Christmas joy for the Queen In You!

Making gifts for others...this year I made candles,,,,



Fit for a Queen...




As well as lotions made from goat's milk and honey




Sparkling crown soaps smelling of raspberries...


Fleur de Lys soaps to scrub yourself merry...

Tucked snugly inside a frivolous flurry...



Once I started, I couldn't stop....had to try teal, my favorite color this year.



Add to the mix some lipbalm...banana or orange...
All fit for the "QUEEN IN YOU"...

Including a gorgeous two toned shoe!!








Hope to sell some of these in my etsy shop come the New Year, but for now, they will hopefully bring some smiles on Christmas day.

A friend's gifts

I love getting cards. A good friend of mine made me this gorgeous one today. I had to take time to share it, I just love it so.
Look at the inside. She always adds such detail to anything she makes.


Then she knew I love Marie Antoinette, so she made me this charm bracelet:

Just full of such lovely charms, many hand done:



Look at the details to the box it came in:

And if that wasn't enough, she made me my very own rag quilt! I told her I'm not sharing it with anyone. LOL Not even my dogs!



Pretty colorful pinks and turquoises, my favorite colors! It is so soft and she always has the freshest smelling stuff! She hangs things outside in the fresh air, and I tell you there is nothing like it!
My Christmas started early today, thanks to a friend who knows me so well.

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival."
- C. S. Lewis

Thanksgiving

Hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving!!!
I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family to share mine with, including my sweet family of doggies too!
I recently made two new cards I will share featuring this breed I love so much.
Enjoy the day!

Feeling the spirit

It's been chilly here in Maryland this week and it's got me inspired, so in between doctor appts. and daily rituals, I've been trying to do a little creating. Nothing like cold weather to make me want to play indoors!

Here are a few of my results.





Cards were made using stamps from Oxford Impressions...love the new set I got last week.




These are ATC size but I'll use them as tags, or could be used as ornaments. I have been mad into beeswax lately, and I dipped these in wax for an older look. I love how it makes the layers appear from beneath. Try it, it is so much fun to work with...but it is addictive, so watch out.





A new Cavalier bracelet to add to my website. This was easy and fun to do. I simply downsized the pictures, punched them out with a circle puncher, glued them to the bottle caps, and added glaze to seal. Used E6000 glue to attach to blank bracelet.The gold buttons are very old and I didn't clean them because I like their "oldness", but the crowns were a perfect compliment to the Cavaliers, known to be companions to Royalty.
I'm sure you've seen these bracelets before, nothing new, but a fun, quick Christmas gift to make with any designs/photos you like. What kills me is when I see similar ones in catalogs for big bucks. This cost under $10 to make, although the old buttons could enhance it's value. I have no idea what they are worth.

Happy creating!

Tick, tock

I enjoyed making this new banner today, even though it's not quite right size wise for my blog. I wasn't sure how to make it rectangular, so I just left it as it is. I still have my sweet mom with me, at 89 years young. I do feel like the clock is ticking though...and it is not easy to see her grow old. She's always been so youthful in spirit and such a positive person. But time is starting to catch up to her body, even though she is still blessed with a good mind. She mainly sits and reads all day or watches TV, but as I tell her at least she can do that much! She has a lot of pain with arthritus and her stomach, but she "lives with it" as she says.
No one can take the place of your mom and I'm so thankful she is still here with me.
Hug your mom today if you still have yours.

Winner!

Just a quick note here!
I am so happy to announce the winner of the drawing from last week's PINK DAY giveway is Pat from The Urban Chick

I will be contacting Pat soon to get her mailing address.

Thanks to all those who left comments for my little giveaway!!!

Hugs and enjoy the day!
betzie

Marie, Marie, Marie

I am another victim. I have come under Marie's spell.

Not sure how it happened. I never really cared about her before. Never studied about her in history, never read a book about her, or saw any movie.

Last year, Catherine Moore had an online call for a Fashion Theatre troupe to join together to design theatres about this infamous Queen. I signed up and wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into... I started reading about her online, at the library, and you know how it goes...things just started coming to me. I made a bulletin board about her above my craft table

and a box to hold my stash of Marie treasures and trims.


For the first time in a long time, I felt so compelled to let myself go in a project. I would feel her eyes upon me and sometimes I wondered if it were my hands or her hands at work. You can see my full slide show of my final theatre if you'd like to here.

That was the beginning of my OBSESSION.

Since then, I've made cards.


Collages....



Dolls...






Paper crowns...


Her faces haunt me...





But not in a scary way...I found her to be made of many layers, not all fluff and sweets, but a loyal and dedicated mother that loved her children first and foremost...and someone that was a victim of her times and misunderstood by many.


This year I hope to have a small Christmas tree of Marie ornaments. If I have time I will also make some for my etsy shop.





I use old laces, trims, vintage velvets, old jewels, crystals, and I add touches of beeswax to make them look older and also to add a hint of scent. Marie loved perfumes you know...




Happy Birthday Marie!!!





Thanks to Joy at Cupid's Charm for hosting this royal event!