Swap Crazy

Well, it seems to be that time of year again.

What time of year? you ask....

Swap time, of course!!

I just can't seem to help myself.

I just love doing swaps. Especially the one above.

Around this time last year is when I began blogging.

I signed up for lots of swaps!!

This one was by far, one of my favorites.

This one was super fun to do too.

Oh yeah, and One World One Heart (OWOH) is back for it's annual worldwide artist giveaway.

I've got to participate in that too.

Then I've got a soldered necklace swap through my Marie Antoinette group too.

Do you think I've got too many things going on? Nah!!

Just the right amount I'd say.

Hope you are getting involved and having lots of fun.

Happy New Year!!

I hope you achieve all of your goals, are granted all of your hearts desires, and are extremely healthy this coming decade.

xoxo

Cari

After Christmas Sale

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and are still enjoying your weekend.

Just a quick note to let you know I've placed my Christmas items on sale in my goods shop.

Check it out when you get a chance.

Have a fabulous weekend.

xoxo

Cari

Fat Book Swap Pages

I was lucky enough to join Thriftymisspriss's "Winter White" themed fat book swap.

and, here is what I received.

This page is by Kelly from inmysepiastudo. The little tag pulls out. Just adorable.

This page is by Joyce from justifiedjourney.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture but the house is on top of a fabulous satiny fabric with the most beautiful trims.

This is one of my pages. I made 3 different page styles.

Originally there were twelve of us participating but someone dropped out.

Julie Ann just contacted me to let me know that she made this lovely page. Check out her lovely blog when you get a chance.

This page is probably my favorite, I just love the Japanese baroque pearls and millinery.

Unfortunately, this one isn't labeled on the front either.

This sweet little lady is from Carrie

I don't think Carrie has a blog but she should.

You can't see them in the picture but the cutest little charms are hanging down from the left of this page.

Here is another fabulous little girl from Lynnae

The flower detail on this is wonderful, and she used a real photo (not a copy of one).

I wish I could see what the other 11 look like.

This is a ridiculously cute page by Jill

on the back of her name tag she put the definition of whimsy:

1. capricious humor, fanciful

2. an odd or playful notion

How sweet. We should all add a little bit of whimsy to our days don't you think.

This adorable little lady with the cutest crepe paper ruffle along the bottom is also unlabeled on the front.

This charming page is by our lovely hostess herself, Robin

I love how the glittered star is already tarnishing, and the fabulous sewn fabric backing.

It was so wonderful of her to host such a fun swap, especially at this time of year.

And, last but not least is this wonderful page, the picture reminds me of the Russian Tsar Peter.

This page was made Leslie from junk girl studios

Wow!!

This is probably my longest post ever.

Well, yesterday we had our annual cookie day with my mom and my niece. Totally fun and productive. Then, we all went ice skating. Wow was it cold. (Well, for California) But, geez, I realized what a wimp I am about the temperature.

Tonight:

wrapping, wrapping, wrapping,

quiche crust making for our Christmas brunch

and then we will watch "It's a Wonderful Life"

Hope all of your Holiday lists are getting shorter and that you are having fun making them shorter.

xoxo

Cari

Christmas Ornament Swap

I wanted to share what I received in another fabulous swap.

This was the 2009 Bloggers Ornament Exchange swap.

I have to think I actually swooned when I opened the package.

These are so absolutely fabulous and yummy. The pictures DO NOT do them justice.

My super duper talented partner (she sewed these!!! boy, I wish I could sew) was April from frilyyfrolic. I am so glad I was finally able to photograph them so that now I could put them on the tree. They look so beautiful.

Thank you April, sorry it took me so long to post about it.

Well, off to bake cookies and make a cookie tray for hubbies potluck at work. Then, taking the kiddos shopping so they can buy gifts for one another. When we get home, our annual Gingerbread House decorating will commence, then movies and popcorn. It's cloudy and cool here, which is about as much as we can hope for as far as Christmasy weather goes, so it's perfect.

I hope you all have a perfectly lovely Holiday type day. Try not to stress out, it's not worth it.

I'll post again before Christmas.

That'll be my Christmas miracle to all of you (3 times in less than 7 days) LOL!!!

xoxo

Cari

Sweet Little Swap

Whew!! The mad dash to finish all of the things on my list before school let out is done!!

Yeah. Now, I can breath a little, slow down, and really cherish this last week before Christmas with my kids.

I have missed posting soooooo much.

I have so many wonderful swap pictures to show you.

Here is the first one:

The wonderful Katie who has a sweet little etsy shop Smart Li'l Cookie,

contacted me and asked if I wanted to swap some of my crepe paper flowers for some of her lovely flower creations. How could I resist?!!!

Generous as she is, she included this absolutely adorable little card in with the flowers.

Check out her blog for loads of inspiration.

That's it for today, off to dine with wonderful friends and then Disneyland for a fabulous dose of Holiday Cheer then early tomorrow morning I hit the Long Beach Swap Meet (Yeah!!).

Have a wonderful Saturday! Back soon with more beautiful swap pictures.

xoxo

Cari

Happy Holiday Frenzy!!

Hi all!

Gosh, it's been too long.I am so crazy busy.

I know everyone out there is too, I just don't know how you lovely ladies post so often.Maybe that will be my New Years Resolution, then I won't be beating myself up during Christmas. I recently participated in 2 fabulous swaps and intend on showing you the lovelies I received SOON.

This picture should be o.k, to copy. I found it while searching for "copyright" free photos.

May your days be filled with gratitude even if you are doing without as much as usual this year.(that's what I'm trying to focus on this year)

xoxo

Cari

Pink Christmas

I'm feeling Pink!

O.K,

Most of the time my family is really understanding about my crafting crazes.

Some of the time they actually "get" it.

Not so much with the whole "pink Christmas" thing.

I can't seem to help myself though. I just keep creating in pink.

I have a pink and white little Christmas tree right by where I sit in the family room but, that's about it.

So, I just keep making pink things.

These are sneak peeks at some pink honeycomb Christmas ornaments I made yesterday.

I love how they turned out. I just listed them in my shop.

Then there are these little cuties. Not pure pink, some of the red hasn't faded all the way yet. But, close enough I think.

I was actually lucky enough to come across a bag of these pinkish/red shiny bright glass beads in their original packaging yesterday. Yeah!!

Don't you just love a fabulous find?

I just wish they cost 18c like the package said.

I hope that every ones Holiday Season is going wonderfully, filled with love, joy, and family.

xoxo

Cari

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a quick little post to tell all of you wonderful ladies how much I am Thankful for you. I have been so busy lately, that I have been popping by your blogs and not leaving comments. I am planning on fixing that soon. (I hope) But truly, you wonderful, creative, generous, ladies have made me feel a sense of belonging and community. I no longer feel misunderstood. Well, I still do by most but at least I know of one place where everyone gets it. That is just priceless. I hope you all have a fabulous Holiday filled with love, family, and food.

xoxo

Cari

The Big Reveal!!

O.K, I talked about it enough, now let me show you what I made...

I am of course referring to my soldering class with the famous Sally Jean Alexander (who is absolutely adorable and sweet as pie, by the way)

The class was a Christmas House Necklace class. We made 6 pieces, 4 of them were 2 sided.

Sally gave us about 40 minutes to do our artwork. Ugh!! I don't usually work that fast. It turned out to be a good thing though. I found out I work, maybe, better under pressure.

Some of the ladies that came were super organized and ready to go, I only brought 2 old magazines and a couple of sheets of images.

So, these were my first two charms, I used vintage rhinestone chain and velvet ribbon for the larger one, and a vintage pale pink sequin on ancient text for the second one.

My soldering was, well... lets just say ugh!!

These are the next two I worked on. They are super cute little glass bubbles with Holiday words I cut from magazines, the backs are dimes. Yes, 10 c pieces, dimes!!

These were really NOT easy to solder.

Here are my last two pieces, I love the decorative edge Sally showed us how to do on the smaller one. I used vintage sheet music and just cut the title off and then put it on top of seam binding ribbon and accented it with a Dresden star. My soldering is finally starting to get better.

My house, I am in love with. I am usually my biggest critic but, I love the way this turned out.

Finally, my soldering skills start really kicking in and I'm finished. Ugh. So, I quickly made another charm out of a small dominoes tile just to keep practicing. It turned out even better than the house. Yeah!! I even managed to get the jump rings on. Whew!!

I had such a fantastic time.

I met wonderful ladies who were really funny and talented.

If you ever get a chance to take one of her classes, I highly recommend it.

xoxo

Cari

Almost time!!

Here is a peek at some kits I just put in my shop.

I was super inspired by the "winter white" theme used on a recent chubby book swap I participated in. So, I put together these adorable little kits in similar color combinations as the ones I used on my pages.

Silver, creme, and pink! Yummmm!

This kit is silver, creme, and aqua. Like a frost bitten winter morning.

Last but not least, this one is pure "winter white".

P.S.

tomorrow is my soldering class in San Diego with the famous Sally Jean Alexander. I am so excited I can barely stand it. I don't even know how I'm going to sleep tonight.I sure hope I'm not so tired that I burn myself. LOL.

Have a great Thursday and a special "Thank you" to all of the veterans and their families.

xoxo

Cari

Giveaway Winner

Just a quick post to announce the winner of my "Goods" shop Anniversary Giveaway.

Congratulations Bellemere Cottage!!!

Thank you to everyone who entered and to everyone who has made my shop a success.

You all mean so much to me.

Have a fantastic weekend.

xoxo

Cari

Chunky Book Swap "Sneak Peek"

Here is a quick sneak peek at some pages I made for a "Chunky Book Swap" with the lovely Robin from Thrifty Miss Priss.

The theme is "Winter Whites"

I can't wait to see the wonderful book put together with all of the pages finally in place.I'll show you more when I get it.

P.S.

I couldn't find my cameras battery charger so I had to go out and buy a new one. Ouch!!

I did save the receipt because you know how it works. Tomorrow the other one will show up. (hopefully)

Also,

Christmas items are coming to my shops soon.

xoxo

Cari

Giveaway

Today is the 6 month anniversary of my "Goods" shop!!

Wow! Time really does fly.

So, to celebrate the occasion, I am having a GIVEAWAY.

All you have to do is go to my shop pick your favorite item and leave me a comment, between now and Thursday 11/4 at midnight, telling me what it is. The giveaway will be whatever item you picked if you are the winner.

Good Luck!!

I'll announce the winner this Friday Nov. 4

On another note, I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile. My camera is missing it's charger. Ugh!!

I didn't even get pictures of my wonderful little trick or treaters. I am so sad.

I will keep looking and hopefully be able to post again with new pictures soon.

Enjoy your extra hour today.

xoxo

Cari

More Sweet than Sinister

Just a super quick post to show you what I received in the "Sweet and Sinister" swap

hosted by the A Year of Color blog.

My swap partner was Cristina Sequino from

Sweet Pea Ink

Let me just say, she is absolutely fabulous.

So this is what I see when I open the box, in the car because I just can't wait until I get in the house. And, I make my husband sit there with me to see what sinister treats await.

O.K, He is a guy, so he says "she gave you a lunch pail?"

"YES!!!" I say, "and isn't it fabulous!!!!"

And, even though she sent me "Poison", I still think she rocks.

Check out that flower, I'm pretty sure she made it.

AMAZING

Don't you love the chenille pumpkin and the pins??

But, this item got a ton of compliments on my Halloween Party post I wanted to make sure everyone knew where I got it. You should see it in person, fabulous doesn't even begin to do it justice. There was also a fabulous garland that I didn't snatch a picture of and lots of other yummy goodness.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Cristina

My kindred spirit friend.

You totally spoiled me.

xoxo

cari

My Haunted Celebration

Hello,welcome to my

Haunted Celebration!!

part of A Fanciful Twists

A Hauntingly Magical Celebration

Ms. Witchy has invited Mr. Pumpkin over for a little Halloween feast!!

Doesn't he look handsome, top hat in hand.

I hope she doesn't have anything wicked up her sleeve.

Uh oh!! I think she's poisoned the food (again)!!

Poor Mr. Pumpkin, he wasn't quite as cunning as Ms. Witchy and he ended up her Halloween treat.

Just kidding!!

Happy Halloween!!

stop by and check out all of the other spooky bloggers that are participating,

especially our hostesses blog!! Truly enchanting!!

P.S.

I've extended my sale in my shop for the weekend,

still plenty of time to get your purchases by Halloween, and

I've changed the way I give the discounts. I discounted each item individually.

xoxo

Cari

Halloween Sale!!

HALLOWEEN SALE!!

All Halloween and or Black and White items in my jewelry store and my goods store are on sale for 15% off exclusively for blog readers and their friends.

So, spread the word....

Just leave me a comment when you make a purchase and I will refund you your 15% savings.

Sale is from now until Friday Oct. 16th at noon Pacific.

discount is taken off of merchandise only.

Then, I'm taking it all out of my stores for a craft fair I'm doing that night.

Thanks for stopping by,

xoxo

Cari

I love blogging!!

I love blogging!!

No, really!! You meet and get to know the most fabulous, giving, talented people on earth.

So many, I think maybe I'll start trying to feature amazing bloggers every once in awhile.

Today is Shelly of Snohomish, this lovely lady purchased some of my paper goodies and has incorporated them into her fabulous designs. WOW!! Boy do I feel privileged. Check out her fabulous blog and her wonderful etsy shop. It's always nice when someone likes the things you've made but it truly is an honor to be added to such amazing work.

But, she isn't just talented, she is super duper sweet to boot.

Can't get any better than that.

Check her out, tell her I think she's great.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I was in two amazing Halloween swaps and I can't wait to show you all the goodies two other equally wonderful and talented bloggers sent me. I'm shooting for Wednesday, you wont want to miss it.

xoxo

Cari

Be-lated Thank You!!

I apparently have become quite the "lucky girl". Maybe it's because I named my store and my blog luckygirlgifts. But, whatever the reason, before I started blogging I was most definitely un-lucky. Well, I have a wonderful husband, healthy children, a nice home, etc. So I am lucky that way. I mean, I've never been able to win anything.

That is until I started blogging.

Look at the latest amazing creation that I was "lucky" enough to win:

Natalea over at Kandeland created this wonderfully wicked witch.

I'm really terrible though. I received it over 2 weeks ago and haven't said Thank you yet.

Thank you Natalea, it is amazing.

Look at all of the layer on the skirt, and of course the glitter.

Fabulous.

I do feel lucky.

Pretty Inspirational Pictures

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted in awhile.

My youngest son turned 7 last Friday and we were crazy busy getting ready for his party.

We did although take a little trip.

On this "said" trip we found this beautiful and inspiring window display. I couldn't help myself, I had to take pictures. Unfortunately, all I had with me was my phone. I have never taken a picture with my phone and then downloaded it onto my computer. But, I just couldn't pass up sharing this wonderful window with you all.

Let see if anyone can guess where this beautiful display is before you get to the bottom of this post.

Well, did you guess?

Did you guess Disneyland?

If you did, you were right. That was a sweet little vignette in the New Orleans area of Disneyland near the people who do the sketches.

(These are their fronts)

On another note: I have been obsessed with collecting vintage playing cards lately. Aren't they just adorable. I love them so. But, now I have too many. So, I listed a collection that would be perfect for crafting in my store.

(These are their backs)

Hopefully I'll post again real soon.

Enjoy your week,

Happy Creating.

Cari