Happy Easter - Two Years of Blogging!

 Happy Easter Everyone and Welcome to Magpieheaven. Today is a special day for me, as  the 4th April 2013 was very first blog post! Leandra Franich of PaperArtsy suggested I give blogging a try, and what a wonderful learning experience it's been! I now know what a Patwit is, for a start! I didn't know if anyone would want to look at what I created, or read what I had to say - I didn't quite know what Followers were, or how you might acquire them! Since then I've learned so much from wonderful artists; made fantastic friends; learned a little about taking photos and a lot about craft blogging! I still feel there's a great deal more to discover and those two years have flown by! And talking about flying, here is the first project I ever featured on my blog!

It was an exploding box from Retro Cafe Art Gallery. I owned some Graphic 45 paper; around 3 or 4 shades of Fresco Finish paint and a very small selection of PaperArtsy and Crafty Individuals stamps! I had seen a box created by Linda Cain and I was just dying to have a go at creating! It was a gift for an old friend who loves butterflies' wings and it still sits on her piano!

On that first post I said that I hoped my blog would take flight, but I didn't know the fun in store! Blogging and crafting have really been two of the best things that have happened to me! I've loved having a chance to create projects through which I could tell a story as well as tiny worlds to escape into...

There have been so many fun projects to get inky and painty with

 and I've received beautiful artwork from friends, like these hares created by the very talented Lyn Tivenan in charcoal and pastels - my next project is to frame these!

And tags and ATCs swapped with friends and followers...

Kirsten Sheridan, Lin Shields and Emma Taylor's work features here. I've discovered the delights of making art dolls; collage; mixed media canvasses and explored the world of crackles and glazes! Now I'm beginning to have the confidence to use my own artwork along with the lovely stamps and digital images available.

 Peg dolls are my current obsession.

These pegs make fun gifts and swaps! I recently gifted the Bird-Lady peg to my dear crafting friend, Lucy...

And this double-sided Elizabethan Lady was a gift to my friend, Lyn,the creator of the hares. On one side we have Hermione from The Winter's Tale and on the reverse, her daughter Perdita. The two little figures suggested the springtime awakening of hope and reconciliation that Shakespeare's play always evokes for me.

As a celebration of two years of blogging I would like to gift one of my clothes-peg dolls to a friend or follower who makes a comment on this blog. I am working on her at the moment so what she looks like will be a surprise. I will pick names from a hat and post here who I have chosen to receive the doll in a fortnight's time.

I should like to say a very special Thank You to all those who have read my blog over the last two years and left such kind and encouraging comments. I would also like to thank all of you in Blogland who share your creativity through your blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Thanks to you I have been truly inspired and visited places I could never have dreamed of!