*a bit of serendipity*

Cuff Bracelet Swap

I just finished a really fun swap with a Mail Art Group I'm a member of.  Corinne was the hostess, and she decided to do a cuff bracelet swap.  I was a little bit nervous because I've never made a cuff bracelet, and more importantly, I don't sew ~ at all, but I really wanted to try something different.

It turned out to be so much fun.  Everyone was paired with a partner, but because there ended up being an uneven number of participants, three of us were grouped together.  Corinne was making a bracelet for Cassandra, Cassandra for me, and I was making Corinne's.

I wanted to show the GORGEOUS bracelet I received from Cassandra.  I gave her a few ideas of what I liked (colors, etc.), and I couldn't believe how perfectly she transformed them into the perfect cuff for me.  I LOVE it!

You can see how beautiful it is from these photos, but you all know what I mean when I say I wish I could show you exactly how gorgeous it is in person.  Thank you again Cassandra, you know how much I love it!!!

This is the cuff I made for Corinne.  She said she loves pink, girly, elegant ~ I tried to get it all!

Thank you Corinne and Cassandra...I had a great time!

And a special thank you to my mom, who spent an entire day explaining what needle and thread were, and how to use them together.  (okay, maybe not that bad, but almost.)

Fairy Tale Book Collaboration

I sometimes participate with a group that makes mini art books.  The hostess Mary Ann picks a theme and anyone interested can sign up.  Each person makes one altered page based on the theme, and then duplicates the page for the number of participants.  There usually seems to be between 20 to 30 participants.  All of the pages are sent to the hostess and she makes the cover, binds them and sends each participant a completed book with everyone's different pages.

I couldn't pass up the fairy tale book.  One of my favorites is Beauty and the Beast, so I went with that. 

The front and back of the page I made.  I tried to keep them fairly simple, I tend to over-do it sometimes, and making 20 to 30, even though you are making the same thing...takes quite a long time.

 

When I receive the completed book, I'll post more photos of everyone's pages.  Here's a link to the flickr group. 

A Special Thank You

I wanted to say a special thank you to Vanessa Valencia of A Fanciful Twist, for the unexpected package I received from her in the mail. 

A while back, she posed a question on her blog, and challenged everyone to guess the answer.  Well...I was surprised to find that I guessed the right answer, and even more surprised when she decided to send the person who guessed correctly, a little package.

The package I received included several of her cards made from her original artwork, all wrapped beautifully with ribbon...and an incredible rusty vintage metal key was tied to the ribbon as well.

Here are just a few photos of what I received from one of the most original artists around!

Thank you so much Vanessa!!! XOXO.