Altered Christmas Bottle and Freebies!

Hello Friends!

Well, I guess I didn't quite make it to two posts in one week.
Oh, well.
I wanted to share with you a couple of projects
that I made for the MAMA group.
Now I have long wanted to try my hand at making an altered bottle.
So I jumped at the chance
and joined the "Bouteille de Noel" swap. 
A Christmas bottle!!
My partner was Terri, who makes beautiful things.
It actually took me a long time to get started.
I had a porcelain rose that I really wanted to use for the top.
I kept fussing and fussing; it took me a bit before I finally admitted
it just wasn't right for this project, this particular bottle.
Then everything started to fall into place.

I started with a vintage bottle and filled it with some vintage pearls, mica flakes and snowflakes:



I layered (mostly) vintage lace pieces on the front and added
the silver snowflake, brass piece and this cameo which I love:
\
And here is the back:



Together Marti and I made this lovely bag to send the bottle in:



And of course I received a beautiful bottle from Terri:



She used a mercury glass technique on the bottle that I'm going to have to try!
I just love it!

I was also in a Secret Santa Swap,
those are just so much fun! 
We were supposed to create a pretty muslin bag
and fill with a handmade ornament, giftie, and Christmas treats!!
This is my bag for my partner, Lisa:

 

I made her a pretty little fairy slipper ornament but forgot to take a picture :(

 

And here are some Christmas tags for you to use when wrapping your gifties:

Click to enlarge, right click and save!

 

Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday.

 

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

Lovely, feminine things at Pearls and Lace Thursday!

Lovely, cottagey links at Feathered Next Friday!

Party on at a very pinteresting party at Tutus and Tea Parties! And for all things lovely and vintage, visit Knick of Time!

♥♥♥Thank you so much for visiting and for all your lovely comments!! ♥♥♥
Have a great week, and a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

Autumn Leaves, Tiny Dancer Cake Box, and Freebies!

Hello Friends!

It's Autumn!!
Does it look like this where you live?

 

 

Yeah, me neither.

 

It's been a long, hot summer and I look forward to

a crisp, cool nip in the air. 

But leaves changing color is just not going to happen here in San Diego,

I will have to seek them elsewhere.

 

Our swap for the September Paper Soiree

was decorated cake boxes, and of course

I was all over that, I just love making these little boxes!!

 

 

And it gave me a chance to use some craft supplies

that I love, like the ballerina, the circle of pearls,

and those tattered roses by the yard

that are so cool, but don't always fit in with my projects.

 

 

So, let's continue the ballerina theme with some freebies:

 

  

Click to enlarge, right click and save!
 

Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday.

 

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

 

Thanks so much for visiting, and have a great weekend!

Paper Soiree, Book Bundles and Tags

Hello Friends!

Our little swap group Paper Soiree is shaping up quite nicely.
We've had two meetings and have met new friends,

sipped champagne,

 and oh yes, swapped and created!

Michelle is the owner of Paper Tales and kindly lets us meet there.

She is also wonderfully talented and a member of the group!

I blogged and posted a pic of my altered journal for the first swap here.

We sipped champagne with lavender simple syrup

and munched on lavender shortbread and lemon bars.

Then we made book bundles for our make-and-take,

here is mine:

Embellished with burlap and muslin roses

and lavender and hydrangea from my garden.

We've met for the second time and swapped lovely cones
filled with artsy goodies, this is the cone I made.
It's not a great pic as I shot it indoors,
and I much prefer natural outdoor lighting.



topped with muslin roses, and embellished with one of my fave images
from the Graphics Fairy:

And further embellished with vintage lace, a vintage beaded earring and festooning.

Our make and take this month was shabby chic French perfume label tags:

Here's a little freebie if you'd like to make one yourself:

Our next swap is based on a little banner I made for Marti,

who had a birthday in June.

We're a little obsessed with all things French,

so this little banner spells OUI!

However, with all the GLITTER on this banner,

it was difficult to photograph,

here are my two attempts:

Again, it was indoors, so not a great shot.

And lastly, some very sad news.  My sweet, sweet little kitty has settled down for her final nap.

(BTW, this picture is of her actually napping.)

I am heartbroken and miss her soooo much.

She was my little baby.

But she lived a good, long life (21 yrs!)

and was so loved by many. 

She chose us to be her family, and she truly was family.

Take care of each other!

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

Have a great week!

Lucky, Lucky Girl!!

Hello Friends!
Yes, I AM a lucky girl, I won this beautiful mini-bag full of fabulous goodies

in a giveaway hosted by Debi of Life in My Studio!

The bag itself is lovely,

and there are so many beautiful things with which to create.
Thank you, Debi, I love it!!

I also received these lovely bags from my partners Denise, Marti and Thespa

in a French Mini-Market Bag Swap
hosted by the Marie Antoinette group.

We embellished little 3" x 5" muslin bags,
and tucked little goodies inside.

Aren't they gorgeous?
And they are so much fun to make!

But wait...the title of this post is Lucky, lucky girl...
Yes.
I won another giveaway!!

A big THANK YOU, Rhonda of A Little Bit French
for these wonderful goodies!

I have long drooled over the lovelies in Rhonda's shop.
She sewed this little lace pouch and tucked the lovelies inside.
Thank you Rhonda!  It's beautiful! 

Here's some pretty images of bouquet-bearing cuties for you:

Click to enlarge, right click and save!
Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday! For links to lovely, shabby, chippy whites, stop by White Wednesday!Lovely, feminine things at Pearls and Lace Thursday! Lovely, cottagey links at Feathered Next Friday! Have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Marie in a Teacup and ATCs!

Hello Friends!

It's another Pink Saturday!!As promised, I am sharing the very lovely teacup that Kris made for me in the Marie's Teacup Garden Party Swap.
It's sooooo beautiful!! And Limoges!!Isn't Marie cute with fairy wings?

I love the color combination, aqua and lavender.

Thank you so so much Kris!  I had so much fun with this swap,searching for the right teacup and creating my little vignette.And then to receive such a lovely teacup garden partyin return is the icing on the cake!! OK.I think I must share the Marie Teacup ATCsI made for our monthly ATC swap at MAMA.They're not atually teacups,but they're pretty cute.I must confess to a flight of whimsy on these :)

and...

Soo much fun to create! And now, since it is May, and lilies-of-the-valley are the flower of the month,I'd love to share some lovely images of this sweet flower with you.Also called muguet in French,they are part of a charming custom in France.Every May 1, one would take a little bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley,available from the many flower peddlers on the street,to all the important ladies in their life--mothers, wives, aunts, girlfriends, grandmothers, etc. I have always loved this flower,my grandmother had a huge bunch growing all along her back fence, where it was shady and moist. So here are some muguets for you, dear readers:

Click, right click and save!

Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday.
You will find more lovely teacups at Martha's Favorites and Artful Affirmations!

And, for lovely, shabby, chippy whites, stop by White Wednesday!

Lovely, feminine things at Pearls and Lace Thursday!

Lovely, cottagey links at Feathered Next Friday!

And for all things lovely and vintage, visit Knick of Time!

Have a wonderful May!

Time for tea...

Easter Tags, Freebies, and Altered Egg Cartons!

Hello Friends!

I'm late!  I'm late!  For a very important date! :)

I do have some Easter projects to share with you.
First up are the altered egg cartons I made for my partners in Cassandra's Easter Egg Carton Swap.
We had the choice of neutral, natural tones or pastels;
My partner Heather chose naturals, and this is the carton I made for her:

And inside the carton she will find... 

Paula, my other partner, chose pastel colors, so I made this for her:

 

And inside... 

This was such a fun swap, I've never altered an egg carton before!
But I loved the creamy look of paint on the carton,
even though it did suck up the paint and require two coats!

But that's what gave it the creamy look. I also made some Easter tags at a mini-crafting session with friends Marti and Rosa: 

I just love those little chickies!

Also embellished with tissue paper garland and german scrap.

 Here are some freebie images,

perhaps you'd like to make your own Easter tags:

Click to enlarge, right click and save! You may like to stop by White Wednesday for more chippy white pretties!
Thanks for stopping by...Have a great weekend!

White Wednesday and Altered Journal

Welcome White Wednesday-ers!

I have another altered journal I'd like to share with you,
this one with a creamy vintage felt heart on the cover!



This is the second of three sewing themed journals I created recently.
If you'd like to see the first one, scroll down to the previous post.
And if you'd like to see the third one, stay tuned! :)

Here are some of my favorite layouts from inside the journal:











This journal went to one of my partners in Speckled Egg's Altered Journal Swap.

And a couple of freebies, sewing themed of course!



Click to enlarge, right click and save!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week!
And you may like to pop in to White Wednesday
for all sorts of white loveliness!.