Valentine Matchbox Swap

-
I was so lucky to be randomly placed with Linda McMillin for a Valentine Matchbox Swap!  Linda and I "knew" each other from the exchange of pages in a gluebook swap a while back, and she had so generously gifted me some of her own family's war ration books when I admired them!  I really wanted to create something special for her this time around.
For this swap, we had to decorate a TINY matchbox and fill it with 3 TINY ATC's (Artist Trading Cards.)  So, for this swap then, the size was the challenge!  Here's the box I decorated for Linda.  I used vintage crochet trim, and vintage millinery flowers onto which I glued rhinestones that had fallen out of vintage jewel pieces!
I used heart-shaped brads as little "drawer pulls" for the box; the inside is decorated with vintage red  striped wallpaper.
The ATCs fit so snugly into the box that I used a piece of organza ribbon to assist in pulling them out!
The mini ATCs themselves were: (left) a collaged piece that I made with vintage paper, paint, stamps, rub ons -- and one of those vintage ration stamps that Linda gifted me; (middle) a vintage playing card with a sweet cottage motif; and (right) a bird-themed card with a Dennison die cut sticker bird wearing a hand drawn crown, all on a background of vintage wallpaper.
I sent along a special gift that I created for Linda: a mason jar filled with ephemera.  I love the photo of the two girls I used as a centerpiece; it sits on a bed of fiber, red and white cotton lace, half of a doily heart...
and, on the other side of the jar (behind the photo), a rose motif cut from a vintage greeting, red buttons on a card, and a sweet paper, embellished doll shoe (hard to see in the photo -- sorry!) I made from a kit by Lynn!
I painted, decorated and glittered the lid of the jar, too.  I love making these!
Here's Linda's swap.  Her box, above, is lushly decorated and it is completely my style!
She decorated the box's edges with Dresden foils, and even put tiny bead feet on the bottom of the box!
I love how she decorated the bottom of the inside of the box, too!
And look at how gorgeous the ATCs Linda made are!
She did a beautiful job on them, and I'm so impressed with how they coordinate with each other and have a similar theme; I wish I had done that on hers!  I love them all, but my favorite ATC is the one on the far right because I'm a writer and I love, love, love the fountain pen motif!
Even the backs are beautiful!
Then...Linda sent along a wonderful assortment of vintage things she knew I would love!  That was so unexpected!  Look at all these goodies!
Ephemera...
A little muslin bag full of charm-y things, and a tiny handmade book!
Plus, some crochet lace and embellishments in a pretty Paris bag.  Yes, I know -- I was spoiled.  Thank you so much Linda!  If you want to see the rest of the matchbox swaps, you can check out (and maybe even join!) the Vintage Dragonfly Altered Matchbox Swap page on Flickr.

More Valentine goodness to come in the next few days!

Comments

Kathy said…
How fun! I love decorating the tiny matchboxes and these are beautiful.
February 9, 2012 at 1:02 PM
andrea creates said…
oh wow-these are all so pretty!
February 9, 2012 at 1:52 PM
Linda said…
thank you Laurie for giving me space and nice comments. the little muslin bag, faux tintypes and the little book is from Rhonda at A Little Bit French. i just love the little charms.
your Valentine's ornaments are gorgeous, each one so different. Happy Valentine's Day. Thank you for the special matchbox and ATCs, i can't stop looking at them.
February 9, 2012 at 5:31 PM
Unknown said…
I adore the little matchbox you made. And the tiny ATC cards are so sweet, especially the little crown wearing bird one!

And, I bet you just squealed when you opened the package from your swap partner! Such lovely things...
February 9, 2012 at 9:49 PM
Something Special said…
I sure had fun with this tiny matchbox swap too. Linda did indeed spoil you!
February 10, 2012 at 7:49 AM
Lydia said…
I love your swaps , Laurie! Your little box and ATC's are fabulous. I like working small like this.

all the best,

Lydia :)
February 19, 2012 at 12:31 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baby Jesus Candy Cane Christmas Ornament How-To

-
Image
Here's a tutorial to make sweet baby Jesus ornaments: Materials: 3/4" round wooden balls blue felt like-sized small wooden stars flesh-colored acrylic paint yellow acrylic paint black permanent marker small button as star decor raffia natural excelsior "moss" silver thread or coordinating yarn candy cane You'll also need glue or a hot glue gun, paint brush and scissors Begin by painting the wooden balls with flesh-colored paint and the stars with yellow paint. When dry, draw two sleeping eyes on the ball. Meanwhile, cut small pieces of felt and make little rolls to represent the baby's body; tie with a tiny piece of raffia. Next, glue the wooden ball onto the top of the body roll of felt; if you wish, you can also cut a small wedge of felt to glue over like a little swaddled hood on the baby's head, but I think it looks cute without it as well. Glue the l
Read more

Flagler College in St. Augustine: the Tiffany connection

-
Image
We visited this wonderful building that began its life in 1888 as a lavish hotel built by Henry Flagler, one of the founders of Standard Oil, and now houses Flagler College . It is such a beautiful old building and in it we saw: these fabulous Tiffany chandeliers... on a spectacular painted and embossed ceiling in one of the hotel's drawing rooms.   I apologize for the quality of the indoor photos -- it was quite dark in the building. I had to laugh at these painted cherubs on the ceiling... and the way their ribbony robes encircle the chandelier mount! This large clock over the mantle is special because it's a Thomas Edison clock and because it is made from one piece of rare onyx.  We were told that Edison's "signature" on his clocks is the use of the incorrect Roman numeral "4". But the most spectacular feature of the building is that Louis Comfort Tiffany himself made the stained glass windows. Most of Tiffany's windows a
Read more

O Christmas tree, jeweled Christmas tree...

-
Image
Earlier in the season Rebecca and I went to a craft fair at a local high school, and there was one booth with the CUTEST little jeweled, framed Christmas trees! The gal was nice enough to let me photograph them.  Sorry it's kind of blurry, but it was dark in that high school gym! I know it's an older kind of craft (from the '60s and '70s) but she made them sweet -- not gaudy at all.  We were both SO inspired. So, last week we made it happen.  I brought a bunch of my old, broken vintage jewelry, some velvet, glue,  old frames, and we sat in her dining room and made a forest of little trees! It was so simple: first, we took a vintage frame and covered the backing with velvet.  We just glued it on. Then, we took our time arranging bits and pieces of jewels into a Christmas tree shape. When we were happy with the arrangement, we committed and glued the jewels down!  I love this avocado green velvet! And then we did it again.  We had so much fun playing
Read more