Jackie's Paper Doll Class

Last Thursday I traveled over to the Papercrown in OKC to take Jackie's Paper Doll Class. Jackie's classes are always so awesome and imagine everyone's surprise when the creator of these stamps was a participant in the class! We had a surprise visit from Catherine Moore!  

In her usual fashion, Jackie made these adorable name tags:

We made two adorable tags:

How cute!

KC Willis is coming to Tulsa!

Ok ladies, mark your calendars and hop on over to the link below to sign up for this awesome class that KC Willis will be teaching in Tulsa:

http://studioretreats.ning.com/page/on-the-road-2012
The class is Storytellers and here is KC's description:
Storytellers. Using the techniques of my signature style we will create a wall piece using multiple images to tell a story of the Old West, of family history, of the life of your favorite artist...whatever you like. I will show you how to balance your work with images, collages and embellishments...and secrets to making everything look old. And yes...you will have this done or close to it in one day! 

 These are samples of KC's that are on her website and you can customize the project the way you like.

If you've never experienced one of KC's classes, you are *NOT* going to want to miss this one!  This is the last time she will be traveling and teaching.
I took a class with her last year at the Paper Crown and absolutely loved the class and KC too.
KC brings all the materials you need to complete the class and there is so much to chose from.
Won't you come join us? The class will be on Saturday, April 21st at the B Sew Inn at the Farm in Tulsa.

A Valentine Makery at Ann-Denise's House

I almost didn't get to attend the Valentine Makery at Ann-Denise's house. As is usual for Ann-Denise's events, the event sold out before I could register. Fortunately for me, I took a class with Ann-Denise and told her if anyone couldn't make it for any reason to let me know and I would definitely be there. If I remember right, I stomped my foot and pouted like a little baby when I initially found out there was no more room. But, someone was looking out for me and almost the very next day I found out there actually *was* room now that someone else could not make it. I'm sorry for her, but as you'll see by the pictures below this was an event NOT to be missed!

Ann-Denise made beautiful Valentine boxes for all of the participants.  We all made Valentine's for each other.  I felt like a little kid again, writing out my Valentines and passing them out.  I waited until I got home to go through each and every beautiful handmade creation.

This sweet Valentine canvas was made by Sandra Feazel and I was the lucky winner since I drove the farthest to attend the event. Yay Me!  Sitting next to the canvas is the little Valentine dollie I made in Ann-Denise's class.  Everyone's dollie came out so different but each one so cute!

Above is the encaustic art piece that I made in a class taught by Sandra.  She generously shared tons of gorgeous trims and embellishments for use in creating our piece.  I should have taken pictures of everyone's finished art, but I'm so happy with how mine came out.
This is how she packaged our kits. Just beautiful!

Click on this picture so you can see how beautiful this crepe paper canopy is.

Look at the cute straws in our glasses next to bottled water and Italian soda's.

All the girls passing out their Valentines.

I just can't get over the attention to detail Ann-Denise puts into every single event she does.

Handmade paper pompoms. Amazing...

As I stepped inside the front door I knew I was in for an unbelievable treat when I saw how beautifully the front room was decorated.

For lunch, Ann-Denise made a fabulous salad with pink dressing that was delicious, followed by Chicken Marsala and garlic mashed potatoes.  Oh my gosh.  The second I got home I went to her board on pinterest to find the Marsala recipe so I can try it myself.

To see more, click over to Ann-Denise's blog, Whim and Fancy Designs.  Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last week I came home to a happy surprise. My friend Terri from The Junque Seeker sent me this sweet Valentine along with some vintage die cuts.

She knows how much I love dogs and thought I would like these. She was right!

Thanks Terri!
Do you remember the tag swap I participated in? Well, here are the tags I received and they are awesome! I'll come back and edit this post later with the credits of who sent each one.
Below is the tag from Tami at vintageconnections.blogspot.com

Look at this beautiful tag full of cool techniques by Maija at www.maigirlz.typepad.com

Sweet Laurie at indulgeyourshelf.blogspot.com made this sweet tag:

Pretty in pink by Jeanne Maples:

Junebug Creations made this cool valentine with the floating embellishments:

I could tell just by looking at it that my sweet friend Dawn from Idaho made this one!

I just love the red bird and the painted pink scallops on this tag by Jeanelle Ricca.

This picture doesn't do this tag justice since the flower has so much dimension.  Jonnelle created it.

Jackye hosted this awesome swap and she made this festive Valentine tag for us.

This is so cute but I don't know who to give credit to.

Jane has been the hostess for our Christmas tags in the past.  Here is her Valentine creation:

This last one didn't have any information on it but both sides are decorated so beautifully.

Over the weekend, I went to Texas to participate in Ann-Denise's Valentine Makery. Check back because you will want to see how amazing this event was!

Look what I won!

I entered Kim's giveaway on her blog and I was the lucky winner.  I knew she was giving away some needle felting supplies but I had no idea she was including all this!  Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and saw not only all the fun wool but also two felting brushes, three felting tools, two awesome books, and some yo-yo makers!  Who-hoo ~ Lucky me!
Kim is an extremely talented mixed media artist and I highly encourage you to check out her blog.
Thanks Kim!

My Valentines for Kim

The benefit of doing a bunch of Valentine swaps at one time is that when inspiration strikes, I can make extras of one project and send them along too. It takes me so long to be inspired and then to finally bring my idea to fruition.
As seen in my last post, I originally thought about making this ornament for Laurie's Ornament Swap but I thought maybe Kim would like one too.

I thought this one turned out pretty.

I read on Kim's blog that she liked owls (well at least at Halloween) so I thought I'd make her a Valentine Owl. She almost lost this little bird to Doug but I wrestled it back with the promise to make him one too.

This fun little heart was made from some Laura Ashley fabric I had in my stash.  So pretty and feminine.

This little heart was made from organza that I cut in heart shapes and was inspired by the flower that Ann-Denise made.

Don't you love this sweet little doggie Valentine? While I was at it, I made 14 more for a tag swap I participated in.

I included some embroidered kitchen towels.  I don't know about you but I can never have enough towels for my kitchen.

Valentine note pads:

Some bling to create with:

Oops - another sideways picture.  A "Love" ornament.

Happy Valentine's Day Kim!  Hope you enjoy.  :)

Valentine Ornament Swap

When my friend Laurie decided to host a Valentine Ornament Swap I knew I had to participate. I'm so happy that I did! My only regret is that I didn't have time to double the amount of ornaments I made and be able to receive 8 gorgeous ornaments.
Here is the ornament I made: (I also sent one of these to my partner Kim for our "Valentine Heart Swap" hosted by Viv.)

These are the ornaments I received:

I'm sorry this picture is sideways. I've fixed it in my iPhoto so that it is rotated correctly, restarted my machine but still can't get it right. It is beautiful though any way you look at it!

We also made a Valentine Card. I thought I took a picture of the card I made but for some reason I can't find it on any of my cameras nor on my phone. Maybe I'm imagining I took a picture? Anyway, this is the beautiful card that someone made for me:

Laurie also added embellishments and this beautiful card that she made.

Thanks to Laurie for such a fun swap!

Valentine Heart Swap

I love participating in handmade swaps! I joined Viv's Handmade Heart Swap and was so lucky to get Kim as my partner. Doug called me at work this week all excited that my Valentine package had arrived and I couldn't even wait to get home to see for myself. The outside of the box was covered in a shiny silver with pink and red polka dot wrapping. Sorry for no picture, but I was too excited and I just had to see what was inside.
Look at all this Valentine awesomeness!

Everything inside was so beautifully packaged.

Cute vintage valentines:

Look at this sweet Valentine doll.

I love this! My favorite colors these days.

This heart is beautiful! My picture doesn't do it justice.

Everyone knows how I feel about dogs. :)

C'mon - admit that you are just a little envious...

I've never seen a cute little vintage valentine wreath. The heart on the right is a container with candy. So sweet!

I love how each person interprets the theme a little differently. After I know Kim has received her package from me I will blog about what I sent to her.
If you love Valentine's Day as much as I do, check back because I participated in an ornament swap and a tag swap and I'll be blogging about those soon.