My Green Cupboard for Valentine's Day!



I'm back...I think. lol
I've missed you all! Is this winter a killer, or what? Here in MN we're so used to freezing temps and lots of snow that you would think it wouldn't be a big deal. But this is for sure the worst winter I've been through! Day after day of sub zero temps, and then the weather guy will say "Get ready, the coldest temps are yet to come!" What??? I think that this Spring will be the absolute best! It can't come soon enough!

Anyway, I finally got my Valentines decorations up.

I had vowed to never own any other type of holiday tree. Well, I finally caved. I was no match for the 50% off ($4.00) pink tinsel tree from Target after Christmas. So I now have a Valentines tree. I draped it with vintage mercury glass beads and little things that some of you have sent me!

Kim K. and I did a little putz house swap this year. Here is the house she made me! Can you believe how cute it is?  She's so talented!

This big canvas wall hanging was at JoAnne's a couple years ago for 75% off. The puppy valentine up in the corner came just yesterday from Linda Lou! 

In the front are a couple 3-D Valentines from Germany. And behind them are the adorable candy boxes that I received from Dorothy, and Marlynne. Oh, and my vintage book of cut-out Valentines that I found at an estate sale for $1.00 last summer!

This is one of my favorite vintage x-mas ornaments. It's German.

Deb sent me this wienee valentine the other day! And in the background is the candy box that Maddie made for me last year. I found the Beswick dachshund figure at the flea market a couple years ago. The frame is from Target. I know I have a couple more wiener dog valentines that blog pals have sent me. I need to get them up there too.

Chris M. made that darling hula girl shadow box for me last year.

I'm so glad I took the time to finally put some decorations up. It cheered me up and reminded me how lucky I am to have such sweet friends out there. 

XOXO- Erica 

Why Hens Really Do Rule!

I received the sweetest little package the other day. I knew it was going to be something special

as soon as I saw the return address.

Dorothy of Hen's Rule had sent it!

 Look at the cute candy box that she made for me! Well...cute is an understatement! The red ric-rac around the edge is super soft and velvety, and I love the expression on the little girl's face.

 The inside was full of treasures! I already have plans for the aqua foil trim and apple blossom petals.

You'll have to click to see this better, but this doxie card and doily were also included! Now, I'm a major hoarder of vintage cards and ephemera, but I have to say that this little card is now a favorite!

It's SO special to me!

Dorothy also has a little doxie named Ms.Wilma. If we lived close, Wellie and Wilma would surely be wienee friends! Luckily, Dorothy and I can be friends even across the miles!

Thank you so much Dorothy!  :)

Well, I did a little Valentine's Day decorating. And it was so much fun to use the things that were sent to me this year. I really didn't even need to get out my old box of things!

Puzzle valentine's from Maddie.

 

 Marlynne's red and white banner was so perfect for this! I'm going to use it for x-mas too!

Vintage valentine's from Deb (Garage Sale Gal) tucked here and there!

Wellie got a new wienee frame! LOL

Candy boxes from Marlynne and Deb. And I found a way to work a little Pyrex and some peppermint stripes in!

 Cupcake toppers and valentine's book (in background) from Maddie.

This Elephant valentine is one that I found at Annie's a few years ago and it's a favorite. It's HUGE!

OK Girls! That does it for Valentine's Day 2013! Didn't we really knock it out of the park this year? lol

How pathetic is it that tomorrow all I'm doing is going to the dentist?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Erica

and Wellie too! :)

What Miss Maddie Sent!

Yippee! We received our first ever "Wienie" Valentine!

 Wellie was sooo excited!

 Maddie of " The Thrifting Sister's " sent the most darling box ever, for my recent Valentine's Swap!

Look at all the details!

 I love the vintage lace and buttons plus sweet paper roses!

Of course she totally spoiled me with other things! I couldn't believe all the great things that she sent!

 Gourmet Chocolate Hearts, Vintage Cupcake Toppers, Mercury Glass Beads, and a Mother Goose Golden Book that I didn't have!

 The chocolate hearts came in both Milk and Dark! And see the vintage Squirrel Puzzle Valentine? There were three more to the set underneath! I'd never seen that style! So great for my collection!

 EOS lip balm and even washi tape!

 One of the best things was this large book of repro Valentines!

I HEART it so much! lol

And then this is the backside! Or it could be the front because it's decorated just as cute!

I love how she made flowers with the buttons!

Maddie you were such a great partner in this swap! I can't thank you enough for all the amazing things that you gave me!

OK, the sweetest little valentine showed up at my door the other day!

This came from Chris of (A Little Creation). Look at the thatched wood background and the palm print sides! It all fit's together so perfectly with the vintage hula girl image! Cutest ever!

Girls-If you visit Chris's page be sure to go to the bottom and FOLLOW her! She is so darn good at paper crafting...I'm hoping to pick up some techniques!  Thank You Chris!

Well I wanted to say THANK YOU to each of you that joined my

 "Valentine's Candy Box Swap"! Can you believe that there ended up being 30 of us? I thought I might get a couple takers! LOL  I hope you all had fun with it!

A few people have asked if I'll be hosting an Easter Swap. I won't be, but I hear rumors that there's going to be a great one to sign up for soon!

My next swap won't be for awhile, but here is what I'm thinking...

"VINTAGE CHRISTMAS IN JULY"!

Each girl will have a medium flat rate box to fill over the course of a couple months. So when you're out at those flea markets or estate sales and find a little ornament, bring it home and toss it in the box. Or if it's someday in May and you decide you feel like making a little Santa Tag, go for it, and toss it in the box! Cute snowman card at the thrift store for .25? Toss it in the box! :)

If you think this might be something you'd be interested in, you can say so in this post. But this is NOT THE SIGN UP for it. I won't do an official post until mid May.

Keep it in mind though! **I realize that vintage x-mas items aren't super easy to find. That's why I'm giving a few months notice. And some of your things can be handmade! You can also tuck in new x-masy crafting supplies. :)

This might be a lot smaller swap than the Valentine's one! We will see!

Thanks Girls!

Erica

What Swapping Is All About!

When I hosted my recent Valentine's Candy Box Swap, I wanted it to include non-bloggers as well. I paired Betty S. and Susan S. together, and connected them through email. The ladies' took full advantage of the opportunity to get to know each other across the miles.

 Each one sent special things. Things that had meaning, and came from the heart! Here is Susan's candy box for Betty. Isn't it picture perfect?

A vintage brooch adds a sparkly touch!

 The inside was packed with ribbons and trims!

 Who wouldn't want to receive this pretty box? Talk about fun!

 tinsel, lace, ric-rac, even tickets...

I think Betty will be all set for Valentine's crafting next year!

Betty's son Ford (who is legally blind) has an Etsy shop called GemTiques! He made Susan the garnet gemstone pendant because it's her birthstone!

 And here is the darling box that Betty sent to Susan! I must admit that I was the tiniest bit jealous of that lace bird!

What a pretty little rose tin!

 Until this swap, I never knew there were so many gorgeous vintage Valentine's Hankies!

Wouldn't they be fun to collect?

The vintage postcard with the typewriter is a special one for sure! And look at the beautiful necklace!

Betty and Susan, it was such a pleasure to have the two of you join this swap! You both did a wonderful job, and I sure hope you had fun. I hope you'll be back for another swap sometime in the future!

Friends, please visit Ford's Etsy Shop! He has such beautiful jewelry, including a sterling silver spoon rose ring that I think I need!

Erica :)

A Swap, A Trip, and A Fall: LOL

OK, first I'll tell you about the swap part! But DON'T WORRY! I haven't gone nuts, and I'm not decorating for Valentine's Day! In fact, I'm going to toss this out there for you to consider for a moment. You can say yes if you'd like, and then you can literally forget about it for about 3 weeks!

I've always wanted to do a Valentine's Swap. So here it is! In the swap you'll make only ONE piece, and receive one piece. The project is quite easy and fast, so it should be fun for all! I'll also be scanning many of my vintage Valentine's for those of you who don't collect them, and need materials for this project!

When the Valentine's candy goes half off, I buy a few boxes for this project. I throw away all of the chocolate! Ha! Just seeing if you are paying attention. The little ones are very cute, but for this SWAP we will use a larger one. I used the pink "Hersey's Pot of Gold" box this time.

 It's the 9 oz box.

I'm missing a picture! Ahhh! But basically we're going to decorate the top (and sides) of the box, and fill it with little surprises! The easiest thing to do is to flip the top upside down, and trace it onto one piece of cute scrapbook paper for your background. Use a glue stick to adhere it. Cut out copies of your valentine images, and glue them on as well. Gather your embellishments.

I used a hot glue gun to glue my crocheted edging and tinsel all around the sides of the heart box. Oh, the red tinsel was from last years 75% off x-mas stuff at Target! Maybe they'll have it again this year!

And here you have it! I chose cherries for my background paper. And in the middle I hot glued a little grouping of vintage roses and some little stems/leaves from the craft store. There are also puffy candy hearts, and Martha Stewart Valentine's stamps here and there.

For the swap we will fill our box will little treats! You all know the drill: candy, little vintage bits, valentines, buttons, lace. This is a good one to fill with crafting supplies! 

So I'll just let anyone who wants to join up, respond to this post over the next couple of weeks. And then I'll give you all more specifics when I get back from...

THE RIVIERA MAYA!!

My Mom, My Aunt Judy, and I leave on Dec.28th!

I can't tell you how much I need this! My mom surprised me with this trip when I was about halfway through the 12 weeks in my leg cast. She wanted me to have something to focus on! My mom's the best there is. :)

OK, so I talked about the SWAP, and the TRIP, now about the FALL...

So Monday night I was walking out of the post office, and I fell! Not just a little slip on the ice, but a flat out on my stomach, everything was in slow motion, I knew it was going to be really bad, kind of fall!

I felt my teeth hit the pavement. My head hit, my hands, my knees. Ahhh!

And then I realized that my foot was throbbing. The foot that I just had the cast on!!!!

I went to the E.R., and besides having dirt in my mouth, a scraped up face,  and a major headache, I hadn't chipped any teeth.

But I did break a toe!!!! So can you believe that I'm back to not being able to walk?? Stuck on the couch?

I don't know how I'm going to manage the airports and walking around Mexico. Well, I'm NOT going to walk around Mexico. I'm going to get myself to the beach, and stay there for a week!

2013 Better Be Amazing!!!  :)

Hope you all are enjoying this time before Christmas!

Erica :)

From A Valentine Swap 2011

These ATCs' were part of a swap I took part in last year.
Lisa Kettell didn't hold the swap again this year, but she's got such a cute site and blog! You'll find lots of inspiration from her works of art and cute little characters. You can find her here:

www.faerieenchantment.blogspot.com


In these Valentine Postcards I made for the swap, I used Lisa's "Pastel Charlotte Dollies Faces", vintage Dennison labels, and old water-slide off decals with ship images. The decals were so old that they cracked as I used them. I decided that it looked even better WITH the cracks though!

This is a mixed media collage painting of mine. I made several copies for the swap, and trimmed them in sequince and crepe paper ruffles.