Happy Saint Paddy's Day!

Are YOU wearing GREEN today? That was the FIRST thing my kiddos were checking the second they got up out of bed! I remember St. Patrick's Day when I was little....going to school and making sure everyone had on some green, or else they got a pinch (and LaVonne could give a major pinch!) ;) Bummer the kids are on Spring Break this week and won't be able to "check the green" on their friends. We might have to visit Daddy's office for them to give everyone some fits about not wearing green! ;)

Hope it's a beautiful springy day where ever you are today!
Enjoy the day, and
WEAR SOME GREEN!
(or my kids will find you and give you a pinch!)

And here's a linky to Seneca Pond Crafts for a freebie:

St. Patrick's Day tags!

Please be sure to thank her for her generosity! ;)

And here's some more fun vintage green for ya...(and pink!)

Hugs!

PAPER COWGIRL MUSING....

Yee Haw!! What a fantastic weekend at the Paper Cowgirl Retreat! Tina and Cindy, you really know how to put on a fantastic artsy-craftsy kind-of-party! There really was no such thing as too much fun there.... I am soooo happy that you'll be doing it again next year! (so note that, girls~ Paper Cowgirl will be happening again sometime in June 2009! You will want to attend!) They are two of the sweetest cowgirls you'll ever meet!

As I had said in my last post, Valita picked me up Friday morning to head on down to Waxahachie to do some shoppin' before Vendor Night. And we did just that. Once there, we were off to a slow start, spending two hours in a little home decor shop... they had great selection of trims on clearance that we just couldn't pass up! (The two hours was NOT spent shopping, we had our trims picked out in a matter of 20 minutes. It was the check-out process that took sooo long!) We will know better next time...

It was about lunch time, so we decided to walk to and eat at a little pub that was quite quaint in all it's "pubbness" (?) They had some yummy deep-fried, cornbread-battered pickles! lol After lunch, we headed off to our first (and last of the day) antique store. We had a great time looking and digging, then happened upon a wonderful lady who was in to see the new jewelry treasures of one of the booths in the store.

We talked and searched for wonderful little jewels, all-the-while learning some really great tidbits on what to look for in quality vintage jewelry! Valita and I realize that we have passed up some really fantastic pieces in the past, thinking they were brand new, or almost brand new. But it's just the finish that was used at the time...;)

We checked into our hotel, then pranced off to the Little Pink Cottage where vendor night was to begin... So cute!! It's an adorable, literally pink little house made into a tea room, and was perfect for all the little wares that each vendor had. There was SO MUCH creative bliss in that tiny little cottage!

I purchased this sweet little birdy collage from Dale at Sea Dream Studio.



And this wonderful prayer collage is from Ms. Paper Cowgirl herself, Tina!



There was some wonderful little tidbits I purchased, but I have actually been efficient (ya, surprised me too), and tucked them away where they belong before I thought of a picture... and at the rate I'm going, I should have posted this over the course of two days... oh well.

And my blogger friend Nancy, was so sweet to give me these little vintage cupcake toppers and beautiful clock hands from Round Top! Thank you sweet friend.
We finally got to "hug" each other in real life, and I am ever so glad I have met her. She and her long-time friends all came and you must check out Nancy's blog and see the crazy-packed-car they came in!!!


ANOTHER blogger friend and roommie, Ms. Valita,( such a wonderful friend) gave me these goodies all wrapped up in a cute little bag with pink and aqua cowgirl boots paper topper! The little cowgirl necklace is so adorable. (The back of it is the first photo you see up top...)

She is so super sweet! And we had one rootin' tootin' time together! And I look forward to more fun with her at Silver Bella, as well as, just crafty and fun get-togethers down the road...


SATURDAY, we started out super busy with Dale in her lantern class. She is such a sweet person. She had a ton of extras for trading or adding to our lanterns...


Then we had a quick break for lunch that was catered from Two Sisters Lunchbox Cafe. Both Valita and I had Chicken Salad Sandwich with Cranberries on whole wheat bread and cute little cupcakes that were DEliCIouS!!!!! (I scooped one up before I even thought about a picture) You have got to go there, too!

Then off to Jan's banner class (and I'm not the bad little girl, really!). She had a wonderful selection of fabrics and papers in our kits.

After that, we did Joanna's class of Santa Art (the only project I actually got finished!). It was then time for a dinner break for some more antiquing. And the time went fast.... it was back to class with Sharon teaching her Face on a box class. She had our class kits in these cute little bags she painted, transferred, and such... so adorable...



What a great class this was, in that I reached outside the box (so to speak), and learned some great techniques. She was a wonderful teacher, and I think all of us were pleasantly surprised with outcome of all our boxes:

(Valita's and I's boxes)

Last class of the evening was Tina's Soldered Cowgirl Pendant. I was nervous, but Tina encouraged me to get soldering. So I did, and well... needless to say, it needs a little more work. And I still need to solder the jump ring on, then polish it up. She made up these cute little class kits in a disposable coffee cup! How cute is that?! ;)

It was an absolutely wonderful time. The Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie is a FANTASTIC little store- worth the little trip, if you get the chance. And I want to thank them, Tina and Cindy, all the teachers, and all the super-fun ladies of Paper Cowgirl! What a fantastic weekend! I can't wait to do it all over again next year! ;)

Go and check out the other blogs for more pictures... and Tina started a Flickr Group, too!

Well, I had better zip-it... This probably goes down as the longest post yet.... ;P

Yee Haw, Cowgirl Swap! ~Take One~

These are the goodies I recieved from my partner, Liz B for Tina's Cowgirl Swap. I wish I could link Liz, but she doesn't have a blog (yet) ;) ...I was so thrilled to see such a cute little "cowgirl" apron... she made it, and did a terrific job. Then she also made a little fabric needle book with vintage fabrics. Little did she know that I had made several felt ones, but had given them all away and didn't have one! She also sent the cutest little gun & holster with barbed wire lasso. So, so cute! And to top it all off, she personalized it with a lovely little blingy 'S' lapel pin! Thank you so very much, Liz! I love all my cowgirl goodies!

Three Little Chicks...

Once there were Three Little Chicks sent to me one fine spring day....

Sweet, sweet and creative Nancy, over at My Crafty Little Page... Just look at what she sent me for Vintage Indie's "I Dream of Spring Swap" ! Miss Nancy has a way of packaging everything oh so cute, don't you agree? There is so much goodness in there... the vintage Dick and Jane flashcards are soooo cool- perfect for my three cute little chicks! And the chick pick is sooooooo cute in her little vintage storybook lined pot! ( It's a bummer I don't have a close-up of it) :(
So, that is mama chick, then she sent 3 little flocked chicks (thus, my three little chicks- are ya getting the theme here?) and she even sent one of her oh-so-cute handmade button arrangements she was making for a local women's group in her community! She wrapped the wooden spool with a strip of a vintage children's storybook page, and covered the top and bottom too... even with chicks on them! And just look at the beautiful embroidered and crocheted hankie... oh I just love this!

And get this.... she loved and was inspired by the pictures of my three little snow chicks when we had our snow day in Texas back in March, that she made a little scrapbooking ensemble, a tag for each of them with their names, ALL set on vintage Dick and Jane cards with the letter of their first name! And a "Snow Day in Texas!" tag- OH it's just so creative! I love them and can't wait to use them! And to the left of those, are three little Mary Engelbreit book tags! Very springy! They say, "That's What Friends are For"... and that's exactly what she is, a new found friend! Thank you so much Nancy!
She was such a joy to shop for as my partner in the swap... she said that I was psychic or went to her house at night and made notes for what she would like- LOL She has apparently liked what I had sent her:


I just loved the little plastic teapot napkin holder... and the crocheted trivet was beautiful!

It was really fun! Go look and see the matching "sets" she ended up with!
Then check out all the group photos on Flickr.