Leanne Shawler, Artist

I wanted to put all these posts together from 2010 of a collaborative book that we put together: I posted in three parts: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 I handmade cuffs as a thank you to each of the participants: Sue's cuff Rita's cuff Pam's cuff Sandy's cuff Cristina's cuff

Along with making other bracelets for those who joined me in this altered book page swap, I was going to make one for myself. Well, it took a year, but I finally sat down and did so. It's a little simpler: what looks like a lot of beading is actually a piece of beaded ribbon, but because of the pearls I couldn't fit any bling on :) There are other projects that need to be completed too, need to work on that.

So this is the sampler I made for my Mum for Christmas. Thankfully, I had an extra few weeks before seeing her. So it started out as a review of my year (one thing of each month), and then I found this cute owl on etsy by Michelle Palmer , and bought this cute stitching template of a turtle by Charlotte Lyons (funds raised to help Gulf wildlife), and a cute mini fabric collage by Pam Garrison . I got things back on the rails, though, and then filled the gaps with flowers and stars.... My "suzi blu" La Sirena mermaid. (I took this before I was finished, so her mouth isn't there.) A lace scrap to symbolize my mori girl interest: From my November vacation: Charlotte's turtle: V is for the Young Victoria project from the start of last year.

Here are the rest of the pages from the book. The back of Rita's page and the back of Cristina Sequino's ( Sweet Pea Ink ) page (I had to flip it because... well, you'll see in the next image): Cristina's page flipped open, so I had to flip her page so it would remain functional! Behind the dress is a glammed image of Victoria. On the right is the front of Robin Sanchez's ( Once Upon a Pink Moon ) page. Isn't that fringe just amazing? And the lace skirt? The back of Robin's page echoes my first page which is really cool, and nicely matches Pam Keravuori's page (love the detail in this and that it looks like a stage set!). Pam's blog is Pamela Jane's . The back of Pam's page and the first "sign in" page. We sent our pages off individually so it became a bit of a challenge to incorporate everyone's tags and cards. The other side of the signup page, which conceals yummy tags, and also a card that Sue sent that gave background to ...

So here are some peeks inside. This is the cover... This is the first page that I made. The back of my page and the amazing 3D shoe that Sandy Marotti of Sew Revived made for me! The back of Sandy's page and Sue Elseth's ( My Mother's Pearls ) luscious page. I love the pink velvet ribbon and how she dressed a young Queen Victoria. The back of Sue's page with the fun prize ribbon and Rita Blanks's page (no blog alas). Love the old millinery, the aged glitter and the flocked wallpaper background. More in a couple of days...

So May was our deadline for getting our pages done and sending them off to each other to compile into a book. I think we did pretty well with the deadlines! The beautiful pages sat in a (carefully protected) pile until two Mondays ago. Finally, I completed the "sign in" pages and put it all together. It's kind of bulky :) And pretty fantastic and scrumptious: from soft teals and pale pinks to luxurious reds and golds! I ordered the pages so they'd reflect their neighbor page and that worked out pretty well. I was thinking of redoing a couple of the pages I'd sent out to my partners, but I don't think I will now. The book is bulky enough as it is! I have just realized that I haven't put up any images of the pages within my "Young Victoria" book here. If there's interest, I could do that, but it'll take me a little while and I still haven't got the Hudson Valley pictures from September up! The book project came to be because I missed...

So the end result of my personal birthday spending resulted in a tithe of $42.29. Yeah, I can't believe I spent that much on myself either and I'm reassuring myself that it was over 25 days and big-ticket items were discussed... (Tithe is 10% for those who don't know.) $11 has already gone to Washington DC homeless. Which leaves $31.29. Which I have sent to the Central Asia Institute. What-the-what? You have heard of the book "Three Cups of Tea"? The institute is the non-profit that makes literacy and education, especially for girls, in the remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan possible. I'm reading Greg Mortenson's sequel: "Stones into Schools" and it is by turns funny, horrifying and inspiring. I find it amazing that one man can make such a change in such a remote part of the world. It becomes very clear in "Stones into Schools" that it isn't just one person. It's not just Greg Mortenson. It's dedicated men and women...

It's not just the last cuff I'm showing you, but it is also the last cuff I made. This was for Cristina of Sweet Pea Ink . We shared in the Madonna Montage swap from Silver Bella last year. It's a wired yellow sheer ribbon with little flowers printed on it, tulle over the top again (I think), edged in vintagey and blue lace, a few faux pearls, a pearl button and one of the tea dyed flowers. I have plans to make my own cuff to complete the set, as it were, but I haven't even started on it. First, I have to make curtains for my craft room so I'm ready for Where Bloggers Create II.

This one was for Sue of My Mother's Pearls who was my Silver Bella Sis last year. (It was the first Silver Bella for both of us.) Hence the Silver Bella crown in the middle. I made her bracelet cuff to look like (a little) the page I made for her in our Young Victoria swap. So there's blue seam binding under the sheer decorative lace (that has some glimmer to it), some cute trim I found, triplets of faux pearls, a glass button, and another of those tea-dyed flowers. Did I mention that these are all handsewn. I've given up on machine sewing ... I found it very restful. Another one tomorrow!

I thought I would do a week of posts about the items I mailed out last week, as part of my birthday treat to other folks. They were also thank yous to the gals who joined me in the Young Victoria Altered Book Collective. This is the first one that was received :) Robin of Once Upon a Pink Moon , who is a fellow SoCal Bella. We first met for the pre-Silver Bella gathering last year and had fun going through a Goodwill and then visiting Gilding the Lily before heading off to the party. Anyway, she loves Marie Antoinette, so I went for that effect as a choker... It's a black and white ribbon, overlaid with lace, with gathered tulle behind it, vintage faux pearls sewn onto it, and a tea-dyed flower for the center. A ribbon in one of her favorite colors to tie it on. Another gifty tomorrow!