ArtFest here I come!!!

I leave for Seattle to go to ArtFest in less than 48 hours! Do you have any idea how excited I am?! You probably do, since I've been raving about it for months. This is my first time to ArtFest, so packing has been quite the adventure. The supply lists for each class are extensive. I'm taking a Mixed Media Naturalist class with LK Ludwig on Thursday, Do Not Disturb: Creating a creative island with Lynne Perrella on Friday, and What lies inside with Pam Garrison on Saturday. Lots of collage elements to get together, pictures to print on every kind of paper imaginable, paper to tear for Pam's journal class and endless "tools" to gather. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not complaining. I've just never been on a trip quite like this one before:) So here's my little trunk of brooches to trade. Made a whole new batch, since the first 40 went out for my spring swaps.
Then I made four of these bird collages on old book covers for some special trades.

This tote (made by the lovely Chrissy Howes) is full of surprise goodie ephemera bags! My moo cards are there too. Put them on chains so they're easy to carry and will put the new cards that I get on chains as well. I think there's going to be a lot of trading of moo cards going on!


So I'm all packed and ready to go!

Here's my entire suitcase of art supplies and my folder of images, ephemera and such.
The inside of my suitcase. It's all been accounted for!

Oh yea, I guess I should pack my clothes now. That's a whole other suitcase!

ArtsyMama has (almost) left the building....See ya in a week:)

Take care xoxox

Spring has sprung!

Spring really has sprung here in Minnesota. It's in the mid-60's today. It feels soooo good!!! Oh and yes, there was much more fun to be had estate saleing this weekend. I bought enough interesting stuff at the same sale where I found the millinery flowers and eggs that I shared in the last post, that I decided to make up some fun little ephemera bags to swap at ArtFest. Also found this lovely tablecloth for $6. I love this color combination. So Springy!! And the buttons below were in a large tin filled with all white/cream vintage buttons for $1. What gorgeous cards they are on!

I've continued to receive amazing spring artwork in the mail practically every day. This wonderful canvas piece is by the extraordinarily talented Tricia Scott. I just adore her style! The way that Laurie works with fabric is awe inspiring. She made this wonderful fabric scrap nest. So unique, creative and lovely!! She also filled the box with tons of other goodies that I can't wait to use for my creations at ArtFest. Thanks so much, morningk!

This tiny and amazingly detailed chandelier is by the new "it girl" on the blogging scene, Mary (Oh Merci). After her stunning tea party set-up, I think she now has a whole lot of admirers flocking to her blog!
This gorgeous card and adorable St. Patrick's Day ATC came from Angela. Love that fresh springy green. Beautiful!

So I'm in my final packing stages for ArtFest. Wow, it's almost here! I leave Wednesday morning, so I'm sure I'll post again before I leave. I'm sooooo excited!!!!

I **heart** estate sales...

And this is why... yes, I love looking through peoples old stuff. You never know what you're going to find and you always wonder what the story is behind each item. Then sometimes you find out a little bit more and it makes it all the more meaningful.. My mom and I went to an estate sale today that had these gorgeous eggs. They look like the sugar eggs that were so popular in the 80's and seem to be making a huge comback this year. I even saw some at Target! These didn't have any candy on them, they had the most amazing vintage velvet ribbon, beads, and trims. The tiny scenes inside them were equally delightful. I was literally speechless. I completely fell in love with them!
The quite amazing part of the whole thing, besides how gorgeous they are, is that when I got home I found a little tag inside that said, "Creations by Bina Churchill~ Handmade from a natural eggshell" Then folded up in the bottom of the box was a newspaper article from our local paper, dated January 2nd, 1966. It had the story of "Mrs. E.C. Churchill of Cloquet, MN" and how she made these miniature scenes out of turkey eggs and made about 800 eggs a year to sell to stores and individuals! She drives to buy the eggs each week and saves the yolks and whites for a friend. She does each egg painstakingly by hand. What a story! What truly amazing vintage finds to be treasured:)

They were all in a box together. Some stood on their own, the others were ornaments that I promptly put on my white feather Easter tree. You see here about half of the eggs and the other half had gorgeous winter and Christmas scenes with red and green velvet ribbon. Spectacular!

With much, much gratitude...

Wow....I just have to say a very sincere THANK YOU to each and every one of you for attending my spring celebration yesterday! It was a smashing success. Boy do you all know how to throw a tea party!! It was just amazing looking at all the stunning pictures and stories and tea parties on blogs all over the world. I hope you all made some new friends. I know I'll be linking to the over 75 blogs linked below that had tea parties for months to come. I was also very touched by over 100 comments left and over 1200 visitors here yesterday! WoW!! I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to leave a comment everywhere I went, but I promise you I visited them all when I made the link from my blog. What I saw was awe inspiring spectacular. What an amazing international group of blogging artists you are...and you sure know how to make a girl feel like a million bucks!

Cyber hugs all around!!!

I can't take credit for the beautiful tablescape above. It is from one of my very favorite home decorating books, Celebrating Home by the team at Seasons of Cannon Falls. I adore their vintage inspired collections by some of my favorite artists like Nicol Sayre, Charlotte Lyons and many others. I think today I'll kick back, put my feet up and enjoy the beautiful Spring weather we're having here in Minnesota. (p.s. no, that's not me in the picture. hehe!)
Cheers!!

It's tea time!!!!

Welcome to my Spring Fling Tea Party!! I am so very excited to share a spot of tea with all of you, my blogging friends. There will be participants from all around the world. I know that some parties are already underway. The key to having this all run smoothly is when you leave a comment on this post, please include your name, your blog url and where you live. I will be keeping up throughout the day and will post links to those participating in the tea party (meaning you have a tea related post for today and a link here) so that you can all visit with everyone.

So, back to the party…as you can see from the ladies above, the first guests arrived in style. The house is overflowing with flowers of every color. I’m so glad you could make it! Please come in, and make yourself comfortable. If you’d like to take a look around first, visit my flickr site here for pictures of all the wonderful spring swaps that I have received that now adorn my home. They are all just lovely! Then sit down for a bit of tea and some treats. I have lots of goodies:) I have freshly steeped tea in every flavor imaginable and an array of cups and saucers. Please, don’t be shy, introduce yourselves to one another. Feel free to post on the comments about yourself. I’m off to mingle with all the others that have made it. Enjoy! Here is a list of the parties in progress all around the world. Go check them out....there are some amazing parties going on!

Lilli began her tea party days ago at a lovely tea shop in Vancouver. She added another stunning array here.

There is quite the party going on over at Lilly Cottage. Look at the gorgeous collages that they made!

Look at the *unbelieveable* table setting's that Lidy's and oh so adorable Claudette are having quite the time.

Go check out Tricia has an old friend over for tea!

Check out Mary's got every kind of tea you can imagine!

Check out Patsy's amazing tables at this festive tea party.

Vickie shared a delightful invitation for more people to come on over.

Natasha has been waiting all day over in Australia. Sorry girl!! Boy what a tea party she is having. Gorgeous!!

Fiona is here from Scotland. So glad you could make it:)

In South Africa, Bonnie has some outrageously delicious cakes, teas and beautiful collages to celebrate the day.

Look at the tea cosies that Maria shared. Fabulous!

Cecilia from Sweden is out on the balcony enjoying the view.

Laume has some tea trivia for you to ponder.

Gail has a beautiful set-up to welcome spring right here in Minnesota!

Another Minnesota girl, and new ArtsyMama blog reader, Allie is here. Waving hello to you "neighbor"

Darla has a wonderful photo of her grandmother's gorgeous teapot. Welcome!

Shabby in the City is having a grand party in her backyard in Kentucky. Looks like spring to me:)

Visit Susan for some fun tea quotes and look at that "tea-shirt"! Looks cozy. The day is over in Australia. Hope she'll join us in the morning.

Joan in Italy's tea party is going strong. How beautiful!

Dawn over in Ohio has a charming party with picturs of Victorian fashion.

Another Dawn, in western NY, is sipping lemon tea in an adorable little cup. Go say hello!

Lori showcases some of her *gorgeous* vintage china. Wow!

Sarah Louise discusses who she'd like to have tea with. What about you...who would be your choice?

Cheryl shows off some wonderful tea goodies, of course pine inspired!

Carol of Boxwood Cottage in Germany, shows us some tea time treasures. My eyes are delighted!!

You must check out Mary's tea party set-up. It looks straight out of a magazine spread. And those cupcakes...yuuummmmy!!!

Come visit Karla for a little tea etiquette. I'm certainly not holding my cup correctly. Oops!

Patty Van Dorin shows us a sweet treasure of a teapot!

Dear Violette, my new French swapping pal, shows us her stunning party with a pink and green theme.

Dawn sure has an "oh so pretty" invitation for us all. Love it!

Gudrun has a very inspiring tea party in her garden for us..all the way from Norway! Absolutely gorgeous!! Thanks for all the Norwegian info. Love hearing about where everyone lives.

Vicki's tea party favors are divine. Total eye candy!!!

Nuttula is here with some gorgeous tea pictures.

Oh look!!! There's Lesley Riley straight from her trip Down Under where she picked up some tea to share.

Dede has a fun mad hatter party goin' on.

Heather has some gorgeous vintage-inspired goodies!

A big hi to Bonnie from just down the road. Thanks for dropping in!

Tammy has some lovely tea stories to tell.

Jeanne is sipping tea and looking out at the rain. Lets go brighten up her day:) Wow, doesn't her home look delightful.

Tricia Scott has some wonderful tea party goodies and her dear daughter, Olivia is serving tea. They made a pinky promise to do this each spring. What a fabulous idea, I think I will promise to do that as well!

"Norah"....so glad you could make it. Wouldn't be the same without you! Thanks for showing us your collection.

Oh wow...look at Jennifer's "Sis Boom" creation! So fun!!

SoInspired is here with a fabulous tea set and her grandmothers fabulous vintage tablecloth.

Wendy has a tea party over at her POPIN boutique. Great fun!

Guenievre is here from Belgium. Oh my, look at the color of those tea leaves. Fantastic!

Ok, Susan those are the most *gorgeous* cupcakes I've ever seen. Yum! Yum!

Take a look at Amy's delightful party with her wee one and her crafty treasures.

Laurie, another fellow Minnesotan, just had a delightful tea party with her daughter as well. Love her hat. How fun!

Feelin' the afternoon munches? Debbie has cucumber sandwiches and cookies!

Sarah had a cup of afternoon tea with her children. Why don't you join her in England?

LaTeaDah is sharing some great tea treasures from her shopping trips.

How about a tea party on the patio in Florida? Sounds like a great time to me!

Kyra is here too. Yet another Minnesota mama! Looks like her and her kids are having a grand time:)

Heidi is having a grand time with her tea and other sweet treats.

Heather is hoping all these wonderful spring parties will help the snow melt. Me too!

Ms. Shoezycakes you're not late...just in time. Join in the fun!

Georgeanne has some wonderful bunny tea accessories.

Saffron is on the west coast and there's plenty of time for afternoon tea. Looking pretty springy!

Take a peek at Sharon's amazing country cottage. Take your tea and enjoy the tour!

Sue has some chi tea (yummy!) and other treats.

Jessie has a cool front porch sale along with her tea party.

Lovely Lauren has put together a gorgeous tea party outdoors with the girls. Her decorating always blows me away. Gorgeous!

Nerissa shared some lovely pics of a tea party for her sister.

The one and only Gypsy Purple has arrived stylishly with some gorgeous summer tea pics.

Love that people are still trailing in at the end of the day. Michelle has arrived.

Sonia knows how to have a nice, relaxing end to a fabulous day...tea and a magazine.

A few people joined us late into the night. Why not?! The ParTea Planner had a **marvelous** spread and super cute kids to join in the fun!!

Regina has the most adorable hat!!

Another Minnesota "neighbor" and dear friend, Ginger, joined for a bedtime tea.

Susan is even continuing her party through the night Down Under.

Can't think of a better person to close down the party (at 3 am!) than Jenny "Everyday is a Holiday". So glad you could make it!

Before you leave, don’t forget to join me in creating this adorable spring craft.

All you need is some chenille stems in a spring color of your choice and a Styrofoam egg to shape the baskets. Fold four stems in half and twist them together at midpoint to create a star shape with 8 spokes. Add a ninth spoke by hooking the end of another stem in the stars center.

Trim the ends so that all the spokes are the same length. Space spokes evenly apart. Hook the end of yet another stem to a stem near the stars center. This will be the stem you start weaving with. Place the chenille stem “star” onto the Styrofoam egg (and you can pin it to the bottom, or just hold it).

Curl spokes upward onto the egg to form a cup shape. Begin weaving stem over and under each of the spokes.

When you reach the stems end, wire another stem to its end and continue weaving. Repeat until the basket is as large as you would like.

Then trim and fold over the ends of the stems into the basket to secure. To make the handle: twist 2 stems together, and hook onto lip of basket.

To make a base to have the basket sit upright instead of tilting, make a circle out of a chenille stem and glue it to the bottom of the basket.

This project is taken from the April issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. This issue has some truly egg-ceptional crafts in it (hehe.) Thank you so much for coming. Be sure to check back as the list will continue to grow throughout the day and night. New guests will be added to the bottom of the list.

The sun is setting here in Minnesota, but the tea parties are still in full swing! So glad you're all enjoying yourselves. This has been an incredible day! If I could wear any dress for evening tea, this would surely be it. Gorgeous! Come join me for a few more cups of tea before we say goodnight.Happy Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last day of winter...

It's almost tea party day!! Tomorrow morning at this time, the party will be underway and spring will be here! I got some very appropriate and very beautiful tea related mail yesterday. Look at these amazing tea tags by Elizabeth. She said she got the stamps at CharacterConstructions.com . Fun, fun stuff on that site. Check it out! I wish I would have known at the Mad Tea Party Collection before now. What perfect stamps for a tea party! Maria also sent some artsy tea mail. Beautiful, thank you!!!

Hagit, a long time ArtsyMama blog reader, sent this amazing banner inspired by Pam Garrison, all the way from Tel Aviv. Hard to get a good picture of it. It now hangs above our dining room table. Gorgeous! Finally, dear Tami, a fabulous local stamper made this *gorgeous* card. Love it!!
A few other random tidbits, the workshop schedule for ArtFiberFest was just posted today here. Also, remember all the giveaways at HeART of the Nest end tomorrow. One last day of winter, sure feels like it here in Minnesota. I can't wait to see all the wonderful tea related spring goodness you'll all have to share tomorrow. Remember, after you post on your blog, leave a comment on my tea party post tomorrow *be sure to include where you live and your blog url* and I'll add a link to the post. See you here!