And the WINNER is..........

Ta-Da..(drum roll).....Everyone who left a comment.    And the good news is, you can choose one of the creatures shown, or create your own with one of the faces shown, one of the fabrics shown, with ears or no ears.    In the comment section, let me know if you like Red, Yellow, Pink, Black/white, Tan/greenish, Peace/tan, White/owls.  Any unclaimed items will be donated to Primary Children's Hospital.  Heather, let me know where to send yours.

(P.S. I won't be offended if you tell me you really didn't want one, you just wanted to leave a comment. lol)
Happy Holiday Season, with wishes for moments of gratitude and a peace-full heart.

Sneak Peek @ Christmas

Some years are "Bah-Humbug" years for me.  This year is not one of them. 
It all started when the Grands were here, bored with the same outdated, out-grown toys.   They wandered down the basement where the sewing machine is kept, and decided that was the new toy to play with, so I got out some felt scraps and let them design their own "ugly dolls".   I'm sorry I don't have a photo of that.    When they left, I got to thinking how fun it would be to make some out of that exquisite minkie fabric, so I made a prototype.    Upon finishing, John asked me if the face was modeled on Phyllis Diller before or after her plastic surgery.    Back to the drawing board.  After I made some more, and decided the faces would never do for 8, 10, and 11 year olds (too juvenile),  I called in The Help.   (Jonathon is my Go-To Guy when I need advice.)  He came up with some real winners, and the fun began.   So here is the sneak peek.    Aspen, Cedar and Olive might design their own faces, but I get the last vote about the fabric and the shape.   I guess some years get to have surprises, and some years you find out what you're getting ahead of time.  (Remember when you used to find the hidden Christmas gifts, and open them all, then rewrap them, thinking Santa would never know?   Hah!

Here's where the fun begins.   Since I have made so many prototypes with the more juvenile faces on them, there are some spares.  If you want one, you can leave a comment, and on December 12th, I'll use the random generator to pick a winner.   (Remember, these are "homemade", not professional.)  All you have to do is tell me which face you like best.  Happy Holidays to you and yours.   Let the fun begin.

Batik on Paper, Dyeing for Fun

These are just a few of the images from Thursday's Play Date. Hot wax, dye, cookie cutters, brushes, Tjanting tools, messes, what more could anyone want? The only question remaining is What Do We Do With It All? I think greeting cards may be on the menu, but more testing is in the works for book covers. Oh, the paper is Arches Text Wove. And ironing out all the excess wax.

Doodlers Unite !

Finally, A New Creation

I had the great honor and privilege of taking a bookbinding workshop from Teacher Extraordinaire, Judy Sommerfeldt.  She is the quintessential educator as well as a quality craftswoman.   We made three books in two and a half days, and I mean long ones.  If you know me, you'll understand how hard it is for this hyperactive person to sit still long enough to accomplish so much so fast, but hey, we're all still growing and learning, aren't we?

We started by making the paper covers for two of the books.  We used Arches Text Wove paper, walnut ink, Yarka watercolors, salt, alcohol, powdered metallics, and plastic wrap.
This was one paper I didn't use yet, but you get the idea.  Then we used a frame to pick out the "sweet spots" for the front and back covers.
We folded Mohawk Superfine paper, 70 lb. for the text block, and made a Secret Belgian Binding book, rediscovered by Hedi Kyle.

 You can see from this close-up, the secret is in weaving the binding thread around a free-floating spine, linking through the text block stitching.
    For the next book, after applying gesso, we used molding paste or modeling paste to cover the book board, and then textured it with stamps or tools.  When dry, we painted it with acrylic paint.  It is a case binding, because the covers are made separately from the book, and then the text block is glued in.   The second photo shows the text block with "crash" or mull attached for gluing.

For the last book, we made a coptic link stitch, which I've always wanted to learn.    This one was a single needle binding.
When I recover, I plan on another attempt at each book, just to see if I can do it without the expertise of the instructor.   The good news is, Judy is so fabulous that each detail was printed out in clear language with drawn examples, so I can take it a step at a time.
A great time was had by all, thanks to Judy.

What If....?

It is said, the two most creative words in the English language are "What if....?".
While cleaning up the current projects, I decided to play that game on my flower practice sheets instead of throwing them away.   I combined that with calligraphy homework assignments, and came up with the following:

There's nothing so liberating as playing "what if" on all the stuff you're gonna throw away.   Guess I might keep them after all. 

The Desert and it's hidden slot canyons

This post is slow in coming.   I kept hoping my (really good) photographer-family would put their (really good) photos on their blogs first so I could pirate them.   I guess I need to ask Josh's forgiveness for stealing from his.  I'm trusting he won't sue his in-laws for copyright infringements.   (Look HERE for more.  Then you'll know which pictures are his.)  Thanks, Josh.  Maybe when Al posts hers, I can steal some from her?)
We went to the Grand Staircase National Monument over Memorial Day, camping in the desert.  As you may know, the weather here has not cooperated this year.   It jumped from frigid winter to hot summer, bypassing Spring, bringing on flooding this weekend.  They're still skiing at Snowbird until the Fourth of July.   But I digress.   Back to the desert, which was blooming.
We hiked into Peek-A-Boo, Spooky, and Zebra, which are slot canyons.  Then we visited Devil's Garden, and experienced the ferocious winds that carved these formations.  Full force gale winds that day.   On the way home we detoured to Willis Creek, near Kodachrome Basin.    It would be difficult for me to decide which area was the most spectacular.   The only thing that could have made it better is having the Tennessee family there to share in the adventures.  They would have loved it, too.  (And those GIGANTIC marshmallows make really good s'mores!   We'll roast 'em when you get here next month.)