The Stone Rabbit

Easter Tag Swap!

 

Our Circle of Friends Group just completed another awesome swap....an Easter Tag exchange! 

Here are the tags I made!  They're pictured with one of my favorite little vintage baskets. . .  and my favorite rabbit!!!

 

The front of the tags were covered with burlap, then embellished with a bit of lace trim at the bottom.  On top of that background, I added one of my favorite vintage Easter postcard images.

The little flower at the bottom is old and the "leaves" are made of dyed hem tape (one of my favorite ribbons these days).

 

 

 

The back of the tag has a brown paper base on to which I stitched green burlap (that comes in a ribbon form..but I removed the wired sides, then stitched away).  On each side of the burlap, I glued vintage yellow or beige tatting scraps I'd found at a local thrift store.

 

The image is my original STONE RABBIT picture I used when I started blogging nearly five years ago!  It's set atop a piece of brown paper that had been scalloped and glittered.  A little sentiment was added below that!

 

 

I hope none of my Circle Friends are allergic to kitties or concrete!!!  :)  These two just seem to always be interested in my projects!

 

I sent my tags out Tuesday (I'm always down to the wire with these swaps!!), so I hope they make them to the ladies by today (Friday) or tomorrow!!

The others in the group are generally better at getting their projects in the mail than me!!  :)

So far, I've received five of the eight tags and want to share them with you now.  I'll add the other three when they arrive!!

The first to reach me was Nancy's creation (My Crafty Little Page).

She is such a talent!!  Look at those bright, layered colors of paper (mine always seem so dark and drab next to hers!!)

I love the little glittery bunny, the text and vintage trim at the bottom!!

The back of her tag is equally as lovely!!  She used vintage flash cards with our individual initials and old German lithograph crosses...then added a wonderful bit of text on one side and sweet embellishments at the bottom.  Awesomeness!!!

Nancy is soooo amazing. Not only is she talented, but she's timely....she doesn't procrastinate like I do when it comes to getting these projects finished!!

Kathy's (Writer's Reverie) came soon after Nancy's!  

Isn't this just scrumptious?  The soft colors, the Easter images atop a small doily....and trimmed with a touch of lace!  She has such a way with creating gorgeous works of art!

Here's the back. She placed sweet images there, too, then added a little "flip up" book to the bottom!!!!

Just look at Susan's (Blackberry Creek)  sweet tag!!!  Such a springtime feast to the eyes!  I love the little picture she selected for the front....and how she surrounded it with flowers and sparkles and buttons and a great stamped sentiment!

 

She continued her PINKS to the back of the tag, too, with plaid  paper and floral trim!  Love how she placed a flower in the stamped basket!!

 

LaVerne (Riverside Studios) wowed me with her delightful tag!!  The vintage bunny image was placed on old sheet music, then surrounded by handmade paper flowers!  Oh my!  She is talented!!  I agree with Nancy, maybe she'll give us a tutorial on how to create such floral images!! 

 

The back is  great, too!!  I LOVE the old catalog image she included of a lady with an Easter bonnet (which cost a whopping $1.65!!!).  She then placed an Easter egg "plant" on the side and a sweet text about the hat...all on a mixture of papers! 

 

 

And here's Beverly's of HOW SWEET THE SOUND!!

How creative....she used an egg shape for her tag!!!

On the front she had a sweet little bunny sitting on some green papery "grass", with lots of glittery touches which included a sun and butterfly.  I just LOVE the surprise touch of the fluffy little chick, too!  So cute!!

 

The back of the tag has her hand written message and a pretty arrangement of fabric flowers!!  I also love her use of a single green plaid ribbon. . .it looks so springy!!!

This has been such a fun swap!!  It's awesome to share in the creativity of such great folks!! 

Please visit Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  You will find  lots more bloggers who have Eastery/Spring and Pink Saturday fun to share with you today!!

 

DANA

A SPRING SALE IN THE SNOW!!!!

 

From Thurs. evening thru Saturday, I'm participating in The Fleeting Flea Spring Sale 2013 in Overland Park, KS.

It's a gathering of about 40 vendors in and around a local clubhouse. . .sharing our vintage finds and handmade treasures!   By around, I mean . . .under tents. 

Being involved in such a sale is a tremendous amount of work and time.  

Pictured below with THE STONE RABBIT are a few of the necessary items needed to pull off such an event.

I need a dust pan and broom...in PINK of course...and some swell PINK gloves to protect my dainty hands as I lift and carry and haul many items from my van into the tent where my booth is located.

 

 

 

And here's my little corner of the world for three days in March!  It was a bit scary to see at first. . .tent flaps moving all over the place..part of my display space open to the elements.. .a hole in the ceiling of the corner. . .and a horrible weekend of winter weather predicted for the first few days of Spring.

After two trips to the sale site and many a load hauled in. . .the booth took shape just in time for the crowd of eager shoppers!!

 

 

OH....and because our temps were miserably cold and it was snowing and sleeting, I had to buy a little propane heater cuz if I hadn't had this little heat source I couldn't have survived the many hours of sitting in a tent, in March, in the snow and cold!!  :)

 

 

As our promoter said tonight in the "vendor's meeting"...we were in unchartered territory!  We were, after all, some 30 degrees colder than the average at this time of year.   AND....last year...it was 80 degrees when this sale was held!

 

 

 

My buddy Bonnie braved the elements and brought me extra propane and dinner and  spent the entire first evening of the show with me!!

 

 

I have to say. . .in all the years I've done sales. . .this has been the most challenging in terms of weather related issues.   The next two days are also gonna be doozies with more bad weather predicted.  Thankfully, there are lots and lots of customers who don't let a little cruddy weather dampen their desire to get out and SHOP!!  :)

I  give a big old shout out to my DIL and her buddies who spent several hours at the sale tonight.  It does my heart good to see the younger generation recognogize the value and beauty of vintage items. . .and to purchace pieces to add to their homes....  pieces that are unique and thrifty and individual to their own tastes!!

 

It also warms my heart to have younger folks appreciate handmade items (like I make :) .  I had a mom and her three children shop in my booth tonight.  They all came to the decision of what they wanted to buy (all my handfashioned Easter items).   Later, they returned to buy one more bunny to send to their Grandmother. . .and then she (mom)  asked if I would pose with the kiddos for a picture so the Grandmother could see who made the bunny they'd picked out for her.   And while huddled with those three sweet peas, I forgot about the hours it had taken me to make the items I had for sale,the expense of actually being involved in a sale (overhead), how exhausted I was after spending two days traveling and setting up and figuring out how to make the best of a really cruddy weather situation. . .because folks appreciating what I do really is what keeps me doing it!!

 

 

 

 

I also really, really appriaciate what Beverly of HOW SWEET THE SOUND does for us each and every week.   She consistently makes sure our little group of "pinkies" are up !!

Have a great Pink Saturday!!

DANA

Happy St. Patrick's Day Pink Saturday!!!

 

 My friend's church held their annual Corned Beef and Cabbage extravaganza this week!!!  It was such a treat. . . . corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, bread, drink and dessert!!

 

 

 

We have had two amazing days in Missouri.  Today, THE STONE RABBIT is outside "sunning" himself!  It's supposed to be near 80 later!!  Sadly, the bottom is gonna fall out again.  Forty degrees cooler tomorrow, with rain coming.....and MAYBE a few flakes of snow by Sunday or Monday!  Booooooo

 

He's making the most of today, however, along with a few PINK McPEEPS who have donned a wee bit 'o green themselves in honor of St. Patrick's Day!! 

 

 

I couldn't help myself. . . . .delish!!!

 

 

 

 

You will have such a great time if you visit Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND!!  There are a lot of bloggers ready and waiting to share their PINKS or St. Patrick's touches with you, too!!

 

Happy Pink Saturday and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

DANA

The Return of Special PINKS!!!

 

They're baaaaaaaaack!!

That's right....the PINK PEEPS are back on the store shelves!!!

Sadly, a few of the ones in this box are missing their right eyes!!

That's OK.....I love 'em no matter what they look like!!

 

Just wanted you to appreciate just how much snow we've been dealing with over the last two plus weeks!!  We had back to back storms roll through leaving us with nearly 20 inches !!  Thankfully, we are having some warmer days this weekend (and some RAIN) so the melting should start to roll!

We are in a drought in the mid-west , so while the snow was not always welcome with what it did to our traffic or roofs (we had some fall in around town), it will certainly be appreciated by our lawns, gardens and farms!!  Actually..that grass beneath THE STONE RABBIT and his friends, THE PEEPS, is green now!!

 

 

Please visit Beverly at HOW SWEET the SOUND !  You will find LOTS and LOTS of other bloggers who are ready to share their PINKS with you this weekend!!

 

DANA

 

EASTER SALE PREPARATIONS.....A VALENTINE RECEIVED.... and a VALENTINE "RUN"

 

This is a Pink Saturday jumble of jabber this week!!  Here we go...... 

No. 1 ...with less than a week before my first sale of 2013, I'm in Panic Mode!!!

As usual (for me), I'm behind in getting my items "dreamed up" and then created.  I try to make up most of my patterns. That's not an easy thing to do in the first place and in the second place....it is time consuming.  THEN there is the huge amount of time is takes to make what I've designed.

 AND THEN, there's the distractions brought on by little Miss Twiggy who seems to want to be in the middle of EVERYTHING ....no matter what!  :)

 

So, for the next few days, my nose is at the grindstone, trying my best to be ready to sell Easter and Spring items next weekend!!

No. 2.....Grace's gorgeous Valentine had problems getting to my house, but it finally arrived....and I was sooo happy when it did!  As you can see it's a beauty....and well worth the wait.

I love it, Grace....it's a real treasure!

 

My camera isn't working right at the moment, so I had to use my phone camera to take these pictures.  Sorry about the poor quality, but I just wanted to capture all seven of my handmade Valentines!  They are all wonderful and special and I had such fun being a part of this swap!

 

 

No. 3....on February 9 I participated in my first "run" of 2013!

It was called the Sweetheart Shuffle and was held in the park and trail area that surrounds our Bass Pro store.

It was a MISERABLY cold morning as hundreds of us gathered to run, run/walk or walk either the 5K or 10K distances.  I went for the 5K.

Here we are at the "starting line"...shivering and ready to get moving!! 

 

 

This is me (on left) and my running friends Linda and her daughter Johnna after we'd completed the run.

We are half of a group of gals who have committed to running or run/walking a half marathon this fall!  

Right now...I'm no where near ready to do that, but the six of us have formed a little support group and are really looking forward to getting in shape to complete our goal!  Actually, Johnna is doing a full marathon on the same day we're doing the half!!

 

 

Usually, after one of our runs, the foods include fruit, granola bars, bagels, etc.  Well, we had bananas at this run, but they also gave us theses pretty PINK cuppy cakes as a little "sweetheart" treat!!

 

 

Here is THE STONE RABBIT posing with my bib number and medals from the run....AND my PINK cuppy cake.

Twiggy was very interested in that treat, too!! 

She doesn't miss a thing in this house!!

 

 

I'm glad she walked away before I had to take action to make her leave my treat alone!! 

It was yummy!!

 

 

 

 

No. 4. . .. I hope you plan a visit to Beverly's blog, How Sweet the Sound, because you are in for a real treat !  LOTS of bloggers are waiting to share their pinks with you on this week's PINK SATURDAY!!

DANA