Art Swap Smile

I am smiling, as I was fortunate to be able to swap creations with Micki Wilde.
Here is the lovely creation I received from Micki. She offered up a trade to any blogger that wanted to swap art, and I jumped at the opportunity. I am happy to own a piece of her work.

I haven't found a permanant home for her yet, as I keep moving her around the house so she is in whatever room I am in. She makes me smile.

I made Micki this little item. This is the front cover.

and this is the back.

When you open it up, this is what you find. Not quite a book, as it has no pages.

Across the ocean our creations travelled. How fun!

Postcard Swap

Bloom is the theme for the most recent postcard swap.

So I created my postcard with a copy of a picture I drew. I wrote on it....

Added some pressed flowers, sewed it onto some handmade paper and a stiff backing piece, and finished it with a layer of wax.

I then mailed it off to the United Kingdom. Working on this project I realized it has been a long time since I have spent time drawing a face.... and I want to.... so little time, so much I want to do!

Postcard Swap

Beth at Do What you Love, is once again (for the fourth time) hosting a postcard swap. I have participated in two of the four, and have signed up again. The theme this time is "bloom".

Here is the postcard I created the last time I participated. The theme was "home". I machine stitched around the mountain pictures as well as the smaller images.

And this was the first postcard I created to swap. The theme was "time", and I did some hand embroidery on it as well as some machine stitching.

They were lots of fun, and I look forward to participating again. If you feel like joining in, you need to sign up by July 27.

Gifts in the Mail!

The day before Christmas I recieved two lovely gifts in the mail. The first package was from Mystele, from a trade we did. She sent me a lovely ornament, a print of a wonderfully smiling girl, and a package of paper cut outs (they are all wonderful, but the binoculars are my favourite!)

I also received a beautiful quilted postcard from Chris. It was from the Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap that I blogged about before. I was fortunate to receive 2 postcards from Chris!

When I got these packages in the mail, it made me smile and think "its just like Christmas!" and then realized oh yah it is Christmas!

I hope it was Merry for everyone!

P.S. I was thrilled to receive from my husband a online course with Misty Mawn that starts in January (and a new hockey stick!)

A Nice Surprise

Cloth Paper Scissors is a mixed media magazine that I enjoy. They often have challenges and swaps to encourage their readers to create items, and a few months ago they held a swap in which readers could send in Christmas swap items. You can send in your creation, and they send it off to another person, and some of them are pictured in upcoming editions of the magazine.
When I was flipping through the Nov/Dec issue, I was pleased to come across my creation, among numerous other wonderful creations.

and here it is in close up. It is a decoration with a copy of a face I painted, with the words Joy to the World written on it. I am not sure where it ended up.....

but I was fortunate enough to receive this decoration in the mail a few weeks ago.

A Year of Blogging

It was a year ago yesterday, that I began blogging. In my first post, I wrote a bit about why I wanted to create a blog. - I wanted to keep a record of what I created, and to perhaps inspire others. Since I received a lovely comment a week or so ago, saying I provide that reader inspiration, I was thrilled - YEAH. I am so often inspired by so many wonderful blogs, and to know I inspire someone out there in blog land, makes me happy. BUT, my blog has done more than those two things for me, as I try to post twice a week, it provides me the prod to create - so I have new things to show as often as I can. AND perhaps most importantly it helps me believe in myself, and in what I create.

For the past while I have been thinking about how I would like to trade creations with other people who create, and so today, I have decided to put this offer out in the blog world, and see what happens. (even if you don't create, I am open to trades - keep reading)


The first thing I have for trading is a package of 5 cards (pics above and below). They are whimsical faces I drew, photocopied, and then painted each one.

The second item I have available for trade is a resin filled bezel necklace. The bezel is a bit rustic, but actually I like it that way.

The third item is a small ( approximately 3 X4.5 inch) address book

If you are not a person that creates things, or don't feel you want to trade what you create, I am open to trading these items for services in the community you live in. I would trade an item for the individual donating some food to a local food bank, or running an errand for someone that is housebound, or helping at an animal shelter, or helping a child learn to read, or.... a variety of other things. Leave me a comment on what you want to trade for either here or at my e-mail address - be it something you have created, or something that you will do for others, I am open for trades. Leave me your e-mail address, and I will get back to you.

And the last item I have available for trade is a grungy little (approximately4 X 3.5 inches) softcover book - with bits and pieces of images and material decorating the cover, and a material tie closure.

The inside pages are grungy, and a bit warped in a lovely sort of way (or so I think anyway).

Whether you want to trade or not, I do want to say thank you for stopping by this little blog of mine. I love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave a comment at any time, and if you know of other people interested in trading their creations, please pass this offer along to them.

Here's too another enjoyable year of blogging!