Swaps for Les Sirenes

The darling little button above was one of the first signs of MAGIC for the Art Event Les Sirenes. When I saw that button & the designer/Swap Hostess's invitation I KNEW I had to sign up. None other than my buddy Christine otherwise known as Dolly Belle designed the swap & challenged us to make 6 roses in colors of pale blue, ivory, or coral pink. Also we were to include some shells & other treasures if we so chose to. She would then take 6 of the flowers & create 6 one of a kind necklaces for each of us. Now for those of you who are regulars here at my blog, you met Christine as one of the teachers in Savannah at Petticoats & Parasols Art Event. If you missed that go to the sidebar & find Art Events & look at the fun we had there. Now, this is what I sent...

Some random pearls from a broken necklace, some pearly spiral shells & tiny sand dollars with a beautiful aqua crystal glued in the middle. Below you can see my flowers & the little bags that hold the shells.

All put in the box that I made for Christine. Yes, lots of glue & Martha Stewart GLITTER made that plain shell box shine. I then glued some beautiful shells on the top & tied it up with pale blue tulle & shipped them off with dreams of the beauty Christine would create.

Here's that sweet girl with two HUGE bins of necklace beauty. Can you believe how many she made? YIKES I CAN'T IMAGINE how many hours she spent on these little gifts of love. THANK YOU CHRISTINE YOU ARE AMAZING & I LOVE MY TREASURE!!!!!

I hate to say but, I can't remember the beautiful names for the different necklaces. But, we'll call this necklace #1. So pretty! I love how the flowers are all soooooooo different. Didn't Christine do an amazing job choosing which flowers to group together?

Here's Necklace #1 Group photo. Looking GOOD LADIES!

And here is Lisa holding up her necklace. She was in my group so that is what my necklace (Group #2) looked like.

And the beautiful Ms Joy showing off Necklace #3 I soooooooooo loved those colors.

And Ms Cheryl is not to be out done shinning with delight in Necklace #4. Oh Cheryl sweetie I know you are in Texas right now at The Gilded Life doing the Canton Flea Market... I hope you California girls don't cook in this horrid heat! I was lucky to meet Cheryl in February when we both attended another Gilded Life Art Event called HeArt of Communion. It's great to hook up with friends at all these different events.

Moving on to the next swap... Below you see the thirteen 3 x 3 inch squares I made for the Swap hosted by my sweet friend Joy (yep the same one that threw the awesome Martini Party I posted about a couple of posts ago). OK... the rules for this swap were to do thirteen 3 x 3 squares & send them to Joy & she would put them together with vintage lace & other goodies to make a Wall Hanging. I used my Mermaid image & printed her on fabric. I then added some glitter, pearls, mica flakes & a pretty tulle fluting behind her to use for my contribution. Below, is my goodies ready to go into the pretty box I made for Joy.

And here is Joy & I that night after she passed them all out. There were twelve girls that did a 3x3 and do you know NOT ONE of us used the same image. I thought that was a miracle. THANK YOU JOY!!!!!! I will treasure this & always think of you when I see it.

The next swap I participated in was Jessi's Bottle Swap. Below is ever bubbly Jessi! What a doll she is. I had heard so much about her but, she is all together as cute as everyone says. And Jessi is another one headed here to Texas this weekend. Stay COOL Jessi & I can't wait to hear about your next adventure. Jessi matched us up with a partner.

Here I am holding the bottle Kathy J. made for me.

And here is the bottle I did for Kathy. The rules of the swap were to make a Mermaid themed bottle & put your favorite dessert recipe inside. I had wanted to solder a bottle but, I played by the rules & made it so the top with this beautiful shell could come off. When I said something to Jessi (when I saw MANY soldered tops & NO recipes, that I followed the rules... Jessi laughed & said "Oh I really don't have rules". Next time I'm doin my own thing. But, I still loved how my Mermaid done with contact paper for the transfer (Lisa's technique) was clear & you could see through her when you hold the bottle to the light. And my top DOES come off & my recipe was for peach cobbler.

Below is my precious friend Danielle holding her bottle & you can see the box it came in below her. These girls go all out in presentation. In fact... presentation is as important as the gift itself. I had never met Danielle but, she & I are buddies now. She says I have a "twang" & I think she talks "funny" (I'm from Texas & she's from Massachusetts) but, I can tell you the North & South doesn't cause a problem for making Best Buddies. We're talking roommates for Silver Bella next year! She promises to show me the ropes.

Speaking of making bottles... Jessi had two partners to make for PLUS she made one for our Event hostess Kim, & a few others. Look at the next two photos to see the beautiful bottles she made.

Great Job Jessi!!!!!

And here is my roommate Cathy's bottle from Andrea.

And the bottle Cathy made for Andrea.

Another southern sweetie is Sherry showing you the bottle Kathy J (yep, same one that made mine) made for her. Kathy J had two swap partners because the numbers were not even. I LOVE this bottle of Sherry's. Notice we are all sporting out necklaces from Christine in many of these photos.

Another shot of Sherry's bottle. I may try this technique on another bottle for me.

I'm not sure who's bottle this was but, it's another one of my favorites. And see the recipe rolled up to the side?

And another two favorite sweeties is my blogging buddy Karla Nathan & sweet Jen. I introduced you to Jenn in an early Les Sirene post when you saw the amazing shell covered ship she bought at Vendor Night. Both of these sweeties are so much fun. And aren't the bottles they made for each other amazing? Click on the photo to enlarge. Karla used a porcelain doll & made her into a Mermaid & I soooooooooooooo love the huge shell Jenn put on Karla's bottle.

Denise had Jessi's name & anyone who knows Jessi knows she is a Barbie NUT!!!! Here is the box & bottle Denise made for her. Oh that crown!!!!!! Be still my heart!

And a shot of Jessi & her bottle. Inside was a McDonald's Happy Meal Barbie. CLEVER!!!!!!!

Next I'll share a few photos of the Mermaid Treasure Box Swap. I did not participate in this one but, there was some OVER THE TOP boxes of AMAZING TREASURES!

This box was made for Joy by Cathy. I know Joy will LOVE using all the wonderful Vintage goodies included in her box. The photo above shows the contents & the one below the outside of the box. Good Job Cathy!

This gorgeous Treasure Box was made by Julie(sorry I don't know who the lucky Mermaid was that received it). Can you imagine how much time & how many shells? Didn't I tell you the talent at this event was unimaginable?

Andrea & her beautiful Treasure Box. Notice the beautiful lights in the trees that made the patio area feel like a fairyland at night. And yes, those are heaters that are ON because it was so cool & YES, ladies this was July. Californai Coast... Heaven on Earth!!!! Are you still loving my sharing this event? Are you tired of it yet? Just posting these memories make me SMILE!!!!