"dreams do come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them" by john updike
"other things may change us, but we start and end with family" by anthony brandt
"being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. it means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections"
meet simone's paper people... aren't they just the cutest lil ladies?! they are tags that are too pretty to use so they will be hung up for all to see... simone and i have done swaps previously and its always a treat to share with her... this is the first time i got a peek at her paper works... they are so well crafted and clean cut and assembled with perfection... and they make a gal wanna smile :)
she also sent more paper that are shades of black, white, and grays... those colors are not ones i buy often and yet am always diggin' in my stash to find some... she sent so many pretty patterns that will fill the need of such shades... simone also sent diego a mr. cool book... when diego saw it, he goes "oh wow! coooool!" he carries it around telling me that he likes the blue triangle guy :) the chocolates are yummy and the stickers will come in handy... isabella received a book too but it didn't make it into the photo...
look at these pretty papers!!! the purple stack is full of handmade papers ranging with glittery designs and sewn patterns... i have the perfect project for these babies and am looking forward to using them [and working on that project]... the inspirations pack is darling and will also be used... simone sent such a wonderful package and i am truly grateful for her patience, sweetness, and kindness!!!
colin johnson is a wonderful artist, i met via flickr... his paintings are surreal and his collages are an amazing site... well, he was selling a bit of his goodies on ebay, including these original 1979 flash gordon action figures... not only are they collectibles, but they were owned by colin himself... so when he gets to be a millionaire, these will be priceles :) these are mine in hopes that one day, when diego gets MUCH older and has his own collection to save, i can pass these to him [for display and not to play]... in the meantime, they stand in my shelf in the living room.... colin also sent me a slew of other goodies and toys for diego... a swell guy!!
lastly, just a bit more proof that miss isabella is on the go... she is walking better and better every day... my li'l munieca...
blogging has been sporadic [due to unforseen circumstances] but the internet love hasn't stopped flowing... i was in the 2nd annual handmade holiday swap and the other week kerry sent me such a beautiful package... the wrapping alone was dreamy, and of course, on top of the wrapped goodies, there was a bag of dark chocolates... kerry said i could wait until christmas to open it, but there was no resisting...
after carefully opening the packages [and saving the wrapping paper] i discovered kerry's beautiful handmade earrings! the brown and blue earrings are glass and oh so elegant!!!! the silver earrings are dainty too and match any sor to outfit... they are also comfy to wear [as you know, comfy is key when you have a baby girl who wants to rip dangles from your ears]... i never had so many darling earrings in my life and wish i had places to show them off :) maybe a new haircut will do the trick?! [and a bit of dye to cover up those pesky gray hairs- yep, you read that right]...
to match the earrings, kerry made this BEAUTIFUL scarf!! i mean, its truly elegant and also quite comfortable... she used kathy's tutorial and it is really made with care, quality, and delicacy... out of the two times i've been out of the house, i've gotten compliments on the scarf.... people are surprised it's handmade and are crazy about the color combination.... i love wearing handmade goodness and being able to tell others about the wonderful bloggers i'm honored to have swapped with... i only wish i had business cards from everyone to just give out and say "she made this- check it out"... hehe...
kerry sent such a sweet package and is patiently waiting for mine... yep, i fell behind on swapping and feel like a horrible person [especially after writing that one post]... tomorrow i will give you all my excuses but seriously, all reasons aside, kerry has been so sweet and darling... she is truly a wonderful swapper and i am so grateful to have met her :)
as much as i had to write the dark side of swapping to inform people of the laziness in swaps lately, i still love swapping!! but i would like to share with you some of my favorite hostesses of swaps.... amy of life in the lyons den is hosting a christmas ornament swap... the deadline to sign up is Friday, November 23rd. Your ornaments has to be mailed by Friday, December 7th. you can read up on this swap at her blog... i've only participated in one of amy's swap, but we are doing a collaborative book project, which is still in the works... amy is extremely organized and talented who's swaps always are to drool for!
storme of gingillos is hosting a handmade holiday swap... last year was such a blast!! it was through this round that i met floresita and she made me the cutest goods... since this is a handmade swap, the cost shouldn't be too high and it allows you to put your talents to use... and someone else can enjoy your work :)
well, its the night before thanksgiving and the house is a mess... a snow advisory is going into effect and while i am in the mood to work on art, i am in even a bigger mood to play halo... hehe...
until tomorrow, have a swell night!
there are unspoken rules to swapping, or as i like to call them, swap ethics...
these rules derive from moral, consideration, and values... while some
people ignore them, the end results leave a bitter aftertaste when
mentioning "swap"... i thought to write a post about this topic; its my
opinion based off of what i've seen in the past year of swapping... so
what are these swap ethics?
this one, which i've seen several times, is when you give a swapper a ton of goodies... then that swapper gives them away to another swap buddy... now, i understand that you may have given them 5 yards of beautiful fabric [for example] and they shared a teeny bit to someone else, who will appreciate it too... what is tacky, is when, the person gives away the entire 5 yards to someone else they are swapping with... it makes you wonder why you even bothered giving it away in the first place when you could have swapped with someone who would have actually used it!!! i guess its like re-gifting, which i also find particularly tacky...
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or what about when you give a swapper oodles of vintage goodness... buttons, music sheets, fabric, paper, epherema.... you sent them some lovely vintage items and then you find out the swapper is selling it on their etsy shop for loads of money?? the items are unaltered and just tossed in their etsy shop to gain a profit... even if they put it up for a few pennies, the fact that they even did this, is insulting... often you put goodies in a swap package for a swapper to use craftily and not to sell to someone else... after all, if you would have known someone would pay $10 for 5 vintage buttons, you would sold them yourself instead of giving them away wholeheartedly and assuming that swapper would use it....
oh, but what about the swapper who asks for expensive items all the time? they want you to make tons of handmade goodness while they barely even send you a handmade card.... they ask for TONS of old buttons and would rather swap than to pay the price for them.... [and it's especially bad when that swapper ends up being the same kind of person who sells them!] after all, we all know how expensive handmade goods are... and we also know how pricey vintage items can be... it is one thing when that swapper cheerfully sends you oodles of goodies... but its another thing when swappers sign up for swaps only to gain goodies they dont want to pay for but will charge someone else an arm and a leg for!
then there is the swapper who never ever emails you...you ask them personal questions so you can send them the perfect package but they never email you! and on top of that, they won't tell you if they received your package, even though, according to the tracking number, they got it last week!! could their computer be down? no, they just uploaded photos yesterday.. the swapper who never emails is often grateful for what you sent them but the fact that they didnt have the courtesy to email you [when you sent it out on time and full of handmade love] leaves you feeling frustrated and confused... while they said they liked it, did they really???
and then you have the swapper who is always late... they send out
beautiful packages and their goodies don't look made the night
before... the package isn't full of cheap items but they are late...
shipping week was a month ago and they have yet to ship out their
package... they have five thousand excuses and half of them sound like
lies... at the end of this swapping ordeal, you are left feeling as
though you were taken advantage of... you ship on time but the swapper
fails to make you [and your time] of any importance...
there is the swapper who will never blog or post photos of what you sent them... they'll post of what another
person sent them but not you.... you check their blog daily to see if
they liked your goodies enough to share with the world but the post is
never written... though, this person will email you, exclaiming their
love for the package... while it's not manditory to blog about swap
packages received, it is a way of showing gratitude... if the swapper
chooses to blog of other swaps and not yours, it can leave you feeling
as if you [and your swap] wasn't worthy enough to make it to their
prestigious site....
lastly, you have the swapper who sent you whatever they felt like...
never mind your dislikes!! this swapper fialed to read your likes and
dislikes and sent you doggy toys, when you have birds... they send you
peanut butter candy bars, when you are allergic to peanuts and diabetic
to tiop it... they send you #2 pencils with teeth marks and yarn full
of cat hair... they didnt even bother to write you a note! this sort of
swapper is cheap, and leaves you full of regret...
i've seen all this and more in the world of swapping... thankfully,
i've never had to deal with such issues, other than one which was
speedily rectified... there are times when i have fell behind on
emailing or posting about a swap, but i always show love... there are
times when i was late in shipping, i am not perfect... none of us are,
and we all can fall lax in swapping... but we should try to follow some
sort of ethics in swapping... this is supposed to be fun, inspiring,
and a good way to make new crafty friends... let's not make the word,
swapping, a bad one...
*note: these photos are of GOOD SWAPS!! i wanted to use photos for the post but in NO WAY am i saying i DISLIKED any of these... the photo with the dogs, belongs to my mom
here are a few quick wonderful happenings here:
well, kristen mary and blake are expecting a baby boy.... they are gonna be some awesomely wonderful parents... both talented and both so warming!
jessica of funky finds is hosting a swag bag giveaway [gotta enter before midnight cst friday, november 16]
[note: the picture belongs to jessica] isn't she just the sweetest gal?!
mimi has been making some wonderfully cool tattooed men... you really can't miss checking these unique and well crafted fellows out!
interested in a christmas ornament swap? go here to check it out... i found this out thru wendy....
samantha of whizzme did an interview with linda of two pink possums... you can read it here...
want to see some more cute dolls? check out johanna's *chis... they are just so darling!!
and happy happy birthdays [belated, at that] to debra of all things really, li li of little beary li, lin's son of daisy girl, and anyone else who is celebrating another year :)
happy thursday!
for the last sweetpea swap round, the theme was something old, something new... and boy, my swap buddy sent some lovely bunch of goodness.... hollie [who doesn't have a site yet] sent a package earlier this week... for the old, she sent some beautiful antique stationery.... it's too pretty to use but with the perfect project, they will be done justice....
look at this elegant green sweetpea apron.... the frills alone are just darling but it also has wide tie strings to make a big bow.... and there is ric rac lining the edge of the apron too... it's so fancy!!! i can't wait to use it- you know, when i am cooking more than just boxed mac and cheese for diego.... perhaps, this will be my breadmaking apron- hehe... hollie can sew!!!!
look at these pretty bibs hollie made for isabella too! she made her a lil softie book too [you can see here]... we have already used a couple but they aren't dirtied up at all... between me not liking to stain bibs [yes, this doesn't make sense, i know] and isabella not enjoying baby food much, the bibs are still perfectly clean and in beautiful condition... i will have to bring them over one day so my mom can feed isabella... apparently the girl loves it when gramma feeds her...
it's funny because the other day i was telling someone of how diego stole the aprons micol gave me... he uses them for capes... he also uses the handmade superman bag that robyn made him.... but now he has his OWN apron to use for when we bathe isabella... or when we cook, which he insisted on doing so as soon as i put it on him.... hollie also sent diego crayons, a coloring book, and sketch paper... this kid is one happy boy!!!
oh and here is a beautiful handmade bag by hollie... green and retro looking! she also put in pumpkin pie coffee and vermont maple nut coffee [which is as savory as can be]... there were chocolate covered espresso beans too along with dark chocolate goodness.... must i say that most of it is gone by now?!
oh but she sent more retro stationery along with some paper... hey, a cut paper artist can never have too much, eh?! it was so much fun opening all the goodies she sent this way... with pretty aprons, coffee, books, and paper, there is little excuse to procrastinate in the art arena! ah, cheers to a productive weekend!
and here is the closeup of the book, if you're afraid of the dark, remember the night rainbow by cooper edens ©1979... it's a very wonderfully illustrated book!
thank you hollie for sending such a heartfelt and beautiful package!
note: if you want to see pix of what other sweetpea swappers received, you can go here...
and thought i'd begin it with artwork completed in the last week or so... this is an illustration that i did for my swap buddy, hollie... i was a day late in shipping and wanted to show my apologies with something special... the boy's hat is made from one of diego's comic books- it is part of the advertisement page... i tried to make the illustration like something you'd see from a children's book and made to resemble her two kids....
and for every sweetpea swap, i make an icon for that round... whoever is my buddy for that round, gets a card with the original icon... this time, i revised the girl's hairdo and put her onto a notebook... you can see the original here... i thought it would be a sweet addition to the package... just wait until tomorrow when i show you what she sent me!!! such yumminess!!!
lastly, my cousin turned 40yrs old over the weekend... well her son (who is in his early twenties) ordered a greeting card from me.... it was an over-sized card with a handmade envelope to match.... inside the card it had the number "40" in it... the unwritten theme was "funky and 40" (funky as in groovy, not as in stinky)... it's amazing to see the age difference in my family... my mom is only 7yrs older than her... and my cousin's son and i are a little under that same age difference...
anyhow, this is some of the artwork completed over the weekend... there are still sketches and partial illustrations on the table... now that i will be posting daily, i will feel more inclined to get work done quicker...
happy thursday!
there is so much goodness to blog about and not enough hours [or hands] to do so.... this week has been filled with lovely packages, wonderful training sessions, inspiration, and yes, artwork [finally].... i'll begin the week with a post about dawn's lovely package!!!! dawn aka dawbis and i did a swap recently... we swapped paper and art since we both love each other's work and of course, paper! she made this beautiful illustration called "superheroe moms" and it is just TOO beautiful!!!
i love how her people have so much character... they look as though they can walk right out of the the 2d world and into ours... they have so much movement and life!!! and story... can't you see a poem going along with each of her illustrations? you can check out more of her work at her flickr page... she will make you smile....
okay, i mentioned she sent paper, right?! oh boy, did she!!! there was so many and all so pretty [paper can't be ugly anyhow!]... it was so much fun browsing through each sheet.... and it gave me the oomph i needed to complete a few projects over the weekend [stay tuned for that post]...
dawn sent such a wonderful package! it is always fun swapping with people and getting to know them and their work... it feels good to send a package to someone you know who will appreciate your work... and it feels, of course, darn good to get one too!!! to own someone's handmade goodness!!! it feels good to own some of dawn's work :) 
anyhow, it's been a wonderful week! i will be posting more and also, daily in november thanks to nablopomo [national blog posting month]... there is literally a list by my computer of things to post about that i've not gotten around to yet... hehe... so stay tuned!!
i'm only a week late in posting this... but it's hispanic heritage
month... and to celebrate the month, i will be pointing out a few
hispanics in the blogging world [that i'm aware of]... the first person
i'd like to tell you all about, is miss margaret!
margaret makes beautiful earrings... i mean, beautiful!!! we are doing a swap together and she sent me six pairs of darling jewelry... they are so comfortable (she made me two pairs before in our last sweetpea swap)...
margaret's earrings are quite elegant and yet fun enough to wear with
all sorts of outfits... they are lightweight too! they are so well
crafted and made with love and care... be sure to check out her etsy shop, baby duckles...
and just to gush on how sweet she is, she sent some coffee [ah, who can
resist some vanilla cream coffee?!] and there were also biscotti
[double the yummers]... after this post is done, the coffee pot will be
brewing- and i will be drinking up a storm in my studio [watching
season 5 of smallville]...
anyhow,
margaret is a wonderful swapper, blogging buddy, and an excellent
crafter... i proudly sport her earrings and am so grateful to be an
owner... don't forget to check out her blog and etsy shop...
side notes: the first photo is margaret's- she takes way
prettier photos of her earrings than i can... also, please excuse my
pale face and dark circles...while both were inherited, they are a
slight bit exaggerated with the sound of a tired baby in the background
