Good Things Come to Those Who Blog

If you have visited a few blogs or picked up a copy of Artful Blogging, you are sure to have read wonderful stories of friendships, collaborations and acts of kindness and sharing that have occurred as a result of these electronic pages. In the short time I've been blogging, I've already met some very welcoming and supportive people, but a recent post brought a whole new kind of surprise. Stacey, an antiques dealer in North Carolina, saw one of the tags I had done for a swap and wondered if I would be willing to make one for her in exchange for some vintage ephemera. Of course, I was flattered that someone would want one of my tags, but I also jumped at the chance for an exchange because I love seeing what vintage treasures turn up in other cities. These are the beautiful things that Stacey sent me. The two sheets of embossed die cuts are from Germany and are pre-WWII. They have a great patina that new pieces can't match. In the background, you'll see an 1872 issue of Peterson's magazine that is filled with great text, art and needlework projects. Stacey asked what kind of ephemera I liked and I mentioned I would love to have items I could incorporate into the little French fashion book I am working on. She thoughtfully chose items with that in mind-- the belt buckle was even made in France. Stacey sells her antiques at Booth 41 in the Gresham Lake Antique Mall, in Raleigh, NC and through Ruby Lane online. Stop by her blog Flotsam and Jetsam to meet her and visit her Etsy store sweettea16. Last time I looked, she still had some of those wonderful German die cuts available.

My Puppy Valentines

What a delight it has been to participate in the Puppy Love Tag Book Swap. Karla, who was our hostess, created covers for more than 50 of us who wanted to swap and put the books together with ribbons and charms. My cover has what I think of as one of Karla's signatures--a pleated ruffle made from vintage paper. And look at the cute little Scottie dog charm. It reminds me of third grade, when a boy who liked gave me the prize from his box of Cracker Jacks. Ah, young love! Here's a look at how six of the swappers celebrated the theme with paper, glue and creativity!

Debe Leon wowed me with her clever combination of cheesecloth, crepe paper, flocked hearts and a vintage valentine image , but those tiny dog bones dotting the red and white baker's twine really pulled at my heartstrings

Robin chose a vintage photo with dogs that look a bit like my terriers. How important it is to claim things with the word "mine" when you are young. Robin expressed this so beautifully by adding the hand-stitched sentiment to this wonderful image.

Don't you love the concentration this boy is putting into expressing his affection for a girl while his faithful pup waits for his attention? Amy Wald added a sweet crepe paper ruffle stitched with Valentine's Day red to finish her tag.

Like me, Carrie Witherite, chose an image of a white dog sitting on a pink pillow. I love the Victorian feeling she created for this tag has with rose wallpaper and layers of green velvet ribbon, pink rickrack and delicate lace.

Debra Ganas picked a cute vintage image to show that no matter what language we use to say the word love, the meaning is the same everywhere--we don't want to leave the one we l0ve behind. The striped scalloped circle pulls the words and the image together and adds a playful toch.

I know this tag's maker--it's Shawn. I met her and her cute little daughter at Karla's blogger tea party. The deeper colors and wistful image she chose to portray that old-fashioned phrase "Be Still My Heart" are just perfect.

Valentine's Day may be over, but thanks to Karla and all of these talented women, I have lovely, lasting memories of it.

The Pups are in the Mail!

My posh pink pups are on their way to Karla's for the Puppy Love Tag Book Swap. I was pretty pleased with how they turned out, but I wish I'd learn to do broader strokes of layering and less fussy detail. I seem to get hung up on things like making the tiniest slit in a paper bird's beak so it can be glued under and over a bit of lace so it looks as though the bird is acutally holding the lace in its mouth.

In this case, I was quite taken by the tombourine this trade card dog was holding. I really got caught up in turning it into an "instrument of love". I cut away the original advertising and sandwiched tiny, free-floating punched paper hearts between the paper pup, pink vellum and a background paper. That tested my cutting and gluing skills! Then I handstitched through those three layers to attach gold sequins and beads to highlight the three tombourine jingles. For the life of me, I can't figure out how one person, making six little tags with such teeny details can make such a mess! There were sequins, beads, snips of paper and bits of trim everywhere! It was a jumble of everything I had considered and everything I had used. This morning the studio straighten-up began--but only after an inspiring hour spent with the new issue of Where Women Create.

Puppy Love in Progress

Here's a sneak peek at some of the pretties I'm putting together for Karla's Puppy Love tag swap. I'm going very pink and gold with this one. I hope your weekend is a creative one.

A Good Weekend

What makes a good weekend? For me, it starts on Friday night listening to my son do color for a college hockey game on a far-away Minnesota radio station that streams over the internet and into my laptop, which was literally on my lap so I could hear every word. (This is when I really love technology!) Then on Saturday, having a few hours to myself to visit an antique show, a thrift store and a couple of craft stores. I guess I wasn't in a spendy mood because I didn't come home with much, but I did find a vintage trade card that will be the inspiration for my tags for Karla's Puppy Love Swap and that made me happy. Perhaps the sweetest part was Sunday morning, lounging in bed for awhile with a cup of coffee and all these beautiful magazines from Somerset. I have had a weakness for magazines since I was a kid (anyone remember Jack & Jill?), but I don't think any publisher has consisently awed me the way Somerset has. The new Somerset In Love is so pretty and I can't wait to see Marie. Eventually, I pulled myself out of bed and started working on those tags because you just can't read these magazines for long without being inspired to go make something beautiful yourself.

Light the Lamp

During a recent visit to a thrift store, which had been squeezed between other family errands, one of my teenage sons said, "Look, Mom," and pointed to a high shelf. He had spotted a pair of lamps with figurines that looked just like the people in the toile patterns I love. The man was missing a hand, but the woman appeared intact down to the tiny, sculpted roses in her apron.

At first glance, I thought the lamb's leg was broken, but it was just tucked under. The figurine and base certainly needed some cleaning, but the price was so right!

I spent about an hour cleaning the lamp with a damp terry dish towel and Q-tips. (Some old things have a patina, but others are just plain dirty!) It cleaned up beautifully--no permanent stains, just a lot of dust. I found a silky shade for $7.99 at Tuesday Morning, and for safety's sake, I will probably rewire it. I've heard it's a pretty simple DIY project with a kit from the hardware store, so I may even try it myself this time instead of asking my husband to to it.

In hockey, when you "light the lamp" it means you scored. For those of you who don't have a family of hockey players like I do, the phrase comes from the red light behind the net that is lit up when a goal is scored. I think I should be able to borrow that phrase for this vintage score, don't you?

Here's to 2009!

Wishing all of you a wonderful new year...filled with the old!