New Banner, Links, and a few Handmades

I have been sneaking some changes to my blog over the past 2 weeks or so. The most recent is my blog banner. I purchased a kit from Shabby Miss Jenn Designs here Any kind of digital work is still a learning process for me but I loved the design of this banner and it was on sale....
Other new links are to the left of my post. There are some new blogs that feature images you can use for free and there are 2 classroom sites that have some fun projects featured right now. Cupid's Workshop by Lisa Pace ($20 to join) has some amazing Valentine themed art tutorials and Joli Paquet (free) has projects to learn and some to buy as well. I took Lisa's 12 Days of Christmas Workshop and her projects for that series were great, too.

There is a Vintage Spring Sweetness swap you can sign up for. Linda features a swap each season and the one for Spring sounds like fun. This will be my second swap with this group (I missed the mitten swap) and I'm looking forward to a Spring project. It's not too late to sign up!
From time to time I add blogs to my favorites list. Are you like me? You visit a favorite blog and see which blogs are that person's favorites and then you visit those blogs and before you know it, you have 1,000 blogs that you're reading!!! Maybe I should say that my hobby is linking and lurking!
OK-I promised myself that I would do some kind of post today to get started in blogland again. I have missed writing but January has been more than busy for our family. In my next post I will tell you about turning 60 last week!!!!
I will leave you with some pictures from a scrapbook I made for a customer for a couples' first Christmas.


These next pictures are of some items that were Christmas gifts for a special friend. The wonderful letters I used for the dream banner/garland can be found here. (Of course it would be from Martha!)The candle is a Novena candle that I found in the Ethnic Foods aisle of my grocery store. I covered it in scrapbook paper (from Graphic 45) and wrapped it with a strip of ivory colored felt. I cut flower shapes from the felt and sewed a button on for the flower center. The lacy scalloped border was made using a punch from Martha Stewart that I found at Michael's. Don't you love the chubby little bird on this paper?


A visit with Amelia over the Christmas holiday was a treat for David and me. She and her Mommy came to see us one evening. Amelia loves books and "D" is happy to read to her.