Our Floozie Swap Is Complete...

I received the last two ornaments in our Button Floozies Ornament Swap yesterday, and they're really beautiful. 

The first one is from new friend, Renee from Washington state. Her ornament is completely hand stitched! I can see each tiny stitch executed by her own hands and you can see how much work went into it.

Her center motif is a lacy piece that I think she created on an embroidery machine. Then it was attached to her base and embellished with beautiful, vintage buttons. She even included two pairs of holiday-themed earrings!

She signed it in perfect stitches on the reverse, too, so I'll always remember who created this unique keepsake for me. Thank you, Renee. This will be a treasured ornament for years to come. I know how hard you worked on it and I will always be grateful for the work of your hands.

My second package contained surprises from my friend, Denise from Vermont. Denise and I have been friends almost since I moved to Florida and I was tickled when Laurie chose us to be swap partners!

Denise created a truly unique ornament for our tree...she hand-crocheted a garland and then spent who-knows-how-long adding vintage buttons and seashells to turn it into a truly southern tree ornament for me.  What a genius idea! (Don't miss the "Joy" pin in the picture, too. Denise knows I always sign my notes that way.)

She also crocheted a tiny stocking and added a vintage button on the front of it. I was so surprised to see what Denise had created for me, and I'm going to make a special display using the ornaments that have been sent to me over the past two years of swapping. Denise's garland will really stand out on it!

Thank you, Denise for creating such a beautiful and unique gift, tailored just for me. I think you can imagine how much I love everything, my friend.

I was so fortunate to receive the names of my four swap partners this year. Denise, Renee, DeeDee and Deb created that most unique and special ornaments to share. Perhaps I should just start planning in January for next year's swap. I think I'm going to have to consider steppin' up my game. There is so much talent in our group!

Thank you Laurie Jackson, our Button Floozies blog administrator for her hard work pulling together this swap. I'll be sending out a package next week to show my appreciation. It's really great to be a Floozie!

Ornaments From A Couple of Floozies...

Over the weekend, I received ornaments from two of my Button Floozies swap partners. DeeDee from DeeDee's Craft Spot and Debbie R. created two beautiful ornaments for me.

Debbie's ornament is a cross stitched tree on aida cloth. Then, she embellished the tree with button ornaments! The needlework was mounted on matboard and a hanger added. Isn't it sweet?

Debbie certainly put a lot of work into her ornaments. Remember, she did four ornaments like this to swap!  Thank you for your generosity, Debbie. This ornament will have a place of honor on our tree!

DeeDee and I are ol' blogging pals, and have been involved in swaps and personal gift exchanges almost since I started blogging. She really knows me and what I like. She's been saving that gorgeous woven acorn just for me - and finally had the excuse to send it along in her swap package. I almost fainted when I saw it!

As if the ornament and acorn weren't enough, she included a beautiful, handcrafted bookmark, a snowflake ornament, and a little fold-up book.

...and a bag of red, green and winter-themed buttons. Dang! Why didn't I think of that??? I did include tiny bear jars filled with Sarasota-grown honey along with my ornaments, but I should have thought to add more buttons. She really went over the top!

Thanks, DeeDee. You're too generous, my friend. Between you and Debbie, I was S.P.O.I.L.E.D. again last weekend. Thank you to both of you for your creative gifts. I'm a very grateful Floozie. (hee hee)

Button Floozie Ornament Exchange...

I'm a Button Floozie. No. Really. I've been a contributing writer to the weblog, Button Floozies for some time. It's a great place to read about all the different kinds of buttons and meet new bloggers who share this interest, too.

For the past couple of years, our administrator, Laurie has organized an ornament swap for our members. Each of us belongs to a group of five and we create ornament sets to share among our group. In my group for this swap are two old friends, Denise and DeeDee, and a couple of new friends, too - Debbie and Renee.

Our deadline to mail our hand-made ornaments is today. So, guess how I spent yesterday? Yup. Making ornaments!

I had help. Miss Ellie (my Babylock Ellisimo) was all too happy to help me create the base for my ornaments, and she stitched out her work in record time.

After she was finished, it was my turn. Sewing, stuffing, stitching, detailing with vintage buttons and making the cording for hangers all went into the creation of each ornament.

They're all finished and in the mail...right on time. I'd love to show you a picture of them, but I really have to make you use your imagination. There's a chance that one of the Floozies in my group might peek at this post, and we can't have her seeing her ornament before she opens her package, now, can we? Thank goodness for Photoshop and their special effects feature.

I'll show you the actual photo some time next week, after I'm sure the ornies have been received. Today, I'll be making the November mini quilt for our monthly QAL at Sandy's Quilt Shop. I'll be taking it with me to the shop on Saturday, but I promise to share it with you first.

Happy Friday, y'all. I hope you have a creative day, too.

Button Floozies Ornament Swap Gifts...

It's time for me to show you the gorgeous ornaments I received from my swap partners in the Button Floozies Ornament Swap.

These are the ornaments I sent out to my three partners. (Remember, I showed them to you late last month?) All three of my partners have sent theirs to me now, too. Wait til you see their gorgeous creations!

The first to arrive was this beautiful Button Ballerina from Marsha of the Oklahoma Button Society. Becky started with white pipe cleaners, added an empty thread spool for a body, crepe paper for her ballerina skirt and buttons for the head and hanger. Isn't it pretty? (Thank you, Marsha!!! You're so creative!)

Next to arrive was this beautiful ivory stocking from Becky of Rebecca Rose Designs. Her stocking is embellished with printed muslin fabric, and a paper rose and velvety leaf. Vintage buttons finish off her pretty stocking ornament. (I love it, Becky! Perfect for any decor and full of vintage lovliness! Thank you.)

Last, but not least is the gorgeous ornament I received from Deb of Deb's Vintage Soul. The base of her ornament is a wooden disc, which she covered with silver glitter. Then she added a green cameo to the center and encircled it with buttery vintage buttons. She added a sweet curly hanger to the top and sent it off to me. (Thank you, Deb! I love what you created and it will be the perfect addition to our tree!)

Finally, thank you to Laurie of Button Floozies who organized the swap. I sent an ornament off to her, too. It was a variation on my nutcracker ornament. I embroidered her nutcracker in dusty blue and all the buttons I chose were toy-themed to make it look like the toys a child might find under the tree on Christmas morning.

I really enjoyed the swap, and appreciate the hard work that Laurie and my swap partners put into the exchange. You can click on the Button Floozies link (above) to see all the ornaments that were creative by all the talented participants. I'm sending wishes for a Merry Christmas to all, and looking forward to a Floozie New Year!

They're In The Mail...

I signed up for the Button Floozies Ornament Swap this year, and had so much fun making the ornies to mail to my three swap partners.

I decided that a Nutcracker theme might be fun, so I sorted through my machine embroidery designs and chose this one. I decided to embroider them onto canvas. Three Nutcrackers in a row...

My sister, Diana recently sent me a surprise care package. She found some gorgeous, vintage, crocheted doilies and wanted to share them with me. There were two that I knew would work perfectly for this project.

They were 3" in diameter, so I cut them in half and used each half to embellish the bottom of my nutcrackers. I sewed my parts together and then started hand sewing my vintage buttons along the bottom. The little blue ones were from my contemporary stock, but the rest are old.

I made one more, but that one is a little different from these. I'm going to send it back to Diana to thank her for all the goodies she gave me.

They're all on their way to new homes today. My swap work is done here. I'll be starting my Christmas projects now, and I promise to show you what I'm working on in the coming days and weeks.

This week is going to be full of family and celebrations, so I want to remind you early that next Monday is Memory Lane Monday. As you spend time reminiscing about holidays past, perhaps you'll write about one to share with us?

Just write the post on your blog and then link back to my Memory Lane Monday post. I'll be writing mine on Sunday evening so that you'll be able to link in plenty of time. The link will be active for one week, so if Sunday or Monday is too hectic for you, you can add your story at any time prior to the end of the week. I'm looking forward to sharing mine and hope you'll join me for another stroll down Memory Lane.

Mementos Of The Day...

 

I have to write one more post about the day that Sharon and I spent together in Williamsburg, Virginia last week.

You'll remember that I made the ribbonwork heart for her, but Sharon also surprised me with gifts during our visit. (I think I got the better end of the exchange, my friend!)

 

She arrived with the most beautiful pound cake that she'd made in a bundt pan. Of course, being the good forgetful blogger I am, I neglected to take a photograph of it before Handsome and I tucked into her delicious treat. I'm only sharing this photograph to give you an idea of how scrumptious this cake looked perched on the tray that was also part of her gift.

She had covered the tray with napkins prior to placing the cake on the tray, and I soon realized that it was her way of "wrapping" the second surprise under the cake...the tray itself.

You can imagine my glee when the tray pattern was revealed. I realized that the design formed into the aluminum was embellished with acorns!!! (You did know that I adore acorns, right? I'm giggling. Of course you knew that!)

Isn't this design gorgeous? I'm not going to be able to put this tray away when I'm not using it. It's going to reside in a place of prominence once we get back home. I'll be able to look at it every day and remember the wonderful time spent with my friend, Sharon in Williamsburg.

Perhaps you're wondering about the first photograph in my post today? Well, that was another gift from Sharon. She makes these adorable little nests and turns them into pendants. She makes them with the pretty robin's egg blue bead or with pearl beads for the eggs. They're petite and perfect and I'm really looking forward to wearing mine - a lot.

She gave me two of these elegant pendants. At her suggestion, one is going to be a gift for someone special, but I can't tell you who the recipient will be because she reads my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

I was really overwhelmed by Sharon's generosity, and I will always cherish her gifts to me, and think of her friendship whenever I look at them.

Finally, Sharon showed me the stunning button bracelets she creates. They are available for sale with one or two rows of buttons, and I can attest to the fact that they're very well made. Through trial and error, she found the best supplies for bands and clasps, and they are now pure perfection.

If you're interested in purchasing a bird's nest pendant or button bracelet of your own, please contact Sharon directly through her blog. Click here to go directly to her blog and then send her an email through her contact button. (I'm sharing Sharon's creations on Button Floozies blog today, too!)

Even if you're not in the market for a new piece of jewelry, she shares many wonderful stories of her life with her corgis in Virginia. Her blog is a restful and interesting place to visit. (I love her blog look for fall, too!)

It's True. I'm A Floozie...

I was accepted as a contributor to Button Floozies blog yesterday! I'm pretty excited to be associated with this group of bloggers who all share my interest in these small items that are so fascinating in their diversity and beauty. I'm working on my first entry, and promise to let you know when I add a post there.

If you love buttons as I do, you'll enjoy visiting the Floozies, and seeing our latest creations. Handsome says I look like Scrooge McDuck in his counting house when I sit down and sort through my buttons. Now, he can just call me a "Button Floozie"!

You can click on the Floozie header photo or the blog name above to visit all of the Floozies with whom I'll be sharing button-lovin' space.

Today is the last day for you to sign up for my
Alice in Wonderland First Blog Birthday Celebration Giveaway!
You must go to THIS POST to enter.
It won't count if you leave a comment on today's post.
You have until 9 pm et today to enter.
Good luck to everyone! I wish I had a little something for each of you!

Thank you to everyone who sent good wishes for Kes. The vet liked the new x-rays today, as they showed less intrusion from the tumor than the x-rays from the weekend. She's going to show the films to a few specialists and we'll probably start with a little needle biopsy to confirm whether its benign or not. After we have that answer, we'll decide how to proceed.