Lilies & Dolls

#42 Sea Goddesses

2012-01-28T12:14:00.001-05:00

#42 Sea Goddesses, a photo by Connie Powell on Flickr.

Gifts in the New Year

2012-01-22T18:23:00.001-05:00

Today I went to my local quilt shop "Quilting Adventures" in Richmond, Va. My ATC swap group met and I didn't have any cards to trade. But I didn't come away empty handed. The Swap Group is a generous bunch of ladies who don't mind sharing. A couple even made cards just for me which I thought was really sweet! I heard somewhere recently that 13 people thought of you every day. So no one should ever feel alone and that no body ever thought of them. Wish I could remember where I read that! Anyway I thought I would share some pictures of what they created. I feel like I made out like a bandit today. I saw techniques today that I can't wait to try. I'm so inspired! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

General Theme - Two at the top made by Wendy B.
Bottom Left made by Cary S. Bottom right Wendy B.

From the top to right going down...
Vintage Theme
Susanna C., Heather S., Cary S.,
Dorothy D., Carol T., Joyce H., Brenda J.

Mermaidens

2012-01-08T08:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I bought some cool Mermaid images from Artchix Studio. I'm using them to make ATCs. This is what I've done so far and I'm thinking it's looking kind of blah. I painted and distressed some water color paper and used that as part of the background. And I like it but still....I need something else. I'm going to add tiny shiny shells called Mermaid toes. But I think I need to add more stuff to make them my own. Any ideas?

I'm also having issues with blogger pics today. None of them want to show themselves to me. I hope that's a temporary issue.

Now I'm off to hunt and sort through my fabric to see what I can find to make a Friendship Fan out of. That's the next project in my Doll Club. It should be fun and interesting to see what everybody comes up with.

ATC Mermaidens

Fairytales ATC

2011-12-30T08:12:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a Magical and Wonderful New Year

Idyllic a Zetti Card

2011-11-30T06:45:00.001-05:00

My latest ATCs

2011-11-22T06:52:00.000-05:00

My favorite "Peace"

Zetti Card "Ancient Alien"

Yield to the Bride

Love is a Beautiful Web

I plan on taking a break from making these over the holidays. I want my card making to go in a new direction. I'm not sure what that will be yet. I'm thinking more collage, more detail, etc. And more Zetti because they are just weird and fun.

Thanks for visiting and I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Take Care

Connie

ATC Crazy!

2011-11-17T07:04:00.000-05:00

Hello blogger friends!

I'm still crazy for making ATCs. I haven't forgotten my dolls or art quilts and plan on getting back to them in the near future. In the meantime here are two ATCs that I've made. One is kind of weird but I like it and the other is kind of racy so please don't be offended. Both are cut and paste using Cemerony and various magazine images.

Letters from Adam

Don't Tell

Invitation ATC

2011-10-23T17:48:00.000-04:00

I sat at home last night and went through some images I had bought and looked through some magazines and came up with this ATC. The funny thing is I hate working at night but for some reason ATCs seem to be a night thing for me. I guess I'm more relaxed (tired) and the images seem to come together. This ATC to me means this; A young couretan being showered with invitations, gifts of jewelry and flowers. What was her life like? Did she enjoy it? Did she hate it? Who knows..... anyway this is the ATC. Please tell me what you think....

Erosion Bundle Update

2011-10-06T17:37:00.000-04:00

I took part in the 2011 Erosion Bundle project and I loved it. I'm sad to hear that Kris will not be hosting it again in 2012. We were supposed to have our EB Artwork done and posted by August 31st. Needless to say, I didn't make the deadline. And I'm still not finished. BUT I HAVE PLANS! I am going to make an Owl and my EB fabric will be a part of it. I knew as soon as I unwrapped it in April that it would somehow be incorporated into a bird figure. I spent a large part of today cutting out feathers. Below are pics of the main EB fabric before and after cutting out the feathers. I'm hoping to have the Owl done by the end of the year because Deanna and I have agreed that this year's challenge would be a bird (and a brooch). What do you think so far?

Dream Lake

2011-10-01T16:56:00.000-04:00

Here is my latest ATC. Yes, I'm hooked. This one is kind of dreamy looking so I decided to call it "Dream Lake". I enjoy naming my little card creations. This one incorporates 5 different elements. The (1) background paper is just something I smeared acrylic paint on one day, (2) the moon (or sun) is a sequin, (3 )the image is from an old address book I had. I scanned it and cut out the lady figure and then printed her, cut her out and glued her to the background. She was missing an arm so I gave her (4) a cape in the form of some tissue paper I had painted while sun printing last year. And (5) the lake is the inside of a paper dollie which was also sun printed last year. I'd kind of like to do a series of cards that look like they could be dreams. That would be cool.

Let me know what you think.

ATC Club

2011-09-26T04:36:00.000-04:00

My ATC Club met yesterday at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Va. The theme for the swap was Simplicity. The cards I made were anything but simple. I recycled cereal boxes and coffee filters to make them. The scan of the cards really dosen't do them justice. They are so much prettier in person. They have depth and texture and glow because they are embossed. I painted the cereal box with blue acrylic paint, let that dry and then cut the box into ATC size cards. I think I got 7 - 8 cards out of half a box. Then I used a glue stick to lay down torn up bits of the used coffee filters and the quote "Live Simply that others may Simply Live". After it was all dry I embossed it using clear ink and embossing powder. I did all of that in early August. After a while I decided they needed something more so I added the butterfly which was also embossed. I think it gave them the something extra that they needed.

I also made a few Zentangle / Face stamp cards to share. I didn't make enough and will need to make several more and hand them out next time. I took my Zentagle book, pre-stamped cards, blank cards and my face stamps so we could all play with them. Here are pics of the cards I made to share.

Available ATCs

2011-09-18T12:43:00.002-04:00

Available ATCs, a set on Flickr.
I did these a week or so ago.

Isabel

2011-09-11T10:21:00.001-04:00

This is a small art quilt I have been working on. All of the fabrics were hand dyed by me. The face was created using water color pencils, the head dress and dress were wrinkled and then appliqued to the background. Then I added beads for bling.
All I need to do now is finish the edges.

Artist Trading Cards

2011-09-11T07:39:00.002-04:00

Artist Trading Cards , a set on Flickr.

I can't seem to get a slideshow to work! The code from Flickr shows pictures but they aren't mine. How frustrating. Can anybody tell me what I need to do? Thanks

Making ATCs

2011-09-04T15:21:00.000-04:00

These are the ATCs I made during the week of our power outage after Hurricane Irene. The one in the top left is named Princess Irene. I made it the night of the storm by candlelight. I was so bored. All of them except the very bottom one was created using face stamps by the Enchanted Gallery. If you look in my side bar you will find a link to the website. I stamped the cards and then added Zentangle like doodles. Some are better than others as far as dimension goes. I really like doing these but think I will take a short break and get back to my sewing machine now that the lights are back on.

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-31T10:32:00.000-04:00

What can I say? We are ok. We got through without any major damage, just a few tree limbs down in our yard. We still don't have power and that has been a bit of a hassle. I don't expect we'll have power for at least another week considering almost every power line is down in New Kent county. I think a big old tree fell on almost everyone of them! We were lucky. And I'm thankful for that. Very thankful.

I spent the first night and the first two days without power making ATCs. I'll post pics as soon as I can.

I hope everybody else in the path of this storm is doing ok....

Take Care

ATC's Again!

2011-08-21T15:33:00.000-04:00

I am so bitten by the ATC Bug! These little cards are so addicting. Here is one that I'm working on. My work is still a little rough but I'm learning as I go. Making these cards is so freeing. You can take whatever you want, alter it, etc. and glue it to a little card and make a little artsy thing. I just love it.

Mermaid ATC - Adrift

2011-08-17T11:31:00.000-04:00

Here is another ATC that I recently made. I am calling this one "Adrift". This one has a face that I drew that is glued to a painted coffee filter background. I did fancy doodles around her head for hair. I was working on another idea I had, got frustrated and this is the result. Do you ever find that you do that? Start on a project that you really want to do, get frustrated and do something else and end up liking it? I find I do that a lot. So maybe frustration is really my friend?

Still Here

2011-08-14T11:04:00.001-04:00

In case anyone was wondering, I'm still here. I just haven't been doing much lately. It's been super hot here in Virginia and it just sucks the life out of me. But now that it's gone from like 106 degrees to a cool 90 degrees maybe I can get back into my Embellishment Study Group. I did go to an ATC meet at Quilting Adventures. It was interesting. We're not swapping one on one like you usually do. We're doing a group swap. And I guess that makes sense since it's more or less the same group of people at every meeting. Most of the traders are into fabric ATCs but I want to make them out of paper (for a change of media) so that's what I plan to do. I must admit I am hooked on them. But the ones I see on line are not exactly what I want to do. I'm not into cutesy or vintage so I'll need to make up my own style as I go along. I've also noticed that the paper companies are making packs of pre-cuts in ATC size. Which I personally think is a big waste of money. Cut them yourself for goodness sakes!

Another thing I've been really interested in are Zentangles. I know they've been around for a while now but I'm a little slow to catch on sometimes. Plus I'm not big in the patience department. So I'll probably never make a perfect looking Zentangel. But I did do one and I'd like to show it to you. It incorporates one of my favorite things, faces. I used a stamp that I bought from The Enchanted Gallery. They have lots of cool stamps. Especially faces. Anyway here is the card I made. I'm not 100% sure it's finished. It took me about an hour or so to do this morning. I'd like to call it "The Queen Contemplates" or Goddess something or another, we'll see. This is a scan of it. I'm not all that educated on my scanner yet either. But I'll learn.

So what do you think?

ATC's

2011-07-03T10:39:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you all have heard of ATC's before. Artist Trading Cards. I've always wanted to try my hand at making them. The quilt shop that I like to hang out at "Quilting Adventures" has a group that meets every other month or so to swap ATC's. The theme for the meeting coming up this month is Water. So while I was painting fabric I also painted some card stock. I thought it turned out kind of watery looking so I used it for my cards. I did a little research and found out that if you make for example 5 cards with a similar theme that are not exactly alike that's called a Series. There are 5 cards in my Series titled "Elusive Pisces". Which is appropriate since my Zodiac sign is Pisces. These are my first "Ever" ATC's. This is what went into them; hand painted card stock mounted on Bristol board, mermaid tail stamp, water color pencils, glitter glue, gellies clear paint, puff paint, mod podge and walnut colored ink.

I bought the Gellies clear paint a long time ago. All the other supplies were also on hand. It seems I've been collecting supplies to make ATC's all along. LOL.

My cards look a little simple to me but I did take a lot of care when making them. These and others I've seen on line have inspired me and I think this will be the beginning of a new hobby! I don't think anyone going to the ATC meeting at QA will see them so I think it's safe to post pics. I hope they won't fall apart! One little issue I have is how do I get them to lay perfectly flat? I put heavy objects on them overnight and that helped but...anal me wants perfection.

Please tell me what you think.

Painted Fabric

2011-07-03T09:45:00.000-04:00

I'm on a binge when it comes to painting fabric. Blame it on my love of color. But I think after this I need to settle down and get back to the sewing room again. I wonder if I could paint and sell swatches of fabric? Maybe I'll try that one day. Here are a few of my favorites made over the last two days. I did gelatin and sun printing.

My favorite - Looking Out

Sun Printed using the top of a metal table.

I think this one would have looked better without the pink.

This is the back side.

Summer Flowers

2011-06-27T20:37:00.000-04:00

My Day Lilies and Phlox are looking great!

Gelatin Printing

2011-06-25T12:34:00.000-04:00

Today I tried Gelatin Printing for the first time. My first thought was what a big frigging mess this is. But I kept at it and as the gelatin started to break up I started to have fun. I'm really the kind of person who likes to get their hands dirty. To play in the dirt when I garden and play in the paint when I paint fabric. So after I got over the idea that it was icky and embraced the whole big mess of it, I started to like it. I think I would do it again. Today I used a big crocheted dollie, a frond off an evergreen tree and some wildflower stems. For the back side I just used the gelatin. I'll be on the lookout for better masking materials. My favorite was the Dollie which looks very bold and graphic.

I've looked on line and found several tutorials for gelatin printing and it's really a very simple process. Get some unflavored gelatin and make a mold that is at least 3/4 inches deep. How wide and long you want it depends on how big you want your fabric pieces to be. Let the gelatin set up overnight and then remove it from the mold. A butter knife run under hot water helps but good luck with this part. Mine broke up anyway. But I still had a big enough chunk to use. Then you apply paint or ink to the gelatin. I used a couple of different paints. I had some Seta Color paints and that's what I ended up using the most. Then you lay down your masking item such as a dollie or feathers, etc. then lay your fabric over top of that and then gently press the fabric down into the gelatin. Or use a small paint roller or brayer. Remember to be gentle, it's gelatin. Then you peel the fabric up off of the gelatin and set it aside to dry. Don't freak out if there are lumps of gelatin all over it. You can shake them off and when it's dry they will have dissolved anyway. After the fabric air dries heat set it with an iron. The longer you use the gelatin the more it will break up giving you more texture on your painted fabric. I really love how organic it looks. Here are some pictures of what I did. I'm showing you the front and back sides of my 3 favorite pieces.

Back side

Front Side

Back Side

Front Side

Back Side

Vacation

2011-06-19T15:14:00.001-04:00

We just returned home from vacation yesterday. We went to Kitty Hawk North Carolina. There was a neighborhood fox that we tried to take pictures of but didn't succeed. And there were birds swooping and nesting all around the house. We went down to Pea Island a couple of times and that was really nice. I'd like to walk the nature trails down there sometime. I went a little nuts taking pictures of cool looking sand patterns and crab holes. Here are some vacation photos and more photos of what was waiting for us at home. Be sure to zoom in on the guy (my hubby) walking on the beach. There is a message on his tee shirt. I just had to include the picture of my father in law and nephew. It's my favorite vacation picture.

Birds at the beach.

Cool Sand Pattern

Cool Crab Hole

Bird Nesting at the Beach House

Last Day of Vacation

Buddy and Blake

A beauty waiting for our return.

Beautiful Day Lilies!

A Name at Last

2011-06-08T12:51:00.000-04:00

My new doll, you know the one with the Red Hair. She finally has a name. I took her to work today and one of my co-workers said she just loved her and to name her Tallulah Belle. Because she had a stuffed elephant by that name and she just LOVED IT. I could tell that was the perfect name because she was holding my doll and JUST LOVED HER. So that's it.

Tallulah Belle.

Which means Abundance, Lady, Princess.

Ta Da

I Love Lilies!

2011-06-07T18:34:00.000-04:00

I LOVE LILIES!

Red Ones and Yellow Ones and Orangie Peach Ones!

With Flower Love From My Garden to Your Eyes!

The one with the blue looking leaves is really a soft peachy orange color. I tried to touch it up but it didn't work.

Something added and Sun Printing

2011-06-05T16:01:00.000-04:00

I took a little time yesterday and did some sun printing. I couldn't help it. I had the paints and the sun was shining so .....the colors I used were red ochre, fawn, moss green and turquoise. I love them all. I had something specific in mind and the results were pretty good. Here is a tip...don't sun print in a metal pan with the word HEFTY on it unless you want an image of it. I thought that was really cool though and plan to fool around with that technique later. See if you can find it in the pics!

Below the sun printing pics are more doll pics. I added to the new doll and touched up another one so they will both be ready for the doll show. The blond doll Cierra has this British look about her. Maybe that's just me but every time I see her she has this look.

New Doll is Finished?

2011-06-02T19:54:00.000-04:00

Wow! I started writing a post about this doll and it got to be so long that I had to stop! To recap, I wanted to thank Ray Slater who makes wonderful dolls and has really nice patterns you can use to make your own unique doll. She has a great book on the subject.  I'm not at the point where I can design my own body patterns so I'm glad to have such wonderful resources! Anyway the body pattern gave me a great starting point and from there on it was all me and what I wanted for my doll.

I always have a hard time considering a doll to be finished. Like it's the end of something. You work and plan and try different things and one day the doll is dressed and looks pretty good. So you think it should be finished but then you get this feeling that you missed something or there should be one more thing to make it just perfect.  But anyway, the answer to the question - New Doll Finished? Is No, she is not Finished.  Now that I see her in pictures I'm getting so many ideas on how to further embellish her.

I'd like to tell you a little about what went into making this doll. It started with the skirt which I made several months ago.  It's made from three different fabrics sewn to a base of muslin. I didn't worry about making it perfect or hemming anything. I like my work a little rough around the edges. Before I sewed it up I tea dyed two of the fabrics and further distressed them with a Ranger Distress Ink pad pad in tea dye. I simply smudged the ink randomly on the fabric and then heat set it with an iron. Then I painted a couple of the raw edges with Lumiere Paint in Sun Set Gold. I love that color. The bodice area is the body of the doll which I made using bubbled fabric which I backed with muslin to give it extra support while I was stuffing. Bubbled fabric is something I learned in my Embellishment Study Group at Quilting Adventures based on the book  Fabric Embellishing The basics & beyond. The bubbles didn't stay bubbly. Instead they turned into these neat looking tucks. I will definitely use this technique on another doll. I love the texture. You can see the fabric I used on the back of the doll which is not bubbled. I added seed beads and sequins to further enhance the bodice area. The arms are wrapped in lace that a friend "Deanna" recently gave me. The lace is painted with a wash of Lumiere paint in Sun Set Gold. I wanted the doll to sit or stand so I made her legs in two parts. I used two different fabrics for the legs which I tea dyed. I've struggled in the past over how to join legs together. This time I used vintage buttons and silk ribbon. Hopefully they will stay joined! LOL. The shoes are a tad bit small. They are my first completed pair and I had to design them from scratch. The roses on the shoes are paper roses I picked up at Ben Franklin.  The face is needle sculpted and painted with watercolor pencils and sealed with a fixative. I knew when I made this face several months ago that she wanted to be a red head. I have this thing for hair as you can see. Kind of wild and crazy. She will be in a doll show that Quilting Adventures is having in June as part of their anniversary celebration. Check out their blog for the details.

Hopefully this wasn't too long winded. My idea this year is to make costumes. I am a big fan of America's Next Top Model and hope to one day make Editorial looking costumes for some of my dolls. When I was a teenager I dreamed of being a model like Cheryl Tiegs. Anybody remember her? Things have changed a lot since then. Anyway, I have a long way to go before I will be making Editorial looking dolls! I'm going to work on the details. The details are everything.

ONE MORE THING.....This doll has no name, any suggestions?

New Doll

2011-06-01T19:03:00.000-04:00

I had a nice long informative post written to present my newest doll. Then the camera died. So I had to use my husband's camera. And I hate it. So, instead of the post I planned on writing I give you a sneak peek. Later when I get a decent camera I will write again....Hopefully you can see some of the details. She still needs a little something here and there. And she doesn't have a name yet, any suggestions?

Cierra

2011-05-18T13:59:00.000-04:00

Yet another doll that blogger refuses to show the pics of.

Bella

2011-05-18T13:53:00.001-04:00

This is a picture of one of my dolls that Blogger decided now to show anymore. I thought I would put her back.

New Header

2011-05-15T16:01:00.000-04:00

I decided to inspire myself by creating a new header out of faces I love. Now everytime I see it I will be inspired. They all have different personalities which just shows me that I do have a little bit of something. Don't be suprised if the header changes again. I'm on a mission.

Inspiration Needed!

2011-05-15T15:00:00.000-04:00

I've been having a really hard time lately. It seems no matter what I do it's wrong or it breaks or it's just not making me happy. I've started on two new dolls. I had high hopes and plans for both of them but....they just aren't coming together for me. I've tried all the tricks, putting them down and going back later, starting in the hopes that I will be inspired, etc. but it's not working. I feel like locking the door to my sewing room and forgetting about it all. For a while. But not forever....the only thing I'm a little happy about lately is the hair on this Head. What do you think? I think I'm a sucker for big hair. And red hair. Lot's of personality with red hair right? But that dark green body has got to go! I had a skirt all fixed up for her too but she says "That skirt is just not my style, I want to be bold". So it's back to the drawing board for costume ideas. I have to admit the costuming is the hardest part for me. I'm so fickle! I simply can't make up my mind. It's a wonder I've ever finished anything. Ok I think I've finished whining now. I hate whiners dont you? LOL. Please wish me luck finishing this doll. I'm open to ideas if anyone would like to share. Please inspire me!

Check out this Link

2011-05-09T07:03:00.002-04:00

http://lyrickinard.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

Great blog with many great tutorials!

Goodies

2011-05-08T09:56:00.000-04:00

A friend at work asked me the other day if I'd like to go and get some free fabric sample books. I asked "When are we going". Here are the books I got. I can see all kinds of possibilities. Dolls, Art Quilts, Fabric Books, etc. I've already used one to make a doll body. I hope it holds up to stuffing.

Garden Photos

2011-05-07T19:52:00.000-04:00

Spring is so wonderful!

Spring flowers

2011-04-30T16:51:00.000-04:00

My flowers are ready to burst! We forgot to take the water hose off of the fence and the clematis has grown into it. We can't take it off now or we'll ruin the plant. It took about 3 years for the plant to reach it's peak. I wish I could maintain the garden better but I just don't have the time. So I just think of it as a Wild Cottage style garden. The coral honeysuckle is in full bloom too. It doesn't smell like the wild kind (got some of that too) but it sure is pretty. The other clematis is a little slower to bloom because it isn't getting as much sun.

I've been sewing today. I'm working on a doll. Hopefully I'll have pics of her to show soon.

Earth Day and Two Years Blogging

2011-04-22T17:50:00.000-04:00

Today is Earth Day and it's also the Two Year Anniversary of my blog. I can't believe it's been two years.

I've taken a couple of days off work with the plan to sew everyday. Well, that hasn't happened. I've been busy working on this instead...

and this....

The peg board is awesome. It's so nice to get things up on the wall. What a space saver. I'm still working on going through drawers for things that can hang. If I ever find my hole punch I'll be able to hang more bags of beads up and maybe some buttons too. I like that I can see what I've got at a glance.

We also recently replaced the carpet in our living room and painted the room white. It's so bright and clean looking in there now. Needless to say all the furniture had to be moved out, all the pictures taken off the walls, etc. etc. and we are still in the process of putting it all back together again. It may never be the same. LOL.

So all of that hasn't left much time for sewing. I'm behind on my ESG projects and need to get some serious motivation going. But I'm tired and all I really want to do is lay down and watch the tube, read, eat and sleep.

Hopefully the next time I post I'll have something to show you...until then I'm wishing you a Happy Easter and a Happy Earth Day.

Awesome Bird

2011-04-17T11:51:00.000-04:00

Go here to see Puff at my friend Deanna's blog. You will love him!

Unwrapping the Erosion Bundle

2011-04-03T07:31:00.000-04:00

My little Erosion Bundle has been unwrapped! I was suprised at the results. I expected more rusting than I got. The fabric is discolored in a very interesting pattern though. At first glance it kind of looked like an owl to me. My husband couldn't see it though, LOL. Maybe I'll do something bird related with it. I have many ideas. I will definitely do this again! And make the next bundle larger and more diverse. One of the latest projects in my ESG has been to dye fabrics with rusty objects. I really enjoy doing that. The results are always unique. Today I'm going to try my hand at dying with Dandelions. Maybe all of that will find it's way into my EBP. Here are some pics of the eroded and transformed fabric.

Fiber Art Play Date and more on my ESG

2011-03-13T15:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my friend Deanna and I got together to do fabric weaving. I had made a woven quilt and she was interested in learning the technique. I learned about it from my ESG at Quilting Adventures and the book Fabric Embellishing the basics and beyond. If you're interested you could go to QA if you live in or near the Richmond Va. area to join the ESG and or buy the book. Or you could go to Amazon to find the book if you don't live near that area. It's a great book. Deanna ordered it today. You should hop over to her blog and check out her woven project. She is calling it Apple Salad which I think fits it perfectly. It's going to be a hot pad for her husband's yummy French Toast!

While I was at Deanna's I made another small woven piece. It was really kind of embarrassing because I was there to help her out and made a mistake and cut mine the wrong way. But I went with the flow and cut off the ends that didn't fit and then cut it again in a little bit of a funky shape. Maybe I'll use it in a future project?

At the second meeting of my ESG we were given Fashion A Frame as one of our projects. And also to use TAP which is Transfer Artist Paper. Maybe I'll write more about TAP in a future post. I think I like it. It gives you a nicer texture than regular photo transfer paper. More of a matte texture and look I think. I tried writing on it and you can't. The coating scrapes off in big chunks. That was a disappointment. Fashion a Frame is when you use a facing fabric to create a frame. It's kind of tricky to turn the facing to the back side and then iron it flat. But for me it's worth it because I've been wanting to learn this technique for a long time. And to incorporate my art dolls into art quilts. So I took a photo of a doll head that I created, applied a poster effect to it using my photo software and transfered it to TAP. I then laid the quilt over a piece of blue jean material and I painted the edges of my batting with pink acrylic paint. I think it looks Hippy!

In future posts I think I will try to do more of a show and tell post. Wish I could do that now but I've been super busy.

Erosion Bundle Update

2011-03-12T08:17:00.000-05:00

My erosion bundle is looking like a little dirt mummy. It'll be another month before I can unwrap and see what happened inside. I guess the idea is to rinse it and dry it to get the big chunks of dirt off. I'd like to unwrap it now but ....I'll wait. sorry it's such a bad picture but my HUSBAND took the good camera for his fishing trip today. You that has to be more important, right?

A Funny Photo

2011-03-07T14:58:00.001-05:00

This is a super fun website!

http://www.photofunia.com/

TAP and Playing with Photos for Transfer

2011-02-27T11:29:00.000-05:00

One of the next projects in my ESG is to use TAP Transfer Artist Paper. You can read abut it here http://www.ctpub.com/

Today I took an hour or so to play with my photo software. The TAP is really expensive and so I want to be sure to have really good pics for transfer. I plan on creating more collages until I come up with the one I just love. Then printing in black and white on regular paper before I use that expensive color ink and the TAP. If anyone out there has any tips I would appreciate it.

I'll be posting soon about my and Deanna's trip to the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival and an update on our tree project. We both did very well. Both trees are great and soon to be competely finished. You should hop on over and take a look at her tree.

Here are the photos I've done so far to maybe print to TAP and use in a future art quilt.

Embellishment Study Group - Weaving and Pin Tucks

2011-02-21T07:34:00.000-05:00

In January my embellishment study group was assigned three techniques to try. I've already posted on the Deconstructed Crazy Quilt so I thought I'd show you my Fabric Weaving and Pin Tucks samples. I admit, I did the pin tucks wrong. But I like the little sample I made and plan to finish it anyway. It's the one with the feathers. The fabric weaving sample was made using two fabrics wover together. I would go into the details of the techniques but then this would be a very long post. And seeing as how I have tendinious I think I should keep it kind of short. I highly recommend you get the book "Fabric Embellishing the Basics and Beyond". It's a really good technique book. One of my favorite things about the study group is getting to see what everybody else has made. It's inspiring to me. For instance, I've been wanting to try making fabric beads. One of the ladies in the group made some and I love them. They are so organic looking.

One more thing I'd like to talk about is goals. I didn't sit down and say here are my goals for 2011. I didn't make a list. I just made up my mind that I was going to learn. Anything that strikes my fancy is eligible as a learning experience. So far I've learned to make a Deconstructed Crazy Quilt, Fabric Weaving, Pin Tucks, the Feather Stitch, Boullion Knots, Ribbed Spider Web, Thread Painted Trees and I've tried out Machine Needle Felting. Yesterday I sat down at my sewing machine and figured out how to make button holes. Now none of this stuff I've made is perfect. Because I'm just now learning how to do it. The best thing about learning is that in the process you become inspired. And that is the important part.

Oh and I also joined a gym which I hope won't cut into my sewing time too much. LOL.

Here are the pictures, finally.

Tree Project

2011-02-20T12:26:00.000-05:00

Every year my friend Deanna at http://dclarkcreations.blogspot.com/and I challenge ourselves to create something based on a theme. This year our theme is "Tree".

We reveal our creations to each other during breakfast, right before we go to the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton VA. If you follow the link to her blog you can take a look at her "Tree" creation in progress.

Here is a sneak peek of my Tree. I love the technique I used which is from the book "How to Embellish Anything" But it's not finished yet because I want to put it in my binder with the rest of my samples from my study group. I made it really fast and plan on creating more trees in different sizes and colors in the future.
Also I think the sequins I used are a bit large but...I used what I could find on hand.

Favorite Artists

2011-02-16T11:05:00.000-05:00

Sara Lechner has long been one of my favorite artists. There are no words to describe her work. It simply IS what it IS. I love it. If you'd like to look here is the link.

http://thefabricofmeditation.blogspot.com/

Tree Challenge

2011-02-14T08:38:00.000-05:00

I don't have any pics for this post. I just wanted to let my Artsy Friend (you know who you are) know that I've been working on my Tree. And that she will be suprised.

Fortune Teller meets Luxury

2011-02-06T11:44:00.005-05:00

Fortune Teller meets Luxury by Connie 508 featuring feather necklaces

Thank you http://abimonroe.blogspot.com/Abi for sharing this. Needless to say I spent over two hours playing on the Polyvore http://www.polyvore.com/site. Love it!!!!

Erosion Bundle Project

2011-01-28T16:38:00.000-05:00

I found a link to the Erosion Bundle Project and thought I would give it a try. It sounds really interesting. Needless to say I waited until the last minute so my bundle is kind of skimpy. Maybe if I have time I'll put another one together before January ends.

I added plain muslin, wild berries, rusty nails, lace, cheesecloth, peach tea and a small piece of silk to my bundle. Then I secured it with a rubber band, put it in a bird suet feeder and threw it in the flower bed. I can't wait to see what becomes of it in April.

Embellishment Study Group - Deconsturcted Crazy Quilt

2011-01-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is my version of a Deconstructed Crazy Quilt. It was one of the first projects in my Embellishment Study Group. What you do is cut a piece of lightweight fusible interfacing and lay down scraps of fabric until you like the composition. Then you fuse them down, stitch in wavy lines to hold them down further and then you start to add embellishments like embroidery, beads, etc. The book has all the instructions. The idea is to use scraps. I really love this technique because it is so spontaneous. You never know what your going to get. I also really love faces so I added this one which really was a scrap. I didn't like it and it had sat around collecting dust for months. It was just too harsh looking. So, I tried flipping it over. The back side was much softer looking. After a little bit of touch up with some watercolor pencils the face looked fine. I think she looks very peaceful. What I'm really excited about is I taught myself to do the feather stitch. My stitches aren't perfect but I'm happy with them. I also created my first spider web and spider. Spiders seem to be a big part of crazy quilting. Either you love them or you hate them. I've decided that I love them. And plan to make many more. I'll be posting about the two other quilts I made, Fabric Weaving and Pin Tucks in the near future.

I'm calling this one Secret Garden.

Beaded Art Dolls

2011-01-19T12:56:00.000-05:00

I found these sites and thought I would share. Beaded Art Dolls galore! Hope you enjoy.

http://beadedartdollsgroup.blogspot.com/

http://www.leahreadydesigns.com/Portfolio.aspx?Id=355

http://www.hodous.com/DollPages/dollgallery.htm

Embellishment Study Group

2011-01-16T09:07:00.000-05:00

I joined an Embellishment Study Group at my local quilt shop Quilting Adventures in Richmond Va. A link to the shop is in my side bar. We are creating pages to go in a fabric workbook using this book.

Our first assignment is Deconstructed Crazy quilting, Fabric Weaving and Fabric Tucks. We'll meet again next month to review our pages. The goal is to create the backgroud not to competely finish the page. But I think a lot of us will want to do that. I know I do. Anyway I think it will be a rewarding study group. I think I will learn a lot from it. One of the things I'd like to do this year is to take more classes and I think this will be a good start.

Needle Felting

2011-01-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

Last week I had the opportunity at my local doll club to try a Needle Felting machine. I have to say I am in LOVE LOVE LOVE with this technique. So much so that I want to invest in my own machine. There is no thread or bobbin in the machine just a set of needles. I tried two machines. One had 7 needles and the other had 12 needles. All you do is put your fabric, lace, roving, yarn, etc. under the needle and go. Some fibers / fabrics work better than others. Natural fibers are the best. I did use a synthetic fabric and it worked ok. I also used some yarn I pulled apart, ribbon yarn and two other fabrics. I made little circles with my fibers and then added ribbon yarn to each end. The potential for embellishment is HUGH. Here is a picture of my sample. Again, I love this technique. It's so much fun to create something unique!

Pretty Little Fabric Art Birds

2011-01-08T13:54:00.000-05:00

Birds seem to be all the rage lately. And I must admit that I am hooked. I found a bird making tutorial here..... http://nelliedurand.blogspot.com/ and gave it a try. I used old fabrics that I didn't care about messing up. Because I am sure to mess up because I like to leap right into the fire and not read directions sometimes. For the legs I used some wire I had laying around. It would be best I think to use a stronger thicker wire. I had a little trouble sewing the head area. But I don't think it shows too much on the finished bird. I think I will be making more of these tweet little things in the future. For some really beautiful inspirational bird art go here.. http://www.abbyglassenberg.com/

Here is my first attempt at sewing a bird...I'm happy that it actually looks a little like a bird.

Simply Saturday

2011-01-08T13:33:00.000-05:00

I woke up to snow this morning and now at about 1:30 pm most of it has melted. That is my kind of snow. Around just long enough to be pretty.

2011-01-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

Here are some great blogs. Great Inspiration and Eye Candy...if you like dolls, embrodiery and fiber art.

Mimi's Blog http://mimiharaposita.blogspot.com/

http://tanglewoodthreads.blogspot.com/

http://puddleduckfarm.blogspot.com/

Simply Saturday

2011-01-01T13:14:00.001-05:00

A view of my yard on a Saturday at home.

Out with the Old in with the New

2010-12-31T17:52:00.000-05:00

I would like to end this year by saying "I'm so glad a New Year is Coming!". Seriously, I love this time of year. New starts, new beginnings, etc. etc. I have a lot to be thankful for. I won't make a list but I'm sure you all know what I mean and can relate. These times can be hard and all we can do sometimes is keep moving forward and cherish the good times and the blessings we have received. Well with that said,,,,I got a neat little gift for Christmas. I can make little collages of my pictures now. Here are the first two. One is my immediate family and the other is a doll I did for an ADO challenge last year. I'm sure I can do good collages when I have the time to sit down and play with the program. Until then,

I wish you all the very best in the coming year! Happy New Year! Party like it's 1999

Resolution and Sneak Peek

2010-12-18T19:28:00.000-05:00

My New Year's Resolution is to Finish Things. I have this bad habit of having way too many UFO's. Which is understandable I Guess since there are lots of things I want to do and not enough time to do them all. Here is something I am working on that I really do want to finish. She is full of pins and still a work in process. I am liking her very much.

Round Robin Dolls

2010-12-15T06:38:00.000-05:00

These are all of the dolls from the Round Robin. I wish you could see the fine details. They all are unique but the one thing they all seem to have in common is some shade of pink. Be it deep, bright or pastel. My doll club meets at Quilting Adventures in Richmond Va. on the second Wednesday of each month. If your in the area come by and see us. There is a link to QA in my side bar. It's really a wonderful quilt shop. The best one in the area.

Barbara and her Doll from QA Doll Club Round Robin

2010-12-10T06:36:00.000-05:00

This is Barbara and her doll at the party. I hope she won't mind my posting it. I couldn't resist. I plan to post pics of other doll club members and their dolls soon. This doll was inspired by Ray Slater. She has a really nice doll book out. I'll post a link to the book soon. Anyway, we all had a hand in creating this doll for Barbara. I did the face. I think she has attitude. I really love the head dress, beading, jewlery, etc. The whole doll turned out just fab!

My Round Robin Doll

2010-12-08T20:53:00.000-05:00

Wow! This is the doll I came home with tonight. She is one hot mama! All of the ladies in my doll club had a hand in making her. I'll post more pics of her later. She is really cool. Just wait until you see the whole thing! You'll be amazed. She'll knock your socks off!

Pratice Face

2010-12-08T05:38:00.000-05:00

Hello! I'm still in dollie land. This is a pratice face. I wanted to see if I could use shades of gray on the face instead of browns. I also used some purple and yellow. I think my future faces will be more colorful. There are a couple of dolls I am working on which I hope to post before year end. Until then it's Christmas and more Christmas. It's a busy time of year. My Doll Club the Doll Makers of QA meet tonight for our annual Christmas party. We'll be unveiling the round robin dolls we've all been working on since May. It should be an exciting and revealing evening. I'll post pictures of the doll I get soon.

Some Stuff

2010-11-29T12:23:00.000-05:00

NEW STORAGE!

MY SWEET LUCY!

My dog Lucy let me put the wig on and let me take her picture wearing it. I say this because she is the most camera shy dog I know. I took her pic on Halloween and then forgot about it. I love it!

I also love my dentist cabinet which I am now using to store all sorts of things, ribbon, floss, decorative papers, etc. etc.

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Christmas is just around the corner and then it's a new year.

Well since I don't have much to say I'll just say "Until Later" and get busy decorating.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T12:13:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in Blog Land. I

t has been a wonderful year filled with many blessings and for that I am thankful.

Hopefully in the near future I will have some new creations to post about.

Until then take care and EAT ALL YOU WANT tomorrow because it will BE OH SO GOOD!

Keeping Busy

2010-11-07T08:16:00.000-05:00

I wanted to say hello to any visitors and to let them know that I am still here. Just not doing much creating these days. I've been busy painting. That is finally finished. And now I'm busy organizing my stuff. My husband picked up a dentist cabinet and it has 12 small drawers and 4 larger drawers. I love it! I was putting things into it yesterday and finding things I'd forgotten about. It's like Christmas when that happens. I still have things TO FIND that I know about but are hiding from me. I feel like once I get it all together I'll be able to start creating again. I have oh so many ideas in my head. And if I can find them, I'll post before and after pics of my sewing room. Talk to ya later...

Painting

2010-10-22T08:38:00.000-04:00

I've been very busy painting my "Studio". Studio seems such a fancy word. I usually just call it my Sewing Room. Anyway the last shot shows the wall color "Compatible Cream", blue painters tape and white primer on a door frame. Hopefully you can see the wall color. It's really nice. Warm and Cozy just like I wanted. Some of my favorite colors are teals, greens and blues and I thought this cream color would set them off nicely. I am sore all over and very tired. The room has all of the STUFF pushed to the middle and I've been painting in cramped little spaces.

I've also included an old picture of my father's father. My grandfather. It's a little damaged and I'd like to get it fixed...one day.

And another doll face. I just can't seem to stop making faces. Could it be the child in me? LOL.

Now I'm off to do more painting. Enjoy your day!

Blogs to Visit

2010-10-12T08:32:00.000-04:00

Here is a little eye candy for anyone out there visiting blogs today. I may add to the list later. But for now, check out these cool blogs.

http://magstitch.blogspot.com/
http://dogdaisychains.blogspot.com/

http://kaylacoo.blogspot.com/
http://designedbydianeevans.blogspot.com/

http://rosiepink.typepad.co.uk/rosiepink/

Tea Dyed Fabrics and A Little Doll

2010-10-10T09:36:00.001-04:00

Hello,

I haven't posted in a while but I have been busy creating. Last weekend I got into a tea dye frenzy. I used regular old Lipton teato dye a bunch of really nice cotton fabrics. You know the ones that have a lot of texture on them. And sheer cottons as well. I dyed them and then I heat set the fabric and distressed it using a Ranger ink pad. I also painted the cut edges of some of the fabrics with Sunset Gold paint by Lumiere. Then I heat set again and cut them up into strips to make a skirt for a doll. Please note: Don't try to iron crinkly fabric. The crinkles will come out!

I think I've figured out if I make the costume first it will be easier to complete the doll. In the past I made the face first and then I'd get stuck trying to figure out who she wanted to be and couldn't move forward with my costume. And I really do want to make cool looking costumes. So here is a pic of the tea dyed skirt fabric.

I've also included a little doll I worked on yesterday. I think she has a sweet face but she has a really long chin. Maybe I can cover that up somehow? I think she looks really dainty and sort of hippy too. I'm going to make a larger doll to wear the skirt. The fabric is so yummy looking I don't want to cut it up.

Inspiration

2010-09-29T13:11:00.000-04:00

For doll making inspiration you've got to visit Heike Blohm's website. I love her dolls! And she has many on her site to inspire you. I especially love her mermaids and her use of bright colors. She adds lots of texture to her work which gives it so much life. I think her website must be fairly new because I've searched and searched and never been able to find it before today. I hope you enjoy it too. Just follow the link included in the title of this post and you will be amazed!

Tree Challenge

2010-09-20T08:20:00.001-04:00

I am participating in a challenge with my friend Deanna over at DClark Creations to create a piece of art work using a tree as the theme. It could be a journal cover, art quilt, collage painting, etc. etc. anything at all as long as the tree is the main theme. She has more details over at her blog. Click on the Challenge picture in my side bar or the link here "Tree Challenge" and check it out. If you'd like to join us we would be more than happy!

Give Away

2010-09-17T13:39:00.002-04:00

Diane over at My Art Journal is having a Give Away. I would not be posting this unless it was going to help me to win. I WANT to WIN! She makes beautiful art work. You should go and check it out. Just click on the big Give Away post title and it will link you to her blog.

Fairy Collage

2010-08-14T17:54:00.000-04:00

I am working on this collage I started today. I'm not too happy with the hair. For some reason I thought purple hair would be cool. But I do like the skirt. It's made out of painted tissue paper. I plan on adding a few things to the collage in general. Maybe some stamping, paint, etc.

Sun Printed Tissue Paper

2010-08-10T12:19:00.000-04:00

I took advantage of the heat (over 100 degrees) to do a little more sun printing. This time I painted tissue paper. I plan to use it in future projects. I'm suprised that as thin as it is the paint still did not go through the doubled paper. If I keep at this painting stuff I'm going to need more tools - toys.

Paper is Calling to Me

2010-08-09T12:11:00.004-04:00

Yes that's right. Paper crafts / mixed media type crafts have been calling to me for a while now. But I can't just go out and start buying all these new toys. So I was super excited to see this article in the latest issue of Somerset Studio magazine. This link goes to more than the magazine. Check it out. Then check out page 28 of the magazine to see Trash a la Mode by Julie Nutting. First of all, I love the idea of recycling. And newspaper is a great material to use. So I did my own version of Julie's design and I know what I'll do different next time. And I was able to do it all with materials I had on hand. I also want to give credit to Mirkwood Designs for their free paper doll template. Here is the little collage I am working on. It needs a few finishing touches and to be glued down a tad here and there. Overall I am pleased with it. What do you think?

Sun Printing Link

2010-08-05T13:57:00.000-04:00

If this is something tht interests you, follow the link to a site that will explain the hows and tos of Sun Printing.

Sun Printing and Sweet Expressions

2010-08-01T10:44:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I went to a friend's house and we did Sun Printing with Set-A-Color paints. We also decided that we are a small art group of two. It's fun to get together and try new things. Anyway, I am now in love with this technique! The paint colors are so pretty and I just love to watch them develop. For the mask we used buttons which worked very well. We also used metal keys, paper dollies, tiny rocks, screens, washers and joins from the hardware store and anything else we could get our hands on. I did another painting session by myself and used some wooden objects. They didn't work so well. The wood soaks up the paint too much. I designed this doll dress using some of the fabrics I painted. I like the way it turned out. The Sun Printed fabrics give me so many embellishment ideas.

The other little doll is something I'm working on. She looked so sweet I thought I'd include her picture too.

Errors

2010-07-14T07:49:00.000-04:00

Well I've been told that there appears to be errors on my posts / blog. And I really don't know what to do about it. Maybe one day I can call in an expert who will help me. Until then please bear with me. Thanks.

Summer Flowers

2010-06-11T18:54:00.001-04:00

Offically it's still spring. But anyway, these are my new Day Lilies and Cone Flowers. Don't they look good together? The butterflies love them. I have lots of luck with the Lilies but not so much with the Cone Flowers. I plan to feed these and baby them and hopefully they will come back next year. For those of you who know flowers do you see the Daisy and Lamb Ears peeking through?

Art in my Hand

2010-05-16T09:14:00.002-04:00

ART is in my hands. And in my mind and soul. It is a Muse that speaks to me and says "Get me the hell out of your head". Ha Ha. It says create something. Pick up that needle, pencil, paper, brush, fiber, whatever it takes and allow me to express myself. Sometimes the Muse whispers and sometimes it shouts. It is ever present in my life. It sees the beauty in so many things. Like oil on asphalt after it rains, bark on a birch tree, the subtle difference in color on the day lily leaves. My Muse is friendly and likes to get together with other Muses "friends" and play. On this day we played with a melting pot and UTEE and created molded designs and beads. We could never have done this without help from our other friends who created the UTEE, Melting Pot, Lumiere paints, glue sticks, micro beads, embossing powders, ink pads, etc. etc. etc. My Muse would like to thank all the creators of these wonderful products that paved the way for our artistic expressions on this day. My Muse likes to recycle. To make beautiful things out of what other people may think of as trash. Like the paper beads that started out as plain old newspaper and ended up glowing like precious jewels. My Muse just loves transformation. Like the UTEE flowers created from a Popsicle mold. Who would have imagined that! My Muse is now telling me it's time to end this little speech, story, whatever you call it. And Give it a Break already....until next time.

An Ear Full

2010-04-28T18:52:00.000-04:00

If you can see this please leave a comment. This is my first ear. The doll is going to be a fairy so she needs ears.

Check out this new Blog!

2010-04-19T13:39:00.000-04:00

You really have to check out Deanna's blog dClarkCreations. She is a sewer & card maker and has a creative soul. Her husband is a woodworker who makes really beautiful pens. I just know that both of them will be filling their blog with all sorts of cool artsy stuff.

Free Dollmaking Newsletter

2010-04-05T08:04:00.000-04:00

I don't think I've ever mentioned Adele Sciortino's Costuming & Trim site before. On the site she has a dollmaking newsletter. All you have to do is sign up. It is wonderful! It is Free! Adele is one of the most talented doll makers that I know of. Her dolls are so full of detail and are just beautiful. In the latest issue of her newsletter she has announced a fairy challenge. All you dollmakers should check it out! You won't regret it. I promise. As well as the newsletter check out ... Her new Blog.

Me looking Angry

2010-04-02T15:52:00.001-04:00

When I go into my Blog I cannot see any of the pictures I have uploaded. I am asking Picasa and Google what the heck is the problem? I haven't got an answer yet and I am pisssssss.....the funny thing is I can see this picture with no problem. It's very frustrating! I will continue to hound them for answers. I have put too much time and effort into this Blog to just give up.

Can anyone out there see my other pictures? Maybe it's just me with the problem? I don't know. If anyone has any advise I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Happy Saturday

2010-03-27T08:18:00.002-04:00

My picture problem seems to be fixed. I did something and maybe blogger did something and all is back to normal.

Unhappy

2010-03-25T12:41:00.002-04:00

I'm very unhappy about this picture problem thing and have posted about it on the help forum. Hopefully it's a blogger issue and not my issue and can be fixed soon.

Help!

2010-03-24T14:41:00.002-04:00

I'm having problems with some of my pictures. Blogger is telling me the image url is invalid. What is that? And how do I fix it? Anybody know?

Deanna's Finished SPQ

2010-03-04T13:42:00.012-05:00

I had so much fun making this Elinor Peace Bailey doll pattern for my SPQ. The pattern was in the Soft Dolls and Animals magazine and if I remember right it is the June 2009 issue. What drew me to the doll pattern was the yoyo hair and the rest was history.

Each panel of the doll gave me a chance to express something personal about me. I used handkerchiefs that belonged to my great aunt and a past childhood neighbor, ribbon and jewelry that belonged to my mom, buttons and labels from me and my husbands clothes, and fabric from shopping trips made with a friend. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Self Portrait Quilt update

2010-02-27T12:29:00.001-05:00

The deadline for Deanna and I to finish our SPQs was yesterday. Needless to say, she finished and I didn't. So here is the face I did of myself which will be on my SPQ. We decided I should continue to work on it until it's finished. DEANNA's SPQ WAS JUST AWESOME and I have begged her to post a picture here on the blog. I liked it so much I told her she should submit a picture to several magazines for their show and tell sections. Hopefully she will.

Altered Photo

2010-02-27T11:52:00.000-05:00

I recently had a birthday and got photo editing software as a gift. I haven't been able to do much with it yet. But I'm eager to learn how to use it. It's really kind of complicated for a novice. This picture is is all I've done so far. I think it's kind of neat.

I'm not a quilter but...

2010-02-15T15:58:00.001-05:00

On and off for the past several years I've thougth I'd like to quilt. The problem is I don't pratice enough to get good at it. So let's consider these pratice blocks. Now I need to get off the computer so my oh so patient husband can use it to look at kayaking sites, boats, fishing, etc. etc. You'd think he'd get tired of that stuff! LOL Not a chance.

Fast February Postcard

2010-02-10T18:23:00.000-05:00

Follow this link to go to the postcard challenge site. February Postcard Challenge "Things you Love"

This theme was hard for me since there are OH SO MANY things I love. Especially when it comes to art. But today I made this card in about 10 minutes flat. Which is a feat for me. I got the idea, whipped it up and walla postcard. I was making the quilt block and realized that one OF THE THINGS I LOVE ARE SCRAPS! YES SCRAPS! I hate the thought of throwing out all those little tiny peices. I want to use them whenever possible. So I took my scraps and fused them directly to the timtex. I covered it with sparkly tulle to represent the snow we're getting so much of here in Virginia and then did some thread painting. I backed it with an index card. This is the first time I've used paper in a postcard. These are the kind of cards you can make a bunch of if you want. You could make a big sheet of them and cut them apart when your finished with your embellishment and backing. I think it came out kind of cute.

Another Block

2010-02-10T18:09:00.000-05:00

Here is another pretty quilt block I made. The idea is to make a journal cover. I have quite a fabric stash and it's come in handy the past few days. It seems like no matter how I try nothing I ever sew is square. So, I give up on perfection and am just going for pretty. I haven't made quilt squares in a long time so I should get better with pratice.

Template Change

2010-02-06T18:14:00.002-05:00

I thought I'd try this new dark template. It seems to show the bright colors I sometimes use to their advantage. Any comments?

Pretty Fabric Block

2010-02-06T17:46:00.000-05:00

I made this little fabric block during the past couple of days. No planning, I just grabbed whatever I thought would look good together and sewed it up. I'm thinking I'd like to do a fabric book or journal cover out of it. I think it's good to just throw things together. Plans have a way of backfiring and sometimes you tend to get stuck in the details. This way I don't get stuck and I have something pretty that has potential. I think I've done more this year working this way. Don't get me wrong, I do need to finish something but I think it's so much more important to Start Something.

MOM UPDATE AND SNOW STORM

2010-02-06T17:37:00.000-05:00

WOW! We are in the middle of a big snow here in Virginia. For the record, we usually get one good snow a winter. By good snow I mean a couple -few inches. This is our 3rd one so far and it's a doozie. We got about 6 inches this time. Below is a picture of my back yard this morning. I actually love this picture. It looks like an enchanted place!

My mom is doing good! She was actually giggling on the phone today. I couldn't go out to see her because the roads were too slick. We had pouring rain and sleet last night which turned to snow this morning.

My Mother

2010-02-04T08:36:00.000-05:00

My mom had hip replacement surgery this past Monday. She just turned 87 the end of January. She is doing well and will be going into rehab for a few days before she goes home. She's a brave person to do this at her age. But it was either do it or continue to suffer. I am just so thankful that the surgery went well and she is ok. She is like a best friend to me. Here is a picture of her when she was younger.

UFO Found in Connie's Chest of Drawers

2010-01-23T09:07:00.000-05:00

I just realized I'd never posted a picture of this quilt. It's a Strips and Curves quilt that I started oh so long ago. I'll post a link to the book I used as a guide to making this later, when I find it. I still love it and want to finish it one day. I'd like to make another one. It's actually a lot of work cutting and sewing all of those strips. But if you get the color combinations just right it really pops and the circles float so nice. I learned a lot doing this one and think if I ever make another one it will be even better. I need some kind of frame I can use with my sewing machine because it's hard getting so much quilt under the machine and keeping it tight and straight to quilt it. Maybe I'll give myself one for my birthday this year? I bet you can't guess what my favorite color is?

Yellow Bird Post Card

2010-01-17T08:17:00.000-05:00

Post Card Challenge 2010

I decided to participate in a Post Card Challenge this year. Above is a link to the challenge blog. Below is a picture of my card. It's a fabric post card using timtex as the foundation. Timtex is a fusible foundation and very easy to work with. You simply sandwich it in between the two layers of fabric and it adds stability to your card. I worked the bird in french knots. I've decided this year that I will focus on doing the things I like instead of trying to do all kinds of stuff that I know nothing about. This way I can pratice and become better at what I like doing. I think it's the way to go for me this year.