My Owls Arrived & Are Having a Hoot-Out

These are the owls I received from the Fall Owl Swap 

in which I participated.

This one was sent from Holly Crowder at cottonpickinfun.blogspot.com. It is precious standing about 6 inches tall. He’s made from felt with a woolen scarf, a fleece cap, and a bell. He is just the cutest guy. THANK YOU HOLLY. I love him. 

Debby, from over at cozy blanket.blogspot.com and the sponsor of our little fall owl swap, sent me this adorable owl. He is sitting on a bed of twigs, and a fabric covered Ball jar lid serves as his stand. I put him on the “dream” texture by Kim Klassen because Debby is always dreaming of owls. THANK YOU, DEBBIE.

This sweet little owl was made by Judy over at 20NorthOra. I am going to hang it on my Christmas tree. It is a piece of burlap cut into the shape of an owl with fabric added for wings, buttons for eyes, and felt for the nose. It’s petite and oh, so cute. THANK YOU, JUDY.

This is a little treasure Debby sent to me...it is a necklace on a remake of a small pocket watch. I always wore necklaces and pins all the years I taught school, and I do not seem to be able to break the habit When I get up in the morning and get dressed, I still put on a necklace. DEBBY, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I LOVE IT!!!

Christmas before last I participated in a Swap for All Seasons where we made 25 decorated, small match boxes and put inside of each a tiny little gift. When I received this larger matchbox from Pam all the way over the pond in Norway, I immediately knew there was going to be something small and special inside. Sure enough there was...a baby owl, a little pillow and a precious little bed with lace on it...and they all fit into the matchbox. They are absolutely the cutest things ever...all homemade with lots of tiny stitches. THANK YOU, PAM. I love my owl baby and its little box tree house. I appreciate all the time it took you to put this together because I am a hand sewer, too. It is sososo creative. Be sure to check out Pam’s blog at Winkels Crazy Ideas.

A Jewel of a Thrifty Thursday

It is Thrifty Thursday again sponsored by Leigh over at Tales of Bloggeritaville.

Be sure to stop by her blog and check out all of the other thrifty purchases for the week. It is amazing the great buys we are all coming up with....amazing!

I am continuing to work on filling my little match boxes and have been going to flea markets and antique malls continuously.  Once again I hit the jackpot.  One of the sellers with a booth at our local AM (antique mall) was wanting to sell all of his old jewelry to make room for more.  I went through the his display case and bought every piece that would fit into one of the little boxes. They were priced as high as high as $15.00. Here are the pieces I went home with.

As you can tell, I love old jewelry, and for this purchase I only paid $12.00!
AMAZING!

My First 9 Match Boxes Are Complete...Only 16 To Go!

I have never participated in a swap before joining “A Swap for all Seasons”, so I have been treading on unknown territory.   Not having a clue as to how to begin, I just started fumbling along one box at a time.  I have finished all 25 boxes inside and out, but I do not have all of the goodies completed which go inside of each.  I didn’t want the backs of the boxes to be without embellishments so took the time to do both sides.  I painted the inside boxes and I decorated both sides of the number tags...just did not want them to flip around and not be complete on the back side.  They are typical of me at Christmas....lots of red and green with buttons and bows and more primitive and childlike than formal. I hope the 25 girls who receive them are not going to be too disappointed with my first attempt.  When I look at the ones completed by the old hands at swaps, I am really intimidated.  Vicki has kept my spirits up since the beginning and my daughter has been supportive, too. I really want to have a record of what I have done for the future so have decided to post the fronts and backs of each little box once it is complete with the goodie inside. The little trinkets unpins have come from searching endlessly at out local antique mall and flea markets. If you take lots of time and search diligently through all the cases, you can some up with some pretty neat old pieces of jewelry. As of this afternoon 9 are finished and here they are.

Box #2

Box #3

Box #4

Box #5

Box #6

Box #7

Box #8

Box #9