Clothes Pins Magnets

Just finished a large order of the clothes pin magnets. I had to take a picture, because they looked so great altogether. Now I just have to put them on cards and ship them off to Montana. Good luck my little creations!

cup of tea

I finally did it. I started to paint again. It has been many years. When I opened my box of paints, the smell reminded me of college. I am not sure where this is heading, or what my "style" is... It seems everyone has something they love to paint. My dad, he loves to paint landscapes and butterflies. I could go a million directions, perhaps the graphic designer in me! But I have always been fascinated by the human face. When I was painting this work, everything came fairly easy, except the face. I froze when I had to finish that part. Practice, practice, practice.

ebb + flow

As I sit in my studio, the sky is a non-color, the trees are leafless. I know that spring is coming and soon my window will be filled with the most pungent rose bush on the planet. Soon it will be hard for me to stay indoors and work. Then it hits me. Creating is just like nature. There is a natural ebb and flow. If an artist doesn't rest, or take a break they will burn out. Nature knows best, it's okay to rest. Soon enough it will be time to bloom.

being creative

Last week was difficult. I felt that my creative spirit had left, and I certainly didn't know when it would be back. Perhaps it's the gray skies that permanently hang like a wall in January. Or maybe it was that company that decided not to carry one of my products. I was down. A friend suggested that my creative well was dry and that I needed to refill it. But how?

Beside just letting the moment pass. They eventually do. I decided that I MUST do something creative with my hands. No matter what it turned out like. I worked with the felt balls creating some funny creatures. I used beads, buttons, embroidery floss, needles and anything else that added personality to the little creatures. They turned out not too bad.

Also, I've been reading Sue Monk Kidds' book "Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story". It has helped me through this hard time. In the book, Kidd is struggling with confidence to continue to write, "The Secret Lives of Bees". Her self doubt, the questions that all of us have. It made me feel better that even the successful, creative women, like Kidd, has her days too. We all know what happen with the "Bee" book. A movie and the sixth bestselling novel of the last decade!

Kidd also mentions in her writing a "necessary fire".  My creativeness is my "necessary fire". It makes me alive. The fire is something that is inborn in my heart. And is part of my reason for being here. I just need to remember, that some days the fire will grow big and other days, it will be a small glowing flicker. But I know this, my fire cannot be put out.

Wool Felt Ball Creatures

The love of felt continues... I bought these 2 inch colorful wool felt balls and while back. They sat and sat until I thought they would make wonderful odd creatures. This is just two that I am working with. The wire is fun, but difficult to make look right. The bead legs are pretty, but not unique. A work in progress. The photo below is from my trip to Tokyo in March. So cute!

New Cards for the Gift Show

Just finished these little gems. They are a take-off from the 2010 calendar that I illustrated. They are headed to NYC today. My lovely rep. Constance Kay will be showing these at the New York Gift Show at the Javits Center, January 30 – February 3, Booth 6513.

If I only had the money to fly, stay and walk around the gift show. It would be wonderful to soak in all that creativity and seek other mentors. Perhaps one day I'll do my own trade show!

Happy Felt Garland

I have this red and white baker's string, which I love to use to wrap packages. But it has a surprising festive look when I used it to string my brilliant felt beads. I start with nine feet of string, and end up with just about 7 feet. Perfect to hang in your office, kids room or my personal favorite is to make about three and hang vertically on a plain wall or in front of a window. For a little flair I added buttons of many beautiful colors. You could use glass beads, which would look wonderful in a sunny window. Tip to keeping your garland from getting tangle. Recycle a piece of cardboard from a cereal box, or shipping box and wrap the garland around it. That's it!
http://www.presentbydesign.com/products/happy-felt-garland

pretty things

My grandma gave me a apple box full of beads. She collects buttons, and it seems that beads are always tagging along. I've put together the beads that I love and then found these great glass cabochons. I cut out circles to fit the bezel, then pop in the glass and use my grandma's beads to finish it.

Happy Felted Balls

I am in love with felt! Felt puppets, felt shoes, felt flowers, everything felt. Maybe it's the soft fuzzy warmness of the material or the brilliant colors, simply, it make me happy.

How to make felt balls?

1. You will need carded wool, hot water and a bar of soap (liquid works too). Pull a little bit of the wool, the size of a quarter, it all depends on the size you want in the end. You don't need much. Dip your fingertips in soap and rub just a little on a piece of wool. Wind it into a ball.
    
2. Dip it quickly in hot water and roll between your palms. Kinda of little rolling a ball of Playdoh. But roll very lightly at first. Towards the end it will be hard. If the ball looks more oval or little cracks. Just pull some of the ball wool and put it in the area that is the problem, dip in water and more soap and continue to roll in your palms. The soap is like glue.
    
3. It takes a few minutes to get it to the final firm ball. You can place a wooden skewer through the ball, if you plan to use it for a bead. This will create a nice hole to thread. Place in a sunny window or by a heat vent and let dry. A day should be plenty.

I have these beautiful felt balls, I plan to create some wonderful garland.    

Four Hundred Gift Guide

We made the Four Hundred Gift Guide with our fun and quirky Fortune Tootsies! You can find us under childs Play. 

http://www.rjcollective.com/clients/fourhundred/gift/

Helping Women Entrepreneurs Soar!

This year has been wonderful for me personally and professionally. When I quit my full-time a year ago to pursue my passion, it was an uncertain time, and in many ways it still is! But success has come with lots of hard work and I owe it all to you for purchasing my creations, spreading the word, and offering praise.

I want to to continue the cycle and help other women entrepreneurs by micro-lending. I am happy to say that two women I chose to help are now fully funded. Ifeyinwa (left) of Nigeria, is 30 years old and a fashion designer. She sews very well and a lot people patronize her business. She has been sewing for four years. "I love my business and I love seeing people in fine wears," she says. She sustains and supports her family with her business. She hopes to expand her business in the future and add sarongs and tailoring material to sell.

Elise (right) ASSOGBA was born on February 11, 1975, in Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin. She's married to Alim ADECHI and the mother of one school-attending child. For five years, Elise has been living with her child and her husband in the Avotrou neighborhood in Cotonou. She supports the family on her own and she never attended school. For about four years, she's been selling fabrics by the distribution system. Elise is also a hairdresser who sells hair extensions. She gets her supplies in Dantokpa, an international market in Benin.

If you are interested in helping women soar, contact Kiva.org.

We can all be great with a little support! I'll keep you posted on their success.

Circle Garland

I love paper and found a project that my 4 year son could share his expertise. He punches the circles out of paper and I sew them together. We put them in cute little metal tins. We also use paper beads and glass beads in between the circles for a shimmery effect. Absolutely cute!