Happy Birthday

My "baby's" birthday collage

Fun with Digital Collage

This is something I've been fiddling around with the past few days. It brought out some feelings about myself that I'm dealing with and I'm not really sure anyone else would understand, but this is how it turned out. Somehow it makes me feel better if that makes any sense. Ooh, in all of this messing around, I did learn a new trick with Photoshop. It's the text on a path thing. I always wondered how people did their swirling strings of words so perfectly around in a spiral or any given shape. Now I know! Also...I decided to call this collage "YEARNING".
Later!

Valentine

Mechanical Valentines fascinate me. Hope today is nice and kissy kissy, huggy, huggy, but most of all full of chocolate! (wink)

Finished!

First, thanks for those of you who commented on my last post!

Today I wanted to show you the finished bunny rabbit that I'll have
up for grabs on The Humble Arts this Monday (02.11.08). Her name will likely be revealed when that happens. There is a unique thing about this creature that I'll also share. Unique, meaning a new idea that I tried and hope that folks out there will like too. We're having a beautiful day today, so I'll make this short and sweet.....gonna go enjoy it just a bit.
Bye Bye!

Superbowl Sunday

First of all, let me say that I am not a football fan. I don't actually like watching any sport on TV. I realize that is opposite of 99.9% of how the male population feels. And.....I also realize that there are plenty of females that love to watch football on TV and heck, it's a perfect excuse for a party. How many other ladies out there watch it only for the commercials and the halftime entertainment like I do? If you do, gimme a shout on the comments and let me know. I'm curious to see who is also like me.I have always been a fan of Tom Petty since High School, so watching him and The Heartbreakers play will definitely be nice! Have fun everyone :)

Bunny Love!

Bunny Rabbit, which has yet to be named is finished except for final detailing touches such as more shading, grooming, accessories and selective plucking (ouch!) I'm not even sure if "it" is a male or female yet. Hmmmmmm, it doesn't seem to matter to this little gal in the photo that I'm sharing does it?

Bunny has a head!

Well, I've sewn up the entire rabbit and stuffed the wee head. Now I need to figure out if I want he/she to have lop ears going downward or ears pointing upward. Anyone have a suggestion? Mind you they are only pinned on for now and the eyes are pins for an idea only. They aren't even in the final position, which will be another decision to make. You can change a whole critter's expression just by the placement of the eyes or nose, etc.... I need to put it together with the joints and finish stuffing it. I believe this will have the tiny glass beads for weight, since it is quite smallish. More to follow!

What I'm trying to do next...

The photos here show my next creation in progress. A mohair bunny rabbit is what it is supposed to be, but we'll see what happens. As you can see in the last photo, I have a little helper who sometimes makes things take quite awhile longer to accomplish. She is such a character and fun to be around, but it will be quite some time before she's really able to help with this sort of thing ;)
I'll try to post more as I'm able as this develops...
Please click the photos to see them full size!

Can you find him?

Coffee beans, java, joe, wakeup juice...
This image has been around for awhile, but while drinking a cup of the stuff I decided to share it with those of you who haven't seen it. There really is a man in this! Also, they say that if you can spot him within 1 minute, then the right half of your brain is developed better than most people. I have no idea if this is true, but thought it was fun to find him. For the record, I believe that I spotted him in about half a minute. When you do see him you'll wonder why he didn't stick out immediately. Strange huh?


Let me know if you DON'T see him and I'll tell you where he is :) This isn't a trick, he really is there!

OK, I'll admit that today I was really bored and it was so cold I didn't even want to think about bundling up my Granddaughter and myself to get out just for the sake of going somewhere. So......I made a weird, ecclectic little collage of googled images and came up with this. Hopefully I've not infringed on any copywrited materials. Please forgive me if you notice that I have and by all means let me know, eek.
So here's my "caffeine junkie java joe coffee collage"
(to view up close, click it):

Here's to a great 2008!

2008 around the corner...

Hard to believe, but true. I found this photo while using a cool add on for Firefox called StumbleUpon. I thought it would be good to post it to remind folks not only to NOT DRINK AND DRIVE, but to watch out for those foolish ones that do.


I hope everyone had a great Christmas and wish you and your family a healthy, safe and prosperous New Year!

Beading Frenzy

My last few necklaces finished and ready to wrap and I have the sore fingers to prove it!

Christmas Tree Decorating

Just decorating the tree with my "own" personal elves ;)
Enjoy!..............

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Christmas gift making...

Whew, I've been busy making Christmas gifts the past week or so and decided to show off a couple of the necklaces that I did. They are unusual in the fact that they are crocheted with jewelry wire and beads. At first I thought they were "not so pretty", but the more of them that I made, the more I ended up liking them. Your comments are welcome, by the way. Click the thumbnail for a larger view. Well I need to make about 3 or 4 more of these, then I am back to sewing, stuffing and all that good stuff!
Later...
(make your own crochet necklace here!)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This is a touching Thomas Nast print of Lady Liberty. The print is a centerfold from an original 1863 Harper's Weekly. The print shows Lady Liberty kneeling, in earnest prayer for peace. She is surrounded by inset images of the Nation in prayer. A group of slaves is shown praying for freedom. Another inset shows the inside of a church, the congregation praying for peace. In the lower right corner a group in the country can be seen on their knees praying. In the upper image, Abraham Lincoln can be seen on his knees praying for guidance. Two other insets show prayers by the Army and the Navy. The nations prayers were answered in about a year and a half, with the bloody conflict finally reaching its end at Appomattox Court House. This is a rare and highly collectible print. It shows a nation in prayer. Prayer for an end to its bloodiest conflict. Thomas Nast "Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1863" (Click on Image for Enlarged View)

Snow Queen on The Humble Arts

She will be for sale Monday on The Humble Arts. Please stop by and see her if you get a chance!

SOLD! Thank you Nancy ;)
However, Elinor the Elephant is still waiting for adoption...

Is it chilly yet?

We've started having some chillier nights here finally and it seems to have put me in the mood for snow (which we hardly ever get!) and created the above Snow Queen. Poor little Elinor crawled up in her lap looking for a Mommy. She has been for sale on The Humble Arts
since the first of November. Snow Queen provided a nice companion for now....but she too will be for sale soon. If anyone is interested in either, please email me or go the the above link. Snow Queen has many many details and I've only shown the upper half of her for now. Oh, and you can click on the photo and get a larger sized one :)
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.......later!

Halloween is over!

Actually I am glad it 's over. I realize this is a fun time for most kids and plenty of adults, but for me it signals that Fall weather is really here and we are head long into the holiday season. I am hoping this year will be time well spent with family and friends and no hectic rush to do shopping amongst the crowds of materialistic, greedy and often times rude people. I don't think it's a cop out on my part to hope for this, rather than a need for a more restful and enjoyable time of the year. Is that too much to ask? I hope not. Happy holidays to everyone and may God bless you and your family :)

What have I been doing?

Note: Each image is clickable for a larger one. Also, little Elinor at the end will be up for grabs on The Humble Arts website update this November 1st. For now, I still have another pincushion available until then. The English Teacup will be there for only a few more days...
English Teacup Pincushion

This is another example of a few of the makedo type of pincushions I've been working on...

And this is the finished collage that I previously posted about...

And finally, here is Elinor, a sweet little baby mohair elephant that ended up being my own idea. I had originally started out with a Japanese pattern, but didn't like how it looked so I gave up on it and drew my own. Voila! She will be available on November 1st at The Humble Arts website.

1816 The Year Without a Summer

Wow, only about 2 and a half weeks til Halloween, hope you'll enjoy this
mesmerizing little video that I found................

Preview

Click photos to enlarge!
Bottom corners of the transformation
of the mystery ladies. It is actually finished,
I think? I had to drill holes to make a wire
hanger for it yesterday and it turned out
better than I had expected, so I'm quite
pleased. This collage started out bare, &
ended up quite "busy", but it tells a story
and I hope someone can see what I had in
mind when I show the whole thing in it's
entirety. I'm not sure if this will be a keeper
or a for sale item yet. We shall see...

Mystery Ladies Tale

I've decided that these mystery ladies are older and younger sisters. One of them has lost their way. The other has taken the better path. Something dark looms over this lady with the glasses and an inner sense of peace is with the one on the right. Since this is what I've decided, they will take on these roles in my newest collage art. It is started with a small enamelware baking pan that has seen better days... all rusty, dinged and stained with age. It will now tell the story of the mystery ladies and send a message out to all at the same time. Bible verses somehow keep coming into play when I work on it and I've decided to call this piece where it came from. Simply: Joshua 24:15. That sums it up! A sneak preview of a corner or 2 of it will be posted soon, so stay tuned...

Mystery Ladies

Circa 1920, 2 unidentified ladies...to be transformed...

What does this mean? Stay tuned as I update!
Something about this pair says that they are probably related, although I have no idea. Also, the one on the left looks a bit masculine compared to the one on the right. No really big smiles on either one of their faces so the air of mystery continues to grow...
(wink)

Sleepy Red Heads

Just felt like posting a photo of my 2 dogs. They looked so cute together taking a snooze :)

AVA GRACE SILENT AUCTION!

http://www.avagraceangelsunaware.com/
Please look at all of the eye candy in honor of
sweet Ava Grace! It will run from today until
September 22nd.
Thank you :)
UPDATE: TOTAL RAISED $8441.
Thank you everyone who participated!

Wild Thing Table Dancer?

Did that get your attention? It's not what you'd think. This is a real living doll........ENJOY!
You might have to click the PLAY button twice for it to load.

In Loving Memory

Ground Zero Zoom - video powered by Metacafe

Rainy days and Mondays

Always get me down... Naw not really, it's actually quite nice. We've had so much humidity lately why not some real rain too? Only thing is, there's a flash flood watch. I think it's a nice day to cut out a bear or a doll, cuz the need to start something new is pressing in on me. I have created some nice little pincushions for my next offering on The Humble Arts this past week or two. So now I'm ready for more life-like things. It helps to mix it up for me so boredom doesn't take over. Now if I could only have another set of hands and maybe just a couple more hours in a day, then I'd have it made ;o)

My Ava Grace Auction Offering, coming soon

Information?

September

Oh wow, August is gone, so please point your mouse HERE and check The Humble Arts update!
Lots of wonderful offerings for you to feast your peepers on.
Speaking of feasting your peepers, have I got a treat for you. (I think?) It seems the Japanese craft craze has gotten a hold of me too. I didn't think it would, but found myself googling it over and over and reading blogs, etc. about it. I'm not sure what the deal is, but the fact is all of it is just darn cute. Cute, simple and fun! Anyhow, the treat I'm talking about is my newest find which is a book called The Cute Book. It is small and full of fun little animals and folks to create. Best part is that it is in English, which certainly helps me out. Most of the other Japanese craft mags and books are in Japanese, DUH! Since they are usually quite simplistic, the photo and or pattern is often easy to figure out. I don't have any Japanese speaking friends, so I'll rely on my eyes with those.I received a nice goody box in the mail from a sweet friend which will come in handy for making some of these little cuties, so I can't wait. Sometimes I need a break from the seriousness of details and difficult sewing demands. I think this is it....at least for a little while ;)