SWIVEL CLASP CHARM FOR ALYCIA

(Mailed Jan 19th)

I joined a "Swivel Clasp Charm Swap" with Regan at Emora Designs.  This was a special swap, that paired each of us with one partner.  The theme was Vintage Valentine.  My swap partner is Alycia.

I came up with this design.  It has glass beads and metal charms all placed on a Tim Holtz swivel clasp.   My eyesight was never 20-20 but it is worse now that I'm older, and doing this type of detailed work is a challenge.  But I do love it!   I notice that most of my beads are pink, purples and mauves.  There's lots of them here.  I included 3 hearts, a heart key and a crown.  The rest are beads.

The challenge was to use lace.  I have vintage laces. but they were all too wide. 
So I used the one you see (I'm not really nuts about the lace on it).

Alycia can easily remove it.

CHARMS & STICK PINS FOR ALLYSON'S SWAP

(Mailed Jan 11)

The photo is of the Charm and Stick Pins that I made for a swap hosted by Allyson.  Her blog is at http://lifeandtimesofallyson.blogspot.com/.   They're due before the end of the month, so I made them with a Valentine's Day theme.  Both the charm and one stick pin have glass heart beads.  Each person gets one of my handmade pincushions.

CHARMS FOR CINDY'S SWAP

(MAILED DEC 7)

These are the charms I came up with for Cindy's Charm Swap.   Her blog can be found on my Blog List to the right of this post.   The little charms are tiny shoes.  I added a stick pin too.  The ladies should be able to re-use the flower.

The bead on top of the pearl is actually a pretty lavendar-pink (almost the color of the floer).  The reflection from my camera and the green card changed the color. 

I'll be getting these out in the mail soon. 

Hope the ladies like them.    Later Gator!

CHARMS FOR MY FIRST INTERNATIONAL SWAP

(MAILED DEC 8)

I joined a Christmas Charm Swap with Kathy on "My Scrap Room" site. For this swap we had to make two charms with a Christmas theme.  

I came up with one silver and one gold tone set of charms.  The silver one has a large charm with Santa in his sleigh.  I added a tree and stocking charm and each has it's own clasp.  The gold tone charm has a Christmas stocking.

These aren't due until January 17th, so they'll be usable for next Christmas.   I'm really looking forward to what I get from my swap members.  There's Kathy (Canada) and a lady from Australia.  I think the rest are from the U.S.  It just adds to the interest. 

If you're interested in these swaps,  they're at http://www.myscraproom.ning.com/.

That's it for now.............Later Gator!

SWIVEL CLASP "PARTNER" CHARM SWAP.....COMPLETED

 Yay!!  I mailed out all my swaps yesterday!

This is the one I made for the swap I joined through Regan at "Emora Designs."   After we sent in our names, Regan paired us with a partner.   Mine is Michelle.  We emailed each other to learn a bit about our lives.

Regan encouraged us to either make a Christmas swivel clasp or use autumn colors.    I kind of did both.   Michelle's clasp includes a "Life" key,   3 fragment charms including the "Ever True" charm that I think describes her.   There's pearls, a heart and a charm with Santa in his sleigh with presents.

I wanted to add more but it was already pretty full!

CINDY'S CHARM SWAP..........CHARMS FOR GROUPS 1 AND 5

(Mailed Nov 16)

Whew!   I can't believe I took four groups in Cindy's Charm Swap!   The only group I wasn't placed in was Group 3.  But this is what I came up with for the other two groups.    These are gold tone and heavier than the first two sets.  I will add a Christmas charm to each of the tags, tie them with ribbon and package them all.  I really don't have to get them in the mail until the 22nd.   If I think of anything else to do (I usually do),  I have time to change the designs. 

My charm for Group 1 is the photo on the left,  and Group 5 is the long key charm on the right.

I apologize if this is confusing but I had to rearrange my charms for the multiple groups.  They're not in numerical order.  (again, my confused old brain  ;=))

CINDY'S CHARM SWAP......CHARMS FOR Groups 4 and 2

(Mailed Nov 16)

I joined Cindy's November Charm Swap and signed up for 4 groups!!    I have a lot of beads and charms, so having the supplies is not a problem.   Coming up with different charms is the issue.  Anyway, I thought of these for the first two groups.   I love the sparkle of the aurora borealis hearts so I used them.   I put a removable   Christmas charm on each of these.   The ladies can keep them on or use the charm on another project.   Each has its own lobster-claw clasp.

The tags are unmarked so they also can be used.  Group 4 is to the left and 2 is on the right.  Now.....for Groups 1 and 5!!

STICK PINS FOR ALLYSON'S PIN SWAP

(Mailed Tues, November 2nd)

I completed my sets of stick pins for the swap holted by Allyson (her Blog is on my blog list to the right).  I put the pins in my handmade pumpkin pincushion.   You can get a better view by clicking on the photo.

I hope the ladies will get this by Thanksgiving because I made each of them a tag with ephemera from my collection.

There's so much enjoyment in sharing our crafts with others.   I've been very fortunate to share wonderful items with ladies from the U.S., Canada and Ireland!

CRAFTER AT WORK........REGAN'S "SWIVEL CLASP" CHARM SWAP

(MAILED TUES, NOV 2)

Note:  I did add a few more beads to the charm on the left before I mailed them out

I've been working on my charms for Regan's "Swivel Clasp Charm Swap."  She's at Emora Designs on YouTube.   This is fun but challenging since I'm still learning how to put charms on head pins and rings.    I have lots of time to make changes if I want.  This might not be the final product.   (click on the photo to see a larger view)

I made the charm set on the left with my delicate vintage style charms and chain.  There's a dress, pink glass bead, eyeglasses and hair comb (my favorite).  The eyeglasses are fun and cute.

The charms on the right are beads with some darker autumn colors.

I'll attach the charms to the tags with ribbon and package them for my fellow swap members.  I think I'll add a surprise too.   After all, Thanksgiving is around the corner and I'm very thankful for gracious people like Regan who host these swaps.

CHARMS....... FOR "CINDY'S CROPPING CORNER" CHARM SWAP

                                                                      (Mailed Monday,  Oct 18)

I joined another charm swap this month with Cindy's Cropping Corner.  Her blog is on my list to the right. 

I decided to go with a Bird theme.    I added an antiqued brass Birdcage and Bird charm, with a little wing and some beads.  You can't see it in the photo but the birdcage charm has a little door-latch that makes it look like a real birdcage.   I'll attach the charm to the tag with ribbon so the packaging will look prettier.

As I go along with the swaps I'm becoming better at these crafts.   I'm still a bit awkward with adding charms to chain and using head pins.  But I'm slowly getting the knack of it.

I'm so inspired  by the charms I received last month.....they're  beautiful!

Pumpkins Everywhere!

I'm working on a new project.   Just to give a hint.....it's got something to do with Pumpkins!   I've been making Pumpkin-themed items for the past two days.  I don't want to post a photo until they're on their way to two recipients.   It's a surprise!

ONE SET OF "IMAGE TAGS" FOR STEFF'S SWAP

(Mailed Sept 20)

Whew! I've been on a roll....trying to get the last of my swaps finished. This is just one of the two sets of image tags that I made for Steff's swap. (Steff's blog is on my blog list to the right). I used multiple stamps on each of these tags to get the look I wanted. I LOVE the vintage monster stamp set that I got recently. This tag has Frankenstein and the Wolf Man. These monsters are from the old Universal monster movies of the 1940's. The other set (not pictured) has a "Haunted House" and an additional tag with a vintage witch and Frankenstein.

Each person in my group will get two tags and a charm. My tags are all packed up and ready to mail. Now I can get this craft stuff in some order........until the next marathon. Probably not real soon.

STICK PINS FOR ALLYSON'S SWAP

I just completed my sets of stick pins for each person in my stick pin swap, hosted by Allyson. You can find her on my blog list to the right-side column. I put them on a card with a name tag for each. For safety, each pin is stuck in a strip of foam tape.

If I have a favorite, it's the dangle pin in the middle. I actually took the glass beads from earrings that I bought in a Shreveport store.

I've used these dangle pins on a tag and treasure box that you can see at the bottom of the right-hand column.

Halloween Banner Letter Swap

(Final....Mailed Sep 13)

Another Swap, another design to ponder! I joined Marie's "Halloween Banner" swap and I've been working on my design. (Her blog is "ArtOfMarie, and is listed on my blog list to the right). For this swap, everyone is assigned a letter to spell out the word, "Halloween." It's only difficult because I'm trying to come up with a unique background. I took the letter "E."

With Twilight and other vampire shows being so popular, I decided to use my new Cricut Happy Hauntings cartridge to cut my letter. It has a Vamp font which is pretty cool. To give it dimension, I cut two: One purple and one orange. The frame is the same purple. I wanted to give the frame a kind of spooky mirror look, so I placed vellum behind it. Then I came up with the possibility of putting green cardstock behind the frame to give it a creepy glow that highlights the letter. The top has to be clear so each person can decide how to hang their letters for the banner.

I only hope that the bats will not get smooshed during mailing. I placed them so the wings poke out and it looks like they're flying around the letter.

CHARMS FOR CINDY'S SWAP

(Mailed Sept 9)

I've been busy joining more Swaps! This time it's a "Charm" Swap for Cindy's Cropping Corner (her blog is on my blog list).

We were to put a charm, bead, and attachment together for each person in our group. So I came up with a scissors charm and pink beads strung together on a head pin. I'm still in a learning mode when it comes to making the end loop, but I have to push myself to learn. It's all attached to a swivel clasp.

I also added two Halloween themed charms for each person: a Bat and a "Skeleton Skull" Key. I think it's a cute take on the Skeleton Key.

Tag for Marie's August Swap

Mailed August 18th.

After much pondering, I came up with this tag for Marie's August Tag Swap. It is not original to use the Tim Holtz Caged Bird die set, but I was stumped. (see her "Art of Marie" blog at the right of this post).

I stayed within the "Nature" theme and somewhat with the challenge of using scraps. I used my scraps of glittered butterfly paper for the top and light blue cardstock for the background (like the sky). I stamped two trees, then placed the birdcage and bird on top. The bird is covered with scraps from an old dictionary that I got from the Thrift Store. I made the "Journey" ticket from left-over pieces of manila folders. I also added mini flowers to keep within the theme.

I used Tim Holtz's distress inks on the bird, ticket and basic tag. After all, we're having 105 degree heat outside.....AND I got dissss-stressed doing this dang tag!

You can't really see it, but I added a dragonfly charm on the fibers at the top. (It has a lobster claw clasp so it can be used on a bracelet later).

The back has an notched envelope with my info and I added a layered butterfly that I made from scraps.

WHEW!! This was a difficult but fun. I didn't feel entirely good about these tags because the idea is not original to me, but I gave it my best shot. I hope they like it! I just couldn't think of anything more authentic this time.

I have to stop comparing my work to more advanced crafters!!

My Finished Tag! "Petit Francais Enfant"

I'm finally finished with my tag for Arlene's June Tag Swap. Arlene is on YouTube at MyButterflyKisses12. She hosts a monthly tag swap for crafters. Each month there's a theme and there were two this month: "Postcards from Paris," and/or Vintage Collage. I actually did both. The front is Vintage Collage and the back looks like a Postcard from Paris, even with a Paris stamp.

This photo is the front of the tag, done in "Vintage Collage," but I also made it in a French theme. I have another photo to the side of this blog with more description. Another element that I added is a gauze look in back of the French Song. I stamped it lightly with French Script. It's barely noticeable on some of the tags. Of course each one will be a tad different because they're hand-made.

The tag just above the brown leaves says, "Petit Francais Enfant," or "Litle French Child."