A Swap and Some Nice Surprises

I was in a swap with Thespa of Vintiquities Workshop. I sent her a small selection of tats (ooops, I forgot to take pictures) and she sent me this

Beautiful bracelet!  I do love that bling nestled between two fabric roses! And there's lovely lace, too. The rhinestone pin looks very vintage. It's nice having something new that has a history. I wonder how many ladies held this brooch in their hands. Who were they? Where did they live? What was their life like?
Thespa makes beautiful, creative items. I'm so glad we had this swap, Thespa! Thank you!

Then I found in my mailbox--- a package all the way from Bornholm! A lovely surprise from Dorthe! This sweet, talented lady sent me these:

lovely laces wrapped on a branch with a fancy tag. It has my initial in sparkles on it!  a postcard from Bornholm, and a beautiful mixed media fabric creation with a piece of tatting. How sweet is that!
I feel like Christmas has arrived a little early this year. Thank you so much, Dorthe!








I had lost my tatting needles....all but one! Arrrgh! I searched high and low, in all my current project totes, in my tatting boxes, and tatting bags, in drawers, and large totes. Two hours later, I still had only 1 needle.
I yelled, and swore, and stamped my feet!
The next day, I found them---- right where I thought they should have been, and where I'd looked at least three times!! Were there gremlins in my house? Needle gremlins?
I sighed with relief, and went back to tatting.
But 2 weeks later, I'd lost my needles again! I ripped the house apart looking for them. Boxes, drawers, desks. The art room, the sun room. Oh, no!
I found them two days later. I guess the needle gremlins had tired of their game and put them back. hehehe
Determined not to have to go through this another time, I ordered a new set from Georgia Seitz. Look what she sent with them:

two samples of Lizbeth thread. Yay! I've never tried Lizbeth before, so I am looking forward to testing it. Also included was a needle threader.
Thank you so much, Georgia! What a nice surprise.











Are you in any swaps? Or have you found a nice surprise in your mailbox?
I hope all your surprises are happy ones.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Sparkle! and Bling!

Kathy of Shawkl recently had a week of giveaways to celebrate her daughter's birthday, and I won!                 

My package arrived just the other day.


A pair of beautiful, swarovski crystal, double-butterfly earrings!

And 10 swarovski crystal butterflies in  assorted colours! Aren't they gorgeous?

Such sparkle!

I love swarovski crystals!!

No doubt some of this bling will find its way onto a few CQ's!


Thank you so much Kathy for the wonderful giveaway!

Here's hoping your day has some sparkle in it!

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

From the Mailbox

Judy and I had another swap and she sent me this gorgeous fabric postcard:

 I love the colours she used! There's lots of bling the scanner just does not capture. I see felted materials, dyed lace, metallic cording, tulle, free motion stitching, and beads galore.
Bugle beads, seed beads, flower beads and sequins adorn my postcard.
Thank you so much, Judy!

 This is what I sent Judy:

my rusty bits postcard.















Also tucked into the envelope was this cute snowman decoration Judy made. It will sure look nice on my Christmas tree!














What a great swap!

Hope you find lovely things in your mailbox.

Weather permitting, I'll be away this weekend and won't have access to a computer. So I won't be able to respond to your very nice comments until Monday. Hope your weekend is wonderful!





Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Fabric Beads

Some bloggers had recounted their results making fabric beads, and I was intrigued. Hmmmm, maybe I could do that.

I had signed up for a Christmas swap of white and bling, and decided to make key rings with fabric beads.

So I gathered together strips of cotton, white yarns, white and clear beady things, glue, and shishkabob sticks, and proceeded to wrap the cotton strips onto the sticks, sealing with some glue. ( note to self: use less glue next time)






Once dry, I wrapped the cotton with yarn.

Looking kind of ....cute, don't you think? All fuzzy and stuff........




Then I stitched beads into the wrappings on the sticks to secure and firm up the bead.

After a fair bit of yanking and twisting, (note to self: use less glue next time!) I removed two of the beaded beads, and added a bit of tatting done in a white and metallic thread.

What do you think?

Well, I thought they looked like some crazy space amoeba. ..........Cute, but a little weird.

Maybe it would work.

I sought another opinion.

DH said they were okay, but.....all those little tat loops would catch on everything, wouldn't they? Catch and pull.  Snag and tug.

Maybe not the best design having three of those beads dangling on a key chain.
Sigh
Well, another great plan shot down.
Back to the 'drawing board'.

Here's hoping all your plans are good ones.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Sunday: A Painting, A Walk and A Ride

After priming some closet doors, I felt in the mood for painting, and pulled out The Nebula and played with it a bit more. It still needs more work, but it now looks like this:

I'm pleased with the depth of colour and how it is flowing across the page. The planets are not as defined, and I think that adds some mystery.


What do you think? Does it look like gaseous matter? Can you see the sheen of the interference acrylic paint?

I would like to introduce a white, streaming cloud across the page, but I'm not sure if it would enhance what's there, or not.
What are your thoughts on this?

Sunday afternoon.  I began my regular walk with Cody-dog. Hat, mittens, jacket and leash, and we were out the door, clomping down the deck stairs.
Hearing a roar coming from the nearby beaver pond, we set out to investigate the cause.
The beaver pond was frozen over, and water was escaping in a plume over the dam.

Frothing and foaming, cascading over sticks and tree limbs, onto rocks, boulders, and bedrock, the water swept furiously downhill.....

 it seethed and fizzed....

 spouting and splashing its spray onto tiny branches, freezing into tree-cicles......









roiling and bubbling, it crashed onto itself, whirled and surged over soil, and stone.....









swelled, then calmed.

We had found the cause.

Later in the afternoon, we went for a drive down the road, and came across these beauties:

Reintroduced into the area, the elk herds are growing and prospering, although causing area farmers much grief, as they knock down fences and trample or demolish crops. They are beautiful creatures. This grouping numbered around 15. At times, we have seen up to 30 or more in one group.






I hope you've had a lovely Sunday.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

My Package Arrived

I was so lucky to win a giveaway from  Diane, a wonderful book, "The Artist's Quest for Inspiration" by Peggy Hadden! You can check out Diane's blog as she is one very talented and creative lady.  My package arrived!
I opened up the large manilla envelope to find:

 something wrapped in pattern paper topped with a lovely tag, with ribbons and laces, and silk flowers.

 Oh, wait! There's a second tag--one I can use for a special gift. Aren't they fabulous? The blank one reads "Seek Joy", but I think Joy has already found me!

 But there was more! Two packages of pretty tags, and a set of Diane's recipe cards!


What's that underneath?

 Ooooh, look! A set of Diane's Christmas cards! I do love snowpeople, so this design is a perfect one.

 All these extra goodies were packed along with the book I won in Diane's giveaway. Talk about generous!

I know I was just beaming while I did the 'happy dance' all around the kitchen.

As an artist, I am often inspired by the everyday. Sometimes, though, inspiration is sought, but not found.                                                   I have been flipping through this book by Peggy Hadden, and I'm sure to find some inspiration in these pages on those days of need.

Thank you so much Diane for all the wonderful gifts! I am blessed.

I hope your day brings you blessings.

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs from Suz

A Card Swap

Doreen liked one of my cards from Painting Experiment #1, and so I sent it to her. She sent me this card in exchange:

Machine stitched layers of paper with a wonderful picture of this sassy lady decorate the front of this card. I just adore that hat!


Thank you, Doreen, for sending me this lovely card. It makes me grin!











Hope you'll be smiling today!
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz