MyMothersPearls

Heather at Speckled Egg recently hosted the Valentine edition of this wonderful swap.  As all boxes have been safely delivered, I thought I would share what I sent, and what I received.

My swap partners were Tina, Hope and Heather.  Here are the boxes I created for them.

The base is a white denim that was then embellished with bits of old lace cuffs, antique buttons, and a heart made from vintage drape material.  A bit of antique ribbon flower trim tops it off.  I forgot to take pictures of the goodies inside, of course, but they were each filled with small vintage photos, vintage and new German scrap, laces and ribbons,  buttons, and some old pearls and such.  Each box also got a bit of the really neat pink bullion I found at a little shop near me.

Tina sent me this wonderful box, all the way from Denmark! I just love the tiny playing cards and the stack of beautiful Danish stamps!

Next up, this wonderful treasure box from Hope.  Don’t you just love the Frozen Charlotte Cupid on the front of the box.  Inside were all sorts of lovely bits, including more Frozen Charlottes (even a tiny one that I think is destined for a necklace!).

Finally, I received this lovely box from swap hostess, Heather. It came complete with a tiny heart wand and a heart shaped box filled with buttons.  I really enjoyed participating in this swap, and just LOVE the boxes I received.  Rumor has it that Heather is planning for another Petite Inspiration Box Swap towards the end of February.  I would definitely recommend checking it out!

Happy February!!

Three of my greatest loves are history, vintage textiles/fashions, and England.  Combine those together and I’m one happy gal.  I admit that I am spending quite a bit of time smiling these days, as I begin to work on the Young Victoria Collaborative Book Project with several friends from Silver Bella.  The project is based on/in tribute to the most wonderful movie, The Young  Victoria, currently out in limited release (go see it if you can!!).  Total eye candy for someone like me.

From the movie "The Young Victoria"

Each of the ladies in the project are creating covers for their own books as well as a page or two, and then will go on to create pages for the other participants books.

Needless to say, I’ve been doing a bit of reading on Victoria, focusing on that period of her life right before and just after she became queen.  Up until starting this project, my image of Queen Victoria has been the rather dowdy older version, later in her reign.  No longer! Portraits of her from her youth into young womanhood reflect a rather lovely face with just a bit of feisty thrown in.  Destiny thrust her into the spotlight, and she met it head-on, ruling in what was then pretty much a man’s world.  The love story between Victoria and Albert is compelling and bitter sweet.  There’s so much material to work with its hard to know where to start.

This weekend I am finishing up the front and back covers for my book as well as at least one page.  I used an actual book on Queen Victoria as a base (purchased off E-Bay) for the front cover, and then worked to alter it a bit.  Unlike some of the other book projects I have seen, I decided to let quite a bit of the actual cover show through, as it was really just too perfect.  I embellished with paints, laces, bits of vintage fabric and ribbons, added a much younger and more flattering portrait, and came up with the sub-title “Destiny’s Child” in reference to how she came to be queen, and how young she actually was when she took the throne.   This is my first project of this nature, but I am really enjoying the challenge!

I have had such a great time working on this swap and my petite boxes are ready to mail!   Here’s sneak peek at what I am sending to my swap partners.

So very excited to be participating in this!!  Leanne, one of the gals I met at Silver Bella, came up with the concept in honor of the new movie “Young Victoria”,  and is hostessing the project.  I will post periodically on how things are progressing.

While I have been blessed to travel throughout England, Germany, and Austria, I have yet to make it to the wonderful and romantic country of France.  Someday I hope to stroll the streets of Paris, but in the meantime I wanted to share this wonderful vintage dress with you.  (you can click on the pictures to get a bigger view!) I believe it is from the 1950’s.  This was the period when “teen-age” fashions really began to take on a life of their own.  The wonderful tag says it all…..

And the print – just too adorable for words!  Don’t you just love the Eiffel Towers?

I happened upon this treasure at one of my favorite auction haunts and was determined to make it mine.   So now the question is – do I leave it as is for a display piece (size= VERY tiny), or do I remake it into a skirt that I can wear?  What do you think?

It’s a cold an blustery day here.  My cozy house is singing from the wind (some sort of interesting effect to the placement of the house, the siding or something – reminds me of whale song!)  The snow queen and I are snug in the sitting room finishing up some final projects before returning to the real world after an unexpectedly extended winter break.

We wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year, and tell you about this incredible giveaway that Karoline is doing over on her blog Cherished Vintage.  The scarf is yummy and oh, so perfect for a day like today.  Be sure to hop over and check it out!

Stay Warm my cherished friends!

What do you feel when you see an empty room?  Anticipation?  Untapped potential? Possibilities?  When we built our house, this room was slated to be hubby’s office.  Imagine it loaded with all kinds of computer gizmos, bookshelves full of manuals and other important guy stuff.  During the past year we finally moved him upstairs to his new and improved (and much larger) space, leaving this room to be made into a relaxing retreat for little ol’ me!

Hubby helped me paint it the week of Thanksgiving (I think he just got frustrated with how slow I was going!), and then it was off to IKEA for their wonderful white slipcovered couch.  Add some bookshelves (assembled by aformentioned helpful hubby along with his faithful assistant), and a big cushy chair and footstool and I was in business.

I have been storing this old farm cupboard, waiting for the right place to showcase it. It belonged to my dear friend and mentor, Pamela Woods. Wouldn’t you know it fits perfectly by one of the windows?

The coffee tables and side tables I found at The Vintage Shoppes in Ellicott City Maryland.  The hooked rug, and table lamps were picked up at auction.  Lace curtains are from my stash of vintage textile goodies.  I’ve had the print over the couch in storage for years.  It’s another gift from a friend who really inspired me and started me on my  vintage- crazed path.

The desk was found at the infamous Lucketts in Virginia right before our big December snow storm.  If you ever get the chance, Lucketts is the most amazing place and worth the trip!

Above it is a drawing done by my daughter last year entitled “Couch Diva” .  I had it framed as a Christmas gift to myself.

I am still adding some finishing touches to this space, but am really pleased with how its shaping up.  Its the perfect place to curl up with a book, relax and dream the wintery days away.

While the snowflakes piled up outside, I have been cozy in my studio working on a few Christmas gifties for some dear friends at work.

These little tags with bleached and glittered bottle brush trees will go to the gals on my teaching team.  The “Happy Christmas” card was painted for me several years ago by friend and mentor, Pamela Woods.

We also drew names for a gift exchange.  I made this Lady Luck collage  for Brenda,  one of the fabulous teaching assistants on our team.  She is a total BINGO queen.  She wins so often, I am surprised they even let her in the door!

As you can see, I am still very much a beginner at paper arts and collages, but I am sure having fun experimenting with the materials and techniques.

Happy Christmas everyone!!

My daughter received an ornament  from Janna in the mail a few days ago, as part of the Little B.I.T. Ornament Swap (B.I.T. = Bellas in training).  Isn’t this just lovely?

Janna also included a wonderful tag, some bling-y bracelets, and chocolate (insert big wahoo from my daughter here!)

And here’s a full view of the ornament Janna received.

Sweet daughter was so happy to be able to incorporate drawing, a bit of collage, and some sewing in creating this angel.  I was blown away by the details she put into the wings.

Of course she added glitter!  What’s an angel without a bit of sparkle?

This was such a great holiday activity for the girls.  Thanks again to Sheila for hosting it!

Is there anything better than an unexpected package in the mail?  Here’s what came today from sweet Heidi.

I had mailed her some silver and pink bullion, after she had admired some I had brought to Silver Bella to use in Teresa’s McFayden’s Victorious Medals class (kits are now available on her website here).  Heidi was kind enough to blog about receiving the sparkling goodies here.

In return, Heidi sent me some of the most wonderful treasures, bits and bobs.  I can’t wait to incorporate them into projects.

I had not expected anything in return when I sent Heidi the bullion – it was  wonderful just to be able to share the goodies with someone who I knew would appreciate it.  I guess this is one of the most touching things about experiencing Silver Bella this year – the generosity and kindness of the creative souls I met there.  Attending Silver Bella has truly been a gift that keeps on giving.  Thank you SO much Heidi!!  I love each and every bit!