We Are Connected! A Swap For All Seasons...September...Halloween

This past weekend, our son Eric, DIL Jane and our two Grandsons came for a visit to see the new house. Eric did so much to help his Dad! He was up and down the ladder, putting things away in high places...carrying heavy items from one place to another, connecting the computer and TVs, and then even mowed the lawn!!! So much was accomplished that would have taken us weeks to do. We have gotten a lot done but there is still much to do. I want to show you some pictures of the house...soon.

For right now, I want to say that the September swap at A Swap For All Seasons is a wrap...for the month, and, actually, for the year. We started last October and every month I have had so much fun with the different themes and color schemes that our fearless leader and Swap Hostess Extraordinaire, Linda Smith, has challenged us with. I have met a bunch of new blog friends and have swapped with some dear old friends as well. Thank you, Linda, for the energy and creativity you have presented us with...I have enjoyed every minute!

This month we had a Halloween theme and the color for the destash was orange. We were given our assignment and our partner's name at the beginning of August and in spite of getting ready for our big move, I was determined to participate. Halloween is such a fun topic to create for and I was happy to have a little creative fun in between sorting and packing. My partner was Marti of 

Artful Curiosities . This was the second time I created for Marti, the first being in February. Marti was my "donor" in May and you might recall this gorgeous piece of art she made for me...

So, for the Halloween tag, I made a small hanging piece...

This image has made the rounds on Pinterest and I just loved this gal's flair for the dramatic! I am not a fan of really scary Halloween things...I like the sweet or the funny...I thought she was kind of funny.
I made a pocket card filled with Halloween Bingo cards.

The destash also fit nicely into the pocket...

Leaves, stickers, more images, vintage seam binding, washi tape and 2 orange polka dot note cards.

I also made the envelope for the card using scrapbook paper that looked rumpled...it's so cute and I know I've had it forever.
I liked the way this turned out.

Now that our computer is back up and running, i hope to be back posting on a more regular basis and of course, visiting my fellow blogging friends!

Until next time...
xoxo
Joyce

A Swap For All Seasons-August-Just My Style!

We are heavily into the work of packing up our house to move.

The movers come on August 22nd.

We close on our house here on August 25th.

We move into our new home in Delaware on August 27th....although our belongings may not arrive until the beginning of September, depending on how many stops our truck has to make.

To offset the stress and manual labor of the move, I have continued to participate in the monthly swaps at A Swap For All Seasons. How could I not? This year of themed monthly swaps has been great fun!! Our hostess, Linda, is the Queen of Swapping and has made our lives more creative and fun every month. I have had some partners I've never swapped with before and have, therefore, made new friends. I've also swapped with very treasured women that I've known for years! Next month is our last month in this year-long project and I am hoping that Linda will have something up her sleeve for another year of creative play.

August's theme for our card and tag was, Just My Style. We could create in our own unique way and the destash that we sent was not limited to one particular color. This couldn't be any easier!

Sherry, of Creatology, was my "donor: this month. Sherry is one of the friendliest, generous people on the planet! She is always gracious and kind and I don't think she ever sleeps because the lovely things that come out of her craft room seem to be never-ending! She swaps in several groups, sends surprises to friends and also makes things for charitable organizations. She is a dynamo!

Sherry showered me with a variety of wonderful gifts this month. 

First is the card and tag...

The tag is filled with lots of embellishments and old vintage papers. Kind of an international travel theme.

The card was made using a stamp of one of my favorite artists, D. Morgan.

I love all of the sea and beach themed art pieces she does and we already have one of her prints in our bedroom. I am planning on framing Sherry's card to hang up also. I wanted you to see the detail...

The treasures that Sherry included in my package were many and clever...

little pouches of paper and fabric, a notebook, handmade papers, washi tape, ribbon and lace

 and the prettiest and classiest bubble wand I have ever seen...

Did you know that blowing bubbles is a great stress reliever? I guess it's all that "blowing out" that you do! 

My person to send to this month was Lorraine Beaumont of 

Over the Rainbeau. Lorraine is a very accomplished artist. If you visit her blog, and you should (by clicking on her blog name), you will see some of her creations. It was a tiny bit (OK a Big Bit) intimidating to be creating for her but after all, it was Just My Style. Those who know me, know that I have kind of a quirky sense of humor. I love creating cards to send to friends for no particular reason except to bring a chuckle...a milk-snorting-out-the-nose laugh would be even better but I'll be happy if you chuckle. Anyway, the image for the card I made just begged for the quote...

When I saw the image of this little roller skater, I immediately loved her determination to skate and not get hurt! I thought the bow on the tag mimicked the bow in her hair.

Lorraine loves vintage images so I pulled a bunch out of my stash. along with some lace to play with in her crafting.

Another fabulous and fun month!
Next month is our last in the year long swap and the theme is Halloween...always a fun topic. My fingers are crossed that Linda has some plans for more fun swaps in the near future!

xoxo
Joyce

A Swap For All Seasons...July...Share a Smile!

We continue through the year with our monthly swaps at A Swap For All Seasons.

July's theme was Share a Smile and the color for the destash was purple. Even though our card and tag do not have to be the color of the month, I find that I tend to use that monthly color in my creating. These swaps have enabled me to expand my color palette.....some of the colors we use are not ones I would naturally choose but I'm liking the challenge of it.

I am a great believer in the practice of laughing every day....it is good for my mental and emotional health. I have to say that being married to David provides me with a lot of comic relief. He is one of the funniest people I know and he can always say or do something that keeps me chuckling!

Over the years, I have enjoyed creating cards for women to send to their friends for no reason other than to share some mirth. I chose one of these cards to send to my new friend, Pam, of Virginia Retro. Pam loves vintage things and has an amazing collection of tablecloths from the 50's and 60's as well as other vintage goodies she finds at estate and yard sales. I swoon over some of the treasures she finds! Anyway, I thought Pam might enjoy a funny card featuring a pair of the cutest "mature" ladies whose image I found on-line years ago. I saw a funny quote once that said, "Old age is always 20 years older than the age you are." Don't we all remember when we were younger and thought that 65 was about the end of the line? Well, when you turn 65, it's suddenly not so old after all!

(I apologize for the quality of these photos. I continue to have computer issues ((insert REALLY sad face here!)) and the photos are not transferring properly)

Inside of card...

The tag was made using an image from Paper Whimsy. When I first saw this little girl I was struck with the thought that she resembled photos I have of my mother at a young age. She has the start of a sweet smile, don't you think?

Along with the card and tag, I pulled out some purple treats from my stash. Doilies, ribbon, rick-rack, letter stickers, embellishments and a funny magnet. It was a fun month!

My "donor" this month was Wendy of The Frog Palace. I had the opportunity to create for Wendy several months ago and now it was her turn to make a card and tag for me. I am glad that Wendy is not afraid to use color in her crafting. Her card and tag made me smile as soon as I saw them. The card, especially has a very funny sentiment inside. Great job Wendi...you certainly made me smile!

Inside of Wendy's card...

 She also sent me a huge number of stash items...WOOHOO! Lots to craft with!

For August, we are to create in our own style and we can use any color we'd like. This is going to be fun!!!!!!

On the HOME front, we traveled to Delaware last week and bought a new home in 36 hours. We have been wasting no time here! We have a date of August 25th to close here in Pittsburgh and August 27th to close in Millsboro, Delaware. Next up are home inspections here and there and find a mover.
I hope to be able to post some pictures of the new place, soon.
xoxo
Joyce

A Swap For All Seasons-June-A Guy Thing

We're rolling along in our year long swap with A Swap For All Seasons. This month the theme was A Guy Thing. Each month our swap package consists of a card, a tag and some specific color destash. The month's colors were black and gray.

My "send to" partner was Elizabeth of Tales From The Pond. Elizabeth's blog makes you feel like you're sitting at her kitchen table having a chat. She and her husband have recently moved into a newly built house and she's having lots of fun decorating. She and Dave have lots of adventures together and he is often included in her blog posts. Thinking about the fact that Elizabeth's Dave wears glasses, I made the following card using some cute, new dies...

.

loving the spectacles!

For the tag, I used some Tim Holtz and Graphic 45 supplies.

It was fun to work with a "guy" theme this month. It's often hard to find supplies for masculine cards but if you look at the others swapper's blogs in our group, you'll find many fine examples.

The destash trinkets I sent to Elizabeth...

When I saw that May, of May's Happy Daze, would be sending a card and tag to me I was very excited! She is a talented artist and a sweet woman. Here is her card and tag...

Very masculine and wonderfully detailed!

May really spoiled me with the stash she sent. I will have lots of fun creating with all she gifted me with.

Thank you all of the wonderful treats, May!

Another fun swap....now on to July!

In case you've been wondering where I have been....I have lots of news to share as soon as I can find some time to organize my thoughts. Remember my Word of the Year was

DECIDE,

well, I've been deciding like mad!

xoxo

Joyce

A Swap For All Seasons...April....My gifts for May

Is that title a little confusing? My "send to friend" for April was May...hahaha, it does sound odd. There is nothing odd about dear May. She is a talented paper crafter and I was delighted to be given her name to create for. Her blog, 

May's Happy Daze is a place you should visit to see some lovely work.

Our theme for April, in the Swap For All Seasons swap, was Mother's Day and the color was peach. Peach? I looked high and low and couldn't find much peach. Linda decided we could also use coral, so that is what I went with.

May is the recipient of a card and tag using some new techniques I have recently learned. I spoke last time about the dimensional flowers I learned to make in a class and I purchased the brown-eyed-Susan Sizzix die to make some more of these flowers at home. I used a flower pot die for the base.

Did you know that in England, Mother's Day is the 4th Sunday of Lent?

May celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday, March 31st. I used a more general phrase on the tag.

The card style is one that I've been dying to learn! It's called Card in a Box and you can find lots of beautiful examples on Pinterest and YouTube. I watch several YouTube videos and gave it a go!

I think it's not too bad for a first attempt.

This is the card folded up...

Then, when the flaps are lowered...

it's a card in a box!

This is the back of the box. (that flap doesn't fold down)

I also made an envelope (with me new handy dandy envelope maker) to go with the card...so much fun to make!!

and the destash...

Another fun swap month!

XOXO

Joyce

Swap Treats For Francie-A Swap For All Seasons

Continuing our journey through the year with A Swap For All Seasons, the swap group I've been in since last September, March's theme was Spring and the destash color was yellow. Spring offered us a variety of possibilities including St. Patrick's Day, Easter and of course, the season itself. I decided to do a little something including all three.

My card for Francie featured a Spring theme...

I love working with the seed packets from Julie at Old Design Shop..

Her blog is here and her Etsy shop is here .

She has hundreds of high quality images in the shop but she also offers free images on her blog. I have used many of her images, both free and purchased.

Here is a link just to the seed packet images.

The little girl is an image I've had for some time and she just speaks Spring to me with her arms filled with flowers. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch.

I usually coordinate my card and tag but I decided to go in a different direction this time.

I saw this cute little lass in my file and wanted to use her for Francie's tag.

The pocket is a vintage library card pocket that I covered in printed papers and trimmed out with a die cut doily and a shamrock made with a heart punch. Lucky.

For some Springy yellow stash I sent...

This swap has been fun every month. Would you like to join in? If you have an active blog and like to do paper crafting, you would have a lot of fun. Each month we create one card, a tag and send along some destash from our own collections. No stress...just fun.You can read the details here on the Swap For All Seasons blog.

The next sign-up is April 1st for the May swap.

The current swap theme is Mother's Day and the color is peach. I like a good challenge...My own Mother has been gone for years and peach is a color I never use in my crafting.. Well, that's what makes this fun! I am looking forward to getting to know May, the swapper I will be sending to.

xoxo

Joyce