Chalking inks & heart necklace

On March 14, I received an email with these lines:

"Let the worrying stop: Your fabulous necklace arrived this morning. I adore it! Your beadwork is immaculate. I am wearing it now, and I keep turning it and watching the sparkly swirls twist :)"

What a relief! My OWOH winner Heidi from My Hiding Place In Cyberspace had finally received the beaded necklace. I had already been anxious that it took the package so long to reach its destination.

In the meantime, I also received two more OWOH goodies in the mail. Gail from Gail's Card Café sent a package with crafting goodies -- a set of chalking inks.

Guess how happy I was when I heard that I am one of Gail's winners? I am looking forward to working with these inks. Thanks so much, Gail!

Finally, I won a prize from Nancy from The Evolution Of Nancy. I was her second winner and thus could choose from three remaining prizes. Actually, I got my first choice -- a beautiful wire heart with a flower. It was safely tucked inside a colorful organza bag with a friendly hello.

Nancy included a beautiful card with a print of her digital artwork. She is a talented photographer and digital artist. You find her artwork both on her blog and Flickr album.

Sure thing I follow Nancy's blog, as we have a similar style in regard to photography and digital design -- so much inspiration!

Funnily enough the package from Canada to Germany took nearly as long as my package from Germany to Canada (my OWOH winner Heidi is from Canada). Naturally, Nancy was as worried about the long shipping time as I was. Now I can happily hold the beautiful heart in my hands though.

I enjoy wearing it -- so unique.

Thanks so much, Nancy, for this lovely piece of jewelry!

A new friend & special treats

I want to introduce you to my new friend Sutton.

Isn't he a handsome fellow?

Definitely handsome from every angle.

What rich details and intricate patterns.

Who could resist that look?


Pat from The Wigglebutt Blog created this lovely baby dragon.

She has photos of him on her blog, too.

Sutton is not the only treasure I received from Pat. I had won her One World One Heart jewelry prize. Pat sent along this adorable card. By the way, you might want to check out Pat's Wigglebutt Clay Creations website to see more of her art as well as her Etsy and ArtFire store.

Oh yes, Pat -- I definitely enjoy my prizes! Thanks from the bottom of my heart. You are such a talented artist.

Pat also sent each of her winners (as well as Lisa who had organized OWOH) a heart pendant she had created just for the One World One Heart event.

The heart with its golden color, pattern and world map is precious.

It almost glows in the light.

Here's the beautiful necklace and earring set which was my actual prize.

Pat created the pendant from polymer clay.

Pat's initials.

A close-up of the glass beads and freshwater pearls.

The lovely earrings.

Finally, Pat included a beautiful heart.

If you look closely, you see Pat's prints on the shiny surface --
true handicraft.

I received another special treat from Gigi from Sunshine Lollipops & Butterflies. She sent me a beautiful purple scarf which makes me feel glamourous whenever I wear it.

She wrote a little note:

"I hope you enjoy this small gift, may it keep the chill off during the blistery winter days, while making you feel glamourous!"

Yes, Gigi -- I love the scarf! It's so soft to the touch, and the color is just my style. Thanks so much. Gigi also added a cute Valentine's Day card.

The heart ornament with the rose is lovely.

Finally, Elaine from Elaine's Creative Works surprised with with some blank tags.

I am looking forward to creating something nice with them --
thanks Elaine!

Mittens & earrings

On my mom's birthday, I received two packages -- One World One Heart goodies that is. From Nancy from Her Art Nest I got a wonderful pair of mittens. When I received the mittens, it was still cold enough to wear them.

I love the mixture of colors of Nancy's "Woodland Mittens."

Another thing I love about the mittens is not only the cute tag Nancy had applied but also their fragrance.

I asked Nancy about the fragrance. She replied:

"I had to smile when you asked about the fragrance I used for the mittens. Actually, I bought a leopard papered box at a garage sale that was filled with maybe 10 bottles of perfume. So, obviously, it must be a combination of scents. I really think it smells mostly like a fragrance that may only be sold in the USA. It is by Estee Lauder, and the scent is 'Youth Dew'."

I already checked about Youth Dew -- it is sold in Germany, too. However, it's not exactly this heavenly fragrance. It must indeed be a combination of ten perfumes after all.

Nancy also included a lovely card -- there's so much to discover on this beautiful painting. Thanks for the card and mittens, Nancy -- I love them!

The other OWOH treat was sent by Kate from Tropical Blonde -- fabulous earrings!

Be sure to check out Kate's Etsy store -- there's a lot to discover. When I looked at the photo of the earrings on Kate's OWOH post, I wrote this comment:

"Is it just me or do you also see an alien on the left earring? So sweet!"

Either way, I just fell in love with the design.

I was lucky enough to be Kate's first winner, so I even got to the choice to pick one of her great prizes. Needless to say I chose the earrings which Kate sent in a green organza bag along with a nice card.

I really enjoy wearing the earrings -- thanks so much, Kate!

Fabulous fabric book & wonderful jewelry

Dale from Downunderdale wrote in her One World One Heart post:

"For those who don't know me, I am a practising textile artist born in New Zealand with a pair of knitting needles in my hands and these days living and working in Western Australia. I love to experiment with all manner of textile excitements working on both fabric and paper and with my needlefelting machine. This piece of work is from my Flower Power series - I don't sell my work - it's like losing part of your soul but I am happy to part with this little book (it has pages inside) to one lucky person from whoever leaves a comment."

I am the lucky person!

In my reply to Dale I wrote: "I will be sure to take good care of it [the textile book] -- I know it's hard for you to part with your handmade items (I feel the same way)."

The fabric book is a dream.

Just see those rich colors and many layers.

Here are samples ...

... of the pages inside the book.

I see a dream landscape in that layer.

One of the three flowers which bloom on the book.

Even the card of The Thread Studio is visually appealing. From the website:

"The Thread Studio™ is a mail order business established in 1995, based in Australia, but selling world-wide. We specialise in unusual and interesting embroidery threads and textile art supplies."

Dale has her own page in The Thread Studio's gallery. The textile art is simply beautiful.

Dale, a heartfelt thanks for the fabulous fabric book which I will always treasure.

Jackie from Silver Lodge Gems is a talented multimedia artist from England. I won her wonderful calla lily earrings made from polymer clay with Swarovski crystals.

The soft pink earrings are perfect for spring.

If you look closely, you can even make out Jackie's finger prints in the clay -- truly a work of her hands!

Jackie, thanks so much for the great earrings! By the way, Jackie and her daughter Lara have a website called KYDO Jewellery. KYDO stands for Keep Your Dreams Original -- what a great name!

How could Lorrie from Artivity possibly know that I like owls? I love the cute card she sent to me all the way from Australia.

I was the lucky one to win Lorrie's jewelry prize in her OWOH giveaway. Lorrie asked me about my favorite colors and told me that she is undecided whether to send a pendant or bracelet.

The necklace with Lorrie's artwork is a real treasure.

Guess how I surprised I was to find not just the great necklace but also this gorgeous bracelet in the package?

The colors are perfect for me -- blue, turquoise, teal, and green. Isn't it beautiful how the beads come alive in the sunlight?

A big thanks for your generosity, Lorrie -- I love to wear both the necklace and bracelet!