Petite Inspiration Box swap

Even though I've largely sworn off swaps, I couldn't resist signing up for Speckled Egg's Petite Inspiration Box swap, and boy am I glad I did! Heather's Petite Box swaps are perfect--all you have to do is embellish a kitchen matchbox according to the theme and then fill it with goodies. Small and do-able, right? The theme for this round was Flea Market--right up my alley!

I was paired with two lovely ladies: Barb from 123 Lavender Lollipop Lane and Tammie from My Art Soul Wings. We each made two boxes and each received two. Here are the boxes I received from Tammie and Barb:

Aren't they pretty? And the contents were wonderful too:

Doesn't this look like a game of Vintage I Spy? All those yummy little bits and trinkets, just waiting to be stashed away until the perfect project. You won't think I'm crazy if I admit that I enjoy the organizing and the having just as much as the using, right?

Sweet Barb also included a pair of the most fabulous kitchen towels that she made, embellished with rickrack, vintage fabrics and vintage buckles:

You had better believe that I'm not letting anyone wipe their dirty hands on these beautiful things! Barb also made the most adorable little pillowcases to match my kids' bedrooms.

As usual, I didn't get a photo of my boxes before I sent them because I was in such a hurry to get them into their shipping boxes. I was putting them together at the very last minute, as The Mister was literally moving things out of the office around me because we had new carpet installed the following morning. Here's a photo that I swiped from Tammie's blog of the box I sent her (the box for Barb was nearly identical with a few differences in contents and a similar flower on the top):

I was feeling kind of clever because the silver flower that adorned the top of the box is actually a pin that I made, so it did double duty as an embellishment for the package and a gift for my partners to wear as well. I also made each lady a charm bracelet using vintage and new buttons, jewelry, and charms. I hoped that it might look like it was made with trinkets you'd pick up at a flea market.

I loved this swap! I got to "meet" two really fun ladies, enjoyed putting together their packages and received two outstanding packages in return. I'm so glad I participated--thanks to Heather for hosting!

Treasured Tin swap received & Sweet Goodness swap theme contest

I recently had the pleasure of participating in Heidi's Treasured Tin Swap in which we were to fill up a vintage tin with goodies for our partner. Heidi paired me with Kristi, a fellow lover of retro images, cooking stuff and ephemera. I received the most wonderful swap package from Kristi!

Kristi noticed the photo I showed on my blog a few weeks ago of the vintage kitchen items I have displayed above my kitchen cabinets, and noted that I had both a red and a blue Krispy Kan, but no yellow. I literally squealed out loud when I opened my swap package from her and found that the tin she chose to fill was a yellow Krispy Kan! I'm so tickled--I think she could have sent nothing more than the empty can and I still would have considered it a successful swap. :)

But there was much more! Kristi filled my beloved Krispy Kan (which she adorned with the coolest red and white ball trim I've ever seen) with loads of goodies: vintage Valentines, the most darling red and white gingham apron with white chicken scratch hearts, super cute cupcake papers in checks and dots, vintage beads, a turquoise enamel flower pin, and more. She even included a package of princess Silly Bandz for Maren (which she looooves) and a set of two sweet homemade bibs for Porter.

Kristi also included a packet of vintage dessert cookbooks, and she had everything wrapped and adorned with fab handmade tags with vintage images. I love them! Kristi's package was so thoughtful and it was truly a joy to receive.

Here's the funny thing: I don't have photos (because I'm a ninny and ALWAYS forget to snap a photo before I tape up the box) but I also sent Kristi a vintage yellow-flowered kitchen tin and a stack of vintage cook booklets. I even sent her vintage Valentines too! We were definitely well-matched!

If seeing all of these goodies puts you in the mood to swap, head over to the Sweet Goodness Swaps blog! We're running a contest--you have until June 20 to submit an idea for the theme of our next swap. The person whose idea submission we choose will win a prize! There have already been a lot of really creative swap ideas submitted, so be sure to add yours as well!

Easter egg swap & more estate sale goodies

This post comprises the extent of my Easter decorating this year. Pitiful, I know--especially since I adore my Easter decorations, so it's a shame not to be able to enjoy them. I'm going to blame the two weeks of chaos around Maren's birthday: by the time they were over, I was tired of messes and there was only a week left until Easter, which just wasn't enough time for me to get everything out.

Good thing I participated in Shara's Egg-stra Fun Swap, because they will have to stand in for the decorating I didn't do! I received my swap items yesterday and opening that box of goodies was most definitely the highlight of my day. Such lovely work from everyone! I'm just tickled. Now that boxes are being received, I think I can safely show my contribution to the swap:

I saw these beautiful golden eggs and remembered that I had some sheets of (imitation) gold leaf stashed away in my craft supplies. I covered papier mache eggs from Hobby Lobby with spray adhesive, then gently applied the gold leaf to each one. They're accented with a belt of white or cream velvet ribbon and one of my stash of pearly vintage earrings. The eggs turned out much simpler than I had initially envisioned them, but I think they're pretty. And using up the gold leaf that I've been toting around for oh, at least 10 years now yet again justified my tendencies toward pack-rattery.

I did manage to find two Easter decorations at the estate sale I posted about yesterday. I know there was more good stuff, but that's all I could manage to wrestle past Porter's grasping arms and get safely in my bag.

This basket came wrapped in its original cellophane wrapper with a tag from a place called Blum's in San Francisco. Googling (or Topeka-ing yesterday) turned up that Blum's was a bakery/restaurant in among the fancy department stores that closed in the mid-1970s.Why the owner never removed the cellophane (and petrified piece of candy I found inside) after 30+ years, we'll never know.

I bought this for the bunny pick that's tied to the basket. The basket itself is a bit much for my taste, so it may end up in the ol' etsy shop. Here's the bunny pick closer up:

What I will ever do with it, I have no idea. It's cute, though! The only other Easter item I bought at the sale was one lone pink Gurley bunny candle.

We're planning a low-key Easter weekend around here. Maren has been sick since early yesterday morning, The Mister has been late getting home every single night this week and I because Maren's off-track from school, I haven't had the opportunity to do any shopping or errands without the kids and I'm going a bit Mommy-crazy. The Easter Bunny visits our house tomorrow morning, the day before Easter, and I still need to find a basket for Maren and get the eggs filled. It may be a late night for this Bunny!

Sparkling Winter White swap--sent

I always manage to forget to photograph my swap package before I send it off (you'd think after doing this repeatedly I'd learn--nope!) so I only have photos of two of the items I made for Kelly, but I thought I'd share anyways:

I had fun making this tulle wreath, an idea I saw on a blog and have had tucked away in my brain for a while. I used a 10" white foam wreath form and three rolls of white tulle from the Dollar Tree (each roll contains 8 yds, so 24 yds total). I simply decided on a length, cut all my tulle into pieces and knotted each one around the wreath form. I purchased my wreath at JoAnn's, but my Dollar Tree sells 10" green wreath forms, though you'd need to cover them with ribbon first so the green doesn't show through the tulle.

To embellish the wreath I created a vintage-style corsage, using some of my actual vintage Christmas corsages for inspiration. I used some vintage silver foil leaves, vintage silver glass ornaments (these were meant for floral arrangements and already wired), and some giant silver jingle bells from my stash. I used white pipe cleaners to create stems for the jingle bells and an additional white pipe cleaner to make a pair of spirals to add interest. I wrapped the whole thing in white floral tape and tied with a piece of white velvet ribbon, then used hot glue to attach it to the wreath. I'm very pleased with how it turned out and I think my 'corsage' is a pretty good recreation of a vintage one!I also made Kelly a bouquet of button flowers using white, silver, glass and rhinestone buttons. I've made quite a few button bouquets this past year and I have loved them all! They're so easy and fun and maybe even a bit addictive.

To see more of the goodies sent and received in this swap, check out the Flickr group!

Sparkling Winter White swap--received

I don't know what my problem is, but every year it seems like I finally get my best Christmas decoration inspiration and gift ideas on about the 21st, when it's far too late to actually do anything about it. Never fails, I tell you--and this year was no exception.

My decor inspiration actually arrived a bit earlier in the form of my swap package from Kelly, but in between house guests and last minute shopping, I didn't have the time to do anything about it. Maybe next year, and Kelly's fabulous package gives me a good head start!

The theme for our swap this time was "Sparkling Winter White" with theme colors of white and silver. My swap came packaged in this awesome vintage aluminum cake carrier:Isn't that THE most clever idea for a gift container? I LOVE it! I actually have a small collection of cake carriers, so this one will fit right in! Love gift wrap that is a gift in itself!

When I pulled up the lid of the carrier, my treats were all wrapped in old sewing pattern tissue that Kelly had cut into scallops with pinking shears. So cute! Kelly had used the vintage foil flowers with the turquoise centers as decoration on the handle of the cake carrier. She also sent yummy chocolate sweets, a trio of vintage angel ornaments and some yummy vintage rhinestone *bling*.
Kelly made me this darling garland and the creamy neutral colors and bits of sparkle are what really inspired me. She used stacks of neutral-colored fabrics and sewed them together; each one is perfectly shabby and ruffly.

She embellished each letter with hand-sewn beads, sequins, pearls and teeny tiny jingle bells:
Oh, I just love it! The shabbiness of the letters combined with the sparkle of the beads & sequins is just perfect.

Kelly also made me a sweet tussy musy cone using more creamy neutrals, vintage ornaments and pattern tissue, and her cousin Gretchen made this amazing snowman for me:
His body is an old bottle filled with silver sequins and glitter and still sporting the original foil label. The snowman has the sweetest glittery face and can you see what she used for his hat? An icing piping tip! Neither Kelly nor Gretchen have blogs, which is a shame because I want to see MORE of what those girls create!

I was so inspired by the beautiful neutral palette that Kelly used. I wish I'd had more free time before Christmas because it made my fingers itch to create! Maybe I can remember them and start earlier next year--like in about August, perhaps!

New swap!

There's a new swap open!Head over to Sweet Goodness Swaps to check it out and get info on how to sign up!

Sweet & Sinister swap--sent and received

When I told The Mister that I had signed up for a Halloween swap with an Oct. 1 mail-out deadline, he thought I was nuts given my due date (and eventual delivery date) of Sept. 17. I thought I might be crazy too but I had such fun with last year's swap that I just couldn't pass up the opportunity, impending birth or not!

The color guidelines for the Sweet & Sinister swap are black and white with just a touch of orange. I already showed you the blingy black pumpkin I sent to my partner Julie, but I made a few other items for her as well:

--This black and white witch silhouette in the perfect, already-distressed thrifted frame:Want to make a Halloween silhouette of your own? Go here.

--A bouquet of black, white and blingy vintage button flowers:
that I loved so much I had a hard time giving away!

--And a beeswax collage canvas with another cute silhouette:I've been meaning to make another beeswax collage ever since I learned how last November in Phoenix. I bought all the supplies and they've sat in my craft closet ever since! This was a good opportunity to finally dust off my mini-iron and wax pellets and get to work. I had such fun creating things for my partner and I hope she liked them.

My partner Julie sent me a fabulous package. She knew that I am planning a Haunted Library-themed Halloween party this year and that I love crows, so she tailored her package to suit me perfectly!
She included Halloween cupcake mix and the most delightful box of fancy sprinkles & cupcake toppers, a big vintage-style black and orange lollipop decorated with festooning and a sparkly chipboard H, a package of darling party parasols, a very old copy of Poe's "The Raven" (I'd been looking for one of these but had given up!), and the beautiful sparkly table runner that everything is sitting on.

As wonderful as all of those things are, my very favorite thing in the box was this awesome decoration that Julie made for me! She used a box that looks like an old book and decorated it with a crow who is wearing a string of pearls and a sparkly party hat! I absolutely ADORE it and it will be the centerpiece of my party decorations!
Check out the neat detail on the black roses: She took apart the flowers, traced the petals onto the book pages, cut them out, curled the edges and punched a hole in the center. Then she reassembled the flower, layering the book petals with the silk petals. I love the look--perfect for a Haunted Library!

I'm so glad that I signed up for this swap and plan to do it again next year!

Swap goodies

I was completely spoiled by my partner Cheryl in our recent Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue swap! She sent me a box absolutely packed with the most delightful goodies, so I wanted to share a few with you.
The first thing I saw when I opened the box is this darling 'bunting' garland that Cheryl made from stiff sheet music that she painted to make the red and blue stripes. Each one is fan pleated and has eyelets set in the corners so they can be strung together. I absolutely LOVE it! I've made rosettes before but the thought never occurred to me to just do half the circle to make bunting. And the candies were so clever--red and white striped peppermints and cookies n' cream Hershey's kisses (which BTW are DELISH) that are wrapped in blue and white foil.
Cheryl included this little outfit just for Miss Maren, who as you might imagine was enamored with it and immediately insisted on wearing it. :) She has pranced around in it ever since and I can't say that I blame her, because I'll admit to being a teeny bit disappointed that it wasn't in my size. ;) Seriously, if I'd had an outfit like that when I was 4 years old I doubt I'd have ever let my mom take it off of me!Cheryl also included two crowns (one each for me and Maren) that she made. They are amazing! I had seen the crown she made on her blog a few weeks ago but didn't have any idea I'd be lucky enough to have one for myself! She used small chicken wire, gold-flecked netting, lace, old book pages, vintage crepe paper and glittery stars to

And that's not all she sent--check out Cheryl's blog where she has better close-up photographs of all the wonderful treasures she sent to me. Thanks again, Cheryl!

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Tonight I'm excited to be going to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater. I lived in Utah for 12 years but I don't think I ever saw the MoTab perform live, and I've lived here in Denver almost five years but have never been to Red Rocks so I'm looking forward to both experiences!

Pink and Blue, all the way through

First, I promised you a contest!

Yesterday I hit the 20-week mark in my pregnancy. Halfway through, and it's all uphill from here, right? LOL I'm currently in that second trimester honeymoon period, where the *ick* has disappeared, my energy has reappeared, and I can still bend over to tie my shoes! Things are good. On Monday I have my 20-week ultrasound, and we're going to take Maren along so she can see the baby too. We're planning to find out the baby's sex, and we're excited to finally know so we can start talking about names and know if we have to redecorate the nursery!
So here's the contest--guess the baby's sex! All you have to do is leave a comment guessing whether I'll have a girl or a boy! On Monday after my appointment, I'll draw a winner from all the people who guessed the correct sex. At this point I'm not sure what exactly the prize will be, but I promise I'll pick something fun! How about--if it's a boy the prize will be blue and if it's a girl, the prize will be pink. You have until I get back from my ultrasound on Monday to enter!

Next up--more pink and blue in the form of the collage I made for the Marie Antoinette Bits & Baubles swap. I love working on these collages because it's so fun to go through all of my trinkets and stash to find things to fill 12 little squares. It's much less intimidating to fill a 3"x3" square than worry about a whole canvas! This one was especially delightful because of the theme--who doesn't love to work with sparkles, feathers, pinks and blues, and all manner of foof and frills?

Here's the finished collage:

and here are closeups of the two halves:
Some of the things I used have been in my stash for years--we're talking 10 or more! Projects like this are perfect for packrats like me!

The fog outside my window means we're gearing up for yet another weekend of lousy weather around here. Every single weekend in April has been wet in some form or fashion, and I've had just about e-damn-nough of it. I think we're having a case of "be careful what you wish for" because our Jan/Feb/Mar were bone dry and everyone was so worried about what that meant for our summer. Well, April took care of it all--we received 3.22" of water in April alone (out of 4.22" for the YTD) and I think most of that has fallen on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday! This is putting a serious damper on the start of the garage sale season.

My yard & garden are a total disaster but I can't plant anything yet, for fear that it'll get snowed upon again. This past week the "nice" days were beset by 30-mph wind gusts, making it less-than-ideal for digging in the dirt or even being outside at all. A few intrepid tulips and daffodils have made their way out of the ground and survived the snows, but for the most part it still looks brown and bare around here. This, folks, is why Spring is my least favorite season in Colorado. Bleh. I envy all of you who already enjoying gardens, flowers, and leaves on the trees! It feels like that is still a LONG way off for us.

Hope your weekend is sunny and dry!

A swap and a tag

I'm excited every time I get a package in the mail, and a package from overseas is especially exciting! My partner for the Sweet Goodness Winning Hand swap was Caroline, who lives in Bath, England.
She sent me such a fun package! Caroline didn't even know that I collect Alice in Wonderland things when she chose this great edition of Alice for me--what a lucky coincidence! (And as an Alice aficionado, I'm embarrassed to admit that the idea of using Alice-themed things to fulfill the swap theme NEVER even occurred to me!) Caroline also included a neat handmade beaded bookmark that is perfect because I'm guilty of grabbing the nearest scrap of paper to stuff in my book, so it will be nice to have something pretty. She also made me a set of darling heart hairclips in my favorite colors of red and turquoise.

Another clever interpretation of the theme was the package of cupcake sprinkles and the beads that are definitely club-shaped! And last but certainly not least, a few of my favorite British candy bars, including the BEST peanut butter Kit Kat I've ever eaten, which is conspicuously missing from this photo because it made its way into my mouth immediately after its discovery. :) (The Mister and I loved it so much I'm thinking of starting a letter-writing campaign to the Kit Kat folks to convince them to sell them in the US). It was such fun to swap with Caroline and I love the package she put together for me!

I was tagged by one of my fellow blogland Heidis to share the 6th photo in my 6th photo folder. I have to admit that I've been tagged with this before but didn't participate because my 6th folder doesn't even have six photos in it! LOL I just did some cleaning and sweeping the old photo folder and moved things around but folder #6 still doesn't have six photos in it, so I'm going to improvise and choose the 5th photo in the 5th folder.
This was taken of Maren the Sunday after Valentine's Day. A friend gave me this dress even before Maren was born, and it just now fits her. It's very frou-frou and pretty--not something I would normally have picked out but it's awfully cute, so I wanted to take some photos to send to her grandmas. The string she is holding is the enormous heart-shaped mylar balloon that Daddy bought her for Valentine's Day. This wasn't the best photo of the bunch but the look on her face does make me smile. :)

Sweet and Sinister Swap--sent

Check the post below to see what lovely things I received in the Sweet & Sinister Halloween swap. I must admit that I had a tough time sticking swap guidelines to use chiefly black & white with "a touch of orange." I used a heavy hand on my touch of orange but I just can't do Halloween without it! I didn't take photos of all of the things I sent to Julie, just the things I made.

This little jar started life as an old milk glass cold cream jar, sans lid. I used some fun bat rub-ons on one side and some velvety letter stickers on the other. Around the neck of the jar I hot glued some gorgeous black velvet scalloped ribbon and a bit of bling (a vintage earring).
This poor pumpkin went through several iterations before it was finished. I started out by painting it with a black harlequin pattern, an idea I saw somewhere online. Great plan, except I couldn't figure out a way to draw nice straight lines on my bumpy, round pumpkin so I just sort of free-handed it...and it turned out horrible! Laughably bad, really. I'm not so good with a paintbrush.

I then found a forgotten can of black chalkboard spray paint in my basement, so the next plan was to make it into a cute chalkboard pumpkin, an idea I saw in a magazine this year. The chalkboard paint took several coats and when it was finally done, I tested it by writing on the pumpkin with orange chalk. Great, but when I tried to erase it the chalk smeared all over and left an ugly mess! On to Plan C...paint the whole thing white again using a can of spray paint from my basement. But I forgot that I hated that particular type of paint, as it seemed to come out in droplets rather than a nice fine spray, resulting in an ugly, mottled black and white pumpkin that looked like it had a bad case of mildew.
At that point I employed Plan D: Give up and buy a new pumpkin. I decorated it with a big vintage velvet leaf, and now that I look at the photos I wish I had thought to coat the stem with silver glitter! Maybe Julie can do that part. :) I also decorated it with a big feathered crow that I adorned with a necklace of vintage seam binding, metallic fibers and of course, more vintage jewelry bling.By far my favorite thing that I made for Julie was this collage. I was inspired by the collages from the Bits & Pieces swap that Jenny Holiday hosted a year ago. The base is a 9" x 12" canvas which is then divided into a dozen roughly 3 x 3 squares. I had such fun creating all the little individual collages! That's what I was making back when I posted these photos.

In fact, I had such fun making Julie's collage that I kept going! I created two more collages, and both are available now in my etsy shop.

Sweet and Sinister Swap--received

I was excited this year to be able to participate in ArtsyMama's Sweet & Sinister swap, a vintage-style Halloween swap where the theme colors were black and white. My partner was Julie B, who doesn't have a blog but is someone I had the pleasure to meet at Silver Bella last year. Julie sent me the most delightful package! It was tough to keep to the black and white color scheme (I know I added more than a touch of orange) but she did it well. Here are the fab things Julie sent:

The glittery Trick or Treat sign is hanging right outside my front door--very appropriate, no? The little glittery Boo is on the window ledge in my kitchen, where it looks just perfect. I can't wait to use the Martha Halloween banner in a garland I'm making--the letters are glow in the dark, how fun! Maren ran off with the googly eye glasses as soon as we pulled them from the box. Here she is modeling them:
Maren has also been enjoying the big jar of candy Julie sent! YUM! Julie decorated the jar with hand-stamped twill tape. Isn't it neat? I've actually been thinking of doing a little blog tutorial on how to stamp and print on twill tape. I love the little black crow she added!

I had mentioned to Julie that I'm really loving crows right now, so she made the neatest hanging with the words from Poe's "The Raven". I just realized that I forgot to take a picture of that so I need to add it later.

Julie also sent a darling handmade journal, great die cut felt ghostie garland, and look at these neat letter balls she made. They were in the candy jar--how clever, Sweet & Sinister! These remind me of the very pricey porcelain letter balls I've seen in catalogs and in boutiques. Julie made these by painting wooden balls and applying scrapbooking rub ons. Very neat! She also sent some great black 'pine' garland that will be perfect for decorating.

Julie sent her treats to me in a huge box filled with packing peanuts, and even that was enjoyed! Here's Maren taking a "bubble bath" later that evening:

Thanks again, Julie! You were a fabulous swap partner! Next up I'll show you what I sent to Julie. Right now, I need to go see what I can salvage from my sad tomato plants. We're scheduled for rain and snow and generally yucky weather for the weekend so I've got to work while I can. Have a lovely weekend!

Shoes, School and a Swap

The only thing better than new red shoes for me?


New red shoes for Maren! Jen posted about Salt-Water sandals the other day and that reminded me that I wanted a red pair for Maren. Thanks to the wonders of eBay and quick shipping, I had them just a few days later, right in time to wear with her cute Fourth of July dresses.

Our Fourth holiday was good--quiet, but still nice. We grilled hot dogs and ate outside on the patio, then headed to a neighboring town for the fireworks show. We'd actually never been to watch fireworks here in Denver--for two of the previous three years we were in Utah and the one year we stayed here it rained so we stayed home. We've been a bit unsure of the best place to go to see fireworks so took a gamble and drove a few miles south. We ended up with prime seats and with a big bag of fresh kettle corn for Mommy & Daddy (really, they should call that stuff kettle crack) and a brand new tube of glow bracelets for Maren, we sat back and enjoyed what turned out to be a really great show.

This morning Maren and I walked down to the school where she will be attending preschool to meet her new teachers and see her classroom. The school is on a year-round schedule so while three of the tracks begin tomorrow, Maren doesn't start until the end of July. That gives us just enough time to fit in a couple of weeks of swimming lessons, which will start next week. Maren will only go to school two days a week for about three hours in the morning, but that will be enough for her to have some fun and learn new things and for me to have a little break (yay!).

I received the most amazing package from my Parasols, Pink Lemonade and Polka Dots swap partner, the fabulous ArtsyMama! I can tell that Kari took much time in selecting items that I would love--and she was right!

Among the treasures she sent were a lovely blown glass bottle in my favorite turquoise color, a darling vintage hankie and apron, a fun bag with an ice cream cone on the front (perfect for the pool!)

a trio of vintage paper parasols--so perfect for the theme!--a gorgeous vintage hat and a bunch of neat old millinery flowers, the cutest little ice-cream patterned pennant banner, a little pink wagon for Maren, and one of Kari's pieces of original collage artwork, which I have happily displayed in my craft room.

There were lots of other goodies as well, and it was such a treat to pull out treasure after treasure. Kari was a fantastic swap partner! As usual, I forgot to photograph the package I sent to her before I got it all in the box (WHEN will I learn? Sheesh.) so you'll have to check out her blog in a few days when she returns from vacation. Also, if you're a fellow swapper and haven't yet uploaded your photos to the Flickr group, please head over there and do so! I love checking out all the ways that people interpreted the theme. I'm heading over to upload my photos right now!