What I Wore to the Royal Wedding

I really enjoyed watching the TV coverage of William and Kate's wedding

and I think the outfits ( especially the hats ) of the guests were wonderful.

I thought it would be fun to create my own hat

and I scouted around my studio to see what I could come up with.

I had already made the bird for another project.

Some leaves, beads, colored paper

and a tracing of my profile photo led to this caricature.

The best part was that I could use artistic license and make

myself as slim as I wanted!

Wish I could really have been there!

Happy Easter!

May this Easter day 

be a celebration of new life,

a day of family gatherings,

Easter egg hunts,

or a day of creativity.

Whatever Easter means to you,

may you have a happy day doing what you love.

Earth Day, 2011

Our home,

our precious responsibility.

Happy Earth Day!

A Package of Possibilities

This week I received a package in the mail from C&T Publishing. 

Of course, a certain someone had to investigate!

For some time now, I've been painting cotton fabric with textile paint.

But I'm anxious to watch my new instructional DVD by Mickey Lawler, 

learn some new techniques and hopefully have some results to share soon.

I also purchased a canvas book for an online course I'll be starting May 1,

and two arched board books which I'm eager to use for some collage.

Lots of possibilities in one package!

A New Week!

I'm so happy to see flowers blooming in the garden! 

Rosie and Angus are enjoying being back on the porch...

I'm feeling the need for some organizing in my sewing room...

or maybe a forklift to clear off my worktable!

Can't wait to get it back to this state again. It will take some work,

but will be well worth it!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

Crafting a Rural Spirit

My friend Karen from Sew and Sow Life is having a birthday, a giveaway, and announcing the opening of her new etsy shop!! I spent time with Karen last week (more about that in another post) and completely fell in love with her beautiful note cards, and I've loved seeing the wonderful items she is offering, often using repurposed materials and inspirations gathered from her much loved "bit of earth" in Vermont. I've also been the lucky recipient of a few original treasures from Karen which you can see here and here. Everything Karen makes is handcrafted with love and fully reflects her rural spirit.

Happy Birthday, dear Karen.

I hope this post brings even more visitors to your shop,

and may you have great success!

Looking Out for Spring

Everyone is talking about Spring, but so far we have just a few shoots coming up and tree branches are still bare. Happily, we had a warmish, sunny day today and another is predicted for tomorrow. Can't wait for the trees to sprout some of those first spring green leaves, like the ones depicted in this fabric picture!

I did the picture in two layers, drawing the outlines in the top piece with heavier thread, then appliqueing a bit of lace and using colored pencils for the cats and the lower wall. For the bottom layer, I used normal weight thread to draw the tree and hand embroidered the leaves. The bird was so tiny I just fused it on!

This was an interesting technique, which I'm planning to use again, but next time I want to try coloring with smudgy pastel chalks. I think that would be a rich contrast with the crisp thread outlines.

Hope everyone who reads this is enjoying a great weekend!