Artfest 2011

It amazes me how fast the 4 days of Artfest fly by. From Wednesday evening when we check in until Sunday when we say goodbye it's just a blur of fun, friends and arty goodness. This year I arrived a couple of hours early and got to spend some time walking on the beach and enjoying the grounds at Fort Worden. This really is a wonderful place. I love the walk along the beach to the lighthouse. I love the rows of officer housing and the big white barracks buildings. There are deer who show up quietly out of nowhere and seem like they belong here more than I do. It's the perfect setting for an art retreat. I had such a good time. I saw old friends, made some new ones, stayed up late, played and watched and listened and learned. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Barracks 203 Room 9

My art nest transformed!

My travel pal

Day 1 - Syd MCcutcheon Welcome to My World

Day 2 - Tory Brokenshire Santibelli

Day 3 - Stephanie Rubiano Pixie Pins

I have lots more photos....shots of the Gallery, Show and Tell Night, The Iron Chef Artist competition...but I think I'll save those for another day. If you get the chance to attend Artfest...take it!

More Mail Art

I'm so happy that Sue came up with the brilliant idea to stagger the mailing times on our mail art swap. I LOVE having new mail art magically appear when I check the box! The latest parcels are from Laura and Lenna...both east coasters...one from Florida and one from Maryland. I'm so envious right now of all the sand and sun that appears on and in Lenna's wonderful piece. In fact both of these make me a little homesick for the east coast. But that's the fun of this round...sharing a little about where we live. So, if I can't actually be there this is the next best thing! Thank you ladies!

Mail Art!

Mail art from Yvette arrived while I was at Artfest...isn't it a bright, happy little package?! I almost hated to open it but finally sliced through the bottom to let all the goodies out. For this round we're showing off where we live. Yvette's package came from Maryland. She's included some lovely postcards, a pin and even a recipe for Maryland Crab Cakes...one of my favorites! How I miss those blue crabs! This fun swap is being hosted by Sue in Australia. I "met" Sue while participating in an earlier mail art swap hosted by Lenna of Creative Lenna. Sue decided she wanted to continue swapping and gathered a small group, put together themes and even staggered the mailing dates so we have a steady stream of delicious mail art arriving throughout the year. I love it!

Happy Homemaker Tag - April

Well, here I am a day late in posting my tag. I have so much to catch up on but for now I'll just leave you with my April tag. Remember what fun it was to wake up on Easter morning and find your Easter basket by your bed brimming with all kinds of chocolate treats? I remember! My mom is visiting me and I've been busy gathering some special things to put in an Easter basket just for her. I hope Spring has found you...it's been a beautiful day here. Hop on over to the Happy Homemaker blog to see the rest of this month's tags.

April Fool's!

Red Lead Welcome to My Cottage Swap

Vintage Note Card Swap

Beautiful mail came today! My exchange cards from Lenna's Vintage Note Card Swap arrived today and they're SO pretty. I'm going to have to keep these around to admire for quite awhile before I'll be able to bear to part with them! Just look how lovely they are!

The first card on the left is from Sarah. Her card is made of fabric and trims, buttons and a crocheted pansy...so pretty! JoAnn's card in the center is a collage of paper and ribbon in the softest colors and accented with the sweetest stitching...I wish my machine did that! The card on the right was made by Laura and it's so bright and happy...it makes me smile every time I look at it! Laura's used a beautiful napkin as the base and added gorgeous papers, an adorable vintage image of three girls, a transparency, old buttons and a silk bow. I love it! Thank you ladies and thank you Lenna for another wonderful swap! Lenna will be hosting another swap soon. If you think you might like to join in check back at Lenna's Creative Swaps site to see what she has in store for us next!

Happy Homemaker March Tag

Well, here we are again and this time a little closer to Spring. But as I look out my window on a rainy, cold and blustery day I know winter still has a bit of a hold on us. My tag this month depicts another small moment in a child's life. It's a Saturday in early March. Young Alice wishes she could go out and play but it's raining and cold and Mother suggests they work on their sewing together. Snug and warm by the fireplace, Mother in her big comfy chair and Alice on her favorite red stool, they spend a few contented hours stitching and chatting. I actually know this very feeling of contentment. I'm very fortunate to have my mom (85 years old and still a pistol!) visiting with me for a few months and we've been able to spend several hours in quiet contentment just being together. It doesn't get any better than that! I didn't use any new techniques in creating this tag...just cutting and pasting, rick rack and ribbon. But one thing I did use that you might not have thought about using yourself is the little flower in Alice's hair. It's actually a fingernail decal. Fingernail decals come in all sorts of designs and are very inexpensive. Take a look here to see a few. So, that's my tip for this month. I hope you're seeing signs of Spring where you are. Be sure to stop by the Happy Homemaker blog to say hello to Elizabeth and see all the other March tags. See you next month!

Sometimes You Just Have to Buy Yourself a Present!

I know I don't need it. I'm not sure where I'll put it. It's kinda heavy and the color doesn't match anything I already have. BUT. I love it, I've wanted one just like it for ages, I saw it and I bought it! Plus...it was a steal!!


PS...actually my sweet Quinn who I had DRAGGED to a rummage sale at 7am right before he had to get on an airplane and fly to Taiwan bought it for me. Thank you baby!

Mini Fabric Collage from Liz

I wanted to share with you the sweet fabric collage that my swap partner Liz made for me. I love this little collage...I've always had a soft spot for vintage school images. And I love how she's used a piece of mica on the collage...such a neat touch! Liz even created a wonderful school themed box to hold the collage and included some old photos and a Florida alligator . Thank you Liz...this is such a special gift! Linda's planning to announce the next swap at A Swap for All Seasons on March 20...why don't you take a look and join us?

Journey ATC

One World One Heart 2011 Update

Well, today's the day....the winner of my One World One Heart giveaway is....Vicki from 2 Bags Full. Congratulations Vicki! I'll be be sending an email to you soon to get your address. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and left comments...it was so much fun to hear from all of you. Once again I had a great time visiting your blogs, dropping in on old friends and "meeting" new ones. This is such a wonderful blog party! A big thanks to Lisa for organizing this event again and for having something just as fun up her sleeve for next year! See you then!