Vix's Creative Interlude

Seahorse in Progress

2007-05-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

My Page (289) in the 1,000 ATC's Book by Pokey Bolton

2007-04-08T12:33:00.000-04:00

Ohhh how exciting!!! Last year I was prompted by two of my friends, Normajean and Darma, to send off some ATC's (artist trading cards) to Quilting Arts Magazine (www.quiltingarts.com). The whole concept was that Pokey Bolton, the owner/editor-in-chief of QAMag would swap back ATC's with all who sent some to her. You could send up to 5 and would get the same amount you sent in back. We were also told that they were going to use the ATC's we sent in for Pokey's book in the works called 1,000 ATC's This was so much fun! The book was just released and is already in it's second printing. My book should be coming in the mail soon. But for now Darma, (who couldn't wait for her book to come sent her hubby out last night to pick one up from the bookstore), scanned our pages and emailed them for us to see. So here they are!

This is my page #289 - 2 of my 5 ATC's were published. The first is my 3D butterfly and the second is my version of a shaker card (see the sequins floating around? lol)

This next page is Normajean's page! 3 of her ATC's were published. Aren't they cool?

This page is where Darma's card is. She only sent in one but it's beautiful! Hers is the top left card - red background with the blue flowers. Awesome card!

It is just completely amazing to see our cards all together in one book! This was such a blast and an even bigger one since we all did it together! Love to both of you!

Wonderful Weekend!!!

2007-03-27T19:55:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, my local doll club, Yinz Dollz n'at, held our first doll makers retreat, just north of my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. This was the best time I've had in a long time - creating dolls all day and hanging with your talented friends - how much better can it get! I was lucky enough to to take the class we organized with doll artist, Judy Skeel. She is fabulous!!! Not only is she a fantastic artist and instructor, but we all feel we've made a life long friend in Judy (check out her site at www.skeelhaven.com awesome dolls!)! Above is my head of the doll we were making. Unfortunately I'll have to post pics of her all put together at a later time because I blew out a finger or two while turning them so I need to do a small bit of repair first. I think I've got Judy's repair technique down pat so I shouldn't do too bad. lol
Friday evening when we arrived at the camp, we handed over our brown bags full of dollmaking fun stuff! We had decided we wanted to do a Brown Bag Challenge and had to pick a bag that wasn't our own and make a doll with the items inside by Sunday morning. I chose my bag and didn't actually get to work on it until very late Saturday night. Perserverance prevailed even though I was dog tired (from all that fun we had had all day with Judy!) - we coined these late evenings "Silly O'Clock" since we definitely got giddy and punchy but still didn't want to go to bed. lol The bag I chose was from our club President and excellent doll maker, Emily. What fun stuff she put in there for me to create a doll from. I just love this little guy - "Silly O'Clock" our new mascot! lol He's made from a wooden cart, beads, yarn, doll eyes, a pot scrubber and even a lining for casting of broken bones before the plaster gets put on. It definitely was a challenge and one that I happily took on. If you are a doll crafter and looking for a wonderful and affordable 3 day weekend then contact me at BecauseILikeIt@aol.com and I'll put you on the info list for next years retreat - we've already started planning it and it's going to be awesome! Yinz Dollz n'at is the only doll club in Pittsburgh so if you are in the surrounding area's please come and join us. We meet on the third Saturday of each month and would love to have you! Check us out at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/yinzdollznat

Creation from my Pattern!

2007-03-27T19:38:00.000-04:00

This was my first pattern that I offered for free to the gals at Fiber Art Traders (see link to the right to check us out!). I call her Dancing for Joy! We held a trade to create a doll from my pattern and the results were just amazing! Here is the doll I received in trade from Noelene down in New Zealand. She did such a wonderful job and I still get that proud tickled feeling each time I look at this doll. Noelene also sent me a postcard to announce the soon to be arrival of Joy! It came in the mail a few days before the doll arrived and that made me even more tickled! I just grinned and had to show everyone that I could because not only to have a beautiful doll created from your pattern but to have them also create a fiber art postcard from her as well is just an awesome feeling! I just love her and the pictures just don't do her justice but - Here she is!

I Was Published!!!!!

2007-03-23T00:23:00.000-04:00

Ok I'm hopping, skipping and jumping for joy!!! I just got the March 2007 issue of Soft Doll and Animal magazine in the mail today and got a great surprise! I had submitted one of my dolls to SDA's "You Did What With That Pattern?" section back before Thanksgiving last year and found out today as I leaped through the magazine that my doll was actually published! I of course had to make all kinds of phone calls to family and friends. I couldn't reach DBf because he had his cell phone turned off but he was on his way home from work anyway, so I met him on our front porch, magazine in hand opened up to my special page. He laughed and danced around the porch with me! lol I'm dancing on air...floating on Cloud 9...well you get the picture! lol I may have posted a pic of her in an earlier posting in my blog, but here she is again pre-publishing and in all her glory on Page 58 of the March 2007 Soft Doll and Animal Magazine - The Goddess of Dragonflies! Thank you Soft Doll and Animal Magazine!!! BIG SUPER HUGE HUGS to Normajean for kicking me in the butt to send it in! LOVE YOU!!

Excitement is running through my veins!

2007-03-06T00:09:00.000-05:00

Ohhh I can't tell you how excited I am!

I just finished this doll for a friend of mine and it's a total surprise! Linda M. Poole, quilter, author, teacher/lecturer and Listmom of the Fairie Goddess Mother's Yahoo group will be teaching her Bended Bias Butterfly class here in Pittsburgh later this morning (well it is after midnight at the moment) and I am lucky enough to be taking this class. Though I've known Linda for about the last 2 years from being a member of the FGM's, I've never met her in person before. She is one of those people in life that just touch you as a good soul. Since I've found this passion for dollmaking I designed my own doll (you can see her beginnings in an earlier post) and then decided that I would dress her up as one of Linda's fairies from her Quilted Fairie Tales (see photo where I received my inspiration). I sure hope she likes her! I'll be posting pictures later today when I get home from her class. Let me know what you think!

Bill's Quixtar Products!

2007-02-24T14:32:00.000-05:00

My main squeeze, Bill, has just set up his own Quixtar Online Store. If you'd like to take a look at the products (I have used quite a few of these by the way so I can give you my own testimonial of how good the products are) just click on the link 'Bill's Quixtar Products" in the links section on this page. I can tell you that I LOVE their laundry detergent - it's excellent for those with sensitive skin (Bill's is EXTREMELY sensitive and this works great!) and it cleans clothes beautifully - it's also great for all of us quilter's and fiber artists when washing our fabrics! I've also had all varieties of the health drinks, bars, vitamins etc and really love how they taste! So there's nothing to lose if you just check out the site and there's everything to gain from the benefits of ordering! Hope you all check it out!

Rainy Day Treasure Box

2007-02-11T23:51:00.000-05:00

This is is my Rainy Day Treasure Box and matching Postcard that I created for the Treasure Box Trade hosted by Teri Rubin at Fiber Art Traders. It is actually going to Teri herself! The concept was to create a box to hold our postcard treasures that we receive in trade and make a matching postcard to start off the treasures in the box. I did add pearls to the doll on the treasure box (need to take an updated picture) so that it matches the card. The base of the doll pattern is by my friend and dollmaker Deb McKenzie called the Spring Garden Fairy. She is actually supposed to be a pin doll, but I altered her a bit for the box. If you'd like the pattern you can visit Deb's website and find her under the freebies section. Go to www.debmckenziedolls.com. I want to thank her for the use of this pattern as well as a big thanks to Teri Rubin for hosting this great trade at FAT. Thanks Terbear!!!

Doll in Progress

2007-02-04T23:52:00.000-05:00

Well I've designed another doll. This one is the largest doll I've done to date. If she were standing she'd be somewhere around 18 inches tall. So I thought I'd show a pic of her while she's in progress. She's stitched and stuffed and most of her limbs are on! lol I am playing with positioning her so I haven't yet sewn her arms in place. I think I like how I have her positioned though and will probably stitch on her arms tomorrow after work. Please tell me what you all think. I'd like some feedback.

My Free Doll Pattern

2007-01-24T01:28:00.000-05:00

FREE PATTERN!!! FREE PATTERN!!! FREE PATTERN!!!

I have designed a cute mini doll pattern called "Dancing With JOY" and she is now available at the FIBER ART TRADERS group site. If you'd like this free pattern just hop on over to www.groups.yahoo.com/group/fiberarttraders and check her out! You can find her in the files section under Vix's Patterns!

Are you from the 'Burg? How Pittsburgh are you??

2007-01-08T01:13:00.000-05:00

I'm 100% a Pittsburgher! What about you??

You are 100% Pittsburgh.

Great job! There's nooooo doubt about it. You're from Da Burgh. You deserve a reward, so go have an Ahrn City or two. And GO STILLERS!

How Pittsburgh Are You
See All Our Quizzes

The Flitter of the Dragonfly

2007-01-06T00:40:00.000-05:00

I just mailed 3 of these dragonfly blocks off to some of my Fairie Goddess Mother (see the link to the right to check out the group!) friends today - Carolyn in Kentucky, Ginabee in Florida, and Lynda in New Zealand. They were made for the FGM's monthly Wonderous Wings swap. So far we've done Butterflies, Bats, Ladybugs and now Dragonflies. All the girls are so talented and it's nice to get paired up in different groups to trade each month - you get a little creative piece of everyone involved. I can't wait to assemble all of the blocks I recieve throughout this 12 month long project. It may sound selfish but I think I'm going make special quilt just for me since I have never made myself a quilt! :-)

A Cute and Quirky Doll for a Good Friend

2007-01-05T00:33:00.000-05:00

This is the doll that I made for my good friend and fiber artist, Normajean Brevik, for Christmas. The pattern I used is eleanor peace bailey's "The Zaftig Fairy". I did make a few adjustments here and there and she turned out just adorable! (If I do say so myself! lol.) The fabric I chose for her body represents the colors of the sea and her hair is a piece of an orange feather boa ponytail holder that I'd been itching to use. Normajean loves the sea and the color orange so paired together this little lovely makes one cute and quirky little doll. I really love this pattern. It was so much fun to create and the stance of this little beauty is one of inspiration and strength.

For Sale: Custom Fobs

2006-12-31T01:17:00.000-05:00

Just created these Fobs tonight. They can be used to decorate your cell phone or, if you are a fiber artist like I am, attach them to your scissors or rotary cutter so that when you're having fiber play dates at your doll club, quilt guild, or with your friends, no one will go home with your tools. I will take orders for these if you would like to have one custom made for your cell/scissors/rotary cutter ($5.00 + shipping). Just drop me an email (BecauseILikeIt@aol.com) with Custom Fobs in the subject line and include your favorite color/s. I do accept pay pal...but we'll get to that when the time comes.

Something fun!

2006-12-26T18:01:00.000-05:00

You Are 25% Left Brained, 75% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.
Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.
If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.
Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.
Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.
If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.
Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Ladybug, Ladybug!

2006-11-17T18:38:00.000-05:00

This is the ladybug block that I had created for my friend and Listmom of the FairieGoddessMother's group, Linda M. Poole's birthday back in October. Linda has created a wonderful monthly block exchange within the FGM group called "Wonderous Wings". Each month she announces a new winged creature for us to create and we exchange blocks in groups of 4-5 people. Ladybugs happen to be the theme for November. I thought I'd show this one off since it is the basis for the ones I'm creating for my swap partners. I hope they like what I had dreamed up in my own little mind! lol

A Pillow for Shari

2006-11-12T17:05:00.000-05:00

I just finished this pillow for my friend Shari as a birthday present. Since we both just totally LOVE Jeffrey Dean Morgan (he played Denny on Grey's Anatomy last season, he also plays the father, John Winchester on the tv show Supernatural as well as had a recurring role in Showtime's "Weeds".), I thought that I just needed to do something centered around JDM for her for her birthday. She also loves Taylor Hicks and will be getting a few pieces of memorabilia on him too. lol

I created the photo transfer by printing it onto photo fabric. It's a specially treated fabric that won't run or bleed and can be washed with mild detergent. The picture I used was actually made as a computer wallpaper by our friend Rebecca. (Thank you Rebecca for creating this!.) This will be going in the mail within a day or two and I hope that Shari squeels with delight when she opens the package! lol

Halloween Fairie Goddess

2006-11-01T23:05:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

I created this Fairie Goddess for a challenge on the FairieGoddessMother's group, but it had gotten overlooked and wasn't put on the site for the challenge so I thought I'd post it here to share. I am now officially a G.G. +1 with the FGM's. lol That means I've made one monthly fairie goddess as well as one challenge fairie goddess. These challenges are so much fun!

My Latest Happenings

2006-10-17T23:41:00.000-04:00

WOW! I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted to my blog! Lots of stuff has been happening. I had written a letter to the editor of Fiber Arts Magazine early in the year and was contacted by the editor, Sunita Patterson, who asked me if she could include my letter in the magazine. I had totally forgotten about this since it has been months and months since I had written it. The other day I received my next issue of Fiber Arts Magazine and was leaping through it when I saw my letter published!!! Boy was I excited! This was great news because they included the URL to my fiber arts group, Fiber Art Traders! So of course I was running around the house yelling "Oh My God! Oh My God!!!" - my poor guy thought I was yelling at him and the cat was looking at me like I was nuts! lol I guess I was because it's not every day that you see your name in print! If you haven't checked out Fiber Arts Magazine it's really a great magazine. If you love fiber arts then hop on over to my links and check out Fiber Art Traders - it's one of the most creative places on the web!

Back in August I met with 6 local women and we decided to form our own Doll Crafting Club. I've been interested in learning to make dolls for quite a while - ever since I became friends with doll maker Deb McKenzie. Her work is awesome and I can say that I am a proud owner of one of her beautiful dolls, a Goddess of Fertility which she made just for me! We named our new doll club using true Pittsburgh slang - "Yinz Dollz n'at". I'm sure we'll have to explain our name to all that live outside "The Burg", but that's ok. Unique name = unique group! We've met 3 times so far, and at this last meeting we had two workshops going on. I learned how to needle sculpt a cloth doll face! It was awesome! We also had another member teach us the basics of working with paper clay. Next month I am going to teach the girls how to create some fun and flashy fabric with Angelina Fibers. I really look forward to the "doll club Saturdays"!

Here's a pic of the latest trade I'm hosting at Fiber Art Traders. The trade is themed "Up Close and Personal". I call these Post Cards "Ant Picnic". From the magnifying glass on each post card you'll get the idea pretty fast. lol Enjoy!!!

A new pin!

2006-09-18T22:14:00.000-04:00

This is my latest little Goddess Doll Pin. I had a request from one of my FiberArtTraders listmates to make her a Goddess Doll Pin. So even though it took me a while to catch up on projects to get started on this one, I finally got it done! lol She got popped in the mail today. Hopefully Jean will like her. I tried to use the colors that Jean told me she liked so we'll just have to wait and see. I took her to my Dollmakers group on Saturday morning and the girls there loved her. They are so used to making the big dolls and were fascinated at such a small piece of art. I will be teaching a class on pin dolls at one of our future meetings. I love doing these little gems! lol Every new one that I receive in trades and wear to work get such rave reviews by my work mates! lol It's so much fun and I recommend to just take a stab at it to anyone who has never made one before. You'll get addicted!

A little buzzzzz!!!

2006-08-30T22:18:00.001-04:00

This is a picture of one of the bumble bee blocks that I did for the monthly block exchange for the Fairie Goddess Mother's group. I was having trouble finding black and yellow striped fabric and short of piecing my own strips together I decided that I wanted to be a little bit different. I loved the honeycomb fabric and then found this print with little bumble bees all over it and knew I just had to make my bumble bees bodies out of this fabric. The wings are only attached at the body of each bumble bee so that it almost looks like they're flying off the block. SWEET!!! lol

A little bit of humor

2006-08-26T21:15:00.000-04:00

I just had to share some pictures of my latest post cards. These were done for the Tartan trade on Fiber Art Traders. I had to put a little humorous spin on my cards, and happily they have given a smile to those who've seen them. So with out further adu (did I spell that right? lol) here they are. So have you ever wondered what a Scotsman wears under his kilt? lol

One of my first post cards

2006-08-19T01:06:00.000-04:00

I have been so busy lately that I haven't posted here lately. For those of you who know me you know that I LOVE fairies! I found this picture on my old computer and was smart enough to pop it onto a disk before it went to computer heaven. lol This was the second post card that I had ever made and it was my very first fairie postcard. Unfortunately I did not make one just like it to keep for myself so one of the gals from the Fairie Goddess mother's group (Barbara C.) was the one to receive it for the fairie postcard swap. I didn't have much experience couching the fun yarn with my borrowed sewing machine so I hand basted them on to the post card first before zig-zagging with the sewing machine. The fairie and thistle are actually from a photo that I doctored up with the computer and printed on photo paper. They are only sewn on at the bottom and the wings are knotched so that they give a whole 3D effect (that you can't really tell because the image was scanned on the scanner so it kinda got flattened out lol). I'm glad that I found this so that I could show my family and friends some of my earlier work. Now I'm really tempted to create another one just for me the next time I have a spare moment. Hmmmmm.......I wonder when that will be?! lol

Blue Toes for Blue Monday!

2006-07-14T19:21:00.000-04:00

I had the best time making this card! It is my latest challenge winner in one of my FAVORITE yahoo groups too! I couldn't believe that I won the challenge either cause there was this adorable blue elephant that I thought for sure would win. It was for the Fairie Goddess Mother's group latest challenge put together by Alikat!

The theme was Blue Monday. Gosh did I have a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do for Blue Monday because at first to me it sounded so sad. Then the more I thought about it the more I wanted my Blue Monday to reflect happiness! I just happened to be looking for a fun color of nail polish in my big ole' manicure box and came across one that I'd bought a few years ago (that probaby should have been tossed in the garbage after that long! lol) and it was this cool shade of metallic blue! My idea was born! Who doesn't love the memory of being a young adult, sitting in your room on a beautiful spring or summer day polishing your toes a funky shade of blue then propping your tootsies up on the window sill and admiring your work? That was what I thought of when creating this card.

I want to thank all of the girls and guy (BlueRose, Leni, Sharon, CJ, Jodi and Leafy Dude - Love and hugs to you all!) from Fairie Goddess Mothers who took this challenge. I was in great company with talent abound! Everyone did such a wonderful job with this challenge so we are all winners because we let our imaginations take us into a beautiful Blue Monday!

An Evening In Paris!

2006-07-02T23:26:00.000-04:00

Well no, I'm not going to Paris, BUT, I did happen to create a postcard that just might take you there in your mind! lol Fiber Art Traders has been invited to do a display for The Hygienic Art Gallery in New London, Connecticut. The theme is - An Evening In Paris! The girls in my FAT group have been busting butt creating some really great cards to be displayed. These will be sold to generate funds to keep The Hygienic open for artists of all media. My card is called Musee de Louvre. It depicts the beautifully modern Pyramid lit at night in front of the Louvre's lovely architectured building. It took me almost 3 days to decide and a few more days to get it exactly how I wanted and I finally completed it last night and remembered to take a photo of it. It is 3 dimensional and I guess you could say interactive (since the pyramid can be lit with an on/off switch), and most likely not a mailable post card. I will be mailing it off tomorrow in hopes that the USPS doesn't disappoint me and it gets there by the deadline on July 7th. Keep your fingers crossed. Please feel free to leave a comment - I need feedback since it's my first "Interactive" post card! If all goes right I should have a copyright on it soon.

The Get Well CAT! lol

2006-06-28T22:24:00.000-04:00

Most of you know that pretty much within 2 weeks of finally having a doctor diagnose me with gall bladder trouble I had surgery and voila! I'm recovering nicely. Thanks to all of you who wished me well before and after the surgery. It really helped me get through it with out being overly nervous. I went into the surgery from pre op to recovery smiling and making the nurses laugh and was told I was the best patient they'd had in a long time.

I had to post this picture of a card that Ann F. from the FairieGoddessMother's group sent me that I received in the mail today. It was just too cute and funny. Lifted me up from a hectic 2nd day back to work. Ann picked out this card because it reminded her of our cat Snowball - and yep - she's right. If the cat had gold eyes it would definitely be Snowball! lol I've seen that look on his face quite a few times (when the word B-A-T-H is mentioned - had to spell it out because he's sitting right next to me! lol). Thanks Ann!!!!!

My Back Yard

2006-06-17T23:06:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful sunny day here so I thought I'd share some pictures of the things growing in our backyard. We have a beautiful hydrangea bush - yes I say bush because it's HUGE - growing at the corner of our back porch, as well as some wild strawberries that I have growing along the back of the porch in my flower bed.

Butterfly Garden 3D ATC

2006-06-13T10:58:00.000-04:00

Butterfly Garden was the last ATC that I created for QA's blog swap. I really had fun with this one because of it's truely 3D effect. Unfortunately I can't post it at this time because I have to figure out how to change the size of the pics for blogging here. I love working with beads and though I'm not an expert at it yet, I gave it a good go. I am very happy with the end result and will try to post pics later. I need to thank my friends Normajean and Darma from the Fiber Art Traders group for giving me that big ole nudge that I needed to submit my art! Love you both!!!

Melted Dreams

2006-06-13T10:53:00.000-04:00

I tried a new technique on this ATC. I had only played one other time with Tyvek and decided that I needed to branch out and take a chance. I painted the tyvek with some acryllic paints and let it dry, then hit the Tyvek with some heat from my iron and this is what happened to the background. I loved it! So then I added a polymer clay face and gave it a little bit of distortion, put some fabric to it and Melted Dreams was born! You can see in my excitement to take a picture of it that I didn't let the glue dry completely! lol

Shake It Up!

2006-06-13T10:49:00.000-04:00

I call this one Shake It Up! It's my version of a shaker card.
Made with tulle gathered to trap and release the sequins inside. Love the sparklies! lol

In The Tall Grass

2006-06-13T10:43:00.000-04:00

This is the second ATC for QA magazine. I used a fun ribbon embellishment from my friend Angela in the UK for this one.

Exciting News!

2006-06-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

Some exciting news happened to me a few weeks ago but I haven't been able to post anything for some reason. I'm going to try today though! Anyway...I entered some Artist Trading Cards (ATC's) in Quilting Arts Magazine's Blog Swap. I made 5 of them (5 was the max you could enter) and a week or so later I received a notification that my ATC's were being considered for their "coffee table" book that they are putting out. I'm the 4th person from the Fiber Art Traders group that has been notified of this and it is really exciting! I'm hoping that the blog will let me post pics of the cards for you to see. My parents, siblings and my darling boyfriend are very proud of me and I think it surprised them because I'm not one to do the "hey look what I made! Isn't it fabulous???" thing about my art. I show them what I'm creating and then sit in a quiet corner at family gatherings to "work" on the piece that I've brought with me. Then it's most often given away as a gift. The tell me I'm breaking out of my shell! lol Well here hopefully is a pic of one of the ATC's being considered. I call it "Out of the Swirls". As you can see my penchant for Fairies was used. It is thread embellished.

The Goddess of Dreams

2006-05-25T21:25:00.000-04:00

I made this Goddess Doll for my good friend Normajean. I was the trade mistress of the Goddess Doll Trade at Fiber Art Traders and she and I decided to to a private trade as well as the one with the group. I designed her image myself, found some awesome orange and coral patterned fabric (Nj's favorite color is orange! lol) and then beaded her. So here she is. I hope you like her.

A FairieGoddessMothers Honor!

2006-05-12T23:12:00.000-04:00

The FairieGoddessMother's group announced a post card challenge about 2 weeks ago. We were to create a post card based on the theme "Wish You Were Here". Once our postcard was complete we were to email it to Alikat and she would post our pics on the blog anonymously then the group would vote on their favorite. I wasn't sure that I would have time to enter this challenge but luckily I had a creative day and next thing I knew I got my idea from my head and onto fabric and I was sending my picture off for the challenge!

I am proud to say that my entry was declaired the winner - much to my surprise! Talk about "Holy Cow"! I was in shock because I really didn't think that I would win. The luck was with me though and I am so thankful. I was honored to be in such good company with the other girls who entered the challenge. Everyone did such a beautiful job and I'm still in shock that I won! I feel that I have come so far since last August 3rd when I found this wonderful group - their constant inspiration and support really help lift you up in so many ways. It's such a good place to be.

~Vix~

Got Goddess?

2006-04-18T20:44:00.000-04:00

I am getting addicted to creating these girls! The Goddess Doll Swap on Fiber Art Traders that I'm "trade mistress" of has a limit of making 2 Goddess dolls so I had to make one more. I had a few other ideas but for some reason The Goddess of Chocolate just stuck in my head and I JUST HAD TO create her! lol I wanted her simple yet sophistocated....the way I think of a delicious piece of dark chocolate as it melts in my mouth. I couldn't quite find the fabric I wanted but then came across a piece that reminded me of the color of milk chocolate and it had little gold flecks in it. I drew out my pattern and just let her flow. I gave her some "white chocolate" leaf wings and a little gold parcel of REAL Sarris Chocolate (for those of you local to Pittsburgh, you know what that is!) so that she can fly to those in desperate need of a chocolate fix! So here she is...sit back, grab a glass of milk and take a look. lol She is dedicated to all of my chocolate loving friends, the gals at Fiber Art Traders and my fellow Fairie Goddess Mothers!!!

Oh My Goddess!

2006-04-14T11:27:00.000-04:00

I wanted to post a picture of one of the Goddess Dolls that I have created for a trade I'm hostessing at Fiber Art Traders. I have named her the Goddess of Dragonflies. I love dragonflies almost as much as I love fairies and pelicans! This is my very first attempt at making a doll of any kind (I'm not counting the pin cushion that I attempted and fell apart. lol).

I'm very proud that she turned out as nice as she did - it took me a while to get the pattern from my head and into the fabric. I used a commercial pattern for her body but designed her wings all by myself - another first for me! lol Her wings are poseable - I sewed some pipe cleaners into them and, well, nearly broke a needle on the first try because I wasn't paying close enough attention. lol I fixed the broken pipe cleaner and sewed them up. I hope you enjoy her as much as I did creating her. I've got a few more Goddess Dolls cut out from patterns that I took a stab at designing, so I am sure that I will post more pictures soon. I'm addicted to these gals! lol

Finally Time to Blog!

2006-04-10T20:55:00.000-04:00

Well I haven't actually had much time to blog over the last few months due to work. We had a major inspection and review that happened near the end of March so we had all been busy little bees trying to make sure that everything was ready! We should be finding out near the end of April whether we passed and will keep our status as an accredited cancer center. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

So now that I have that behind me I've been trying to keep busy and keep my fingers nimble by making some fiber art post cards and building up my stash. I've really been enjoying the Fairie Goddess Mother's monthly charm swaps! I know I will be making a lovely quilt with these 6 inch charm squares that I've been receiving! Each month there are new colors and themes - really keeps you on your toes!

As for the fiber art post cards I posted a picture of one that I did for the latest swap on Fiber Art Traders. The theme was Fairies and Gnomes - right up my alley of course! lol So now you see one of my little gnomes sleeping among the clover and my butterfly fairy post card. The Fairy on the Butterfly card is actually the one that I use as my logo for my soap making. I used to sell my soaps and sundries during the big craft fair months but with work these days I don't get to do it as often as I'd like. I don't have a huge stock of soaps anymore but will hopefully get back into it one of these days.

I hope you enjoyed my first entry in a few months! Leave a comment or two if you'd like.

Hugs to you all!
Vix

Things I've been up to lately

2006-01-25T00:24:00.000-05:00

I'm posting a few pictures of things I've created for a fundraiser I'm co-chairing in one of the yahoo groups I belong to, Fiber Art Traders, to raise money for the American Heart Association. The AHA is something that I hold dear to my heart because my father, who is now 63 and healthier than he's ever been, had his first heart attack at age 40 and just about 7 years ago he had a quintuple (5) by-pass. Did you know that heart disease is the #1 killer of women in the United States? I want to keep raising awareness about this killer.

We are holding an online auction on February 21, 2006. The theme is You Gotta Have He"ART" and the concept was to create what we call Heart ART and auction it off to the highest bidder. 100% of these proceeds will be donated to the American Heart Association. These auction items were created by various members of Fiber Art Traders and what we have so far have turned out beautifully.

If anyone reading this blog would like to donate to a wonderful cause you can visit our auction site and watch it as it progresses and then bid on a piece of Heart ART! The instructions for bidding are on the site and it is quite simple. http://heartartauction.tripod.com/you_gotta_have_heart_auction/
Forgive the pop ups - this site is a free site so hopefully you will have a pop up blocker so that they don't bother you too much.

I hope you enjoy my Heart ART - remember it will be available to bid on when our auction takes place on February 21, 2006.

A Journey to Create

2006-01-11T00:31:00.000-05:00

I think this title to my first entry is pretty appropriate. Within the last year I have taken steps to get back into being my creative self by picking up my pen and writing again, learning how to quilt, and joining a two wonderful online quilting/writing/fiber art groups that are helping me along that path. I have also decided that the voice of motherhood is calling to me and I am beginning that journey now as well with the wonderful man in my life. 2006 is going to be an amazing time for me...for us. I think there is nothing like changing your life for the better by creating life.

So here goes.....