Just a few...

Little notes before I head out on our trip. My sister Ginger and I leave from the hill country on Thursday the fourteenth and won't return until Tuesday the nineteenth. Eureka Springs, here we come!

Last time, I posted a pic of downtown ES, but here's the cottage where we'll stay. Rosewood Cottage, 'tis, and the lady I talked with is exceptionally friendly.

Isn't the cottage terrific? The bus stops in front too, but we're only about ten blocks from downtown. Of course, if I walked there, I'd probably need a nap before I could do anything!

I've been busy making token gifts for my sisters and though I can't show them here, I can show the packaging. First, though, an explanation. Last month, I posted about an Etsy seller, BellaVioletta here. Nice lady that she is, Kim sent me a thank you gift. (I intended to post a thank you back then but never got around to doing so. Forgive me, Kim!) I was as impressed with her packaging as with her gift--well, almost. But look at it. Pretty terrifical, isn't it?

I didn't take pictures of the DoeDoe birds and stars she sent, though you'll see some in the pictures that follow. But I liked the packaging so much, I decided to use the idea for my sisters. I needed something bigger than the book page Kim used so I started with plain brown paper, which looked quite oridinary. So...what else? I spiffed 'em up! 

Ginger, my next youngest sister, has a green thumb. She credits me with starting her in gardening, but I think she's much better at it. (She might be a bit more timid when it comes to pruning. I think she empathizes with the plant on every cut she makes while I barrel-ass in and cut off anything that gets in my way!)  So I went for the plant theme for her. 

This was the first package I made and I have to admit I took more time with it, cutting images from an old issue of BH&G.

Notice the little stars from Bella Violetta on the tie? I love 'em!

Billie is a talented writer who was quite successful back in the day (and could be again if she'd apply pants seat to desk chair). So I used actual pages from a novel. (I know, that's blasphemy for a writer, but while reading it, I decided it was nothing I'd recommend or pass on so I might as well use it for altered art.)  (Also tied with a DoeDoe bird from Kim.)

Daisy's a gourmet cook. (While the rest of us know our way around the kitchen, she truly excels.) So I used cutouts from a Cook's Catalog. (See how useful Kim's gift was? And I still have more, which I'm thinking of ways to use. Wasn't she generous?)

And lastly--though by no means leastly--Alice, the baby girl. She's a talented singer and musician. (I could have also included scholar as she's working on her Master's right now, but I decided to focus on the music.) I used copied pages of my SIL's keyboard music book for this. (This was my last one, and I'll admit I was running out of steam.)

One more gift package to show, and I'll be done. Daisy will be celebrating a big zero birthday this month so I wanted to take something special for her. Can't show the gift, but here's how I packaged it. (If you can tell what the gift is, don't hint at it to Daisy. Maybe she won't see this page before we leave. Ya think?)

Okay, you're right, the wrapping's nothing but a vintage pillow slip tied with a ribbon. Still it'll pack easy and protects the gift, and she can use the pillow slip--isn't it pretty?

So that's all, y'all. I'll check in when we return. Maybe I'll even have time to visit my fave blogs then. I'm sure there'll be lots to catch up on.

Ta.