Bead Journal Project-December

December is ticking away. I'm feeling better, and am wanting to actually get back in the saddle and share some of my pieces with the world. I'm beginning to think that who cares if I brag. That is my right, and if some people aren't comfortable with listening to me, that should not stop me from sharing my Art with the world.

This piece is actually one of my found treasures. I was trying to find the gourds for Harvest' base when I came across these stuffed creatures that I had bought at Ikea earlier this year. They were only 50 cents apiece, and being a hoarder, I just couldn't help myself. So I brought out a stuffed elephant and a hippo. The hippo caught my eye. At the time, BAD was doing a "song" challenge, and I was thinking what a wonderful thing to do one of my favorite silly Christmas songs that had been playing on 93.3 since the middle of November. Guess which one it is?? Yes, "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas...only a hippopotamus will do....." And YES! I sang this song the whole week as I was beading this cute little stuffed creature. It is only 4 inches high and 6 inches long. I had a group of girls from work come over right after I finished it & one of them wanted to buy it. Sorry, not for sale. I didn't post him for the BAD challenge as I was feeling a little blue at the time, but I believe that was because it was suppose to become my December entry for the Bead Journal Project for 2008.

Bead Journal Project-November

For November, I wasn't sure what I was going to work on. Then I was cleaning out my clothes closet looking for some Christmas presents I'd bought last year, when I came across a doll that I had bought from Cyndy Sieving to help her pay for the 2007 Artistic Figures in Cloth conference. I really didn't like this doll when I bought it, but the face was cute. The original doll was in blue clothing, and had black wool roving hair. She was sitting on fabric green leaves. I don't know it you've noticed or not, but I really am NOT a blue person. My favorite colors are earthy tones with lots of oranges, yellows, and browns. So, I took this doll out, and sat her on the cabinet letting the Sun shine on her face. I realized that I loved the face Cyndy painted on her, and decided to recycle this doll by taking everything off & just leaving the doll form. Then I posed the doll with her head resting on the palm of her hand to give her a wishful look. Now done to the FUN! I had the best time beading this doll. I used beads from my stash that were dusty, and used some new beads from the trip to NYC. She was so Harvest looking that I decided to call her just that. But I needed to put her on a stand. So I brought some microscope boxes home from work which were sturdy enough for the base, but flexible enough for me to drill holes through so I could mount Harvest on it. Then I used some Fall Accents from Michaels' to decorate the base. I must admit that I really like this doll a lot. I wish I could claim to have made the doll itself, but to reclaim it to a Treasured piece sitting out in the Front room with all my other special dolls, was one of the objects of this project. When I showed Cyndy what I had done, she was happy with the transformation.

Bead Journal Project-October

For October I decided to recycle a doll form from the article I wrote for Doll Crafter's and Costuming. The article was my very first front page, and I was tickled to pieces over it. When the local bead store saw the article before it was published, they wanted me to teach the cat. It was the first time a beaded doll class was to be offered at Byzanitum. I had 5 students. Every single one of them really enjoyed the class, and asked me for more doll classes. Yes, I'm going to be teaching more in the 2009 year.

Roxane from Byzantium called this class the Howling Black Cat, and I really liked the name. Initially this class was taught with a fabric face, and this was how this doll began. But one member from Bead Art Dolls (sorry, but I forgot her name), had gotten the article, shrunk the pattern, and made this black cat using a button she got a Joann's. I really loved the button, and bought a set for myself. Now, this doll was the doll that I used in class for a sample. It started with all the different stitches here and there. It was a big mess, and I just put it to the side. But then, I thought to myself that if I didn't finish it now in October, it would go into a big tub of unfinished projects and never get done. Then I opened a drawer of buttons and saw that funny cat face. I was really inspired, and had the best time finishing this up in record time. It only took me a week to finish this 6 inch doll.

Bead Journal Project-September

First off, I want to apologize for not posting in over a month. I have been working on art projects all this time, but just haven't had the initiative to publish them. Back in July or August, someone told me that I was bragging too much about my accomplishments, and it made me a bit depressed. I backed away, and kept relatively quiet. But, I have commitments and need to publish them. This is the first for the new Bead Journal Project for 2008-2009. The committee decided that this year, we'd all start in September.

It was hard for me to come up with a big game plan for the year. I'd just finished a couple dolls for Global Warming and had read Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. I wanted to do a big gigantic piece dedicated to Rachel, but I tried drawing, and thinking, and doodling, and nothing came to surface. Then I decided that instead of doing one big project dedicated to Saving our Earth, I'd do 12 small ones each month, and if I still had the energy I'd work on the bigger piece through the year. So my BJP project for 2008-2009 all revolves around recycling. Each month, I'm either going to work with something already in my stash, a doll that I have bought but really didn't like too much, or my favorite theme "Trash to Treasure" which is a piece bought at the thrift store which is probably ready to be thrown in the trash and taken to the landfill but I've "rescued" and turned into a piece of Treasure.

This month begins with something from my stash. I made over 40 doll forms for kits to sell when I went to EDAC in July. I came back home with 1/2 and from that, I sold half of those. So I decided to take one of my own design forms and bead it. Since I suffered so much from allergies in September, it was like I was swim all the time with my eyes and nose watering. So I decided to bead a mermaid. I used a clay face that Chris had made for me and incorporated fiber with the beads and sequins. I even came up with a new method to do hair. Therefore-Flora Swims.

Fallen Angel

I have been wanting to finish this doll since I left Albuquerque in July. He is from a class I took at EDAC. He originally was suppose to be a character from Viva L'Carnivale series, but I just couldn't seem to find that in this doll. So instead, he's turned into a fallen angel. I've named him Azhruhl the keeper of the Last Dragon's Eye. The Dragon's Eye has magical powers which if lost or fallen into the wrong hands could harm the world of Ohz.

I had a tough time finding a name. I searched several sites on the internet looking for angel names. I wanted to call him a name with an A & Z, but most of them were truly evil. I don't want this character to be evil or cause damage to the world as he's a keeper. So I invented this name. I use to take my Thunderbird to a dealership here in Columbus called Dick Ruhl. I loved that place. Everyone was so pleasant & they treated me like a princess even sometimes taking me out to breakfast when I waited for work done on my card. Then the dealership was sold. Things changed. I stopped going there when all the people in the shop were replaced. Oh, and I bought a Honda as my main vehicle. Still have the T-bird, but he now gets service other places.

Hope you like him. He has fall colors which are my favorite. Loved making the wings they were from a class I took with Adele.

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A Scottie Halloween

Every year our local newspaper, Columbus Dispatch, has a pet costume contest for Halloween. This year I sent in the picture of Frodo as Darth Frodo & this picture of Fiona and Frodo as Garden Bugs. I got a message from Joe Blundo asking if they indeed were my pets & that the results of the contest were to be in Monday October 27th issue of the Dispatch. Now, I'm not saying they will get their pictures published, but I'm pretty certain that they'll get in the paper. If so, that is the 2nd time for Mz. Fiona. Her & Skyeblue won 3rd place one year as The SUPER-SCOTTIE girls. They of course took their prize money & bought Pig Ears!

Breast Cancer Turtles

I'm sorry, but I keep forgetting to mention that I was one of the artist who worked on the Pink Ribbon Turtle project. All the money is to go to breast cancer research. Please check this website out to be able to see the Turtles & to purchase either tickets for the raffle or products with the Turtle's image.

thank you
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Oliver

Here is my Oliver. He is from a class I took with Cyndy Sieving. It was her class on face & body building. I had a blast turning my doll into a vampire. I've worked in a hospital lab for 25 years and have always wanted to make a vampire. I can't tell you how much money I'd have accumulated over the years if only I had collected a dollar for each time I was called a vampire, or had to endure the endless lab vs. vampire jokes. Yes, rich enough to own a private island perhaps.

I did enter Oliver in the competition for EDAC (Enchanted Doll Artist Conference) back in July. I entered the beginning professional category. Oliver got be a 3rd place ribbon. The story I had with Oliver was that he was a "model employee" working in the Blood Bank through his lunch break. The glass tube has paint in it...I actually had someone ask me if it was real blood! And the bag is just a bag with painted yarn to give it a more natural look. I actually had a couple people stand shocked when they saw that I really didn't bead the whole thing. But, if you look real close, Oliver does have some beads on his cape. I think he is perfect for this time of the year...oh & yes, he gets his pay in units! Of blood, that is!

Pet Halloween picture

It is time for the annual Columbus Dispatch pet Halloween costume contest. Yesterday, we decided it is time to get the costumes out, find the dog treats, and get the cameras going. My first pictures to share is of Frodo as Darth Vader. He was so funny when I put the costume on him. He saw me coming up to him as he was standing at the fence barking at the kids playing soccer, and knew something bad was going to happen. WRONG! It was fun. Well, to me it was fun... At least Frodo did let me put the costume on. He even didn't freak when I put the helmet on his head. His legs are too short to actually fit in the sleeves, but not too bad. We put him on the swing in the back yard and when we reviewed the shots it actually looked like he was sitting in front of one of those green screens for CG effects. I'm going to send this into Joe Blundo with the caption, "Come to the Dark Side". We are going to try to do some photoshop magic and see if we can get a more Star War background, but I think with his dark color you really couldn't see his adorable head. But anyway...enjoy Frodo Baggins as Darth Vader. LOL!

Global Warming Doll

Whew...I made the deadline to add my second submission in the BAD Global Warming Challenge. This is Terra. I have been experimenting with beaded faces for my September BJP, and this is one of the results. I used a globe as the background & did a traditional Native American bead embroidery for the face. Everything else is all my own design. I've also been experimenting with stump/or pillar doll forms. Not bad, but I need to make the base wider so the doll won't wobble so much.

On a side note, I've decided to stay at my old job. The financial situation is to shaky right now to think of leaving an employer of 25 years. I'd lose too much to leave just to collect a small pension. So I'm just going to bite the bullet and stay at my current position. It would be so hard to leave 22 weeks of disability. I 'm at the age, where it is scary to think if I got sick & had nothing to live on. I'm going to be praying that the financial situation levels out soon. I'll be okay, but I'm not so sure about some of my family members. Guess I'll be collecting that 5 set piece of Samsonite luggage in 15 years from the hospital!

Summer ends

Summer is over, and Fall is official at the start. Septembers are the time of the year when I sit back & reflect on life and the year past. I don't know why September always makes me feel this way. Probably because it always called to me when I was young that it was time to go back to school, change my life for at least that year, and to commit to challenges...oh & the new television series too! How I couldn't wait until the new shows would start again. Our family just cheered when it was time to sit down together in the front room around the small black and white screen, and together get involved in shows. It was the time when we all went to the stores together getting our school supplies, walked home with friends laughing & dreaming of our future, and getting the catalogs in the mail with promises of Christmas surprises. But now September is the time of the year when I get really really blue. There seems to be on control over my emotions which roller coast up & down. I just become. Last night I sat outside on the patio wrapped up in a blanket watching the trees sway in the wind. I heard the remnants of the Summer insects singing me into a swaying cocoon of self satisfaction. I would occasionally look out into the yard & watch as Fiona lay in the grass sleeping, Frodo under the bushes trying to find bunnies, and Arwen racing from gate to gate trying to see if any small creature were trying to invade her territory. It was quiet, and my mind was quiet. Gone were the regrets of the year. Gone were the disappointments of the year. Gone were the spats, fights, and quarrels of the year. I felt refreshed. I felt like a new born ready to reach out.

But it didn't last. I woke up feeling tired. This year has been good for me, but it also has been so trying with my job flipping & flopping around with this staff member quitting, this one starting, this one pressuring others. I use to work 4 ten hour shifts which were great, but at least I was able to have some stability in my week schedule. Now we are back on 5 8 hour shifts. Because of that, two people left and one is wanting to leave. Great. Now ever day when I go to work, I don't know if I'll be the only one left, or what. I want to leave, but I've worked there for 25 years. Do you know how hard it is to leave when you will lose so much? But if you stay you lose also. Which is worse? I have no idea. Then this has been a year full of financial ups and downs for our country. I hate to even turn on the television or open the paper. To see my retirement accounts dwindle away is frightening as it means I'll have to keep on working way past the time I'd set for myself. I don't want to be poor when I get old. Both Chris & I grew up poor & the thought of having to balance comfort of living with medication or food is not what I want. So I'll keep working, and working, and working. I had someone yesterday tell me that at least I had a decent job. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but at least I have that. A decent job that a recession or a depression can touch. So I'll endure, and hope for something to turn my switch off so I don't keep thinking about the Future.

But I have had a good year. Don't get me wrong. I've had great things happen to me. I've taken two trips with friends. I've created some enduring pieces of Art which have thrilled me. I've gotten a cover of a magazine, and some recognition from working peers. I've spent time with my best friend, I've made new friends, and I've become debt free the first time in 20 years. I have a wonderful husband, three crazy fun dogs, and job that is stable, enough beads and fabric to keep me going for years! I think everyone has a blue phase of their life. I'm going to push back the azure curtain and step outside. I'm going to embrace the oranges and reds and yellows of Fall. I'm going to run in the leaves, stand out in the rain, and just smile more. Let the blues go...

Just to show how I'm ready to celebrate the New Year for me, I'm doing a set of calender dolls for the Bead Art Doll Yahoo Group. This first doll is my September doll. She's all pink & sparklie and holds her arms high above her head. This doll is ME. She's self aware, and ready to dance to the rhythm of life. Me.

Global Warming Doll

This is my submission for the Global Warming Doll Challenge for my Beaded Art Doll Group (BAD) . It is called "Mother Nature Gives Warning". My very first idea when Robin proposed this challenge was a book that I read many many years ago. Matter of Fact, this book was published 42 years ago when I was in grade school. It was Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. I was young and didn't understand much of what the teachers were telling us about ecology, or threats to our planet, but I do remember our planting a flower/vegetable garden out behind our school in La Puente California. Back in 1962, we rarely saw the stars in the night sky, and I think I was probably 10 years old before I remember seeing my first stars on a vacation in Arizona. I had to ask my Dad what they were. I remember reading Silent Spring in high school for a Freshman science project, but I really didn't understand too much of that. My life became busy with school, study, and trying to make a living. I did go to a nature preserve in Maine 8 years ago, and learned more about Rachel Carson. Rachel Carson was an advocate for the world we now live in. Silent Spring rang out to the world the horrors of pollution raining down on our Earth. She took information from scientist around the world about the damage of chemical herbicide and pesticide to animal, plant,fish,bird, soil, and to our own selves. In layman's terms, she explained what was being done to the Earth in the name of pest control, and what was happening to our world. In the first chapter of her book, she talks about a world where there was no "voices" from the insects, aquatic creatures,birds, or the animals. To her, if the world kept on with the progress it was satisfied with, the world would be Silent as there would be no birds, no animals, no fish, no insects, or possibly no mankind. She woke up the World and especially this nation. Because of her warning, we now have the Environmental Protection Agency formed in 1970. People conserve. Creatures and plants on the brink of extinction in 1962, now thrive. People are aware. I like to think that my doll Mother Nature could be Rachel Carson giving warning to our Generation just as Rachel herself did in 1962. On a sad note, Rachel Carson died 18 months after the publication of Silent Spring due to complications from breast cancer. I dedicate this doll to her memory. Rachel Carson-A True Earthen Mother.

Summer???

Well, this is really a non beading post. Mainly, I was just going to say...whew! I got all three dogs cut & it is still Summer. It took me two weeks to do all three, but it was finished this weekend. Arwen is the most troublesome to groom. I believe that she was some how traumatized in the kennel I got her from. She fights all the time from the minute her feet touch the grooming table. I've tried everything from natural holistic treatments to calm her down & finally I had to get tranquilizers from my Vet. I had to give her 3 mg of Valium & still she fought. It broke my heart to have to drug her, but the alternatives were exhausted. Chris still had to hold her so I could get her belly. Yes, I cut the skirt off of a Scottie. Doesn't make her any less of a Scottie, but it does make it easier for me to keep her clean. So all three are groomed, clean, and nekkid. They all have their beards and eyebrows, but all the rest is gone. Matter of fact, Fiona LOVED it. She was rolling and running all over the place. I think she really likes being stealthy so she can squirm between the boulders looking for those moles.

Here is a picture of Arwen before and after.

I do have some doll news! My Diva Cher is in the gallery section of Doll Crafter & Costuming, November issue. Yeah for CHER!

2008 BJP almost finished

Well, I have completed all my pieces for the 2007-2008 BJP. I just don't have the time to actually complete them into a wall hanging right now. I've got to get some dolls made up 2009 class proposals. I'm hoping that once it gets colder, I'll want to actually complete this wall hanging. But before the 2008-2009 started up, I wanted to get something with all 12 pieces to share with others. Chris did this collage with all my leaves. I think it looks pretty cool just as is & might make a nice post card. Hummm...ideas, ideas, ideas. Hope you like my year long project...almost done.

FRONT COVER

MY FIRST! I was so excited the other afternoon when I woke up to find the October 2008 issue of Doll Crafter & Costuming on the counter waiting for me. There on the front cover was my piece Trick-or-Treat. I actually did do a dance, and that was before I gulped down a cup of coffee! I'd been asked by the editor to do a piece for the Halloween issue of DC&C. I was honored to have been asked, but then what to do. I decided to start at the very beginnings from pattern making, to sewing, to beading the doll. I chose 5 basic simple templates to get people interested in beaded dolls. My hardest decision was how to present the 5 dolls, so I decided to make them all sitting on a tree. Again, how to make the tree? I was pouring Half&Half into my cup, when I saw the answer in my hand. I used the empty plastic container along with wire and did a wrapped doll tree. Then I attached all three dolls to the tree. I was still nervous that it wouldn't be worthy of the cover, so I didn't tell anyone about it. The editor love this piece, so I got the courage to take it with me to Enchanted Doll Artists Conference in Albuquerque. I entered it in the "Other Side of the Mirror" challenge saying in an old enchanted forest is a tree which grows Trick or Treaters who magically appear only one night on our door steps asking for candy and then disappearing. Guess what? It came in 2nd place in the beginning professional category. Can we say I was too happy!

Beading for a Cure

Well, I've had both of these pieces done for awhile, but my problem is always finishing. Finishing the paper work & getting pictures, and going to the post office are three of my worse procrastination faults. So the deadline to send in projects for Beading for a Cure is July 15th. I'm going to be leaving here for Albuquerque tomorrow afternoon, so I must get to the post office today! For those who aren't familiar with BFAC, Beading for a Cure started out with a group on All About Beads who decided to do something in memory of a friend (Layne's Legacy) and what better way to do that than to call for a beading challenge & all pieces donated to a worthy cause. Three bead shop owners rotate making up the kits each year. The only rule is that you MUST use at least one of every bead in the kit. You are allowed to only add one additional bead type to the mix. BFAC donates proceeds for all pieces to the National Colo-Rectal Cancer research organization. March is Colo-Rectal Cancer awareness month. so items are offered for sale on eBay that month.

This year I made two pieces. Oopsie is an original pattern by Cyndy Sieving which is shrunk down. I added matt gold 11s to the mix, and sequins to enhance the sparkle quota. The other piece is my original design of the Podlings which was in the 2/08 issue of Doll Crafters and Costuming. Another BFAC member could not finish her pieces, so I offered to take the kit from her & do one in her name. For The Podling, I added dark topaz 11s. I'm pretty happy with both dolls, and hope in March they make their way to good homes.

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Pink Ribbon Turtle

Jena Tuntas has done a project for breast cancer awareness & decided to do another project for this year. It is called the Pink Ribbon Turtle. It is a quilted wall hanging & is going to be auctioned off with money going to Breast Cancer Research. Four different artist have divided up the quilt beading the shell, head, tail, and flippers of the sea turtle. So far we have two groups working on this project. I'm in group #1 with Jena, Gretchen, and Cynthia. I chose the upper right hand quadrant. I've finally got the beading done on this project. Now I need to sew the beading sections on the quilt square, and send it off to Jena to be completed. For Jena's site & more information about this project, please go here .

I've also got to put the bottom on my piece for Beading for a Cure before I photograph the doll. Meanwhile, I'm gearing up to head out to New Mexico next Monday.

Ruby of Oz & BJP

This is another one of the dolls that I made at Think Pink. She is from Barbara Willis' class. I did like the technique of covering a paper clay face with fabric & using pins & colored pencils to add the face. I'm thinking of doing this with some linen & possibly have it pre-beaded before it is stretched over the clay. Now to find time to do that. Anyway, I found the fabric at the Cotton Candy in Twinsberg Ohio which I just found out is closing. BUT...I did see the same material in a quilt shop in Berlin Ohio, so at least I know where to find more Wizard of Oz fabric. Ruby is a stump doll, or pedestal doll. and I was thrilled to use some of the dyed lace that I bought at Pacific Fabrics out in Washington when I attended Art Fiber Fest. Lesson here, is that if you see something that tugs at you, buy it NOW. I've had this lace for 2 years & knew I'd find something to use it on.

BJP. I'm still trying to figure out how to finish this project. I want to do a quilted wall hanging of a tree with the leaves hanging from it, but I'm so lacking in that skill. I think what I'm going to do, is just pull out some big pieces of paper, lay it on the floor of the Art Cave, and draw my own tree shape. I have this perfect fabric that looks like tree bark that I found three years ago at St. Theresa's Textile Trove in Cincy. I'm thinking of just either using Seam to Seam & adhering it onto a back of possibly batik fabric & then tacking it down for the quilt part & then applique the leave on that. I hope to get all this done soon. I don't want to pass up this opportunity to be on the webpage: http://www.beadjournalproject.com/

well, gotta finish up a doll that was damaged at the High Road Gallery so it can go to its new home.

Cher

Here is another new doll that I made based on the class that Patti Culea taught at Think Pink. I was going around calling her Dead Cher or Zombie Cher as she is green, but thought I better not do that. Don't' want to get into trouble. The face & hands are from Patti's pattern, but I decided to do the stump doll. The fabric is batik that Cyn sent me & I used a layer of organza to give it a richer look. Then I used rose trims that I bought at Joann's & sequins from Bead World in NYC. I stepped back & thought to myself..."wow. My Grandma had a dress that looked like that. At the conference after I finished painting the green face on "Cher", I couldn't decide on the hair. Patti had folks making hair out of fancy yarn, but it didn't see to fit. So I got out a bunch of wool and Tibetan lamb wool. I tried several pieces & had others in the class giving me suggestions. Then out of a whim, I pulled the black lamb wool out, plopped it on her head & instantly she became Cher! The boa she has is from a shop in NYC that was having a moving sale & I got that beautiful fringe trim for a quarter. Lucky me!

After I had Cher all done, Chris & I were at a garage sell & we found several Sonny & Cher albums. He wanted me to photograph her in front of the Greatest hits, but when he showed me that scratched up 45 of "I got you Babe" I know it had to be part of her permanently. So, I've got to mount her on that record.

This is Chloe

I LOVE This doll! She is so adorable that all I want to do is to hug her. I made her face during a class with Karen Shifton at DollGatherer's "Think Pink:It's a Girl Thing". The stump pattern is Karen's Water Lily doll. I wanted to do a squirrel who has taken time out in her busy life to offer something from her stash to the hungry in this world. I'm going to enter her in a group on Yahoo which is making dolls with the theme "there's a hole in the World, tonight"...let's find a way to fill it. Yes, it is from the Eagle's song. I believe that if each of us just gave one small thing, we'd be on our way to help heal this World. Chloe has beaded eyes and the blobs on her skirt are those glass blobs that you can buy to put in your fish tanks. Chloe also has a real squirrel tail. I bought that at Cabellas on Cyn & my way to NYC last month. I hope you enjoy Chloe, and take her advice to share just something small. She is giving away one acorn and a hand full of seeds. What small thing can you do to help fill that hole in our World?

TAGGED! OH NO!

i got double tagged by Mary T & Lora . I'm going to try this to see if my brain can function. I was called into work last night and could not refuse the 4 extra hours on top of my regular 10 when they dangled time/&half plus $2.00 an hour. I drank enough coffee to keep an elephant awake for 3 days, but didn't get to me too much. Have I mentioned that I drink tons of coffee. Night shift does that to a person. Okay, but back to being tagged:

What was I doing 10 years ago

Cross stitch projects that were HUGE. I have them still on my walls.

Same job as now except at a different hospital. I'm a Medical Technologist working 3rd shift.

Scotties! I was really into anything to do with Scotties back then. I owned a small business selling Scottie dog related items. I was also looking into becoming a member of the STCA (Scottish Terrier Club of America) so I could either show a Scottie or become a breeder. Also, I was very big into collecting Scottie dog antiques. (Still have them all)

I was healthier back then, and smaller! I was taking herbal supplements to keep my weight down & not until I had a 3 week Vertigo attack did I realize they had ephedra.

What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?

Finish the article I'm working on for Doll Crafter and Costuming

Finish my instructions for the class I'm teaching Saturday

Call my niece to get her to watch the hoard next Tuesday when I got to Detroit to see Robert Plant & Allison Kraus in Detroit

Finally, get ready for work. I've got another 10 hours shift

Snacks I enjoy….

I binge eat, so I try not to eat too many snacks. But some of my favorites are #1 DONUTS! Any kind is delicious to me. #2 Nacho Cheese Doritos

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

NOT WORK! REALLY! I can't figure out the people who win the lottery & want to work. If I won millions I'd have scorch marks on my fingers from dialing my Director & tell her NO MORE!

I'd move. Definitely. Love my family, but don't like Ohio weather. I'd probably move out West to Southern Utah.

I'd support local artist by having a gallery where they wouldn't have to pay me the whopping 50 percent rip off price that most galleries here in Columbus charge. I would do this so they could sell more art pieces without jacking up their prices to pay ME & also so other folks could buy more art without having to pay the outrageous prices the gallery want.

Places I have lived:

Ohio. Southern Ohio & Columbus Ohio
Los Angeles California back in the 50s & 60s when I was a kid. Yes, it was a big culture shock to move from LA to a small town on the Ohio River back in 1967. Imagine watching American Bandstand on rabbit ears with so much static you it made your eyes water & seeing two classmates of yours dancing on television. I still have a hard time forgiving my parents from moving from LA to Portsmouth when I was in high school. But I survived.

Jobs I have had:

I'll start from the beginning:
Baby Sitter
House cleaner
Shoe factory line worker
Research assistant (I was only there as window dressing as I was 20 & the only female)
Egg plant line worker (Oh I smelled so bad & couldn't eat eggs for years)
McDonalds (hated this! almost as bad as the egg plant, but at least I smelled different)
Bar Tender
Pharmacy Technician
Medical Laboratory Technician
Medical Laboratory Technologist
Owner of small Scottie Dog related business
Artist! This is my favorite.

I read a book by Natalie Goldburg/or Goldman many years ago, that you WORK is what you'd do no matter if you got paid for it or not. Your JOB is what you do to pay for your WORK. Very few of us are blessed enough to have their WORK be their JOB. There is always hope!

Great Stork Factory-Pink Divison

WOW! I just got the lastest edition of Doll Crafter & Costuming in my mailbox & was so surprised to see not one, not two, but three Guilded Lilies inside the pages. First off, the front cover is of Linda Apple's doll. There is a fantastic article about Linda & how she created her sweet dolls. Then there is an article written by Judy Skeel about mohair. I was thumbing through it & saw one of her dolls & was admiring it before I saw she actually wrote the article. Way to go Judy even though she's up in Canada right now & won't get any congrat messages from me for a week. Then my Great Stork Factory-Pink Division is in the gallery. Okay, I don't think I shared with many, but here is the thing about this doll. It won the People's Choice award at Think Pink-It's a Girl Thing. SHOCKED ME! There were so many wonderful dolls there so I was sort of snoozing when they called out the winner. Cyn had to poke me awake & told me I won. Pam was shaking me. I truly was shocked. You can scroll down to see my Pink Doll. Pam also sent a picture of her, myself & Barbara Willis at the conference. She allowed me to share it with you all so you can see that I really do have a face. I'm the one in the middle clutching my stash!

May BJP

I'm done. This is the last leaf for the year long project. Well, I'm done with the monthly leaves. Now I've got to finish the wall hanging they all will be on. Plus, I want to rescan them all so I can have them put on the Bead Journal Artist website.

Back to May. My May leaf was to commemorate the 50th birthday trip of my friend, Cynthia. We went to NYC for three days, then to Akron to visit our friend Sharon, and then on the "Think Pink-It's a Girl Thing" dollmaking conference in Aurora Ohio. We had a blast. I tried to add everything into the leaf that we did on our trip. Everything from the pink sequins we bought at Bead World in Manhatten, to the crystals we bought from Sharon, to the the taxi cab charm we bought at a junk shop on Time Square during a vicious rain storm. I left our troll girls bare foot as I couldn't figure out how to do the shoes that we bought at Lucky Shoes in Akron. Also, left out is the laughter, the smear of pizza sauce from Ray's Pizza, and the sweet icing from the birthday cake that the Doll Gatherers gave Cyn. We had the best time filled with fun, laughter, and wild times. I think we've got enough stories from our trip to keep us laughing for a couple years.

FANTASTIC NEWS

This weekend our doll group in Columbus along with a Quilting Guild opened our show called "Fiber Optics" at the High Road Gallery in Worthington Ohio. ( http://www.highroadgallery.com/ ). We do this show usually every other year. Imagine my surprise when I found out Saturday morning at our Guild meeting that I'd sold three pieces before the show even opened. Sunday I went to the artist reception & was pulled aside by the gallery owner to tell me that I'd sold 9 pieces total. WOW! She also asked me to do the Holiday Show in November. I'm so excited. Now some of what I put in the show was jewelry, but I did sell a lot of my dolls. I even sold the altered barbie called Winged Death. THAT was a big surprise! Most of the pieces at the show are older. I think the newest piece was 9 months old. I just needed space to create more. I'm happy to not be bringing back more things to my house & will be very happy when I get the money. It is going to mean that I can stay in the nicer hotel when I go out to Albuquerque next month! Woohoo, no HoJos for me!

LONG TIME

Yes it has been a long time since I've signed on to add to my blog. I even forgot my password. May has been so busy with deadlines, vacations, work turmoil, beading! First off, I'm showing my finished Mask for the Beadin' Path (Maine) challenge. I almost didn't get it finished because the dog bite from April didn't heal right & it was difficult for me to finish up all the square stitch fish & seahorses. Also, I lost my Muse and actually decided not to finish the Mask. Then my friend, Cynthia talked me into completing it. Thank you, my friend. I was worried that I couldn't bead enough pieces to cover the Mask, so I started to rummage through my old unfinished project box. I found the fringed necklace & thought it looked like a net so incorporated it into the right side of the Mask.

Then it was time for Cynthia to arrive here in Columbus. We were going on her 50th birthday trip. We were to leave for NYC & staying with Mary (Celticat) for Mother's Day weekend. It was fun & I had a great time shopping. Didn't see many sites, but then that just gives me an excuse to go back & buy more beads, fabric, and trims. I did take the Mask with me & was working on it in Mary's studio while Cyn worked on flowers for her Mask & Mary was making The Sisters dolls for the three of us to bead on in the future. It was great to just sit & bead. My thumb still gave me trouble, but I think working with it was actually better than physical therapy.

Our next trip was up to Akron to visit our good friend Sharon. What a great time. We stayed up one night until 3 am beading & then was woken up at 8am. Did we go back to bed? NO! We got up, beaded until Noon & then went out shopping! Found a great place in Barberton with cheap fabric & trims. Oh yes, I bought more. My friend Pam met us & I think she bought a bit too. LOL! We all did! Then shoe shopping at Lucky Shoes in Akron. Cyn talked me into buying this comfortable pair of shoes. I'm a cheapskate when it comes to shoes, so it was a big "step" for me to pay for them, but MAN they are so comfortable. I think I'm going to have to change my ideas on shoes. Sharon also took us to this chicken place that was fabo & we had a peanut buster parfait at Dairy Queen for dessert. Wonderful day.

Finally we made it to Aurora Inn & the beginning of three days of Think Pink-It's a Girl Thing doll making conference. It was great! We got to take classes with Patti Culea, Karen Shifton, epb, and Barbara Willis. ALL FOUR! It was great, and it was two first for Cyn. She did her first needle sculpting and face painting. I wonder if I got her hooked on doll making. The DollGatherers were a fun group, and made us all feel really welcome. And boy did they go all out on the show. I'll have pictures later next week (promise) of some of that show. And yes, I did bead on the Mask while we were there between classes.

Finally I finished it two days before it was to be sent out. It is called Poseidon's Eyes. I made the fiber covering the painted mask & then bead applique all the fish, creatures, and fish on it. It also has 2 strands of pearls. I'm happy that I did finish it up.

April Bead Journal Project

April! One more month to go & then we'll be all finished for 2007-2008. How the time has flown & how I've changed my outlook on this project. Once again, I'll need to explain my April leaf.

April 1st is my oldest Scottie, FionaRoseBlossom, birthday. Yes, she's an April Fool Dog! She is a wee blond fool too making me laugh. I originally started wanting to dedicate this to my girl & how much love this little 8 year old Scottie has given me since the very first day I saw her at one week old until now when she's the first to see me when I get home in the mornings. I had this piece of jade shaped as a Scottie for a couple years. I was going to make a pendent out of it, but decided for such a special girl (Fi) I need something special for her page. I used fabric that I'd made from a class I taught at Byzantium on the first Saturday of this month. I secured the jade to the fabric & then reached for a tube of beads to start beading. But, my hands grabbed the kit of beads from Beading For a Cure. I've been working on my doll for next year & they just happened to be sitting close. So I decided to use those colors as they complimented the piece of jade.

Let me stop for a second here & explain BFAC a little more. Beading for a Cure started back in 2002 with a group of talented bead artist from a Delphi Group called All About Beads. This will be my third year participating in this charity for Layne & to do research for colo-rectal cancer. As in other years, I'm working on a doll to be auctioned off. Now back to the BJP leaf. As I was working with the colors that just melt into the piece, I took a break. My eyes wandered over my work bench, but focused back on the fabric I had chosen as the base. I saw little threads of pink & blue that I'd used to embellish the thread. I looked at the Scottie jade piece, and then I shuddered. There before me not only was a piece for my Fiona, but embedded in the fabric was pieces of memory of my other two beloved Scotties who'd passed & now stand at the top of the Rainbow Bridge waiting for me. My other two Scotties were FalaPink and SkyeBlue. My eyes just started to flood with tears & all that freeze dried love I had for my two Scotties was hydrated and pouring down my face.

Scotties had started my journey into beading. Through my first web page which was about my boy, FalaPink, I met Cynthia. Cynthia & I loved our Scotties so much & we corresponded for months until we finally got to met each other face to face at a Wee Scot's convention in Cincinnati. Wee Scots was a haven for Scottie dog antique collectors. We instantly bonded & through Cynthia, I was introduced to beading, and eventually to All About Beads. My Scotties FalaPink and SkyeBlue led me out to CyberLand, where I've evolved to what I've become.

I touched the beads from BFAC & caught my breath. Money collected from auction for this project is for colo-rectal cancer research. My FalaPink died due to complications from his bout with cancer back in 2001. Fala had colon cancer. I'd come in a circle just in that one piece of beading. From my Scottie boy, to beading, to exploring myself through my art, and now back to my beloved FalaPink and SkyeBlue (Skye died from cancer also. She had hepatic cancer). So there I was holding this leaf that started with a whimsy about my funny April Fool's girl, and circled back to those two loving Scotties that caused me to love this breed so fiercely. And through my devotion to Scotties, I've found so many wonderful Scottie owners and to my best friend in the world.

So, to all my beloved Scotties with me now & withing my heart, to all those men and women who I've met on the Internet through Scottie Dog chat groups, to those devoted Scottie people I've got to met at shows or antique conventions, to those people who touched my heart and my soul and made me become an artist, I'm dedicating April to you. To you who have taught me to spread my arms and embrace life.

I've been busy!

I've been a little quiet on the groups I belong to. I have so much to finish in April what with deadlines & challenges, so I haven't left the ArtCave for much more than to go to work, eat & sleep. Why? Well, I'm going to NYC with my friend Cynthia to help her celebrate her 50th birthday. We are then going to a doll maker's conference "Think Pink-It's a Girl Thing" with two other friends. So, I have sewing to do, beading, the Beaded Mask (it is coming along), a magazine article to write, class proposals to finish, and then shopping! Oh yes, there is always time to shop.

This is a new doll just HOT off the work table. It is one of the challenge dolls I'm making for Think Pink. It is called "Great Stork Factory-Pink Division". The doll is a the Garden Fairy pattern by Allison Marano. And what do you think the "fire" is? Ha! You'll never guess...copper scrubber from the Dollar Store. Emily E. got me interested in using those. Chris did the face. He printed it off onto inkjet paper & then applied 6 layers of gel medium. I stretch the ink embedded face onto a softly needle sculpted face. Then she is all beaded with pink beads. The pot is beaded too! Hope you like her.

Start of Mask

I finally got the energy to start on the challenge by Beadin' Path called the Beaded Mask. I don't know why I kept putting this project off, but here I am less than a month until the deadline with lots of other things to complete plus a vacation thrown in there & I'm just starting. I decided to do mine mainly as a fiber project with beads added. I had a great time sitting at the sewing machine making the fabric that will be draped over the Mask. At first, I wanted the fabric to be stiff enough so that it could be just used as the mask, but it was too flimsy for beads & if I tried to stiffen it anymore, then I could not sew the pieces onto the fabric. So I decided to paint the mask a coppery/ruby mix just so it would be a nice highlight through the fabric. Chris helped me drill holes into the mask after if dried & I'm going to use them to needle sculpt the fabric so the mask will have human features. I picked out several pieces I've made using patterns from Jill Oxton's Cross Stitch & Beading magazine. After taking this picture though, Chris talked me out of using the mermaid. Though she is very cute, she does not really mesh well with the organic look of the fabric. He was so right, so ignore the mermaid. I've already got three seahorses tacked down & am now working on fish. I really don't think I want to really use too many beads on this project as I want the fibers to be the star. I've still got a ways to go before I call it quits. I have to chuckle because this really is hard project for me because I'm NOT going to be covering it with beads. It is harder to only use beads to embellish the fabric & not overwhelm the project.

FIONA'S BIRTHDAY

My Fiona Rose Blossom is 8 years old today. She is my oldest Scottie who was old when she was born. Yes, she is a wee bit of a crusty soul from the moment we brought her into the house. I have pictures of her from the very first hour she was born & have loved this wee girl for all the 8 years she's been in my life. Fiona is my 3rd Scottie. Back in 1999, I found out my first Scottie, FalaPink, had cancer. My second Scottie, SkyeBlue, could not survive if she was left without a canine pal. She had separation anxiety really bad not for me, but for him. Plus also that Summer, we were robbed when I was upstairs sleeping with both Fala & Skye snoozing next to me. So I was determined to get another Scottie who could be Skye's pal and at least wake up if someone tried to get into the house. She was so full of energy when we got her & OH YES! that dog could bark. When I asked the breeder about Fiona's barking she laughed & told me that was why she was so darn happy to get rid of that pup. Yeppers, Fiona barked. She barked at the cars coming down the road, she barked at the kids playing in the field, she barked at the leaves falling from the tree. Matter of Fact, I told people that if she heard an ant a mile away pass gas, she' come running barking to let me know.

Fiona is a beautiful wheaten color Scottie. At that time, I actually thought about showing her. She loved all the attention with grooming, but get her out in public especially in a ring & that ears go down, tail between the leg, nope! I ain't goin' strut anything. So, no career as a show girl for her. I then decided to breed her as she has a lovely pedigree & is in wonderful health. I studied for a year all the books, talked to breeders, actually got sanctioned as a mentored breeder. Had one litter of puppies, and Fiona hated it. I had to make her sleep with her puppies for the first 3 days. She wanted to sleep upstairs with me and barked all the time whining about having to stay in the whelping box with those puppies. Finally she did become maternal, but just when we the puppies were weened, she wanted nothing to do with them. I could see her holding up her paw & telling them...talk to the paw! Thank god, Skye jumped in & became a surrogate Mom or else I would have gone out of my mind with 4 wild Scottie puppies. To make Fiona happy, I had her neutered. No sense making her do something she didn't want to do.

Fiona likes to be alone most of the time. I think she would have been a wonderful only dog. She does play with Frodo & Arwen, but only on her terms and then only for a couple minutes before she takes off to do her own thing. She always waits for me on the stairs sticking her head out waiting for "the stair love" before I let the other two out of their crates. She LOVES BRUSHING. I swear, but she'd rather be brushed than get a cookie. She's slowing down & does sleep a lot. She's still healthy and loves to take long walks that is after she's bitten my foot when I put the leash on her. Oh yeah, she's chewed up about every pair of shoes I own. But I love her so much.

This morning after "stair love", I pulled out the brush and before I went to bed we had a 15 minute brushing session. Now that I'm up, I'm going out to PetSmart to get her some of that new soft Beneful, a cup of Frosty Paws, and a new toy for her birthday. I know. I spoil her so much.

About is a picture of her first birthday. Yes, I actually had a cake made for her & had guest over!

March BJP

Whew it is the last day of the month & I made the deadline. Yeah! So after you've looked at the above picture, I'm sure you are scratching your head and wondering why did Dot put cut up Barbie dolls on her leaf. Well....I've decided that March is the month I'm dedicating to the wonderful women artist in my life. I'd like to especially call out to all my sister of the Guilded Lilies Doll Making Guild from Columbus Ohio and to all my new friend at Beaded Art Dolls on Yahoo Groups. Each of them have inspired me to step off my comfort box and expand my skills beyond what I thought was possible. Kudos to all of those women in my life.

Now, to explain what this crazy Barbie encrusted yellow beaded frenzy means to me. The cut up Barbies are to remind me of the weekend spent in Hocking Hills with my Lily Sisters. I volunteered to teach an Altered Barbie class for our annual Retreat. I had boxes of Barbies, paints, clays, this & that all in my car ready to head out in Friday morning. As soon as I opened my garage door at 10 am, there was already an inch of snow on the ground. This was to be the first of a record snow fall for Central Ohio. The ending amount was 20.4 inches. But back to my story. I was going to pick up Cyndy & then Linda called & needed a way to go as she was afraid to drive in the almost blizzard conditions by herself. So after a little bit of creative packing, we got everything including all the food into Ellie. By the time we got to Crocket's Run in Hocking Hills, there was already 6 inches on the ground. We got safely into the lodge & waited while others managed to make it down. Whenever the Lilies get together it is a wild ride of fun. I've never met women from all different backgrounds that instantly became my friends and more. Saturday morning, it was still snowing & there was a level 3 snow emergency for the county we were in (like we'd leave anyway, but we did worry we'd run out of wine). So amid all the beautiful snow falling outside the lodge nestling into the forest outside our windows, we were all warm and glowing with the Muse of Creativity. We all shared supplies, did surgery on Barbies, painted, sculpted, ate, drank, laughed, did a quick dip in the hot tub, laughed more, told sad stories, ate more, sewed, laughed, laughed and laughed. It was one of the best weekends I'd had in a long time. To be together with like minded women without any criticism or worries, and to just play. I'll always remember our weekend of record snow, Barbies, and the warmth of friendship.

The yellow is for my friends all at BAD Yahoo Group. We were trying to find another challenge to start in April. The moderators decided to do a puzzle piece doll challenge and to give people a color to work with. Very few people wanted to do yellow & though I had misgivings, I chose yellow to make myself work at it. Though the challenge didn't start until April 1st, I got the bug to get started. I had a puzzle of Ernie & Burt from Sesame Street which was the perfect size for the challenge (5-6 inches) and flat, flat, flat! I got out the few yellow beads I'd gotten from swaps over on the Delphi Forum groups I belong to as I had never bought yellow ever. I started to work on Marigold. I LOVE IT! To further challenge myself, & because of a new book coming out next month called Flatwork, I decided to really make it flat. So Marigold became my first totally flat puzzle piece doll all done in Yellow. BUT...I couldn't stop! I made another one, and another one all in yellow. Then I realized that the yellow which at first really turned me off, made my fingers feel so warm. The yellow was coursing through my body making me glow inside. I felt bliss. It was the first time in months that I felt so good. I realized then that it wasn't just the color of yellow that was soothing my spirit, but the intoxicating drug of friendship with the women on BAD who share their art, their lives, and their hearts with each other.

So there. Whew...all out. March is dedicated to all the women artist that I've been blessed to have met and communed with

dot

Yellow Puzzle piece dolls.

I am insane! Yes, I admit it here. I've got so many other things to work on, but I just can't help myself with making these adorable puzzle piece dolls. We have a challenge on BAD which is not suppose to start until April 1st, but here I am already with three under my belt. My challenge was to use yellow. No problem...a trip to Byzantium and there you go. Yellow taking over my life! But, this has been another challenge for me too.

I met Nicolle Campanella on another Yahoo Group & she was looking for entries for a new book she was doing called Flatwork. I inquired, but since a lot of my work is not flat, I didn't think she'd be interested in my work. Well, she was & she wants to add a couple of my dolls to her book. So I got to looking at the other examples of work that are going to be in her new book,and thought I needed to work on trying to make my bead embroidery flat or traditional. I was taught this by Rena Denison at Bzyantium, but never really got much into now. Well, now I'm hooked. Thank you Nicolle for making me rethink my beading and coming up with some fun projects. Now, I just can't help myself. I promised the gals on bad that I'm finished with doing yellow, but I still have 15 more puzzle pieces! I'm serious...I can't help myself.

Please view my new dolls for Spring....Marigold, Jonquil, and Daffodil.

Beaded Art Dolls

I love my group of ladies on Beaded Art Dolls. They all just challenge me to do things I wouldn't even dream of. We just finished up a challenge called Arsenic & Old Lace. We had to use a piece of vintage lace on our doll forms. I had plenty to chose from as I hit a big score last year at an antique shop digging through baskets of sewing stuff. I originally called this doll DandyLion & was going to have her flying down from a tree branch to cover up a group of Podlings on the ground, but I just could not get the doll to hang right, so I decided to attach her to the tree. Instantly, I knew that was what she was suppose to be. She's the tree branch reaching to the Sun. Then I began to look at the rest of the banana holder converted to a tree trying to squint & see what it wanted to be. I looked at the worktable (covered as usual) & found the face of Allison's Marano's Nutmeg doll. PERFECT! This will be the face on the main trunk of the tree. Then I decided instead of hurrying to get everything done by the 3/20 cut off for the A&OL challenge, to take my time & develop this project. So I'm thinking of using this as the base for Land Of Odds's Earth Mother challenge due next year. Plenty of time! I'm thinking of beaded dancing leaves hanging from the tree or maybe dancing on a mirrored pond. Once again, plenty of time to work on this.

Pay it Forward

The girls at All About Beads have been posting about Pay it Forward. I've piggybacked from Jen's blog & have decided to do this also. I'm not sure what I could make to send to such talented beaders, but I'll give it a try.

Here are the rules:

"So here are the rules: I will send a handmade beaded gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange (and email me their mailing address and favorite color), and who make the same pledge on their own blogs. I don't know what the gift will be, but it will be beaded, and you will receive it within 1 year, I promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward, by posting a pay it forward on your own blog."

Ugly dolls

I've got to hurry & get out of here for a meeting tonight at work. Lovely, lovely, lovely meeting before I put in my 10 hours so my night will be a total of 14 hours...yuck! Hope I can get off early or else they WILL be paying me overtime. But...over on Beaded Art Dolls (BAD), we've had two new members. One member was telling us how there were so many beautiful dolls. I had to laugh. I love beautiful & pretty, but seems that I'm torn to the ugly & weird right now. So I pulled up one of my Alphabet Monsters which I'm working on for DC&C 4th of July challenge. This doll is named Albert...one of my first. As my on going project, he is one of my Dumpster Dollz or thrift store "rescues". This is a scan, so he doesn't look that great...squished nose, cut off at the legs. But I wanted the gals over at BAD to see that Ugly is well...not just ugly.

Poll for BJP

In our year group called Bead Journal Project, Robin wrote & asked folks if they were interested in continuing this for another year. She had a poll to check out the interest. I thought about this for about an hour trying to decide if this was something I really wanted to commit to again. Here's the post that I wrote to BJP last week. I've reread this & I still feel strongly about it. Probably even more so as today I got the kit for the Pink Gala that I'm going to attend with my best friend Cynthia, my local friend Cyndy, and my new friend Pam. The patterns are lovely, but they are all BIG and so pretty. I just don't want to do pretty dolls right now, so after talking with Cyndy on the phone (who was working at WORK! Ewwwww), I've decide to make these dolls a part of myself. I'm going to learn the techniques being taught, but I want them to look like ME. Sorry to digress. Here's a copy of my post to BJP:

I have to vote yes. Even though I've found myself falling behind at times,this project has always been working its way into my subconscious wanting to make me expand. I've looked through the pieces I've done so far & they just seem to chronicle the month's passage by using events. Then February took me totally by surprise as it didn't have anything to do with Valentine's Day or Mardi Gras which I originally planned, but it was about something & someone that I had been thinking about for while. Emotions poured through my needle & onto the surface. I finished it all in one sitting. I was stunned that my fingers moved so fast, but the work needed to be completed. I was drained when done, but very pleased. Now I think I've figured out that I want the rest of my leaves to be more me & not just a name on the calendar. I want to go on, challenging myself with small projects every month so I voted yes to continue. I think I'll pick some other form as the center of my yearly challenge, but I want to keep doing this even if no one else wishes to go on. I've found the road, and it looks very enticing with lots of twist, turns and new discoveries. I shall not run down the pebble strewn road, but meander looking down, looking up, and always touching hands with my friends who walk with me.

SAD

I just read on my new friend' blog (HI PAM) that she is suffering from SAD. That happens when you live someplace where the Winters are gray & cold. It has been very cold, very snowy, and very gray here in Central Ohio. I think that is probably why I've found myself not completing anything. I have about 6 unfinished projects down in the Art Cave waiting for me to complete them. Most are done except being mounted & one just needs for me to put all the pieces together. But I just can't make myself do it. I'm really bad at completion. Reminds me of all the years I use to do cross stitch. I would buy a new pattern, the bigger the better. And work like mad on it, blending the colors, adding metallic threads to give it a wow factor, then as I'd get down to the last 100 "x"s I'd slow down & drag the finish. I actually once caught myself crying because I was finishing. Silly me! There was always another pattern I wanted to sew. I guess I'm not being like this with my beading projects. I have deadlines for many of these pieces, but I'll probably let them sit until the very end. So I've decided to shake myself out of this slump & get some of these UFOs off my workbench & completed. Hopefully, I'll get them done in this month of March. Maybe keeping busy will keep my mind from thinking about how awful it is outside. But then Spring is in only 3 more weeks. Let's hope it is Sunny & Bright & WARM!!!!!!

Bead Journal Update

I'm ahead of schedule for my Feb Bead Journal Project! I actually had it all beaded and finished before Valentine's Day, but I wanted to add the lady bug bead, and had to hunt through draws looking for it. Now to explain why it is all flowery & Spring looking when the weather in Central Ohio has been snowy, icy, gloomy, and WET! I was working on the squares for Monica Magness' project Pink Artist (click on the button to check out what this is & see Monica's progress). I made one which was hoo hum to me with the button discover on it, when I looked over at a stack of fabric scraps and saw a piece of last year's Huffman Challenge. Now, I didn't do a Huffman Challenge doll as my pattern making is still on the beginner's level. But it was pretty & I though what a nice addition to the new faces that Chris has been making for me. So I made three squares (see blog entry below), and I really loved doing them so I thought why not! Why not make my Feb BJP dedicated to Pink Artist and the cure for breast cancer.

Twelve years ago, I met a wonderful person on line named Marlene. Marlene & I talked about going to a Scottie Dog Antique Convention in Cincinatti called Wee Scots. We met & really liked each other immediately. We hung out to together the whole 3 days & thought Marlene lived in Los Angeles, we stayed in contact via the Internet. At that time she was traveling all over the US taking pictures of Water Tanks. We laughed about that, but she did have some great pictures. She drove all the way to NYC, up to Canada before heading back home to LA. When she got back, I helped her get over her grief of losing her aging Scottie & enjoyed her delight in getting a new puppy. All this time, Marlene had a secret. Marlene was in remission from breast/lung cancer. The trip where we met was a goal that she made to herself after she completed chemotherapy. Marlene's remission was only for 2 years. Those two years that I got to know her. Her cancer came back. I called her every week. I always tried to make her laugh as much as possible telling her stories about my Skyelini. I sent her funny little presents & tried to make sure I called her when she was suppose to get them. Marlene's cancer spread fast, and my dear friend did not respond to the current chemo therapy. I knew she was dying. I was heart broken to lose a friend so young as Marlene was only 50 year young. She was in the hospital unable to eat due to the blisters in her mouth. She was weak, but she was happy as her nephew was getting married the next day & her doctors said she could go to the ceremony. I called the hospital, and we talked for only a few moments. Her voice was little more than a whisper. I told her a story about Skye flying over the rugs & she laughed calling her the flying Scottie. Then she told me something I won't forget. She told me being her friend was such a relief for her and that she was happy we met on the Internet. She died a few days latter. The day her sister called & told me she'd died, I hugged poor little Skye so much. I couldn't hug my dear friend, so Skye was the substitute. So my Feb BJP is dedicated to that first friend I found on the Internet. This is for Marlene.

Pink Artist

I sent out my 2 squares to Monica yesterday. They were made for the Pink Artist doll that she is working on. Click on the Pink Artist icon to find out more about this wonderful project & the great artist behind it all. I've known Monica for awhile. I believe it was @ 3 years ago that she was my Fairy Bead Sister from Bead Art. I tried to spoil her so bad with small gifts. She was fun to surprise. I even joined ArtDollz on Yahoo Groups to taunt her. I liked ArtDollz, so much that I stayed there. I lurk, but I enjoy looking at all the wonderful dolls on the site.

I'm still working on the Photo Album cuff designs. There are still a few small snags, but they are coming along. I've been hired to teach them at a retreat in October & I'm going to start trying to market the class to other groups later on. They are really fun to make. Whenever I wear the one of my three Scotties, people do notice them.

I started a new doll for a class proposal for AFIC. She is Mae Flowers. So I'm busy when not doing everything else I'm suppose to be doing in practicing herringbone flowers. I'm really crazy.

More jewelry

Well, I've been obsessed with doing more cuff bracelets. I've trying to develop a new idea using Chris' talents at the computer with my talents of beading. Here's what we've come up with to begin. It still needs to be worked on a little bit, but I'm happy with it so far. I wore my bracelet with the dogs on it to work & immediately one of the gals saw it & wants me to make one with her kids pictures on it. I can see pictures of kids, grandchildren, dogs, cats & yes! one guy asked me if I could put pictures of his wife's favorite car on it. Sure...but I asked them to pleas let me experiment a little bit more. I'm hoping to teach this technique at the Ohio Beader's Retreat in October. I asked Cyndy S. if AFIC would be interested & she said since it was jewelry they wouldn't. I was a tad bit disappointed in that as I think this would be a great project to teach beginning beaders & they'd get something personal & custom to make & take home with them. But, I do see her point. The conference is aimed for doll making & not jewelry making. I only have until the last of this month to come up with doll proposals. I have several things in mind, but jewelry making it obsessing me. I guess that is normal.

Earrings on my mind

I have tons of projects to complete, but what am I doing? I'm making earrings. Up to these last couple of days, I'd say I've only made 5 pair of earrings total in 8 years. Today I've made 4 pair already, and my brain is reeling thinking of other twist & turns with the needle to make some different designs. BUT...I've got deadlines to met & dogs to bath, dolls to make, articles to write. Yet here I am, wanting to make earrings. So here's a couple of the earrings I've done. One is called Tree of Life. I got these glass buttons when in Detroit at the NIADA conference. I knew I'd figure out something to do with them. The other I called Green Pearl Wave. Oh, yes, I confess that I've been making bracelets too.

The earrings are part of the Ohio Beader's Showcase for February. Check out some of the wonderful artist we have in Ohio.

Now to make myself get back on track & finish up a couple doll projects I have & to start the beaded mask which I'll talk about later

Buttons...

Yeah, someone from BJP saw my plea for help in figuring out how to link to "buttons". Since I have no idea how to write HTML code, or even have an inkling to want to learn it, I'm just going to be a mooch & beg people to send me codes for their buttons. So, I'm S-L-O-W-L-Y figuring out this blogging journal. Thanks to Kathy for sending me the code & to Grace for writing it.

January BJP

Finally, I'm caught up. This leaf is dedicated to the memory of Dr. King.

December BJP

This was a hard one for me to do. I wanted to portray Winter in Ohio. And boy did we ever have snow and cold temperatures. I wanted to stay away from a bright cheery Christmas scene, as Christmas is so hard for me to adapt to. I want to have fun and be merry, and enjoy the holidays, but..........

Yes, the BIG BUT! Commercialism is what kills Christmas for me. I use the be the girl that was out bright and early on Black Friday, sending out over 200 Christmas cards, planning a big family get together. I was a true Christmas elf. Then about 3 years ago, something just snapped inside of me. I paid my Mother to wrap presents, I didn't put a Christmas tree, and I only managed to send out 20 cards. All the greed in the world, just poisoned Christmas for me. Then the family bickering. It just wasn't fun anymore.

This year, I decided to change Christmas. I had a Christmas party here for my Guilded Lilies, I went out & bought 10 coats for people in a group home here in Columbus, and I even volunteered to pick up my Grandmother who was 93 at the time & take her to visit her sister. I felt a little better, but not like the old days. I think most of it also comes with the fact that I miss my Father so much. He was the bright star on Christmas Day.

Growing up in LA, I never saw snow. When my parents moved back to Ohio, they always talked about snow. Never saw much of it either the first 5 years. Then one night right before Christmas, the snow started to fall. My Dad was like a child running out in the snow showing us how to make Snow Angels. He then scooped up a big bowl of snow & made up snow cream. So this leaf is for the Christmases that my Daddy made special for me.