Decos and mail!

Hello all!  It's been an incredibly busy week with work.  I was so happy to see the weekend come around.  I slept most of the day yesterday and today.  I just hate this time of the year when it is gray outside.  I'm so looking forward to spring.  At least we change the calendar to February this week so one month closer.  Despite having slept most of the weekend I did manage to make some decos for swaps and I am working on a letter which I hope to finish tonight.

I made this deco as part of a swap without a real theme.  I really like the way it turned out.

I made this deco with the theme "Vintage Fashionista" for a swap.  I chose Jacqueline Kennedy since she was a beautiful lady with a great style.

I made this deco with the theme "Cute Characters in the Snow" as part of another swap.  I love the House Mouse characters.

I made this deco with the theme "Holiday Treats" as part of another swap.

I haven't received much mail lately but here's what I did receive.

I received these two beautiful decos themed "Gingerbread Men" and "Victorian Christmas" from a swap partner.

I also received these two ATCs themed "Vintage Beauty" and "Farm Animals" from a swap partner.

And, I received this wonderful letter from my friend Sharon from The Netherlands.  I love the stationary she used.

Hopefully this week will be better mail-wise.  I hate having an empty mailbox.  :(  And, so I leave you with a photo of my sleep buddies today.

A short post...

Hi all!  Well, I have become once again very busy.  With my English teaching business I have taken on three more students.  I'm thrilled my business is growing and soon I'll have to make some serious decisions about whether I can keep working 32 hours at the music school.  Anyhow, besides  work I haven't had much time for anything else in the past two weeks.  I've become a boring workaholic.  At least I did manage to finish two decos for swaps this weekend.  

The theme of this deco I made is "19th Century Artist/Writer".  I chose one of my favourite Impressionist painters, Mary Cassatt.  I love her work.

The theme of this deco I made is "Vintage Winter".  I love this image.

And, there you have it.  My mailbox has been pretty empty lately but I do have a few pieces of mail to share, which will have to wait until another post.  I have English classes to prepare for tomorrow evening.  Have a nice Wednesday everyone!

A bit of mail!

So, it was back to work last week.  A bit of a bummer really since I had accomplished so much with letter writing and crafting decos while on holiday.  As much as I try to stay awake sometimes to write or create in evenings my eyes start closing all on their own.  Sigh!  I did manage to write a couple of letters this week but sadly no crafting.  :(  My teaching business is expanding as well which is nice since it is what I would like to do full time.  And, now the weekend is almost over so it's back to the old work routine tomorrow.  I wish I could have a few more days but then don't we always?!

Here is a beautiful deco I received from a swap partner.  She is from France and so talented.

Another deco I received from a very talented artist.  This was part of a swap and the theme was "19th Century Writers/Artists".

Here's an ATC I received this past week for a swap themed "Vintage Kitchen".

I also received a sweet letter and FBs from my friend Beate from Norway.  I LOVE the stationary she used.

Luna from Germany kindly returned a deco that was made for me by Valeriane from France.  The theme of the deco was "Vintage Sisters" and the entries are lovely.

And, this is all from me for today.  I want to get the most out of my Sunday evening before my eyes start closing.  Ha!  See yas soon!

More deco art!

Hello friends!  Hope everyone is having a lovely week so far.  Mine is going very well even though I went back to work on Monday.  It's been a busy week too but I'm enjoying myself.  I am missing the leisure time I had for  two weeks when I woke up late, stayed in my pjs all day and did crafting or letter writing.  Oh well!  Tonight I thought I'd share more photos of deco entries I made this past weekend.  No time for crafting this week nor much letter writing.  But, the weekend is coming up.  :)

An entry in a "Winter Fairies" deco.

An entry in a "Vintage Mail" deco.

An entry in a "Woodlands" deco.

An entry in an "Anything French" deco.

An entry in a "Chocolate" deco.

An entry in a "Beechnut" deco.

An entry in a "Vintage Family" deco.

An entry in a "Romeo and Juliet" deco.

It's been a very quiet mail week for me so far.  Believe it or not I have gotten no mail at all.  It's okay though since I still have some catching up to do.  On that note I am going to try to answer a letter without falling asleep.

Incoming mail!

Hi all!  Hope you're enjoying a fabulous weekend!  I had thought I would get a lot done since I only have today and tomorrow of my holiday left but I'm not feeling so well.  I'm feeling a little weak and will do what I can.  I did make a batch of pasta sauce and now I'm making cupcakes.  Tonight I'm planning on sitting with my cats and writing a few letters if I can stay awake.  Yesterday I met up with my friend Sonia and while we were supposed to craft we mostly chatted.  Ha! Ha!
I wanted to share this week's mail with you.  I'm still receiving Christmas packages and cards too.  I forgot to take photos of two pretty decos I got this week so they will be for the next mail post.

Some of the Christmas cards I received this week.

Here is a swap of HQFBs from a swap partner.

A great letter I received from Stefanie from Switzerland.  She's always creative with her letters.

I received this great assortment of craft supplies and HQFBs from my friend Laura from Romania.

I received a really fat envelope this past Friday from a swap partner.  The first part of the swap was 100g. of cat stuff.  Wow!

The second part of the swap was 200g of decos.  I love the great assortment of decos she sent.

The third part of the swap was this incredible deco she made.  It is absolutely gorgeous.

In the same envelope was another swap from her daughter who is part of the same group at yahoo.  The swap was 100g. of decos so more to work on.  :)

And finally I received these two HQFBs made for me that are now full.

Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow so I can work on more decos and swaps.  Have a nice Saturday everyone.

More decos and a little inspiration!

Hello there friends!  Hope everyone has been having a good year so far.  I certainly am since I'm still on holiday from work until Monday.  I've actually gotten a lot of crafting (mostly decos) done, swaps done and letters written.  Now I have to start thinking about planning for my classroom and English classes.  I wish I could have another week off.  Sigh!  Oh well!
Today my mom and I went shopping and had lunch which was nice.  We do this once a month.  Tomorrow I'll meet up with my friend Sonia for crafting and dinner.  And, on Saturday I'm hoping to get my hair cut and maybe have highlights put in.  We'll see!
Okay, so here are some of the deco entries I've made below:

I love collage work but I always find it hard to let myself go, most likely because I'm too logical and I question too much.  So, I thought this year I'd try putting things together to create a collage look.  Here's my entry in a "I am woman"  vintage themed deco.

Here's my entry in a "Free Expression" themed deco.

My entry in a "1920's Chicago" themed deco.

My entry in a "Vintage Halloween" themed deco.

My entry in a "Nutcracker" themed deco.  I've always loved nutcrackers and I dream of someday seeing the ballet.

And, here is my entry in a "Magnolia Tilda" themed deco.  I love Tilda rubber stamps and I actually have a few in my collection.  She's simply adorable.

I bought my copy of the "Somerset Life" magazine today.  Aw...it is just so beautiful with so many inspiring ideas for making pretty packages, envelopes, art kits, and so much more.  There is also an article about an event which was held in Florida called "An Artful Tea".  When I see such events I always dream of attending one.  They look so fun and everything is always so beautifully decorated.

And, now I leave you with a piece of art made by a lady in Finland named Merel.  She sent me this fun and lovely piece of art made by her as part of our vintage Christmas parcel swap.

A little crafting!

Well, a Happy New Year to everyone!  I didn't do much of anything yesterday except, sleep, craft, letter write and in the evening I took a break to watch a DVD, "Letters to Juliet".  Have any of you seen this sweet movie?  I LOVED it!  Well, I'm in love with Italy anyway but the story was also so romantic.  I hardly have time to watch DVDs anymore.  Sigh!  Anyhow, take a look at some of the decos and entries I've done in the photos below.

A "Puppies and Kittens" deco I made for a swap partner.

A "Forever Friends" deco I made for the same swap partner.

A "Cute Characters" deco I made, once again for the same swap partner.

An entry I made for a deco with the theme"Vintage Angels".

Another entry I made in a "Anything 1920's" deco.

Another entry I made in a "Vintage Spring" deco.

I also ended up doing a little shopping this past week, just a few things: stickers, ice skate brads, vintage tags, heart buttons and some pretty papers I couldn't resist.

And to finish off my post today I wanted to show you what winter looks like here these days, on my street.  Last night it was pouring rain and it looks more like spring than winter, which is fine by me.  It's just so unusual for us.  I bought ice skates for Noah a few days ago thinking he could ice skate at an outdoor rink near our home but I don't think it's going to happen just yet.  The rink is really nice too, with lights lit at night and music playing.  Oh well!  Be back soon my friends!