Chey Dog Studio

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...Pink!

2011-12-17T22:21:00.001-06:00

Well, friends, Christmas is almost here. My pink retro tree is once again loaded down with all the beautiful ornaments from my art sisters in Adorn. I have enjoyed sharing our 12 Days of Christmas exchange with you all. Let's take another look at the ornaments, shall we?

For many of us in this group, it's been a year of struggles. Some are still facing many hard days to come. But I believe that it's in these times that we grow in faith and learn to appreciate what is most important in life.

God, faith, family, friends, and loving each other is all that really matters. The love that went into these ornaments is so special. The challenges that we all face in life can be hard. But God will see us through the valleys of life and grow us to be more like him. He will sustain us if we just seek Him.

May each of you feel God's peace and merciful blessings this Christmas season. Remember, Christ Is Love, and HE is the reason for this season.

Thank you, Adorn sisters, for your precious ornaments and for sharing a piece of your heart again this Christmas. I will cherish them! XOXO

Day 12 - Jackie Allison

2011-12-16T12:54:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that our ornament exchange is already drawing to a close. Yes, it's day 12 and that means we are opening the final gift - this one from Jackie Allison, of The Woodlands, TX.

Jackie sent her ornaments through the US Mail in this festive Christmas tin! I know that postal clerks probably thought it contained the usual Christmas goodies such as fruit cake, cookies, or Christmas candy...but... they don't know our Jackie!

Inside the Christmas tin is a beautiful satin drawstring pouch... I wonder what Jackie created for us this year? Her ornaments are always so unique, always vintage-y, and always have interesting elements!

Oh, ah, this is just darling! Jackie can find the most unique things on ebay, usually vintage, and always very very cool. Jackie has taken a tiny vintage glass salt shaker and filled it with very small glass beads...then wire wrapped a tiny frozen charlotte doll to it...

There - I think you can see it better on the white background. These tiny porcelain dolls are called frozen charlottes. This one is about an inch and a half tall. They are precious and few, very expensive, and can be very hard to come by.

Jackie created a tassel for her ornament out of a tightly twisted length of memory wire. She strung glass beads, metal beads, vintage buttons, and lovely charms as the final touch.

Jackie fashioned a hanger with the same rustic wire she used to attach the frozen charlotte. It's perfect in every way and I love it!

Thank you, Jackie, she is priceless and has already found a home on my tree, right beside her sisters that you have created for us in the past. I love my collection of your doll ornaments - thank you for sharing them with us, dear friend! Praying for you for peace, goodwill and a blessed Christmas! XOXO

Day 11 - Maija Lepore

2011-12-16T01:28:00.000-06:00

Day 11 of our 12 days of Christmas exchange belongs to a sweetheart of a gal, Maija Lepore, who recently moved to Littleton, CO.

I think I've already mentioned what a tough year it's been for so many of our friends in this group. Maija has had a tremendously difficult year. My heart goes out to you, Maija, and I pray that better days are ahead for you and your family.

Maija is such a trooper. She realized that she could not possibly deal with making ornaments herself this year, so she paid an artist friend to make ornaments on her behalf. Maija, we love you unconditionally and we appreciate your generosity and diligence to carry on with this exchange in spite of everything you are dealing with.

True to Maija's sparkling and fun personality, she commissioned these super precious, sparkly, vintage style paper ornaments to be made for us this year. They are beautiful and fun, just like she is. Mine glistens and shimmers in the lights of my tree...and makes me think of the glistening snow that is falling on your doorstep up there in Littleton, CO. Colorado is my absolute favorite place to visit, especially in the winter!

Jenny Holiday, Maija's friend, is the artist who made these darling ornaments. I love her style and the beautiful touches she added to this charming snow-kissed house.

Thank you, Maija, and Jenny, for this precious and sweet ornament. Take care of yourself, sweet Maija girl, and remember that you are in my prayers. May God bless you ever so graciously this Christmas!

Day 10 - Diane Cook

2011-12-16T00:39:00.000-06:00

Can you believe we're already on day 10 of the 12 days of Christmas exchange? The days go by so fast at this time of year, don't they? I remember when I was a kid, Christmas could not get here fast enough. But now, it's a different story...

So here we are on day #10, and this lovely package is from Diane Cook who lives in Katy, TX. Diane is new to our little swap group this year, but I hope that she can continue in our group for years to come. Diane's beautiful blue gift box is hand stamped and embossed, and tied up with a gorgeous strip of Sari ribbon (fabrics used to make Sari's in India). She included one of her business cards as well as a full size postcard...I love the vintage photo Diane used of 2 women holding hands. It depicts the essence of our little swap group...sisters...friends...

Diane's ornament is actually a beautiful and romantic handmade tassel...comprised of a vintage thimble, chains, buttons, charms, laces, and long flowing strips of sari fabric. It is simply spectacular, and it's almost 2 feet long!

Diane added a strip of text to the thimble, denoting Christmas 2011

Here is a better view of some of the vintage buttons, laces, and charms that are in this tassel.

And the piece de la resistance is a tiny etched metal book, which Diane personalized with my name. The tiny book has text papers inside...and is tied with a sari ribbon closure. Diane has the metal etching technique perfected, as you can see for yourself!

Diane teaches classes on etching metal and she also teaches classes on making these romantic vintage tassels. You can see more of Diane's work and find out when and where she is teaching by visiting her wonderful blog.

I love the warm and rustic color scheme and the variety of textures Diane used in this tassel - these are definitely my colors Diane...how did you know?

And it looks beautiful hanging on my tree. However, when Christmas is over, you can be sure this little beauty will be out on permanent display - maybe even around my neck. It's stunning, Diane. Thank you so much! I am so glad you were part of our exchange this year. Have a blessed Christmas!

Day 9 - Danita Salcido

2011-12-14T20:31:00.004-06:00

Day 9 of our 12 days of Christmas exchange comes from Danita Salcido of Mexico, better known as Danita Art.

Danita's wrapping is of simple elegance - a brown paper wrapper - with a hand stamped tag.

Danita creates the cutest original drawings of little girls who resemble Danita herself -- and these darling images have rapidly become her trademark. Danita included this tiny card in her package, which bears the image of one of her little ladies...

And here's another one. Aren't they precious?

Danita's ornament is a wonder to behold. It's heart shaped and covered in waxy goodness. I have no idea how she made this, but I am intrigued! Is it paper clay? Possibly so. It is painted, antiqued and covered with sweet smelling beeswax. And embedded into the wax is one of Danita's original drawings.

Look close at the details. This little girl appears to be tucked away in her bed and fast asleep, which reminds me of The Night Before Christmas story.

"The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads,"

This precious one is waiting for Santa Claus to arrive!

Thank goodness she won't have to wait too much longer. And I hope we don't have to wait too much longer to find out how Danita made these little wonders. Let's keep checking her blog to see if she will give us more details...

Thanks, Danita, for the lovely ornament. It is beautiful!

Day 8 - Lou McCulloch

2011-12-14T20:04:00.000-06:00

Day 8 of our 12 days of Christmas exchange comes from Lou McCulloch, who lives in Medina, OH. Lou's ornament arrived in a tiny paper envelope made from a page of German text. She added a sweet hand made gift tag.

The envelope wrapper is open on one end, so Lou's ornie came tumbling out when I opened the mailing envelope. I tried not to look as I stuffed the tiny ornament back in it's sheath like a hot potato (we mustn't peak before the allotted date)!

When the appointed opening date for Lou's gift finally arrived, I found that Lou had another little coin-sized envelope tucked inside.

Ooo, la la! It's a beautiful domino! Lou put a teeny tiny image on the front of the domino, along with a border of the same german text that she used for wrapping.

Just look at all the sparkles!

And what a clever idea to use a tiny bulldog clip as a hanger! Lou added a few select beads for a festive touch.

It's true...beautiful things really do come in small packages -- and this ornament is no exception! Thanks, Lou! Have a wonderful Christmas!

The 7th day of Christmas - Sally Turlington

2011-12-13T19:12:00.000-06:00

Day 7 of our 12 Days of Christmas exchange is from mixed media artist extraordinaire, Sally Turlington, of Huntsville, TX.

Sally's ornament is boxed up so pretty with a sparkling and glittery gift tag.

Inside is this very cool textured and waxy snowflake! Sally spent oodles of time making her ornaments this year. Apparently it was quite a process to make them.

Sally started with a purchased metal snowflake ornament. Hopefully you can see in this photo that it is a 3 dimensional snowflake. She applied a layer of paper clay to the front and back of the metal ornament to give it dimension. Then she painted the paper clay in beautiful shades of pink.

Next, she applied a layer of sweet smelling beeswax over the entire surface, embedding papers, tiny beadz, and glitter in the wax...I love the texture of this ornament!

Sally added a charming embellishment to her snowflake - a jingle bell, a religious medallion, and chain.

Sally's snowflake happens to be the exact same shade as my pink retro Christmas tree, so I photographed it on my green tree so it would show up better. I wish my photos did Sally's ornament justice...it is gorgeous Sally and I dearly love it! Thank you so much!

Yall go check out Sally's blog where she explains in detail the process for making these unique snowflakes!

Day 6 - Crystal Neubauer

2011-12-13T18:48:00.000-06:00

Day 6 of our 12 days of Christmas exchange is from Crystal Neubauer of Grayslake, IL.

Crystal mailed her swap in an envelope made of piano sheet music. This also served as her wrapping paper. How clever!

Crystal's ornament is this very dainty 5 pointed paper star.

Crystal painted the front and back of the star. The middle layer is made of book text that she trimmed with scalloped scissors.

If you look closely you can see that she painted the paper with tiny brush strokes...

...and topped off the star with a tiny bow and vintage button.

Thanks Crystal! It looks great on my tree...

Merry Christmas!

The 5th Day of Christmas - My day

2011-12-09T01:38:00.001-06:00

Today is the day my ornaments will be opened. I was supposed to be Day 7, but we changed our days around again to give the last three artists a few more days to finish their work.

The story behind my ornaments is very special to me and I hope you don't mind me sharing how they came about. The concept is based on my personal journey, so I have named them "My Refuge: God's Feathers".

My Refuge: God's feathers

While contemplating a design for my ornament, I was inspired to try and convey the refuge God gave me through my recent surgery and recovery. As the nurses prepared me for surgery, I was laying quiet and silently reciting Psalms 57 and Psalms 91 in my mind...

"I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings." Psalms 57:1b

...and while doing so, I visualized God’s ginormous wings reaching down from Heaven to protect me. I could literally see the vanes in the plumage of His milky white feathers. He felt so close - it was as if I could reach out and touch His welcoming embrace. The last image I remember was nestling my head into the shelter of His mighty wings.

"He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge..."

My surgery was more involved than the doctor had anticipated, and there were complications afterward. I spent 12 days in the hospital, 4 days in the ICU. I received 2 units of blood due to internal bleeding and for several days my kidneys weren't behaving.

"...His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." Psalms 91:4

It was God who brought me through it and I thank Him for his faithfulness. I hope that in some small way, my feathered book ornament captures the essence of God's wings and feathers... but more importantly, I pray it conveys His message of refuge to all of you.

No matter our circumstances, trials will come our way – illness, grief over the loss of someone special, heartache when a child has lost their way in life, loneliness, hurt… but we can find shelter in the arms of God.

His arms are open wide and big enough to hold us. He loves us more than anyone ever could. His mercy catches us in our fall and He rescues us and draws us closer to Him. He gives us strength in our weakness. He comforts us when we are hurting or full of despair. He protects us when we are in danger.

For reassurance, peace, hope and rest … seek shelter in the arms of God. Surrender to His mighty protection. He will rescue you. You will be safe in His arms. You are never alone.

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Psalms 91:4

Thank you for letting me share my personal experience with you. May you all have a blessed Christmas!

The 4th Day of Christmas - Pilar Pollock

2011-12-08T10:41:00.000-06:00

Brrrrr. We had our first freeze of the season last night ..waaay down here on the Texas Gulf coast. I woke up to a steaming pot of freshly brewed coffee (thanks, honey) and sat down to open Day 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas exchange.

This lovely package is from the very sweet and talented Pilar Pollock of Laguna Hills, CA. See the hand made gift wrapping paper? Paint over crumpled up kraft paper is a wonderful thing. This paper reminds me of a lightly iced gingerbread bar...(yum..that would taste good with my morning coffee right about now!). The ribbon is a strip of muslin with a stamped image of a milagro heart. Pilar, did you carve the stamp yourself? It's lovely!

I love milagros - they are tiny cast metal charms also known as “ex-votos” or “dijes”. Milagros are religious folk charms that are traditionally used for healing purposes and as votive offerings in Mexico. They are frequently attached to altars, shrines, and sacred objects found in places of worship. Milagros come in many shapes, sizes, and colors, each shape representing one or more needs or prayers. For example a heart charm may represent a wish to heal a heart condition, or a hope to find romance. A leg-shaped milagro may be a wish to fix a leg ailment, or a hope to travel the world. It is up to the petitioner to decide what the Milagro represents, so the choices are limitless.

Oh la la! Pilar's ornament is a fabulous doll!

The doll's torso is a beautiful image transferred to a square of fabric.. Is this an original drawing Pillar? She is amazing! "Rejoice Noel" are the sentiments she is sending this Christmas.. Look closely, her belt is a strip of vintage crystals...

..and in this photo, you can see a hint of the swirls of free-motion stitching that Pilar added to accent the fabric collage...as if my lady is meant to float and dance across my Christmas tree.

Pilar gave her a skirt of layers upon layers of torn strips of fabric...with lots of movement. So kick up your heels and dance, my lady! Let us celebrate the season!

I love her! Thanks so much, Pilar! Yall be sure to visit Pilar's blog to see more of her work, and hopefully she will post more about her Dancing Lady!

On the 3rd day of Christmas - Joanna Pierotti

2011-12-07T22:24:00.000-06:00

Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas exchange is here - and another ornament is ready to be unwrapped. This one is from Joanna Pierotti, who lives in Peoria, AZ. Joanna is one of my favorite artists and I always look forward to seeing her creations.

Joanna is another gal that wraps her gifts very uniquely. This year, she wrapped her gifts in a tiny vintage envelope. This is not a reproduction - it's the real thing - with the original US postage stamp still affixed and a postmark date of Feb 4, 1922.

Inside, there was another layer of wrapping -- tea dyed cheesecloth -- with a ribbon made of vintage hem tape, and a vintage button closure.

Inside is a wonderful soldered ornament with the image of a doll hidden under faceted glass. Joanna makes the most wonderful dolls and this personalized ornament is a perfect reflection of Joanna's multifaceted talents...

There is a ghostly image of a doll appearing as through a mirror which is very kewl - she's appears to be almost floating....

and the sweet and dainty bundle of antique lace and ribbon at the bottom is the perfect juxtaposition of the hard glass pendant.

Hard and soft. Metal and lace. Vintage and totally exquisite! Thank you my friend... I will cherish my doll forever!

Yall be sure to check out Joanna's blog. She shares her talents with so many through workshops, online classes, etc and has had her work published in many places. Joanna has written an online tutorial with instructions on how she made these lovely ornaments...so check it out..

Check back tomorrow for more....

Day 2 - Kelly Snelling

2011-12-07T21:39:00.000-06:00

Day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas brings a whimsically charming ornament from Kelly Snelling, who lives in Irvine, CA. Kelly is a very talented jewelry and mixed media artist who co-authored a wonderful book with Ruth Rae titled A Charming Exchange : 25 Jewelry Projects To Create & Share. It is one of my favorite books that I refer to a lot for inspiration.

Kelly's gift came wrapped so nicely - and as usual, she created an original piece of artwork to use as the gift tag. A gift in itself! The shape of the package gave a tiny hint as to what might be tucked away inside... do YOU have any guesses as to what it might be?

If you said a house, you would be correct. It's a house! And a charming one at that! Don't you love the vintage portrait of the 2 sisters holding hands - looking out the window? Perhaps they have been reunited at their childhood home after a long separation to celebrate Christmas together and are gazing out the window expectantly for the other family members to arrive. It reminds me of the saying "All hearts come home for Christmas".

My photographs don't do this ornament justice -- but if you look closely, you can see that Kelly has added colorful, whimsical doodles and drawings of flowers, polka dots, etc... along with a great vintage eustachian above the photograph. Vintage meet whimsy - I love that.

Kelly wanted these ornaments to reflect an old and well loved house. These ornaments are made from three layers of heavy corrugated board and Kelly has worked the paper away on the outside layer to reveal the ridges in the corrugation...to imitate an old clap board house, wallpaper worn off the walls... you get the idea. Kelly has hand journaled the words to "Oh Holy Night" on the back.

Layers of papers, trim, hand drawn details..finished off with a hand-stitched blanket stitch around the edges...Kelly, what a lovely ornament, it's charm and whimsy are so reflective of you!

It's a beautiful addition to my Christmas art tree, Kelly. Thank you, friend!

Yall be sure to check out Kelly's lovely blog to see all 13 ornaments she made for this exchange.. each house is a little bit different... all made with lots of love.

Day 1 - Ruth Rae

2011-12-06T00:50:00.000-06:00

Day 1: Ruth Rae, a wonderful artist, author, and workshop instructor from Claremont, CA sent this uniquely wrapped gift:

I tried to be very good and not peak inside this one. Can you see? It is wrapped in layers using very unique elements (a trademark of Ruth's). The inner most layer is a brown paper sack that was left open at each end...so glimpses of the ornament were hard to avoid... Ruth, you made it really hard to be good this year!

Today I finally got to look inside. It's just amazing!

It looks like Ruth used magic mesh (or a plaster type fabric) to fashion a little box which houses a beautiful hand-sculpted sacred heart.

Ruth is an amazing artist. Her skills are as broad as they are extraordinary. This little heart is sculpted out of paper clay, distressed, hand painted and dipped in a layer of wax.

Do you see the tiny nails embedded into the heart?...

...And the crown of thorns she twisted together with bits of wire?

I interpret this as a fitting reminder of our Savior, "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

Look closely and you will see that Ruth also added some crowning jewels to the heart, which I love. To me, it signifies the royalty of our LORD and our King.

Perhaps the circle drawn around the heart represents that our focus should always be on the heart of Christ, and to love one another as He loves us.

I love this ornament, Ruth, and what it represents. Thank you so very much for sharing your talents and a piece of your heart with us this Christmas.

Be sure to visit Ruth's blog to see how she made these ornaments and to find out where she is teaching, or to purchase books, DVDs or online workshops.

You can also purchase Ruth's books on Amazon.com

Welcome Christmas - and the 2011 Collection

2011-12-05T23:26:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone. I love this time of year! We've been so fortunate to have cooler temps the past couple of days here in south Texas which hastens the transition into the season (and facilitates wearing of festive winter garments! YAY!).

Holiday spirit is evident everywhere you look. Bell ringers are out at the retail stores. Christmas Carols are playing on my favorite radio station, KSBJ. Our church is preparing for it's annual live nativity program. Angel trees are ready to receive gifts for special ones in need. Neighborhoods are lit up with Christmas lights and Smokey is breaking in his new Santa hat and jingle bell collar. Our tree is out of the attic and ready to receive the newest collection of ornaments from my artists friends...

So, finally, it's December 5th - and time for our 12 days of Christmas exchange to begin! All but three of the 13 ornaments in our exchange have made it to my door. A few of the girls are running late this year due to extenuating circumstances. The remaining few will arrive shortly, but here is a picture of the packages collected so far. All are wrapped so beautifully and uniquely.

I will be posting every day as each package is opened --- so please check back to follow along and share in the fa la la la la la la la fun!

Recalling the treasures of 2010

2011-12-01T19:07:00.001-06:00

Here is a quick glimpse back at 12 days of Christmas exchange....2010...
Just click on the links below to reveal a few articles from last year's exchange...

The pile of wrapped ornaments - delivered and waiting to be opened.....

The final reveal - the completed art tree ....

a closer look at the ornaments I made last year - Christmas angels .....

Instructions for making my Christmas angel ornaments ......

All ready to go...

2011-12-01T18:34:00.001-06:00

Photos of my ornaments -- all wrapped and ready for mailing.

My packages will be opened on Day #7 (Dec 9th)

My ornaments were wrapped in envelopes made from hand-made paper which was trimmed to 12"x12" squares,

then folded and sewn (on machine) into an envelope shape...

....tie wrapped with hemp cording..

...and embellished with a ribbon flower, a hand stamped ticket stub,

and one of my business cards as a gift tag.

It's almost time again! The 12 days of Christmas ornament exchange...2012

2011-12-01T18:19:00.069-06:00

Hi everyone! I can't believe another year has slipped by. As you can see, I haven't updated this blog in quite a while. We have devoted much of our time this year to being volunteer puppy raisers for Southeastern guide dogs, Inc. out of Palmetto, FL. We started a blog last year to document our adventures in puppy raising, and when we got our first puppy, Smokey, in March 2011, he pretty much took over our lives and our blogging energies. If you have time, stop by Smokey's blog for some fun stories and lots of great pictures.

Smokey - the guide-dog-pup-in-training

But, it's time to crank this blog back up again - because it's time for our annual 12 days of Christmas exchange! As some of you may remember from last year, this is an exchange of handmade Christmas ornaments made by a group of 12 artists pals from across the US (and one from Mexico). We have been doing this swap for several years now and we all look forward to this beloved swap. Not only do we love the creative process involved with designing, constructing and producing 13 original Christmas ornaments to give away to our friends, but we also get to ring in the season with artistic flair by revealing each artist's creation, one per day, starting Dec 1st - Dec 12th. There is no theme, no media requirements for this swap - each person just creates from the heart and shares a little piece of themselves in the process. Could it be any more special than that?!?

The 2010 collection

We usually start opening the ornaments Dec 1st but this year so many of our group have had severe illness or life stresses that have forced us to get a bit behind schedule. So this year, we are pushing back our opening date to Dec 5th. This compromise was a good fit for our team this year - who needs more stress on this most joyous of holidays? So a few more days were allowed for finishing touches and to get the gifts wrapped deliciously and popped into the US Mail.

The 2010 collection revealed

Below is a list of the artists who participate in this exchange each year. This year, we have an additional 13th player who was called in as a surrogate for our host, Deryn, who unexpectedly developed problems in both shoulders preventing her from finishing her ornament on time. So, we are excited to have Diane Cook join us this year! Also included below are links to each artist's blog. Be sure to check out their blogs, they are awesome, and always have great tips and detailed instructions for making their ornaments.

Day 1 (to be opened Dec 5th): Ruth Rae

Day 3 (to be opened Dec 6th):    Kelly Snelling
Day 4 (to be opened Dec 7th): Joanna Pierotti
Day 5 (to be opened Dec 8th):        Pilar Pollack
Day 7 (to be opened Dec 9th):    Melissa David

Day 8 (to be opened Dec 10th): Crystal Neubauer
Day 9 (to be opened Dec 11th): Sally Turlington
Day 10 (to be opened Dec 12th):    Lou McCulloch
Day 11 (to be opened Dec 13th):    Danita Art
Day 12 (to be opened Dec 14th):    Diane Cook
Day 13 (to be opened Dec 15th):    Deryn Mentock
Day 2 (to be opened Dec 16th):     Maija Lepore
Day 6 (to be opened Dec 17th):     Jackie Allison

2010 Christmas angel ornaments

Be sure to check back daily starting Dec 5th - Dec 17th and follow along as each of the 2011 ornament exchanges are opened and revealed! See you then...

Thanks for another great Christmas swap

2010-12-19T16:36:00.000-06:00

To my old art pals and my new ones, too...

many thanks for a wonderful Christmas swap! Each and every ornament reflects your talents, your time, and your love - and I will cherish them always.

A new exhange - Day 9

2010-12-19T16:35:00.000-06:00

The final ornament of our 2010 exchange is from Tina Shoaga of Silver Spring, MD. Tina's wrapping paper is handmade and hand stamped, and tied up with a pretty yarn bow.

Tina also made a pretty Christmas themed ATC (artist's trading card) and included it with her gift. Two gifts in one!

Tina's ornament is a two-sided and multi-layered fabric ornament. Both the front and the back look like this. Tina hand stitched the edges using a blanket stitch and laminated the face image to make it pop. I love the red and green color scheme and the texture of this beautiful ornament, Tina. Thanks so much!

How to make a Christmas angel

2010-12-19T16:33:00.001-06:00

This is my original design. Feel free to use it to make your own dolls, or use these instructions as a springboard to come up with something uniquely your own.

1. Make the doll's body:

Transfer the doll's face (and include her shoulders and waist) onto a small piece of pre-washed and dried muslin. Cut a matching size piece of muslin to use for the back of the doll. Using a needle and thread, hand sew around the edge of the transferred image, but leave the bottom edge open. Make tiny quilting stitches spaced as closely as you can when you sew. Then stuff the doll with polyfill and hand sew the bottom edge. With sharp scissors, trim around the sewn edge leaving about 1/8" margin, and apply "FrayCheck" to seal the cut edges so they will not fray.

2. Make the dress:

Cut two pieces of fabric for the dress. Sew them RST, then turn RSO and press. Fill the dress with polyfill. Insert the doll into the dress and stitch her into the dress using needle and thread. Any size or shape works for her dress - experiment and see what you can come up with!

3. Embellish the dress and add angel wings:

Cut a free-form cape and/or wings out of organza, tulle, or other transparent fabrics. Hand tack them onto her dress and add vintage buttons or other emellishments as desired. Here's a trick that's handy: Use a heat gun to slightly melt her cape and her wings info "ruffles" and free-form shapes if you'd like. All cotton fabrics will not melt - so you will need to use polyester or poly blends that will melt when heat is applied. Do this outside or in a room with plenty of ventilation!

4. Make her crown:

Free hand sketch and cut a tiny crown out of vintage papers - one that is long enough to fit around your doll's head. Laminate both sides of the crown and trim close to the edge (eg cut away the excess laminate). Use clear packing tape to finish the crown just large enough to fit snugly over the dolls head. Use a tiny bit of E-6000 to glue the crown to her head.

You can modify your doll design for other holidays or occassions, such as for Halloween -- give her a witches hat; For a ballerina --sew on a little tutu and some skinny ballerina legs; For a bride - give her a veil...

Have fun!

A new exhange - Day 8

2010-12-18T16:36:00.003-06:00

Once again, Lou McCullouch of Medina, OH sent something clever in her pretty package:

I love the vintage embossed Santa paper doll that Lou enclosed with her package.

This is another darling frozen Charlotte ornament from Lou. This one she attached to a vintage ornament clip that Lou patina'd a pretty blue color.

Lou put a vintage metal tasting spoon behind the tiny charlotte doll and patina'd it blue, also. And that patina'd spoke style washer makes the perfect halo.

Doesn't it look lovely clipped up on it's perch in my tiny tree? Thank you, Lou!

A new exchange - Day 7

2010-12-18T16:24:00.000-06:00

Today was the day to open my gifts.

I sent each of the girls in this swap a Christmas Angel of their very own.

As promised, I will post some brief instructions on how I designed and made these dolls - hopefully, in the next day or two.

Merry Christmas!

A new exhange - Day 6

2010-12-18T15:54:00.000-06:00

Day 6 brought an usual and beautiful ornament from my new friend Kathy Wasilewski, of Midlothian, VA.

This winter white ice princess! She is lovely. It looks like Kathy molded her face in polymer clay, then painted and antiqued it.

Her hair is made of clusters of tiny silk flowers and Kathy added tiny glass beads to the center of each flower.

And isn't this clever? Kathy used a tablespoon for the body of her ice princess. My pictures don't do her justice - she is just lovely, Kathy! Thank you...

A new exhange - Day 5

2010-12-18T15:36:00.000-06:00

My old pal Jennifer Rowland, of Austin, TX sent one of the most very cleverly wrapped gifts I've ever seen for Day 5 of our exhange:

I'd been puzzling over this unusually sturdy round box, patiently waiting for the day I could finally unwrap it...and as I carefully peeled back the twill tape - look what I discovered:

...it's a Laughing Cow cheese box! Very neat idea!

And nestled inside is this very pretty ornament that Jennifer made from a vintage Christmas tree light reflector. These little punched metal flowers are highly collectible and hard to come by. Jennifer turned it into such a cute ornament!

The accordian pleated rosette of Christmas music fits perfectly inside the reflector. And JOY is the perfect sentiment for Christmas, isn't it? Thank you Jennifer for this sweet ornament.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great JOY, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11

A new exchange - Day 4

2010-12-18T15:15:00.001-06:00

Just look what another new friend, Leslie Wood of Lacey's Spring, AL made for Day 4 of our exchange:

Here's a better look at this very pretty gift tag that Leslie made for her package.

It's a darling hand painted fabric poppet doll! She is so colorful and fun! It looks like Leslie transferred the face onto muslin and then carefully painted and sewed the little doll together. The added sequins and charms to complete her desinger look...

And doesn't she look festive hanging on my little art tree? Thanks, Leslie!

A new exhange - Day 3

2010-12-18T15:07:00.000-06:00

The very creative CeCe Grimes, from Marseilles, IL, made something really festive to tuck inside this cute wrapping:

It's a party girl! Isn't she cute?

CeCe found a teeny tiny stretched artist canvas at Joann's to use as the body. She used crackle paint on the canvas to give it an aged look.

Then she dressed her in a dress cut from scrapbooking paper that she embellished by hand with paint pens and inks... Than added a fun little skirt made of fancy fringe style decorator trim. The cute vintage glass button is darling.

Her head is a very tiny vintage china doll head from Germany. Her arms are tiny brass laundry pins and her feet - just look at them - are vintage girdle clips! How cute is that?! She looks so sassy hanging on my tree! Great job, CeCe!

Born is the King of Israel...

2010-12-15T00:45:00.001-06:00

Every Tuesday morning, our volunteer choir named The Heavenly Harmonizers sings at one of the local retirement homes in our area.

We usually sing for about a hour and it is alot of fun. I think we may enjoy singing almost as much if not more than the residents enjoy listening to us!

It is such a blessing to sing about our Lord and Savior, and we love bringing cheer to our friends in the community. We have a short devotional, prayer time, and even tell a cute joke or two with each concert.

During the month of December we are singing Christmas carols and a contada titled "Born is the King"..

Today we sang at Carriage Inn in Lake Jackson.

Pictured here are a few of the residents who came to hear us sing today. We always encourage them to sing along with us.

Mary Alice Ingalls is our organizer, our choir director, our vocal coach and our accompanist. As you might guess, she has her work cut out for her with this diverse group, but she is a wonderful teacher and mentor, and with that comes alot of patience!

After singing, we meet together - of course - for LUNCH! Today we had a Christmas luncheon at a choir member's house, but my camera battery died and I didn't get any pictures. This picture was taken last week at a local mexican food restaurant.

Merry Christmas, Ya'll!

A new exchange - Day 2

2010-12-15T00:02:00.000-06:00

Day 2's ornament is from a new friend, Sue Berry, who lives in the UK.... Bradley Fold, Bolton, Lancashire, England to be exact!

Sue's gift came wrapped in some very kewl hand-written ledger pages with a beautiful corregated gift tag that she made. She also made a darling card to enclose with her gift! That was so sweet, Sue Bee!

Now, how cool is this? A perfectly framed day 2 turtle dove ornie!

Sue poured resin over the turtle dove image which really brings out the colors in the picture. Then she collaged the frame with inks, paints, and papers.

Then, she hand stamped each and every one of those letters that you see embossed in the copper metal border. Yes, she did that by hand - using a hammer and metal stamps used to imprint leather. Can you see that it says "On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me"...

Then she added a wire dangle with a rusted metal disc with the words "two turtle doves" to complete the phrase on the border. Isn't the jingle bell a great finishing touch?

Thank you so much, Sue! Your turtle dove has flown all the way to south Texas just in time for Christmas, and has found a perfect perch here on my little art tree. I love it!

A new exchange - Day 1

2010-12-14T23:35:00.000-06:00

Linda Koch, from Wellington, Ohio made this luscious fiber cup-cake ornament:

complete with glass straight pin "sprinkles" and a tiny jingle bell "cherry" on top...

Isn't this the cutest thing? And it's actual size, too! I have NO idea how Linda made this ornament but she obviously has a creative mind for yarns, felts, and fibers of all kinds!

I have been in a couple of other art swaps with Linda in previous years and it's great to get another fun creation from her! Thanks, Linda!

Another round, anyone?

2010-12-14T23:19:00.001-06:00

I was really happy to be invited to join in a second Christmas ornament swap this year with a few old friends... and some new ones, too! Here is a photo of the gifts before we start unwrapping.

Keep checking back to see these ornaments as they are revealed. We'll get to unwrap another new ornament everyday until Dec 21st!

Thank you Adorn artists! Merry Christmas!

2010-12-12T16:37:00.000-06:00

I just want to say thanks again to all the Adorn artists for their amazing gifts this year, and a special thank you goes to Deryn for hosting. What a wonderful swap we had!

Once again, my little tree is happily wearing all your wonderful works of art! I am touched by all the love and time that went into making them and I will treasure them always!

I look forward to next year's exchange, and wish all of you a Blessed Christmas!

On the 12th day of Christmas...

2010-12-12T16:21:00.000-06:00

The extremely gifted artist Pilar Pollock, of Laguna Hills, CA made for me...

A cleverly wrapped gift, which is tucked inside a small brown lunch bag that has been sewn closed and embellished...

with a lovely gift tag of collaged papers, fibers, felt heart, silk leaf, and metal star - all tucked inside a little pocket of clear vinyl and sewn to the gift bag. Very kewl, Pilar!

And look at the beautiful creation that has been patiently waiting to be revealed for so long now - this is a fiber artist's dream!! Pilar - this is amazing!

You really must go to Pilar's blog to read about how she made these fabric milagro ornaments. I love the copper etched milagro that she made for the focal point of her creation.

Just look at all the hand beading and free-motion stitching on the little felt heart? Oiled and resin papers are layered on the felt heart. Beautiful!

Pilar coffee dyed muslin strips and machine embroidered them for that lovely tassel. She added a vintage mercury glass button as the final touch.

Pilar, thank you so much for this wonderful gift, and for bringing our annual Adorn swap to a fabulous close. Merry Christmas!

On the 11th day of Christmas...

2010-12-12T15:38:00.000-06:00

Miss Maija Lepore, from Phoenix, AZ made for me:

Something nestled inside this cute little gift box...

and it's a soft, hand-stitched felt ornament. I love this sweet little house! Maija is so creative and always comes up with something uniquely different each year. See the stitched heart on the back? This little house is filled with love!

And it's warm, golden colors remind me of a Christmas gingerbread house - complete with a star button and wreath on the front door! Thank you, Maija. Merry Christmas to you!

Burnin up the road

2010-12-12T15:25:00.001-06:00

Greg and I made a quick trip to Kerrville earlier in the week to pickup an antique sideboard we purchased on Ebay. We are going to use this as a media console in our family room.

We decided to stay over an extra day with my brother and SIL who have a home in Fredericksberg. Pat and I had a great day together, shopping and catching up on family stuff while the boys did their thing. Pat took me to Fredericksberg Pie Company for an afternoon treat on Thursday - yum! Chocolate pecan pie!

The Fredericksberg pie company is one block east of main street.

Look at all those freshly baked pies...

Pictured here is the owner's wife - but SHE isn't the baker -- HE is!

I love this vintage carousel horse out on the front lawn.

And they also sell quilts, quilting fabrics, and gifts inside. Pat found a beautiful quilt for their upstairs guest room and I promised to find some coordinating fabric and sew the curtains.

Festival Ballet Houston's Nutcracker

2010-12-12T14:59:00.000-06:00

I took the David girls (my 2 grand daughters and my 2 daughters-in-law) to the production of The Nutcracker Saturday afternoon. Sara Lipp, daughter of my friend Jan, is a long time student of dance and was in the production. Photos were not allowed during the ballet but we took a few after the event.

Mackenzie and Molly

Mackenzie, Sara Lipp (aka Sugar Plum Fairy) and Molly

Members of the cast - all are Ballerinas extraordinare!

Sara and Jan

Jan was also in the cast - love that outfit, girl!

On the 10th day of Christmas...

2010-12-12T14:22:00.000-06:00

My sweet and very creative friend, Joanna Pierotti, from Peoria, AZ made for me:

Something very cool... tucked inside this clever cup-cake style gift wrapping..

Joanna, you know I have been dying to see what is inside...

And what a treat is waiting! It's a magical, beautiful hand-sculpted snow lady! She is made from paper clay and Joanna hand painted her and dressed her with such flair! Just look at her precious little face! My photos do not do her justice - she is a one-of-a-kind treasure to behold!

I love that mine says FAITH. Go visit Joanna's blog for more photos of her darling snow ladies, and to get a glipse into her wide breadth of artistic creativity. Joanna also has an incredible faith and is an inspiration to me in so many ways! Thank you Joanna!

On the 9th day of Christmas...

2010-12-12T14:02:00.001-06:00

The sweet Lou McCulloch of Medina, OH made for me...

This festive and glittery ornament!

Look closely, do you see the tiny, vintage frozen charlotte doll nested into the tiny little paper mache house?

There are so many elements to this ornament. From the glittery and sparkly house to the dewy branches that surround it - all appear to be glistening in the sun kissed snow.

Look how pretty it is hanging with the tree lights shining behind it.

Thanks so much, Lou, for another Christmas treasure!

On the 8th day of Christmas...

2010-12-12T13:45:00.000-06:00

The multi-talented and charming Kelly Snelling, of Irvine, CA made for me:

Enlosed in this artsy hand-made gift wrap with hand stamped tag (oh, look, the image is Kelly herself!)...

This darling hand-sculpted, woolen felted doggie ornament! Just look at that face! Isn't she adorable? I have NO idea how Kelly manages to dream up such creative and fun ornaments each year, but Kelly - you have outdone yourself this time!

Look at the texture of the fur - look at the details of the eyes nose, and long little ears. This precious little doggie reminds me of my little beagle named Mandi that I had years ago.

Look at the little doggie collar made of Christmas lights that she is wearing!

And look at that cute little wagging tail! Thanks so much, Kelly, for another creative and totally FUN ornament this year. I know these were tons of work and I will treasure it always.

Be sure to check out Kelly's blog to find out more about how she made these!

On the 7th day of Christmas...

2010-12-07T19:56:00.001-06:00

the famously talented artist, teacher and author, Ruth Rae from Claremont, CA made for me...

A fabulously wrapped gift -- all Ruth's hand dyed muslin - with a hand stamped and sewn pillow shaped gift tag...

And inside - another layer of cool wrapping. More hand-dyed lace and a hand stitched heart closure. Ruth's gifts always come packaged in multi-layers of wrapping with lots of rich fibers and textures - her specialty - yum!

And look what's inside! It's a wooden block ornament, about 4x5 in size, that Ruth has completely covered with her marvelous collage work. Paint, vintage papers, hand stamping, wire work, vintage buttons, etc - surround each and every side of this precious ornament.

This is the front side of Ruth's ornament. See the free-motion sewn and quilted pillow on the front of the block? The focal point which says "FAITH"? Also note the nails she used to attach the little pillow to the wooden block? What a purposeful symbol and reminder of Christ's sacrifice for us. What a blessed reminder to each of us that without Faith and without HIM we would have nothing; we would be nothing! He is the reason for Christmas!

This is the back of the ornament. Don't you love all the details here? Look closely - there are lots of layers! I especially love that wire wrapped embellishment with all the stacked vintage buttons! It's obvious that Ruth put so much love and lots of time into these beautiful treasures for each of us. Thank you Ruth!

Please take a moment to go read Ruth's blog. She has published a tutorial on how she made these very kewl ornaments. Check it out! You willl also find links to Ruth's publications, classes, and info about where you can purchase Ruth's art.

Celebrating Christmas...

2010-12-07T19:17:00.002-06:00

with my Monday afternoon ladies fellowship bible study group.

We always have a pot-luck luncheon and party at Christmas time. The "re-gift" gift exchange is a tradition... and only then is stealing okay! And stealing is what makes it fun...

Jan taking a good look at which gift she wants to pick...

Oh, look what Linda got!

Sharon is all smiles with that horseshoe around her neck...hmm.. can I try that?

Jan sitting sweetly beside Shirley's beautiful tree.

Don't be fooled by her innocent grin - she likes to steal the best gifts!

Look! Mariko got a glass platter... but not for long because Sharon stole it!

oooohhh..Kuniko got a warm and cozy blankie...

And then showed some attitude when someone tried to steal it from her!

Now, Miss Pemba was really proud of the doggie picture frames she stole from Cindy. But Cindy got even later in the game and stole them back! I tried to get Pemba to pose with the gifts she eventually got stuck with - but she refused (inside joke people). Maybe someday she'll give them to me so I can make dolls out of them for her. Really cute dolls. Uh huh. Yeah.

Shirley is so proud of the light up musical Santa/Snowman toy she got for her son... Now, what is Santa doing exactly? Just look at his face! I'm not telling but it is hilarious...and Mr.Snowman is waving his hands around for some really good reason.....good thing this isn't smell-a-blog or you could figure it out!

We always have such fun singing at Christmas time. Shirley plays the piano so beautifully. We sing all our favorite carols and hymns and...

...the twelve days of Christmas, complete with gestures and poses and giggles. Can you tell what day of Christmas this strange pose is supposed to be? Are those geese a layin? Cindy looks confused...just what the heck are yall doin?

We are blessed every year when our 3 sweet friends from Japan sing Silent Night in their native language. They are all three beautiful ladies and they sing so sweetly about our blessed Savior's birth!

I got to hold Shirley's dog Kupert for most of the afternoon. He is a mama's boy and usually stays put in Shirley's lap during our meetings.

Isn't he sweet?

Shirley was so sweet to give each of us a Christmas music box ornament - each a little different - each play a holiday tune that coordinates with the figurine inside the globe. Mine is a nutcracker. It plays "the dance of the sugar plum fairy"...

Once we figured out our tunes, Shirley made us all sing them aloud together. All singing our own songs. All at the same time. Oh, Shirley. What a riot you are!

Last but not least, we always take a group photo every year at our Christmas party. We had a few members missing from our party this year, but we had alot of fun. Shirley's husband was gone, so Shirley went outside searching for some kind soul on the street to come inside and take our group photo so we could get everyone in the picture. Much to our surprise, after a few minutes she came dragging in the trash collection guy to do the honors!! Needless to say, we got a good chuckle out of that, and offered him some of our holiday cookies in return for his good deed! That is sooooo Shirley!!

And thank you for "volunteering", kind sir. You are a great photographer!! This gentleman will remain nameless and I have purposefully hidden his identity to protect the innocent...

On the 6th day of Christmas...

2010-12-07T15:32:00.002-06:00

I received from my dear friend, Jackie Allison, from The Woodlands, TX ...

For starters, this cute little Santa Hat bag -- but this is just the gift bag! Jackie always has such clever ideas for unique gift-wrapping, and this is just great! She told me that these little hats were cut from a Christmas pennant style valance. She cleverly cut the pennants apart and sewed them into santa hats, complete with jingle bell on the pointed end of the pennant. She added a precious vintage Christmas tree pin to the ribbon closure. It's a gift in itself and I plan on hanging this cute little santa hat as an ornament in itself.

But look what is inside! It's a vintage frozen charlotte ornament! This is so beautiful, Jackie! Jackie is a whiz on ebay and she can find (and win!) the most unique vintage objects-de-art to assemble into one-of-a-kind pieces.

I love the details of this ornament. The vintage tin is wonderful and I love how the tiny charlotte doll rests in the center, almost floating on her angel wings. I love the delicate golf leaf that Jackie applied inside the tin ...and the star placed over her head is the perfect touch - she is an angel.

Look at the vintage hanging rhinestone tassel and mirror clip - don't they make a clever dangle? It's the perfect touch to a beautiful ornament. I love it!!

Thank you Jackie!!

On the 5th day of Christmas..

2010-12-05T22:46:00.003-06:00

I made for my friends...

An original collection of Christmas angels...

Each a little different..

from her sister...

All fluttering on wings of love,

spreading Christmas blessings...

Check back in a few days for details on how I made these dolls...

On the 4th day of Christmas...

2010-12-04T12:40:00.001-06:00

The very talented Danita Salcido of Mexico made for me...

This beautiful and very tiny glass angel ornament! Danita is known for her paintings and her trademark style is easily reconized and uniquely her own.

Isn't this little angel precious? She reminds me of the many blessings of Christmas. See how she twinkles and glistens on my tree?

Danita's original angel painting is shining through the tiny glass block - it's about 1" square. It is mounted to a square silver base and is sporting a little dangling jingle bell. I just love it! Be sure to check out Danita's blog for more information about her and her artwork.

More glimpses of christmas past...

2010-12-03T16:34:00.002-06:00

This mixed media ornament is from 2007. Etched metal techniques were used along with other techniques, including deconstruction of a vintage compass to house the focal image.

A feature article was written about our group in Somerset Studio that holiday season, so you will see this ornament along with all the other ornaments in print in the Nov/Dec 07 issue.

On the third day of Christmas...

2010-12-03T14:54:00.004-06:00

my multi-talented art friend for many years, Sally Turlington, from Huntsville, TX made for me..

A beautiful vintage style pillow ornament! Isn't this amazing?! This is the front side.

And this is the back.

Unfortunately, I dropped my camera this morning when I started to take pictures...and it broke! My bad...and luckily I still have my trusty old Olympus - but these pictures do NOT do this lovely ornament justice.

This ornament is about the size of a postcard. It looks like Sally used a heat press to fuse the collage imagery to heavy artist's canvas fabric. Look closely and you'll see that the Mother and child focal point is in the background with layer upon layer of translucent and textural embellishments added over top. This is such a cool technique - the final result shows off all the dimensional layers but everything is pressed flat and it has an old world look and feel of old leather. Then she carefully cut and sewed two finished pieces together to fashion into a tiny pillow - complete with frayed edges. Be sure to check out Sally's blog - maybe she'll give us a tutorial on how she made these ornaments! Gorgeous!

More of Christmas past...

2010-12-02T19:23:00.003-06:00

These are from 2008

Metal shapes cut by hand...

Then hand punched...

Darkened with aging solutions...

Patina'd or rusted...

And embellished in various ways.

A peak at my Christmas art tree

2010-12-02T18:55:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures of my little table-top tree with the first 2 ornaments proudly displayed. Look close, can you see them?

We're off to a great start already... There's more to come each day so keep checkin back...

On the 2nd day of Christmas...

2010-12-02T18:47:00.003-06:00

my old friend and talented art pal from "up the road a-piece", Deryn Mentock, from Cypress, TX made for me...

...this precious hand-painted Santa vintage spoon! My photo does not do it justice - it is just so darling! Deryn is a creative master - every year she comes up with something unique for our ornament swap and this year is no exception.

She has an eye for everything vintage and she loves to explore antique stores and flea markets looking for that special something to trigger her fantastic artistic inspiration. Can you believe she bent that stiff spoon handle into an accordian folded hanger --- with her bare hands? Believe me, that is killer. And so is this ornament. Just beautiful!

Check out Deryn's blog and become a fan. She is inspiringly creative and her original jewelry line is fantastic! Thank you, Deryn!

A look back at christmas' past

2010-12-02T01:06:00.007-06:00

In addition to this year's unveiling, I thought it might be fun to showcase some of the ornaments from years past... so I will post some samples over the next few days..

These are from 2009

The heart was hand-cut from a chunk of styrofoam, then "iced" with plaster (like you'd ice a cake).

The window transomes are hand-poured plaster using a mold I made from an old doll house window. Sandpaper and paint ages cured plaster quite well.

The way these swaps work is simple:

Each artist creates 12 original ornaments, gift wraps them uniquely, and mails one to each player before Dec 1st. With 12 gifts in hand, we then start opening them, one per day, starting Dec 1st.

Fa La La La La La La La Fun!

On the 1st day of Christmas...

2010-12-01T21:57:00.002-06:00

the talented Chrystal Neubauer from Grayslake, IL gave to me... this beautifully layered and transparent ornament! See how pretty it looks hanging on the tree? The Christmas tree lights provide just the right light to illuminate all the yummy layers. Chrystal has masterfully taken encaustic work to all new levels with this lovely piece. She layered collaged elements like stamping, image papers, and acrylic paint onto a clear sheet of acrylic with encaustic wax applied to the back. It is beautiful Chrystal and thank you for getting our swap off to a fab start!

The 2010 collection!

2010-12-01T21:51:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited! All the ornaments have arrived and here they are on display. Aren't they pretty? Each is wrapped with love and care...

2010 Christmas ornament swaps

2010-12-01T21:19:00.004-06:00

I am honored to have a wonderful group of art friends to share in "12 days of Christmas" ornament swaps each year. This has become a tradition for us and what a fun way to ring in the Christmas spirit. Here is a photo of my wrapped gift for 2010. My gift will be opened on day #5 (December 5th).

The other players in this annual swap are:

Day 1 - Crystal Neubauer

Day 2 - Deryn Mentock

Day 3 - Sally Turlington

Day 4 - Danita Art

Day 5 - Melissa David

Day 6 - Jackie Allison
Day 7 - Ruth Rae

Day 8 - Kelly Snelling

Day 9 - Lou McCulloch

Day 10 - Joanna Pierotti

Day 11 - Maija Lepore

Day 12 - Pillar Pollock

Plaster wallhangings

2009-10-22T22:08:00.001-05:00

These wallhangings are styrofoam base material which has been covered with plaster. Some of these will be featured in the new book on plaster art by Judy Wise and Stephanie Lee which is due for publication in May 2011.

To blog or not to blog?

2009-10-22T16:44:00.000-05:00

For several years I have been considering starting a blog.. I actually started one waaay back in Dec of 2006!! But time never seems to permit me the luxury of sitting down and fully putting one into action. Let's give it a go again and see what happens!