Summer swap

Before I get to the summer swap.... I just wanted to let everyone know that we're OK! Other than a few branches in the yard, and losing cable.... Nothing big happened at our house..... LOL... and as usual I slept through most of it:)
OK... so

I participated in Cockerina summer swap this year:) It was my first swap.... and I am soooo glad I was a part of it!

This is what I got from Auxi! I've always wanted something crocheted in mini! And was so surprised when this tiny little bikini came... And look- it fits perfectly on my pig:)

Auxi sent a hat and blanket, too! I can't tell you how much I'm in love with this set! This is what I had packed to take on vacation with me.... I had planned on doing a photo shoot on the beach with her, but mother nature had other plans! So hopefully here in the next couple of weeks, I will take her to the beach here and take pictures! I even bought her buckets to build mini sand castles with!


And this is what I sent to Sonya! When I found out she was my trade buddie.... I sat down and went all through her blog to give me an idea of what to make.... And when I saw her American home... I knew she need a red, white and blue birdhouse. I have to say... this is one of my favorites!!!

So I thought I'd show you a little bit about how it was made. I make all my birdhouses this way.. First I build a shell...which is the base for the birdhouse. With the house... I knew I wanted stripes... so I took a few sticks, painted them, crackled them and aged them before I attached them to the house. I used a color called linen instead of white because I wanted it to look old.

One by one they got cut out, sanded down some more... and then were added to the sides.

Next I built a base and went ahead and finished the top. The stars were made using a pencil eraser, lol.... I cut out several before I found one I liked.

After I crackled the base I went back and scraped off the sides, sanded it down and then I went back over the whole thing with watered down brown paint and filled in where I sanded off.

...just a close up pic of the roof- Love those stars!!

And this is what I ended up with... :) And the best part- Sonya loves it as much as I do:)

I am so glad I did this. Sometimes... it's good to challenge yourself to see what Else you can do.

Until next time.....