500TH POST/FOLLOWER GIVE AWAY SIGN UP (Edit Added)...

Please note, this give away sign up is closed.

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.

- Douglas Pagels -
Edit Added: I almost forgot to add the photos of the finished collage, scroll down to see finished project. Thanks!

When I started this blog it was to get back in touch with my artistic roots and create an online journal that was both visual and verbal. When I hit the publish button for the very first time it was with nervousness and anticipation. Ever so slowly a trickling of friends found me and some fast friendships were formed.(Gift #1, Handmade Lady Bird Shoe)

I had no idea where this journey would take me or if anyone would care to come along side me. I am, after all, an ordinary person leading an ordinary life and can that really be that interesting? I found that most people really are interested in other people, how they live, what they do, and what it is that makes them unique or special. I have found that I am embraced in a community of caring people that have touched my heart and life in a very profound way.(Gift #2, Handmade Baby Shoe)

When I was a young girl I wanted a pen pal so badly. There used to advertisements in the back of teen magazines where you would write to a pen pal. My best friend had written away for one and got the most interesting letters. I begged my mother but she was firm in not trusting who was on the other end of the letter writing and refused my pleading. I always felt I was missing out on something by not being able to connect with other people through letter writing.(Gift #3, Teeny Tiny Baby Boy Shoe)

Now all these years later, I have not only one pen pal but ever so many and my mother would probably still not approve or trust who is on the other end of the keyboard. But, you know what, I know for a fact that I would be missing out on something very wonderful and very special if I had denied myself the pleasure of pushing the publish button on that very first blog post.(Gift #4, Handmade Nature Notes Quote Journal)
I wanted you to know that you each enrich my life. Thank you for embracing me and drawing me into your wonderful community. Thank you for being my friends. I think of you often and hope to share something encouraging with you in this little slice of cyber space that is my modern form of writing to you, each dear pen pal. It is a very small way to say thank you, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart, to celebrate recently passing my 500th Post and my 500th Follower I am hosting a Give Away.
(Sorry this one is not finished yet but it will be by days end and then I will post the finished project. Who knew wedding plans would be so all consuming?)
The photos you see peppered throughout this post are the presents. I will be choosing 5 winners, each receiving one of the gifts. To sign up for the Give Away just leave a comment on this post. Anyone is welcome to enter, even my international friends. You do not have to be a follower and you do not have to have a blog. I will leave the sign up open until Thursday, February 10, 2011 and will post the winners on Friday, February 11, 2011.

Have a wonderful day!

WHAT'S ON THE WORKTABLE...

I am creatively inspired by fabric and paper of the vintage variety as well as nature. These are almost always my go to supplies. In the case of the three handmade shoes shown above, each element is represented. I have had in mind for quite some time to create special boxes with a mixture of vintage and new supplies to complete these pieces of art.
This week the worktable has been littered with handmade shoes in need of boxes.

I thought that I could purchase some ready made Paper Mache boxes and then just decorate them. I could not find any in the right sizes for the larger shoes, they were either too small or too large so I had to resort to making them from scratch. You might remember some of these shoes from past posts, they have been waiting ever so long for boxes!
I will try not to bore you to death with older art pieces but I am determined to finish up some things before I move on to something new and I have several partially finished projects nagging at me. I so want to turn over a new leaf and start seeing things to completion before jumping into the next thing. Yesterday was really frustrating for me to work on just the one box because there was so much drying time in between but I stuck to it and just need to finish the embellishment on the top of the box now that it has dried over night.

One thing I can tell you for sure, I will NOT be quitting my day job to become a shoe box maker! Measuring, cutting, fitting, assembling, and leaving enough room to add stability to my flimsy structure and then layer on the pretty parts was not an easy feat. The lids were tricky. I have two down and one more to go. Thank goodness I was able to find ready made boxes for the smaller shoes!

This past weekend I made a new Pixie Shoe using a lot of dried naturals that I collected and pressed last spring and summer...Then I assembled the box, I just loved this vintage photo of a darling little girl named Patsy Ruth age 2 years. I hand tinted the black and white photo to use as the box lid logo...I spent a good portion of my day yesterday making a box for the dancing slipper from my last post...I wanted to make the lid have a recessed scene inside. I chose a ballet dancer twirling on her toes in muslin rosettes and vintage millinery flowers...I love this vintage flocked wallpaper on the lid, I only have a little bit of this left so I use it sparingly...Today I plan on working on a box for the little brown paper toddler shoe and then move on to the ready made boxes for some baby shoes...I hope you will return next week to see the finished products because it is time for a give away! Somehow it slipped right past me that I had past 500 posts and then I noticed that it had also slipped past me that I have over 500 friends following along on my creative journey. I think that calls for a celebration!

I will post the sign up post next Friday and in case you are wondering, two of the little baby shoes and their boxes will be prizes, plus, I am adding three more items so there will be five winners in honor of my 500+ posts and 500+ friends. Thank you so very much for all the support and encouragement it truly means the world to me.

I am linking up with Debra of Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday.
I hope your weekend is a wonderful one!

P.S. Thank you so much for all the thoughtful prayers and well wishes, I am fully recovered, back up, and running.