Handmade Christmas Week 3

Happy December to you all

Last week I was inspired by a little tutorial on Skip to my Lou to create some little sachets with vintage hankies.
I thought I had a lot more in my stash than I did, so I will be looking for more as soon as I can get out of the house. At the moment my face is swollen from some dental surgery this week and I don't feel well enough to go out, but am dying to get to the thrift shop to see if I can find more.

I put my own spin on the hanging sachet here, which is filled with rose petals. I love how it turned out, and am working on some more for little gifts for Christmas for the ladies on my list.

Some dainty hankies all in white, which I personally like plain and simple but I still may add something to them.

I was going through my cupboard and found an old salt shaker filled with lavendar (which I am allergic to)
This allergy only started a few years ago, I love lavendar, used to grow it all the time in my garden, then one day while sniffing it my throat started to tighten and I couldn't swallow. It wore off but since then when I am around it I get this funny feeling in my throat.


It didn't seem too bad in the salt shaker so I thought I would decorate it a bit and I think it would look nice in someone's bathroom don't you? Just not mine :)

The last few weeks I have been creating pages on Squidoo to raise money for charity.

All royalties from clicks on the page ( if I get any) will be going directly to the
"Save The Children Foundation" all year long, and you can also make a direct donation from my pages. I have 6 in total now.

I have made a page called "A Handmade Christmas 2010" which has now been featured in the Holiday Gift Guide. I am proud of this because there are thousands upon thousands of other lenses to chose from. Please, if you have a few minutes come visit me there, give my page a thumbs up if you like it or leave a comment. You might be inspired by my page to make some of your own handmade gifts too.

Below is my first fabric flower using the candle method to crinkle the edges. I looked at so many you tube videos until I found one that wasn't annoying to watch and listen to. If you are interested, it is on my Handmade Christmas page. The first time I tried it I did burn the fabric, but you get used to it with practice, they are so pretty and will look lovely on gift wrapped parcels.
I know it seems like I have been really busy but this has been over a span of a week. Until next time, enjoy your creative days :)

Fig...ments of my imagination

Is it just me or is this the hottest summer we have ever had here in Ontario?
I am not sure about you but I would love some cool weather right now, I just can't enjoy this heat and humidity. Then again, look at the figs this year, and fresh from my mother in law's garden too. They seem to like it.

They are ohhhhhh so sweet inside and so good for you. Just wish they got rid of hot flashes......
My husband just pops them in his mouth, but I like to peel the skin back.
My father in law who passed away last December had a passion for his garden and this summer my mother in law who is 74 is insisting on keeping it up for him. She is a stubborn Italian woman that's for sure. I am not talking a small vegetable plot either, this is a huge garden , complete with a green house that Antonio built around the fig trees to keep them safe during our Canadian winters. He lovingly raised three fig trees from seedlings that a friend brought from Italy :)

I must take a photo of this garden, maybe I have one somewhere. Not only veggies, she has pear, apple, peach, apricot and plum trees. Not to mention grape vines, but the Racoon's have been around and they seem to like them. Did I forget the blackberries?

I keep this plate on our counter all the time and just keep adding to it, I love to see fresh foods in the kitchen. Not the cucumbers though, I am sick of eating cucumbers now LOL, way too many this year. The hot peppers are for my DH, but I have grown to love Eggplant since I have been married to him for so long. My MIL made the best Eggplant Parmigiana last week and sent over a huge plate, there was enough for two meals.

Lot's of fresh parsley, and herbs in her garden too, and tons of tomatoes. (We will be jarring them in September). I love the cherry tomatoes in a salad with radicchio and endive, tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a touch of salt. The sweetness of the tomatoes is beautiful with the more bitter taste of the salad. Try it :) We are having it tonight again.

It's almost dinner time, and DH is cooking pasta right now, that's probably why I thought of food, these photos are making me hungry. It's a good thing he knows how to cook , or I probably wouldn't be eating all this good food. (For those that don't know it, I am terrible in the kitchen, unless it's to clean up.)

Cooper loves to be in the kitchen, he has his dinner first, and dad boiled some chicken for him tonight. Spoiled dog he is.
Now he is happy to take a snooze in the sunshine while we have our dinner. Look how cute he is, snug as a bug. He is there right now beside me as always.

I received a lovely gift today from Patty, take a look. I have admired her cutlery for a long time now, her husband smashes them and forges the words into them for plant pots. I love seeing them in her garden, and so she kindly gifted me these, thank you sweetie :)
Seems quite fitting, food and cutlery, I wonder who used these and what type of foods they liked. They look to be some fancy silverware to me.

Each one was wrapped in tulle with one of Patty's hand crafted flowers, are they not sweet? Something else I keep wanting to try, making flowers.

Ok, I am being called for dinner, enjoy your's too , bon appetit :)

Flower art and gifts from friends

I have been playing with my dried, pressed flowers again and I thought they would make for a lovely bookmark. I had fun with this one, stitching over the edges and adding bits of fiber. The close up gives you a better idea.

I then stitched one to a tea dyed piece of muslin and glued it to a mini notebook, this one has a more vintage feel to it.
I am off to glue some more today for new projects, I am still getting used to working in a different room and that room is so hot in the mornings I have to wait until later when the sun moves. Yes, we have the air conditioning on but it is still hot in there, I don't remember a summer this hot in a very long time.

I wanted to share with you some beautiful gifts bestowed upon me this past week for my birthday.
From my gorgeous girlfriend Linda (Blue Eyed Girl), I received the most spectacular ATC. You must click on photo to see the delicious detail, a specialty of the very talented Linda. She also sent me a beautiful mixed media tag and one of her tiny Lotus Books. Thank you Linda, I can't stop looking at your wonderful creations.

I also received this precious little fabric art from my sweet, and very talented friend Terri (Pringle Hill Studio). She is known for her bright colors, and very detailed collage art, and is now branching out and trying fiber art, so I feel blessed to have this, it is so me :)
Just look how sweet this heart is, so much detail again in such a small piece. It is now hanging in my studio where I can see it all the time, thank you so much Terri :)

My friend Terry (Terry's Treasures) has been sewing up some lovely tote bags lately, she is into quilting and stitching , and has made some amazing quilts. This sweet bag already holds some of my knitting. (Yes, I knit once in a while, but with the hot flashes and the humidity here, not much lately , I am sure some of you know how it is :)

Love this fabric and how it is white inside, thank you so much Terry :)


Don't forget to enter my giveaway in the post below :)
Off to go upstairs now and play.........
Lynn

Vintage beautiful, a lovely surprise

I had a very special surprise package from my dear friend Carol Anne last week, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I still cannot believe all the beautiful things she gifted me.
First of all the wrapping was divine, I was afraid to open it. Each package was in a cello envelope then adorned with lace and ribbons, take a look.

Carol Anne is known from her blog Carol Anne's Boutique, where she offers some of the most beautiful vintage clip art, scanned from her own collection of cabinet cards, photos and postcards. She really has touched my heart, I have been in love with vintage linens or even linens and lace that look vintage for years now, just look at this exquisite piece of lace trim which was wrapped around the first packet. It is a beautiful ivory color.
Inside that first packet was another one, again , beautiful presented with a vintage postcard and wrapped with button ribbon, then topped off with a pearl pin. oooo la la, my heart was skipping beats.
Especially when I opened it to find the most gorgeous pieces of vintage linens, including two beautiful collars. I love battenburg lace so much. There are doilies too and more, just makes me swoon :)



I just love how she packaged everything, I can't say that enough, and I know it must have taken quite a bit of time. A touch of ribbon and lace is just perfect, and the other one is pink ribbon and rosebud trim together, lovely, lovely, lovely :)


Wonderful cabinet cards, postcards, vintage style flowers, which I am in love with and a sweet tag to finish it all off.

More postcards and a really cool Autograph book to alter, along with tiny bird nests and beautiful silk flowers. Can you see the buttons too?

One package after another I just got so excited and little Cooper was wondering what all the fuss was about :) I had to snap lots of photos.
Another adorable cabinet card and more, and I love how the bingo card says Adore and the tag to match.
I hope I didn't forget anything I could go on and on showing photos. I am thrilled, this is all sooooooo "me" and I thank you again sweetie from the bottom of my heart, this really was a wonderful pick me up while I am packing daily for our move.
I am only sorry I have to pack it all up soon, but I know how happy I will be to open it all again when I get settled in our new home :)

I am told the kitchen cabinets are being installed at the end of the week, now that is going to be exciting and I hope to go on the weekend and get some photos. I can't believe this is all happening, I am so excited :)

Surprise Mail

Don't you love happy surprises? Look what I received in the mail yesterday from my friend Robin .
Such a beautiful little wall hanging with the most gorgeous trim and pearl embellishment. She also wrote me a lovely message on a pretty card and sent one of her stamped tags which I love too, all wrapped up nicely with some pretty pink lace (which I forgot to take in the photograph). My heart is filled with the love of all the amazing people I have met through my blog, and I thank you Robin so very much, your kindness really made my day :)

Swap gifts and a little guessing game

I have to show you the card first, isn't it gorgeous? At first it didn't kick in, me and my cotton brain LOL, there were pictures of this sweet girl all over the envelope , then the card , and then it hit me...... duhhhhhh.. is this the canvas?
Yes it certainly is, and Terri, I am sooooo in love with her, and all you have done to this canvas. She is beautiful!!!!!! Please click on the photo to see a close up, there is so much lovely texture in this piece and detail, I couldn't be happier :)

Terri from Blooming Ideas, and I, did a one on one swap and my parcel arrived .. oh about 15 mins ago. I had to take photos right away and surprise Terri by posting it, what a great way to end this wet and soggy week.

That's not all either, we also made each other a tag and Ooo la la is right, just look at it. This is gorgeous , thank you for a wonderful swap sweetie, everything is Ooo la la :)


I still can't stop looking at them :)
You can see what I sent Terri in the post below this one if you like. Both the canvas and the tag were really fun.

I was just about to post something I have been experimenting with this week when the mail came, so I will show you next time. It's something I have never done before.....hmmmmmm

Can you guess what it is?
First one to guess what it is will receive a little surprise from me :) Just let me know in your comment what you think it is. I hope I didn't make it too easy........

If you are wrong I will leave a comment too and let you know, then you can try again, let's have a bit of fun :)
Thanks for dropping by, Lynn

Update
Ok, my daughter his home tonight and I asked her to guess, then when I showed her what it is she said that is too hard mom, so here is another photo for ya :)
I made a bunch of these this week, and I made them by recycling something.
You don't have to guess what I made it with or how I got to the end result, but guess what it is ...

We have a winner.......... Sarah guessed right after trying so hard :)

Swap with Terri

Terri from Blooming Ideas and I just finished a one on one swap, and here is what I sent her. I can show it now because she has received it :)

I do not have mine yet, it will probably be here any day now because we mailed them on the same day.
We started off by making a tag for each other then I thought, let's do a bit more. So Terri came up with the idea to do a small canvas in a Petite Doll theme or Suzi Blu theme. This is what I came up with.

Below is the tag.
We decided on Vintage girls as the theme. I made mine all fabric and trims with this beautiful girl from Itkupilli

Maybe tomorrow I will have my swap from Terri and show you what she created for me :)

Hope you had a great day, it was quite warm here and sunny so I got outside and did some cleaning up in the back yard.

On another rather sad note, I just found out that Baxter the therapy dog, passed away peacefully on Friday :( Oh, I know he was very old and in rough shape , it's still sad and his owners must miss him terribly.
I found out too, that Baxter was a rescue dog, there was signs of abuse and he had heartworm and gum disease at that time. Well, he sure did well with all the love and care from his owners, what a very special dog, my heart goes out to them.
(If you have no idea what I am talking about, view my post down the page to find out more about Baxieboo.)

Swap with my Blue Eyed Girl :)

Ooooooo lookie what arrived yesterday in the mail :)
This is a beautiful, beautiful wet felted and needle felted piece of art created by Linda as part of our swap. Click on the photo to see all the gorgeous detail, she has used gold threads and beads in there too and written a lovely poem in gold pen.
You know what I just noticed? Linda, the sneak posted her felt art on her blog before leaving for Greece , and I had NO clue that it was on it's way to me, but I just realized that I have taken my photo upside down to the way your's is Linda, hope that's ok LOL... Looks great either way I think :)

She has also sent me this ATC which is full of layers and texture, just what I love.

And that's not it, look at this lot for my stash :)
Vintage doily and bits of gorgeous laces and trims, fibers, gold leaf flakes, a really nice key, bits of papers and a wooden house that her husband cut for her. Can't wait to use that :)
Can you also see the little cherubs?
Here is a close up of them, they are so tiny and Linda made them herself from a mold, perfect little embellishment for art work.
I would never have met Linda if I had not started doing the Awfully Big Art Adventure challenges, and I love how you meet someone online then find out all these similarities in your life and things you like , and then become friends. I am so blessed to have a friend like her, thank you again Linda from Blue Eyed Girl , I love everything :)

Gifts from Pringle Hill Studio, and a Sketch

One of my favorite artists is my friend Terri from Pringle Hill Studio, I just love her style, it is so unique, and such a lot of fun, so detailed and so very creative. I think she has a style all of her own, you rock Terri !
Two beautiful ATC's and these gorgeous postcards arrived in the mail last week for my birthday, yet I have been so obsessed with sketching I am just finding time to share these with you now. Thank you so much again Terri :)
I say obsessed with sketching because I have been having a really hard time with it, so I have been drawing every day for hours, or trying LOL. You know that old saying, practice makes perfect? Well we will have to see about that one.
I am taking the new class at Suzi Blu's and the shading of faces, for me, does not come naturally. We are drawing stylized faces rather than realistic but they do have some realistic features. I am having the worst time with noses...... ooooo it is hard for me, but I keep trying and I finally have one sketch that is decent enough to show you.
This week we are drawing in a Moleskine sketch book and starting to use color on our faces with crayons. This is my first Moleskine and the sketch book only about 5x8 inches is a heavy cream colored paper and just beautiful to work in. It is such a lot of fun to sit and color, I just LOVE coloring with crayons, I used to sit for hours with my daughter when she was young and then my nieces with coloring books :)

So there she is. I still have a long, long way to go but the fun is in the learning, so I am going to keep on at it, practice as much as I can :)

A few things for Sunday

A little box of surprises came in the mail the day after my birthday and I just had to share them with you :)

My friend Patty at Magpie's Nest, was so sweet to do this for me, and she really did give me a beautiful surprise.
Above is a hanging ornament made from inchies, isn't it darling? I have it hanging on this mini coat hanger on the shelf in my studio. If you would like to make one yourself, Patty has a tutorial on her blog right here.

Then there was the most beautiful altered postcard, and I swear I thought it was a photograph when I first opened the box, I just love it! Even more so because of the lovely sentiment on the back. (Sorry I forgot a photo.)
"May the long time sun shine upon you and Love surround you and the pure Light within you guide your way on."
I think all artists or crafters love bits and pieces, or bits and bob's as my Gran used to call them. Well Patty sent me some really neat bits of fabric, lace, hankie, tulle, and even a black vintage hair net. Also a matchbox for altering, (something I have never done) with buttons and clips in it.
Oh yes, a little doily, tissue with a lovely stone angel on it , which she also decorated the parcel with and some yummy soap. I love things like this, how did you know Patty?

I should have taken photos before I opened each item but was too excited, Patty really wrapped them very creatively and extra special, I thank you my dear , you made me very happy :)

Just had to show you this amazing flower from my new vine, which I may add I am a bit concerned about, it is not blooming as much as I think it should, so I may have to move it to a sunnier spot. This is a Purple Passion Flower and isn't it just spectacular? View the close up by clicking on the photo, it is a really Funky looking flower, I just hope it starts blooming more.


I think i gave the wrong impression to some of you last post. I am not leaving blogging or taking a break from it, just from participating in the challenge blogs for now. I have much to do around my home , or should I say "want" to do, which has already begun by clutter busting and trying to organise my studio room. I have also as of yesterday started Suzi Blu's new workshop
Goddess and The Poet and will be focusing on that now. I so enjoyed her Petit Doll workshop but I didn't practise enough , this workshop is for more realistic yet stylized faces that we are working on, so I will see how well I can do :) If she can teach me how to draw a nose, then she can teach anyone.

Have a great Sunday, I have some shading practise to do with my pencils :)

Handmade Gifts are the best :)

I received a large parcel in the mail yesterday and when I saw who it was from I knew it was for my birthday, which is not until next week, but I just had to open it :) My long time, online friend Terry made me this beautiful lap quilt and pillow, isn't it gorgeous? It is so me, and I couldn't be happier. I took this photo on my front porch but it won't be staying outside it's too nice for that.

You can click on the photo for a closer look.

Just had to share this I am so thrilled, thank you SO much Terry :)

Easter Swap......... bunny HOP!!!!

Can you believe how lucky I was with my swap partner for the Easter Swap at Etsy Cottage Style?
We were to send at least three items, something each that included a bunny, a chick, and an egg.
My swap partner Margaret from The French Bear, makes the cutest, sweetest hand sewn bears, bunnies and chicks, among other things, but I held my breath, didn't really expect her to go to all that trouble and make one of her bunnies, or chicks, for lil' ol' me, BUT.... look what I received today.........
The sweetest bunny in a so, so, soft shade of pink, with the cutest polka dot overalls and adorable little party hat. She is holding an egg that is decorated with little flowers, and is pulling the most adorable hand made chick I have ever seen who is sitting on a little pull wagon :) This little chick, also has a tiny little party hat, I think they must be off to a Bunny Hop or something *giggle*

I am thrilled to have something so precious, and made especially for moi :) I know I have already thanked you a couple of time Margaret, but again, they will be treasured for years to come because I so appreciate the work put into them, and they will be honored with a spot in my curio cabinet all year round. They will fit in perfectly with my bear collection :)
Thank you SO much....

On another note, I am not sure I like seeing my own face every time I see my blog, or post on another blog, it just seems too weird to me, and it's actually a good photo of me, taken at a dinner dance, while I was on the dance floor with a red boa around my neck having a great time :) This may have been two years ago, but I don't think I have changed all that much, at least I am smiling on this photo. SO, don't be surprised if I change back to my other avatar, not sure I like having that there :) Just don't want to confuse anyone.

Taking Flight with Kelly Rae Roberts

I am sooooo excited about this amazing book which arrived just today in the mail. It was just released in Canada online at Chapters. I had pre ordered it and was thrilled when I got an email saying it was being shipped :)
I just love the art work of Kelly Rae Roberts after first seeing a featured article on this very soulful lady in Cloth , Paper, Scissors magazine, now I have this beautiful book to be inspired and to learn from.

I must tell you the colors of the book are beautiful, each page is beautifully designed and Kelly is also a great writer, she has chapters where she talks about letting go of our fears when it comes to art and other things to be inspired by. There are pages with beautiful quotes, and pages called "Winged Thoughts" where there are questions and spaces for us to write our answers. It is not any old work book to follow, even though the projects and photos of each step are very detailed, it is a book which helps you go inside to your creative spirit and learn a lot about yourself. My kind of book , that's for sure.

Kelly even has 5 other featured artist's in her book sharing their own techniques. WOW, this is a dream book for me and being who I am I feel it has come to me at the perfect time in my life, a time when I am growing so much spiritually and creatively.

I love the name of the book too "Taking Flight. Inspiration and techniques to give your Creative Spirit wings".

My first online class is starting on Monday too at Altered Diva's. I am taking her Painting Stylized Faces class and hope to learn a lot and create my very own character. I have never drawn freehand before. I have drawn in a graphics program in the past and did well at that, I have painted from patterns years ago in those country folk art painting books, but this is all so new and exciting to me. Man, life is good :)

I just had to blog about this amazing book right away because I have no one else that may even remotely be excited about it like I am. I showed my hubby tonight and he was " awww that's nice", know what I mean? He has always known me as creative too and is always proud of my work but he still doesn't get how much it really excites me to learn new things.

Thanks for listening, it is so hard to believe that in less than a year I have gone from stock piling shabby cottage style fabrics and chenille and sewing pretty things, to this mixed media and altered art, but hey, I am just going with my creative flow here :)

Have a great night, maybe an art filled night, and lest we not forget, let us all pray for the victims and families, and everyone affected by the 911 tragedy which happened this very day 7 years ago. My heart goes out to you all.

God bless.