Halloween Charm Swap

I recently participated in a Charm Swap hosted by Vintiquities Workshop. 

I received 15 wonderful charms which I made into a bracelet. Isn't it marvelous?
Thank you to everyone who made these lovely gems!

Be sure to check out Vintiquities Workshop Blog for links to the other participants blogs and for links to some cool Halloween printables!

Halloween Charm Swap

Here's a fun swap for those of you who like Halloween and are into jewelry! 

But hurry! Space is limited!

Click here to go to the Swap details!

Movies & Books ~ Oh My!!!

I am an avid reader! I will have one, sometimes even two books, going at the same time.  But new books are expensive and the local library is quite small. So I have found a great source for acquiring 'new' books without the horrid expense. I use Swap.com to swap out the books I no longer want. I have been able to complete several collections this way and have found several new authors as well. A person can also swap cd's, dvd's, and video games. Look me up if you decide to use (or perhaps already use) the site!

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Recently I saw the Norwegian movie, Trollhunter. A fun movie, even though it was subtitled. A group of students investigate a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter. 

Click here to learn more!

Goodies in the Mail!

I recently made a swap with two fellow artists, 

Debbie Luttrell of Nightmares and Day Dreams 

and Lisa Wolf of   Holiday Folk Art by hunbun22 . 

And Oh My!! was I ever over whelmed with the incredible artistic abilities of these two Ladies!!

I received the sweetest Snow Owl from Lisa. He was created around a pinecone! 

Isn't he just adorable?!?!

You really need to check out her Etsy shoppe and see the other pinecone critters that she makes. Her racoons are so CUTE!!

Debbie sent me the Gnarliest Pumpkin!! He is so full of personality. And character. 

Debbie has a special patch where she grows Pumpkins that are gnarly like mine.

I shall have to keep an eye on him......I have caught him ogling one of my African Violets.....

Item List and Swap Update

Here is a list of some of the items I would be interested in swapping for ~

1. flower/veggie seeds
2. art/craft supplies 
3. books
4. fabric
5. other artwork

The list of artwork available can be found at the top of the left-hand sidebar.

I Have Artwork to Swap!

I have been cleaning & clearing out the house. 

I am not packing and moving all my artwork. 

It is time to thin it out! 

So I am proposing a Swap. 

I have posted a few items below that need to go!  

Send me an email & a picture if you have something to trade....

JOL Candy Container #1

Card/photo holder set #1

JOL Candy Container #2

Heart Wand

Kitty in JOL

Witch Hat on Stand

JOL Card/Photo Holders

Stack JOL Card/Photo Holder

February YOE Swap

The February Item for our Year of Enchantment Swap was to make a Fairy. And here is the Fairy that I made for my Swap partner.  She is about 2 inches tall. Her name is Blu.

Eye Candy & an Award

After all the Parties yesterday, I think we'll all be happy just looking at pictures today!

These are all items I've received in Swaps that I have recently participated in.

Witches Cupboard Swap received from Jilly of Life With Nature Girl


Shadowbox Swap received from Kathy of Country Chintz


Pinkeep Swap received from Courtney of The Cajun Hillbilly Housewife

These Ladies created some GHOULISHLY GREAT items & I feel quite lucky to have received them and gotten to know some wonderful women as well. If you are out Blopping around, stop in and say 'Hi' to these lovely Ladies.

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Sherry of Byrum Art has graciously given me a Triple Award! Wowzers! Thank you Sherry!
Now I am supposed to pass it on to ten Blogs I L♥ve! But I love SO MANY!! And there are so many Blogs out there that deserve this award that I can't limit myself to just ten! I shall leave this award here for you my dear readers to pick up. Just leave me a comment and a link to your Blog so that the world may come visit.

Swaps, Soirees, & Lagniappe

It's that time of year again! Such a flurry of activity. I feel like the White Rabbit at times.

There are swaps to create for ~
1. Gypsy Mermaid's Vintage Spooky Tag Swap
2. Vivian's Halloween Shadowbox and Pinkeep Swap
3. Val's Witches Cupboard Swap

Halloween parties to prepare for ~
1. Mrs. B's 31 days of Halloween
2. October Blog Party hosted by Domestic Witch
3. A Hauntingly Magical Halloween hosted by A Fanciful Twist

And several Great GIVE AWAYS ~
1. Grim Vision is giving away a most awesome Skull & Book
2. Debb of Halloween Jinglesbells Boo is having a give away
3. Mrs. B is having a ton of giveaways beginning in October.
So mark your calendar to check her blog!


** Lagniappe is a word I learned in Louisiana. To the Cajuns it means a little something extra. A bonus. It is pronounced lan-yap

An Interview

For those of you out there who are Swap Junkies (I'm working on keeping my addiction in check), you are probably familiar with a site called Swapdex. It's a blog dedicated strictly to swaps - current swaps are listed and interviews with swap hosts(s) & hostess(es) are posted. Well, yours truly did an interview a while back and my interview has now been posted. Here's the link Swapdex .

Sonya's Mushroom Swap Complete

A few weeks back, I joined a Mushroom Swap hosted by Sonya. If you'll remember, the mushrooms which I created were little Faerie houses, complete with stovepipes. I got my Swap Mushrooms in the mail! They are all so AWESOME !!!




I received the most adorable little RedCap. Her name is Frances and she was made by a wonderfully, talented Cathy . She also made the cutest card to go with her. I also received the cutest pencil topper (or plant poke pal) from Valerie of Yarni Gras! If you visit her blog, you will find instructions on how to make one of your very own.


This little mushroom house will be right at home on my kitchen window sill next to a plant. And the cutest tag was with it - Shroomies by Lara Johnson . And this elegant looking mushroom is made by Kristin . You must see all the other wonderful mushrooms that she made.


And the fifth mushroom is a Wood Blewit Mushroom. It is unreal how realistic it is. It is the creation of JennyC.No3 . She also provided a card telling a bit about the Blewit. Wow!

I have so enjoyed this Swap! Thank you Sonya for all the hard work.

Be sure to check out everyone's blogs and see what exciting things they're up to! And if you get the chance there is a Flickr Group for our Mushroom Swap.

Seeds, Shrooms, and Swaps

I'm going to start by revealing my third partner for the recent PWGL Little Tokens of Love Swap. It was Lynn Krestel of Richmond, British Columbia. She makes the most gorgeous jewelry! She sent me a beautiful keychain made with vintage beads and Swarovski Crystals. I just LOVE it! Thank you Lynn!

And here is what I sent her.

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Here's the batch of mushrooms which I made for Sonya's Mushroom Swap.

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And now on to the seeds.......
For the last few years I have been growing gourds. And I will again this year. Luffa, bushel, apple, and this year I am adding birdhouse and snake. Of course, they will all have to have their own separate corners [but more on that part in another post!]

Last year was experimental for me in growing pumpkins in the South. There are so many more diseases/bugs here than in Colorado, where I grew up gardening. My Hubby has always wanted a GIANT Pumpkin. I decided to compromise and try and grow a moderate size one. That didn't work out too well. My location wasn't the best. And the pumpkin vines didn't produce or even thrive. This year I'm trying something different. [But I'll get to that another time - I'm supposed to be talking about seeds today]

Last year I bought seeds for a Cinderella Pumpkin.

And a Full Moon or Lumina Pumpkin.


I am going to try both of them again this year and then I thought I might try some small pumpkins. Maybe the new variety Pump-ke-mon...


Or maybe Baby Boo Pumpkins.....

They're both so cute! I may be overrun by pumpkin vines come October! But that's okay by me!

Questions Answered

I've had a few questions about the items I made for my Swap partners.

First the vintage style Valentines that I made - "Where did you find the heart-shaped shadow box?" "What is the base?"
It's the bottom of a Valentine box that once held candy! They come in all sizes and make a great palette! Stock up now before they're all gone!

Secondly the pouches I made. I used to make them years and years (and years) back for my kids to give as gifts to their teachers. I am not a seamstress and the pattern I had was not the simplest to follow. (Believe me, if I can find a hard way to do something I will! Especially when sewing!) But I can point you in the right direction to find a VERY simple pattern and method of making pouches. Missy of Fairy Child Heirlooms has a tutorial on her blog. Missy is the most wonderful seamstress! Go check out her blog! You'll be impressed!

The Reveal ~ Parts 1 & 2

The Reveal ~ (I always wanted to say that - makes me think I'm a member of Ghost Hunters.)

Two of my Swap partners have received their goody boxes, so I can reveal the contents now. I made a small pouch (with a few chocolates hidden inside ~ 'cause all Valentine gifts have to have chocolate!), a vintage style Valentine, and two heart shaped sachets which had been stuffed with lavender buds (which came from my garden). And on each of the sachets was a vintage red chandelier prism.

This is what was in Wanda's Valentine Box. She also received a hand sewn gift tag.


And this is what was in Sharon's Valentine box. She also received three prim roses.


Here's a close-up of some of the sachets.


My third partner hasn't received her box yet, so I can't reveal the contents.

A Wonderful Valentine

I received a Valentine from another of my PWGL Swap partners, Wanda Clark. She made me two wonderful covered hearts and a box of fabric yo-yos. {Gomez had to see as well...}


One of the hearts is covered in Halloweeny fabric and the other is pink and silver with the most intricate design - I love designs like that!


And the yo-yos are all made from Halloweeny fabric. (I love the fabric, don't you ??) And would you believe there are thirteen of them ?? My lucky number! How did she know?? I wish you could see her stitches. They are all so small and evenly spaced. She does beautiful work.

Just so cool! Thank you Wanda! You're a sweetheart! Happy Valentines Day to you!

Swaps & Sunshine

The Valentines for the Prim and Whimsy Little Tokens of Love Valentine Swap went out in the mail today. I can't post any pics just yet! What if my Swap partners are peeking???

I got my Swap partner for Missy's Luck of the Fae Fairy Swap . It's Awtemnymf ! I'm so excited!! She and I are both Halloween Junkies. For this Swap we are to make a Fairy wand, a Fairy Doll and then send something shiny or lucky. I'll keep you posted ...

And then I joined another fun Swap. This one is hosted by Sonya of KnitSonya . In this swap each swapper makes 5 mushrooms and sends them to Sonya and then she will send out five mushrooms to each participant. It should be awesome as well.

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Well, Puxatawny Phil saw his shadow yesterday. Our local groundhog saw his (or is it a her?) shadow as well. Regardless, this yearly event does signal the beginning of the end of winter. WooHoo!! I'm counting the days! And on that note, I will leave you with some pics of the daffodils in the yard that are almost ready to bloom.

A Valentine Arrives!

The Valentine from one of my Swap partners, Sharon Callahan of Prim Thyme, has arrived.


When I went to the mail box yesterday and saw her box waiting for me, I was so excited! When I got home and opened it, it was like opening a box of sunshine! Her package really made my day! Especially after the nastiness of the recent winter storm. A wonderful scent met my nose as I unpacked goodie after goodie. There were the most lovely Prim Hearts setting on top - both very Prim and yet very romantic.


And as I went further into the box, I found candles and handmade soap (with a lovely Civil War era picture attached), bowl fillers and a lovely Austrian Crystal bracelet and a precious card with three sweet little birds singing a cheery song.



Sharon has a most generous heart and is such a lovely person. Please check out her blog (link above). She also an Etsy shop, an Ezshoppe, and she sells on eBay. Links to all of these shops can be found on her blog.

Thank you Sharon! Happy Valentines Day!!

Swap Partners

I have my Swap Partners for the 2009 Prim and Whimsy GirLs Little Token of Love Valentine Swap. They are Wanda Clark and Lynn Kestrel.

Wanda is a military wife with two boys, a 13 year old and a 4 year old. The 4 year old is autistic. She and her family are currently living in Fort Benning, Georgia. She has an Etsy shop full of wonderful vintage bits of lace, buttons and pins. And she loves to 'Swap'.

Lynn lives in Richmond, British Columbia. She makes the most wonderful jewelry using vintage crystals and other wonderful finds. She has two lovely daughters that keep her busy. She has an Etsy shop as well.

If you're out and about, stop in at their Blogs and say, 'Hi'. Or browse their Etsy shops. You might find something that you can't live without!