Hold Dear

swaps.

I wanted to share with you some pix from some marvelous swapping action over here at Casa Hold Dear -- there was a button swap I did with Elizabeth and I joined in the paper dress swap that Heather organized!

I am currently in a Circle Journal that the fab Andrea organzied - BTW Andrea is a member of the justjohanna Design Team - oh yeah! One of the gals in this group, Elizabeth, LOVES buttons as much as I do and we decided to swap some! Here is the sweet package she sent me...

Okay, the buttons are fabulous but check out the other sweety bits she sent me! That crepe paper trim? Whoa! I have NEVER seen anything like it! And those amazing baby buttons? Here's a closer view...

So fabulous! Thank you so much Elizabeth!!!

Next up I wanted to share with you the dresses I made for Heather's Vintage Paper Dress Garland. We were to make five dresses using vintage materials. I pulled out my FUN and ever growing collection of old wallpaper (does anyone else love that "old" smell?) and some old lace I bought at a "general store" on Vashon Island.

Here's the five dresses...

I made them all the same. Here's a close up...

And then here's what the backs look like. We didn't really have to decorate the back but since I'm a card carrying member of Overachievers Anonymous, I had to do something! :-)

I had fun with some doodlin' (you know I loves doodles!) and then colored them with the Caran D'Ache watersoluble crayons I bought for Anahata's class. They are SO fun!!!!

Okay, my lovelies, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!! I've got some good stuff planned...an outdoor wedding on Saturday and then on Sunday I'm going shopping with Andrea and Claudine. Eeek! Can't wait! You can bet we'll be doing our part to stimulate the economy! :-)

Cheers!

thankful.

Boy I had a nice weekend. It was a holiday weekend, the sun was shining, went to the Farmer's Market, Glen's brother Gary was in town, I got to see my Girgie and I got to go visit my Daddy's grave! So much good stuff!

Here's a brief run through of our weekend with pictures...

On our way to the airport on Saturday to pick up Gary, we stopped at the Farmer's Market to get some fresh produce and flowers.

We then went to the Willamette National Cemetery to visit the graves of my Dad, Glen's Mom, and Glen's Uncle Ed. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We last went on Mother's Day and it was almost as crowded as Memorial Day! It was so much more enjoyable being there when it quiet. It didn't feel rushed.

After this, we went to Miranda Deedles little shop to visit her and have some lunch. We had Mimosas and dessert too...

Check out that fork made from cocoa dust. How cool is that?!

When we got home, I realized our, as Miz Smoochie Lips calls it, ginormous sunflower is opening up!

Holy Flagpole, Batman! This thing has got to be 12 feet tall! Maybe our sunflower and Stephanie's Maxine should get together! :-)

On Sunday, Gary hung out with Glen's other brother and so Glen and I had the day to ourselves. I mostly did crafting, house stuff, etc. We also went for a walk and the moon was out! I had to take a picture of that!

Gary came back over last night to spend his last night with us. We had a nice dinner of pasta with sauce made fresh from our garden tomatoes. Then we watched U.S. vs. John Lennon. Pretty powerful movie. Makes me love love love John Lennon even more, which is something I didn't think was possible.

I got a fun picture of the men in my life...

L to R: Glen, Daniel, Paul and Gary. Not a great picture of Paul but since he doesn't read my blog, I think I can get away with it. :-)

Today was back to work, which wasn't too bad. I've got lots to do so the day went by pretty quick. A bright spot of my day was definitely when I got to talk with Andrea! We confirmed our shopping excursion that she and I and Claudine are planning for this coming Sunday (yee-haw!) We also discussed how it was surprising we didn't run into each at Michael's over the weekend. We both went on Sunday and yesterday to use our special Labor Day 50% off coupons! Well, today starts a 40% coupon and since I always have things I need/want, I thought I'd pop into Michael's and lo and behond who did I find???? Andrea and her incredibly cute and charming son, Alex! How fun!

Okay so can I share with you ONE LAST THING? I know, I know...this has been a LONG post and I do thank you for your indulgence but this last item can't wait even one more day!

I know it's going to be a great week because after such a wonderful, marvelous weekend, you wanna know how it started?

Yep. I'm going to ArtFest in 2008! I mailed off my registration and deposit so it's official! I am SO thankful I get to go to this!!! More coolness...my roommate is going to be the one, the only, the incredible Lilli! This is just going to be SO incredibly fabulous!

So who else is going?!?!?

Okay, time to go...I did get a couple of fun things in the mail recently but I'll save those for my next post!

I'm gonna go round up some pop bottles so I can start saving up to pay off that ArtFest balance! :-)

happiness in blogland.

Man, oh man. I sure love blogging. SO much fun to be had and there are so many wonderful, cool people out there.

First, there's Heather aka Jeweled Elegance. SUCH a sweetness! AND she is hosting a Paper Dress Swap!!!!

The requirements are minimal and it looks to be fun fun fun! I hope you'll join in!!! I'm participating! I'm also participating in Heather aka Speckled Egg's Vintage Dress Garland swap but I didn't want to miss Heather's! Here's a swingin' little number that this swap's dressess will be modeled after.

Pretty snazzy party dress, eh? :-)

I also am SO enjoying my bloggy friendship with Emilia. And please join me in congratulating her on a very well-deserved promotion! She was just named CEO of Emilia's Craftiness! She says there's just a staff of one and the pay isn't much (other than our priceless friendship ((wink!)) but none the less, she deserving of this high esteem and she blogged about it and the little giftie I sent her to go with this fine promotion!

And then last night, I FINALLY got to meet the fab Amy who owns Poppy and Ivy, an absolutely wonderful shop. Poppy and Ivy is just SO sweet! Great vintage-inspired gifts and doodads and lots of 'em! I ALWAYS find lots I can't live without in her shop!!! I'd been in a couple of times but never when Amy was there. When I walked in, Amy recognized Heidi and I right away and was SO welcoming. I just loved being in that shop! So here's my treats from Poppy and Ivy...

After Poppy and Ivy, Heidi and I walked across the street (how convenient is that?!) to collage. Another great, great shop. Just jam-packed with the BEST scrapbooking, collage, and art supplies. My head just about blew off my neck when I saw that she now carries....drumroll please....Jenni Bowlin supplies!! I just couldn't grab this stuff fast enough! I subscribe to Jenni's kits because I just LOVE her style (office supply-y kind of stuff) so this was SUCH a treat to see so much of it at my fingertips.

You my notice there's a bit of a theme to these supplies...I am totally gearing up for a Round Robin that will be starting in November. It's being hosted by another sweety heart and fellow Art and Soul attendee, Elise. Her theme is "Nesting" and oooh, I just can't wait for this one to start!!! So fun and cozy!

Heidi and I bopped around to a few other shops, including an amazing shop called Hail Mary. I'll be going back there to buy something soon!!! I had to pace myself! After all that fun, we went to Miranda's shop for a bite and some drinks. It was just a marvelous, marvelous evening. Oh and on the way home, I manuvered myself so that I could stop at TWO different Goodwills and picked up a few new small treats.

Then lastly, I stopped and picked up some brownies at Safeway for Glen since he'd been such a good sport about me running around with my Heidi Ho girl.

On the agenda today, a quick trip to the Farmer's Market and then Glen's brother Gary is coming into town for the weekend. We're going to go pick him up from the airport (SO CLOSE to IKEA but we can't go!) and will then go over to Willamette National Cemetary to visit my Daddy's, Glen's Mom, and Glen's Uncle's gravesites. I'm REALLY looking forward to this and I'll share some pix tomorrow. 

Okay, I best get now. Glen ran off to go to an airplane club breakfast and as he was leaving, he said, "Now don't be bloggin' all morning and then get up when you hear my car!" Sheeshh...does he think I don't do anything else except....omiGOSH...gotta go! He's ho