I joined my first ever mail swap this year. Lenna is hosting a wonderful exchange of Vintage Note Cards and thought I would like to participate. So with some trepidation I decided to take the plunge and have been working on my cards to send her. Along the way I learned some new things and thought I would share my tips (and of course the fruits of my labour!)1. Respect your Glue...especially Super Glue. There is, after all, a reason why they put First Aid instructions on the label. I won't tell you what happened but suffice to say Miss Gwendoline got to watch me while I frantically tried to "unstick" two of my fingers for a few minutes. I think I need to teach her how to dial 911...
Card 1 - Vive Ste. Anne
…the patron saint of Seamstresses! Also a line of sewing machines. I have several vintage pictures showing young ladies posed as they sew. Don't know how they got any work done!
2. Simple is Better...yes it is REAL easy to over think what we do. After counting a possible whoping 16 embellishments for one card I decided to stop (yeesh, you could have used it for a paperweight!) and go back to basics (I like to think I learned SOMETHING from Mary's classes). So while they may seem relatively simple, I think the effect is better. Besides, the whole point is to have fun!
Card 2 - Friend My friend Carol is an avid quilter AND blogger! The picture here is her Mom – Nan - and a best friend. She shares wonderful family pictures on her blog Pieces of the Past and was kind enough to let me use this one.
3. Check All Things in Daylight (ESPECIALLY before gluing) - Since I have a day job I often don't get to artsy things until the evenings - and these days it still gets dark early. Funny how the colours and shapes you put together late at night that you thought were SO brilliant don't stand up to the harsh reality of the sun. What I thought was a rich gold turned out to be a real pee yellow the next morning (seriously). 
Card 3 - A Merry Frolic
I have several pictures of dancing couples from a friend who was on Flickr. This one always makes me laugh – don’t you love their Roller Skates! I think this is my favorite. 4. Beware the Post - While I would have loved to create an artist envelope to deliver these to Lenna, reality is I don't trust my Postman. Sadly a wonderful tag I recently sent over to Elizabeth at Creative Breathing never made it. That was a first for me and a hard lesson learned (especially as I thought I had done everything right). My precious pieces will be appropriately packaged and paid for to make their final destination (How much should I state for insurance purposes? $1,000 perhaps? They are vintage after all, LOL) Anywho, I am really looking forward to seeing everyone elses cards - especially the three I will be recieving some time in March! Thanks so much Lenna for doing this (and answering all my newbie questions). It really was fun! Cheers, Jewels
(For the base card, I copied actual fabric on to cardstock. Where possible, original paper (Music, Sewing Pattern) were used. Stamps and gesso were also used on different cards. Embellishments are from my "stash".)
I like sewing boxes, don't you? I like the idea of sewing boxes used through generations of women. If you are lucky enough to find one with its original contents you can find all sorts of things. The usual buttons, thimbles, needles, old thread...but also receipts, handwritten notes, old notions you would never use now - but the packaging is interesting. Well used sewing boxes can have a history. Some people have very fond memories of a relative with a handy box that was used to keep all items needed for repairing clothes, sewing on a lost button, embrodiery...that's what I remember about my Mum's box. 
I have some boxes but not many - while I love them they can take up a lot of space. I prefer the smaller kind like these when I can find them.
Some I keep old button cards in. I do the same with old cigar boxes.
My favorite (and not because it is especially spectacular) is the one that sits by my sewing machine. It was a gift from my Mum many years ago (I can't even remember when - I think it was a Christmas present). It has survived many moves and remains my "work" box (as evidenced by its contents).
While looking up sewing boxes on the Web I came across the book called Jane Austen's Sewing Box. While I have not read it (maybe one of you have) it does intrigue me. After all, women (and men) have been sewing for a very long time...I wonder what I would have found in Jane's box ? Or, for that matter, yours? Cheers, Jewels
Meanwhile, we had a wonderful time over the holidays. Family gathered for a lovely Christmas and some cool gifts (more on that later). Then it was off to our “second residence” for a much needed break.
At the beginning of the week there was lots of snow on the ground – but fortunately not too much for us to travel through (unlike other parts of the world).
While it was cloudy for the most part we did have some have some nice days.
Very pretty sunsets - these are from two different evenings.
As you can see from the Icehouse – what a difference a week makes! Temperatures were in the low 40s by the time we left!
I also had time for “art” stuff – some additions to my glue books (I think the young lady is miffed about the size of the dog).
