happy spring!

I was so happy when I saw these growing in our yard…

Aren’t they so pretty?

I noticed the trees at work have begun to bud…the birds have been chirping away…and there’s a freshness in the air.

Spring is here! And welcome to a season of new beginnings!

xoDawne

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chocolate ice cream, pickles, and french toast sticks. with syrup.

new goodies!

I have new treasures to share from Artbeads – this time we were allowed to choose from anything on the website, in celebration of spring. So hard to choose! I ended up going with antiqued-brass base metal components (I’m going for an antique sort of spring!).

As soon as I saw this leaf chain I had to have it. It’s fabulous! It feels wonderful against one’s skin, and has a nice drape and weight to it. And all the little leaves make a delightful rustling sound.

Here we have a beautiful filigree flower pendant. I love how there is a hole in the center – this is perfect to add a bead for a little color. This pendant is very detailed and has a lot of dimension and interest to it. You will definitely get noticed with this around your neck!

I love this chain – it’s the coolest! It needs no further embellishment. You could put a couple of these around your neck and you’re good to go.

And finally, here is a sweet little bird nest charm. The perfect thing to welcome spring!

Disclosure: I have received these products from Artbeads free of charge. I am posting an honest review of said products and have not been paid to endorse said products.

~sweet dreams of spring!

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to taste the sweet of spring.

only five episodes of american idol to catch up on
I am soooo behind in everything it seems! Since getting back from Vegas it’s been rather difficult getting back into the swing of things. I don’t think I’ve ever gone this long without posting.

The last few days have been so lovely outside – spring is surely on her way. The snow is all melted, birds are making their way back here, the air smells fresh. I can’t wait to put away my winter coat! It seems like it’s been cold forever.

back to business
Anyway, I finished my digitally-altered book and submitted it to Artella’s contest. Click here to check it out. I’m pretty pleased with it. I think it came together really well.

I also attended an online class hosted by Marney (of Artella) and Annette, who designs many of the “papers” in the digital studio packs. The class was about making professional and polished-looking digital background papers (I guess they’re not really paper per se, but to me that’s what it is. Intangible paper.). I’m starting to realize that a lot of digital art is taking something ordinary and simple and applying different styles, layers, patterns, etc, using Photoshop (or whatever photo-editing software you prefer). So maybe this digital art thing is within my grasp. Now if I just had more time….

I’m having a lot of time issues again – feeling like I have way too much stuff to do, and hardly any time to myself. I keep going over everything I do, and I really don’t know what to cut out or change. oh well, I guess I’ll get it one of these days.

Anyway, the class was pretty cool. Annette makes such beautiful papers; I have admired her work for a while.

tactile art
I decided to scrap the mother’s day project I was working on. Once we got back from Vegas I knew there was no way I could make the March 1 deadline, and though I could certainly finish it and submit it for another deadline, I just am not feeling it. I still sent the birthday crown that I had made for my mom’s birthday (I am no longer allowed to say which birthday as I have gotten in trouble for mentioning it previously!) So we’ll see how that goes.

I have a ton of things to write about, not even counting our trip! So stay tuned for lots more rambling.

toodles~

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and there were only two ducks.

finally, spring
I noticed the trees outside the window at work are blooming pretty white flowers. I’m so thankful my desk faces the windows. Otherwise I’d be looking at a wall all day. yuck.

shipping woes
My Vintage Halloween projects are safely across the country now, in the hands of Somerset Studio. I won’t even say how much I paid for shipping. It was ridiculous and I’m not letting that happen again!

I utterly dislike packing up my work to mail. Tagging everything, finding appropriate shipping containers, packing, labeling – I hate it! A whole night spent on mailing. yuck again.

scary scary ladies
But anyway, here are my Scary Ladies Vintage Halloween gift tags.

And here are the backs:

I think they turned out well, although I do think I went a little overboard and maybe there’s too much stuff on each tag.

We’ll see if Somerset likes them!

~hopeful~

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