Collage Swap

Some friends and I recently completed a Bits & Pieces Collage Swap. There were 8 who participated, 4 pairs of partners. The challenge was to create an 8X8" art board or canvas collage for our partner incorporating their likes in terms of color and style. Everyone made wonderful works of art and if you follow the links at the bottom of this post, you can see them all.

 My partner was my blogging friend, Mary of Thyme To Spare.We have done some one-on-one swaps before and Mary has sent me lovely gifts over the years. She is a wonderful paper crafter and a good friend.

This is the beautiful canvas she created for me...

Mary knows that I like soft colors and the base of the canvas is painted and stamped.

Each little square is like a work of art...my favorite hydrangeas and peonies are featured in addition to pale pink seam binding, a nest and bird and bits of crocheted lace and buttons. Great care was taken in creating this piece and I will treasure it!

Mary also included some fun supplies...

Mary knows me pretty well don't you think?

Of course I had to chuckle when I saw the canvas at first because our tastes are very similar...

why we were good partners. I thought I would give you some step-by-step pictures

 showing how I created Mary's board...(feel free to run and get a snack and a cold drink)

First, the supplies are gathered...

the background of the board is vintage looking ledger paper.

The the scalloped squares are added....I don't measure, I just eyeball the placement

Then the fun of assembling begins...M is for Mary of course

Birds and nests

some vintage buttons and a vintage looking flower...

I used 3 images of garden fairies to represent Mary's 3 Granddaughters, printing them twice and making them dimensional...

So much fun to create...

Now on to the other swappers.

Please take time to visit the other ladies and feast your eyes on their collages.

Everyone did a wonderful job and I'm so happy to be friends with all of them!

Marie of Spun By Me

Linda of Grace Filled Moments

Nan of Bubbles of Joy

Susie of South City Hues

Jo at Hybrid Simplicity

Laurie at Laurie Star

Aren't they all wonderful?

xoxo

Joyce

We Were Flocked! Yes, you read that correctly!

The Youth Group (teenagers), of our church, is trying to raise money to be able to attend an ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Youth Gathering in New Orleans in July. (Why anyone would want to be in New Orleans in July is beyond me but I get it...I'm old)

Anyway, right now they are sneaking going around to homes in the parish and Flocking people....

Last Saturday evening, I was passing from the family room to the kitchen when a flash of pink in our front yard caught my eye! I went to the door and saw this crazy flock of flamingos planted there!

The way to get rid of eliminate  a flock of flamingos in your yard is to pay a donation to the Youth Group to have them taken away....and sent to some other unsuspecting yard. It was hard to give them up. They looked so cute and colorful in our freshly mowed lawn that I didn't want them to fly away.

Good Luck kids! We hope you raise lots of money for your trip!

(Is it fair that my husband has better legs than me???)

More pink!!!

Today I went out and cut some peonies before the rain comes and beats them down...

I LOVE peonies...they just don't last long enough for me!



xoxo

Joyce



Say it With Letters...the OOH LA LA Project

This is the latest Design Team Project for Say It With Letters.

I can't believe that we only have one more to go before our time is finished.

I will be sorry to see this end-I have enjoyed every project and challenge and Deb Damboise, the owner and Head Honcho at SIWL, is a dream to work with!

This month, we were each given a 12-inch Eiffel Tower shape. At first I wasn't sure what

to do with it...paint?...paper...? Oh yeah, I'm the paper person.

First, I traced and cut the tower shape using black scrapbook paper with French writing in white.

I used Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the tower.

Then, I decided to combine the French shape with my love of dress forms...VOILA!

(I'm trying to impress you with my command of the French language-oui?)

I tried several of my dress form stamps but didn't like the way a stamped image looked.

Ahhhh...Tim Holtz to the rescue! I used my Sizzix Tim Holtz Sewing Room Bigz die,

seen here, cut once using black cardstock and then carefully cut again using patterned paper.

I cut off the "stand" part of the form on the patterned paper piece, leaving just the "body" section.

Pure silk narrow ribbon in a dreamy pink was used at the waist as a sash and floppy bow.

Decorative hat/corsage pins were added as a final touch.

I added a copy of a vintage perfume bottle label behind the dress form

and a little pearl flourish.

What do you think?

I think this piece will be very much at home in my craft studio

 with all of the other "girls".

Tres Bien!

Please be sure to stop over to Say It With Letters and see the other

designers projects. Stacy has a cute baby gift tutorial using this same Eiffel Tower.

You can find an Eiffel Tower to call your own right here in Deb's Etsy shop

XOXO

Joyce

Happy Sunday~

I have a hockey game to watch today but I wanted you to meet my new friends....

A lovely canvas found at TJ Maxx

I think this is meant to hold necklaces....

Her price had no influence on my attraction to her...

It just made the "score" sweeter...they will both go in my studio

xoxo

Joyce



The birds...not the Hitchcock variety!

I promised that I would show you what I did with the wooden birds...

First, I base-coated them with Ceramcoat's Oyster White acrylic paint...both sides.

Then I made a template by tracing one of the birds...

I free-handed the wing...

Both pieces were traced onto double-sided scrapbook papers...

I used Mod Podge to attach the papers to the birds. I Mod Podged the wings separately

 before attaching them to the body.

Buttons for eyes.

All but one flew away.

xoxo

Joyce

Making my way back to Blogland...

Our Spring Fling Craft Boutique is over and the orders have been filled...

We had a lot of fun visiting with friends who came to see what we had made.

I wish I could say that I took a lot of pictures but I worked right up to the wire so

did not get pictures of all of the lovely things my friends made.

It was very different for all of us to create items with  a Spring, Easter or Summer theme.

We all do craft events in the fall and winter with Thanksgiving and Christmas themed items,

so this was a welcome change.

I had fun making Easter banners...

Bunnies, chicks and eggs were seen everywhere.

I think my favorite banner was this one....

I cut the three egg images twice and with the second image, cut out those areas that would make each egg dimensional. I used foam tape to raise the cut out parts.

So many images of vintage Easter art can be found on-line and on Pinterest.

I also made some single panel art pieces...

There was a new "Celebrate" banner...

and a summertime banner ...

One of two most asked-for items that I make are the Important Dates to Remember
perpetual reminder books. Each month has a lined page to write birthdays and anniversaries.

(I snapped these pictures before I finished them off with a spiral binding) The other book is for computer User Names and Passwords.
Now maybe you have a mind like a steel trap and can remember all of the passwords and
user names that you use on line but I need help with that.
I never make enough of these books...they always sell out.
I even made some with a masculine look...

So....now you can see where I've been hiding for the past several weeks.
In between getting ready for this show, there was also a big baby shower at our church for our
 Christian Education Director...that is what the Ezra banner was for in my previous post.
So it's time to get ready for Easter
 (I think the nice weather this year made it seem like the shortest 40 days of Lent on record!)
and then get busy with a swap I am doing with some good friends
 We are so happy that our daughter Michelle will be
coming in on Friday to spend the weekend with us before
 she starts her new job next week.
 Over the next week, I will be spending some time each day visiting your blogs...I've missed reading what you've been doing and I need to catch up!

I'll come back next time and show you what I did with these cute wooden birdies...

xoxo

Joyce