Beaded heaven!

Every now and then I come across women in blogland who touch my heart on a deep level. Women who make art for me that is so incredible that it makes me cry with gratitude for their generosity and thoughtfulness.

Lisa from Pursuing art is one such soul. Last week I recieved a big box of goodness from her in the mail ; sent express all the way from Oregon in the US! Lisa and I had spoken about doing a Dotee doll swap and I was looking forward to seeing what she created for me. Little did I know what wonder was awaiting me. She made me promise I wouldn't send anything to her until after I had received her package.

When I got home from the post office I opened a box full of love and art and art supplies that made me clap my hands with glee. And everything was wrapped exquisitely : with so much care. I felt tears well in my eyes as I started to unwrap all the treasures inside the box.

When I unwrapped this beautiful Dotee doll I gasped with pleasure as I held her in my hand ; feeling the love that has gone into this little lady. Marvelling at every detail ; looking at every bead and crystal Lisa had used to create this doll for me. I don't think I have EVER had anyone make me a Dotee doll as special as this. Lisa has used vintage beads and beautiful Swarovski crystals and Czech leaf beads to make her sparkle and shine. I wish you could see the detail for yourselves as the photo's don't do justice to the beauty and detail.

The little bird is made out of ultrasuede and the beads around her are size 18/0! I am in awe of Lisa's talent and so grateful and appreciative that Lisa made this doll for me.

On the back of the doll she had stitched loving words which made me cry (those tears kept on coming).

(Lisa told me I could use some photo's from her blog and the following 6 photo's were taken by her - thanks sweetie) A close-up of some of the detail (love the silver charm at the bottom of the doll - love, love, love it!). And my oh my my if the Dotee doll wasn't enough Lisa beaded another doll for me! She had bought a doll form from the lovely Monica - see her blog here and etsy shop here - and worked magic on her with her beading. The fabric had black dot's on it and Lisa thought she would be perfect for a doll for ' Dot' - isn't that clever? (it made me giggle too).

Lisa took these photo's in her garden in Oregon and I think my doll (who I have named Lisa in her honor) looks very happy out in the sun.

(not sure if these photo's will enlarge if you click on them so if you want to see more detail visit Lisa's blog).

This doll makes me smile every time I look at her. Love the tribal feel and the beading on her face and head is incredible. If I told you how many times I have looked at the detail in this doll you might label me a tad obsessive but I can't stop looking at all the detail.

Her hair consists of 100's and 100's of beaded loops and feels so nice too (will get a good photo of her hair and share that with you next post).

Lisa used stunning size 16/0 beads on the dolls face ; a lot of them vintage and I love the crazy color combinations! She is so , so beautiful.

In the first photo you can see the front of a little tray Lisa created for this doll. She created a beading tray to sit in front of the doll and stitched a little bird and piles of beads inside it. To represent one of my beady birds I create. It is so teeny and so special!I am so touched by this and Lisa's art is so personal and heartfelt. I will treasure these dolls for ever and when I move into my new home they will have pride of place. She also sent me these fabric birds and I am going to have SO much fun embellishing them!
The gifts kept coming.. .Lisa beaded a brooch /necklace around a beautiful Czech glass button. Isn't it gorgeous?Nestled in amongst the dolls and brooch were lots of vintage beads. The ones in the larger bag are Italian and shine beautifully in real life. So much goodness for little ole' me.

A treasure of art supplies....

I have done my best to try and thank Lisa for her gifts but I don't think words can express how thankful I am. How deeply she has touched my heart.

I do know that what I create in return is going to be infused with love and I am going to have SO much pleasure creating for her. Watch this space!

Bless you Lisa for being you. You have bought a smile to my face over the last week that hasn't left. xx

Have been doing a bit of creating myself lately and the following birds and Amelia doll are available in my etsy shop. Used some gorgeous Tina Givens fabric for this little lady.

Wanted to send a big thankyou out for all of the lovely comments that were left for me on my last post. I am still thrilled about being published in the second issue of Stuffed and will need to get my hands on the first issue.

Have a good week everyone.

Lots of love (and a extra special hug for Lisa).

Dot xx

I'm published!

I find that life is a series of ups and downs and when I least expect it good things happen that outweigh the bad and bring a smile to my face.

Recently the unit I am leasing was sold and I will need to move out in the next couple of months. When I got this news I was initially upset as I do love living here - and the kitties do too. However, I have decided to embrace the change and know I will find somewhere even nicer to live. I have a tendency to get caught up in fear of the unknown and am trying to move through that. Trusting that life is taking me exactly where I am meant to go.

And I am loving clearing out and getting ready to move. It is very freeing to get rid of things I no longer need and give them away to charity. I have two very curious kitties who are having fun with the boxes I am using to pack things away. I laugh every day as I see kitty faces appearing from inside the boxes!

This week I received my copy of the second Stuffed magazine in the mail. And it was a lovely surprise as I had forgotten it was on it's way. I had sent off one of my Amelia dolls to Somerset last July and was thrilled to be selected to be in the gallery section of the magazine. Love this magazine - it is chocablock of wonderful and quirky softies. I am so, so pleased to be part of it. I thought there would be a small photo of my Amelia doll in the magazine but they gave her a whole page (yay). Can not take the grin off my face every time I look at it.It is a shame they didn't put my blog address and etsy shop address on the page but I am sure people will find me if they want to. Not one to toot my own horn but feel like tooting today!

And many thanks to my friend Jacky who played a big part in designing this doll and encouraging me to sell her through etsy. The cooler Melbourne weather has me indoors more ; doing lots of reading and stitching. Am currently reading a great book called Smilla's Sense of Snow /Miss Smilla's Feeling for snow (depending on the translation) by a Danish writer Peter Hoeg. Love this book and it has been on my reading list for a while. Find his language lovely and inspiring.

The following paragraph resonated with me :

"I feel the same way about solitude as some people feel about the blessings of the church. It's the light of grace for me. I never close my door behind me without the awareness that I am carrying our an act of mercy toward myself."

I think that is lovely and is how I feel about my solitude. When I close my door at the end of a working day and start cooking and relaxing I feel a sense peace wash over me. We all need those times to just ' be'.

Have been in a bit of a bird frenzy over the last week or so. The following birds are for sale in my etsy shop.

The photo below doesn't do justice to this bird ; she sparkles and shines and has lots of detail. I used a piece of stunning embroidered sheer floral fabric my friend Jacky gave me and laid it over over a brown spiral design fabric. I love how it turned out. In fact I love it so much I might have trouble sending it to it's new home if it sells in my etsy shop!

Used over 60 4mm Swarovski crystals on this bird so she is very sparkarlarkily. These crystals are my new addicition (oh dear). Love attaching them and seeing them bring colors out in fabric. Methinks I might need to order these in bulk....

*The bird above is now not available*

This week I was blessed to receive a parcel from my friend Nic Hohn. We had decided to do a art swap and I made her one of my beaded birds.

Was very excited to receive art from her loving hands and heart. And the colors are gorgeous! Nic is very talented and has a beautiful eye for composition. The flower on the canvas is so detailed and multi layered. This is a side angle of the flower which is resting on beautiful beaded wire. I love it!

I felt very blessed as Nic had also made me a special painting /collage called ' Open hearted'. I just beamed when I saw this and know it will have a very special spot in my new home to be. Hope you are all having a good week.

Dot xx

I have gone vintage (briefly)

A month or so back I attended a vintage journal workshop with the talented Ro Bruhn. And started work on a vintage journal for my mum's upcoming 76th birthday.

The other weekend I finished the journal and thought you would enjoy seeing photo's of my pages. I used lots of vintage goodies I bought from my friend Julie's etsy shop - be sure to check out her shop as she has some wonderful items to use in your art ; and she makes gorgeous jewelry and journals too!

This is the spine of the book.Front cover.

I used photo's of mum as a little girl in the 1930's through out the journal. Love this photo of her dressed as a elf!

Think mum was about 2 and half in this photo. Little cutie!

This photo was taken at Queenscliff in the early 1930's. She looks like she is having a lot of fun at the beach.

This photo is of my mum and her 2 sisters.

Think mum and here sister Judith had new scooters in this photo.

And this is a photo taken of mum mid to late 50's - she was in her 20's here. Mum loved dancing and I think this photo was taken at a dance she was attending. She looks very pretty.

It was a challenge to work in a vintage theme as it is not usually my thing but mum loved the journal and I hope it provides many years of pleasure for her.

Hope you are all having a good week!

Dot xx

Here comes the birds!

I have been creating lot's of my birds lately...

This one is available in my etsy shop. *SOLD*This is a recent commission for a friend who wanted a bird going the opposite way.

And this is a bird I made for my lovely friend Nic. I didn't do all the stitching on the wing. Just added details to some scrumptious fabric Jacky gave me recently. It has now flown to Nic and is living happily in her home.

Made this simple little doll for my 4 year old niece Indy's recent birthday. It felt strange to make a doll without my usual beads and sequins but didn't think that would be suitable for a little one. The design is from this book.

Hope you are all having a good week!

Dot xx

And the winner is...

Nicki from the UK has won my bird! A big congratulations Nicki. Your bird will be fluttering to you very soon.

Thanks so much to everyone who took part.

Dot xx

Blogaversary give away...

Note: A reminder ; if you would like to take part in my giveaway please leave me a comment telling me one of the things in your life that makes you happy. Anything that touches your heart. And include your email address. Otherwise I won't be able to include you in the draw. Thanks!

Today is my 3 year blogaversary and to commemorate it I decided it was time for a give away.

When I started blogging 3 years ago (and approximately 390 posts ago) I had no idea where my blogging journey would take me (goodness I sound like a reality tv star using the word ' journey' don't I? *grin*).

My blog has been a great way to document my life and art. And I have made some beautiful (and I suspect life long )friendships.

This bird is my way of thanking you for your love and support. And encouragement - which has often come at a time I really needed it.

So, I am offering one of my fabric birds I created recently.Can you see her living in your home?

I used some luscious felt I created in a wet felting class for the base of his bird. And loved stitching into it. Used lots of lovely embelishments. Including swarovski crystal's , czech glass beads , galvinized beads and japanese seed beads. The bird has a sturdy woollen hanger attached so you can hang her in your favorite place.

If you would like to take part in my giveaway please leave me a comment telling me one of the things in your life that makes you happy. Anything that touches your heart.

You do need to have a blog to take part and will need to leave a email with your comment so I have a way of contacting you.

Will draw a name out of a hat (with some help from the kitties) on Monday 15 June, 2009 at 9am (Australian time) and announce the winner then.

Dot xx

Art, friends, and food....

Have a lot to share this week so decided to do another post..

Over the last month or so I have rediscovered my love for cooking (I seem to be doing a lot of re-discovering lately). And have been trying out lots of new recipes. It's fun to try different things and I put music on when I cook and dance around in the kitchen. The kitties look at me a bit strangely when I do this but they should be used to their mad mama by now.

This week I made a Beetroot, walnut, and feta cheese risotto. Smiled as I watched the arborio rice go a deep pink red color after adding the wine. And then even pinker when I added the beetroot! One of my wooden spoons has changed hue after this cooking episode but I think it adds color to my kitchen. Here is a photo of the finished dish. It was very tasty!

Last Saturday I was blessed to spend time with Ro, Patsy, and Julia in the home of our mutual friend Jacky. Jacky lives in country Victoria in a town called Tonimbuk. We have art catch up days every 2 months or so and I always look forward to them.

Jacky was a very gracious hostess. When we walked in there was a fire burning and she had created a welcoming atmosphere. And the views from her windows were stunning!

This a view from her kitchen. I felt myself relax and breathe easier as I looked at those views. Nice to see so much green after the recent bushfires too.

There are many lovely nooks and crannies in Jacky's home ; full to the brim with art and special things. I snapped this photo in the corner of Jacky's living room. And like the shadows made by shadow made by the afternoon sun. Made the fabric house for Jacky a few year's ago and the doll was a recent commission from the talented Elizabeth Armstrong.

Love this shot of Jacky's relaxed kitty TinkaTink snoozing in the sun...

And this photo of three vibrant ladies ; from left Ro, Patsy and the lovely Julia. Loved hearing the buzz of conversation as we exchanged gifts, smiles and did a show and tell of recent art we had created. Such a lovely afternoon had by all! And the food was gorgeous - Jacky had cooked pumpkin and minestrone soup with toasted cheese sandwiches and we ate heartily. Yum, yum, yum.... Couldn't resist this shot of Jacky's dog Oakey relaxing in the sunshine (there was a lot of that going on). He was very happy to be amongst arty women and had a lovely time too!

This cooler weather is perfect for stitching and I continue to work on different projects. Am taking part in another fabric book round robin this year. With Jacky, Sesga and Linda. And this month I have been working in Sesga's book. It is a teeny wonder - only 3.5 inches by 5 inches - and I loved creating little pages for her.

Here is the front of the page. And the back of the page. I used fabric Julia gave me ; metal roses Julie gave me ; and ribbon Jacky gave me - felt very connected to friends as I stitched (I love that).
Recently I made this softie out of of some of my wool felt. Was inspired by Herzensart and Elizabeth. Not sure what type of softie he is but I kinda like him. Didn't do much embellishing as I wanted to showcase my felt. He has settled in very happily into his new home. I have been reading a wonderful book this week by Barbara Kingsolver called Prodigal Summer. In one chapter she describes birds she has seen - ' envying, even, their self-important fuss and bustle'. I laughed out loud at her next line - " A bird never doubts its place at the center of the universe'. We could all learn from that philosophy don't you think? :) :) :)

Have a great weekend.

Dot xx