Swaps -just a note!

The deadline for the Row House swap was this past Saturday, 8/30, and I am working my way through the rest of the packages that came in at the last minute. We have some really awesome row houses in this swap! It will probably take me a few days to finish scanning & uploading all the pieces. Then I will swap them out. I anticipate mailing this swap to the participants by Sept. 6th -back to my usual 1-week turn around, phew!

As far as the new swaps I announced last week: Star Ornaments and Shades of the Forest Quilties ~ the sign-ups are going very well. I am happy I was able to change the registration process. It was an effort to do this -but worth it, because registration is working as I hoped it would. The new registration for swaps takes place on the blog with payment for shipping & handling is in advance via PayPal (see the sidebar). Amazingly, both swaps are OPEN for joining-in the past they often filled in a day or two. I believe this change is because participants have to think carefully before committing to a swap and their registration fee is non-refundable.

Both swaps are about half-full or a little less. The buttons will remain on the blog until the swap is full. I will warn you with a note (on the blog) when the spaces in the swaps are dwindling. Thank you for your support! I think this new set-up will work better for me -and it looks like it will also work for you. I will let you know later in the year how the time I spend managing creative swaps is weighing in with my other responsibilities. :^)
creatively yours, lenna

Row House Swap: Linda Schultz ~ Pennsylvania

Linda Schultz's houses really blew me away! I am not sure if it can be conveyed in a photo or scan, but these row houses, or 'downtown shops' as Linda calls them, have a lot of substance and a distinct style. They are created on some kind of lightweight board which gives them a different look and feel than cardboard or chip board. Click on them for details!

To the right is the Hardware Shop, and below it is the US Post Office. Bravo, Linda! I am not surprised at the beautiful items Linda used to embellish her Row Houses . . . she is often a vendor at the Heirloom art rubber stamp shows. She has her own website full of collage art finds, Collage Closet!

Thank you again, Linda!

Here we have from L to R: The Bank, Pharmacy & Music Shop!

Row House Swap: Mary Goodrow ~ Massachusetts

Mary Goodrow is from nearby Massachusetts and has often come to take class with me in my studio. Mary enclosed a note in her package admitting that this swap had been hard for her to do . . . she said, she just kept trying!

Dear Mary, I think you are managing extremely well. Your Row Houses are beautiful! The image is very calming (good choice) and the copper roof with the decorative accent is amazing.
You not only tried; you succeeded beautifully!!!

I so appreciate a little house like this for me!
Click on any photo to see more details in Mary's houses.

Row House Swap: Cathy Johnson ~ Texas

These darling musical Row Houses are from Cathy Johnson in Texas. I always think of Cathy as a fabric artist. She has really been surprising me as of late by jumping into both the Itty Bitty swap (she sewed paper, not fabric) and the Row House swap, and doing an awesome job with her non-fabric pieces! Cathy manages the Fabric in Altered Art yahoo group . . . please visit her blog, Altered Fabrications for more information on joining this invitation-only group!

Thank you for the extra House for my collection, Cathy!

Row House Swap: Nicole Austin ~ California

Nicole Austin from San Jose, CA has sent in six awesome Row Houses for our swap. She also included a few collage goodies and a wonderful "moo card" or mini business card, with each house, wow! I have taken a couple of photos that show off her row house and her moo card -click on any photo for more details.

Thanks very much for making an extra house, Nicole. You can visit Nicole's blog, Life is beautiful -and read about how she made her Moo cards. I also see a post on "Summer days ... Art Adventures ..." that shows a collage she made. I think Nicole used this collage as the base for her row houses; very cool!!!!!

Row House Swap: Leslie Hanson ~ Oregon

We have received 6 really gorgeous & detailed Row Houses from Leslie Hanson in Oregon. I so appreciate the gift of the extra house, Leslie! It will be hard to pick which one . . . Today, I started decorating with the "extras" by hanging up a row house in my studio, way up high on one of the beams that runs across the room. Cynthia Weed had put her extra house for me in with a bag of yummy, yummy goodies . . . so when I brought those out to my studio, I hung her house up! I think it will be a wonderful display as I add to it & I am sure to take photos to share with you.

I am so glad you are all enjoying the swap -tomorrow is the deadline. I have packages here from Linda Schultz, Nicole Austin, Cathy Johnson & Mary Goodrow that just arrived today & need to be photographed and uploaded. Plus, I am hoping for a few more to arrive tomorrow!

Row House Swap: Sharon Schutt ~ Indiana

Wow!
I love these different houses that Sharon made ~ They are Bee Hive Houses!! Sharon wrote to me and sent me a scan a few weeks ago, saying:

"I wanted to send this preview to you for my row house swap to see what you think. Do you think the ladies will like the beeskeeps I've created? Are they OK for a 'house' swap?"

I wrote back and told Sharon I thought they were very different from what I have seen so far, but I thought they would be most welcome. I am very glad Sharon made an extra "beeskeep" for me - Thank you!

Row House Swap: Vickie Jones ~ South Dakota

Vickie Jones in South Dakota wrote to me prior to my receiving her package, and said it really took her a while to make her pieces because . . . . .

"my creativity just vanished!"

I think after looking at her houses you will agree with me that Vickie's creativity has returned!!

Vickie also wrote, "On a couple of the houses I took a little different spin on what the others have done...I did "Tree Houses" and then added a Pooh Bear photo and his address... The adobe and rock house came together quite quickly... the two I included were a couple of quick ones. I enjoyed it once I got going but it sure took me long enough!"

Excellent job, Vickie -I think your swap pieces are very creative! Click on any photo for details -Vickie used some unusual materials --tyvek, paper clay, pipe cleaners, vellum, embossing powder, pebbles, and dimension media.

Shades of Sunshine Quilties: Darlene Kihne ~ South Dakota

Here is another Sunshine Quilties package that made me swoon! Darlene from South Dakota send 5 very labor intensive and beautifully beaded Sunshine quilties in for our swap due September 20th. have a look at all of them, below:

Darlene created "encrusted buttons" (beaded) for her sunshine quilties. She told me she had no instructions, although she has seen them in books. She says she may never make them again because of the hours involved! (Ha ha -she says she LOVEs to bead) The yellow quilties Darlene made are hand dyed silk and dupioni binding. She created her own backgrounds with batik fabrics, hand dyed cheesecloth & ribbons. She also used feathers, metallic mesh & Angelina fibers - wow whee! I'm impressed. Thank you so much, Darlene.

Shades of Sunshine Quilties: Susanne Weibe ~ BC, Canada

Susanne Weibe from beautiful Victoria, BC has sent in 2 sets of 4 -plus extras, for our shades of sunshine quilties swap. And what a lot of beautiful shades and textures she has sent!
Yes, managing these swaps can be a lot of work at times, and also take time to do . . . but receiving beautiful creative pieces like this and being able to share them with you is really one of the highlights for me. I just never know what you are going to come up with and it is often very exciting! It also means the world to me when I hear from you via email or a note, just how much being part of the exchange means to you -thank you.

Anyway, back to Susanne's quilties. They are varied, colourful, and simply make you gasp! (at least I did when I opened her package). Susanne wrapped one quiltie especially for me:

Here to your right, is one of the beautiful quilties wrapped up for me in some sheer fabric I will be sure to put to use - it's just wonderful, Susanne! Here are some more photos . . . remember to click on any photo for more detail.

Row House Swap: Cynthia Weed ~ Wyoming

From the very arty Miz C. Weed in Wyoming, yowza! I love the Row Houses Cynthia has created. What a great idea to have the ribbons flowing off each side ~ a great way to connect them too! I tried it out, see below:

"House Sitting on a Summer Day" ~ Too Cool!

Thanks so much, Cynthia!

Row House Swap: Lisa Mallette ~ Florida

(smile)
This bright, beautiful, and different 'row house' has come in from Lisa Mallette in Florida along with 5 very similar ones and also 2 different ones just for me. : )Thank you, Lisa! You will find more of Lisa's art on her blog ~ Studio Rose.

Row House Swap: Patricia Schweitzer ~ Kentucky

Oh my goodness! Here are more beautiful houses from Patricia Schweitzer in Kentucky. As today marks just 2 days before the swap is due in my hands, you are sure to see lots of packages arriving and making the deadline just in time!

Patricia used chipboard houses from Alpha Stamps and decorated them with my favorite green leafy vine ribbon that AS carries as well. I really like the little windows! A couple of our swap participants have used this tin of houses with great results! Here are more pics -including 2 special houses (with my initials) that Patricia created extra for me ~ thank you.

Row House Swap: Teri Calia ~ California

Teri Calia, an Emeryville, California artist I got to know through Alpha Stamps and their yahoo group, has sent in some great little houses for our swap due Saturday. Thanks so much, Teri!

I don't think Teri has these houses on her blog yet, but Artistic Catnip is sure worth a visit, check it out!

New Swap ~ Star Ornaments due 11/01/08

Two of my favorite star ornaments below are from our wedding, by friends Chris Peden (L) & Edward McLellan (R) ; ^ ) These stars are examples of what your ornaments could look like . . . . . you can come up with your own design, different materials or size -pretty much anything goes! details below . . .

This is one of the new creative swaps with registration now taking place on the blog! Please register for this swap by using the appropriate PayPal Button found in the sidebar . . . . look right, near the top. After you have registered and paid in full via PayPal for postage & handling, I will send you the FULL swap details (including the swap mailing address) via email. Thanks!

Star shaped Ornaments (5/5) Due November 1st, 2008 ~ Participants will create FIVE Star shaped ornaments out of any medium(s) of their choice, and will receive Five Star shaped ornaments in return. The size range for the stars is a tiny 1” inch x 1” inch, up to as large as 5” inches x 5”inches (or 12.7cm x 12.7cm). I would like them small enough to hang nicely.

Use any materials you can imagine to create your Star Ornaments. Think creatively when approaching this challenge, or simply be inspired by someone else’s vision and give it your own twist! I will give you more ideas when you sign up, but think of festive winter Holidays and bright beautiful stars hanging in the window or on a holiday tree. I will be participating myself so I can add my swap returns to the star ornaments Steven & I received for our wedding in 2005. We hang them on our holiday tree each year and they are so beautiful. Almost all of our wedding star ornaments were made on the paper stars that we provided to family & friends. For this swap you can use paper or create your star ornaments out of something else entirely! I am dreaming of wire & beads . . . I will share what I coome up with as soon as I create them.

Mail your STARS so they reach me by 11/01/08. Late entries will be returned.
As the swaps arrive, I will post your artwork on the creative swaps blog for everyone to enjoy. If you have a personal blog or website where you have posted your swap artwork, please send me the link in an email and I will add that info to your post.

Make sure I have your correct mailing address when you register for this swap, as I will be sending the star ornaments back to you via First Class or Priority Mail with a mailing label I create using the address you provide when registering on the blog. If you have not registered your address with PayPal - please do. Registration for this swap is $6.00 for mailing within the USA and $8.00 for mailing internationally, outside of the USA -using the pay now buttons on the blog. If you would like to create two sets of star ornaments (10) you may, but please enclose an additional $1.00 in your swap package. I think I will use Priority mail whenever possible now for swap returns to save time on packaging & mailing, and I will definitely create postage online via PayPal. This will mean less work for you – no need to provide me with a self-addressed envelope for US mailings, and only a self addressed label for international mail. I will let you know what works best after my first swap is complete, done this new way. Thank you! Any questions, email me.

New Swap – Quilties: Shades of the Forest

Below is just a sample I made ~one of my journal quilts I thought fit the theme.


This is one of the new creative swaps with registration now taking place on the blog! Please register for this swap by using the appropriate PayPal Button found in the sidebar . . . . look right. After you have registered and paid in full via PayPal for postage & handling, I will send you the FULL swap details (including the swap mailing address) via email. Thanks! Looking forward to this : )

“Shades of the Forest” (4/4) - Due November 29 – a fabric page/quilties swap. Participants will create FOUR fabric pages/quilties on a forest theme in exchange for 4 different quilties made by 4 different artists, all on the same theme! This is typically a very “International swap” and a lot of fun – 'The Forest' is one more theme/swap in our “shades of . . .” quiltie swaps. ~ I especially want to thank one of our swap participants ~ Susanne Weibe from Victoria, BC for suggesting this wonderful theme! I can't wait to get started - I will be participating! If you are new to creating quilties, I have some basic instructions in a Free Tutorial to guide you on my web site.

Swap Requirements:
Your quilties all need to be the same size: 6” x 6” or: 15.24cm x 15.24cm. All quiltie edges should be finished. Raw edges are OK, but your front & back fabrics need to be stitched together by hand or machine.

Please create on a theme of “shades of the forest” ~various greens, browns, white, grey, plus bits of pink, blue, yellow, purple, red for flowers, birds, mushrooms, leaves etc. Think woodland colors and textures. Work from a photo or from your own memory (or your imagination!). Mixed media embellishments are encouraged. Be creative! Challenge yourself to try something; a new technique, process or perhaps a new product. There will be a FIRST PRIZE! I will give away a packet of mixed media & fabric goodies picked from my own stash for the most creative set of forest themed quilties!

Mail your Quilties so they reach me by 11/29/08. Late entries will be returned.
As the swaps arrive, I will post your artwork on the creative swaps blog for everyone to enjoy. If you have a personal blog or website where you have posted your swap artwork, please send me the link in an email and I will add that info to your post.

Make sure I have your correct mailing address when you register for this swap, as I will be sending these quilties back to you via First Class or Priority Mail with a mailing label I create using the address you provide when registering on the blog. If you have not registered your address with PayPal - please do. Registration for this swap is $7.00 for mailing within the USA and $9.00 for mailing internationally, outside of the USA -using the pay now buttons on the blog - and includes all shipping and handling for 4 Quilties. If you would like to create two sets of quilties (8) to swap you may, but please enclose an additional $2.00 in your swap package. I think I will use Priority mail whenever possible now for swap returns to save time on packaging & mailing, and I will definitely create postage online via PayPal. This will mean less work for you – no need to provide me with a self-addressed envelope for US mailings, and only a self addressed label for international mail. I will let you know what works best after my first swap is complete, done this new way. Thank you! Any questions, email me.

Itty Bitty Collage swap: Lenna ~ CT!

Well, I ended up making 6 Itty bitty collages (3x3) myself for this swap! Only 4 of them ended up getting swapped with other participants . . . as my husband demanded one of them (smile) : ^ ) and I decided to keep another for myself. But I had a lot of fun making these little collages, using photos from one of our visits to Wolfe Island, in Ontario Canada. This place is what comes to my mind when I think of summer these days. I used scrapbook papers as a background in orange & red colours, and I added stamping, a bit of watercolour crayon and some metallic marker. The 3 x 3" size is really a small space to work on! Click on any photo for more detail.

See all of my itty bittys to the right -- THIS SWAP IS NOW FINALLY COMPLETE!! I mailed all the packages home today. Thank you for your patience - it took me longer to do than I expected, with vacation making it hard for me to catch up.


: ) Lenna

Row House Swap: Sharon Walworth ~ Rhode Island

Oh my! These houses created by Sharon Walworth are some of my very favorite so far. I think the colours, the additional elements and the images that Sharon used really produce a "feeling" that I am attracted too. I wonder if anyone can guess which house is my favorite -which one I will keep??? Leave me a comment here if you think you know! I will come up with a special something for you if you guess correctly.

Thanks so much, Sharon.

Row House Swap: Letha Richardson ~ Wyoming

From Letha in Wyoming ~ 2 sets of 5 Row Houses plus an extra one for me, thanks very much. Letha has her own blog where she shares her art called This Muse of Mine and there, you will find some very nice close-ups of the houses she made, including an extra special (extra) one she made for her mom and one her daughter made : ^) enjoy!

Row House Swap: Kate North ~ Surrey, UK

Oh, I love these bold houses sent in by Kate from England! She wrote a bit about making them, complete on her blog and she also has a lovely set of close-ups of each house on her flickr account. One of my favorites is the one with the gears, shown here to the right. All of Kate's houses are very dimensional and very interesting. Instead of making an extra swap piece for me, Kate gave me a delicious goodie bag of fabrics and collage bits plus a cool ATC. Thanks so much!

Row House Swap: Connie Holso ~ Wyoming

Wow! Look at all these wonderful "row houses" Connie Holso from Wyoming sent in. I certainly appreciate the extra one, Connie! If you visit Connie's Blog you can see and read more.

Thanks! Some of my favorites are below.

Row House Swap: Cat Dodt-Ellis ~ Utah

From dear Cat in Utah, we have received 2 sets of 5 very charming "sweet confections" of houses! Cat writes:

"I created them using chipboard houses from Alpha Stamps, ArtChix transparencies, Art Institute glitter, Tim Holtz crackle paints, & assorted other bits & bobs!"

Thanks for making an extra house as a hostess gift and for continuing to participate in so many of my swaps, Cat! Click on any photo for a close up!