A little bit of everything

It's been a little while, hasn't it? These past couple of weeks have been very busy, and I just haven't had the time update my blog. But I did get a bit of creating done. In fact, I finally finished my Italy album! I also had time for some stitching, and a little trip to the potteries at Seagrove. More on each further down in this post.
But first, here's one of my last layouts for Italy:

I think all the product on this layout except for the stick pins, pearls, and the letters are from Graphic45. I was inspired for this layout by this Pencillines sketch:

As you can see, I turned the sketch on its side and scooted the elements to the right a bit. I used some of Graphic 45's flowers, and in order to give them some more dimension, I folded the tips of each petal under just slightly, and then bent each one in the middle. I think it makes the flowers much more intersting, don't you? (well, if you can tell from this photo anyway)

And here's my last double page layout, about some of the interesting things that we saw as we wandered the streets of Rome:

Finally, I made my title page:

This layout contains most of the ephemera I collected during our stay. The image is a postcard I bought, my museum pass is in the top corner, and my train and airplane tickets are tucked under the postcard:

I popped up one of my letters and some of the Graphic 45 cutouts to create a little dimension for the page:

Now for my stitching progress on Sarah Hatton McPhail. Here's where I was back on the 12th:

and here's where I am now:

Today, Alton and I decided to make a visit to the NC Pottery Center today. I have been wanting to check it out for years, but never quite had the time. Friday morning, I read that they were having a special exhibit of teapots and teacups, and I decided it was time to visit. There were some amazing teapots on display. Some were simply gorgeous, and some were amazingly bizarre. We were handed a map to all the local potteries, so we picked out a few to visit, and off we went. I exercised what I consider to be an incredible amount of restraint and only bought two pieces from two different galleries. First there's this beautiful little vase:

I loved the color, of course, and the little crystal blooms are so pretty.
Bot Alton and I decided that our favorite pottery was the Whynot Pottery (located in the town of Whynot, of course). We both made a purchase there. Mine was this scrumptious swirly bowl:

I haven't decided where to put either of my new treasures, or how to use them, but I'm really looking forward to figuring it out! This week promises to be another crazy busy one. I may be in trial, I may not. We'll find out Monday morning! Til then, happy crafting everyone!