Hello! I’m so excited to be a part of Bluebird Papercraft’s Happy Homemaker Tag Swap! Let me tell you, this is one creative bunch of ladies. I feel very honored to take part. The idea is to pick a theme that expresses “homemaking” to you and then create two identical tags each month. At the end of the year, we will be paired up with one of the other swappers. We’ll send one of our sets to our partner and receive a set in return.

Also, we were challenged to make only one supply purchase and make it last for the entire year! I actually had recently purchased a giant super pad of gorgeous paper, so I took ten sheets out and I will use those. Then I treated myself to a couple of CD’s of images since that is where I find my stash lacking. (Can’t wait to get those!)

My inspiration for my tags are the resourceful women of World War II. I love the “We can do it!” spirit that they brought to the home front, whether it was serving in the Red Cross, working in a factory or tending to home and hearth. Often they were doing all three!

I hope to celebrate the way that these women used their resources to maximum effect. I know that I don’t always use my resources as well as I would like, so I hope this will inspire me to do better. The ladies of the Greatest Generation are my heroes!

Since January is a time of new starts, and particularly our tag swap, this little cuckoo will be my sounding alarm. I also love the reference to the “little birdie” since it’s a cheerful little bluebird behind this swap AND this is an image that she has graciously shared on flickr.

I cut the top of the tag to echo the rooftop of the little cuckoo’s home. Because my printer insists on printing everything too dark, I cut out a circle of creamy ledger-type paper with pinking shears to set behind the clock and set it apart from the background paper. I also put a square of foam core under the clock to give more dimension. The writing on top is original to the image. The writing in the oval on the bottom, I added. I also added a pretty little gem to the center of the pendulum.

I do love my tags. I know I still have a lot to learn and it will be fun to see how I improve as the year progresses, but for now, I am satisfied!

(Blogger keeps turning the image above on it’s side! Why is it doing that?)