Sunday, March 6, 2016

Unexpected Gifts

I don't consider myself to have more luck than the next person, but I sometimes stumble upon  fortuitous occasions, for which I am always thankful. So today's post is about giving thanks for, and acknowledgment to those generous souls who offered up these recent gifts.



First of all, I must acknowledge the wonderful gifts I received in December from my PCAGOE guild mates, for our holiday swap. (yes, I'm very behind in the thanks for these lovelies, the holidays and start of the new year really ran away from me this year).  These beauties were the work of Jackie Sieben of The Pleasant Pheasant and JAE Jewelry (Gorgeous pens and seam ripper, left), Susan O'Neill of 11BOLDstreet (Funky trinket box and fabulous pendant, center) and Linda Riopel of NKDesigns (beautiful caned pendant necklace, right) Check out their work, by clicking their names to view their respective etsy shops.
(I wanted these images to appear together, so please click on the image to see them up close). Thank you again, Jackie, Susan and Linda!! I absolutely love my swap gifts!


The first of 2 surprise gifts happened last month, when I was notified that I had won a giveaway from the website, BeadingGem Journal by Pearl Blay.  Pearl partnered with one of my favorite polymer artists, Helen Breil, to give away a bunch of Helen's silkscreen designs. I was one of the lucky winners, and I had my pick of Helen's silkscreen designs! I chose the design "Cabaret". It arrived in the mail about a month ago, and I still haven't had the time to play with it, but here's a photo of the silkscreen package that I received:


I have yet to try the silkscreen technique... so I am really looking forward to a day when I can play around with this fantastic design! Helen has many other designs in both silkscreens and textures, if you're not familiar with her work, please do check out her website (which includes links to where you can purchase her designs for your own use!) And don't forget to check out Pearl's site for tons of inspiration, tips and giveaway opportunities!

The second windfall that came my way happened on Valentine's day. I entered Deb Hart's (of Renaissance Gal of San Antonio) Facebook event, where she generously gave away 3 of her polymer pieces. Deb is known for her fabulous millefiori cane work. The other 2 prizes were a bunch of her original canes and one of her caned owl pendants. The prize I was so very lucky to win was one of her sea turtle trinket boxes!! If you know me, or follow this blog, you probably know I have a little adoration for sea turtles and Native American inspired art... so, to say I was thrilled about winning this treasure was an understatement!  Well, my beautiful sea turtle arrived last week. I've taken a couple shots of her to show you how fabulous she is, and for the first time ever, I shot a video to post here on the blog. The idea for the video came about because one of my most favorite features about this treasure is not easily displayed in a still photo, check it out for yourself: (crossing fingers that the video actually works)


And since the video doesn't do justice to viewing all the wonderful details, here are the still shots...











Can you tell I'm absolutely in love with this turtle? ;)  She has found a permanent and prized spot on my nightstand, where I can admire her every day. If you love this as much as I do, and you don't know about Deb Hart's work, you should definitely check her out! You can find Deb here on her blog, etsy (where you can purchase a turtle similar to this one!), and Facebook. And if you want to learn how to make some of Deb's creations, she offers a great variety of classes at CraftArtEdu.

So, again, a big Thank you to (my guild mates) Jackie Sieben, Susan O'Neill and Linda Riopel for my holiday swap items, and huge Thanks to Helen Breil, Pearl Blay and Deb Hart, for their generous hearts and the wonderful prizes that I received! Aren't they all wonderful? Have you had luck in winning online contests or participating in swaps? Leave me a comment below, and tell me your thoughts!

And as an aside; if the video worked in this post, I hope to do some tutorial videos to post on the blog in the future....  and, if you like the Thank you image (first image of this post), you can find that as a printable digital postcard file in my graphics shop YourDigitalWorld.

10 comments:

  1. What wonderful gifts and prizes! You are so welcome, Beth, for my part in your goodies, I am pleased that I could share something with you and I hope you will think of me happily when you use the tools I sent. They were sent with love and appreciation for who you are. Hugs!!

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    1. Thank you, Jackie! :) I am loving, and using them all... and it's so nice to have beautiful things that I use around the house, that remind me of my guild mates! Hugs! :)

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  2. Wow! you made a great haul. What treasures from some of the best. I have that same silkscreen by Helen Breil and I love it. And the turtle is just gorgeous, I share your love of Native American art and that is a real treasure.

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    1. Thanks, Betsy! Yes, I remember that you used Cabaret on one of my favorites of your tool holders! It is such a great pattern!

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  3. Aw-w-w-w... you are so welcome, Beth! And, I'm as happy as you to have been YOUR swap mate (which doesn't happen by design). The wonderful piece that you sent me has pride of place, where I pass it multiple times each day :D

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    1. Aw, thanks so much Susan! I'm glad you are enjoying the piece I sent you, as much as I'm loving my pendant and treasure box from you! :)

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  4. Thanks so much, Beth!!! I'm so glad you like the turtle! I've taught a workshop in New England making them and will be teaching again in Dallas this summer. Everyone loves them! I know he has a great home! *hugs*

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    1. Aw, thanks for your nice comment Deb! Yep, the turtle is in a good home, where she is loved and appreciated! :) I'd love to be a part of a workshop making these, but alas Texas is too far for me... I know you have a class for your fox box on CraftArtEdu, so I thought I'd take that to learn about the construction of your boxes... unless you plan to put a turtle box class on there, then I'd want to take that class! ;)

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  5. What a lovely post about your gifts. You are a lucky girl.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Line! Indeed, I am lucky to have these treasures! :)

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