Woodland Shadowboxes

I am loving the woodland theme right now as you can see. So I took a tiny break from making owls for the shadowboxes and have created some silhouettes similar to my woodland pillows. I am only doing these three and they will be at the next Handmade in the Arcade event December 5th.

I wish (okay maybe not) I was doing a nursery, I think this could be the cutest nursery ever!
The woodland shadowboxes and woodland pillows, paint a huge tree in the corner that was home to some little tweets or you know me an OWL!

The event last week end was amazing...not so much as in $$$ but FUN! The weather was intoxicating and the moon was breathtaking. If you have never been to the Art Crawl in downtown Nashville let me tell you you have missed a treat. Tons of art, lots of interesting beautiful people, music plus wine and it all free! How can you go wrong?

Woodland pillows

Here are the fruits of my labor (for the last 2 days) for a few of the upcoming shows. I wanted to do a "Woodland" series and right now I'm happy with the way they have turned out. Of course I do look now and think I should have done this or next time I will do that. But as far as I know I can make more, right?

I was getting all hyped up and excited about the show ( October 31st the East Academy Fall Fest & Craft Fair at Eastwood Christian Church on Eastland Ave.)
this Saturday but it looks like rain :(
It isn't a huge event but one of the fun ones here in my neighborhood. I always enjoy neighborhood shows, they are so much easier and I usually see my peeps. I'll keep my fingers crossed we still have a few more days for the weather to change. The other bummer is I just found out one of the December events I do each year is now a one day event instead of 3 days. So I will be looking to add a couple of more events. If you know of something that's local and good let me know.

Peek a boo

Here is a work in progress...cutie hooties for the show this week end. I always like to see others
WIP so thought I'd share these cuties with you. Did you know a group of owls are called a "stare of owls"? Now you know! Anyone else hearing that Geico commercial song in their head right now?

A few other new things

I don't think I have shown you the Babushka doll or the embroidery tea cups. This year I have been stretching some of my creative muscles and challenged myself to do "something different".
Ta da....embroidery! My grandmother was a champ at anything that involved needle and thread
(hand sewn not machine). Now I wish I'd paid more attention, I think I was just too impatient.
I have enjoyed hand stitching more than I would have ever thought. The nicest thing about it is that it is a portable craft. It gives me something besides my pad and pencils to take along. I have purchased this adorable pattern from Follow the White Bunny. The bed holds so many possibilities!
I encourage you to visit her flickr site as well. Of course Sublime Stitching has an awesome selection of patterns too. For the lessons and video stitch guide go here.

The babushka doll has already sold, but I do plan to do some more. I need to tweak her a little more. I also have another shadowbox idea that I hope to do soon. So many ideas and only 24 hours to each day.

Shadowboxes

Here for your viewing pleasure are the new owl shadowboxes. If anyone has any tips on photographing shadowboxes please let me know. I tried taking the pictures in the living room bookcase, on the front porch, on the kitchen cabinet and the dining room window seat. I'm really not happy with any of the shots but here are the best ones. Believe me when I say the pictures do not do them any justice.

However if you would like to see them in person, you will have your chance and the first opportunity to buy this Halloween. Yes, I do have an event October 31st the East Academy Fall Fest & Craft Fair. The Fair will be held here in the hood at Eastwood Christian Church on Eastland Ave.

I did get some great news yesterday...I was accepted as a vendor for the upcoming 1st annual Handmade in the Arcade Craft Fair! More on that later. Right now I have a pile of stuffing and a mountain of pillows calling me to create.

German town Street Festival

Last week end was the German town Street Festival and here are some pictures of all the crafty goodness. The photos are courtesy of my favorite artist and friend Jodi Reeves. Jodi was attending as a patron not a vendor! However she did assist in setting up my booth and did some interviews with other crafters as well as taking over 100 photos. I'm sure you will be seeing more of the festival on her blog.

The pillows are something new for me and I have been having a lot if fun with them. The pillows are like little pieces of art with so many possibilities. It's easy to get carried away, for example the flower power pillow. I'm not sure I will ever make another, it was so tedious. That flower has 50 hand cut, hand sewn petals! I'd keep it myself but alas I have Boris (destructor of pillows) and Thomas the cat...the pillow would never last in my home. However the "Woodland" series is pulling me into the world of forest creatures, mushrooms, trees and flowers. I'm loving the burlap and suede combination.

Hopefully I will have another event soon, I'll know by next week end. Meanwhile you may find me locally at Art & Invention here in the hood...East Nashville on Woodland across from the post office near 5 points.

Fresh in the Shop

These cutie hooties are in the shop now. Next weekend I do have a show here in the hood, so get them while you can. More creations are coming, hope you're not sick of the hooties. Let me know what you think....

Hooties are flying out the door!

I have packaged the hooties and they are on the way to their new homes. Tonight I will see Jodi at her opening in Riverside Village and will not need to mail, but wanted her to get a pretty package as well. I wrapped them in old unused pattern sheets, tied with tulle and stamped tag.

Yesterday I visited Great Stuff here in East Nashville as the owner Elizabeth had contacted me after seeing my wares in Art & Invention. Elizabeth also has a store in Franklin so now another place to buy White Cottage locally. Both Art & Invention and Great Stuff will carry cutie hooties, sweet tweets and shadowboxes.

If you are local come on out to the show tonight, find details here. If you haven't seen The Creative Jar's new stuff you are really missing out, go check it out NOW! A very hippie chick vibe happening! LOVE IT!

Music, wine, fruit and cheese

Yesterday my hubby came home early from a rough day at work. But I managed to get him into a better mood, thank goodness. Before dinner I made a snack of fruit and cheese then decided to open a bottle of wine to get celebrate hump day (no I don't celebrate every Wednesday). Then I hear soft guitar strumming....my own personal serenade. I loved it, however as you can see Boris was not impressed. Maybe Boris needed some wine as well? Kidding!

Thanks for the comments yesterday and congratulations to the winners Natalie, Carolyn and Jodi. Next time I do a give away I will do a random drawing and stretch it out, it ended way too soon.

Free Owls

I thought I'd get your attention with the post title. Actually it's a "pay it forward" game.
The rules are simple....

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade owl from me.

2. If you are one of the first three to make a comment, you are a winner! And you then agree to post this challenge on your own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward.

I got this from Jodi Reeves of The Creative Jar and I think she still has an opening last time I checked.

Good luck!

Puppy Pop Art Project

It's done! Yippee! The Puppy Pop Art piece is complete, I would like to do this again. That isn't something I say every time I finish a project. In hindsight I will make a few changes next time.
I knew I wanted to include Bailey's name into the piece but didn't leave enough room once said and done. However if there's a will there's a way and I think it works. I have included the Bailey inspiration picture for you to compare as well. The last post I included a link for instruction for those interested.

The bird pillow is the same birdie applique I used on my toaster cover. I just added a bit more of a branch. The birdie is black ultra suede fused on Amy Butler fabric. Thanks again Leah of Sew Spoiled for the free applique. I'm sure I will use this sweetie for awhile. Get your free applique here.

Some new hooties have hatched, now I want a basket or a tree or something for them to hang out. They look kind of sleepy don't you think? Note the awesome tree behind them from my peep Jodi Reeves.

Head on over to The Creative Jar and post a comment to win something from Jodi.

I'm loving all the freebies!

Puppy Pop Art

I have been busy with some catch up work before I head down to FLA to visit two of my girls and two of the grand kids. You know I must bring something for each of them, so I am working on some super cute things. I'll be there for a week to babysit while they are out for spring break.

Here is something for my youngest daughter, it's a picture of her beloved Boston Terrier Bailey Boo. Bailey is even more spoiled than my dogs, of course Bailey is the only canine in the house (I have three).
I was inspired by Lori Marie of Pretty Little Things when she was on Martha Stewart. You may find the directions on the left sidebar of her site. I just love everything she does. I wonder if I could move into her "little house"?

I'm ready to do some embroidery touches before it is stapled to the frame but was so excited I had to share. So far I'm pleased and already have ideas to do my own four legged friends in Pop Art.
I will post the final project once complete.

Forgive me readers, it's been over 2 months since my last blog post

WOW! Has it really been that long? What can I say? December was a blur; 3 shows, 3 out of town trips and not to mention finishing holiday gifts. When January hit I just shut down completely.
Then when I was ready to join the world again I came down with a sinus and bronchial infection, and you guessed it my husband was hit with the same thing about a week later. Now it's almost spring!

Enough of that, let's move forward. This Sunday I'm meeting a few of my creative peeps and wanted to have something for show and tell. So I'm racking my brain trying to come up with a quick project and in keeping with "I'm making more things for myself/home this year. Ta Da ...
a cover for my not so pretty toaster. This was a simple project that clearly has endless possibilities.
I'm not completely satisfied, it needs a little tweaking but will do for now. The fit is a little too loose and it seems wonky? Here's the cool part the awesome birdie applique is a free download from the talented Leah of Sew Spoiled, link here. I want to make another for my mixer :)

One more thing on my mind and I don't want to get too heavy on you but ... the recent economic situation has affected most of us in one way or another. I believe it's important to reach out with support, understanding and encouragement for one another in these tough times. The biggest impact could be a kind word or smile and last time I checked they're still free.

And speaking of free, go check out my friend Jodi Reeves blog she has a fabric give a way!