Loving Hearts!

Hello and Welcome to Magpieheaven, Followers and Friends. Back in January, I think, I saw a beautiful post on Facebook showing a swap that had taken place between some artists I admired. The Christmas ornaments they had exchanged were so beautiful and original that I had to comment. Imagine my delight, when the talented Vickie Kammerer who had been part of the swap asked me if I would be interested in joining in with a Valentine Heart Swap in February! I just couldn't wait to begin creating a heart or heart-shaped gift for each of the participants: Vickie, of course; the incredible Lynne Moncrieff; the lovely Kristen Robinson; uber-talented Kim Collister and the unbelievable Sherry Westfall-Matthews. It was so exciting to think that after exclaiming with delight at their beautiful and original work on their blogs and on Facebook, I was actually going to be able to own something created by these super talented ladies. My work was also going to be travelling all the way to Scotland and America in return. I hoped that my creations would be a worthy exchange for such skilled and imaginative artists. Here are some of the pieces I created.

This little traveller set off with hope in her heart and arrived safe and sound with Kim Collister.

This Relics and Artifacts heart was decorated with Frescos, Treasure Gold and Inktense blocks and finished off with a rusty fleur de lis and a little black lace and found a home with Vickie.

This little bird had a long way to fly! I used collage of my own art work for this brooch destined for Kristen.

Another world traveller - this time bound for Scotland and the inimitable, Lynne Moncrieff!

Finally from left to right: the wonderful Sherry's ornament; Vickie's and an extra piece made for my dear friend, Lucy's birthday.

And here are the beautiful ornaments I received in return. I actually remembered to  photograph Lynne's before I unwrapped it! I'm so glad I did and I was able to share this delightful unopened package with you! I'm only sorry I didn't have the restraint to do the same with all the others!

There was so much attention to detail both in Lynne's packaging and in her ornament. Lynne's pieces always have that fairy-tale quality I love. As with everyone's, photographs just don't do them justice!

There were beautiful hand-stitched pieces from Sherry and Kristen. I so love the felting on this one!

And I just love that eye that now watches over us! The stitched text on Kristen's and the frayed fabric were lovely!

Kim's canvas was vintage and vibrant with a great message!

Here finally is Vickie's, full of fabulous texture and I love those little screws! It's just a pity the light couldn't catch the subtle colouring of the wings and central plaque.

So many variations on the simple heart shape! It's amazing how differently hearts can be interpreted. Thank You so much to Vickie for organizing this swap so well and to everyone for sharing their art so generously. It was an absolute joy to be involved and I'm still loving those hearts, although Valentine's day is long past. Have a lovely creative week everyone and may your hearts be full of joy.