A Fun Stitch-along with Friends!

This week-end I joined up with other bloggers to do Amy Power's Stitch-along. To celebrate her upcoming birthday we will be creating a stitched square a day for 39 days. I need to get started, will post my first squares later this week.

A Wonderful new swap through the looking glass

To commemorate the new movie coming out, I am hosting an Alice in Wonderland atc card swap. I opened my new Somerset Studio magazine which arrived today and was so inspired! So many wonderful Alice, Wonderland and friends themed projects. How could I resist... so any takers out there? Leave me a post if you are interested, I already have 9 folks signed up. Due date April 1st. In addition, my friend Michelle is hosting an Alice in Wonderland charm swap. Just click on the white rabbit image on the sidebar to get more info. I have been in the last four charm swaps Michelle has hosted and have always been delighted. I have already signed up! With the first swap I was a bit intimidated, I had never made a charm before. However, Michelle had many resources listed on her blog . You can see charms from past swaps, books and tutorials to visit on-line.

Happy Heart's Day!

This Valentine week-end was full of surprises. On Friday a dozen long stemmed roses arrived at my door. This morning pancakes that spelled I heart mom were made by my youngest daughter.My older daughter took me out for lunch and my youngest found the cutest little vintage scotty dog pin for me. She was so cute, she said she tried to clean it (she found it at the flea market yesterday) but was afraid to wash off all the vintage. A friend surprised me with a box of vintage French flashcards for my altered art and atcs. I also went to see "The Tooth Fairy" with my daughter and her friends while my other daughter went to see the new Percy Jackson movie. My Valentine has been ill all week but tomorrow we will celebrate by going to see "Avatar", he has been asking me to go for weeks, so tomorrow I will be at the IMAX in Dublin, CA. I hope you had a great week-end too! Check out the little "Hearts" mini-book I made, it is only 2"x2" and about 2 inches chunky too!

A collaborative winter mini-book...

Last month I took a great class at A Work of Heart, a great little artist studio in Willow Glen. The artist/owner Andrea has a wonderful space full of every tool, medium and embellishment you can imagine. For a small hourly fee you can use any and all products, tools, paints, glue, beads, ribbon or even pick through her wonderful boxes of vintage and handmade papers. In addition, she knows how to use everything and will gladly share her many talents, techniques and time. Best part, you don't even have to clean up!
Back to my story. So there were seven of us and we each designed two 4x4 pages with the theme of winter. Andrea then made seven copies on sturdy gloss photopaper. Then we each embellished the copied pages we designed with ribbons, glitter, beads, charms and I even found some vintage lace. She then assembeled them for us into a chunky book with the Bind-it-All. The finished project was more than I had hoped for. Each entry so different, yet with the winter theme tying them all together. Many blue and white pages with a few red ones mixed in for variety. Andrea said she was going for an Artchix type of project and the group did deliver.
Every time I walk pass this little book I smile and often have to pick it up to flip through the pages. Remembering the fun, rainey Sunday we were all laughing and working together. Warmed and amazed by the talent so joyfully shared inside this small treasure.

Happy New Year!

I wish you all a wonderful and Happy New Year in 2010!

Fun From Pottery Barn

This new postal cupboard just arrived from Pottery Barn. It has 25 numbered slots so I decided to use it as an advent shadow box for now and add holiday scenes each day. Check back to see more.

Swap Abundance in December!

I love to host and join swaps. It never fails that I over extend myself on the holiday swaps. Everything always sounds so fun and festive that I am afraid to miss out. I hosted three: Holiday songs, Nesting dolls and Christmas house atcs. I participated in Christmas Carols, Christmas inchies, Vintage ornaments, Handmade ornaments, A Year of Color RED atc s and Angel atcs. Sometimes I work all day to get them completed and in the mail. It is all so worth it when all the returned swap packages start to arrive!
My Favorite Holiday songs was a great success with so many gifted artists participating, 24 in all! As the cards stated coming in I was inspired to assemble my new 7 Gypsies atc holder. It gives my cards the perfect home don't you think?

This year I think I participated in every holiday workshop put on by my local and semi-local scrapbook stores. This year the projects were all wonderfully designed and fun to make. What have you been up to this holiday season?