My Friends

Not only are they fun to hang out with

and they both really "get" me,

 but they are so inspiring

and both are so very talented.

I love my friends.

*********

Winter Angel by:

Cheryl Bass

Spring Fleurs by:

Nina Little



Wednesday

It was a beautiful Spring day, Wednesday was.
And unfortunately my muse had decided she wanted to be a gypsy and had taken off about a week prior. So when Wednesday rolled in, she was still off somewhere gallivanting around... more than likely in a meadow dotted with wildflowers and a bubbling brook near by.

Luckily for me, however, I had plans for a couple of the most wonderful friends to come over for lunch that day.
And eventhough I was struggling, and I mean really struggling, to function properly without my gypsy muse, the day turned out beautifully.
There was gift giving...

and soothing stitching...

and some pretty darn good food (if I say so myself).

That gypsy muse of mine must have sensed she was missing out, because later that evening she came tiptoeing up to me, head hanging down, with a whispered apology on her lips.
I told her it was all okay, but to remember next time, that I love meadows dotted with wildflowers too.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Spring Art Party

Last Friday I hosted an evening of creative escape for my three closest friends and myself. It was a fabulous evening with a French theme.

We started with a laid back cocktail hour, minus the cocktails. But we did have French Lemonade and French Jazz.



Yes, a much needed wind down from the crazy week that we each had had.

From there we moved on to a seriously yummy dinner, al fresco.

Remember the paint chip collage peek I showed before? Here is the whole thing. I read an article in the winter issue of Sew Somerset... napkin rings created out of paint chips. It was a cool idea, so I thought I would try it. However, by the time I finished, they wouldn't curl around the napkins. But I really like how they turned out anyway. And I also made place cards with small silver trays, flowers and antique lace.

After dinner, we moved inside to create.

We made hand bound journals, or at least began them. There was so much laughing through out the evening, that by 1am we were only half way through the project and all dead tired.

We also have been working on a collaborative tag book, but again because of our crazy lives, none of us completed on them on time. So when those are finished I'll share.

Have a beautiful week!

It Was A Marie Day

I seriously feel so grateful to not only have friends who enjoy the same hobbies as I, but who also live so near. Yesterday two of those friends came over and we spent the day working on our canvases for this Marie Antoinette swap.


And what would a day of Marie Antoinette be if there weren't decadent sweets? Well, it certainly would not be a proper Marie day! So, I provided pretty blue candies and the other two brought scrumptiously, yummy cupcakes and the most delicious Red Velvet cake I've ever put into my mouth!


Surprisingly, between all of the chatting and indulgent eating, I think we each did manage to get a bit accomplished. Here's a little bitty peek of my canvas.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know, I'm a day late. That's because yesterday, I was suffering from an art party hangover.

Let me backtrack.

Just after the New Year, three of my good friends and I spent the day shopping on the square. At lunch that day, we decided to have an ATC swap between the four of us. Now this was kind of a "big" step for my friends, as they were just entering into the beautiful world of mixed media art. We chose a theme for our cards... February (our own interpretation) and decided that it would be fun to have an art party and we would swap cards then.

Well, needless to say, the first thing that popped into my head was this book. With this being the first "art party" I've ever hosted for a group over the age of 5 and with choosing a February date, I thought I would baby step it and based our party around the one in Postmark: LA.

It was great!



Unfortunatly, this was the only picture I took all night.

So, after a delicious Italian pot luck dinner, we sat down to create. I had filled everyone's boxes with lots of pretty goodies and gave them each a wooden heart. Each box contained an old bottle, like the project in the book, but it turned out that none of us ended up attaching our bottles to our collages. Here is my finished heart.





The postcard image I used is from Ranjini of Scrapologie.

After time spent laughing and creating, we sat down to swap our ATC's. Here are the three I made.

I absolutely fell in love with Cerri's tutorial over at Joli Paquet and knew immediately that this was the technique I wanted to use on my cards. It fit my interpretation of February perfectly.... romance.


This one is Donna's. Love this image. She added just a touch of color to it and edged it in real gold leaf.


This one is Nina's. Seriously, how darling is this!



The front and back of Cheryl's. Cheryl went ALL out and made the box to house the ATC and included a photo clip...

and filled the pocket with tons of little images!


Like I said, the whole night was great!

Hope your Valentine's Day was wonderful too!

Girly Getaway

This weekend I had a chance to get away for a bit with some girlfriends. We hopped in our cars and drove down to Austin in celebration of a friend's birthday.

What a great weekend!

Three of us left a little earlier than everyone else on Saturday morning. We got down there just in time for a delightful luncheon at the Driskill Hotel. Really, there is just no better place in Austin to sit with your girlfriends, to eat and chat, than the 1886 Cafe & Bakery in the hotel.



Once the rest of the group made it into town we did a bit of shopping, then checked in at the hotel. We got settled in, had a nice rest, more chitchat, then a quick freshen up and off for a birthday dinner.

Sunday gave us more good food, a stroll around the capital and some time spent at my happy place, Uncommon Objects.





Good Times!

Thank you for all the nice comments about the two Valentine swaps I was in.

Hope you have a beautiful Monday!

Bluebirds and Friendship

Bluebirds and Friendship are the two things that I am most grateful for this weekend.

If you know me, you know of my obsession with Bluebirds. I own several glass Bluebird figurines... two of which are very special to me because of whom they came from.

We unfortunately don't have Bluebirds here in my neck of the woods (or I should say city), but if I drive a few hours east and into the actual woods, I can see them. I worry that someday I may give my Farmboy a heart attack from my impulsive squeal of "follow that bird" as we are driving through East Texas. I get so delightfully excited when I spot one!

Anyway, for me Bluebirds represent "happiness". And that is exactly what I felt, after the initial surprise, when I opened an unexpected package from my sweet friend Whitney.


Whitney made this lovely lariat Bluebird necklace and said that as soon as it was finished, she knew that it had to be sent to me. Thank you Whitney!!! I absolutely LOVE it!


I am truly amazed by the generosity and kindness I continually find here in blogland... which leads me into the subject of friendship.

Whitney and I met through Artsy Mama's "Vintage Party Swap". This was a first time swap for the both of us and seriously, I couldn't have been given a better swap partner! It's going on a year since that first swap and Whitney and I have continued to stay in touch through our blogs and email and our friendship has grown.

2008 really seems to be the "friendship" year for me. Much like mine and Whitney's friendship, I have had other cyber friendships blossom into something sweet and lovely.

I've met so many nice ladies and made so many new friends though different parts cyber space... Blogland, Etsy, LolliShops, Silver Bella, TwilightMoms and Meetup.com. Some I have had the pleasure of meeting in person thanks to Silver Bella and others I am just lucky to live close enough to, so we are able to get together on a fairly regular basis.

So these are two things that bring me happiness and that I am extremely grateful for this Thanksgiving week... Bluebirds and Friendship.

I've decided to go out of town with my Farmboy this coming week, so I probably won't be around here. I hope you all have a very beautiful, safe and happy Thanksgiving!

The Stamptini Girls

Good afternoon! I wanted to pop in real quick and introduce you to some friends of mine.

The Stamptini Girls!

These three lovely ladies have recently started up their business, Stamptini Girls, and offer a great selection of gift items. They create all kinds of wonderfulness! From cards to mini albums to coaster to candles. Check out their blog and if you are in the Fort Worth area you can find their creations for sale down at the Stockyards. They are also teaching classes and workshops in the Frisco area. Oh, and when LolliShops opens, be sure to look for them there as well!

(photo: Stamptini Girls)