Lovely World

in the mail

Here are the stones I received during Garden Mama's Artful Stone Swap. I posted about the stones I had covered for the swap a while back.

In order:

A rectangular stone painted with leaves from Andrea of Cider and Faun

A smooth black stone covered with green crochet from Kristin of kleas

A flat blue-gray stone painted with a delicate flower pattern from Nicole of Garden Mama

A small, palm-of-the-hand stone painted with a lovely blue egg in a nest by Angela of Peach Coglo

There was another member of our swap group, and I'm a bit worried that the stone may have gone missing in the post. I hope it will find its way here!

And speaking of lovely things finding their way to me through the mail, here is a package I received from Joanna of Little Minx (all the way from New Zealand!). I was a lucky winner of a give-away she put on. I love the little felt holly she made for the wrapping, and inside I found this sweet needlecase. You can visit her online shop as well. Thank you Joanna.

artful stone swap

I recently participated in the Artful Stone Swap hosted by the ever lovely Nicole of Garden Mama. I enjoyed this swap very much, both the making and the receiving.

I covered my stones in a coat of embroidered cotton and duponi silk.

As I began to receive the stones from my swap partners, I realized that I had neglected an integral part of the project: picking a word to accompany the stone. The words shine, peace, and potential arrived with the stones in my mailbox, along with the most lovely letters explaining why the women had chosen these words. I am now in the process of planning a second mailing to send my word.

And why did I neglect this detail? I am too busy, and I was especially busy over the last couple of weeks as I got ready for the Twist Fair. I become scattered when I am too busy, unable to absorb anything. I have begun to look at the ways I am over-scheduled with responsibilities (and my family as well). There must be a better way.

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My have listed a number of new things in my etsy shop, Lovely World Handmade.

Go and have a look, I hope you enjoy.

thoughts of stones and a birthday

Thinking about stones and how to cover them, because I am participating in Garden Mama's artful stone swap. I have some new ideas in mind.

I have been very quiet here on my blog. I think it is one of those quiet lulls that proceeds a new creative burst. We'll see.

Today is my birthday. I had a party over the weekend, and dinner out tonight. Otherwise a routine day. My daughter did cook me breakfast - scrambled eggs, toast, and tea. Sweet. My mother gave me a vintage book about houseplants, FILLED with lovely color drawings. I will share after I take some photos.

french song book

 

A very sweet French children's songbook was sent to me by Patty-Jean of Little Quiver. She sent it to me after we had participated in the Vintage Swap. I was surprised to receive such a thoughtful package weeks after the swap had ended.

Settling into a quiet Sunday evening. Some hand-sewing and PBS "Mystery." Does anyone else have a crush on Inspector Lewis's assistant James Hathaway?

today i saw

I am very happy to be included in the "Today I Saw" postcard swap. Many of you may have followed Jill Wignall's "Today I Saw" project over the past year. She made daily postcards with drawings and words describing daily sightings and mailed them to folks all over the world.

I love the idea of this as a visual diary. My card is heading off to Germany.

xMaribeth

packages

I received two packages in the mail this past week. On the same day no less! That really puts a cheer in ones spirit!

The first package is from Margie in Canada. Please check out her blog Resurrection Fern if you are not familiar with it already. She is a talented woman with a keen eye for the natural world, unafraid to take risks in her creative work. I ordered this crochet-covered stone from her etsy shop. I love the little flowers around the edge, and the touch of green. The stone is helping me to welcome spring. I felt lucky to get this stone. Margie makes them is small groups, and they sell out quickly after she posts them to her shop.

The second package came from a blog friend in the U.K., Nath of Le Petit Oiseau. She and I decided to do a swap a while back, after admiring each others blogs. Nath is a talented artist, and she makes unique dishware by applying her graphic art to the surface of repurposed vintage dishes. She also has a great eye for vintage finds, which she sells in her online shop. I enjoyed pulling all of these treats out of the box. I really like that little Polish egg cup.

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I hope your weekend is off to a lovely start. I'm promised by the weather reports that it will reach well into the 70s F today and throughout the weekend, with lots of sunshine. This is so welcomed! X Maribeth