"Make a wish for your fairy jar" Swap Finally Recieved

I finally received a fairy jar. My original partner flaked on me but as you can see an angel stepped in and "angelled" this swap. I love the jar and book she sent, they inspire me to create a wonderful jar the next time I go to make one. Really the possibilities are endless.

My WireTree

Not too long ago I took a class on twisting wire into trees. I decided to make a willow tree, now the completed tree is currently in the center of my Christmas village.

Making this tree took a lot of time and arm strength, but I am pleased with the results and I hope to make another one when I have the wire again.

Photoshop Fun

I decided to have a little fun on Photoshop. I had two projects in mind when I started. For the first one, I wanted to do a tribute to the Frog Prince. When I read the Brothers Grimm version, there was a line that the frog used several times before he was admitted to the castle. I wanted to use that line and this is what I came up with, blending photos and illustrations done by other people.

The second project I had in mind was for a tribute to "The Nutcracker" more specifically the production done by the Royal Ballet in London. I had seen the show on BBC and fell in love with it. Once again the photos used was not my own, also the wording in the background came from BBC/PBS to describe the storyline of the ballet.I had a lot of fun making these and I love how they came out.

Why Vixen?

Just for fun I did this quiz and this is what I had gotten, though I don't think it is right because I am not sexy and Sultry.

You Are Vixen

Sexy and sultry, you're the one all the other reindeer dream about. Why You're Naughty: That fur pulling spat you got into with Dancer over Santa. Why You're Nice: Because even when you're nice, you're still delightfully naughty!

http://www.blogthings.com/whichofsantasreindeerareyouquiz

Matchbox Drawers Swap - Free Themed

I recieved this swap from Kerrlousie22. She was kind enough to resend when I failed to recieve the first one she sent. This was the first time I recieved a altered matchbox that was made to be a set of drawers. As you can see I recieved alot of wonderful goodies in this swap. Thanks Kerrlousie22!

"Christmas Goodies" Swap Recieved

You can tell that Christmas is in the air when you start recieving Christmas goodies in the mail from your swap-buddies. I recieved these Christmas goodies from one of the fine ladies in Sincere_Swappers_and_Pals Yahoo group.

Good Mail Day

Today I recieved two swaps in the mail. The first was a homemade monster for the "Monsters" Swap on Swap-bot. I wish I had taken a picture of the monster that I had made for this swap but unfourtunetly I had forgotten. Anyway, I love this little guy.
The second swap I recieved was a wishlist swap from Luneria. I love altered matchboxes filled with goodies I can use for my artwork.

Next Day

The Next day dawned bright and beautiful, yet there is still snow on the ground. In the middle of October!I snapped this photo of my rose bushes, now slumbering untill spring. I amplanning on planting more flowers in my little garden, but I don't know yet what I want. My finger still hurts!!!!! I had to put it in a finger brace.

In other news, I recieved this wonderful swap from one of the gals in the Sincere_Swappers_and_Pals Yahoo group. thanks girlie!

Snow Trouble

Why did it have to snow in the middle of October? Thankfully the roads were not that bad, but s I was cleaning off my car to go out to see my sister, I closed my finger in the car door. These pictures show my poor finger a few hours later. Unfourtunetly you can't really tell how swollen that finger is, my sister called it my Alien finger, because it looked like E.T.'s finger minus the glowing effect.

"As The Deer . . ."

I saw this beautiful scene as I stood at my kitchen sink. So I grabbed my camera and quickly and quietly snuck out to take this picture. As I looked at them it reminded me of my favorite church hymn.

" As the deer pantith for the waters,

oh my soul longth after Thee,

You alone are my heart's desire,

and I long to worship Thee."

Matchbox-drawers swap - Sent

This is the set of matchbox drawers that I made for my partner. It is the first time that I have made a set of drawers our of 32 count matchboxes. I hope she likes it. it will be mailed out in the morning.

What the?!? Corn?

I attened the "Cover Bridge Festival" at Kenobles park. As I was wandering around my nose caught the unmistakeable smell of roasted ears of corn. I headed over to the stall to get one for myself and saw this strange sight.

Neat huh?!

Ransome Note Postcard Swap -Sent

"Give me $100,000,000 dollars or the bunny gets it, No Police!" My partner for this swap had mentioned that hse had a bunny doll that she loved, so I used that idea for this fake ransome note postcard. I took a photo of one of my own bunny dolls tied up and mailed it to her.

Altered "Paper" Doll swap - recieved

This is the outrageous altered paper doll I recieved from Charrley. Purple and Fabulous, I love it!

Welcome Back Party at NCC

We had our welcome back party at college today. I hung out at the film society's booth to help promote our 2nd annual Rocky Horror Picture Show event. Last week my fellow film clubbers voted me in as the VP of the group.

Our Fearless Leader/Advisor John Tindell!

Club Advisor of the Year!

A really, really great mail day.

I came home today to find not one but five wonderful packages waiting for me, needless to say my family couldn't believe it and neither could I. The first package I opened was this one: "Matchbox-oracle" from Basilika in Sweden. I especially love the postcard that she sent since I find the Scandinavian troll lore fascinating. As you can see she made a wonderful matchbox for me and included a Chinese good luck charm.


The next package I opened was this letter in a bottle reply from my partner for the "Ghost Pen Pal" swap. I had written to her and sent a letter in a bottle (The same bottle that has returned to me), in the letter I was a young woman named Lavender who was stranded on a desert island after her ship had been attack by pirates. Lavender's message was recieved by this young man (my partner's creation) who also finds himself in a simular position. I will be sending out a reply soon (also in the bottle) from a new character who intercepted the message.

This next package I recieved from EmJayBe for the "My Favorite Magazine #2" swap. she was kind enough to send me information about some local lore and legends.

This package I recieved from Grinch for the "Book of the month -August" swap

The Last package I recieved from a gal in Canada, It was a wishlist gift and as you can see she was very kind and granted my big wish of recieveing a Bento box.

Swaps ready to go out.

These swaps are ready to be sent out. These ATC's are for "Fairy ATC" Swap. I love the 1st one "Fairy Tea", as you can see they both are very vintage in style since I used some vintage images I had in my stash.

I made this paper doll for the "Altered 'Paper' doll swap. I named her the "Wise Old Woman" and made her head out of clay. I wish I could honestly say that I sculpted that face, but i am not that talented. I found a great mold and used that. I like how she came out.

"Oricle Matchbox" Swap - sent

I created this matchbox filled with 10 fourtune-cookie-like scrolls for my partner. I hope she likes it.

The scrolls are nestled in a bed of fun fibers, brads, and beads.

"Vintage Eupheria Matchbox" Swap - Recieved

I have recieved this wonderful package from Sewhappy. Lots of wonderful vinage images to use in my artwork. I just realized that I didn't take any photos of the box I made before I sent it out. ::Slaps forehead::

Milford Cemetary

I went to the old cemetary in Milford for my first letterboxing experiance. While I was there I thought that I would take some photos. I would have taken more, but it was kind of creepy, even in daylight.

"For The Girls" Swap - Sent

I sent this matchbox and goodie bag out to my partner. I hope she likes it.

"Writing Challenge #1" Swap-Crime Scene-Sent

This is a writing challenge swap that I participated in. I had fun with it. I had to write about a crime scene. So I decorated the letter and envelope with hand-drawn police tape. I even included a sketch of the crime scene that my made up detective drew of the scene. I have to admit that Detective Kent is not a very good artist. :-) Here is what I have written so everyone can enjoy it. I hope you like it, granted it is not my best piece I have ever written. :-)

Rookie detective Charlie Kent pulled up to the crime scene. He had been a police officer for many years and he had seen nearly everything that crime had to offer. The forensics team had yet to arrive; Kent hoped that it would not take to long for them to get there. Time was their worse enemy; valuable evidence would be swept away by the coming storm. As Kent and his partner stepped out of their car, he felt his adrenaline start flowing; this was his first case as a detective. His partner Detective Albert Baxley, was a seasoned vet and would have to take the lead on this investigation, at least until Kent could handle it.
They crossed under the crime scene tape and located the officer who had responded to the scene.
“Neighbor called 911 to report shots fired. According to the witness, she heard 3 shots and then screeching tires. She looked out her window and saw a dark van disappear around the corner. She is over there with my partner, Officer Garrison.” He said.
“What did you see when you pulled up?” Kent asked.
“Pretty much what you are seeing, nothing changed. We checked the victims for a pulse. Of course when we pulled up the caller ran out to us and started babbling like a lunatic.”
“Thanks” Said Baxley, moving toward the witness. Halfway there, Baxley stopped and looked at his partner. “Charlie, why don’t you walk the scene? Write down everything that you see and draw a sketch of the scene. I will talk to the witness. We don’t have a lot of time till that storm breaks. I will be with you in a minute.”
Kent nodded and walked away.
The crime scene was a parking lot of a local convenience store, it was 3 in the morning and the shop had long since closed for the night. The two bodies lay in a heap in the middle of the lot. They had to have been standing very close to each other when the shots fired. He opened his notebook and began to sketch what he saw. He marked where the bullet casings were and the position of the bodies.
Every once in a while he glanced toward his partner. The witness was indeed babbling. Kent recalled the officer mentioning squealing tires so he searched the ground for any tire treads; nothing. Things were not adding up. 3 shots fired? Then why were there 6 gun casings lying nearby.
He looked around and spotted an ATM near the entrance of the store. He walked towards it. The ATM camera was pointed in the direction of the bodies. He jotted this down in his notebook to help him remember to mention this to Baxley.
“What do you have?” Baxley said.
Kent jumped and turned. “Baxley, you gave me a heart attack.”
“Sorry, anything you want to share. Like why you are over here at the ATM when the crime happened over there?”
“Look at this, the shootings happened within the camera’s range, perhaps it caught the action.”
“Not bad rookie, what else do you got?”
Kent explained about the number of casings and the lack of evidence that a car was involved. Over head there was a clap of thunder. “About time that the forensics team showed up, this storm won’t hold back much longer.” Kent said pointing to the forensics van that pulled in.
“The witness might just be the perp, or else not a witness at all.” Baxley said as they headed toward the team.
“Why do you say that?”
“She kept changing the story. First there were 3 shots and tires screeching, and then there were 5 shots and a car driving slowly by. So my thought is either she is the perp or she really saw nothing and is trying to get attention. You do know that sometimes the perp returns to the scene of the crime. Perhaps the perp never left.”
While the forensics team got to work, the two detectives began to compare notes. It would just be a matter of time till they solved this one, but for now it was time to sort out the facts.

Good mail day

Today I recieved 2 wonderful swaps in the mail. I recieved these from Tami in the "Disney Trading Pin" Swap.

I recieved this swap from Saline in the "Purple ATC" Swap.

"Fairy ATC" Swap - recieved

I recieved these lovely ATCs and goodies from Craftylicious. I love the ATC's they are beautiful.

My First Fairy Jar

I made this Fairy jar for the "Make a whish for your fairy jar" Swap. This is the first fairy jar that I have ever made. I had alot of fun with it and I hope that my partner likes it.

This is the information I included about my fairy. In't she cute? I love how she came out.

Fairy’s Name: Rosebud Pollywiggle Age: Unknown
Power/Talent: Invisibility, flight, causing confusion and slight mischief.
Further Information: While you have your back turned Rosebud will sneak up and take your beads, buttons, thread, ribbons, thimbles, needles, and any other little trinket she can get her hands on. She enjoys watching the confused look on her victim’s face when they turn back around and can’t find the object they were just about to use. It is believed that she will one day grow out of this habit and develop more beneficial habits and powers.

R.I.P. My Dear Onyx

Yesterday, I had to do one of the hardest things ever. I had to watch my best friend pass away. Onyx was our family's dog, we adopted her when she was 2 years old. She was 14 years old and had given us 12 wonderful years of companionship. I was about 10 or 11 when she came to live with us.
She was always so sweet and loving, almost human-like. I can imagine her as one of those warm old women you love to be with, like Mrs. Potts from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. I can see her greeting you with wide open arms and a cup of tea. I imagine that if she was a human she would have jet black hair with white streaks (in her old age of course) and those same warm brown eyes she had as a dog.

This was the last photo I took with Onyx. It was about 2 hours before Lisa(my sister) and I had to take her to the vet and put her down, her health had finally failed her. She could not breath properly, she couldn't eat, and she was very weak. Watching her go and then having to leave her body at the vet was unbearable. She passed away at 12:30 PM, thankfully everyone in our family had a chance to say their good byes. I will miss her everyday.

The following poem was given to me today by a dear friend who had also gone through such a tragedy. I thought it would be fitting to include it as well.

From Onyx
You're giving me a special gift,
So sorrowfully endowed,
And through these last few cherished days,
Your courage makes me proud.
But really, love is knowing
When your best friend is in pain,
And understanding earthly acts
Will only be in vain.
So looking deep into your eyes,
Beyond, into your soul,
I see in you the magic that will
Once more make me whole.
The strength that you possess,
Is why I look to you today,
To do this thing that must be done,
For it's the only way.
That strength is why I've followed you,
And chose you as my friend,
And why I've loved you all these years...
My partner till the end.
Please, understand just what this gift
You're giving, means to me,
It gives me back the strength I've lost,
And all my dignity.
You take a stand on my behalf,
For that is what friends do.
And know that what you do is right,
For I believe it, too.
So one last time, I breathe your scent,
And through your hand I feel,
The courage that's within you,
To grant me this appeal.
Cut the leash that holds me here,
Dear friend, and let me run,
Once more a strong and steady dog,
My pain and struggle done.
And don't despair my passing,
For I won't be far away,
Forever here, within your heart,
And memory I'll stay.
I'll be there watching over you,
Your ever-faithful friend,
... a young dog once again.

"If you ever want to see..." Ransom Note-Recieved

I recieved this Ransom note from the "captor" of my chicks. Cute isn't it? :-)

"Photo of your Rubber Ducky" Swap

This was a fun swap, we had to take a photo of our rubber ducky doing something cute or funny and turn it into a postcard to send to our swap partners. This is my only ducky, my best friends got it for me on one of there trips to Disney world.
So here is the photo I sent out, my pirate ducky is on my dad's laptop. my ducky claims that he was searching for music for his iPod, but I have reason to believe that he was plotting world domination.

PTK-Hershey Park Day

I went to Hershey Park with my Region of PTK (Honors society). It was the first time in 10 years that I rode a roller coaster; in fact I rode 5 different rollar coasters (Comet, SuperDuperLooper, Side Winder, Trailblazer, and Great Bear). I have yet to get photos of me on these rides uploaded into my computer. I had a great time with my fellow PTK'ers.
After spending time in the park we (My mother and myself) said good bye to my friends and stopped by Hershey's Chocolate World, where we discovered a trolley tour. We had time to kill so we hoped on. It was alot of fun and I learned alot about Milton Hershey that I didn't know. Here are 2 pictures that I took on the tour:
This one is of Hershey Manor. Milton and his wife lived in this house. Plus it was within walking distance from the factory.

This picture is of The Hershey Family Homestead, It was in this house that Milton Hershey was born. I had a great time and would love to do it again soon.

Ransom Note - Sent

This was for one of the swaps I hosted. I thought it would be fun if we created silly ransom notes to send to our partners. Here is the one I created for my partner. She is into crocheting so I thought that I could hold her crochet supplies for ransome (I silly ransome I might add).

It says:
I have you crochet supplies. You want proff? Here it is!!!
Don't call the police if you know what is good for you. If you want your supplies back then you must stand on your head and recite the pledge of alligence in pig latin. Then you must bring $100 to the far corner of main street. Place the money under the mailbox and leave.
Remember, if the police are involved you will say farewell to your stuff forever.
This is fair warning!

"My Favorite Bible Story" Swap

My favorite bible story is the story of Ruth. So the story goes that Ruth had married one of the sons of a woman named Naomi. Naomi’s husband had moved his family from Bethlehem to the land of Moab to escape a famine. While in Moab their two sons marry local girls named Oprah and Ruth. Unfortunately father and sons die soon after leaving behind leaving the three women as widows. News soon reaches Naomi that the famine is over, so she decides to return home to Bethlehem. Oprah and Ruth follow Naomi until she turns and urges the girls to return home to their parents and remarry men from their own land. Oprah obeys and bids farewell, but Ruth refuses and in my favorite bible speech declares: “Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
Upon reaching Bethlehem they are greeted by Naomi’s old friends, at which point she announces that she is changing her name from Naomi (pleasant or amiable) to Mara (bitter or bitterness). Ruth and “Mara” set up home again and Ruth embraces Namoi's culture and religon. Ruth goes to look for work so they can eat. She finds work gathering wheat left behind by the sewers in a field belonging to a man named Boaz.
Boaz who is a relative of Naomi's husband, sees Ruth and admires her for her hard work and the kindness she shows to her mother-in-law. He offers her protection in his fields and arranges for her to bring home more wheat. Naomi upon hearing who has been so kind to Ruth starts planning for her Daughter-in-law. To make a long story short: Ruth follows along with her plans and asks Boaz to be her Kinsman Redeemer. Boaz falls in love with her and arranges to purchase her father-in-laws land and marries Ruth. Ruth gives birth to a son who later becomes the grandfather of King David. The moabess Ruth, an outsider, becomes one of the women in the family tree of Jesus Christ.

I love this story, there is so much in here about obedience, having faith, taking chances, and most of all God’s amazing grace. It encourages me to think that maybe one day I will find my Boaz.