"Art Girls"....Some of My Favorite Things

This is a photo of our 'front' bathroom....and for some reason unbeknownst to me....I decided today was a good day to show you these photos.  These are some of what I call my "Art Girls."  Most of them created by two of my favorite bloggers.  So, let me tell you about them.  Actually, you probably already know these artists, but you may not have seen these particular pieces.

This first small piece was painted by one of my favorite bloggers...Sharon Tomlinson.  I love her wonderful faces.  This one is an original and was painted on a 'page' from a child's board book.  Don't you love her too? 

Then, there is this beauty....another of Sharon's original pieces.  I just had to have her....Sharon taught me how to use decorative paper napkins in mixed media pieces.  And, gave me encouragement in trying that technique out for myself.  I am grateful, as I've enjoyed many hours 'playing around' with lovely paper and paper napkins.  If you've never visited her blog....you will learn something from her and enjoy it too....so why not check out what she does HERE.  Sharon lives not very far from where I grew up....tell her I sent you.  You will love her faces too!

These two pieces were created by Kelly Rae Roberts.  My daughter knows I love Kelly Rae's artwork, which is licensed and found in stores everywhere....so occasionally, I am gifted with a piece of her work.  Lucky me!!!  And, I also like it because my own daughter is also named Kelly! You can read all about Kelly Rae and her work Here.

This beautiful mirror was given to me by my daughter for Christmas.  It's quite wonderful...and I just had to hang it in this room with the other 'art girl' pieces...even though this one doesn't have a girl on it.  I love it hanging here and think the knobs are just great and the perfect place to hang some 'jewels.'  Reflected in the mirror is the opposite side of the vanity in this bathroom...more on that as we go.   This piece makes me smile....and I really enjoy the green frame around the mirror....as you all know...it's my favorite color~

This piece is one of my own creations.  Not on the level of Sharon's and Kelly's....but helped along by the inspiration I have received from their work.  Scrapbooking paper, text from a book or two, paper napkin roses, and vines hand drawn....I did enjoy making this.  Oh, the heading..."Thursday, April 16, 1916", was taken from a vintage ledger from my son-in-law's family store.  There were several ledgers...some over a hundred years old.  My son-in-law has kept the really nice ones for safekeeping, but there were some that were falling apart...those he gave to me.  I have used pieces of them on several different canvases so far.

 

This piece was such fun for me to create....just playing around with my chosen 'ingredients' and seeing what I could come up with.  I even used crystals for this lady's earrings.

  

This small piece of Kelly Rae's is so cute.  Another gift. 

As you may remember, around here, they call me the Queen of Everything.

A close up of this dear girl....Sharon...so inspiring!!

And, the Butterfly lady again....my name for her, not Sharon's.  She's quite lovely....I wonder what she is thinking?

 And, again...the mirror.  such FUN!!!

 Another girl from Kelly Rae.....delightful!  I also love the colors she has used.

 

This one is just great......and reminds me of Valentine's Day!!!   Love that tiny heart!

 

 Now these have nothing to do with the Art Girls....they just exist in the same room with them. And, since they appear in the same photo at the beginning of this post...though I'd show them too, as they truly are some of my 'favorite things' too.

 

 A little 'birdbath' with a tiny glass cloche....holding things dear to my heart.  That tiny handmade basket was given to me long, long ago by a friend.....no longer here, but not forgotten.  Little handstitched buttons there too.....so vintage...so sweet and delicate!  LOVE!

In my house (and out in my backyard studio also) you will find buttons in all kinds of containers and in all kinds of odd places.  I discovered this old jar a while back in my local flea market.....it just screamed 'buttons' to me!

And, this is the view in that mirror - given to me by my friend, Jim.  A lady embroidering.  Now, where would he have gotten that idea?

This little girl just had to be hung in this room with all my 'art girls.'  She's an old print...yes, from the flea market.  She reminds me of my niece, Gina.  A grown-up now...but I still see her in my mind at this age.  Both are beautiful!  And, yes, a real bird nest....and egg!

So, there you are!  Two of my favorite artist's work....for me to see as often as I'd like....wonderful!

Visit their blogs...you'll enjoy the visit!!!  Take care, pat

Out and About: A Quilt Adventure

Friday afternoon, my friend, Jim....you all have heard me mention him many times...well, he drove over to Searcy from Morrilton to pick up a carload of my quilts.  Well, it seemed like a carload to me!
He is doing a program on my quilts for the Arkansas Quilters Guild on Monday night in Little Rock.
He and my friend, Sharon, evidently cooked up this idea that seeing my quilts might make a good program and they talked me into letting them 'borrow' however many I would let go on an 'adventure.'
So, off they have gone.  (And, in case you are wondering...I was asked to go and observe the festivities, but I had to decline that invitation for reasons I'm not going into here...but rest assured, I'm sure I will get an earful from somebody on Tuesday!!! Probably and Jim and his shenanigans!)  I ended up sending twenty-three quilts....and so, today, decided I would show you a handful of them.

Now, none of these quilts are anywhere near new.  As you know, I haven't made a quilt in at least three years....but evidently, my friends at least, have not forgotten the ones I have made and I just chose some at random to send along.  You've seen these all on this blog before....but I hope YOU and the quilters on Monday night enjoy seeing them 'one more time.'  All are handquilted....as I am a dinosaur when it comes to quilting...still preferring to do them all by hand...well, except this Log Cabin which was pieced on the machine...and I DO love Log Cabin quilts!  My son chose the setting for this one, and named it "Virtual Log Cabin."

This one is my silk ribbon embroidered crazy quilt.  It took me nine months to design and make it...my favorite thing - the basket of roses and something you can't see here....the border has beads quilted in it...they are barely visible even in person...but I know they are there!

I'm sure if you click to enlarge you can see more detail, but these photos aren't that good, really.

That favorite basket.                                                                                                 

 Here is a sampler quilt I made for a week long class I taught at the Ozark Folk School in Mountain View, Arkansas, one year.  I wanted to make a quilt modeled after a cross-stitch sampler, only in embroidery and applique.  It's about two feet square.  (By the way, these photos were taken before the quilt was finished, so you see them in various stages of completion.)

I love the chickens.  A story:  in 'real' life, I am terrified of chickens.  I was attacked by a large white rooster when I was three and still have scars.....I'm ok as long as they are in front of me where I can see them...but I don't trust the ones behind me or to the side.  Weird, yes, but true!  These little appliqued and embroidered ones I can live with!

This quilt I made for a personal challenge.  I had to use only fabrics, threads and embellishments I already owned...I was to only use what I had.  Scraps from other quilts, etc.  It's one of my favorites.

 I used a permanent pen to draw the flower centers....a big vintage button on the large flower center.

This is the first quilt I ever made using my own design......so long ago.  My friend, Mary, hand-dyed the sky and the blue/teal colors.  My favorite thing about this quilt (other than Mary's fabrics, is the pinafore.....it has a pocket you can actually put something in!

It's called "Memories of Laura" as I meant it to remind me of Laura on the "Little House on the Prairie" tv show.

 I wanted this quilt to look vintage.  I used nine vintage blocks, taken apart and re-pieced, with a new handle added.   And, I wanted lots of quilting on it....as I like to do.  Never using much white fabric, when it was done...it was TOO bright for me....so I dyed it in my washing machine....on advice of a friend.  While it did tone it down a bit....it was not an over-all toning down, but kind of splotchy....which I didn't like.   Oh, well, live and learn!!!  I did manage to get a lot of quilting on it, however!

See in this lower right corner....the background changes color a bit.  I really did like the quilting though.

I embroidered a little design on the bottom of each basket.  Now, I really DID like that!

And, so, here we are.....twenty-three quilts in these bags in the back of my little car.  I took them to the downtown studio, where Jim picked them up and off they went on their little adventure.  What do you think they will say when they get home? 

Sure hope you all enjoyed seeing these....hope to post something completely different in a few days...meantime....stay safe, warm and cozy and have some FUN!  pat

Busy as a bee today and wanted to post something on my blog...so ran through some photos in my iPhoto and realized I didn't post one Christmas photo!  So, ok...better late than never!  This is my daughter, Kelly and her son, Tyler.  You can barely get a photo of these two as they are NEVER still!

Love the tree!  We spent Christmas Eve at Kelly's house....this is her tree.   My one and only grandchild, Tyler standing there with Lindsey, my granddaughter-in-law.

 And, here we are.  The old folks!  The old navy man, Richard and me.  What a pair!!! 

Kelly with her hubby...Rick.  He's a really good cook.  Not only did he cook the meat for our Christmas Eve dinner, but he cooked a chicken for me to take home for Christmas dinner!  Delicious!

Here, dinner is almost ready.......and we are all hungry!  There is room for several cooks in this kitchen....but these two have everything under control!!

Tyler, the old navy man and Lindsey hamming it up by the tree!  I like this photo...and love the way the tree looks up close.   By the way...Kelly loves lots of color!!!

The overhead lights are off in this photo...the better to admire the tree lights.  Yes, the tv is on, but the sound, at this point, is off.  No joke, my whole house will fit in this living room/kitchen....a huge open room.

Our favorite spot is out on the patio.......and on cold nights sitting out there with the fire going is a wonderful treat.  Yeah, the photo is too dark, maybe it's a 'mood' photo.  Kelly, Rick, Tyler and Lindsey are out there.  You can see the tree inside and I'm taking the photos.  It's cold and cozy at the same time!

Another photo of the tree...well, sort of.  OK, what's the 8 for?  Well, it's Kelly and Rick's lucky number - they were married on 8-8-98!

Kelly and her daughter-in-law, Lindsey.  Two cute girls!  Actually, getting them to be still for a photo is also quite an accomplishment.

And, there you are...a few Christmas photos for me to remember all year long.  Well, you know, as fast as time goes by...Christmas 2013 will be here soon!

Hope your new year is going well.......stay warm and have some FUN!!!  take care, pat

Sharing Something Pretty

Happy 2nd of January 2013!!!  Already!  Just thought today I'd show you something pretty.  Well, more than one thing pretty....so, let's start with the flowers.  Bought them on a hurried trip into WallyWorld on Saturday...you know, one of those fast trips to buy all the stuff you had run out of during the blizzard!  I supposed I was in a 'flower state of mind' because I just had to buy these.  You can watch them grow right before your very eyes as you scroll down the post.  They don't look all that remarkable right here....but watch....

and while you watch, notice the little pitcher they are in....it's so cute.  Can you see the little English cottage?

and the crocheted runner?  I bought them both at one of the local flea markets recently.  Little pitchers always catch my eye....and crochet like this...who could leave it in the store?

 Can you see the flowers growing?

 Here is the back of the pitcher....it's pretty too!

 And the handle....as you know...I think everything is in 'the details'......

See...the flowers are getting bigger.....look at those little 'pods'....they open up into the most delicate, 'ruffle' flowers...they look green here.

And then, there is this gorgeous flower..........so beautiful......what great flowers to have in your home when there is SNOW everywhere!!!

And, these little green/yellow ones.  No idea what they are....but they are sweet.  You know green is my favorite color!

The pods are opening and look very pretty now....they will open even more.

 A close-up of the pitcher....see the cottage now?  There is a bird....is it a stork of some kind, a heron?  Trees and flowers that match the ones on the back of the pitcher.

Now do you see how big they have become...fully opened.....and gorgeous.

 Look at the center of this one....it's amazing!

 Flowers are such fun....and these so pretty.....lovely to look at on a cold Winter's Day.....

Here are the markings on the bottom of the pitcher.....well, I guess that explains the Thatched Roof Cottage then.  Love it!

  Last, but not least, here is something very special:

 This is a photo taken by my favorite son several days ago....on his iPhone.  He was just getting home from work, driving down this street in his neighborhood and there was that rainbow!  Isn't it just great?  Nothing prettier than a street in San Francisco.....all nice and shiny with rain...and a beautiful rainbow. Well, unless it's a vintage English pitcher filled with beautiful green and white flowers!

Hope all is well with you this new year, this new day.  Take care out there.  pat