A Garland for a Special Friend

Elyse Major is one of those "friends I've never met" but feel a special bond with.

I have been reading her blog for about 3 years and I've purchased a number

 of items from her Etsy shop.

Elyse loves the Cath Kidson look...

soft pastels with a dash of red...colors I love, too.

I read every post that she writes on her blog and on Facebook, but I don't always

 comment. She will mention a new article she has written in a particular magazine

 like Romantic Homes, Romantic Country or Cottages & Bungalows,

or that she has been featured in a magazine such as Artful Blogging.

At that point, I am up and out of my chair to run and find the magazine,

forgetting to leave a comment!

(this was swiped borrowed from Elyse's blog...isn't this an adorable arrangement?)

Elyse won my Birthday Giveaway and I decided to make a little something special

for her because she is special herself.

 I hope she enjoys this little "smooches" garland.

I used the red dots that she loves and even cut hearts from a sheet of

Cath Kidson stationary...now that's friendship! :D

(I really need to learn how to take better pictures!)

I hope you like this Elyse!

Now, what do you think about this?

Stay tuned!

xoxo

Joyce

Speckled Egg's Altered Journal Swap...My Offerings for Kim and Debra

In a previous post, I showed lots of yummy pictures of the journals that I received

from Deb and Kim in the Altered Journal Swap.

These are the journals I made and sent...

For Kim...

soft shades of lilac/lavender, yellow and green

a vintage image supplied by Abbey of Little Birdie Blessings,

just click on her blog name to go to her blog.

Abby is a collector of vintage images which she generously shares

with her readers. On Thursday, she uses images

that she has added scripture verses to.
The post using this image can be found here.

If you make something using an image she has provided, you can link back to her blog.
Thank you for your kind and generous spirit Abby.

The papers I used are all from Melissa Francis.

You always have to include some fun extras...and chocolate of course

Debra's journal had more of a Victorian feel...

The images on the cover all all done digitally.

The image of the girl is from a note card that I scanned,

The frame is an old cabinet card image and the

bird is a separate image, too. I love layering different

elements on top of each other.

I also used vintage seam binding and buttons to trim out the front.

The postcard was another vintage image and I added the "D".

All of my swaps are complete for now.

I must get busy creating things for a Spring Boutique that my

closest crafting friends and I will be having at my home

on Saturday, March 24. If any of you are readers from the Pittsburgh area,

 please email me and I will give you the details.

I am thinking about hosting a

Bits of Spring Canvas and Tag Swap

We would each use an 8x8-inch canvas board

similar to the board I made Sandy for Viv's Valentine Swap

only with a Spring theme.

Nine, 2-2.5 inch squares, each decorated like a small art piece.

You would also make some kind of tag...3x5-inch to

go along with the board.

It would be a one-on-one swap.

Let me know what you think and if there is enough interest generated,

I will work out the details and we'll try it. I'm

guessing the due date for this project would be around the end of April.

This board was so much fun to make.

XOXO

Joyce



YOU & ME or is it ME & YOU?

 Here is our family room mantel decorated for

Valentine's Day

The Lennon sisters (made by dear Elizabeth of Creative Breathing) are ready for a party and

the Be Mine banner from Bethanie is hung...

Valentines from friends

A handmade heart from Mary Lou

 a sweet Hummel girl and the

flower and vase from Mimi

 Nestled among the decorations are the words

ME & YOU

These letters were the assignment for February for

Say It With Letters

The actual direction was for the letters to read is

YOU & ME

but it worked better for my mantel the opposite way

This was such a fun project and since I was decorating them for Valentine's Day, I decided to

go with my favorite pink and brown color combination.

Brown herringbone tweed paper for the YOU..very masculine

Can you see the key hanging on the Y?

The over sized ampersand (I love the ampersand symbol!) is

done in pink and brown paisley

with a cute little couple and a heart

and the ME is covered in pink polka dots (can never have too many dots!)

There you have it!

YOU & ME or ME & YOU...whatever works for you.

If you go to the

Say It With Letters blog here, you can see the rest of the

 Design Team projects for February.

xoxo

Joyce

Swap II- Speckled Egg's Altered Journal Swap

A month ago a blogging friend, Mary Kahler, alerted me to the fact that Heather, of The Speckled Egg, was hosting a swap and she thought I would enjoy it.

I ran right over to sign up because her swaps are always so much fun and I have had the pleasure of meeting for the first time, and swapping with, two lovely ladies.

In my humble opinion, that's what makes swaps so much fun. The challenge of creating something for someone you don't know and stretching your abilities by, at times, creating with colors or with styles you might not be accustomed to.

Each swap team member created an altered journal for each of the other two team members, keeping their tastes and styles in mind. Now that all of the journals have been delivered and opened, I can post the pictures of what we each made.

First up is Debra of It's All Good.

This is the swap package she sent...

The amazing journal...

The front looking like an aged ledger adorned with birds on a branch...

Seam binding trimmed with charms and beads...

Inside covers decorated with sheet music and pockets filled with tags!

A sweet Valentine charm on a chain...

fun stuff to create with...Bingo cards & markers, slides, keys, music page,

and some boxes to assemble and decorate.

Your talent is great Debra , and I love everything you sent.

Thank you~

And now from Kim of Whimsy and The Word...

A gorgeous pink Queen journal...oh yes, it's sooo me!

This is decorated with lace and paper flowers and silver letters...all the things I like!

Decorated inside and out...

Kim included some fun ephemera to create with,

and some buttons& rickrack and cabinet cards

More cool stuff to wear...

A charm necklace made from a Domino...

and my favorite item in her package...this lovely flower pin!!!

Now I do have to tell you that included in Kim's package were two chocolate truffles..made by a local company she does business with. They are not in the photos. That's all I'm saying.

I hope you had as much fun with your first swap as I did Kim.

Your creations were so well thought out and executed and I am

thrilled with all of my gifts.

Thank you~

I'll close here for now and come back later to reveal the journals I made for my new friends.

xoxo

Joyce

Swap Week Part I...Viv's Valentine Swap

I've been making a huge mess of my craft room for the past week while

 finishing up some projects for 2 swaps I participated in. The first swap was

Viv's Valentine Swap

It doesn't happen very often but my partner was a dear friend...

Sandy of 521 Lake Street

Sandy and I became blogging friends through Elizabeth

of Creative Breathing.

Two years ago, while visiting my step-mom in Arizona, Sandy

and I (and my sister) were able to meet and spend some time together shopping, eating and talking

which was a lot of fun.

(l-r my sister Barb, Sandy, Me)

When Viv sent Sandy's name as my partner for the swap,

I did a little happy dance.

Sandy is fun to create for because she loves a lot

of the same things I like.....

red, polka dots, Mary Engelbreit...

I thought about a banner but Sandy already has a few of my banners and journals

and I wanted something different.

I've always wanted to make a pieced art board so this was my chance..

An 8x8-inch canvas board, 9, 2-inch scalloped squares of red,

each square a little art piece. Fun!

There was also a Mary E Valentine...

and some other little treats I thought she'd like...

(Thanks for letting me lift this photo from your blog Sandy)

And what did I receive from Sandy...a box of total cuteness!

A banner, (her first and I might say an excellent job!!)

some cupcake papers, jewels, vintage Valentines, striped straws, an emery board,

a ceramic "Dream" stone and wonderful red buttons and

the neatest twine!!!! I love it all Sandy!

How cute is this banner in my guest room!

 A yellow heart banner for my yellow room!

This was a fun swap for sure..

Thanks Viv, for making a good match!

I'll be back in a few days with Swap II

xoxo

Joyce