let the trading begin!

What is it about charms/trades/swaps that make us dizzy with delight? I've been posting photos on fb of some charms I have been making for  the Art-is-You Stamford, CT event and the phone has not stopped ringing! (well, not really, but the private messages wanting to know all about them is what I meant, lol)

If you aren't familiar, trade/charms/swaps are created and traded at events (in our case, Art-is-You). At burning man, people trade things or services as a way of bonding/interacting with one another. The act of creating things to trade, in my opinion, is the most fun. I think a lot of love and intention go into the process because when they are traded with one another, the recipient is always quite excited.

Traditionally most charms are made to hang off of something. I know the participants at AIY like to hang them off of their specially made name tags. It's not uncommon for swappers to make little packets of paper ephemera or mini art supplies. I know one year I gave out mini notepads and pens because I've found that most people seem to forget those when gathering their art supplies. In the past I have given out pins that have my artwork on them. People love to put the pins on their purses.

Charms I have collected over the years, mini dolls, beaded work, glass beads, mini felted animals, fabric flowers, mica,shrinky dinks,  soldered charms, bottle caps, dominoes, etc. If you are stuck for an idea, maybe think about something with fibers. It's a nice balance to some of the other trades. May I also suggest, packing a few extras to give to someone who doesn't know about trading and may be feeling left out. I've given out packets in the past of extra things for them to trade and it makes both parties feel very happy!

This year at AIY in Stamford, I am hosting an evening event where we take all our collected charms and hang them. I'll be showing a fun way to display our collected charms so that when we go home, it'll be ready to hang and enjoyed. Artists love to recycle/upcycle/repurpose items that are plentiful and economical at the same time. For my charm this year, I chose to use Jenga wood  game pieces. I love working on wood and I had made a tiny little watercolor that I thought would be perfect to duplicate and add to the jenga tiles.

  

Valentine's swap with friends

i did a Valentine's swap with 3 friends, Kelly, Leighanna and kim, so i wanted to share what they sent me. Kelly Snelling, was the receipent of my broken heart pendant . she made me a beautiful pair of earrings, that so far, i've worn every day since unwrapping them! i can't help it, they are so delicate and the perfect length for me AND plus they look good!

also, and i can not wait to share this with you, she included a surprise in my package. this big huge box arrived and i was thinking, "that sure is a big box for a little piece of jewelry" - so of course, my curiousity was piqued. so i unwrap the package and this is what i what i found:

if you remember from a few posts back, Benedetta, who i met at OWOH and i did an art exchange and she did a folk art painting of my beloved kitty, Pebbles. Well in her note, Kelly said that she saw that post and that she just HAD to paint Pebbles. Pebbles became her muse - and i can see why. when i looked at that painting, i felt like i was looking in the eyes of my kitty. it was so touching - this unsoliticed portrait of someone who meant so much to me. i was so deeply touched is all i can say. how beautiful is this? i feel so lucky that kelly would have thought to paint him in such a manner. if you have a second, please stop by her blog and mention you saw her painting of Pebbles. i think she would enjoy that.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

My next swap was with my cute friend with the darling laugh, Leighanna Light. I honestly can't remember how i met Leighanna, but i'm guessing it was at Artnsoul -maybe she remembers more details? - but she is one of those people that you feel you have known forever. Leighanna and i are both massage therapists and love doing art of all kinds, so we have a lot in common. on a whim, i just emailed her and asked her if she would be my Valentine and do a Valentine swap with me. i was happy when she said yes! I sent this assemblage to her. it was funny, when i posted it, i thought, aww, she'll never catch this post - and wouldn't you know it, she just happened to check in that day - figures! Leighanna sent me one of her metal bird assemblages, which i had seen on her blog. the feet are so cool on this bird - they are from an old erector set! i'm a sucker for rusty metal and birds, so this is so appropriate for me. i added some rusty metal around the sides and have it hanging from my door knob. i think it will be my "in the studio"
message that says: "if there is a rusty bird hanging on the door knob, don't bother me!"

she also sent me some glass pieces that i found quite interesting. i emailed her to inquire about them and this is what she told me: "the glass is from a place nicknamed the glass graveyard.
It is a place out in the middle of nowhere by the river where all of these melted, twisted bottles completely cover the ground, for miles & miles.
No one knows why, we assume that it used to be an old glass dump that had an extremely hot fire". how cool is that? i just love that she thought to share them with me. she also added some of her cool molded faces that i had been admiring. she's been giving me some tips on making my own, but so far, i suck at it! check these out:

this one is my favorite! i will use these in assemblages.

---------------------------------------------------------------

due to bad weather, storms and loss of power, my last swap with Kim, is pending - so i'll post more on that later!

i think this little guy lives under our deck. we spent a long time watching him today from Tucker's window. he is so cute! tomorrow i am going to leave out some carrots, hay and some of lilo's bunny food for him.

this pigeon made a nest on my mother in law's porch. she was having a tough time having enough room for her nest; so when she was off getting more sticks, my husband added a shelf where she was building and viola! when she got back she had a major renovation. from this picture it looks like she has one egg - but when i went back early this week, i see there is indeed two babies!

here is one of my most favorite flowers, a purple Clematis.

this week i have been busy finishing up grungy/steampunk charms that were intended for a swap. but i've gotten so great feedback on them (especially when i've worn them out) that i think i will be listing them on my etsy site and then making different charms for the swap. here are a few of the steampunk charms.

Easter basket swap

Genevieve of Bella Enchanted, hosted an Easter basket swap. my partner was, Bristol Snider, www.cottagebytheriver.typepad.com. here are some pictures from the sweet basket that she sent me. i love the vintage chick and flamingo picks. my favorite is the teddy bear with his glittery cheeks and dapper little cap! thanks Bristol!

Day #11, last day, hippity hop swap

Boo hoo, this is the last thing i get to open! spoiled, aren't i? anyway, this precious little paper mache party chick was made by Vivian Neroni at http://vivs-whimsy.blogspot.com/. it's just darling! i keep thinking it is a scrumptious cupcake that needs my immediate attention. i just adore the frilly little green and white checked ribbon that he is wearing around his neck - great touch! the shredded white paper reminds me of coconut shavings. it's just too sweet. thanks, Vivian! and thanks to everyone who participated. it sure was alot of fun! and many thanks to Heather for organizing the whole thing! i think sometime this summer i will be hosting a swap, but need sometime to think about what it will be!

Day #10, hippity hop swap

today i got to open this sweet little heart shaped box made by Ann Marie Skrabo. she painted it a "robins egg blue" and added sweet little pink polka dots (love polka dots!) then she glittered some eggs and a flower and along with this so cute bunny glued them all to the top of the box. she layered a piece of ribbon underneath it all. and to top it off, the bunny is wearing the cutest little foil crown. inside the box was some pink Easter grass and darling little yellow chickie. Thanks Ann Marie!

day #9, hippity hop swap

Day 9 i got to open this adorable Easter frame made by Sandy Camarda,http://sandy-sandyscreations.blogspot.com/ . she collaged some vintage images, some eggs and a darling plastic bunny onto the front of the frame. she used some really cool papers under neath for her background - love the polka dots and checks! Thanks, Sandy!

Day #6, Hippity hop swap

Today i got to open my goodie! i took peat pots and paintedthem yellow and then added glitter over the paint. then i took a small wood spool and glued it inside the peat pot for a base. next i took wine corks and painted them pink and glittered on top. i added 2 tiny pieces of lace on each side of the body where the arms would go. the arms are stick pins with pearls on the end. the pins were just pushed into the cork. i stuffed easter grass inside the peat pot around the base and then glued the cork body to the spool. the head is a vintage image of a bunny that i glued to a "T-pin" (used in quiliting) then i pushed the t-pin into the cork as well. a bow and some tiny bells were added around the neck for bling. i had punched 2 holes on each side of the peat pot and then wrapped some pipe cleaners around each end and then joined them together to make a handle. i also wrapped fibers around the pipe cleaner handle for more texture. around the peat pot i wrapped some more fibers and glued a vintage flower and a button in the center. i added some tiny wood eggs and a little chenille chick to the edge of the pot. the last thing i did was add a tiny tag that is hanging from the hangle that says "hoppin down the bunny trail".