12 Days of Xmas

Penelope Harris was responsible for gift #13 for group 1 and she created these wonderful fabric books for each of the ladies. The books were made from swatches from fabric sample books.

Each page is something special-acetone transfers, hand embroidery, a poem she wrote.

Rubber stamping, little pockets...

The theme of the book was nature and was just so thoughtful and tactile.

Labels: 2007, gift 13

Kelly Snelling made each of the ladies in group 1 this pendant made from a photo she took of a statue of Jesus.

She placed the photo under thick faceted glass and then created the bezel from polymer clay.

She made twisted wire jump rings, hammered clasps and frames for ceramic beads and added semi-precious gemstones along with her handmade clay bird beads on a leather cord.

Here is a close up of some of the detailing on the back.

As you can see, each necklace is a little bit different. Some of the stones used were faceted chalcedony, amazonite, pearls, jade, dark blue tiger's eye, mother-of-pearl, and quartz.

Crystal Neubauer created this lovely little bird pendant for each of the ladies in group 2. It hangs from a leather cord. The brass bezel has been antiqued on the reverse and the collage has fragments of old script. What a treasure!

There are 2 more gift to post-lucky #13, which I will share later this morning. Stay tuned!

Labels: 2007, day 12

Erika Tysse created beautiful personalized stationary sets for each of the ladies in group 1.

Each lady had their monogram on their stationary, which Erika did by gocco printing and hand stamping, making them all wonderfully unique. What a treat!

Deb Trotter created these wonderful circle books for the girls in group 2. She researched everyone of the ladies and created a piece of art, along with a poem depicting each artist.

Deb then colour copied each of the pages to make one for each artist, giving them the original of their page in their own book.

This is the original page Deb made for me. She just did a ton of work and this will be such a sweet keepsake of this year's exchange.

*To see all the pages in Deb's book, please visit her blog. The link is on the right.

One more day and 4 gifts left!!

Labels: 2007, day 11

Caren McNee created a beautiful handmade ornament for each of the ladies in group 1. She hand crochet little bags to hold each of them.


Inside was this amazing handpainted, folded ornie that tells the story of her life and love of South Africa. (She now lives in NZ.)

On the back it says "Come and share my world... nature, home, friends and dreams of Africa".
It can be displayed freestanding or hung from the ribbon.


Liz Smith created this wee chunky note books for the ladies in group 2.

Inside are all kinds of fun elements-tags with buttons,

old bits of sewing ephemera,

and old playing cards...I imagine Liz did each one to suit the lucky lady receiving it. Since I am a sewing ephemera junkie, that's what's decorating mine. It's just so lovely!

Two days and 6 gifts left to share!

Labels: 2007, day 10

Dawn Supina created this altered button card ornie for the ladies of group 1. It has hand dyed lace, German text, fibers and embellishments on the front.

On the back you can see the actual pearl button card it's been built on. How inventive!

Trudy Mclauchlan hand stitched this adorable embroidered lavender eye pillow for the ladies in group 2. My guess is that it was made from a vintage tea towel. It's adorable!

3 more days left!!

Labels: 2007, day 8

Arlene Travnik's gift was opened by the ladies in group 2 and inside we found this gorgeous little fabric book. The overlay is tulle and the items on the cover are captured in little pockets so they float. The stone on the front reads "A Winter's Idyll".

There are also little floating elements on the back cover. The stone on the back reads "Favourite Things".

Inside, the signatures are made from crumpled paper bags. This is a gorgeous book to fill with mementos of the season.

See you tomorrow for day 9's magic!

Labels: 2007, day 8

Ruth O'Connor gifted the ladies of group 1 with this sweet little house bookmark. Ruth lives in New Zealand where it's the middle of summer right now, so this is her imagining our winter season.

Fiona Mortimore gifted the ladies of group two with this fabulous quilted birdhouse collage. It has wonderful patchwork layers, lace and buttons, along with snippets of text.

The colours are just delicious. (The aqua matches my studio walls!) What a treat!

More magic tomorrow!

Labels: 2007, Day 7

Pilar Pollock made this amazing articulated doll for the ladies in group 2. It has an Edward Gory feel to it and she has built up beautiful layers of paint, paper and stamping for her dress. This is incredibly fun and unique!

Day 7 arrives tomorrow. See you then!

Labels: 2007, day 6

Maija Lepore made these handy magnetic boards for all the ladies in group 1. The "r" and heart are magnets. How clever!

Kristen Robinson gifted the ladies in group 2 with this gorgeous hand felted pouch. She added toile, ticking and a vintage shoe ad to the front. I love the little bird-it's *so* Kristen.

What will day 6 hold? Stay tuned to find out!

Labels: 2007, day 6

She also crafted this stand for it, using a piece of vintage sliverware. I love how the tines were manipulated to form a heart. Very creative!!

Every day is another wonderful discovery of just how talented and creative these artists are. Back tomorrow with more gifts!

Labels: 2007, day 5

Amy Huff created this playful soldered domino necklace on a leather thong for all the ladies in Group 1. Very cool!

Labels: 2007, day 3

Cece Grimes created this funky assemblage figure pendant from a vintage brass safety pin for each of the ladies in Group 2.

We all love to have artsy bling and both these gifts are fantastic!

Back with Day 3 tomorrow!

Labels: 2007, day 2

Debra Cooper made the ladies in Group 2 these hand embroidered artsy clutch purses. All the materials are vintage or recycled.

This one is Deb T's and she wanted to share the cute fabric on the inside too.

Debra made them in a variety of colours and designs. How pretty!

See you tomorrow with day 2's gifts!

Labels: day 1 2007

While I wait for one of my helper elves to get out of bed and open a gift so she can send me a pic, here's Dawn Supina's basket of goodies out in the Alberta snow. Hopefully they're back inside where it's warm while she's opening #1.

Back soon with day 1 revealed!

Labels: 2007