Sweet Treats From Distant Lands and a Call For Helping Hands...

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

~Matthew 25:40 (NIV)~

The divine Lili M. and I entered into a one on one swap based on the Valentine's Petite Inspiration Box swap that was being hosted by The Speckled Egg. I was too late to sign up for the swap and Lili saw my comment and proposed an individual swap. We got the OK from The Speckled Eggs owner, Heather, not wanting to step out of bounds since the swap was full. My box arrived and it is just beyond darling!Lili is a very good packer as it was filled to the brim with artful tokens of love. The box itself is dressed in its finest ~ vintage wallpaper, pretty ribbon, and birds! You have to see the lovely lass that accompanied the package...Just look at her darling rose petal skirt and silk heart bodice, adorable! Lili's loving hands decorated this box...Shall we peek inside? OH MY! Lili packed in a bit of spring from the Netherlands, a sweet songbird and pink blossoms ...

Remnants of red, a tiny rolled up message of amour, roses, hearts, and the number 14 all speak of traditional valentine gifts... Tokens of love: a key to ones heart, a charm of affection, a paper heart with Cupid's piercing, and bobbins of lace and trim... A clever little item all pretty in pink...A sassy little sewing kit for mending broken hearts or loose buttons...Handfuls of hearts...More sweet tweets, you can never have too many of these...Lili's hands dripped with love as she thoughtfully placed each and every item inside...Lili, thank you, I LOVE each and every petite treasure you sent! I can't wait to make a few special things with them.I also received another package in the mail from the land down under, Australia. Many of you have closely followed the tragedy in Haiti. If you were like me, your heart was deeply moved by the indelible images of mass destruction and human suffering caused by this natural disaster. Many in the blog community have come together with open hearts and hands in aiding in the relief effort. I happened across a blog post at Art At The Speed of Life that mentioned an Etsy shop Hearts for Haiti.Right now there are over 1000 handmade items listed for sale on this site donated by artists with all the proceeds save the Etsy and Paypal fees going to Doctors Without Borders relief effort. All items are being sold with seller donated shipping fees. Any purchase, whether large or small will make a difference. I purchased a lovely piece of jewelry made by vintage style accessories artist, Amanda at Femmes de Fleurs (blog) Amanda's Etsy shop.

Green is my favorite color and when I saw this carved jadeite flower mounted on a gold toned adjustable ring I fell in love with it. Not only did I purchase a gift for myself, in a small way I was able to help someone who is hurting. I have made an inquiry to find out how to donate an item for sale if you do not have an etsy shop and hope to have a response soon as to how I will need to list the donation.I urge you to follow your heart as you feel led and maybe check out the Hearts for Haiti shop, perhaps making a special Valentine gift purchase there, or, if you are an artist, perhaps you too can make an artful contribution of your own if you are able. Above all, please pray for the people of Haiti, the needs are so numerous.

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

"B"-utiful Things.....

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "B"....

I found this "B"~utiful chippy vintage marquee letter, c~1900's, at Vintage Embellishment.
It is the initial of our last name and I think it is a perfect addition to my other chippy stuff.

"B"efore I get to the "B"~utiful things I wanted to thank all of you for your "B"eautiful words in response to my last post. I am trying to embrace this new season of life with a smile on my face and ache in my heart. So many of you have reassured me that I will survive this transition. Thank you.

Sometimes my taste is questioned as far as what I perceive as "B"eautiful. Often it is the cast off chippy, faded, aged patina that draws me to an object. Old tattered "B"ooks with raggedy spines with perfectly aged pages are guaranteed a home with me, their usefulness far from over in my opinion. A snip of old lace here, an odd "B"utton there, a cast off leather dolly shoe, any of these will do. It is very rare for me to desire an object for its perfect condition, preferring the imperfect. It was the imperfect I was in search of for a future project.

I ordered this "B"lue ribbon package from "B"eth's Etsy shop, Sugar Pink Moon. "B"eth always wraps her packages so pretty! Inside the pretty packaging was a "B"ook!

This darling little old primer is perfect for a project I am planning. The images and lettering are so sweet.

I also ordered this "B"undle of envelopes from "B"eth.

You can visit "B"eth's "B"log, Gathering Dust.

I found a "B"ountiful set of vintage cabinet cards with awesome graphics on the "B"ack and sweet photos of days gone "B"y on the fronts at Petals in the Past.

I fell in love with the graphics on these.

I think this may be a sweet "B"rides photo, notice she is holding her fancy wedding shoes rather than wearing them on her feet. This chubby cheeked cherub is one adorable "B"aby!

While "B"rowsing, I found this very old embossed album, minus the pages, at Vintage Supply Co. It is a perfect shell for creating an art journal with.You can visit this shops owner, Janette, who is a fantastic mixed-media artist at her Etsy shop where she sells awesome supplies, here, or visit her blog, Carolina Artist. I have utterly fallen in love with her mixed~media "B"irds on her Janette Janson Etsy where she sells them.

I stumbled across this 1886 music "B"ook at "B"lack Sheep Yarns. It arrived wrapped so sweetly in old ledger paper!

I got a kick out of this little corner of the wrapping that says, Roaring "B"ranch, PA.

I thought it aptly described the precious cover, a "B"ranch roaring with singing "B"irds.

The "B"ack of the "B"ook is every "B"it as "B"eautiful as the front.

Sweet little Swedish "B"ook pages accompanied the package.

Lastly, I gasp at the gorgeousness of these vintage album pages! I could not "B"elieve my luck at snagging them from Mary's Etsy, Green Paper Packages.

They are adorned with "B"ranches "B"earing "B"eautiful "B"lossoms and "B"irds!

You can visit Mary's "B"log, Green Paper, and enjoy all things ephemera. You really should check out Mary's free image page!

These are just a few of the "B"~utiful things I found for my project. I am getting more and more excited about this project than anything I have ever done. I'll be sharing more about this at a later date.

In the meantime, "B"elow I have scanned a few images from my new finds for you to use in your artwork. Enjoy!(Free Image)(Free Image)(Free Image)(Free Image)(Free Image)

Tomorrow my friend, Pam, and I plan on a little raod trip stopping at several flea markets and I am hoping to find a few more things for the "B"ig project. I am so ready to eascape the pounding on the outside of my house! The dishes have about rattled out of the cupboards, the dog has barked non-stop, and consturction has hit a major snag. I hope there is a "B"it of "B"eauty "B"uilt into your day too!

"B"lessings,
Miss Sandy

Friendship, Awards, Etsy, and A Few Free Images...

"A good memory is one that can remember the day's blessings and forget about the day's troubles."(Friendship Collage)

Thank you all for your friendship and outpouring of care, concern, and prayers in regards to my last post. I have no doubt that things will right themselves as things have a habit of doing. It is that waiting period in between that is often the hardest to bear. Waiting for me is prayerful hope, the substance of things hoped for but not yet seen. I assure you I am waiting peacefully for this painful process to pass and looking for the lessons to be learned thorough this situation. Anyway, let's move on to lighter things...

It seems I have been triple blessed this past week with blog awards. I have said it before and I will say it again it is reward enough for me to have you visit. I feel very honored that you would take the time to do so. I sort of adopted an award policy after agonizing over who to pass them on to because I think you are all so deserving, I choose not to select specific bloggers to receive them hoping that the givers will not think I am rude or unsportsmanlike.

It is with deep appreciation that I thank the very sweet Terry of Lady Liberty and Queenmother Mamaw for the Premios Dardo Award, as well as Tina of Tiny Bear for the Bella Sinclare Award. Each of you ladies are so precious for thinking of me and I thank you.All that said to say that I am now adopting a new policy of borrowing a button from Vee and declaring this an award free blog. Please do not think me rude but if feels funny to accept an award and not pass it on as it was intended. I think every blog has its own reason for being award worthy. This little birdie will now perch on my sidebar and hopefully not hurt any feelings.Heavens this post is giving me anxiety! It think you think I am rude and being brought up with strict Southern manners and worrin' about what the neighbors think and all I am about to have the vapors! Somebody quick, toss me a fan and position me in front of the faintin' couch so I can go down delicately! Anyway, let's move on again...

I ordered some stuff from Beth of Gathering Dust, I think she has become my new enabler of all things paper. She likes the same kind of stuff I like and she finds so many unique things that her Etsy shop just draws me like a magnet. I ordered a couple of old books, a personal weakness, and a set of wonderful old postcards. You know you can look forward to receiving your order form Beth because she will have some sort of super clever packaging like this...I really did not even care what the contents of the first book, The Wilstach Collection Philadelphia 1893 Memorial Hall Fairmount Park, which is an art catalog of a private collection that was donated to the city. I ordered it because I was just drawn by the cover, although I will say I was quite drawn to many of the black and white depictions of famous art pieces. Love this one, please feel free to snag for personal use... The second book I ordered was an old song book, The One Hundred and One Best Songs. I am a sucker for old sheet music. The pages of this book have a perfect aged patina to them and I love the way the the paper has darkened. Each page not only has a song but a quote at the bottom of each page. Miss Jessie Page of Slater, Missouri was the owner Long, Long Ago, please feel free to snag for personal use...I love these sweet birthday wishes on the post cards.This one is my favorite, please feel free to snag for personal use...
Beth is always so sweet to tuck in a little extra treat and there was a old advertising card for a book on one side and a skyline view of NYC on the other side, sweet buttons, and cool shoe store tags! Thanks Beth for such a great place to shop! I am hoping tomorrow to meet up with a friend for a fun day of flea marketing and lots of laughter. I hope to find a few more things to use to organize and display with in my studio space. I hope each of you have a delightful week!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy