Life and Art

It has been a busy, busy week. I have had to put the mommy hat on a bit more then usual, and I have a lot of projects that I am working on. And to top it all off, when I finally DO get to log on to my Internet, my Internet high speed provider seems to be slacking on the job. I have to unplug and replug too much and one day I didn't even have my Internet service. It was a cruel day and I am way too addicted to my online communities.

On a good note, I have finished building my Eiffel tower "statue". After looking at it for a short time, I was able to get it all together quite easily. I then put each section together separately and next I glued it all together. I am really pleased with it. My next step will be to spray paint it silver and then I will add silver glass glitter. I am really excited to see the finished product. But don't worry. I will post lots of before and after pics. It will be a bit though because I am finishing up other swap projects first that have a dead line.

I have been doing a lot with the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group. I am finishing up my paper theatre for a swap and will be posting pictures of the shoe I altered soon. I am really proud of how it turned out and I think all of you will like it as well. Let's just hope my Internet provider doesn't infuriate me in the process. Come April, I am going elsewhere for my service.

I just ordered some extra copies of the April/May Stamper's Sampler. I am thrilled to have my Marie piece published and I can't wait to see how it looks in print. I am also counting down the days until the release of the Marie issue. I should have pre-ordered because I am super jealous of all the people out there that already have it. I feel like Santa has visited everyone else and not me. I bet cha it will be the first of many Marie publications. I hope so anyway.

Have to say, my art is my therapy. I am so thankful to God that I have many creative outlets. It really gets you through some tough times. I have a lot going on with both my husband's health and my oldest schooling. She has apraxia of speech and we are now learning that she probably has some other disabilities (if you want to call it that) as well. We were told that she is very smart, above average in many areas, but her apraxia makes it hard for her to communicate her thoughts. They said it is like she is trying to run a race but her feet are tied together. I am heart broken, but not surprised. I am blessed with parent's who take very active roles and are super supportive. The thing that bugs me though is that the public schools suck. There are so many problems with the system, that I won't even get into it. I am considering, and I never thought I would say this, but I am considering home schooling her for a little bit. The public schools just can't give her what she needs and there is no consistency in what they do in the classroom. It's all about scores and learning what is on the standardized tests. Ug, didn't mean to go there... as a former teacher it is hard not to be frustrated.

Okay, off for more coffee and to start my busy day. Hope all of you are doing fabulously and I will chat with you soon!

French Goodie Bag Swap

Here are the lovely items that Barbara from Vintage Bunty sent to me for another swap that I participated in at the Marie Antoinette Mail Art group. I couldn't believe all of the wonderful goodies that she sent to me. Each item was individually wrapped and I felt like it was Christmas morning. Even the tissue was wonderful. You can see the beautiful package below and if you are looking to see more beauty, then be sure to pay her a visit at her blog. She is a phenomenal artist and I feel blessed to know her. Thank you again Barbara for making my day!

Marie Antoinette Swaps

I feel so lucky to be a part of the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group. I have met some amazing artists and have been challenged to take my artwork into new territories. I love having new challenges and pushing myself to create in a new way.



One of the swaps I joined was the Paper Toy Theatre swap. My partner was Tristan from Enchanted Revelry. He is an amazing artist with a wonderful sense of humor. I have learned so much already from him and I am telling you that you are missing out if you don't pay him a visit. Below is the paper toy theatre that he sent to me. You can imagine the way that I squealed when I received it.

He does an incredible job with adding just the right amount of rich details and uses such wonderful materials in his work. You can see other theatres he has for sale at his Etsy shop which goes by the same name, Enchanted Revelry. He also makes these amazing OOAK decorative quilts. I'm telling you, this man is very talented and needs to publish a book.

Another swap I joined was the Antoinette's Altered Shoe swap. I was lucky to have Rebecca from Sugar and Spice Art Confections as my partner. I had a friend over when her shoe arrived and as I opened the box, we both gasped. My friend was so jealous and I was excited to add this to my collection of french goodies.

I love the way Rebecca added the "M" and "A" to the back of the shoe. And so you know, she also goes by pumpkincoach and she creates the most amazing collage sheets which are for sale in her etsy shop Sugar and Spice Art Confections. They are so original and if you have a love of all things french or Marie Antoinette, then you won't regret paying her a visit!

A big thanks to both Tristan and Rebecca for the huge smile they have put upon my face and also to Cassandra who is the creator of Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group. I still have one more swap to share with you from the group and am going to show you pictures of the altered shoe that I created for my partner. Have a great day!

Itty Bitty Spring Page

Here are the pages that I made for the Itty Bitty Spring Book with the group Follow Your Bliss. You can read more about the group by visiting "Other Places I Call Home" below on the left. Are you surprised that I used an image of the Eiffel tower? Of course not!

I am still learning how to use Photo Shop and took the image of the bird and changed a few things about her. Then I added her to the image of the Eiffel tower.

The egg is covered in vintage blue glass glitter. What could be better?

My continued thanks and appreciation to all of those wonderful artists who have contributed to these wonderful books and to Mary Ann for all of her hard work!

Marie Antoinette ATCs

I recently participated in my first Artist Trading Card swap. It was through the wonderful group Marie Antoinette Mail Art. The cards had to have a theme of Marie, birds, feathers and have pink and blue or green. I hope I did them correctly and that they bring a smile to the face of those that get them. I really love this group and look forward to many more swaps. I am still creating my altered shoe and paper theatre. Wait until you see the shoe and theatre that I received! Stay tuned.....

Eiffel Tower Project

Look at the puzzle I found at Michaels yesterday! I just wanted to share this with those of you who are crazy about the Eiffel tower like I am. My plan is to build this and then cover it with vintage glass glitter. I recently made an Eiffel tower from cardboard and after painting it black, I covered it with with vintage black glass glitter. It looks great! This will be a challenge since it is not a flat surface, but I am excited about the challenge. Have a great day!

Sweets For My Sweet Swap

One of my favorite groups is the Vintage Ephemera Swap group on flickr. I have met some amazing artists and vintage ephemera is a huge favorite of mine so it really is perfect for me. My most recent swap was the Sweets For My Sweet Swap. We were to decorate a Valentine box for our partner and fill it with all sorts of yummy ephemera.

My partner was Julie from Cupcakedd and she is also the leader of our group so I knew I was a lucky gal. She had just gone to a Marie Antoinette Soiree (wish I lived in her town) and we decided to add some french flair to our boxes. Below is the incredible box that she made for me.

I love this box that she created just for me. It has so many wonderful layers on it. I actually hung it up on the wall of my new studio.

I love all of the little details that she added to this box. I could just stare at it for hours.

And look at all of the wonderful goodies that were inside. I have never seen french play money and I just loved all of the little wonders that she included.

I just love the little baby with the hat in the upper right side. Julie told me that she decided to put it in there at the last second.

Julie wrapped this candy bar with vintage pages and a lovely bow with a Paris tag. Not only does this candy bar taste great, but it has poetry on the inside of the wrapper.

Below is the box that I created for Julie. I wanted it to have that Marie Antoinette feel to it and I don't think I could have made that more obvious - lol!

I just love using old vintage jewelry in my work. It just gives it so much character.

I wanted to spoil Julie because I love her group so much. I included many of my personal favorites and hopefully she loves them as much as I do. A big thank you to Julie for all of her work with the group.

I started doing swaps over a year ago now. I just love them. And below is a perfect example of how these swaps have spread into other areas of my life. Parents from my daughter's classroom were invited to come in and decorate our child's desk for Valentine's Day. They were having a huge "Valentine Ball" and the kids were so excited. It is even more special for my daughter because she is a Valentine baby. I have made several decorated heart boxes now, so I was able to whip up a quick beauty for her desk. She was the only one in the class with handmade vintage goodies and she loved them all.

This now hangs on her bedroom wall among the forest of trees and birds that I painstakingly painted years ago. She knows it was all done with love. Hope she still feels that way as a teenager, but if she is anything like I was then my husband and I are in big trouble!

I still have more swap goodies to share as well as french finds. Have a great weekend and come back soon!

Swaps, Swaps, & More Fabulous Swaps

I am so, so behind on posting. Please oh please forgive me. I just love having so many of you coming by to pay me a visit. Things have been crazy, as usual, in our household. I have many things going on. Nothing too bad, but I would appreciate any prayers you could send our way. I am also still in the process of getting my new studio together. I can't wait to share some pictures of it with you. I also have more french goodies to share and even found some great new french goodies during an adventure with my mom earlier this week. She is still hanging in there and sends her love to all!

Marilyn at Unshelved Words has been doing seasonal tin swaps. I've really enjoyed doing this and have them on display in my studio. For this tin, I swapped with the amazing Suze at Junque Drawer Chick. This is the tin that she made for me. It is absolutely stunning.

I love the way she used pearls to make a pile of snow. It really is a beauty and she sent me lots of extra goodies as well. I was so happy with this swap and have made a great new friend as well. Thanks again to Marilyn for hosting these great swaps and I hope she will continue to do so.

This is the tin that I made for Suze:

I went crazy with the mica flakes. I used part of a makeup sponge to make my pile of snow and added about, no joke, ten layers of mica flakes to get it to look just right.

I also added some glitter and crystal effects to the image of the children to add depth. I love how it turned out.

Another event I have enjoyed are the 4x4 swaps with Danielle at The Vintage Dragonfly. This 4x4 was called "Love Me Tender Collage Swap". The 4x4 that I received was from Connie at Constantly Vintage. I love the many layers that she added to this lovely piece. I placed it on the wall in my new studio along with another 4x4 that I did with Danielle.

I just love ric rac and she placed it on both sides of the collage.

Below is the 4x4 collage that I made. I'm not sure who received it though. I hope they like it.

The heart was an image that I had also used on my Vintage Valentine page for the Itty Bitty book. It has a heart charm tied on as well as a key.

And what is Valentine's Day without a little love?

The vintage lace along the front and back are one of my favorite finds ever. I just love the color and detail on it.

My next post will share some more swap items that I have received and given. Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!