swap results

I've been swapping again!!!  Isn't that naughty?  Instead of working on some serious art pieces, I've been playing with my internet friends.  Too bad, I say!!  Sometimes a girl just needs to have  fun!

My sunny cloth, is a lovely bead embroidered piece that I received from Dr. Amy over at the Cloth Paper Studio (CPS) Yahoo Group.  It was for their "Embellished Rock" swap!  No, we didn't swap rocks, but I do need to find a nice one  to wrap with this serene piece of sunshine.  Of course, it's particularly approprite for me, as I was born under the sun sign of Leo! Nothing serene about this cat though, but perhaps the piece will help to encourage a calmer outlook!

Now on to my paper swap!  Well, actually it appears to be a paper and fabric swap from Beth R. in South Africa.  Thanks again Beth, for an interesting array of items.  I'm not sure where they'll end up, but I assure you that they are a welcome addition to my stash!

The African fabrics are just lovely! I believe some, if not all of them are called Shweshwe fabric.  I'm sure that Beth (or my sparkly friend, Beth in Pretoria) will be able to tell us when she reads the post.

 

One of my favourite items is this ink and bleach piece that was made by one of Beth's students many years ago.  The writing on the back, indicates that it was made by Suiyen S., Gr. 9.  According to Beth, Suiyen is now married!!  It was apparently made by coating paper with ink (Quink ink, I believe) and then removing the ink with bleach (using a Q-tip or brush).  I'm not sure if we can get that type of ink over here, but I assure you that I will be looking for it.

I truly appreciate it when people send stamps!  I haven't done much with them lately, but the images on those little pieces of paper are amazing!

These paper swaps are fun and everyone is welcome.  Instructions for joining can be found at the Paper Swap blog.  It's the brainchild of LaWendula in Germany.

Thanks to both Beth and Dr. Amy for a couple of very successful swaps!

Stay tuned, because I have two more swaps in the wind!  I just mailed my "By The Numbers"  ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) and "Four Fabric Flowers" swaps.  I'll post after the swap hostesses have received them.

It's a statutory holiday up here in Canada, so I'm aiming for a very creative weekend. 

Happy arting everyone!

paper swaps & rummage sales

I'm rather late with posting this, but here are the yummy results of a "Wild at (he)art" paper swap I participated in with Andria from the US (September, 2011). As always, the swaps are hosted by the wonderfully generous and talented LaWendula over at her Paper Swap blog.

I believe that this was Andria's first swap of this type and I'm lucky to have had the chance to share it with her! She's very precise, with her wonderful, colourful cutout images. Her selection was a very nice mix of vintage and contemporary!!! Even the outside of her envelope was collaged! Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a photo, but it might show up later as I plan to keep it for my stash.













Poor Andria! I'm not sure what she thought when she opened my envelope, as my style is quite eclectic! I didn't take photos, of course, but if you rummage around Andria's site, you will see that she did! (but be careful, she's quite prolific in the blogging sense)

I think that I may be forced to start either altering books or journalling in the near future. The paper is getting unruly and is starting to call out for attention!

Another not-so-guilty pleasure, is foraging at church rummage sales for cheap and interesting jewelry bits to use in my bead embroidery projects. I've been sadly lagging behind on my bead journal projects due to work constraints, but I'm definitely feeling the urge to start another one. The first step is the gathering!!!! No, it doesn't mean that I will actually use any of this in my next BJP, but at least I'll have it on hand when I'm ready to for it. The necklaces will be taken apart for the stash (except perhaps the one with the big, black beads). What I neglected to photograph, was a rather a large strand of dark green fresh water pearls (dyed, of course). The matching pink strand was snapped up by the lady in front of me. Sigh!

Oh, I forgot to mention the two little dishes. The smaller one is a Minton and the larger, Royal Doulton. I just couldn't resist!

paper anyone?

Wonderful treats from the recent quick paper swap "Swallenge" that I received from LaWendula over at her Paper Swap blog. Thank you so much for all of your goodies! I'm amazed at how much you stuffed in that small envelope and how tidy you made the little packet! Mine was a little more unruly!! As for the rest of you, if you like paper and you haven't participated in one of these swaps, I encourage you to do so. They're wonderful and you get to meet the nicest people from all over the world! The good news is that LaWendula is planning on continuing these swaps through 2012, so there's still plenty of time for you to join and get a chance to beef up your paper stash. What are you waiting for, just do it!!! There's one going on right now that I'm participating in and another one in October. All details are on the Paper Swap blog.

Of course, I have to confess that I normally include some of my fibre offerings along with the paper, so you never really know just what you will get. That's what makes it so enjoyable!!!!

fat book swap - 2011

The wonderful results of a Fat Book swap that I participated in on the Mixed Media Art Friends Yahoo Group. This group is run by the generous and talented Belinda Spiwak. We were asked to make 37 pages of one technique on either cardstock or heavy weight watercolour paper. Some of the participants dropped out, so I received four of my own pages back. I guess that life interfered!!

On the back of each page are the instructions for the technique. What a wonderful resource for the future!! Belinda has had these huge swaps before, but the timing was never right for me to join. Of course, I regretted it every single time. The swaps on this group are infrequent, but she's hinted that the next one might be either a charm or ATC swap. I'm hoping for a charm one, because that's another I missed in the past. Boo hoo to me......because they were incredible!!!

Belinda's is the first one on the top on the left hand side.



Mine is the green one, second left on the bottom.







Three of my pages are in this shot. The mottled one in the middle of the top row and the two on the bottom.




Instructions for my technique are shown in my original post on the subject.

These pages will eventually be made into a reference book or I might even make a storage box. But for now I'll just fondle them and dream! As my bookbinding experience and time is limited, the final construction will need to wait.

Let the experiments begin!!!!! Now, does anyone know where to buy sequin waste?

colourful treasures from down under

I received two lovely packages from Australia during the month of April. The first is from my friend Kaite in Bathurst, NSW. I had admired her googlie eyed koala, that was originally destined for a child in New Zealand, so she quickly made another and sent the original to me. Now doesn't that just make me feel special? She also sent some naturally dyed fabrics, a sample of her silk twining, a special little button (a little birdie told me that there were only two in the world) and a teeny sample of waxed irish linen thread. Do you believe that the pink fabrics were dyed with a green avocado? I feel oh so lucky to be the recipient of all this bounty!! Thanks my friend!

Did you notice that the Koala has been tarted up just a little??




The second package was from my new friend, NormaMc in Longwarrin, Victoria who, unfortunately, doesn't have a blog. In 2010, I discovered the wonderful paper swaps hosted by Lawendula. The following photos show the goodies I received from the very special Scavenger Hunt Paper Swap that Norma and I participated in. We tried to be faithful to the swap and had the best intentions, but in reality we both cheated just a little, by leaving out a few things and including some extras (fabric anyone??). It was fun trying to beg, borrow, steal and buy things to include in the package. Norma's to me was Australian themed. Mine to her was an eclectic mix of whatever I was able to throw together. I hope that she enjoys reading the Chinese newspaper that I sent!!! LOL! I think that I also sent a page of something in an arabic type script from a book I purchased in the library garage sale last year.

Included in the package were some very special things:

Some colourful bits and pieces that include some wonderful Japanese paper, a cute little doggie, a hand cut and painted house (and lots of other stuff).



A lovely, felted ATC sprinkled with beads and hand embroidery(does Norma have an embellisher?).



Three pieces of Australian themed fabric. The yellow one is my favourite!



A vintage Christmas postcard with the following written on the back:

"To Martin,

Wishing him a Merry Xmas from his Teacher

Dec, 1912"

I'm soooo in love with this little bit of history!!!




Thanks Norma for a great swap! I hope that you send some photos of my goodies when the envelope finally arrives. I was in such a rush to get it in the mail, that I forgot to take pictures. I'd like to post them on the blog.

late but not forgotten

I was blog hopping earlier last year and happened upon the wonderful Lawendula at the Woven Letters blog. I've been interested in paper for a while, but hadn't built up much of a stash. I quickly noticed the regular paper swaps that Lawendula organizes and emailed her to sign up for the next one.

The first swap I joined was called the "Art Failures" swap and my partner was Sue from Australia. Sue was generous enough to send me an envelope stuffed full of handmade cards, a few of her little accordian books, miscellaneous paper products, earrings, a necklace and bracelet. Alas, not too many failures, but what a bounty for a mixed media artist with a touch of ADD! Also, don't you think the sayings are so appropriate? Sue hasn't been blogging much lately, but perhaps a few lovely comments would encourage her to start.





The next swap I joined was "Embellishment for Paper Art" and my partner was Faerwillow from the U.S. I received a bountiful and enchanting envelope, chock full of nature themed elements. Papers, fall leaves, beads, brads, sequins, a pin, mystical ladies and even a fairy tale or two were included for my enjoyment. Don't you just love the fall colours and the faerie theme? A natural delight for my eyes!




A great big thank you to Lawendula, Sue and Faerwillow for a couple of very successful swaps. The dialogue was great and the results, oh so very satisfying. If you're interested in joining a swap of this type, wander on over to Lawendula's new blog. You'll meet the most interesting people on your journey! See you there!!

Of course, the next thing I need to do is figure out how I'm going to use my treasures. Stay tuned!!