Swappy Updates!

Hello sweet friends! A while back I posted about my swap fever and I've been asked how I am coming along on them. Well...I must say, I am doing better on my swaps then I am at my 5K training! Hmm.....let's just not talk too much about that, 'kay? Will probably NOT be running it. You know, what would you rather do? Glue pretty bits and bobs and play with glitter OR would you like a nice set of shin splits with a side order of muscle ache? Yeah, me too!

ANYWAY!

Let's back to the fun stuff, shall we? You saw the beautiful box that Lisa sent me. Here is what I sent (slightly late) to Lisa:

I made the crown with pipe cleaners and cardboard! On top of the crown is a flat glass marble set into a bottle cap topped with a cross from a necklace. Adding the glitter was the best part! This is real silver glitter and it will tarnish with time which I think sets the mood so well. The box itself is a black velvet candy box that I've been saving forever. I added the little legs to it.

What I was trying to do with this box is to show the two sides of Marie Antoinette. This outside represents her public side. Rather a caged dove, wasn't she? Not highly independent or intelligent, she was quite tame, but she did become everyone's favorite scapegoat. The paper ruffle around the edges of the lid is to represent all the words written about Marie both during her life and posthumously. The tag under the crown says "Marie Antoinette, Reine de la France".

And this is the inside of the box. Inside the lid (on the left) I used this beautiful LeBrun portrait of Marie's two oldest children. So sweet! In the box itself I glued in little vignettes that I felt spoke to Marie's private side. I wasn't able to do everything that I wanted to do- in part because I ran out of time and money! I hope you can see the little labels I made that describe what I imagine she was like.

Then I put it in a box with some of the goodies for my other swaps I'm enrolled in. Nice little transition, eh? First there is the Princess and the Pea Hat (Lisa is my partner for that too!): I really love how this turned out! I used irridescent glass glitter on the flower petals and then I made a twining pea vine from silver wire that wraps around the hat. Strung in various locations on the pea vine are Austrian crystal beads that give off an opalescent shimmer. I like to imagine that the Prince commissioned this lovely hat for his oh-so-sensitive Princess as a wedding gift!Here's a close up of one of the flowers. The gorgeous paper that I used for this hat and that I used to line the Marie box all came from Dollar Tree! I think each pack has six beautiful 12" x 12" pieces of coordinating paper in it. I get so much use out these papers and I never feel guilty cutting into them! Oh, and the green beads on the edge of the hat? An eyeglass lanyard from Dollar Tree! I think of Dollar Tree as my "secret weapon"!

Also into the box went my Mermaid Pageant ATC's. Lisa is the coordinator for this event and she is going to distribute two cards to each participant. I can't wait to see what I get! It's been fun to experiment with different collage techniques and images. Also, I don't remember if I shared my watercolor/colored pencil mermaids that I made in March. You can see them at my flickr photostream.

Whew! One more! I may have shown this before. This is the fairy dotee doll that I made for Amanda. She has rose petal wings and a cashmere body! I got a lovely, lovely dotee all the way from Australia! She came yesterday and when she is rested up a bit from her long voyage, I will take some pics.

So, what's left? The dollhouse book collaborative, the fairytale princess necklace and the Birds of a Feather book collaborative. And I just signed up for a tiny swap trading little felty charms! What can I say? It's so fun! Plus, I've been trading my ATC's at flickr and I have acquired some beauties from other artists and I love them so much! Mail love, my friends! It's groooooovy!

Hugs to all!