Hold Dear

MIA and lovin' it!

Hello there! I've been a bit out of the blogging loop lately, I know, but I have just been very busy and absolutely enjoying my happy, happy life!

This past week/weekend was Art and Soul and it was the BEST EVER! It all started with a massage on Wednesday night and the fabulousness still hasn't stopped.

My head is absolutely swimming! It's really going to be hard coming back to Earth after one of the most amazing and fulfilling weekends of my life. I know that's a pretty big statement but man oh man! I got to take some awesome classes, meet and hang out with some many amazing and talented artists and do some fantastic shopping! My heart is so full of joy!

This year's Art and Soul was very happily "friend" intensive! The art was great but it really was the people aspect that made it so wonderful! I got to reconnect with people I met at last year's Art and Soul and meet all kinds of blogging and online friends. I also participated in the Art and Soul Yahoo group "Charmsters" and in addition to swapping charms, I got to meet some FABULOUS artists. Oh and then...add to this that I got to see several of the gals from Anahata's Symbolic Icons class that I took in August. I mean, WOW! It was a hug fest, I tell ya! It was all just so fulfilling and made my heart so glad.

Going to Art and Soul this past weekend really would have been enough to make this girl hap-hap-happy, but I also go to spend time with my BFF Lilli and her husband, Steve! This pretty much made this a 100% magical weekend. They arrived on Friday and left just this morning. Just so enjoyable...when we all get together, we laugh a lot. We each have our own distinct sense of humor but yet, we all get each other! You know you've found good friends when you can sit around the kitchen table for hours, with the house quiet, just talking and only getting up to refill our tea cups or to grab a few cookies! :-)

I have lots to share with you and will share details and pictures very soon! I just need to time to recooperate and try to get my craft room straightened up so I can find new homes for all my new treasures!

Crafty love to you all!!!

sweet and sinister swap!

I got my Sweet and Sinister package from Debbie last week. This is the black, white and a splash of orange swap that Kari aka Artsymama is hosting! That girl knows sure how to throw a party!!!

Before I get to that though, I just want to shout out a quick THANK YOU so much for all your sweet and thoughtful words about Miranda moving as well as commenting about the parenting skills of Glen and I. You guys brought me to tears with your generous kindness and love. Tears, I tells ya! I am SO thankful for your friendship!

Okay...so you may recall, I decided not to open Debbie's package until I got hers finished, packed and shipped! I decided I didn't want to be influenced. Well I got it finished and packed on Saturday. Here's what the top of Debbie's package looked like. I thought the black rose was the epitome of sinister. I have to give Andrea credit for this idea! I saw them at her house and thought HOW PERFECT!

I decided even though I couldn't ship the package until Monday, it would be okay to open the package. The suspense was killin' me! Here's the view of the top of it!

I eagerly opened it and this is what I saw first!

Inside were all these lovely items, so fabulously wrapped!!!

And ya just gotta know, my little black and white helper wasn't far away! :-)

Here's are some pictures of the bounty...

Poison M&M's? How VERY sinister!

My very own stuffed crow! Totally cool!!!

SO many goodies!!! I just love every bit of it! Debbie even sent me the latest issue of Marie Claire Idees, which I didn't buy for myself yet! Perfect! Debbie knows me SO well because she also sent me a cigar box stuffed with handmade tags, done up all vintage-like! SO my style! Just look at them. Impeccable!

And then this guy!!! How cute is he!? Miranda saw him and went totally nuts! Debbie sells some gorgeous things on Etsy so I'm thinkin' I'm gonna have to go mark her as a favorite so I can visit her often! :-)

SOOOOOOOO cute!!!

Debbie also sent me a glorious assortment of ribbons and feathers. Somehow that didn't get photographed. I realized it's because I've been using it already!!! Whoops! A bit happy with that one? Oh yeah! I'll get ya a picture before it's all gone!

Thank you thank you SO much Debbie! For ALL the fun! Great stuff! As I was opening each item, I kept thinking to myself..."She's GOOD!!!" I really appreciate all your efforts and I just adore all the handmade items! Thank you! I'm so happy you were my swap partner!!! :-)