Seahorse in Progress

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

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!!!

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!

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!!!!!

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!

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!

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

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

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

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??

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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!

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!