Trapunto, painting, sculpting oh my! (Christmas creations)

I hope everyone had a great Holiday and are recovering accordingly ; ) I finally get to show you what I've been up to lately, now that everyone has opened all their Christmas gifts :)

First up is a doll I made using Deanna Hogan's "Under The Harvest Moon" pattern. I reduced the pattern to about 70%, making her roughly 14 inches tall. It says it is an intermediate pattern, so I wasn't sure if I could pull it off..if I had made that transition from beginner to intermediate yet. There were a couple spots I had to stare at it...turn my head sideways, stare a bit harder then ...aha! The more I got done, the more I loved this pattern and the end result. In fact...I can say I had an absolute BLAST making this doll!

 Here she is waiting so demurely for her clothes. (Click pics to enlarge)

In her blouse, bloomers, and shoes waiting for me to finish painting her skirt:

Here's her skirt with birdhouse, grass, and sunflowers painted in acrylics. Now she just needs hair!

I made her a wig (pattern for wig included with "Under The Harvest Moon" pattern) out of faux fur.

Her face is done in trapunto style. I really liked the way this works up and gives dimension, so I had to incorporate it into some other creations!  

"Cattitude" with trapunto stuffed nose, brow, and part of ears. Legs needle sculpted with a layer of batting before stuffed.

Here is the meow muse he was modeled after:

Some trapunto quilted painted art, this one is two sided:

Orchid/Koi pond. The petals in the foreground are raised and stuffed, as well as the top of the rock and the lily pads..

Full moon (one sided). Moon and trees raised:

Then a bit of sculpting! A mini bird bath:

And the first completed mini baby..

Have a wonderful, safe and Happy New Year!

Owls, Owls, Owls!

I swore when owls became popular, I would not succumb to the trend. I didn't particularly haven't anything against them, just wasn't head over heels about them. Then it happens...darn it! First I became enthralled with Molly. WHOOOO is Molly you ask? Molly the Owl of course! She is quite popular now, millions of viewers have peeped in on her most private moments.  She has a live camera feed in her Owl Box. She has had two "clutches" (quite the educational channel as well!) that I am aware of since she moved in. I watched her sit on the eggs until they hatched, sat mesmerized as Molly yelled at McGee (Owl Hubby!) to bring the babies food. Then he would answer in the distance and come home with "dinner". Looks like there are two babies at the moment, just about shed all of there baby downy feathers. You can peek in on them here:

http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox

Now I've heard an Owl now and then here at night. But a few new noisy, and much more social Owls have moved into the neighborhood. I actually got to see them flying through the canopy of trees near our house. That was it...I was hooked on Owls.  We recently had an Owl swap over at All Things Primitive- Yahoo Group. How could I pass that up!? We had an odd number of signups, so we didn't swap with the same person. 

Look at all the goodies I got from Barb!

A big cuddly Owl, an Owl Candlemat...

...and look at those adorable ornaments! A bat and an owl with black feathers and black glitter! *Love*

Here is the Owl I made for Val (yep another one of my creations is living in Australia!) I started with this pattern . Did I mention I can't leave things as is? LOL I had so much fun making him, I didn't want to let him go ;)

I also made a couple fall leaf mini candle mats for battery operated candles, but I forgot to take pics!

The Heart of Art

Wow, I think I've blogged more this week than I have in any given month! I've made a promise to myself to be more of an active participant in life instead of quite so much of an observer. So much easier said than done with Facebook, Twitter, Ning groups, Blogs, CreatingTheHive ....whewwww! But, after the last blog party I've realized....again...what I know to be true but often forget: Art is addictive. Energy is catching. Surround yourself with the kind of people you want to be! Now all of a sudden I have the incredible urge to blog more, create more, and be submersed in Art...completely, not just as an observer. I also love taking photos, and take A LOT of them (again being the observer) but I'm not so good at posting them ha! Part of me worries people might think "wow she talks a lot, or blogs too much". That side argues with the other side that thinks "Look at how good all these people are at blogging regularly, and creating regularly". So...sometimes I might ramble and blog and stuff..then I'll be quiet....because it's harder to type when your hands are covered in paint or paperclay or...anywho..back to the point of this post!

I would like to introduce you to Tam. *Hi Tam*.

 I discovered her for the first time on her YouTube channel  while searching for painting tutorials and demos. She has the most charming accent, is absolutely fun, funny, happy, self positive artist! There is a very healing, nurturing way about her. She teaches art, and believing in yourself, and healing through art. I joined her Ning group awhile back ( http://willowing.ning.com ) and haven't had much time to participate, so I'm taking this opportunity to jump in with both feet . Tam has been so kind to offer a FREE workshop there called "The Heart of Art". She explains more about it on her YouTube channel (currently the most recent video).  Ning groups are also free to join, so hop on over and check it out! It seems to be a very warm supportive group of artists, eager to learn. Because despite how many times I hear people say "but I'm not creative/artistic"...I will say "Yes you are."  Are you a mother? Now tell me THAT'S not a brilliant creation! You made a human!  ;)  Art is everywhere..pass it on...

3 Wild and Crazy Guys!

Hello out there in blog land! I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather. It's a bit slow to show up around here, but I know fall is coming! I participated in another swap over at All Things Vintage. This one was a "Secret Heart Swap", with the sender being a secret until their package arrived. We could choose 1 large, 2 medium, or 3 smaller hearts. Once I decided on doing the 3 smaller ones, the "See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil" monkeys popped into my head. But since these were hearts, and destined to be pin cushions, I couldn't help but do a "See no Needle, Hear no Needle, Speak no Needle" spin on it. I embroidered the letters across the top. Then I made the eyes out of paper clay using these fabulous tools from Pat Moulton here . I scored the backs of the eyes before they dried so the glue would get a better grip. I painted them with acrylics, then gave them a good glossy shine with 3D Crystal Lacquer. 

"See no Needle"

Once I finally got the first one pinned and very carefully sewn on the machine, I was wondering what I got myself into lol. I thought a box cushion would be a fairly simple design to sew. It would have been had I been dealing with a square or circle. But the tops of those hearts were tricky and fiddly! Once I got one done and loved the way they were turning out I had to do it two more times :) Luckily the side material had lines so it was a little easier to get everything lined up!

"Hear no Needle"

"Speak no Needle"

I think that was the look on my face as I went to the Post Office to send my first ever International Shipment! I had feared and dreaded it for so long, and I finally did it. 

 These crazy guys now live in Australia! Hey, does that make me an international artist? Hahaha ;) Have a great weekend!