A Couple of Birthday Gifts to Share

 You know that everyday is special

but

a day can feel even more special when friends

want to share your Birthday with them!

by sending and giving me a string of cards

and a few special gifts

like these! 

A dear little altered box filled with all number

of things like

these beautiful soldered pendants

and charms as well as some

beautiful vintage 

photo frames.

These came from dear Marie

at Lost Bird Studio

Marie knows that I am creating a journal of collaged pages

and tags which I have collected from many blogging

friends

and 

Marie has created the beautiful "Friends" bezel

for me to incorporate on the cover.

Thank you so very much Marie for thinking of me!

She is a darling and knows just the images that I love!

♥♥♥

Now we all know that books give us so much inspiraton

  for our creativity so no doubt

I'm going to love these!

♥♥♥

A beautiful cloche sitting on a decorated tin base

- another gift from Maggie

in which I have for the moment placed this most precious

vintage shawl and on top of which is one 

of Marie's pendants.

Now there is a story which came with this from my dear friend,

Rosemary (of some 46 years).

The shawl(which is almost like gossamer!)

belonged to her favourite Auntie (her mother's older sister)

and

it was kept with her lace wedding dress so Ro

assumes it may have been her Auntie's wedding day shawl which

she says is over 80 years old! 

Just how special is that - a true treasure!

I feel so blessed to receive such an amazing piece of the

finest knitting I have ever seen!

♥♥♥

Have you ever seen one of these?

Well it happens to be a "dibbler" - an instrument

which has been turned from some red gum timber

for using in planting seeds -

what more could a garden enthusiast want???

Such a thoughtful gift from Jenny.

A stunning cheese plate with cover so beautifully fashioned

with scrolls and leaves with silver plating

and sitting next to it is this most amazing hand fashioned angel

doll created so incredibly by my very talented doll artist and dear friend, Dorthe

at www.denlillelade.blogspot.com

So please pay these girls a visit and view their creations.

You will not be disappointed I assure you - anything but!

Their work is truly inspirational!!!

and both are so gifted!

And here she sits watching over me looking so elegant now

with her pearls over her cream and beige laces, ribbons

and tuille with the sweetest blue eyes 

and feather like

hair.

My heartfelt gratitude Dorthe - she's just adorable

and so special!

Now, I had to show you this very special gift from my friend,

Jo in New Zealand 

This special gift which she organized will go to a family in 

East Timor to provide them with a Watering can, one of the gardening implements 

which may help them in growing a healthy and stable diet to

avoid the incidence of malnutrition.

This is organized through Oxfam who work with 

Movimento Co-operativo Economico Agricola

to assist the people in East Timor with self sufficiency.

My Birthday Card message to you all is above!

Have a fantastic week full of adventure

and creativity!

Thank you for all of your kind wishes and

comments as well as a warm welcome

to all my new followers!!!

Love, Suzyxxx

More Creative Works from Blogging Friends

As I mentioned in my last post

I have some more beautiful works and gifts

given to me recently from dear blogging friends

including this

most gorgeous lace and fabric collage from my
very dear friend, Dorthe,
www.denlillelade.blogspot.com

Now isn't that a most beautiful image and she is surrounded 

with some of the finest organza and lace fabrics 

you could imagine adorned and embellished with

doilies and laces

and

also included were these

and

for a much closer look - one of Dorthe's tags embellished with more

tags, a bird image and one of her special transparent leaves

so delicately sewn

and some ephemera to use in my journals

Dorthe your heart is so much bigger than your clever

creative hands and your friendship is a real treasure to me!

Thank you so very much! - You know where these

will live in my home!

Alexandra from www.cottage-dreams.blogspot.com

sent me this from Germany

Look at these beautiful collaged cards with hearts
and butterflies and a sweet image!
and

a collection of unusual braids to use in my creations.
What a lovely friend you are Alexandra.




From New Zealand came this most precious 
ceramic heart with a lacey design pressed into it -

Isn't that so very beautiful and it represents a special love
and friendship I share with my dear friend, Jo, which spans
more than 40 years now!
Jo's special gift, among so many, is her gorgeous
eco-dyeing - creating sustainable colour
on cloth and fibre
 and the creations made from
these.
So go and visit Jo's blog at
www.aquaplusflora.wordpress.com

All of these beautiful creations plus braid and laces
came from dear Judy of
www.judysfabrications.blogspot.com


Judy's current passion is for paper journals
and she is one of the most talented bloggers in so many different
arts that I have met and she lives in South Australia
which is just across the border from me
which would be more than 500k away -
Thank you Judy so much - you are one of the kindest
friends I know!


and


lastly
from the United Kingdom
came all these beautifully hand created items
from Lynn Stevens of
www.trashtotreasureart.blogspot.com

A cleverly made cone filled with lots of vintage sewing items,
lace motifs and more laces and braid on a card
along with a beautiful selection of
vintage buttons.

I was thrilled to receive all of these gorgeous things Lynn
and you know that every piece will be used
(in fact, I have already used some of these items
in a brand new journal I am creating which
is almost finished)


and just to wet your appetite and with Springtime approaching
in the Northern hemisphere 
here is a little preview -

and just to finish this post I have made a collage
of some very beautiful handmade birthday
cards which I received very
recently!

Aren't these just so gorgeous
and
yes - I have been so very spoiled by
some very beautiful friends!
I feel blessed in so many ways!


I just love this saying too:
"The best feeling comes when you realize
that you are perfectly happy
without the things once you thought
you needed the most"!


Thank you dear blogging friends for visiting, commenting,
following, and supporting me in my endeavours
to become a whole person worthy of
being acknowledged for just who I am!
I hope your days are full of little moments of joy!


Love and hugs, 
Suzy xxx