Valentine Ornament Swap: Lori Guerin

From NY, Lori Guerin sends in her first attempt (? wow!) at needle-felting. Boy, am I am impressed! These little hearts are beautiful. thanks so much for the extra one as a hostess gift!
I am feeling quite happy (and romantic) with all these extra valentines hanging in windows and doorknobs - and in more than one room!

If you click on the photo I took you will be able to see more detail of Lori's handiwork . . . and I had to be quick and re-pack them back in their envelope as my 'helpers' seemed very interested in Lori's ornaments : )
This is my kitten, Star (the devilish one!)

Valentine Ornament Swap: Cynthia May

Cynthia May in California sent in a set of 3 cool ATC hanging Valentine ornaments, plus and extra one for me - Thank you!!

She used a variety of papers, images & transparencies, plus a dimensional flower.

Below are all of Cynthia's ornaments - as always, click on the image for a bigger picture. I love the teeny tiny hearts . . . thanks for participating, Cynthia!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Val Duncan

From Val Duncan, down under in Australia, we have received 2 sets of 3 fabric & fiber valentine ornaments - and one extra for me! If you click on this scan you will get a great view of how Val used fibers to create very tactile ornaments!

Below you can see all of the ornaments Val created.

I love quotes, so I am very partial to the back of the ornaments -- thanks Val, for participating all the way from Australia!!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Linda Garcia

wow!

From Linda Garcia in New Mexico -- two sets of 3 'red hot' Southwestern Valentine ornaments! Linda also made an extra one for me, thanks so much! Click on these scans for more detail and see how Linda tooled these hearts. Very original!







All of Linda's ornaments, front & back scanned here:

Creative Bag Swap: Dawn Sellers

From Dawn Sellers in Oregon, a lovely, creative bag! Thank you, Dawn -- I am getting more and more ideas for making my own bag to swap as the swap bags come in. They are all due in my hands February 23rd!



Dawn's bag has a front button closure with a loop and a long strap, plus flowers, lace & a lovely antique image. Click on any picture for more detail if you wish.

Valentine Ornament Swap: Carol Murphy

This is a close-up scan of one of Carol Murphy's valentine ornaments for our swap ~ wowser! So beautiful! Carol hails from California and is a mixed-media friend of mine & fellow instructor at joggles.com! Carol used beautiful images from her own Altered by Design sheets - you can find these at joggles too. She also used UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) for the coated/crackly look. So wonderful, thank you Carol.

Click on any photo for a larger picture. Directly below are the 3 ornaments Carol created for our swap:














Carol created this blue one especially for me . . . amazingly beautiful, isn't it?? I feel very lucky!



And lastly, a close up below to show more of the detail of Carol's ornaments -wow!

Well, I have uploaded a lot of files lately and the valentine swap is winding down with just a few more days to go. I am just waiting for about 5-9 more packages and will be enlisting the kittens help to sort and swap soon - NOT! (I close the door!)
They also help me with laundry a lot . . . as you can see below!

Creative Bag Swap: Sara Davis

Sara from West Virginia has sent in the greatest recycled sweater bag - wow! This bag is quite large and roomy and very soft & snuggly. I had to keep it away from my kittens as they thought it looked very cozy!

Here are some more pictures, you can click on them for more detail. Thanks so much, Sara!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Michele Witchell

Michele Witchell in WI has sent in a set of 3 lovely & romantic paper and button valentine ornaments - look right and click on the image for a close-up view!

And below, you can see all of Michelle's ornaments. I turned them to fit my scanner bed! Thank you Michelle for participating. I love the old ledger sheets that you incorporated. : )

Valentine Ornament Swap: Victoria Talcott Wormell

From Victoria in CT -- 2 sets of 3, plus 1 extra for me!

Victoria has created the most beautiful little valentine ornaments!



Here you can see both the front and the back of her ornaments - click on any picture for more detail.

I just love these ornaments!





This is a close up of the back of the one I chose for myself. The front you can see below; it's the one with the man & woman together - I just couldn't resist! Thank you so much, Victoria! The remaining 6 will be traded away after the mail comes on Saturday. I am only waiting for about 9 packages now & for about half of them I have heard that they are on their way!!

White Quilties! ~ Norma Bullen

From Norma Bullen, 1/2 way across the world in Australia . . . WOW! Norma has sent 5 beautiful Shades of White quilties - 4 for the swap, and 1 more for me; thank you so much Norma. I know this is not an easy thing to do - to make an extra quiltie! I appreciate it very much. Now I have to decide which one - oh dear!

Norma wrote and said she was a little worried there might be too much colour in these; but she hoped that the pale shades she used would be fine. They are and I love them. This is a "shades of white" theme. You can do whites in varying shades, or you can do white with other pale shades,colors that have been "whited out" . . . whatever looks like "shades of white" to you. Have fun with it and let the challange of the theme stretch you.

Norma writes, "I bought a bundle of Handkercheifs from an opportunity (OP) shop for $3.00 Australian. That is OP = Thrift shop, I think that is what you call them? (yes!) I attached them to hide the backs (of the quilties) but they can be removed and used again if anyone wants to do so."

Very cool!


Here is a photo of ALL of Norma's quilties - click on it to see them better. Just beautiful -Thank you, Norma!!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Sara Davis

Isn't this just so imanginative? Sara from W. Virginia has made 3 valentine ornaments you can wear!! I also love the little "moo" cards Sara added to each knitted pin. I know you can get these made through flickr (free photo sharing account) but I have also started to see swaps of hand-made moo cards. They are a fun alternative to a business card & great for including your info on your swap pieces.

I think I will have to consider some sort of hand-made "moo" card swap!!

Thanks Sara, for your wonderful addition. You can click on any picture for more detail!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Pam Chasen

From Pamela Chasen in Montreal, Canada . . . .
3 valentine ornaments for the swap and one for me, all made with LoVe, LoVE, Love! I have a close-up here so you can see Pam's wonderful stitching and below, a scan of ALL of her ornaments. As always, clicking on the image will give you more detail!

thank you, pam.

Valentine Ornament Swap: Nicole Ingegneri

From Nicole in Virginia, I have received 2 sets (of 3) very cool and creative valentine ornaments (a close-up).

It never ceases to amaze me -- all of the ideas people come up with when I leave some room for interpretation and creativity in my swaps. This is one of the best rewards for me personally, in hosting. I am sure you get a lot out of seeing all of the pieces too!

Anyway, above is a close-up of the felt & doll face ornaments that Nicole came up with. I did get an email from Nicole - she was concerned and wondering, hoping that her ornaments were up to snuff?? I assured her they were! I know it can be intimidating to see all the creative work that is produced for these swaps, and it might make you nervous. It is understandable, because I am happy to say as we have some very wonderful and talented participants here. But I can tell you from my own experience, that if you put a little effort in to your work and do your best, think about what you are doing a bit, you are going to be just fine!!! No worries . . . and now, enough lecturing - you can view ALL of Nicole's valentine ornaments below.

Thank you, Nicole!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Kitty Mitchell

I had a big smile on my face when I pulled Kitty Mitchell's ornaments out of their envelope . . . she made wooden door hangers as ornaments for our swap - I just love it! Click on the photo for more detail. Thank you so much for participating, Kitty!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Cynthia Weed

From Cynthia Weed in Wyoming we have 2 sets of 3 - wonderfuly whimsical, yet very pretty and almost old fashioned ornaments. I love the kite-like tail she has added to each one.



Thankyou Cynthia, for the hostess gift of very cool ephemera too!

note: "Just a little piece of my heart" . . . I love this, Cynthia! You have me singing Janis Joplin now . . . (grin)