simplesparrow

Pretty things from my cobweb-y mailbox

Egad! My mailbox collects an abundance of cobwebs! Luckily, I never actually see any 'residents'. Especially since I live in the land of Black Widows. I'm kind of embarrassed wondering what the postman might be thinking. Sorry Mr. P., the spiders think it's the best place in town I guess.

From time to time the spider condo does produce some special things, like this:

my order from Les' Bon Ribbon. I could easily become a ribbon hoarder, never using it and just keeping it around for good looks. This will get used though, the practical side in me can get sort of dominant.

And this little pile of goodness came from Lori at Blossom Sundries . She has a little  shop where you can by her heavenly handmade soaps and other hand crafted items. I couldn't resist the froggy coin purse! If I remember right, the fabric is vintage from her mom, who made Lori some clothing out of it when she was a child. I also bought a bar of Oatmeal soap and Lori was so sweet to throw in a few more wonderful soap samples. Thanks Lori!

Look at these pretty note cards:

These were made by Jill Lauck. Jill bought one of my wedding quilt cards and asked if she could send me some of the cards that she makes. Of course, and look how many she sent! They are all so pretty. The silver dandelions (?) is my favorite. You can find Jill's cards at Parcel , a very cute shop I have not yet had the time to explore. Jill doesn't have a blog yet, but she is giving it some serious thought. Thanks so much Jill!

Hoping all the great dads out there had a super Father's Day. Mark and I were going to go out to eat last night and we ended up doing the grocery shopping--the grocery shopping!  How boring are we?

Kindness in a Box

I am truly honored to be a receiver of one of these precious gems. I was not totally surprised, because like me, Alicia confesses to not being very good at keeping secrets! One of the photos she posted on her blog just happened to be the one she was sending to me. When I clicked to enlarge the picture, I saw my name!! My heart skipped a beat and I got a lump in my throat, I was so touched.

The colors she chose for me are absolutely perfect. Every detail is something to gush over, and that is exactly what I have been doing since it arrived. Thank you so very much sweet Alicia. I will treasure it always!

Before I run to get ready for Nathan's 15th birthday party, here is a peek at something I got to get started on today.  Hopefully I'll get to show you the finished product very soon!

People are just nice

The blogging community is full of people who are just so nice. Look what I got in the mail yesterday from my friend Kristy in the UK. A darling cupcake pincushion (don't you just love the ruffly icing?) Her tiny stitches are so perfect! She also sent a scented candle (forgot to stick that in the photo) some gorgeous old buttons; the white ones remind me of something yummy to eat! Love the little owls and those jumbo sized ones..fabulous. The fabric they all sit on is a vintage Austrian cotton embroidered in brown, I'm so IN LOVE with it. Thank you dear Kristy, you brought a huge smile to my face :)

And let me take a moment to mention a few other nice people...like Patricia who sent me a whole pile of fabric button parts because she saw that I was making those; like Manda who set aside this beautiful pillow  and other gifts for me just because; like Blair who surprised me with this  lovely flower pin because I took part in her 'computer free friday'; like Vicki , who sent me a box of her very own ornaments when she had read that I lost all of ours in a move several years ago; like Eireann , who sent me the gorgeous kimono fabric and more to make these buttons ; and like Dixie , who sent me a surprise for my birthday last year. These were not prearranged swaps, (which i might add are terrific and always so generous) it was just because. Just because they are all so nice. Thank you from the bottom of my heart*

Mini-swap!

When Molly came up with the idea for a mini-swap that involved our kids, I knew it would be a winner! How fun for our children to get in on some of the fun that us moms have with all the swapping we do! Noah's partner was little Emily , our new friend in Northern Ireland. We got a big box-full of goodies, the most adorable thing being these:

Noah's very own apron, complete with pockets and his initial, some darling recipe cards that Emily's mommy, Maxine, made herself and a very cute matching tote. She also sent some chocolate that was delish! No photos of that, it's all gone. Among all the treats, this rubber frog was soon Noah's favorite. He L-o-v-e-s frogs! Thank you so much Maxine and Emily, xox!!

For our part I'll let you peek at Maxine's  blog, but I will show one little thing I made for Emily....

A small felt bunny with changeable skirts and a matching blanket and pillow. This was a hand-me-down and handmade swap, so I was so happy when the box behind the bunny coordinated perfectly with the colors I chose. That wasn't planned! The box was filled with soaps at one time and was a birthday gift to me a couple of years ago. It made the best bed/storage for the pink rabbit, yay! Thank you Molly for a very fun time :)

Oh the joy!

So many of you have said it, and I certainly have too...and that is this blogging community is so incredibly GENEROUS with their time and talents. I received 2 beautiful packages, one from Manda and the other from Autum , both of whom are some of the sweetest people I've met. Manda sent me the gorgeous pillow you see above. I LOVE this pillow, really, I want to sleep with it and take it with me on my errands and make sure it's comfortable where-ever it sits :) I saw just a small corner of it a while ago in a photo on her blog and I commented on how lovely it was. Little did I know she had already planned to give it to me as a gift. sniff, sniff. She sent some very fun extras along too which are equally adored. Thank you Manda!! xox.

And this....

is from Autum. Oh my, oh my, oh my. I do believe this is one of the cutest bags I have ever owned. We were chatting back and forth and I mentioned that I thought denim would be cute in this style, and so she added some just for me! From a pair of her old jeans I think! Her workmanship is topnotch, as is Manda's. Both of these girls CAN SEW!! Autum sent some fabric for buttons, adorable trim, and a handful of bright buttons. All of it wonderful!! I didn't remember to photograph the inside of the bag, but the fabric she used is now some of my favorite and there are 2 jean pockets also. Perfect. Autum, how did you attach the pockets? I can't even see a stitch line! Autum sells her bags, so if you want one scoot on over to her Etsy shop and hurry!  Thank you Autum! xox. Your package will be on the way soon!

Here is a sneak peek at my current project....I'm finally getting around to my snails!

Noah's mini swap package has arrived and it was a real thrill, posting on that soon. And my Etsy shop will be open today or tomorrow...(i hope, i hope, i hope ) Not the  grand  re-opening  I was envisioning, but hey, I dream big  and then come to my senses and it's OK.  :)

little of this, little of that

Two sweet  friends sent me little surprises I was not expecting. Blair made me this adorable flower pin as a thank you for joining her in the "no computer day" and Eireann gave me some gorgeous, vintage kimono fabric for my button endeavors. The buttons I made with it here are jumbo sized! and I love to hold them and gaze at their beauty, they feel like little jewels in my hands. They will be available in my Etsy shop along with some smaller ones from the same fabric. Thank you so much girls!

This stack of new cottons is making me happy. Filling me with all kinds of creative thoughts; (sorry, the photo is a bit over-exposed) none of which has panned out yet. I do love to stare at them and feel them and smell them (they've just been washed) and all of that nonsense helps my creative process :)

I'm also excited about this pile of thrifted wool and a stripey sweater. What wonders can come of this?

Here is a list of crafty thoughts rolling around in my mind:
(not necessarily relating to the above photo)

*tea cozies
*summer totes
*a number pillow for Noah
*cute applique snails
*stuffies...kitties,bunnies,turtles,frogs
*collage
*hand drawn, initial note-cards (I've actually made 2 of these so far, but don't want to post pics. yet ...surprises you know)
*summer skirts
*crocheted totes with spring posies

Hannah brought my attention to one of our rose bushes this morning and how the dew drops formed along the edges. She said, "Look Mom, Christmas lights!".  Well said dearie. Now this fills me with inspiration too!

G is for Ginger and Goodies too

I'm going to try to focus a little more on my life away from the computer this week, so I'm doing a real whammy of a post today...haha. You know, sometimes blogging and other computer stuff just takes up too much space in my head, more then it should, and that's when I know its time for a little break. Does that happen to you?

There is a new baby in the family, little Ginger. I made this pillow as a gift for her . It's made from chocolate brown fleece and wool felt. I just free-handed the intial G, machine sewed it on (hand stitching would have been cuter, but I was tired) and added some rosebuds and leaves. The edge has been pinked and sewn with the raw edges out on a zig-zag. ( the lighting is making the G look much brighter then it really is...)

(I'm really thankful for the camera that was given to me, but I'm already longing for something with more pixals, and one that can capture the natural light a bit better or maybe this camera just needs a better photographer!)

Here are some pouches that I made from vinyl backed fabric. I bought this to go with the tote I made my mom for Christmas. I made her an eyeglass case from it and I bought extra so I could experiment. I think the longish ones would be good for glasses, pencils or pens, scissors, crochet hooks etc... and the other size for anything that would fit and needs a little home of its own. Adding the snaps was a new experience for me. I got a little over enthusiastic with the snap tool and cracked one of the pearly ones. Oops. What will I do with all of these? Future swappers beware :)

um Otter, I'm trying to take a picture here...

Thanks buddy, that's better...

My swap package from Norway Needles arrived!!! Yay! We were wondering what was up because she sent if before Christmas. It was worth the wait. Look what she sent me:

Super cute strawberry fabric, an amazing bright floral type, some darling marble magnets, a felt flower pin that was so well made, gifties for the kids and candy!! Norwegian candy in really cute packaging. The little box that says Zoo is our favorite. She also sent some CD's of Norwegian music and Christmas music too. I really enjoyed how all her things spoke of where she lives. Thank you so much Ms. Norway!! and oh, look who I found spying covertly while I took this picture...hmmm, do you think he is eyeing the candy, or really wants some fabric?

And just as equally enjoyed, was my surprise ornaments from Vicki that I told you about and a swap package from my friend Dixie that I got a little while back. Both boxes filled with fun goodies (love that monkey soap). Dixie is expecting another sweet baby, isn't that exciting? 

Whew, that was quite a post, atleast for me. That should hold me over a for a bit I should think.  I'll be back in a few days when my head clears :)