Finished Brooches

I finally finished these brooches.  I had wanted to play with transfer paper and have been very pleased with the results.

The images are from vintage cards and things that I own that were edited some via Picmonkey, printed off on transfer paper, ironed onto felt pieces, then stitched onto other felt pieces.  The embellishing is the fun part to me.

 The images turned out crisp and full of color.  Hopefully I'll be able to work on some ornaments soon...but you know how time gets away sometimes.  Hope you like these.

Finishing Some Projects

I have finally finished these...just today.  They can be ornaments or even look nice just sitting there.

They are such fun to make...especially getting all of that glitter everywhere....and believe me...it is everywhere.

I found the little deer and bunny at an antique mall and knew they just needed to be in a little wintry scene of some sort.  These aren't just for Christmas, of course, and can be placed on a door knob or on the corner of a cabinet all winter long.

These have been listed in my Etsy shop.  I have some other dioramas in the works, but they are not very close to being done yet.

Color in the Winter

I just love that my two cactus plants bloom in mid-January when winter has come to stay and the colors are at their bleakest.  The pops of color from these two plants are beautiful and refreshing especially when I look at them with a window just beyond revealing the white, wintry landscape.  One cactus has salmon colored blooms and the other one (below) bright, fuchsia ones. 

While doing the dishes the other day, the wide-open blooms on this reminded me of birds in flight, and I had to click a picture.  I'm so thankful for these bright spots of color during the winter months. 

A Blizzard is Coming

We really can't complain.  It IS the middle of December, and winter has to arrive sometime...and today and tonight and tomorrow is the time!  We're supposed to get up to 16".  Yikes!  It snowed a little yesterday, and it WAS pretty with big "snow globe" flakes falling coating the trees with a heavy coating of frosting snow. 

I did an Etsy treasury (thanks, Craft Cult for the widget below) to celebrate the snow coming.  Remember snow days?  Those were glorious days when school was cancelled.  There would be a dull sound outside...a muffling of all sound.  My brother and I would peak out behind the curtains to a heavy layer of snow...with perhaps more falling.  We'd listen to the radio and hear that school was cancelled.  Hooray! We got to sleep in...maybe have a hot breakfast...play outside.  No quizzes or tests that day.  What a great thing a snow day was for a kid!

Little Mitten Earrings

Just added these to my shop. 

They are little--1 inch or less in size--and are made of felt and pearly white glass beads. 

They are fun to make, and I can do custom colors if I have the materials to do so.  These could certainly be worn from now until the beginning of March around here--the snow can last that long.  Hope you like them!

Dug Out...and New Old French Stamps

Well, we are finally dug out from our winter storm here in Wisconsin. I have been here at the house for several days (weeks, it seems). Thankfully the roads are driveable now and the kids have violin lessons today...oh, and it's Dad's birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad) which means out to supper tonight...and it's mid-week prayer service tonight after supper. So, needless to say there are plenty of reasons to get out and about today. Can you tell I have a touch of cabin fever? The snow IS pretty, and it smells fresh and clean. Next month is March which means spring. The sun is almost up, and it's a beautiful (albeit frigid) day....trying to stay super positive here!

Speaking of being positive...Mom acquired a GREAT amount of old stamps recently. There are many US and many foreign in the mix. There are also many quite old ones. Some she has are just exquisite--they are like miniature works of art. She was super kind to give me these pretty, colorful, old French stamps (she knows I like French things) to "play" with (thanks, Mom). I'm not a talented paper/scrapbook/altered art person like so many of you out there and therefore haven't figured out what to do with them yet other than knowing that I really want to create with them. Inspiration will strike, I'm sure, probably at a most unusual time. Perhaps today's fresh, cold air will clear my mind and an idea germinate.

Snowflake Swap

Today is the first real snowfall of the season, and the day when the kids and I traditionally get out the clear, glistening crystal, glass, and resin snowflakes to put up on our windows (they will remain up until March sometime). I love snowflakes...they are shiny, sparkly, glittery, and beautiful in every possible way. In honor of this event, I have decided to host a swap.

Here are the rules:
1) Must sign up by midnight December 21. International participants welcome.
2) Must email me at treasuresandtea@gmail.com with the following information: Name, mailing address, email address, blog address, and whether you mind swapping internationally. I will email you back a confirmation that I have received your info.
3) Swap box must include at least one snowflake item (napkins, ornament, candle, candy, etc.) and at least one handmade item (tag, pin, charm, ornament, ATC, dishcloth, etc.). Most if not all of the colors of the items must be "snow" colors--think silver, clear, shades of white, all shades of blue, glitter, crystal.
4) Swap partners will be emailed out on January 2 for the mailing of items by January 16. (Hey, there's nothing else going on in the middle of January--might as well do a swap!).

Now, one important thing about this swap is that I will not tolerate anyone who doesn't hold up their end of the deal. The last swap I participated in was terribly disappointing. I worked hard on my swap items, sent them off to my three partners, and didn't get anything in return from any of them! Please don't sign up for this if you are not serious about participating.
I will post about specific people who don't live up to their word, so please follow through.

Now, grab the button above to spread the word, add a link to this blog post, and let's have fun. Let it snow!

P.S. Snowflake paper above compliments of vintageholidaycrafts.com

Snowflakes for the Windows!

With the onset of winter...and all of it's snowy days...I have a tradition, I guess it is now becoming, of putting up snowflakes in our windows from the beginning of winter to spring's first arrival (my kids love helping put them up). I think there are few other of God's creations more delicate, detailed, sparkly, and beautiful than the snowflake (just can't resist anything that sparkles!). You know, snow could have been black or orange or some other depressing and stressful color, but, no, God allowed snow to glisten white to brighten up the dull, brown world until the first few tender red buds and green blades are seen...and beautiful colors return once again. I've collected snowflakes for many years now--some glass and some acryllic--and love adorning our windows with them each year during these bleak months. When the sun shine makes it's way around our house and shines through these snowflakes, spectrums are scattered in each room at different times of the day with little bursts of color to brighten up our wintry days.

First Snowfall

Every branch of every tree and bush looks as if it were coated with a layer of frosting-- pure, white, thick, and sparkling. After seeing browns and grays for so many weeks, what a delight this morning to see the first snowfall of the year here in southern Wisconsin...and a beautiful snowfall too!