Author name: Karla Nathan

Last year at Birdsong was the first time I'd seen a snippet roll.  They are an interesting project, and can be displayed rolled up, or hung on the wall. 

 Barb (one of our peeps) has hosted a snippet swap for our party, and I debated on whether or not to join, but was enticed by the idea of making one. And when my pal, Shawn, needed a partner, I decided to jump in.

It was right at the time I was heading to Texas for the retreat, and I hoped to have some spare time to work on this, so I filled a bag with tidbits ( I guess I should call them snippets, not tidbits, huh?).  

This Victorian, hand embroidered and painted lace was something I've clung to for years and haven't found just the right thing to use it on yet.  It was just what I needed for this!

Now, I've never made a snippet roll before, and really wasn't all that familiar with them.  I'm under the impression that some things are meant to be able to be taken off. But I don't know where I heard that. It could be wrong.

I could've made it up.

But either way, I added some charms that tied on, a dress clip that clipped on, and a itsy bitsy corsage that pins on.

Recently, I realized that I never, ever use my silver cutlery for dining.  Just a few favorite pieces and that is all.  So, I'm on the path of finding homes or uses for it.  I pulled out this spoon to use instead of a typical spool for the top of the roll.

Between redoing knots in the silk ribbon ties, and glue holding it in place, I got things a little messy. So, I glued more crap over the messy spots  embellished over those areas.

This charm had been on my desk forever.  I'd painted it way back when and I guess it was just waiting for the right home.

I loved making the first roll so much, I decided to make a mini one to give to the swap hostess as a thank you.

I'd packed a big spool, just in case the spoon didn't work, so I put it to work on this snippet.

Karen had a vintage wedding gown to share with us, and I cut off a bit of the hem to use as the back drop for the additions I was gluing down.

Guncle Randy had given me a scrap pack full of great ephemera, and this nest was packed in there.

There is a possibility that I see more snippets in my future. This was another instance where I was glad I made the time to enter a swap. I'm in three of them, which isn't like me, because I always think I'm too busy. But the cottage, the matchbox easel, and now this snippet roll have all shown me that making the time to join the fun is worth the effort.

I'll show you what I get in return once I get back from my trip to Florida.

My pal, Betti, offered to host a swap for Birdsong. It was a new idea for me.  We have done a matchbox swap every year at the party, but this one was a little different. Her idea was to attach the matchbook to a mini canvas, and stand it on a little easel.

I enjoyed doing it so much, that I made up four of them (there were four easels and four canvases in the packages from Michaels).  This one I crafted for Betti as a thank you.  She has a blog called Betti's Beehive (hence the little fuzzy bee that I added) and loves bright colors, to match her vivid personality. 

For all of my creations, I covered the canvas in old wallpaper, and made two copies of an old photo.  One, I glued down to the wallpaper covered canvas. Then, I embellished the matchbox, and glued it down.

After that, I took the second copy and cut out the arms, and glued them over the box to make it look like the person was holding the box like a wrapped package.

All the easels were painted white, then rubbed with ink pads.  I added a few embellishments and filled the box with tiny treats.  

I'll show you what I get in the swap when I get back from my trip. (I've pre-posted this before heading to the beach)

Here is the cute, and colorful example that Betti made for the swap.