Valentine Ornament Swap: Mercedes Jimenez

All the way from Madrid, Spain! I have received three wonderful Valentine Ornaments for our swap, by Mercedes Jimenez. WOW! Your Valentines are delightful, Mercedes! Thanks so much for playing and sending from far away.

Mercedes choose to do all fabric pieces with some paper mixed in, I love it! -but each one is different from the other. See the photos below - click on them for a more detailed picture.

Below are all three of Mercedes' onaments hanging together on the closet door in my office. One one of my kittens - Farfel, now 7 months old is watching/standing guard! He seems very interested in all the swap activity around here lately . . . . his brother must be fast asleep or he'd be here supervising too : )

Valentine Ornament Swap: Carol Stocker

Oh My! I have received a lot of swaps recently. It's all good - keep them coming!

To the right is my GIFT from Carol Stocker - isn't it amazing?? It is a little different from the other ornaments Carol made, but not to worry - they are all gorgeous! Above and below - in sets of 3 - you will find scans of Carol's Valentine Ornaments for our swap. She so kindly posted directions on how to make them on her own blog, Spirits Journey Designs. I think you will agree with me they are beautiful! If you would like more detail, click on any scan or photo. Thank you, Carol. wow!

Creative Bag Swap: Susanne Wiebe

From Susanne Wiebe in Victoria, British Columbia -- a wonderful handmade creative bag with pockets and a matching eyeglass case! There is another picture below, to show off the pockets Susanne added . . . there is one on the outside of the bag and one on the inside. Susanne did a wonderful job - this bag is totally lined! [click on any photo for a better view]

Very cool! I will also brag and thank Susanne publicly for the wonderful and needed eyeglass case she included just for me!! (see photo below with one of my kitties)

I think Farfel likes it : ) and wants it for his own!

Don't worry, I was WEARING my glasses when I took this photo!! Thanks again, Susanne. Love your fabric art!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Eva Nyberg

From Eva Nyberg in Sweden we have received some lovely mixed media pieces for our valentine swap. Eva did post these on her blog: Eva Scrap - which I follow regularily, but of course it is much more of an experience to see these beauties in person! One reason you join swaps, I bet . . . . nothing like holding a piece of hand made art in your hand, right?? : ^)

I love Eva's use of color and what I call her hand-dyed "cheesecloth" . . . but I think she has another name for it - I can't remember?? When Eva took my Mini Art Quilt class through joggles.com last Fall, I think she also used this material to make some gorgeous quilties ~ go see!

Eva made 3 ornaments for our swap and then she made an extra "St. Valentines" piece for lucky me! (see below - purple & pink). It says: "I claim there ain't another Saint as great as Valentine"

~Thank you so much, Eva!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Ginny Ballou

Ginny Ballou from MA sent the coolest ornaments for our valentines swap. I would have never thought of this: A veritcal Valentine's Banner! Thank you Ginny! Here you see it OPEN and folded up - click on any photo for a better view . . . .

White Quilties! ~ Wil Opio Oguta

From Wil Opio Oguta in the Netherlands I have received my first swap pieces for the Shades of White Quilties swap due here in CT on or before April 26th. Wil is definitely working ahead and I am so happy to have her in my swap!

As you can see from the close up, it could be hard for me to capture your shades of white. At first I scanned Wil's quilties (above right) but I wasn't satisfied with how it looked. The scanner seemed to pick up the silver threads in Wil's white fabric too much - so I took a photo instead, below. Click on it for a close-up view. This is sure to be a great swap!

Creative Bag Swap: Laura Butler

From Laura Butler in VT, who was a student in one of my workshop classes last Fall, I have received a lovely knitted & felted bag for our swap. Thank you! It is wonderful to see the variety and care that goes into each piece.

Here is a close-up of Laura's bag below - click on any photo for more detail.

Valentine Ornament Swap: Doris Stahl

. . . . from Doris Stahl in England two sets of wonderful, very creative Valentine Ornaments have arrived! They are covered with soft felt and fabric - or some are plain, and Doris has attached the words "Love Nest" on one side, and the quote "Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence" on the other side.
~ : > )

They look very magical made with thin gold wire and beads, including some lovely paper beads. Doris so kindly made an extra one for me. Thank you!



You can read more about them on Doris' blog!

Creative Bag Swap: Michelle Wolf

From Michelle Wolf in MN, our very first swap entry for the Creative Bag Swap! Michelle created TWO bags, so she will be receiving 2 in return.

Michelle's bags are like no bags I have ever seen before! They are created with real chop sticks running along the side of the bags. Michelle also created a beautiful, long beaded handle for each bag. You can see the detail photo RIGHT, and click on any picture for a larger version . . . . .

Thank you, Michelle! The in-my-hands deadline for this swap is February 23rd, 2008!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Louise Lucero

From Louise Lucero in Albuquerque, New Mexico I have received 2 sets of 3 valentine ornaments, plus an extra ornament just for me. Thank you so much, Louise! These heart ornaments are soft, puffy, and hand-stitched; each one a little different. It will be hard to choose one for myself - wow!

Valentine Ornament swap: Peggy Gato

From Alamo, CA ~ 3 very creative valentine ornaments from Peggy Gato. What a great addition to our swap! Click on the scan for more detail and please visit Peggy's new Blog to see more of her art. Peggy also enclosed in her swap package a great little book for me called 'Perfect Pairs' with cool romantic photos of couples like Hepburn & Tracy - plus quotes on love. Thanks so much, peggy. What fun!

Valentine Ornament Swap: Kate North

From Surrey, England - our first International arrival of Valentine ornaments for our swap! Kate North has sent 3 wonderful ornaments for the swap and an extra one for me -- thanks so much Kate! I am showing the front of 3 of her ornaments here, and the back of one of them, as I love how she put these hearts together. You can click on my scan for greater detail, and also visit Kate's own Blog, Kate's Quilting (& other fibre arts) for her own post on how she created her ornaments!

These are due in my hands February 2nd - THREE weeks from this post, so I expect to be inundated with love & hearts soon!

Valentine Ornament swap - Lenna Andrews

I have created another set of valentine ornaments for our swap. These 3 are completely different from the first three I made, which were much larger and made of fabric! This time I used the 1" brass pendants from Alpha Stamps along with the Tallulah's Kisses Transparency sheet. The transparencies were attached with tacky glue, which does work, but takes a while to dry. Because it takes so long, the next time I do this I might try another type of adhesive. Any suggestions for adhering transparencies to metal are most welcome!! just leave a comment!

I also used a selection of ribbons from Alpha Stamps, either from one of their pendant/sachet kits or from the ribbon page. You can click on any image for greater detail. I am looking forward to receiving your ornaments! Remember ALL valentine ornament swaps need to be delivered to me by FEBRUARY 2nd, 2008 in order to be included in the swap - thanks!

Valentine Ornament swap - Lenna's

(This ornament is about 5 1/2" square)
Did I tell you I was participating in this swap??
Well, I am! Here is my 1st set - I may make another set of 3, so that I'll have 6 ornaments to trade in total. Sometimes I receive a gift of an extra swap piece from participants, but I don't expect it, so . . . this work ensures I get some art that I covet all for my own. Devilish, don't you agree?? I also seem to NEED deadlines and assignments to MAKE me get in the studio & create. I am the type of artist that does not plan out all the details first; just the opposite of my husband and his intricate drawings - we often talk about this. Instead I almost always only have a spark of an idea, a theme, a image i want to use. When I have procrastinated long enough, I make myself go to my studio space and "gather" what I might use in relation to my theme or idea. Then the project is usually accomplished by a series of "what if's"; what if I did this and what IF I did that . . . and that's what happened here!

I wanted to use images from the new Alpha Stamps Tallulah's sheets Leslie Elledge had added to her website recently and I chose a couple from the Modern Romance sheet. The ornament above is a paper image (quite thick - fine for sewing through) from that sheet and then I added a transparency from an earlier alpha stamps tallulah's sheet, Kisses. The ribbon is from AS too - I think it was packed in my ribbon sachet kit. There is a bit of batting under the paper image/checked fabric, before I sewed that to the heart fabric & felt! To finish it I sewed an old button I had on hand to the top of the piece. Here are 2 more ornaments I created yesterday afternoon:

This one is made from red & white striped ticking I got also from Alpha Stamps, here in the fabric section of Leslie's site (scroll to the bottom when you get there). The image is paper and the Valentine Kids collage sheet and is quite large, overall about 6"x6" at the widest points. If you click on the scan for a larger image, you'll see I glued a little wishbone charm onto the paper image (source unklnown). The ribbon is from AS too -1/4" Sheer Iridescent Ribbon!

Lastly, one of my favorites -


This image is from Art Deco Valentines and a little un-traditional for a valentine perhaps? Click on it for a closer view! I also used a stamp from the Set of Heart Icons and one of my own stamps, a saying by Albert Einstein: In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity. I love it! I hope you do too. This one is about 4" wide and 5 1/2" long. Looking forward to seeing your ornaments fly in - Kate from England let me know she sent hers off on their journey yesterday, thanks!

A HapPy & CreaTivE NeW YEaR!

In welcoming in 2008 I wanted to update you on our current swaps:
As of January 1st, The Valentine Ornament swap is a Full & closed Swap, due by February 2nd. You may write and asked to be added to the waiting list, in case someone has to drop out, though. Participants are:
Carol Murphy, Peggy Gato, Marla Rosenlieb, Linda Schultz, Vicky Martindale, Sara Davis, Val Duncan, Pam Chasen, Bella Ayers, Casie Metcalf, Gunvor Andersson Stork, Ginny Ballou, Linda Garcia, Victoria Talcott Wormell, Gayle Gross, Melissa Woolsey, Doris Stahl, Sara Blagg, Cynthia Weed, Eva Nyberg, Cynthia May, Kate North, Sharon Schutt, Mercedes Jimenez, Kara Klein, Kitty Mitchell, Louise Lucero, Donna Eck, Nicole Ingegneri, Lori Guerin, Michelle Witchell and Carol Stocker.
(the links on some names are to swap art by that participant published on 'creative swaps'. No link means that this is the participant's first swap with me and this blog)
Important note: If you find because of any circumstance you cannot fulfill the commitment you made earlier to complete this swap, all I ask is that you notify me as soon as possible. As long as you communicate with me there will be no hard feelings and no problems on my end. I will welcome you to participate in another one of my swaps, at any time!

As of January 1st, The Creative Bag Swap is FULL with 30 participants. The Creative Bag swap is due in my hands February 23rd. Participants are:
Susanne Wiebe, Dawn Sellers, Peggy Gato, Fiona Brockie, Vicky Martindale, Judy Bernard, Sara Davis, Heather Alwaisi, Ginny Ballou, Linda Garcia, Laura Butler, Victoria Talcott Wormell, Michelle Wolf, Vicki Page, Cynthia Zdanzukas, Melissa Woolsey, Cynthia Weed, Rena Matus, Cynthia May, Melinda Fulkerson, Shuwanna Stout, Cathy Johnson, Anne St. Louis, Andrea Millington, Mercedes Jimenez, Kitty Mitchell, Donna Eck, Carolyn Getter, Anna Luna, and Catherine van der Hoeff.

As of February 15th The Tallulah's card/postcard swap sponsored by Alpha Stamps is OPEN and has 6 open spots for participants. The Tallulah's card swap is due in my hands March 22nd. The participants are:
Frieda Oxenham, Janice Perkin, Peggy Gatto, Linda Schultz, Vicky Martindale, Patricia Schweitzer, Linda Garcia, Carol Stocker, Gayle Gross, Joanie Hoffman, Cynthia Weed, Cynthia May, Cathy Johnson, Caroline Outz Hay, Shannon Sawyer, Vickie Trancho, Terrie Lightfoot, Michelle Witchell, Martha Franklin, Leslie Hanson, Cynthia Zdanzukas, Teri Calia, Katherine DeCarlo, Lolly Busey and Nicole Ingegneri.

As of Feb. 15, The Shades of White Quiltie Swap has a few spots because of cancellations. This quiltie swap is due in my hands April 26th, 2008. Participants are:
Beverley Tiechrob, Janice Perkin, Dawn Sellers, Fiona Brockie, Vicky Martindale, Myfawny Hart, Val Duncan, Patricia Schweitzer, Amanda Blunden Smith, Linda Garcia, Victoria Talcott Wormell, Norma Bullen, Vicki Page, Fanny Fairbanks, Rena Matus, Lori Brofsky, Joanie Hoffman, Melissa Woolsey, Mary Zimany, Susanne Wiebe, Cynthia Weed, Cynthia May, Kate North, Cathy Johnson, Sharon Schutt, Donna Eck, Wil Opio Oguta, Kara Klein, Sharon McGreevey, Martha Franklin , Catherine van der Hoeff and Joellyn Quinn.

*If you find because of any circumstance you cannot fulfill the commitment you made earlier to complete a swap, all you have to do is notify me as soon as possible. Any mistakes or changes, please let me know as soon as possible - thank you. I am looking forward to the creativity I will be experiencing first hand through your art in the months to come!! : ) Lenna