Joyeux Noel... and the St. Augustine Tour Continues

This vintage image has lurked in my sewing room for ages just waiting to be used in a notecard, so I thought I'd share it here. It's another of the Dover clipart images that will be used again and again. I love the elegance of the couple, and her chartreuse gloves are such the fahionable accent. Looks like a glam New Year's Eve to me. Gloves are an accessory I would actually like to see make a come back, functional winter knit ones aside.

But let's continue on our field trip in St. Augustine. I am so drawn to courtyards and hidden alleyways, and there are many of them to take a glimpse into in the old town. If I had a courtyard, would I really spend much time in it? I like to think I would... the fantasy is fun at least.

Pull up a chair. Isn't this a cushy and inviting one? It's in the lobby of the Casa Monica Hotel. A little brighter lighting and I could curl up and stitch or read there for an afternoon. The one below is in the lobby, too, but it looks a bit more daunting... rather regal looking. I think you might need to have a sceptre to sit there.

Here are some more images from historic St. Augustine- an old home bedecked with holiday garland, a courtyard full of fountains and flags, and another with a stained glass parrot in a tree. You can just make him out in front of the window.  One more  inviting cobbled side street. On this visit we discovered a new-to-us part of the city... the North City on San Marco Avenue. Located there were Luli's Cupcakes (wow!), The Bead Chick, Claire's Collectibles Fun Rubber Stamps, a paper store, and an artisan's cooperative. Shopping fun for me, and for you if you get to delightful St. Augustine for a visit. Sounds like I work for the Chamber of Commerce, doesn't it? Nope. But I love our day trips to the oldest US city.

Paper and Piecing and Trims, Oh My!

The cards shown here are for a vintage notecard project on Creative Lenna's site, Creative Swaps. I was so happy to find her site which, for a modest fee, offers both instruction and the opportunity to swap creatively crafted items. In mid-December Lenna began this notecard swap, and it's still open for enrollment if you are interested. There are nearly 40 participants so far, and each of us will make three vintage-style notecards with envelopes. These will be sent to Lenna by the deadline date, and she'll trade them among participants. Then we'll each receive back three notecards made by our fellow participants. In addition to the instruction, Lenna has also provided some vintage images to download and use as we wish.The cards below include one of her images used in different ways.

Although this is the first time I've done anything like this, I dove right in and could not stop making the cards! As I'd be working on one, ideas for three more would be swirling in my mind. Or I'd trim something off one design, and immediately think of how that small piece could be used in another. Because I was cooking right along, I made lots more than the required three. But I needed the practice and my enthusiasm was in high gear. And Lenna was way ahead of me because she gave the option of swapping 6 sets if we like. Now I just need to pick the six.

I seem drawn to images of ladies in hats... so quite a few of the cards I made feature the lovely portrait shown at the beginning of this post. She looks so pensive. And the hat put me in mind of the costumes in "My Fair Lady". Imagine this hat and a windy day! The image is offered for use in artwork projects on the Clearly Vintage site. I learned that there are lots of free images available to download and use, giving credit to the site.

So now, in addition to fabrics and threads, I have paper scraps all over the floor. But those laces, buttons, and embellishments I've been saving for a long time are now seeing the light of day, and finding a home in these notecards. A busy time gluing and stitching and beading. Messy (see below), but great fun! Stitching on paper is fun, too. There are many more cards to show you, coming soon.