i thank you...

well, it's a new year and i'm ready to welcome it.  thank you so much for all of the kind comments and support you all showed from my post about the loss of my mother.  i was truly touched that so many of you took the time to offer words of encouragement.  i mentioned the kindness of others briefly in the post, but it is really true--there IS good in people.  i witnessed it first-hand from my family and close friends, distant relatives and less familiar friends, people from back home that i hadn't seen in 10, or even 20 years, the blogging community, and even my Etsy customers.  people reached out when they didn't have to, offered encouragement, and shared personal stories.  the loss of my mother will stay with me for the rest of my life...on some days i will be consumed by grief; on others i will be warm with memories; and on others still, i will be amazed and in awe of the human spirit--for it is wonderful!

i don't know about you, but i am ready for some sharing!  i have been neglecting this space for far too long, but that doesn't mean i haven't been busy "behind the scenes."  there's quite a bit happening, actually.  i have some exciting announcements to make over the next several days, new items and sweet Valentines to debut in the Etsy shop (and here, too, of course!), and even a few projects from last year that i never had a chance to show you.  so let's get going, okay?

back in October--yes, waaaaay back then--i created these lovely tags for Crate Paper.  our assignment was to incorporate the trending chalkboard movement into our design.  the Maggie Holmes Flea Market collection was definitely one i did not get to use enough with everything that happened in the last couple months of the year, but i did get to make these, utilizing the gold chalkboard frame embellishments from the line.

in creating the tags, i wanted to find a different way of attaching them to packages and the wood brads (mostly from CP's Close Knit) were a fantastic way to do that!  by piercing a small hole in the box lid or through a gift bag, you have a clever little way to attach the tag to the gift.  it also requires little to no wrapping!

be sure to stop by Crate Paper to see the new collections for 2014...they're just as pretty as Flea Market and you're sure to be inspired by all of the beautiful work from the Design Team, too!

{i love the chipboard deer!}

for my last tag, i was going to use a brad with it, but i actually didn't like the way it looked, sitting just above the blue cabochon flower.  it looked pretty goofy so i went with the clothespin instead.

although i made these back in October, with their colors and sentiments, i think they're relevant for Valentine's Day so if you missed them on the CP blog last year, you'd probably never know this was a fall project.

thanks for checking in on me tonight...i'm still here!  and i'll be back SOON!