A bit of upcycling

I have used sooooooo much sellotape in the last few months, sending out items from the jewellery auctions I had been running for a an animal charity and of course posting orders from my Etsy shop, I ended up with a huge amount of empty sellotape rolls. Time for at least one more little tubby, lol! The others I made were very much Tim Holtz/steampunk inspired, this one is a bit more Spring-y, flowery, bird-y :-). With a teeny bit of bling, of course :-) -

Toodlepip xx

My ATC swap package has arrived!

Shipping from the States was really quick this time, wasn't expecting it today at all, so it was a really lovely surprise when the postman handed the envelope to me.

And as always, opening it and taking out the swap ATCs was such a pleasure! Everybody in the swap really did their best work, all the ATCs ( shown on Kim's ArtJoyStuff blog ) were awesome, and I would have been delighted with any one of them. As it happens, I received an ATC from Kimberly herself, from Lynn Stevens (trash to treasure art ) and from Terri Wilkerson ( junqueseeker ) -

From Kimberly -

love the wonderful details and layering

From Lynn - 

a blingy heart, what could be better 

From Terri -

the back is as pretty as the gorgeous front

Kimberly is a fabulous swap hostess, and always includes a sweet little gift. Love the lace on the peg she sent this time! Thank you, Kim, for yet again hosting a wonderful swap, you're the best! 

Toodlepip xxx

About time!

It has taken me ages to list new things in my Etsy shop, life sometimes has a way of interfering with the best laid plans. But I have finally done it and filled at least one shelf again :-). Here is a little collage of some of the things which have recently gone into the shop -

And now I'll go and have a cuddle with my doggies. I love taking photos of them, this is a pic I took earlier today of Hector, looking all sweet and lovely -

and this is a pic my DH took of our darling Hector 5 mins ago, lol, what a tart - 

That is one relaxed doggie!

Toodlepip xxx

Sometimes you just have to

I buy very little these days, after all I am trying to downsize, not add more things to the home, lol, but as the title says, sometimes you just have to. I was getting an Etsy order ready for posting and had a little browse through Etsy whilst getting the paperwork done, and found something I really really couldn't resist - a wonderful little book called Snipped Tales ( https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/498265029/snipped-tales-a-book-of-collaged-stories?ref=shop_home_active_1 ). I love it! It is 'snipped' by Julie Kirk and I adore the whimsical, crafty, papery marvelousness of it :-). Have a quick look -

It arrived beautifully wrapped with a long handwritten note and a dinky tag. The snipped tales inside are just adorable, some made me chuckle, some are thought provoking, all are brilliantly put together. I have only read a few so far, I want to make it last, lol, but it is difficult, I want to read all the tales straight away. The ones I did read immediately set off all kinds of ideas in my head for collages to go with the stories etc. 

It is such a fun read, I am so glad I found this.

Toodlepip xxx