Happy Memorial Day

It is a Day to remember all those who have given their lives to keep us free. I hope everyone takes a few minutes out of their fun filled day to pay homage to these Brave American hero's. While remembering, also remember 9/11 we lost a lot of hero's that day as well.

I finished my daughters BD book/card and she was very surprised and pleased. She loved it!!!

The cover shows the depth of the book. There are 5 levels in all, ending with a mirror. My daughter is know as Winged Thing (a fairy collector). Thus the wing.




The pages start with her smile at birth (she was born with teeth)and it continues

and she shares her smile with others

Then gives her smile to a son of her own.

and he shares it with others,

That's one of my favorite pictures. Please note the candles on the wedding cake. Robyn's wedding had been canceled by the catering hall because of hurricane Gloria. A long story but it turned into a beautiful, memorable day, thanks to the VFW. When the "Hall" sent over a wedding cake, we wanted to throw it at them. A baker had already stepped up and made her a beauty. Instead, Robyn, who could always find a silver lining...stuck some candles in it and turned it into a BD cake for her brother Ron. That smile is who she is, that one especially...

Now let us not forget swaps. Company or no company the show must go on. Things move slower because of this eye, but they do get done. This is another altered tin. The theme was spread your wings and fly.

I decided to make it into a usable tin so no theme is obvious. This is the out side of the tin.

A quartz crystal and a wing adorn the top with hanging charms.

I decided to make some "Quote of the Day " cards that can be removed to use the box.

The butterfly, woman spreading her wings, is on a spring.
I wouldn't mind getting a box like that. Therefore I'm happy to send it along to my partner.
I am working on two other swaps that will hopefully be posted soon...
Please  check out the side bars for places I shop (for patterns and supplies) I've met the most amazing, wonderful artist along the way. A new one is soon to be added...Susie who is an amazing doll artist. You will want to check out her Etsy as well as her Blog...So stay tuned (having trouble adding stuff today)

Company leaves and company arrives..Oh My!!

Move over Dorothy LOL We were so sad to see John and Ellen leave. they are the BEST visitors you could hope for. They help themselves and time with them is easy. We never seem to run out of conversation or laughter. They are just wonderful to have as friends and as company.
Only a day later my daughter with her family arrived, so I didn't have much time to "miss" company LOL
mean while I got some wonderful Happy mail but just didn't have time to share it. I didn't want to be rude and spend time on the computer...I can , however, be rude when my daughter is here (she sleeps longer).
Wendy http://www.ravenwoodwhimzies.blogspot.com/ had a swap "What's the Buzz", you all saw my bee, but look what she sent me in return:

Is that the cutest Grasshopper you ever saw? So much detail. from his little hat right down to his bluejeans. I LOVE him. Also included in the package was a not pad, some seeds and this handsome fellow;

Thank you so much Wendy, for another wonderful swap experience.
Then over at artforthecreativemind.yahoo.com we had a "Words of Wisdom" atc swap.

Cute huh? And finally at the ATCfamily.yahoo.com we had a tourist book swap. This one caught me totally off guard. I hadn't even written it in my book. I was afraid I'd have to send it back to Melody, so I was glad it was my fault. Brenda is waiting for me to send her one and it's almost done.

8 beautiful pages in all. Although I've visited Kansas, I've never seen these sights, so it was nice to visit through Melody's eyes. You all know how crazy I am over Happy Mail...Even my company got to enjoy my Happy Mail this time.
I'm working on several projects, so stay tuned....

It's Friday the 18th

May 18 was my Moms BD. Every year I would make her something and she used to get so excited trying to figure out what I'd come up with. She's been gone 10 years. Happy Birthday Mom.

My Where's Dorothy book found it's new home so now I can post the final page. Mary is either a very good actress or she REALLY liked it. I was so thrilled to get her e-mail. So many times, and I know I'm not alone, you put your heart and soul into something and you bearly get a Thank You. It can be disheartening at times but then there are those who are just so delighted with what you made for them...It all kind of evens out in the "warm and fuzzy dept."
I have a doll ATC swap and this is what I did for that...I love things that move.

I know I should have put the arms behind the little girl but they just didn't look right. I can always change them.
So now I have to make a PC for my own list...It's not really a swap list, it's more about sharing info, links, art techniques etc.

Now you all know if I send something, I will also get something (wait until you see this) When my Where's Dorothy book arrived I was delighted that it was from TG. She must have loved paper dolls as a kid because she does the very nicest cut out things. This book doesn't open, so you are actually looking into the scene. Take a close look at all the things that had to be cut out...It's amazing. Thanks again TG.
So that's my sharing for today...I'm still working on a few other projects, hoping to have at least one finished by tomorrow....We shall see...

Whats New today?

Well, not that it's new but I haven't posted it here yet. A while ago I signed up for a swap called "Dorothy Where are you? The minute that swap was announced I saw a picture in my mind. We had to alter a book for this swap, which was a first for me..Well, I mean I've altered books before, but not like this.
I had this very old book with a beautiful cover..just had such nice texture I decided not to cover it and just let it be so this is what the cover looks like.

I did add something to tie it shut and a few stones, but basically it looks like this. Now when I hear the name Dorothy, I always think of the Wizard of Oz and since that's the picture that came to my mind, I went with that. So this is the cover page.

Then the next 2 pages:

and the next two pages:

Then the page I saw the minute I heard the swap theme...I knew exactly where Dorothy was....

Do you see those little red slippers and blue socks? The picture I took prior to finishing the details turned out a bit better as far as seeing whats inside

and let us not forget the very last page. In answer to the Good Witches question....

There's a dedication page too, but I'll wait until my partner gets it.
Hope you enjoyed this altered book. I certainly enjoyed making it. In fact it's probably the most fun I've had with a swap in a while. This and the Garden Book...I laughed the whole time I was working on them.
There's more to share...See you tomorrow :-)

The Sun finally smiled

It has been cold and gloomy for the past week. Not exactly high energy days, but let me show you one thing I sent on its way. We are doing a RR altered book. There are 6 of  us in this group. This was my third book and the Theme is "Artifacts"...Everyone seems to have a different idea of what an artifact is, so I started with the definition and worked from there. On the left side is the def. plus and envelope containing cards with pictures of Egyptian artifacts.

On the right hand side of the page I created some "artifacts" got a chance to use my new metal paints and I LOVE them,

Everything, other then the jewelry finding, is cardboard or clay...Would you think it? I was real happy with the results.
You may remember those house shaped books we did. I can now show the cover of mine...which is long gone to it's new home.

I used crackle paint on the front cover, Tried to keep it simple because the inside was so busy.

Inside front cover which explained my crazy garden.

This was the back cover which gave the actual name of the flower....lambs ear was pictured as an actual Lamb with pink ears. Milkweed was milk bottles on a stem...You get the picture.
And now to showcase my Happy Mail. The first is my house shaped book from Therese...

She did a beautiful job. Behind the fence begins a saying which is continued on each of the 4 pages. Each page is beautifully decorated.

Finally this is the back...Several friends have already seen it and thought it was lovely.
Then another surprise was the altered altoid tin I got from Patty...full of bling, which is my thing...

Would you believe that is Patty's first altered tin? Yup! I love being the first, especially when it is done so beautifully. She put a great deal of thought and care into it...it's just magical.
So that's what I have for you today. I've finished up several projects this week...the one I have for tomorrow has actually been done a while, but I kept adding to it LOL So stay tuned.

I'm baaack!!

I've been away cleaning out a house. Very difficult job for one person but I managed to fill a dumpster pretty much by myself. My girls came to help me on their day off and that was most appreciated. It was hard for me to let go. I've become the keeper of "THINGS". It seems that everything I look at has the potential to be something else, so I save it. Over the years I "saved" a lot of stuff. Then there was the grooming shop, that also needed to be broken down...Lots of pictures, lots of memories.Then there was the class room, that was the hardest. Not only because it contained so much stuff, but because it contained so many happy memories.
Of course I treasure everything I've gotten over the years , little things from friends that mean so much. Like little tiny treasures I packed each one. I will find a place. Some people tell me the memory should be enough, the rest is just "things". Well, those "Things" were made with Love, they were made especially for me by a friend who cared enough to make it. So while they are just "things", they are my special things and deserve to be treasured.
While I was away (I have to return, but needed a break), Life went on. Swaps continued and so did everything else. Animals hooves continued to grow, birds continued to lay eggs and winter coats needed to be removed, so I came home to a great deal of work.
What made it so much fun was coming home to Happy Mail. One of the things, my son actually delivered was from a friend on the other side of the world. I met  Rainer on a group, but when we started talking and sharing idea's we just hit it off like long lost buddies. Unknown to me he was my EGG person, meaning he had to make me an egg for the egg swap. What an unbelievable job he did. Rainer is a man very much into precise detail and I believe it shows in his work. He fashioned the egg from metal (copper and brass) with tiny little rivets. He made a cage and in the cage he hung a robot which he also made with metal, watch parts and wood. I think you'll agree it's very special. He and his Honey also sent me some wonderful surprises.

That's the empty egg. It's a bit bigger then a normal egg. Maybe the size of a duck egg.

How cute is that little robot? His name is Tinhead an endearing term for my friend.

A final picture of little Tinhead out for a breath of fresh air.
There was more mail and more surprises. But if I share them all today the next few days would get pretty boring.
I would, however, like to share a little friend that is part of a swap....You'll have to  come back tomorrow to see the rest...