"Life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself."
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Saturday, May 1, 2010

All things seem possible in May!

Man! I'm gonna have to step up my swapping game....I'm not keeping up w/ the wonderful partners I've had. Just look at all that Christine @ A Work in Progress sent me for the May Day Tussie Mussie swap, hosted by Linda @ A Swap for All Seasons.

(it has been cloudy so I waited until a ray of sunshine peeked through teh clouds & took everything out back to photograph)

Her tussie mussie was beautiful! She made it out of vintage wallpaper & did things a bit differently by making it 3-sided...love that! You can't get any Springier than this, huh? She adorned it w/ tiny pearl strands, crepe paper ruffles & wonderful flowers.

This votive was the first gift I pulled out of the box & I instantly thought, "this will be my favorite thing from this swap" but that seemed to be a recurring thought during the gift opening. ;o)


Cause as soon as I saw this lace-wrapped clothespin, adorned w/ a vintage rhinestone shoe clip, I thought the same thing again.


And again when I saw the crown candle base w/ crown doo-dad. The base was thoughtfully filled w/ glass panes for me to solder into charms, a fleur des lis stamp & pink ink pad.



But I just knew for sure, when I saw this wonderful flower garland, that it would be my favorite.


Wrong again! Check out the wonderful graphics on the button card....awesome!!! Christine also included wonderful little charms, vintage seam bindings & a tin of buttons.


When I first saw this pattern for teh adorable children's dress, I thought "How cute! I want to make that for Caralyn!" but when I removed the pattern, I was confused...thought someone had stuffed it w/ tissue paper & that there was no longer a pattern inside. It didn't take me long (not too long anyway) to determine that it was indeed the pattern, it was just from back in the day, before they added all the seam lines, cut lines, etc. I'm not so sure I have the necessary sewing skills to complete this dress after all. *grins*

Love the roll of ledger paper as well as the images she included. And the velvet leaves are the most beautiful shade of blue!


Isn't the key cool? I plan on wearing it on a chain to Paper Cowgirl since Christine put a Texas star on it. And aren't the tiny, pink velvet millinery flowers sweet?

But I was absolutely positive when I saw the frozen charlotte that she would be my fave...after all, how do you top a charlotte?


Maybe w/ some vintage rhinestone hair pins? Yep... that'll do it!


But in the end, the last wonderful treasure that I opened was my fave. Isn't this charm bracelet beautiful?!?!?!? I love, love, love, love, love it!!!
Christine, I can't believe how generous you were to me....thank you so much! And I want y'all to know that Christine is just as generous w/ her friendship as she was w/ the swap goodies. You were an awesome swap partner & it was a pleasure!
Here's the pile of goodies I sent Christine although I added a couple of things after I took this picture. (it was cloudy that day too so I took everything out to the drop-leaf on my front porch, to capture what light I could.)

I made the tussie mussie w/ vintage wallpaper too (I know it doesn't show up well against the brick but it was the best I could do) & because Christine is a girl w/ a lot of class, I left it fairly simple...letting the beautiful wallpaper be the star of the show. I stuffed it w/ rolls of vintage wallpaper & old book pages.

Adding a bird cause Christine loves birds.

Inside the tussie mussie is a favorite May quote.



A vintage egg vase, packed w/ vintage hankie, dominoes, vintage children's game cards, seam binding & a button card. I also decorated a few clothespins w/ the color of the day & stamped them w/ inspirational words. And remember how I said that I always like to include at least one "heart" item in each swap? My heart was screaming for me to keep the gorgeous blue rosary beads ... I've had them for years & adore them but they really belonged in this swap, don't you think? I know that Christine will treasure them as much as I!


I hope this flower child didn't turn out too cutesy for Christine. She's another project out of Sandra Evertson's book Fanciful Paper Projects. The book was part of the give-away I won from Karen Valentine @ My Desert Cottage & I just LOVE this book. I've already made 3 projects from it.

Everyone is doing silhouettes these days. I shook things up a bit & stayed true to the palette by doing it in blue. The poem I added to the background reads....

'But I must gather knots of flowers
and beads and garlands gay,
For I'm to be the Queen o' May, mother,
I'm to be the Queen o' May!

I added a tuft of tulle & a vintage earring to the bottom corner of the frame to fouf it up some. I also sent Christine, her initial mounted on an old page from a french paperback & placed in a jeweled frame.


I included a small flower frog in the palest shade of blue w/ vintage images from a decoupgae sheet & another children's game card.


It is true...the more you give, the more comes back to you!

15 comments:

Jenny said...

Wow, such lovely treasures to share and to receive.

Happy May Day!

Boxwood Cottage said...

Hey Cami,
looks like you are as busy swapping as I am lol Isn't it just too much fun :)
I wanted to let you know that I have soldered you a new heart charm, seeing that the other one has never made it too you *sigh*
I'll sent it off in the mail on Monday. Could you e-mail me your addy again please?
Warmest wishes
Carola

Boxwood Cottage said...

Oh and Happy May Day!!!

The Old Parsonage said...

Hi Cami

What a great swap - you both must be thrilled with all of your wonderful treasures. And I can understand why you had a tough time giving up the rosary it's beautiful!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Leann

Stephanie ~ Angelic Accents said...

Hi Cami! What beauties you were gifted with, and I adore everything YOU created for your swap partner! Wow, you found some great goodies on your forray, and I can't believe you got that bag of jewelry so inexpensively. That little white child's dress is yummy! Also love how you spiced up your Baby Bens with all the pretties on the shelves!

Big TX Hugs,
Stephanie
Angelic Accents

karlascottage.typepad.com said...

#10 says it all!

Dorthe said...

Cami, this is a wonderfull post, with all the fantastic swap items,you gave and recieved.
All is so very wonderfull, it must have been so great being a part of this.
Happy May-day to you too,-
Hugs, Dorthe

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

What wonderful wonderful swap items you received! Love your swap items too!

Manuela

Kateyed said...

Cami,

Christine did a wonderful job, too. I wish I had joined that spot.

I am anxious to see the rest of your blog. We just started a blog recently and would love to have you come and visit! I came home one day and my daughter had it all set up for me...a nice gift!

Suz
http://katsuijewelry.blogspot.com

P.S.Our site really isn't about jewelry (much)...or selling our jewelry!

Kateyed said...

Cami,

Christine did a wonderful job, too. I wish I had joined that spot.

I am anxious to see the rest of your blog. We just started a blog recently and would love to have you come and visit! I came home one day and my daughter had it all set up for me...a nice gift!

Suz
http://katsuijewelry.blogspot.com

P.S.Our site really isn't about jewelry (much)...or selling our jewelry!

Linda (Nina's Nest) said...

You got some great treasures! Love that charm bracelet! Linda

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

You changed your blog up and it is so bright and pretty. I just LOVE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING that you gave and received. It is just so wonderful to make everything and give from the heart. That truly makes it special for the giver and the receiver. What fun! Happy day to you! :) Tammy

Anneke said...

such a lovely treasures and photo,s

Katy ~ said...

Even though I personally don't share your love of such treasures (I do not have the room, time or talent), I so admire them. When we go out antiquing, I can't tell you how many times I've seen something and think, "Ooooh, Cami would LOVE that..." Jars and jars of buttons and earrings are what catch my eye...and every now and again cherubs, and I think of you. Smiles.

Auntie Cake said...

They are all my favorites too! What a lovely swap parcel, how fun it must have been opening it!
Kate