend in person earlier this week.  Kim Rogers lives in Alaska and together with her husband Dave made a 6 or 7 hour drive to visit me on the shores of Kluane Lake, Yukon.

 

 

While they were there we enjoyed the beautiful flowers

 

 

  

 

and we spent lots of time collecting rocks and bits of driftwood on the beach.

 

 

The nesting Arctic Terns made sure we didn't get too close to their nest.

 

 

and the gulls kept us entertained

 

 

Especially the Mew Gulls that liked to bother the Terns and cause a raucous.

 

 

Dave dreamt about a spot to catch a fish, so tried his luck in the morning

 

 

while Kim and I wandered the beach enjoying the scenery, the beachcombing and each others company.

 

And while Kim and I were exploring, Dave caught a fish, which we immediately cooked up on a fire by the beach.

 

 

Here are Kim and I just after we finished eating our delicious Lake Trout meal. 

 

 

How thrilled I was that Kim brought her earrings with her to show me what she has been making.  She combines her beautiful handmade lamp work beads and headpins with components from other amazing artists and designs many diverse and beautiful pieces. 

 

 

They were such a delight to see in person!

 

AND ....

Kim also gifted me with some of her beautiful crusty beads and headpins as she knows I like to make some jewelry too. 

I LOVE each of these pieces, and can't wait to decide how I am going to use them.

 

(I have promised myself to use them and not hoard them away as I seem to do when I get such precious and beautiful things)

 

 

 

When I arrived home I dug through my bucket of rocks and driftwood and added some pressed botanical bits to some rocks, and then played with them and other Kluane Lake finds

 

 

I know that every time I dig through that bucket of bits, I will smile and think of my visit to Kluane lake with Kim and Dave.

 

Blogging has been such a gift for me, and to meet Dave and Kim in person because of blogging, was even a greater gift then I imagined when I set out on this blogging journey. 

 

What a beautiful time I had.

 

 

 



Thank You Gifts

I have been busy catching up on a few THANK YOU gifts that I have had in the works for a while. 

 

The first one is a book I made.  The image on the front cover was taken by the recipient of this gift and is a image of her young daughter wearing her heart sweater.

 

and the back cover.

 

 

I made this necklace for a women that has helped with my daughter's hockey team for the past couple of years.

 

 The bezel holds 3 beautiful little polished stones.

 

And these rustic earrings are for another women that has done lots of work for the same team. 

 

 

I am so happy to have finished these items and that they will soon be received by these wonderful people. 

 

*******************************************

UPDATE: 

 I would like to thank so many of you for  your lovely comments.

 It was such a gift for me to get all of your comments.

 

AND NOW FOR THE WINNERS!

Winner #1 - Susan  Christensen(winning Necklace #1)

Winner #2  - Cyndi (Necklace #2)

and because this is so much fun I decided to draw a couple more names...

Winner #3 - Louise (delicate book in pocket)

Winner #4 - Fuzzy Fingers (Painting)

I will e-mail you all to get your addresses.

Thank you again so very much!

 

And now A Thank You Gift for a couple of you  - the readers of my blog.

 I wanted to offer up a couple of thank you gifts to you the readers of my blog  - the supporters of my creative endeavors.  I can not tell you how your supportive comments have assisted me especially over this past year.  Your comments always make me smile. 

 

 If you are interested in being gifted an item in this image, please leave a comment here by 

Sunday  April 28 (8PM Pacific time) and I will randomly choose 2 winners. 

 (Please let me know what item you would like, and ensure I can contact you)

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The following images are close up images of some of my creations that I am offering up for gifts.

Necklace #1  - A pendant I  made with a copy of a face I painted encased in resin (glossy finish) on a bezel I made from metal.  It hangs on a black cord that can be slipped over your head, and adjusted to different lengths.

 

Necklace #2 - made the same way as the first necklace, with a different face painting.

 

Necklace #3 - made of reclaimed metal, with image encased in resin with a matte finish.  Hangs on an adjustable cord.

 

 

In case you are not a wearer of jewelry, I have added the following items to the give away list.

A small delicate book made with rice paper pages and  tea bag cover, with a sturdy pouch to keep it protected when it is not being used.

 

 

 

3 blank cards decorated with prints of  nature collages I have made.

 

 

 

And lastly a small original  painting I did on a tea bag that is mounted on watercolour paper



I Wear a Smile

Do you remember this little chair I made out of wire and plaster and a bit of twine?

Well I had been thinking about making a little book to put on this little chair. But then something wonderful happened.

A beautifully addressed envelope arrived for me in the mail. Inside it was this lovely little handmade book (made out of a tea bag!) made by my friend Norma.

Each page is beautiful

and holds

so many treasures.

I love each and every page.

Now I have the perfect book for my chair.

I only have to decide if I should put the book on the chair....

or beside it.

Thank you Norma, I LOVE it!