January Dress

I have finally completed my "January Dress" for the monthly dress-up challenge offered by Margaret of Alice and Camilla blog. January is cold and snowy here in Montana so I wanted something 'quilty' yet with a few flowers to remind me that spring is on it's way! I've used vintage lace and ribbon, plus a tea-dyed paper doily for the collar and a strawflower from last year's garden! You can view the other participants dresses here as well. I'm still working on the closet to house all the creations, so I will let you know when it's done!

Magic Carpet Ride

When I saw the theme for One World One Heart was the Magic Carpet all I kept thinking of was the song Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf. It was a 'psychedelic rock' piece recorded in 1968! Wow. Check it out here... I love this song. It makes me think of peace and love. And yes, I was alive and I do remember when it played on the RADIO!

Here are the lyrics!

I like to dream yes, yes, right between my sound machine

On a cloud of sound I drift in the night

Any place it goes is right

Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here

Well, you don't know what we can find

Why don't you come with me little girl

On a magic carpet ride

You don't know what we can see

Why don't you tell your dreams to me

Fantasy will set you free

Close your eyes girl

Look inside girl

Let the sound take you away

Last night I held Aladdin's lamp

And so I wished that I could stay

Before the thing could answer me

Well, someone came and took the lamp away

I looked around, a lousy candle is all I found

Well, you don't know what we can find

Why don't you come with me little girl

On a magic carpet ride

Well, you don't kow what we can see

Why don't you tell your dreams to me

Fantasy will set you free

Close your eyes girl

Look inside girl

Let the sound take you away

So for the giveaway part!!! It's nothing very psychedelic but more shabby chic vintage...! I'm sure I will add to this collection but I have some vintage lacey pieces, a tin container, locally grown lavender, a charm pack of Moda L'Amour fabric, handmade salt dough heart ornaments, and more goodies! Hope you'll leave a comment to say hello! I will draw a winner on February 15th!

One World One Heart

I had read about One World, One Heart several weeks ago, but time has slipped away, so I don't have a photo of my giveaway until tomorrow! Hope that's ok. OWOH is a great way to meet other creative bloggers and to sign up for some really awesome giveaways from around the world! Please go to A Whimsical Bohemian blog for all the details! I am looking forward to this! Come back tomorrow to sign up for my giveaway! I will be naming a winner on February 15th so you can leave a comment on tomorrow's post!

Tiny Book Swap

I have joined a TINY book swap hosted by Julie Collings of the adventures of bluegirlxo. I have made these books before. Each page is about the size of an ATC (altered trading card). I am so excited. Photo is from Julie from a recent blogpost...! I think you can still join the swap if you are interested! Julie has instructions on her blog and you can also find instructions here and here. By the way - Julie is the author of a fantastic book I recently purchased - Pretty Little Felts. Some very yummy projects in here!

Paper Doilies

I saw this on a blog - tea-dying white paper doilies. I thought I'd try it. I soaked them in boiling water with two Lipton tea bags for about 10 minutes. I kept them mostly together. I let them dry, then separated them. I will probably iron them so they'll lay flat. Cool, huh? Not sure what I'll use them for but I like them.

Project for 2010

I am going to join Margaret of Alice and Camilla for this very fun dress project for 2010. We are going to use the pattern that Connie Govea Stuart created in the first issue of Somerset Life. I am going to create a little 'closet' for the clothes, similar to what Margaret has done! You can join us as well or check back on the blog for each month's creation!

** pictured is an image of Connie's dress from Somerset Life...

Best Buds

I really haven't posted a photo of me before because I think I'm terribly UN-photogenic... but I like this picture of me and my best bud, Karla, whom I've known for 18+ years...I believe this is one of the few pictures of us together! This is from my recent 50th (ack!) b-day party. I should probably photoshop out the green beer bottle. Don't know if it's hers or mine! I think this was taken during the dwindling hours of Saturday night... I'm not wearing make-up...I'm on the right!

My Color

I LOVE Alabama Chanin. If you are not familiar with her designs, lifestyle, etc. please check out her blog/website. I really like the look of her clothing. This dress is something I would love to wear - and it's one of my favorite colors. If I have to pick a 'color of the year' for me in 2010 - this will be it. I had a WONDERFUL birthday. Oh, my goodness. We had a house party with family and friends and I couldn't have asked for a better time. I just wish a few others could have been there!!! So ~ here's to my 50th year!!!

Check out this giveaway

Please go to Tammy's blog - The Other Side of Me - for this fantastic giveaway....

isn't this the most clever organizer?

New Year, Birthday Countdown, Etc

Well - Finally a new post for the new year! I have been busy. Well, only two days until I turn 50... we'll see what the year brings. I am very excited about being 50!! One of the 'creative' things I want to learn is embroidery. It is something I have been wanting to do for awhile... I remember way back in 1979 I actually took a college class (I was a Home Ec major at the time...) where the professor actually taught us embroidery and we were graded on our stitches! Can you imagine? Needless to say, I learned only what I had to in order to pass the class and then promptly forgot everything. So here I am again! I just purchased a new book called A Rainbow of Stitches. It has embroidery and cross-stitch patterns. Looks really interesting. I will post (soon I hope) some examples.