Travel Swap Goodies Recieved !!!!!

I received my very first swap items yesterday. When I signed up for the swap little did I know that the best thing that I would be recieving is a NEW FRIEND! Mama Jo was assigned to be my swap partner. She and I e-mailed and shared information about ourselves and we visited one anothers blogs. We started to realize that we have a tremendous amount of things in common! The whole experience for me has been FABULOUSLY positive and most importantly FUN. So, when I drove into my driveway yesterday, I saw this BIG BOX by my front door. My heart started beating faster and euphoria set in. I brought the box in and opened it.

As I opened the box, there, lying in a cushion of styrofoam packing (which I can use to blend soft pastels, smodge paint, etc.) this beautiful RED BAG waited patiently, it was too heavy to lift out of the box as the bag's bottom started to rip. (that's ALWAYS a good sign)...

Inside was a lovely note where Jolyn explained the reasons for each gift. 1. A Cosmetic Bag and Spa Items: a. A 15x travel mirror. (We are both close in age, so she understands the eyesight going bad. I only have a 10x mirror so this is a FABULOUS gift!) b. A Sea Sponge. (Jolyn wrote about a spa treatment she had in Turkey where she was scrubbed to death. Sounds good to me! I LOVE spa treatments!) c. FABULOUS LaSource Travel Sized Grooming Lotions and Potions that also included Hydrating Cream and a 60 Sec. Treatment for Hands (which I am going to open after I finish this entry. My hands are always DRY from artsy/craftsy explorations, which are a journey in itself...) d. The book 1,000 Places To See Before You Die which I have bought for 2 people and really wanted for myself (thank you!) e. An Expandable Duffle Bag to fit into my suitcase to bring home all those kitschey treasures that Jolyn and I both seem to think are FABULOUS! e. A Lovely Journal and Box of Note Cards of Italy that I will surely use and finally (as if all this wasn't enough) f. a Gorgeous Box of Godiva Chocolates! Needless to say, Jolyn went overboard, This is just tooooo much but I will enjoy everything. Thank you my new friend, YOU ARE FABULOUS!!!
You can visit my two new friends at Go With Jo @ http://jolynm.blogspot.com/ and the FABULOUS gal that coordinated the Travel Swap According to Kelly @ http://according-to-kelly.blogspot.com/

My FABULOUS Lamp

I found this FABULOUS lamp at an antique store and HAD TO HAVE IT! I then bought a new lampshade ( I could only find a new one at the size I wanted...) and ripped off the material. I then BEADED the shade with some Christmas bead garland that I got on clearence and some other plastic beads. I am "sort of happy" with the total outcome, but I "invisioned" stringing some wonderfully FABULOUS old beads and maybe attach an old brooch onto the shade. I'm going to do that one of these days..... (((( When are they going to fix the SPELLCHECK on Blogger????!!!! I don't know if "brooch" is spelled correctly or not, I tried it so many ways, it looks like a foriegn word to me now.. Now, is "foriegn" correctly spelled?!!! ))))

Sometimes I even impress myself!

Usually when I make something", I never seem to create whatever it is as fabulously as I envision it. There is always an element that I wish I had more skill in doing, or I wish I could afford the material I ideally wanted to use, or something just didn't work like I thought. But this time, the stars seemed to be aligned! I bought this FABULOUS OLD SLIP at a thrift store, immediately I thought of an ottoman. I had a old foot stool that was in one of my daughters rooms way back when that I bought from TARGET that we were no longer using. I first covered and stapled some batting over the whole thing. Then I sewed the pillow together with some fabric I had been saving and covered it over a piece of foam that I cut into a circle the same size of the ottoman. I then sewed the slip onto the pillow's bottom edge. The whole thing sits on top of the ottoman. It doesn't budge because the batting "holds" the fabric of the pillow in place. I can't tell you how much I LOVE this piece of furniture! It has been a great conversation piece and I like to imagine who was so FABULOUS to have bought this slip in the first place...

LOVE those Friends of Mine!

I had my annual Friendship Luncheon yesterday. I used to have it during the Christmas Holidays and just couldn't fit it in last December, so we changed the date. And what's better than a Valentines celebration with girlfriends !!!

We had a gift exchange and everyone brought fantastic salads and desserts. All I do is decorate! I sure do love those gals, I have known most of them for 25 years plus and they have always "got my back" thru and thru. Thank ya Sistas in my OLD HOOD !!!!!

Carma's Nursery

Chelsea and Dusty did such an amazing job in putting together their first born's nursery. They were given the crib by fabulous friend Sandy and the changing table by fabulous sister Hilari. Dusy painted them. He did such a good job that if you touch them, you would think that the crib and changing table are brand new! I made the curtains with Dingle Balls of course!

Chelsea found baskets and empellished them to coordinate the color scheme and She painted the frames, some new and some old cast offs. (I always seem to have a stash that the girls pick through.) ((I'm getting better at not buying every frame that is super discounted just because I can see a vision of it's purpose...I think I need therapy))

anyway, back to the nursary-

OG (Grandma Burke) made the bumper pad while Chelsea covered 32 buttons with coordinating fabric that she then attached to hold the batting in place. Unfortunatly, the rails of the crib cover all but a few. (Another lesson learned)

And a look into Carma's closet. Only the 0-3 months are hung so that NO FROCK is left unworn. That would indeed be sad. GREAT Job Chelsea and Dusty! FABULOUS work on creating that cute little Carma for Glamma Fabulous to adore!!!

Carma's FABULOUS Shoes

Baby Carma is wearing her "Skull Cap-like a Cholo". Isn't She "Da Bomb"!!!

EVERY fashionalble girl need shoes, a lot of shoes to go with all her FABULOUS outfits.

The Nursery will be unvieled tomorrow...

A Tribute to Nanny Openshaw

My Husband's dear Grandmother passed away last Sunday, January 27. (She would be 97 years old next month, the same age as Pres. Hinckley) (( Our family thinks they "High Fived" when they passed thru those Golden Gates)) We attended her funeral in Missouri. Nanny was one amazing lady! She loved her family, traveling, gardening and being outside. She was an avid quilter and she gave them all to family and friends alike. She was a Woman of Service. Nanny had 10 children, 70 grandchildren, 166 great grandchildren and 35 (with 10 on the way) great great grandchildren. She was fun, vivacious and truely wonderful. Nanny was an ordinary woman who led an extrodinary life. WOW!