Lace Button Book...

I am sharing lots of photos in this post.  Last week I took some precious time to sew and create this simple Lace Button Book.  It is approximately 5" x 7" and just perfect for holding in one's hands and viewing the contents.  My friend Lori gifted me with a small box of buttons and this little lace book now contains those buttons.

My inspiration for the lace book came from this beautiful Lace Book my friend Judy of Judy's Lace Creations gifted me with a while back.  I am in love with lace and this is a precious gift.  I keep some pin brooches in this book and have shared it before.  Thank you Judy Dear.

These are the beautiful buttons Lori of Pretty Things blog sent to me.  Thank You Lori Dear.  I hope you like what I have done with them.

My lace book consists of wool felt pages and soft cotton batiste pages to give some protection between the buttoned pages.  This front flap has a pocket in which I inserted Lori's fun business card.  Then I merely hand stitched buttons on the pages.  Patriotic Red, White and Blue here.

I chose coordinating colors and then placed them in pleasing groupings.  This is the "centerfold" and I realize I should have inserted a batiste page here.  I can still add it after I post this.

Another page of beautiful buttons.  There is something about buttons that I just love and always have since I was a very little girl and got to play in my Grandma's button cart.  She had lots of buttons she kept in a little wooden cart her son (my uncle) hand made for her.  I would let all those glorious buttons just spill from my little hands.  I still like to do that when I go to a fabric store and they have a bin of buttons (or beads).

Here is the back page and flap of the book.  I added another lace pocket here with a tag that I wrote to tell the story of how I came by these buttons.  Who knows when or how this little book will carry on after I have enjoyed it.  I can only hope someone who loves buttons as much as I do gets to be its caretaker.

One more photo of the front and spine which I added lots of smaller buttons on to.  Thank you Lori Dear.  I hope you know how happy your gift of kindness has made me.  A simple small gesture really can make such a huge difference in someone's life.  What are you sharing that gives a smile to someone else?  Random Acts of Kindness really do make a world of difference.
We had some more rain and now the sun is shining.  Looks like we will have a week of beautiful weather.  There are daffodils blooming and just a bit lower in elevation there are so many gorgeous trees blooming all in white or soft pink.  Our short freeway actually has daffodils planted along its edges and the yellow blossoms are quite the bright spots.  We will still get Winter and snow.  It happens every year.  For now I shall stop to smell the "roses" and enjoy all of Nature and her wonder.
I am seeing lots of Easter creations already and had to look at the calendar to realize Easter is not too far off.  What shall I create?  Hmmm...  Meanwhile I am Embracing Creative Bliss and hope you are doing all that makes you happy and feeling blessed...

Happy HeArts All...

Today is officially Valentine's Day and we celebrate Love and Hearts and spending time with family and friends.  I, however, love Hearts every day of the year.  Hearts are timeless.
My heart is happy because I received some very special cards from friends.  They took the time to create them by hand.  This postcard is from Annie of FreezeFrame blog.  I am enchanted with the Moon and have been known to spend entire nights just gazing at its beauty and telling it how much I love it.  Annie has honored me with this amazing card she created and I LOVE it.  Thank you so very much my friend. 

This is a beautiful postcard my friend Robbie created and sent to me.  Each year Robbie of Robbie's Paw Prints blog makes special Valentine postcards and then mails them to friends.  I love the shimmer and shine she achieved with this gorgeous creation.  Thank you very much dear.

This card was created by my long time pen pal Dogwood.  Even though we met through National Letter Writing Month in April years ago, we have always gifted one another throughout the year with special hand crafted goodies.  I adore everything Dogwood gifts me with.  Thank you my special pen pal friend.
 

Here is another hand crafted card my creative friend Martha sent to me.  She actually machine stitched the pieces together to give it great texture.  The image represents our friendship.  Thank you Martha Dear. 
I am so very grateful for each and every thoughtful and creative piece of HeArt gifted to me from my creative and talented friends.  Thank you.  I would show you the cards I created but forgot to take photos of them.  I have been forgetting photos a lot lately.
May everyone have Happy Hearts not only today but each and every day of the year.  Hearts are classic and make us smile.  Friends are Priceless...
We have been having early Spring weather with Sunshine and mild temps.  This past week Mr. C and I and a couple of helpers we hired gave the yard a major clean up from high winds and lots of rain and general tree foliage and limb debris.  I know we still have a lot of Winter to endure.  My daffodils are sprouting and forming blossom buds but each and every year just as they bloom the snow falls and knocks them to the ground turning them into frozen mush.
Make your Heart Happy each and every day.  Embracing Creative Bliss...

Angels & Fabric Banner...

Last Year I was making and swapping 4" x 6" Fabric Banners with A Swap For All Seasons.  This year Linda put this blog on hold as she prepares for becoming a Grandma.  However last year I was able to participate each and every month.  As an addition we were requested to create a banner for someone who was having some medical issues.  This Angel is what I created and sent along with lots of Prayers and Healing Energy. 

I also included one of my little Angel charms.  I like to make these a few at a time and then keep them handy for mailings to those in need of some Angelic Cheer.  As you can see in the mix are also some Dragonfly charms I did. 
Our weather has been Sunny and glorious.  It is still cold but somehow with the Sun shining it feels warmer than the thermometer reflects.  Thankfully San Francisco and surrounding areas had perfect weather for the Super Bowl yesterday.  We spent time with friends and ate our way through the day.  I am seeing so many wonderful Valentine projects you all are creating.  I am enjoying lots of HeArts in all shapes and styles.  Embrace every moment and do what you love... 

Rabbit Stitched Needlecase...

This is a small needle case I created for a friend who loves to knit.  Inside I put two yarn needles.  No photo of the inside before I gave it to her.  The Rabbit I embroidered with variegated thread in shades of red which is a favorite color for my friend. This was a simple and quick gift.
It was also easy to mail which is becoming more of a challenge these days with the increased cost of postage.  I was mailing a Christmas card to the Netherlands and I had put the required International postage and the extra for hand cancelling.  I took it to my local post office to confirm I had plenty of postage for this simple card that was standard size.  The postal clerk said, "No!"  This won't fit through my slot and it has to go as a parcel.  The cost would be $13.30!  I said, "NO!!"  How very disappointing.  A simple, regular sized Christmas Card.  I support my post office with weekly mailings and I spend way too much on postage as it is.  This may kill my participation in snail mailing.  So Sad!!!
We got our 5 inches of rain.  We also got a dusting of snow after a wild night of rain, hail, wind, lightening and thunder.  It is now much colder than it has been.  Our poor heater is working overtime and it looks as if we will go through our 500 gallons of propane in record time this Winter. 
Thank you all for your well wishes for Mr. C.  We still have lots of sleepless nights with coughing but I do think he is getting better.  He actually had to cancel two events this past weekend in order to stay inside and rest.  I know he missed Go-Karting with his Lotus buddies.  I am guessing they will do it again and he will get to join them.
I'm fixing tacos for dinner tonight as they are one of Mr. C's favorites.  Where do the hours in the day run off to?  I better get busy.  What are you up to for the First of February?  I actually got to play for a bit in my room today.  I'll share soon.  Happy Hearts to You...