Christmas At Versailles 4x4 Book Swap

I've been a very busy elf, I mean, gal. I hosted another 4x4 book swap with my beloved Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group. It is fabulous and is my favorite of the three that have been made thus far. My hope is that even more will be created next year. Sign ups for a Valentine book are already underway and I am just thrilled that people still want to sign up for them. I love to hear from participants that they love their books and will cherish them. It gives me so much satisfaction to be a part of that. It is such a wonderful gift. Many thanks to everyone who made and have made these books such a success! Enjoy!

Snow

When they call for snow, I never believe it until I see it. They were correct and we did get some snow. I woke up early and peeked out the window to see if it was actually true and could see that wonderful way the light looks different and white all around. When the girls woke up and crawled into our bed, I knew they had not looked out the window. I reached out to pull the curtains open to hear them yell with glee, "It snowed! It snowed!"

The next hour consisted of coffee and a mad rush to find the snow clothes that still fit their growing bodies. When you rarely have snow, it is a huge task to prepare those little bodies for playing in the white stuff. Talk about excitement.

It wasn't that much snow, but any amount for us is just magical. I'm really surprised it happened so early in the season and hope that we have at least one good snow this year. One where we can ride down the road on the slide and the whole town comes to a halt. But for now, this was a wonderful day.

One of the things I love about my neighborhood, the many tall trees that are all around me. I love my tall trees. This is the same view from my studio window that I love so much. I feel like I am in my own castle overlooking the road and the trees.

It wasn't a lot of snow and I was surprised with how much play time the kids got out of it. It was perfect for packing and we made lots of snowballs and snowmen. You could tell instantly as we walked upon it to hear the perfect crunching sound. We rode down the hill several times, warmed up in front of my neighbors fire pit and enjoyed some hot cocoa and Christmas music from the radio.

I love the way the light shines in the house after it snows, the stillness and quiet that comes and the way it looks upon the trees. I feel really blessed today to enjoy this time with the kids. Have a great weekend and stay warm! Off to cozy up in front of the fireplace!

Itty Bitty Circus Book Slide Show

I love this Itty Bitty Circus book and think it is my favorite. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this last beautiful book and to Mary Ann for all of the smiles and friends that she brought our way. Enjoy!

Itty Bitty Circus Page

I can't believe that the final Itty Bitty book is now complete. I am honored that I was able to host this last of many and am proud to say that I contributed to every single Itty Bitty book that was made. I will really miss the group but made so many friends along the way including Mary Ann from Follow Your Bliss who was the creator of the group.

I made a few pages for the book but this page is my favorite. I will be posting a slide show of the entire book soon. I think it is my favorite. I used images from Cassi's Creations collage sheet titled Circus Animals Clown and after seeing this sheet is the reason that I decided to make this book have a circus theme.



Each image was cut out very carefully and I layered the image of the ball to give it more of a 3-d effect.



I also enhanced the colors using this product that I love called Smooch. I think I have almost every color now from the local shop that carries it.



I really love how these pages turned out and hope that everyone from the group who helped to create this book loves it as well. A huge thanks to Mary Ann for all of her hard work with the Follow Your Bliss group and also to Cassandra for once again inspiring me and my art! If you would like to be inspired, be sure to check out her Etsy shop Cassi's Creations!

Have a great day!

Soldered Charm for Love & Hope Charity Event Currently Taking Place

Here is a soldered Marie Antoinette charm that I made for the Love & Hope Charity Event that is currently taking place on eBay. I am so glad that I finally started to enjoy this wonderful craft.





There are only a couple of more days to bid on the two amazing altered books that were made and many other wonderful items have been listed as well. I hope that you will pay them a visit and maybe even bid on one of these items and help give to a fabulous cause. To see this item and more and to learn more about this event visit the link below.

Love & Hope Charity Event

Have a great weekend and good luck bidding!

Twilight Charm Swap

I couldn't control myself when it came to making charms for Cassandra's Twilight Charm Swap. Each participant was to make 30 charms, send them in to Cassandra, who will then send us each 30 charms back. Well, I made a few more then that, lol.

These are my first soldered charms. I finally learned how to do this. The Simply Soldered DVD is great and really helped a lot. And my husband totally hooked me up for my birthday this past Saturday. He got different tips and tools for me and this awesome "thing-a-ma-gig" that holds my items while I solder. It was a lot of fun and oddly, I love the smell of it. I can't wait to make even more soldered items.

Each soldered charm is double sided and I hope the other participants like them. There are five of us in all, so I made two for each gal.

As soon as I signed up for this swap I went bonkers seeking out beads, crystals and charms to use. Above are some beaded charms that I made. I like making little dangles to capture the light.

Above are the other charms that I made, one for each gal. Most of them have an extra crystal hanging from them. And for those of you that are fans of the Twilight series, I am sure that you know the meaning of each charm.

I packed each gal's charms up with tissue and vintage ledger pages from the 1800's. If only I had some from 1901, or better yet June 20, 1901. That would have been too cool (Edward's birthday)!

I hope everyone likes the charms that I made for them and a huge thanks to Cassandra for hosting this fun swap. I can't wait until I get my charms back and can make my bracelet. And I really can't wait to see New Moon.

Like I told all of the participants, hope these charms put a smile on your face and Edward on your neck!

Marie Antoinette Halloween Masquerade 4x4 Book Swap

Here is another beautiful 4x4 book from a swap that I hosted over at my beloved Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group. What amazing people I have met there. This book is fabulous and I so enjoy putting them together. The next one has a pastel Christmas theme. I know it will be amazing as well. Thank you so much to all of the amazing artists who made this book a success! Enjoy!