Mail Love!

I am so happy to be a participant in the Speckled Egg nest swap! I strayed out of my normal artistic territory and did my first shabby chic piece. I think it turned out just darling! Love the expression on the little bird and all the egg-laden branches woven into the nest.
My swap partner for the nest swap was Karla! Here is the queenly bejeweled bird she sent me. Isn't she beautiful perched in her teacup "nest"? And surrounding the base is the stunning "amour" banner I won from Bristol at Honey Bend. This is SO gorgeous and the photo doesn't do it justice at all. Even the back is completely and meticulously finished with a great toile. Thank you Karla and Bristol!
What do you know? I won something in the One World One Heart Giveaway! I won this delicate beaded heart pin from Bev at Big Black Dog Studio. This is so lovely and I have already worn it several times around town, receiving many compliments on it. I love how it has the little flower embellishment too - perfect for spring!

Thank you to everyone who sent good luck wishes to banish my weird steak of bad luck - looks like it worked! The whole family decided to get out of town and go to the coast last week just to get away from it all, and nothing horrible has happened since we got back (knock on wood!). I hope to have some pictures of our trip to share soon. It was our youngest's first time seeing the ocean and it was just so enchanting to see it through his eyes. And .. nothing makes you feel better than a little retail therapy. Japanese crackers, an awesome new Japanese craft book (these are a great source of innovative and fresh craft trends - even if you can't read them), and dreamy yarn that looks like 18thc. French ball gowns -- ahh! Feeling better!!
I even squeaked in a little studio time after getting back from the coast to make several sets of dreamy Italian paper magnets (at Etsy). LOVE this paper - it's making my run-of-the-mill fridge look very elegant and upscale :) I love displaying artwork made by my two little guys, so our fridge is usually covered in construction paper artistic masterpieces. It takes a strong magnet to cope with all that art, but there's no reason strength and beauty can't go together, right? :)

Happy PIFers & Jane Austin

Just before Christmas I was honored to host a PIF handmade exchange (you can read the details here) and asked for volunteers to receive a handmade goody (made by me!) and then continue on this wonderful chain of giving by making things for others. (Forgive the light in these photos - it's been storming again for days and the Oregon light is ....well.....permanently grey.)

This beautiful felted clutch purse went to the mega talented Kathy at Artful Muse. We were chatting about buttons, so of course there had to be cool buttons involved!
And wouldn't a coordinating pin be nice with that clutch? So I whipped up a little felted flower pin (with matching button of course!) from the rest of the wool yarn.That second flower pin in the picture is actually a hand crocheted English rose pin going to my second happy PIFer, Annie. Her pin is the deluxe version of my flower pins and comes with a European style finished back. I've been experimenting with various ways to send pins, and as of this last pin, have finally settled on this presentation. It fits in the standard boxes, uses my new labels .. it's a winner! So....all of my crocheted flower pins will now come on pretty cards like this. All my flower pins are one-a-kind beauties straight from the studio garden. I did make two flower pins for Alison as part of her winning giveaway package, but you know me and how I am horrible at remembering to photograph things before I wrap them, so no photos of those :)

And what's this???? It's the cover of my new Oregon Public Broadcasting magazine!Masterpiece Theatre is running "The Complete Jane Austin" with new presentations of "Persuasion", "Mansfield Park", "Northanger Abbey" and "Sense and Sensibility", plus the acclaimed Kate Beckinsale "Emma" and the Colin Firth "Pride and Prejudice". Oh, yum - a Jane Austin fest! I watched the first one, "Persuasion" last night and am looking forward to the other new presentations!!

Pay It Forward - Handmade Gift Exchange

Thanks to the amazing and very sweet jewelry artist Sheela of Eclettica who posted about this in the etsy forums, I have joined in her Pay it Forward (PIF) and now it's my turn to post about this wonderful opportunity to give to others! I'm sure some of you have seen this floating around in blogland, but if not, here's how it works:

I will send a lovely handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment here requesting to join this PIF (pay it forward) exchange. I'm not sure what that gift will be yet- it will be a surprise! The only thing you have to do in return is to pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Once you sign up, I'll email you to let you know that you are one of the three. Then copy and paste the above paragraph on your blog, and three other lucky people will be recipients of your handmade work.
Let's keep this going and share the handmade love and spread some holiday cheer - Pay it Forward!

Oh, and you can of course still comment without volunteering for this :)

I'm feeling the guilt here. I took the handmade pledge and then this weekend bought buttons and some cards that weren't handmade. Bad Bejeweled! Everything else this month has either been crafted by me or a fellow creative indie soul, so it's OK, right? :) I've been looking for vintage style pear cards with a French feel for forever. And the buttons? Well, just look at them - especially those fleur de lis ones that look like hammered pewter.

Still working on writing that tag - I'm up to number 8! Almost done :)

(image from Better Homes and Gardens)
Blogging today has been a bit like surfacing for air. It has been CRAZY busy around here! Orders, post office, client meetings, more post office, a birthday party to plan, yet more post office, crafting, home maintenance issues, and my favorite.....buying our first artificial tree and getting the kids all excited... then dismantling and repacking it 20 minutes later to go back to the store. Because ..... it had lead warnings on it!!

Did you know that almost all artificial trees have toxic lead in them?? That you need to wash your hands after touching them? And that they can shed lead-laced dust, which may cover branches or shower gifts and the floor below the tree??!!? I didn't. How horrible to have such a happy thing for children, the Christmas tree, be contaminated with lead that could give them lead poisoning. Back to the store for our new tree!

**upate** links for more info on lead in artificial trees: here, here and here.

Who Can Never Remember to Photograph Their Swaps? Me!

What is it about swaps??? I simply cannot remember to photograph them before wrapping everything up. Take this for example, my Secret Santa gift for a fellow creative soul:Sooooo prettily wrapped, ready to go to it's new happy home....but wait! I forgot to take a picture again. Gak! So, several minutes later I'm unwrapping it, taking pictures and then .... you guessed it, breaking out the roll of Christmas wrapping paper and rewrapping everything just as prettily as the first time. Actually, I think the wrapping turned out much better the second time :)

This is what was inside: A little knitted and crocheted purse!With a flower embellishment sporting a vintage button at the center and handstitched leaves.Bamboo handles.
And what else was in her package? A cute little matching brooch! [I also included a book on jewelry making since her profile said she crafted jewelry - but I didn't make that :)] It takes about 8 hours to design and plan each of these one-of-a-kind purses, so I'm *really* hoping she likes this.
After all that work [times 2 since I had to do the wrapping twice!] I thought I'd take a nap in the warm autumn afternoon sun. Oh rats! Looks like I didn't get to that sunbeam fast enough .. somebody is already there :) And looking very comfortable indeed! Looks like she even pawed that blanket into a little bed before snuggling in.
You may have noticed the new banner on my right sidebar. I've always been a great advocate of handcrafted gifts. After all, what has more meaning: A mass produced product, probably made with unsafe Chinese parts, that 10,000 other people have? OR .. something carefully selected and crafted with love, care and diligence that fits the recipient perfectly and shows that you really care? Handcrafted gifts, whether they be yummy baked goodies, a knitted sweater, or even just a beautifully crafted card epitomize the true holiday spirit of giving and sharing more than any obligatory random store purchase ever could. By buying handmade, you are also choosing to support independent artists who work very hard to turn beautiful visions into reality while still earning enough to support their families. So.... I invite you all to take the handmade pledge with me and buy handmade this holiday season!
And finally...thank you everybody so very, VERY, VERY much for all your congratulations on my holiday press! Makes my heart all warm and fuzzy to read the sweet things you say! Truly it does!

The Great Paper Dress Swap: Part II

"And the lady's wardrobe was filled with pretty dresses: satin, velvet, lace and silk. Each one a dazzling work of beauty glimmering in the candlelight ......."

OK, it's time for Part II of the Paper Dress Swap! Read Part I here.

Minutes after I sent out the last official swap letter, I received a request to join from Sandra. Missing a swap by just minutes .... now how could I say no? Answer: I couldn't :) So Sandra became my third swap partner. Above are the dresses I sent her: A spooky spiderweb dress, a Spanish style one foofed with black lace, and a Parisian cafe dress trimmed with roses and lace.

And these are the gorgeous multimedia creations she sent me! A pink gown worthy of any belle at the ball, and a cleverly accessorized autumn dress - see the cute hat and bag?


I also received the sweetest e-mail from Erin. She was having great fun making paper dresses and could she send a dress or two to me as a hostess thank you? More dresses???? Of course! And I would *love* to reciprocate with a few dresses as my thank you to her for being such a thoughtful and generous person. Now hanging in her home are a spooky spiderweb dress (with one of the shy little web weavers making an appearance), a garden party frock with a rosy sash, and an elegant plum dinner gown with a classic pearl necklace.

And here is the swanky and stylish attire she sent me. Soooo ritzy and beautiful! I wish you all could reach out and touch these because her papers are so tactile and lush, they are more like textiles than paper.

Thank you to all my swap partners! And a big thank you to everyone who joined in the paper dress swap!! You are all awesomely talented paper artists!!

And now ... I would like to invite everyone who participated to comment on this post with a link to their dress posts. We can have a "virtual fashion show" and see everyone's lovely creations!

One last note...... I'm sure it will come as no surprise to learn that I adore historical dramas, costumes, jewelry and period decoration.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age, the sequel to Elizabeth comes out tomorrow! It promises to be a sumptuous feast of costumes and jewelry. I hope it's smartly written too, but that seems to be the rare case these days in film. I've gone out of my way not to read anything about it, so it will be a surprise. Hopefully, a nice one :)

The Great Paper Dress Swap: Part I

It has been such a treat to check the mail the past two weeks and see the flurry of paper dresses arriving at my home for The Paper Dress Swap! I ended up having the privilege of swapping with four fabulously talented artists and would like to share all the swapping goodness with you! This post turned out to be super loooong, so this is Part I. Part II: Coming soon!
These fashionable dresses went to Lola Enchanted. The Halloween/Autumn theme dress was a sinister creation comprised of a flocked spiderweb skirt (with little web weavers making an occasional appearance), sparkly midnight tunic, and a spider "cameo" at the neckline. The other dress was a rose themed Elizabethan style dress with the bodice laced up with red embroidery thread. I ended up making an entire walk-in closet of paper dresses, so included one extra dress for each of my partners. Here, it's a stylish purple dress with butterfly touches.
And here are the beauties she sent me. Aren't these glam?!! They are like dresses worn by starlets in the golden age of Hollywood in the 40's and 50's. Love those jeweled buckles and the faux fur trims!



These are the little beauties I sent to hang in the closet of Charming Designs. A spiderweb dress. A ballerina dress foofed with layers of pink lace. And a garden party frock, trimmed with dainty white lace, polka dots, a pink rose sash, and golden butterflies accents.

And here are the adorable dresses she sent me. Look at those wonderful flouncy layers of ribbon on the white dress! These are all sooo romantic and I can see myself dressed in any one of them at a garden cocktail party and looking smashing!

That's it for Part I. I hope you're not tired of looking at paper dresses yet, because Part II is still to come! :)

Avalanche of Activities

You ever have weeks where life is routine and uneventful ..well, ok, lets's say boring.....and you find yourself wondering if grocery shopping is a suitable topic for your weekly blog post? Well, this is NOT one of those weeks. Grab a pumpkin latte, indulge in one of those yummy Starbucks pumpkin muffins and hang in there! (and I'm not even going to count getting caught up from "the week of the flu", or the two major household appliances that needed repair, including one that flooded my upper landing)

First, I participated in the Sweet & Sinister Swap over at Artsy Mama. My swap partner was the talented Jeanetta at Splendid Things. She handcrafted everything you see here and even included some little trimmings in that box for the paper dresses I was making. My favorite of course is that Sweet & Sinister commemorative pincushion. Thank you Jeanetta!
And what did I send to her? Well..... if I have a failing in life it is that I can never remember to photograph my swap goodies before I wrap them. Never, ever. I suddenly remembered when I was wrapping the very last package, so here are pics of the sinister bat cookie plate and her dress for the Halloween ball (paper of course). I also sent a cute kit for making homemade ghost candies and a black cat candle holder. Making Jeanetta's dress was very inspirational and inspired a whole line of spiderweb couture dresses so it might look very familiar to some of you :)


This was also the final week of the 2007 Sherwood Saturday market. It's been getting quite chilly and damp in the mornings, so I was ready for it to come to a close. Until next year, market goers! Thank you for another great season!! Here are some farewell booth shots:


Also two fabulous blog events: Karla's Romantic Home Party and the Bloglandia Ball. I made it to everyone's beautiful sharing of their romantic homes. Still dancing to see everyone's beautiful ball gowns. My mouse-clicking finger is getting quite a workout this week! :)

And to conclude the week, I'm very happy to announce the winners of the earring giveaway! Thank you everyone for entering my contest! You are all such fantastic women, I wish I could give each and every one of you a prize! This was my first giveaway and it was such fantastic fun, I will be doing another one soon. The winners for each letter category, as chosen by a random number generator, are .....drumroll............


A. Tiny Keys: She'sSewPretty
B. Vintage Style: Old Agate & Turquoise: Sweet Cottage Dreams
C. Classic Everyday Pearl Drops: Lori
D. Peacock Feathers: Natalea
E. Magical Fairy Tale Stars: Reflections from the Stone Nest
F. Happy Ladybugs: Rosie

Winners, please send me your mailing addresses, so I can get your pretty lovelies sent out to you asap!

It's Pumpkin Latte Time

The air here is starting to have that morning chill and Starbucks has pumpkin coffee lattes back on the menu -- fall is coming! This almost-fall week I went shopping for goodies. Look at these gorgeous lacy trims I found this weekend! Some pretty mini-flowers and a great strand of miniature faux pearls too (love this). I also bought some really cool victorianesque blacked silver & "diamond" buttons. Yum! I can't wait to try these out on the paper dresses I'm designing!

In addition to happily crafting paper dresses, I'm starting to amass stock for the Art & Antiques fair I'll be vending at in two weeks. And getting a bit stressed at all the preparations I need to make. Making LOTS of nests and bird tiles of course. Those new little painted bird earrings will be there. Also, these new little felt earrings I'm experimenting with. I'm calling them "flirty felts" and I think I will put them in the web boutique too.


Also, I have recently become aware of a fantastic resource for swaps. If you have ever just missed a swap sign-up, had trouble finding a swap to join, or hosted a swap and wanted to advertise it, this is a blog you will want to check out! I'm just in love with the idea of having a central location to check for cool swaps. Maybe I'm the last one in blogland to discover SwapDex, but if not, I wanted to share this awesome resource with you. Speaking of swaps, everyone who signed up for the paper dress swap should have received an Official Paper Dress Swap letter by now and know who your partner is. If not, please e-mail me ASAP. Thanks!

This last item may seem like it's coming out of left field in an arts/crafts blog, but it's not really given that my degree is partially in Japanese Art. I found this hilariously funny satirical commentary on learning the Japanese language. If you don't study Japanese, it probably won't mean much to you, but if you do or ever have, I thought it was funny and you might too :)
(A scene from "The Tale of Genji" courtesy of Wikipedia)

Thank You & Little Birds

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who stopped by to comment on my little paper dresses and the swap! You are all so fabulously sweet and such wonderful souls!! This is what I love so much about blogland - all the giving and sharing and warmth of this fabulous creative community. Thanks so much everyone! It will take me a few days to catch up on all the e-mails and comments. My two little kids started school today (pre-K and 1st grade) so its an eventful day here for the family.
For those who joined the swap, I've been thinking of how to display our fabulous swapped dresses! I've seen them strung on ribbon like a garland and on doll hangers, but I was playing around and came up with the graceful hanger above. It's a simple piece of 20 gauge craft wire where the ends are curled up into loose spirals. A length of ribbon is tied into a circle with a bow and then slipped under the spirals. The dress is attached with small clothes pins. Too cute!

I will be sending out e-mails with swap partners on Thursday, Sept. 6th . If you do NOT receive an e-mail from me by Friday morning, Sept. 7th, please e-mail me right away at the address in the sidebar. If you haven't joined the swap yet and would like to, there's still time! Just leave a comment on the prior post. We have quite a few international participants and while the dresses will be small enough to fit in a large envelope, if you are uncomfortable shipping internationally for any reason, please e-mail me privately.

And look what's been cooking in the studio! Where do you dry birds-on-a-stick? Why in the pages of one's unabridged dictionary, of course! I had a hand full of toothpicks with wet paint birds and realized I didn't have a block of styrofoam to set them in. Looked around desperately for a few moments, then happened to look down and see the dictionary ... perfect! My two boys and I have been diligently watching some sky blue eggs in a robin's nest hatch into cute little fledglings, so I have baby birds on the brain :)
And here my little painted baby birds are all grown up as earrings and ready to fly away :)