WHITE WEDNESDAY IS FOR THE BIRDS

This is a white felted scarf that I made using white wool roving and long lengths of different vintage laces. Recently, my BFF Mary L. gave me a birds nest that had blown out of a tree at her farmette. Mary has 2 very furry dogs, Hanna &Gracie, Missy the horse, Chico the mule, and several cats. As one can imagine, springtime at Marry's produces a lot of hair when her animals shed their winter coats. This event happens around the same time as the birds in her area are looking for materials to build their nests! This is a very special nest for me because it includes hair and fur from most of her animals! This is one bird that so gets it! It so reminded me of the scarf that I felted with what was available, pretty and useful.

SHOP TALK

I KNOW THAT I DON'T TALK ABOUT MY SHOP VERY OFTEN, BUT SOMETHING WONDERFUL HAPPENED AT THE SHOP RECENTLY, AND I THINK IT NEEDS MENTIONING. A FEW MONTH'S AGO I MET MARY THROUGH ANOTHER SHOP OWNER/FRIEND OF MINE, DENISE. DENISE ARRANGED FOR MARY TO DO SOME FURNITURE PAINTING IN MY SHOP STUDIO, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME MINDING MY SHOP SO THAT I COULD HAVE SOME DAYS OFF. LITTLE DID I KNOW WHAT GREAT THINGS WERE TO COME OF THIS ARRANGEMENT! MARY NOT ONLY MINDED THE STORE, BUT STARTED PRESENTING IDEAS TO ME THAT WOULD MAKE THE SHOP MORE EFFICIENT. SHE STARTED ORGANIZING MY STUDIO, WHICH ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS THAT THAT WAS NO SMALL FEAT! ETC., ETC., ETC...... TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, MARY ASKED IF SHE COULD BECOME MY PARTNER! SO FAR IT'S BEEN A GOOD DECISION FOR BOTH OF US. LAST WEEK-END, MARY AND HER VERY SWEET HUSBAND, TOTALLY REARRANGED THE MAIN ROOM AND I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT IT'S AWESOME! MARY HAD EVERYTHING PRE-DONE ON A FLOOR PLAN, (SAY WHAT!) HAD ALL HER DUCKS IN A ROW, AND SHE TOLD ME THAT EVERYTHING WENT LIKE CLOCKWORK! (NOTICE THAT I WAS NOT AROUND THAT DAY?) ANY WAY, I'VE INCLUDED JUST A FEW PICS OF THE SHOP. THERE IS MORE THAT WE WANT TO DO, AND AS SOON AS MARY HAS THE TIME , SHE WILL. (lol) IN ADDITION, MARY HAS STARTED A WEBSITE ABOUT HER PART AT THE SHOP @ WWW.lamaisonmarche.net. CHECK IT OUT SOME TIME......................NOW REMEMBER, MY COMMENT GIVEAWAY WILL LAST FOR A COUPLE MORE WEEKS, SO PLEASE, PLEASE,PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT FOR ME WHEN YOU VISIT AS I HAVE A VERY BIG BASKET AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT FULL OF NAMES! (I MIGHT EVEN CHOOSE MORE THAN ONE NAME FOR A SECOND PLACE GIFT!)

COMMENT CHALLENGE GIVE AWAY

THIS IS MY 135th POST. I WOULD LIKE TO SEND A TOTE OF AN ASSORTMENT OF HANDMADES TO ONE OF YOU WONDERFUL READERS WHEN I REACH MY 150th POST! SO MY CHALLENGE TO ALL OF YOU WHO READ MY BLOG IS THIS;..... EVERY TIME YOU READ MY POST, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT. EVEN IF IT IS JUST ONE WORD, LET ME KNOW THAT YOU WERE THERE AND I WILL PUT YOUR NAME IN A BASKET. THE MORE OFTEN YOU LEAVE A COMMENT, THE MORE TIMES YOUR NAME WILL BE IN THE BASKET AND YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING, OF COURSE, ARE GREATER. AND IF YOU LET YOUR READERS KNOW ABOUT THIS CHALLENGE, IT WILL EARN YOU 5 ADDITIONAL ENTRIES IN THE BASKET!

NOW I'M PLANNING ON HAVING A BIG BASKET, SO IT WILL HOLD A LOT OF ENTRIES. ....

THE TOTE THAT I SEND WILL BE HAND EMBELLISHED AND STUFFED FULL OF GREAT GOODIES THAT I HAVE MADE OR COLLECTED. ( at least, a bakers dozen!) YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED, I PROMISE! IF THE WINNER IS A BLOGGER, I WILL TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR BLOG TO SEE WHAT THEIR INTERESTS ARE, AND CHOOSE ITEMS THAT I THINK THAT THEY WOULD ENJOY! IF THE WINNER DOES NOT HAVE THEIR OWN BLOG, THE CONTENTS OF THE TOTE WILL BE MY CHOICE. THIS CHALLENGE IS NOT LIMITED TO THE U.S., SO ANY ONE CAN ENTER!

I REALIZE THAT THIS CHALLENGE WILL TAKE A LITTLE WHILE, BUT I PROMISE TO POST AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK, PERHAPS MORE. IT SHOULD BE FUN FOR ALL OF US, SO PLEASE JOIN IN ON THE FUN!

VINTAGE SNAKESKIN PURSE NECKLACES

A FEW MONTHS AGO, I POSTED A PICTURE OF A PROJECT THAT WAS FUN AND DIFFERENT. IT WAS MY FIRST VINTAGE, COIN PURSE NECKLACE, WHICH SHORTLY THEREAFTER WAS OWNED BY SANDY, OF RHUBARB REIGN. THESE LITTLE PURSES ARE NOT EASY TO FIND. WITH THE HELP OF SANDY, I MANAGED TO FIND A FEW MORE, AND FINISHED EMBELLISHING THEM TODAY. THESE TWO ARE MADE OF SNAKE SKIN AND HAVE A 24" CHAIN ADDED. SANDY WEARS HERS OFTEN AND CONFIDED IN ME THAT SHE HAS TUCKED A SPECIAL FORTUNE INTO HERS. GREAT IDEA! I HAVE LISTED THESE IN MY NEW ETSY STORE. SO, THIS IS IT UNTIL I CAN FIND MORE OF THESE LITTLE VINTAGE TREASURES.

I'M GOING TO BE PUBLISHED!!

STAMPINGTON @ COMPANY PUBLICATIONS CONTACTED ME LAST WEEK TO LET ME KNOW THAT THEY HAD CHOSEN ONE OF MY PROJECTS TO PUBLISH IN THEIR "BELLE ARMOIRE, ART TO WEAR" MAGAZINE! I FEEL SO HONORED! AND EXCITED OF COURSE! THE PROJECT IS TO BE IN THE MARCH 2010 ISSUE,SO I DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO PROVIDE THEM WITH AN 800 WORD TEXT, BUT I DID IT! NOW I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT! IN VIEW OF THAT, I HAD BETTER GET TO WORK ON SOMETHING THAT I HAVE PUT OFF FOR A LONG TIME, AND THAT IS TO UPDATE MY ETSY SITE SO THAT I CAN POST SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT I HAVE FOR SALE. THE FOLLOWING PICTURES ARE A SAMPLING OF SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WILL BE IN THE PROJECT.

JANUARY JOYS

IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH TO MAKE ME HAPPY! JUNK, FRIENDS, AND KINDNESS, NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER, WILL PUT A SMILE IN MY FACE. A BIRD OUTSIDE AT THE WINTER FEEDER, THE LARGE HORNED OWL THAT SITS ON HIS FAVORITE BRANCH WHILE HE SURVEYS HIS TERRAIN AND MY BUMP-OUT WINDOW IN MY BEDROOM THAT IS A PERFECT PLACE TO DISPLAY MY NEST COLLECTION AND FLOWERING PLANTS. IT IS ESPECIALLY COZY IN THE WINTER, WHEN , JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLASS, IT IS WINTRY AND COLD. THESE ARE SOME OF MY JANUARY JOYS. WHAT'S YOURS?

PARIS, ANYONE?

ANITA, FROM THE IOWA JUNK GYPSIES, IS ARRANGING A WEEK LONG TRIP TO PARIS, AND INVITES THOSE THAT ARE ABLE, TO JOIN HER. ANITA STUDIED IN PARIS AND IS FLUENT IN THE LANGUAGE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, KNOWS WHERE TO SHOP! SHE WILL BE THE GUIDE AND HAS A WONDERFUL, WELL ROUNDED ITINERARY PLANNED. TO READ MORE INFO, CLICK ON HER SITE, TO THE LEFT OF THIS BLOG, UNDER THE HEADING, "BLOGS THAT INSPIRE" IOWA JUNK GYPSIES. OR E-MAIL HER AT AEHMSEN@MSM.COM. EXPERIENCE "APRIL IN PARIS"!