crafty goodness abounds!!

first and foremost, i have to give a big, big, BIG thank you to cat! she emailed me for a trade probably a month ago, and i finally got off my bum and sent her a package. then monday, low and behold, the most wonderful package came for me in the mail!!! brace yourselves, lots of pictures of many, many wonderfuls to follow.

she sent me the most wonderful pieces of vintage wrapping paper that she got from her grandma, along with these tiny handmade paper boxes filled with awesome triangle buttons.

AND this box filled with wonderful bits for collage, a piece of her own collage (see the cute bird??) and a collage on the box top which has a piece of my MOST FAVORITE papersource paper ever (the one with tiny yellow and orange flowers, i bet you didnt know that cat!), and some great red hearts fabric.

AND cat being ever ahead of the trend, has high stepped christmas in july to christmas in march, with these awesome handmade flowers that she dipped in wax to give them a beautiful matte finish, this cute little snowman candle, and this great box filled with felt shapes.

AND (i know, it keeps going!!) this really great handmade snow globe that has vintage toy train pieces from her grandfather, i tried to get a photo of all the beads swirling, but i wasnt fast enough. cat also sent a wonderful letter that i read three times in a row. THANK YOU SO MUCH CAT!!! i knew everything would be great, but she just blew me away!

i accomplished some other fun crafty pursuits the last few days as well. last wednesday my friend kerry came over and we finally worked on our book binding projects. she covered a little photo album kit from papersource with that paper that i love (the tiny yellow and orange flowers) and even gave me some leftovers! i covered my 2005 datebook with some great german paper that reminds me of vintage kitchen wall paper. i dont have a picture of my datebook, but i did use the same paper in a card that i sent to hillary at weewonderfuls. if you squint, you can see it here, the card on the right. it was a good experience, i had been afraid of pva and bookbinding before, but it wasnt nearly as bad as i thought. i am even planning on making a little something for an upcoming trade with myra!

friday turned out to be an unexpected crafty surprise. while having coffee before work with my friend chad, i spied a flyer for a once monthly antique/vintage sale in kc that i had never heard of. i grabbed one, to examine later at work, and stashed it in my new datebook (yay!). kansas city decided to bless us with some exceptional weather, sunny and 65. what a perfect day to leave work early and go rummaging. well thank goodness i did! look what i found!!!

a great jadeite refridgerator box. i love jadeite, and try to collect it, but i cant afford really nice pieces, but i think the little chips give it character, and certainly lower the price tag! four dollars!! in the dish is some awesome vintage trim and a lovely vintage handkerchief. i am a sucker for polkadots. i couldnt decide on the paiseley (?) paint smock, but i had such a nice worn feel to it that i think i am going to try to convert it to a wrap skirt. on the left is a vintage baby crib sheet, which will work great for the the growing list of baby gifts i have. look at the little bears up close. they are so sweet!

saturday flew by, the highlight being that they finally got in another sheet of that great paper with the tiny flowers. i know this is the third time i have mentioned it, but i do love it. so i wrapped it up and brought it home with me. sunday was absolutely gorgeous, sunny and low 70s. we relaxed out at my parents house and celebrated my brother josh'es birthday. he turned 25 on the seventh. any of you ladies looking for a single, tattooed, mildly confused, but shy and loving young man? im sure my brother really appreciates his older sister pimping him out in cyberspace. oh well. what he doesnt know wont hurt him.

lets see what else? i know this is turning into a really long post, but it has been a while. i have been really busy at my full time job. maaaaasive report to get out before fieldwork season starts. that is a whole other post in and of itself. bleh... lets just say im not really looking forward to two months in bfe arkansas... not to mention being away from david and the little huffsters... but im not going to end this post on a sad note. no sir, no how. as a matter of fact, im going to get my butt in the basement and make something. how you like them apples, arkansas???