secrets revealed

oh.....my......gosh......

it's here!!!!

after months and months of creating and waiting, this fabulous book that chrissie grace has authored is finally here!!!

right now i'm feeling like a giddy schoolgirl who just found out that recess has been extended by 15 minutes, and when we come in there's chocolate cupcakes for everyone!!!

and now i can finally reveal some of the projects that i was working on last year....

project #1:  this is the project where a group of seven of us each purchased a yard of fabric and sent it to chrissie.  she then cut each yard into equal pieces, and then mailed a package back to each of us that contained one piece of each participants' fabric.  then we all created our own projects with the fabrics that were provided (you can read more background here).  i created a little wall quiltie entitled "keys to a happy home".

one of the many things that i love about this book is that the photography is excellent, and each step shows a photo so that you can make one of these yourself!  there's even a little diagram to show placement of the pieces!

project #2:  this is another little quiltie that i lovingly call "inspiration garden".  for this project, i used hand carved stamps for the flowers, leaves, and vine background.  the instructions are included for this one, too!

and the third project that i was honored to participate in was the round robin book.  the theme was "she said" (see more here) and this photo shows only a small sampling of the participants (my page is the third from the left, the one with the hearts).....but let me tell you, this round robin book is an absolute masterpiece!!!  i was especially treated because my name was the last on the list to receive the book.....so i got to see what everyone else had already done!!  my little dutch sweetie chuckled at me because when i first took it out of the box,  it was just like handling a newborn baby!!  it truly is a special artpiece.....and chrissie provides a template in the book if you're interested in creating one of these structures for yourself!

i could go on and on about what a spectacular job chrissie has done in coordinating all of these artists and projects!  and i'll forever be thankful for the opportunity to participate in such a once-in-a-lifetime project......this has been such a sweet, sweet blessing!!!  

thank you, chrissie......and congrats to every artist who participated!

you can read more about this book on amazon here !

please click on images for a larger view!

breaking free

there's a beautiful heARTist inside of you

that dreams about breaking free.

let it.

the only rule is once you break free,

there's no looking back....

p.s. my sweet bloggy friend chrissie grace has featured an interview with me on her blog today.....you can read it here.

thank you SO much chrissie!! xox

artwork finished using micron pens, pilot g-tec pen, scrap papers,

4B pencil

the reality of dreams

sharing stitches was recently announced on amazon for pre-order......and while it won't be released for several more months, we're all jumping up and down like giddy school girls over seeing the cover! congratulations chrissie on seeing this dream become a reality.....and thank you from the top, middle and bottom of my heart for inviting me to be a part of it!!! xox

for more details about this book, click here!

part of my flower project is on the cover.....click here!!!

batiky sneaky peeky....

here's a little sneaky peeky at the top secret project that i've been working on.....and actually, i'm still adding some finishing touches (maybe a little blingy beadwork!), but the sun is going down as we speak and i wanted to get a photo before i ran out of light (drat that daylight savings time!!). this is my third project that will be included in the book that chrissie grace has been writing.....and should be published by this time next year!! this has been one of the most exciting projects that i've ever worked on, and i'm SO very thankful to chrissie for giving me this opportunity to participate!! you can read more about chrissie's book here......and in the meantime i'd better get back to work!

i hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend!!

sneak peek

here's a little sneaky peeky at what i've been working on to create such a chaotic mess in my studio! this project is for chrissie grace.....she has so graciously invited me to participate in her third book and this will be included! i'm so excited i can hardly stand it!! the book doesn't come out until next year....can't wait, can't wait!!!

have a great weekend! :)

creating....in stages

i've been working on this project for chrissie grace, and am all too aware of how taking an idea from your head to the finished project definitely goes in certain stages. for example, when i received these fabrics from chrissie, i left them out for inspiration, and then when an idea came to me, i sketched it out.

then, with my sketch in mind, i started to lay out the fabrics to see which ideas would work....and which ideas wouldn't work (and keeping fingers crossed that there would be more ideas that work, than don't work...yikes!).

then comes the cutting stage.....this is the one that makes me nervous. i have a certain amount of fabric to work with....if i mess it up, i'm toast. i've vacuumed the floor, done the dishes, eaten three snacks, checked the mailbox, took my dog outside, and swept the back porch, all as a means of "cutting procrastination". i even called my "think-outside-the-box-she's-an-artistic-genius-art-therapist-cheerleading-best-buddy" martha for a pep talk. of course, we ended up talking about lots of things unrelated to the "cutting procrastination" (which is part of the whole procrastination process), but in the end, her advice was simple, sweet and effective: "say a prayer and pick up the scissors". and that's exactly what i did. i'm loving my little pile of cut scraps....and very much looking forward to the next stage....the one where the plan starts coming together....fingers and toes crossed during this stage!

sneak peek

i've been wanting to tell you something...a really exciting sort-of-something.  so when these fabrics arrived in the mail, i knew that this would be the perfect opportunity to share with you that i'm participating in the new book that chrissie grace is writing!!  eeeek!!  it will be a "collection of projects to sew and swap" and is due out in september of 2010.  and when you visit chrissie's blog, check out the list of fabulous artists that will be involved (it really is incredible!)!  i'm so excited i'm about ready to bust...what an absolute honor it is to be included and i'm so thankful to chrissie for giving me this wonderful opportunity!   

here's a sneak peek of the eight fabrics that i received from chrissie to use in my project....and speaking of which, i'd better get to work!  have a fabulous weekend!