Made with Love...

Handmade Christmas gifts have all been given~

Now I can share a peek with you!

Had these light weight wooden boxes.

Knew they would come in handy someday...

Alaina and I took a black Friday road trip!

With so many stores opening in the wee hours~

We decided to skip our 5am dash for treasures and go sight seeing!

We headed toward Ithaca, New York.

Just outside of Ithaca there is a sweet town called Trumansburgh.

Little shops, the best NY style pizza and a candy store.

"Life's So Sweet" had these adorable finger puppets!

We have three great-nephews and one great-niece.

There must have been 30 different choices!

We picked out animals & birds that best fit each child...

I drew the animal friends on each box to match...

That way when play was finished there wasn't any mix-up

of who belonged to which puppet friend!

I used a medium tip Sharpie pen for a coloring book style outline...

Colored in the illustrations with colored pencils...

Dated and signed the back...

They liked the little blankets and "put them to bed!"

I added felt to the bottom to protect furniture surfaces~

Must admit...

I named them all while I was sketching and removing tags!

I wonder what names the little ones will come up with...

It's so fun to play pretend!

Favorite Things...

A peek inside an artists world!

Their favorite colors and art mediums...

How their studio is set up...

Their favorite things~

It is great fun when my favorite artists share their world!

So I thought I would share bits n' pieces of my

Favorite Things throughout this next year!

Made in America!

Heritage Lace licenses my designs and they

sent me these WONDERFUL artist samples for approval!

They have taken several of my designs and made the most

beautiful wall art with them.

Heritage Lace design each piece~
They marry my art with their lace, their words...

I LOVE what they do with my art!

They are one of my new FAVORITE licenses!

This treasure arrived a few days before Christmas...

My mom loved this painting!

Iris were one of her favorites~ as were Chickadees.

When she would visit she loved to sit and watch 

our feathered friends visit the feeder.

I'm sharing this sample with a very special aunt~

For all she shares with me!

Hope your day is wonderful!

Vintage Doll Dress Winner!

Laura, from 52 Flea

won the Vintage Doll Dress!

Congratulations!!

Please stop by and visit her blog... one of my favorites!

Thank you all for your sweet comments...

Another giveaway is just around the corner~

I've been adding treasures to my Etsy store...

I've been very busy with art deadlines...

A new fabric line~ that I can't wait to share with all of you!

Two new companies developing large art programs!

I'm so thankful for new opportunities~

I will share as soon as my Copyrights are protected~

I've also been making oodles of Christmas gifts!

I have one more week... so the cookies will wait!!

I am taking photographs before I package and wrap them...

I will share them soon!

Hugs to all of you who are missing a loved one~

Either through passing...

Perhaps away~ serving our country...

Those kept in another part of America, with money tight...

Mom is in our memories!

We laugh and share... we cry and embrace~

Hope

Love

Share

Give

Receive

His love is there for all of us!

Wishing you joy~ Sweet Friends!

Christmas Vintage Giveaway!

To say thank you, Sweet Friends~

My Christmas Giveaway!

I drew two cardinals... perched on Holly branches.

One of dearest hand made vintage dresses!

~Found at an antique store in Canandaigua, NY~

17" long from neck to hem...

approx. 5.25" at waist from seam to seam...

10.5" wide at base hem...

A beautiful long gown for the sweetest of friends!

  

I drew a sprig of holly on the chest...

Close ups of the stitching details...

You can see my pen lines bleed through...

The doll dress has wear, light stains...

There is LOADS of love hugged into this collectible!

Please comment on this post if you would like to have

your name put in the basket for a chance to win!

My Sweet Girl will pull the name on December 10th!

That way I can have it to you before Christmas~

If you do not have a blog where I can leave a message for you...

Please leave an email with your comment~

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... hmmmmm...

The lack of snow has me itching to draw, paint and design snow friends!

Once I shovel inches, feet... heavy stuff~

I'll be ready to draw fuzzy, cuddly teddy loves!

I just listed eight new canvas totes in my Etsy store...

I'm shipping Christmas treasures the same day~

Or first thing next morning through December!

My mom would build snowmen with our son.

They would stand at the window and holler when they finished...

I took pictures every time!

We would tell stories all evening~

About what our new snow friends were doing outside...

When no one was looking!

I was very sure they kept our songbirds cozy and shared hugs~

Thank you for your friendship, comments, purchases & laughs!

Hope you like the giveaway~

Bold Fabric Sketches...

We have been taking advantage of our mild December weather!

I planted more fall bulbs~

Pruned all of our pines, shrubs etc. and made Christmas swags...

The greens, inexpensive and abundant, add the perfect touch outside!

Winter cozy... while we wait for our blanket of white~

My hands are a bit shaky after garden work...

I decided to try some darker sketches~

I like the look!

Not sure if they're more masculine or if the free style is more hip?

...I will always make the more detailed pieces!

Every line a softer, warmer friend~

I'm keeping the prices extra low throughout December...

Want to thank you for making 2011 so wonderful for us!

Tomorrow... I'll post a new a giveaway!

Wishing you joy, Kind Friends~

Needle Felted Birds...

A batch of wool songbirds to share with you~

We have had very mild weather...

I was walking my pup yesterday morning and a bird

perched in our hedgerow and sang a large song to me!

It actually hurt my ears!

I took visual notes... had never seen this beautifully LOUD friend!

She turned to the left for the perfect profile...

Tilted her tail up...

Flew up high so I could check out her tummy colors...

My new friend is a female Orchard Oriole!

I wonder what she was telling me all about...

A male & female Cardinal perched nearby to hear her story~

She chased them off and then came forward in the tree

to share more with my pup and I!

Perhaps she likes the new suet flavor?

I keep notes of my feathered friends visits...

Especially new birds!

How fun it would be to translate her story!

Such a beautiful girl~

I'm off to list my new felted birds in my Etsy store~

Hope your holiday was wonderful and that your

new week is off to a great start!

Vintage Enamelware ...

 Children's enamelware set...

Treasured, weathered and worn!

I collect pieces with character to use as snowman hats...

...vintage treasures and wool compliment each other nicely~

Blue will look so hip on my felted friends heads!

These are very heavy...

My wool friends will need a shore stone in their bottoms!

Hope your Friday is wonderful~

Needle Felted Crow...

Sugarplum danced in my head!

I made her hat and collar out of wool felt...

Then tacked her tail feather to the vintage letter!

S is for SugarPLUM...

Our daughter has wanted me to paint our front door

or fireplace deep plum~ She is amazing at selecting colors...

I was able to get my plum fix from this felt stitching!

No purple for me~

Look at these fun colors!!!

"They're so FLUFFY!!!" (love that movie....)

Wool felt sews so neatly...

It also "feathers" nicely...

Sugarplum's collar has a soft edge~ just a few easy steps!

Snip the edge...

Stretch it out a little... pull, push... but not too hard~

Little by little pull the the loose snips off...

TaDa! Feathered edge... 

Some of these needle felts will be in my Etsy store soon~

For now they're my studio friends...

Hope you have a wonderful evening!

Teacher gifts...

This sweet little wren is from a collection of 12!

I could paint wrens all day~

They're so very chipper and have a colorful song!

Fabric transfer from one of my original watercolors...

on a very old piece of sage colored linen~

Fun cotton fabric...

Wool felt...

Plain muslin...

Before I started my super skilled stitch work

my tool of choice was the hot glue gun!

(giggle)

One dress-up day I took a mint green bridesmaid gown...

Cut it into several pieces (with an evil laugh and joy!)

Then hot glued it to Alaina!

Well... she had a footie-pajama on~

I didn't want it to be toooo permanent! ha! ha!

Back to our project...

Wool felt is so much fun! I love to make little outfits for

my needle felted friends. I felt them together~ or a few stitches.

It is a nice way to add a bit of strength to these patches.

I hand sign each treasure~

Stitch a pin back, so they can be easily removed.

I stitched one of these to a blue jean tote bag...

It looked so sweet!

These make wonderful teacher gifts~

A friend stitched one to her laptop case!

Another gal shared that she stitched it to a blazer pocket!

Hope  you have a wonderful evening~

Thank you for so many fun comments, Friends!