The American Girl

I recently found an old copy of The American Girl Magazine and I thought I'd share some of the images and ads from it with all of you. This magazine was published by the Girl Scouts of America from 1917 until 1979 "for all girls" and was filled with fiction, fashion, etiquette and civics lessons. Some of the articles in this issue (Feb.1952) include Double Date Part IV, Be Prepared: World Mindedness, Accent the Flair in Fitted Coats and A Penny for Your Thoughts. I've always had a soft spot for anything related to Girl Scouting...I guess because I wanted to join so badly when I was a girl but wasn't allowed to. I still remember how envious I felt of my friend Patty in second grade when she wore her Brownie uniform to school on meeting days! Happily, I have three daughters who all enjoyed being girl scouts and I got to spend many happy hours helping with their scout troups, making sit-upons and chaperoning camping trips. Good memories! So, here are a few fun images and ads from the magazine...I hope you enjoy them! Feel free to use these...just click on them to download the larger version

Cloth, Paper, Scissors Charm Swap

Inspired by the article in the Jan/Feb issue by Erin Waterston on making charms, CPS decided to have a charm swap themselves. Each person could make up to five charms to send in and would receive that many in return. I'm creating quite a collection of charms from the twice yearly charm swap at the Salvage Studio and the 3 for 3 charm swaps with the Red Lead Group and I just love them! I'm planning on making a "charming" necklace one day with some of the charms. Anyway, I just couldn't pass this one up so I've sent off my charms. CPS will swap them all out on June 1st...so I'll keep you posted on what I receive in return!

ATCs

I never get tired of making ATCs....her are three I've made for recent swaps. It's interesting how I seem to get in a color rut now and then. Do you think I'm going through a brown phase?? The images used for "Then and Now" came from Lisa Vollrath and Ten Two Studios. She has some great downloadable sets with color co-ordinated bits and pieces. You can see them all on her site here. Sorry about the blurry scan on the Spring House card...my scanner just doesn't do well with those 3-D embellishments!

Chunky ATCs

Last month, as part of our monthly ATC swap, we also traded chunky atcs. These are 3 dimensional atcs made on wood blocks. They are 2.5 x 3.5 just like regular atcs but what makes them interesting is that depth! I had fun making these and want to experiment with them again
using different techniques. Sadly, I didn't have my camera with me that day so I wasn't able to get pictures of all of them. But I have some photos of mine and the one Grace made...it's the one I got to take home. Isn't it gorgeous? I love the sewing theme! Everyone did a great job on them! Wait, I just remembered Lyneen took photos of them so you can head over to her blog if you'd like to see the rest of them. Lyneen's is just lovely...all pink and flowery!

Chipboard Bird Swap

Alpha Stamps is one of my favorite sites to go to for all sorts of collage and art supplies. It's also a wonderful source of inspiration...just take a look sometime at the lovely artwork in their gallery! Right now they're swapping these Maya Road chipboard birds. You know I'm always drawn into bird themed projects so I just had to play along! The other fun thing about these birds is that I got to try out a new (to me anyway) glue from UHU. Thanks to Lyneen I learned that UHU was giving
away free samples of some of their products. I
wrote them and asked to try it and they sent me some of their Twist & Glue to sample. I've always used their glue sticks (love them!) so I had high hopes that this would be another great product. And it is! It has a versatile applicator that allows you to change from a narrow line of glue to a wider one. It worked great on this chipboard, the fabric wing and for applying the Dresden foil on the tail. It even held the metal filigree piece I used for the eye. Thanks UHU!

Red Lead Tag Swap

The March mail art project on the RedLead group was a tag book and it was the biggest book yet! There were 44 of us...that's a lot of tags! The book had a spring theme so it's bright and colorful and the perfect Spring tonic. There's going to be a new swap announced on the RedLead group on May 1st...anyone can join in so be sure to stop by and take a look!

my tag

Lost in a lambsworld

Well, it seems like I've been a bad blogger...lost in my own little lambsworld...being gone for two weeks earlier in the month just put me behind on so many things! I haven't played in any of my favorite challenges in ages or checked in on my favorite blogs and I seem to have lost some of my creative energy along the way. Do you ever go through phases like that? I know I'll get inspired again. One of the ways I inspire myself is reading blogs and seeing what others are creating. There's so much beauty out there. One of my favorite blogs is The Feathered Nest. Dawn shares her home, her creations and her lovely images (like the one I've used here) and I always come away soothed and inspired. Where do you look for inspiration?

Blog Candy!

Jennie, the owner of The Stamp Connection has recently returned from her Ranger U certification and has lots of goodies she's sharing in a blog giveaway. Be sure to take a look at her blog and sign up for the giveaway here.

Happy Easter!

Well, it's been a wet, soggy Easter here in the Pacific Northwest but a lovely, quiet holiday at our house. It's not exactly spring-like outside today but there are signs everywhere that it's not far off. As I look out my window I can see red buds on the maple tree in the front yard and there are daffodils and hyacinths blooming across the street! I'm sure the birds are hiding today trying to keep dry but there have been several mornings this past week that I woke up to hear them outside. I hope you find some spring today!

ArtFest - Day 4

I started Saturday off by making a run into town for Sudafed, cough drops and Vitamin C...I don't know how it happened but I was brewing a bad bug! Today was my "Who's Your Dada" class with Linda and Opie O'Brien and I was so mad that I felt rotten! After dosing up and some warm oatmeal I felt better and I was on my way. This class was held in the Chapel right inside the entrance to Fort Worden. This was my favorite classroom...large, airy with filtered light coming through the windows. Linda and Opie were so much fun...they have such a great rapport and they're both hoots! I loved listening to their banter. I don't know how many times Linda told Opie "this is the last time I'll interrupt you" and then interrupted the next sentence that came out of his mouth. It was hilarious! I've admired their work ever since I happened on their book Metal Craft Discovery Workshop. I really wanted to get into this class and was so excited to find out I had. The class is described as "celebrating all things DADA" and the dolls are "wild, whimsical, non-traditional and outrageously fun." And I have to agree whole-heartedly. Everyone seemed to have fun making their dolls and they were everything from sweet to outrageous!




And here's mine....

Saturday night was Show and Tell...a time for all of us to share what we had been creating. It was held in three large rooms where everyone was invited to display their work. It was amazing to see what everyone had done. It also gave me ideas about whose classes I'd like to take in the future. We ended the night back in the dorm, talking til all hours and watching Cathy as she drew caricatures of all of us.




I had a wonderful time at ArtFest. If you ever get a chance to spend time with 500+ people who all love to do the same thing you do...jump at it! I know I'll treasure these few days and the good friends I made here for a long time!
Happy Trails to Artfest...until we meet again!