Itty Bitty Birds

Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them? Rose F. Kennedy

Not my usual color choices, one of the pieces for my Itty Bitty Valentine Swap partner who loves birds and dark colors.

The itty bitty theme is for a tiny little 3 inch square, not a whole lot of space to do much but just enough to squeeze on this lovely piece of fabric featuring black velvet motif of birds.

And for everyone who is going to ask what I backed this one up with

A tag cut from calligraphy text bird poem and a bit of mail art.

In this life we can not all do great things but we all can do small things with great love. Mother Teresa

Secret of Success

“Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success “ so says Swami Sivandanda

The other key to success for any busy crafter has got to be a couple of appealing but practical gifts that can be whipped up on short notice.

Kaiser Craft has become one of my favourites for their ‘beyond the page’ range of wooden products perfect for altering. Their Christmas Trees and Word Albums caught everyone’s eye over the last few months but there is much more to the range.


This is a sneak peek for class project that we will be teaching soon that shows altered does not always have to be time consuming. It can act as a gift card holder with a bit more to offer and one of my favourites to make for friends. What about you, what secrets to speedy success do you rely on?

People often ask how I pull collages together. For me the rule of 3’s works easily and painlessly. For the most part it is only one or two colors in use in my assemblage and a very simple theme, in this case coffee time! Anything more than 3 it starts to get cluttered, the message is muddled and who has time for that?

As much as the tiny red coffee cups were totally cute, the rule of 3 forced them back onto the shelf for another day. Possibly the new journal that is on the table and getting ready to share soon.

Happy Birthday

Thought you might enjoy this one, a special friend forwarded it to me recently and thought it was the perfect birthday present to share.

I really think a person moved in without me knowing it and I believe she is here for life...... Please be careful. This person has found her way into my house and could also go to yours.

A very weird thing has happened. A strange old lady has moved into my house. I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or how she got in. I certainly did not invite her. All I know is that one day she wasn't there, and the next day she was!

She is a clever old lady and manages to keep out of sight for the most part, but whenever I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of her. And, whenever I look in the mirror to check my appearance, there she is hogging the whole thing, completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body. This is very rude!

The least she could do is offer to pay part of the rent, but no. Every once in a while, I find a dollar bill stuck in a coat pocket, or some loose change under a sofa cushion, but it is not nearly enough. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I think she is stealing money from me. I go to the ATM and withdraw $100, and a few days later, it's all gone!

I certainly don't spend money THAT fast, so I can only conclude the old lady is pilfering from me. You'd think she would spend some of that money to buy wrinkle cream. And money isn't the only thing I think she is stealing.

Food seems to disappear at an alarming rate-especially the good stuff like ice cream, cookies, and candy. She must have a real sweet tooth, but she'd better watch it, because she is really packing on the pounds. I suspect she realizes this, and to make herself feel better, she is tampering with my scale to make me think I am putting on weight, too.

For an old lady, she is quite childish. She likes to play nasty games, like going into my closets when I'm not home and altering my clothes so they don't fit. And she messes with my files and papers so I can't find anything. This is particularly annoying since I am extremely neat and organized.

She has found other imaginative ways to annoy me. She gets into my mail, newspapers, and magazines before I do and blurs the print so I can't read it. And she has done something really sinister to the volume controls on my TV, radio, and telephone. Now, all I hear are mumbles and whispers. She has done other things-like make my stairs steeper, my vacuum heavier and all the knob and faucets harder to turn. She even made my bed higher so that getting into and out of it is a real challenge.

Lately, she has been fooling with my groceries before I put them away, applying glue to the lids, making it almost impossible for me to open the jars. She has taken the fun out of shopping for clothes. When I try something on, she stands in front of the dressing room mirror and monopolizes it. She looks totally ridiculous in some of those outfits, plus, she keeps me from seeing how great they look on me.

Just when I thought she couldn't get any meaner, she proved me wrong. She came along when I went to get my picture taken for my driver's license, and just as the camera shutter clicked, she jumped in front of me!

I hope she never finds out where YOU live!!! Under the circumstances – you will understand the lack of photos on this post.

Scent-Sational

“Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.” Oscar Wilde

Isn’t that a lovely quote and what about that hamper of specialty handmade soap?

The soap is from Jill at Bittersweet Soap. Jill’s blog is a wonderful extension of her little shop full of creations, musings and crafty ideas of all kinds. Do check it all out as she is another fan of the handmade and soufully made items that make a girl feel so special with all those ‘scent-sational’ aromas and pampering combinations.

With Valentines day fast approaching her newest addition is a Tuberose Soap. Be sure to put a reminder in your calendar for next winter to get in early for the Christmas season specialities of Velvet and Christmas spice mmmmm.

Today I am feeling extra special as the lucky winner of this hamper, it’s almost my birthday which is off to a good start now. Thanks Jill.

Letter to a friend

“If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.” Mother Teresa

Am packing up the cards from this season, some of the favourites of course are the handmade ones. They don’t have to be fancy or over embellished because the simplest acts of a few words from special folks with a little of their art is enough to make them individualised messages from the heart.

The photo card is from Wendy of Windy Angels who has a darling etsy shop thing happening.

The quote on her card reads “No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant. Take peace! The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. There is radiance and glory in darkness, could we but see. And to see, we have only to look. “

From Fra Giovanni Giocondo an Italian architect and Franciscan Monk in the late 1400s.

Believe & Aim High

"We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." e.e. cummings

This is our first project from the Winter Bella for January. The photo looks kind of plain jane but there is buckets of opal glitter paint all over the card that results with photos of a blaze of shimmering white or not at all. Products courtesy of Magic Moments.

Thanks for all your comments and questions on why we post yearly goals on the mirror. Forget where it came from but it was supposed to be something along the lines of facing yourself and your goals every day.