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.