Quick post...

The sweet, talented Amy of Inspire Co just posted an entry on her blog regarding my bluebirds (and her very wonderful bluebirds). I just wanted to make sure everyone knows I never in a million years thought she was copying my idea. Especially because our birds are so very different in countenance and expression. Today was the first time I have seen her wonderful birds and it was through an email that she had sent to me regarding them. I am sure many other artists out there have thought of bluebirds in party hats before I did. Bluebirds are very popular in many forms right now (as they were in the 1940's)! With all the sad news we come across in the media, it's no wonder people enjoy the expression of a little cheer that comes with a bright blue friend like that!

Anyway, for the record, I believe Amy's bluebirds are lovely, and original, totally her own fantastic style and I hope she keeps making them so that I can buy one some day! ((((hugs))) everybody!

BTW- please keep leaving your thoughtful comments on the post below for the giveaway! :-)
-Jenny

The awesomeness of my mailbox... (and a giveaway)

I am so blessed! Blogland is such a wonderful wonderful place. Among the many blessings I have received since becoming a blogger is all the wonderful, creative and warm hearted people I have met via this blog. Through etsy purchases, swaps and birthday presents, my mailbox has been happily bursting at the seams with the most beautiful packages sent from all over this gorgeous country....

The lovely Scrappi Jessi was so kind as to swap moo cards with me a couple of weeks ago. Look at all the goodies she sent!!!


Speaking of goodies, run, don't walk to check out all the great vintage goodness that the super sweet Rebecca has in her Thrifty Goodness shop! I was lucky enough to score all this fantastic rick rack from her as seen below... my mind is racing with the fun projects ahead! Rebbecca also gave me the cutest birthday card. It made my day!

Another wonderful gift is from the talented Jenny of Everyday is a Holiday. They sell these gorgeous collage kits in their Etsy store. The details and the generosity of these wonderful kits is awesome. If you have always wanted to try your hand at collage, I encourage you to check out their store and get one fast!



Finally, from the kindness of her heart, wonderful wonderful Phyllis sent me these fantastic surprise . Look at the packaging!!!!

I had a really hard time stopping to take pictures... I was so excited to see what was inside!

Oh how cute!!!!


Ta-da!!!! This made me smile and laugh so much! I will always treasure this sweet gift! Thank you so much Phyllis.


All of this talent and generosity has inspired me to do another giveaway! Leave a comment and the winner will get to select a set of 8 greeting cards with the design(s) of their choice. I'll select a winner on Tuesday.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Some new stuff in the Etsy shop...

Happy Veterans' Day everyone. I want to express my gratitude and thanks to those who so bravely serve ( including their families). Being the wife of a former Marine who currently serves in the Air National Guard, I know how hard those times of separation can be. God bless and protect our brave women and men in service all over the world.

Just wanted to post a quick update to let you know what's new in the Etsy shop.

"Send a Little Cheer Bluebirds", gift packaged!

The bird ornaments were sculpted in paper clay, painted antiqued and sprinkled with glass glitter for that vintagey sparkle.



To package them for gift giving, I created little boxes out of clear recycled plastic and snuggled them inside little pink excelsior nests (also recycled). Then I taped up the boxes, added the ribbon and gift tag encouraging the giver to send a recipient's a "little cheer". Since so much of this was created using "green" materials it's something you can really feel good about gifting. :-)

Here he is again in red!

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I also decide to create some cards using photographs of my favorite sculptures...

A sweet little lovebird card. This one sold within minutes of putting it in the shop, but I will list more in a couple of days.

I love this guys expression. I may make more to sell in a package...let me know if you think that would be a good idea.



Same goes for this guy...


And these guys....



Another little card to gift to someone just to say "I Love You..."



Or happy birthday!


How about this one for an unusal anniversary or wedding card? :-)...


Stop on over the Etsy shop to see more! :-)

I'll be back on Thursday to show you what the post office blessed me with recently!

Crazy Weather and a new love....

So the photo above is probably not what you picture when someone mentions Arizona in May. But that my friends, is what we in Northern Arizona woke up to last week (and yesterday and today with hot 84 degree days in between... wild!) . There's nothing like seeing a heap of snow covering newly mature leaves on a maple tree. I am very much ready for summer at this point!

Sorry for such a long time between posts. At work we are winding down to the end of our fiscal year and it gets pretty busy as a result. I am still not sure of what will happen in our grant's future. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

I took today off and will hopefully finish up new goodies that will be available in the Etsy store on Monday.

With the lengthy work related travel I have been doing lately, I am so happy to have found a new love on the internet. Not what you are thinking :-)... A love for crafty podcasts! If you have never heard of crafty podcasts, I highly recommend the ones listed below.

Crafty Pod
Craft Sanity
Craft Cast

They cover everything from trends in crafting, crafting as a business, blogging and crafting to.... you name it. If you know of any cool crafty podcasts you'd like to share, please post a link to them in the comments section. I am addicted!

I'll be back in a few days with some awesome mail goodies! :-)

Mooooooooo!!!!

Had to show you my new little mini moo cards, hot off the press....



I am going to be using these in place of business cards and hang tags until they run out. Not sure what else folks use them for. Let me know if you have a great use for them!

I also purchased some postcards. I have been considering putting together a press kit for awhile now and thought these would work for that purpose. I think the Christmas-y type ones would make cute Christmas cards for next year. I may offer them as a set in the Etsy shop once we get closer to the holidays.

Marketing and the business end of my artistic endeavors is a true challenge for me. I have a couple of books on the subject, but I think the biggest barrier for me is lack of confidence. It took me a really long time to get the gumption for blogging. The always wonderful Jenny from Everyday is A Holiday gave me so much encouragement to start blogging, I will always be grateful to her.

So what got you started blogging? Does it come naturally to you or are you like me, staring at your keyboard and reworking your post 10 times over? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
Happy Monday and ((((hugs)))))- Jenny

Sam Strikes Again!!!!

They are back, but this time, in fancier clothes :-)! Ooooh...vintage German silver glass glitter on the Sams' buttons!!! And millinery forget-me-nots on their hats!!!!

Available in my PFATT shop...
Blog friends receive FREE Priority shipping! Please let me know that you read my blog when you place your order and I'll deduct the shipping fee.

Let's get summer started!!!

It's about time!!!

Whew!!! I have been busy. Sorry for the giveaway delay, the upside is that more commenters have a chance participate! Woohoo!

So without any further ado...... the winner is...........

Congratulations Jules! Please email me with your shipping info and your books will be on the way tommorrow!

Thanks so much to everyone who left such sweet comments. The day was wonderful! My sweet hubby took me on the back of his Vespa to a lovely little spot in the woods not far from home. He packed a yummy lunch for us... wine, cheese, bread and my favorite fruit, raspberries! Then we picked the kids up from school and headed to my favorite pizza joint for dinner here. Afterwards I spent a heavenly hour using up my Barnes and Noble gift card. I couldn't have asked for a more joyful day. Thanks so much for sharing it with me. Below is a pic of my husband with his beloved Vespa! We rode on that thing for a mile and a half on a bumpy bumpy bumpy unpaved forest road. Ouch!


And finally the very sweet and talented Shelia gave me such a kind award. Thank you so much !


The bluebird clock listed above is just one of the many creations that I have been working on these past few weeks. I hope to share more photos in a few days. In the meanwhile, you can see more new stuff here :-)