Happy Valentine's Day

Hearts of Friendship Swap

Last month my blog friend Tammy invited me to participate in a small Valentine's Day swap called Hearts of Friendship Swap. We were asked to create a heart ornament in a medium of our choice and the only requirement was to include a quotation about friendship. The box of ornies arrived at my door earlier this week and I could hardly wait to tear open the box to see what everyone had made.

Tammy - "Friends meet you in a tender place where it's safe to risk your heart."

Sandy - "Right next door or miles apart, friends are always close at heart."

Vivian - "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."

Vivian also sent us this sweet bonus heart ornament!

Lee - "Each friend represents a world in us."

Ruth - "Friends live in your heart."

Carla - "Friends are the stitches that hold our hearts together."

Natalea - "A friend is someone who sees through you and still enjoys the view."

Grace - "A friend is one of the best things you can be and the greatest thing you can have."

Me - "A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

I decided to hang my ornaments from the chandelier in my craft room, so the lighting isn't the best in the photos above. Tammy has posted some more detailed pics of all the swap ornaments here. I really enjoy these small exchanges because they are totally manageable to complete. It's so much fun to receive these small works of art from people whose work you admire. And the idea of including quotes about friendship was a fun addition. Wasn't it amazing that all the quotations were unique with no duplicates!

From My Heart

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. . . ."

". . . .they must be felt with the heart." ~ Helen Keller

Prize Winner!

Can you believe it? Valentine's Day is only 9 days away and I don't have any of my decorations put out yet! Except for this one......

This darling Be Mine ornie was made by my sweet friend Natalea and I was lucky enough to win it in her Have A Heart Giveaway!

Thanks for helping to decorate my house for Valentine's Day Nat~I love it!!!!

And yet ANOTHER treasury!

So much fun to have my Rustic Eggs featured in yet another Etsy Treasury by A & B Originals shown here. The set of 5 eggs are available for purchase in my Etsy Shop here.

And here's a sneak-peek at a little something I've been working on this week. Can't reveal it in it's entirety yet because I don't want to ruin the surprise for the recipient.

Gotta run now as I'm headed over to the flea market this morning with a friend. Hope there's a lot of cool stuff waiting there for us!!! Have a great weekend everybody!

39 Squares - Days 24 - 27

I've been stitching to help me to relax. I'm not sure it's working, but I'm enjoying the results. Here's my latest four squares.

If you missed the Joli Paquet Kit Sale last week, I still have a few kits left. They are available in my Etsy Shop.

Heart Sessions :: 8

Heart Sessions :: 7

These Valentine's Day potholders were made by my daughter. Aren't they cute? I think the "love bird" fabric is so adorable! Thanks Natalie!

Heart Sessions :: 6

Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame.

~ Henry David Thoreau ~

Heart Sessions :: 5

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

~ William Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream

Heart Sessions :: 4

This heart is dedicated to my grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa met on a ship coming to the U.S. from Scandinavia. Grandma was coming from Norway accompanied by her sister, who was trying to mend a broken heart after a broken engagement. Grandpa was coming from Denmark to America, like many others at that time, seeking opportunity in the land of the free. They fell in love and were married within the year. "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" was written in 1910 (the year they were married) and was their favorite song. I can still remember my grandma singing it to me.

Let me call you "sweetheart," I'm in love with you.

Let me hear you whisper that you love me too.

Keep the love-light glowing in your eyes so true.

Let me call you "sweetheart," I'm in love with you.

Lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson - Music by Leo Friedman

Heart Sessions :: 3

Last month I had a whirlwind of swap projects to complete. This one was for a Valentine Ornament Swap hosted by the talented Vivian Neroni. It was a small group of just six of us, but there was still lots of variety. Collage, paper crafts, rubber stamping, needle-felting, sewing were all represented here. Check out the slide show below to see all six ornaments!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Heart Sessions :: 2

The sweet envelope for this Valentine card is from Teresa McFayden's Paper Romance E-Zine.

I used a cupcake liner-turned-rosette as the base. The large chipboard heart is sprayed with Candy Apple Red Glimmer Mist. Small paper doily is from Martha Stewart Crafts. The damask heart is a rubber stamped image (from Michael's) embossed with clear embossing powder for a little sheen.

Heart Session :: 1

Rebecca Sower is hosting Heart Sessions on her blog during the days leading up to Valentine's Day. It seems so appropriate since Rebecca is such a generous and big-hearted person herself. For proof just check out the blog she started called Haiti by Hand to help in the relief effort in earthquake ravaged Haiti. So starting today and throughout the week I will be posting various handmade hearts here and you can catch links to other Heart Session participants here.

Valentine Tag Swap Reveal

My friend, Natalea hosted a fun little swap a while back and I finally got around to photographing all of the tags I received. I have looked at them over and over again and I discover something new each time. Some of the gals have strung the tags on ribbon and create a Valentine garland, which I think is a great idea. Some have attached them to a string of pink or white lights - I really like that idea. And some of us still have their tags in book-form, which is how we received them in the mail.

1. Kathy Lowry

2. Kimberly Laws 3. Diana Ptaszynki

4. Beth Holcombe 5. Robin Kesner

6. Rachel Velder 7. Vivian Neroni

8. Jane Palmer 9. Natalea Kanderfer

10. Alisa Noble 11. Grace Palazzolo

12. Wanda Clark 13. Connie Senyitko

14. Kana Conger 15. Geralyn Gray

16. Wendy Robrecht 17. Tammy Lucik

18. Linda Hanes 19. Marion Ballog 20. ME!

If you have time, you have to check out the cute little tutorial

that Brandy has posted on the Joli Paquet blog.