Novasblossoms

More Books

2012-02-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

I have two very dear friends who are always there for me to lend support, an artistic eye, and general joy. I made them each a Friendship picture book and storage box for a gift. I used some vintage pictures, favorite quotes and added photographs. I changed the colorways and some of the embellishement techniques so each book wouldn't be the same. I used some of the wonderful fabric I received from Hoffman to cover the boxes. I used lots of embossing powders, Stamps, Crackle paint, inks, stains, gilder's paste and mica powders. also lots of dry embossing and border punches. The binding technique was adapted from a book designed by Laura Dennison of http://followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/ Here are some pics.

Front covers

Inside front covers, page 1

Pages 2-3

Pages 4-5

The labels on the covers were texturized with Ranger gold and silver UTEE then some color was added with Gilders Paste. The tiles are Tim Holtz Fragments with pictures of various ArtBra projects adhered with Perfect Pearls. The pages were colored with Distress Inks as were the insets. Used lots of Ranger Perfect Pearls, Dimensional Pearls and paint dabbers on the frames throughout the books.

The upper frame of the the yellow pages was made from Sizzix alterations strip die cut from cardstock covered with foil and colored with Gold Alcohol ink. The bottom yellow saying page has Sizzix alterations on the edge Iron Gate embossed with Gold and Bronze UTEE then some black gilders paste. I really like layering the UTEE on to get a really thick coat with lots of texture that is enhanced with the gilders paste.

Pages 6-7

the green pages have one of my favorite pictures and sayings (by Albert Camu). the small flowers are cut from vellum stained with Distress stain. The wings have crystal stickles on them. the upper frame is embossed with Ranger Verdigris - another favorite product especially applied over copper Paint dabber. The hand on the blue pages is from a Cuttlebug die that embosses and cuts.

Pages 8-9

Pages 10-11

pages 12 and inside back cover

<><><><>

Back covers

The frames around the ladies are braid covered with Ranger Glossy Accents. All the insert pages started out solid colors then were stamped with Stampers Anonymous (Tim Holtz) Music, or flourish stamps, clear EP, then colored with distress inks.

Playing with fabric, stencils, inks and sprays

2012-02-13T06:38:00.001-08:00

I am working on a prototype for a class proposal and decided I didn't have the right fabric in my stash of a gazillion batiks so I took a scrap from the Hoffman Challenge 2011 fabrics, some Ranger Adirondack and Perfect Pearls sprays, distress Stains, and a stencil and started to play. First, I needed to soften the shade of green so I used Old Paper, Tea Stain, and Vintage Photo Distress Stains. Wet the fabric, dabbed the stains on a Craft Sheet and then mushed (technical term) the fabric in it. Squeezed the fabric, added more water and stains until the fabric was totally covered. Ironed it dry. The color was perfect. Then because I have a problem cleaning my workspace as I should (BAD habit - I clean my work table only when I am desparate or expecting company!) and I couldn't find the stencil I wanted to used but did find the one I use when doing eyes, I did some spraying to add more interest. I turned the stencil over and dabbed the excess on the fabric too - loved how it blotched and created a reverse image. Sprayed lots of Perfect Pearls mists to give the fabric that diamond dust look. When I was done, I gave it a light coating of Clear Krylon spray to make sure it was permenant. Love the look! And it was so easy and quick with these products - no dyes, lots of highs and lows of the colors. Next I may have to try it with a real stencil if I can find mine.

Very Special Gift

2012-01-26T07:22:00.000-08:00

I received this unbelievably beautiful gift at Christmas from my wonderful friend Victoria Adams Brown. I have always been in awe of her art work and her books and to have her create this piece just for me is beyond amazing. I love all the fabrics, colors, picture, buttons, embroidery etc etc. I am attaching a large image so you can enjoy it too. Vickie also owns Ribbonsmyth (my favorite place to shop for ribbon, charms, embellishements, trims, dyes, etc) and was the organizer of Way to Women's Wellness of ArtBra and Donated Crazy quilt fame. You can see more of Vickie's amazing work on her blog Thank you so much Vickie. I can't tell you how much it means to me. I still haven't found the perfect place to hang it but it will be somewhere I can see it all the time.

Doll Club Doings

2012-01-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful meeting yesterday. Small turnout but still a joy of a day. Some of us worked on a new little project mentioned on one of the yahoo groups I belong to, Friends of Cloth Dolls, which were fabric birds. Pattern can be found here http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/birdpattern1-1.pdf

Here are some pics of my finished bird. I added wings and legs along with a few embellishements and LOTS of Stickles Glitter glue.

What a thrill!

2011-12-23T04:31:00.000-08:00

Just found out this morning my dolls were prize winners in a Male Doll challenge. I was looking for variations that I could do to make my soon to be released Santa Pattern more versitile. Then the Friends of Cloth Dolls announced a Male doll challenge and that was just the impetus I needed. Jules H. G. Trilby and Ignotus Peverell were born. Jules took first and Ignotus second in the advanced category. Jules has lots of grunge board (by tim Holtz from the Minis and Elements collections here http://www.timholtz.com/grungeboard.htm). The sprocket monocle is also from tim holtz sprocket collection. The "watch", and gears trim on the hat were cut with Sizzix dies also from the Tim Holtz Alterations line. His cutaway wool men's suiting jacket is lined in black satin. His pants are green wool crepe and his boots are leather.

The other version of this pattern is Ignotus Peverell though he did turn out looking alot like Dumbledore.
All faces are cloth over cloth and have set in eyes. Directions will be given for making eyes with wooden beads (Jules and Ignotus have wooden eyes) and purchased flat back plastic as in the Santa's face. All the hair is needle felted in place and is loose locks. Santa and Jules are from my good friend Colleen, (I dyed Jules). Ignotus is cut from a skin of

Fall to Winter Library Display

2011-12-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

Our doll club meets in at the Neptune, NJ Library. At our October meeting, the librarian asked if we could bring her dolls to do a Fall to Winter display. We brought the dolls to our November meeting and here are the pics of the fabulous window she did. The theme is Imagination and it is very fitting.

Doll in the far corner by
Maria Quinones from a
Judy Ward Patern.

Sitting doll by me from a Patti
Culea pattern, Santa also mine from
new pattern, doll in front by
Margaret Fretz I think a Bunny
Goode pattern.

Window Center Doll with red hair by Jane Tedesco
Bunny Goode Pattern, Sitting Indian by me, pattern
Appeared in Doll Crafting and Costuming. Pumpkin
Head by Diane Kearney

Doll on far right by Jane Tedesco, Judy Ward Pattern,
Crow and scarecrow by Diane Kearney

Small Doll in front an original by
Mary Klawetter, Directly behind
her is an original by Maria
Quinones, doll in corner is mine
from Bees Knees pattern.

Last of the Twelve Days

2011-12-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

I finished all the tags. They were fun to work on and tried lots new techniques. Day 11 included Shrink Plastic dipped in UTEE. I did stars which worked OK except for one that curled and I couldn't flatten it out. I had better control when I shrank it first then melted UTEE on it. This card is almost all recycled. The background paper is glossy stock from an old card (had to try a few before I found one with the right finish to accept the alcolhol inks), the Santa is cut from a card and the words are printed on recycled cardstock. The snowflakes on the bottom were also cut from an old card. Day 12 was over the top! Tim used a repro frozen charlotte (small broken porcelin doll) on his. I was a bit more conservative. He also used his tissue paper which I don't have but created my own with white tissue and stamping with a reflections stamp and archival ink on the dull side. Worked great though I need to get some black - I used coffee colored ink.

I also revisited a few cards I wasn't happy with. Day 10 needed a little pop so I added red perfect pearls mica powder to the ornament and that made a big difference. Day 3 I changed the "charm" on the bottom to a smaller facet so it isn't so overpowering. Like it better. Now that these are done - I need to get to work finishing my regular cards and making an ornament for our doll club meeting on Friday for our ornament exchange. We are working with clothes pins as a base.

Day s 9 and 10 Cards

2011-12-10T06:46:00.001-08:00

Day 9 left I love the background technique on this card and have used it many times - mostly with clear EP on printed paper then adding inks. I wanted the background to look like faded old wallpaper so I used a Perfect medium pen and added some area around the stamp. I stamped in old paper then inked with Iced Spruce. After the last layer of clear EP, I crumpled and then went over the whole thing with vintage Photo and Tea stain, then ironed it smooth with the EP side on the craft sheet. I bought that die for my Christmas cards and this is the layout I am using. I also just got the tattered doily and had to fit it in! Day 10 is done too. Love making those little charms.

Days 7 and 8 of the 12 Tags of Christmas

2011-12-09T09:00:00.001-08:00

Love the tags Tim posted - the soft look of day 7 and of course the Steampunk style of tag 8. Here are my cards.

More Cards

2011-12-06T12:01:00.001-08:00

Day 6 was working with metal tape which is LOVE to do! I had some extra backgrounds from day 1 and decided to use one of my newer dies - a Christmas Tree - on the cards.

I also got a chance to take pics of some of my cards so far. Only about 50 more to go. I don't have the rhinestone words for all of them - maybe another 10. I have a few more trees and teapots. The houses and the snowflakes in the Joy card are cut from last year's cards.

New Card Day 4 and 5

2011-12-05T13:16:00.001-08:00

I didn't get Day 4 completed yesterday - lots of drying time for the snowman and the background. Lots of cool things on this card - plastic packaging (from an egg carton!) used for the snowflakes at the top. The snowman is painted with crackle paint then hightlighted with distress stains. Got to use another of my bargain finds from last year - the HoHoHo in rhinestones. Love the colors of this. I added the silver edging.

Day 5 also has a recycled piece of plastic down the center with Alcohol inks adding color and a process ro remove them via a stamp - in this case I used a large square snowflake. The background is glitter paper so it sparkles. The wording was cut from a Sizzix Tim Holz alphabet die, Typeset. I cut them from white and black and layered so it looked shadowed. Also go some more of my Christmas cards done but didn't get a chance to take pics yet.

Day 3 Card

2011-12-03T12:27:00.001-08:00

I didn't have all the fun stuff Tim used on his tag, so I improvised! And of course I made a card instead of a tag. Now to spend the rest of the afternoon on my regular Christmas cards. Think I am going to use the layout from yesterday for some of them. I usually make a wide variety - about 7 or 8 different styles. I'll post later with ones I am working on using recycled cards.

Day 2 of Christmas Creations

2011-12-02T18:09:00.001-08:00

My version of Tim Holt's 12 days of Christmas Day 2. I only had 2 of the products he used so I improvised. Like the way this came out though the colors are off - will get a better pic tomorrow in the daylight. May use this design on some of my actual cards. NOTE: Dec 3 changed the pic so the color is closer to the real card.

Getting ready for the Holidays

2011-12-01T18:45:00.001-08:00

I am a great admirer of Tim Holtz and have decided to try and create cards based on his new twelve days of Chistmas tags. I finished the first one and though the NOEL is a bit hard to read for some reason, I really liked the techniques. I also got to play with the new dies I have been collecting. Visit his blog to see his beautiful work. I'll have to get a better pic of this in the daylight. I have started my Christmas cards and doing these tags is giving me ideas. I am making as much use as possible of the cards I received last year. Here are some examples. The stamped image is a Tim Holtz I found in the clearance bin last year. The words are rhinestones also from clearance (orginally $1 ea! I paid 10c for quite a variety). The frames are recycled cards and so are some of the backgrounds. I have about 25 of my 70 cards done. I really love recycling!
NOTE: 12-2-2011 I changed the pic of the Noel card. I added the red rose and took a better pic!

Pics of the new Driver in the family

2011-11-27T10:05:00.001-08:00

Here are some pics of our Grandson doing one of his favorite things - driving! And he does pretty good for 18mos! Here is another pic of him in his Halloween costume behind the wheel of a fire truck. Lots of buttons for him to play with. He is such a cutie and growing sooooo fast!

I have been very busy with some new dolls in the works. And Christmas Cards! And Thanksgiving (still some leftovers to deal with!). Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was full of laughter, good friends, and family besides the food which was pretty good if I do say so myself!
Just an FYI, I have removed the free Steampunk Tutorial for Flirty Flora. It is now part of the pattern - both e and CD. If you have the pattern and didn't get a chance to download the tutorial, please email me. Enjoy!

Beautiful View

2011-11-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

15 minutes ago from the balcony of my studio. I also see this from the window where my computer is.

New Hoffman Challenge Fabrics

2011-11-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

Monday I received my packet of Hoffman Challlenge fabrics. I have ordered them for the past few years from Quilt-Kits online and have received exceptional service. They put together the exact package I like - 1 yd of the challenge fabric and 1/2 yd of each of the coordinates. Thank so much Don and Cindy. I received an email they were available on Friday, ordered them and had them on Monday! How is that for service and they were packaged so nicely too. I like most of the coordinates but really LOVE the blenders (top right stack of 5)-they have pearl highlights and the colors are so pretty. Now all I need is an idea. I like to "live" with the fabric for a bit before I dive in. I usually don't start to make the doll until May unless I get inspired.

Playing with some new toys

2011-11-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

My local bead store recently received the new Sizzix/Vintaj embossing and etching folders. I had to buy one of each and play with them a bit. I decided to add some embossing powder but the color came out dark so I covered some of the pieces with white alcohol mixative and some with white paint. I then added the colored AI to them and then covered the whole front with clear embossing powder. While the embossing powder was soft, I set in some flat back crystals. Now I need to read the tutorials to find out how to REALLY do it! The charms on the left are done on Vintaj blanks. I really love the etching die the clockface is from. The tags on the right are brass I ordered from Fancifulsinc.com. I thought they were blank tags that were 50% off. Imagine my surprise when I opened them and discovered they actually said 50% off on them! Can't see it once it was embossed. I really like the crisp image from the embossing folder. Easier to fill the crevices with embossing powders but I love the images on the etching folder - it also has a bird cage and bird. I'm off the the bead store to buy some more blanks so I can play. These are small - the rectangles are slightly more than 1" in length, the tags are slightly smaller.

Commission Piece completed

2011-11-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

My SIL asked me to make a card house for a friend of hers only she didn't want a house, wanted a simple box with pearls and padding. I hate to admit this - but simple is not in my vocabulary. I suggested a treasure chest with a tufted top. I used a premade card box from Michaels, removed the fabric and went to work. I added batting, covered the bottom with moire taffeta which has a pattern that resembles wood grain. The top was covered with matching satin and tufted with pearls. I added some trims and more pearls. I also recycled the large "knob" by covering it with some trim and surrounding it with flowers. Hope she likes it. My SIL did.

Steampunk Tutorial for Flora

2011-10-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

WOW! Thanks s much for the wonderful response to this version of Flora. I have written a tutorial of how I made her though she is really very true to the original pattern. If you are interested, you can access the tutorial here.

Another Flirty Flora!

2011-10-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

OK. I know I am getting carried away but I am having fun with her. This time she has gone Steampunk! I have raved in the past how much I love Ranger products and anything designed by Tim Holtz - especially his inks and Sizzix dies. They really lend themselves to grunge and Steampunk. Here is a list of the products I used:

Hat: Purchased hat with Grunge board flourish and keyhole painted with Distress Crackle Tarnished Brass

Face: Glossy Accents hold her eyelashes on!

Parasol: Mini birdcages cut from grunge board, top is a gear from the big gears die

Trim on dress shoulders and boots is leather cut with Irongate die Grunge board wings at her chest. the heart locket is colored with Perfect Medium and Perfect Pearls.

Vintage piece at the waist is held on with chains from the Lace Chain set as are the Lock and key in her hand.

Skirt top layer center is the large gears with smaller gears all around cut from 2 layers of bonded fabric. Middle and bottom layer is stained with Tea Stain and Walnut Stain inks.

The Base is painted with Dabber and the top is embossed with the Gears embossing folder and colored with Tea Dye and Walnut stain inks.

Her boots are painted on with Dabber Espresso and the gold accents are grunge board as are the soles of her shoes. Her legs are striped fabric - Navy and tan.

Here are some more pics. Back and side view. A closeup of her boots (really pleased at how these came out) and Her face. I need a very small watch sprocket to hang from her choker and my wonderful husband has give me some old wind-up watches to deconstruct. I am sure I will find what I am looking for. But for now, she is done. Now to finish a commision piece for a wedding then on to the next new pattern - this one a Male!

Flirty Flora Goes Trick or Treating

2011-10-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

First, big thanks for all the wonderful comments on Flirty Flora. Like all the new dolls I design, I like to make them over a few times to see how the pattern translates and to make sure I can follow my own directions. I am really enjoying Flora. The hardest part of this pattern is stuffing the skinny legs and arms. This version substitutes a decontructed silk mum for the fabric hair - two of the flower rounds were used for the top of the head. Her arms and legs were striped with ribbon wrapped around and glued in place. No worry about matching stripes! I cut her legs are orange with black ribbon stripes and her arms are black with orange ribbon stripes. The black and orange fabrics were glittered so I used stickles to glitter the ribbon. Her headpiece was a pic I deconstructed and stuck in the top of her head. Cardboard was used for the base - again I forgot to buy more wooden bases. I also didn't cross her legs and I almost like her pigeon-toed pose better! The pattern will be available on CD from Dollmakers Journey and Designer Doll Patterns. It will be available as an epattern from Fabric Addictions. So watch these sites for her availablility. I think she is a versatile pattern and can't wait to see what can be done with her! Thanks again for all your kind words.

Altered Cigar box

2011-10-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

I have a very dear friend who had a birthday and I wanted to make her something. We had been making flowers with dies, punches and stuff and I thought she could use a place to store them so I altered a cigar box. This is the lid. It is covered with embossed, sanded, painted and inked paper. The plaque in the center is chipboard covered with Metal tape, embossed and painted gold then highlighted with Aztec Gold Gilder's Paste. The little flower bead at the bottom is the knob to open it.

The sides were ebossed with a swirl design and Inked. The shell banding is a Martha Stewart punch colored with Gold paint dabbers. The flowers are also a Martha Stewart punch and inked with Distress Inks. The corners are covered with more metal tape.

I covered the inside with drawer lining paper that was gifted to me. It is the perect colors and also scented. My friend loved the box. Of course it was a belated gift, but I hope it was worth the wait!

Seasons Book

2011-10-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Covers. The front has T!m Holtz fragments with
elements from the seasonal pages. The spine
is covered with lace. Since each page is a version
of the dress form, I put them in the seasonal
colors on the back cover.

Since I finished the Girly Girls book, I have been wanting to make one of my own design so I set out to make one that was more like an book and not accordian fold but still used the envelopes for the pages. I came up with this design (second try but still not perfect). I made envelope type pages that could hold tags that would have the name of the season on them since there is no words on each page. The pages are made from cardstock. Since there wasn't a flap on the side to form the spine, I added one to each of the pages. I also made the space between the pages 1/4" so the book would close, but I like my pages chunky!

Each page features a die cut from the T!m Holtz Sewing Room Sizzix Die and "dressed" for the season.

I started with Spring since that is my favorite season. Flowers are punched whti MS punches as is the robin on the left page. The flowers are mulburry paper and were a gift from my friend Tery. The green dress form has an embossed overlay that was done as a test form Flirty Flora's base. Could also have been another alternative to the modeling paste!

The backgrounds of the summer pages are stamped, embossed then inked. The left has music, the right lace. The right dress form is some lovely paper from a stack Once Upon A Time. The corners are a Sizzix die as are the leaves. The butterfly is T!m Holtz die, Cuttlebug embossing folder and cut from vellum. The dress form with wings(T!m Holtz die) was inked then covered with lace and a fabric flower die cut was used for the skirt. The roses are from Sizzix and Dienamics dies. The purple butterfly is the new 3 part EK Sucess punch cut from Vellum on a TH fence treated with Crackle. The smaller butterflies are from graphic45 Steampunk Debutante papers.

Autumn has punched leaves, the base on the left is the T!m Holtz branch tree. Rosettes from Sizzix dies as are the pumpkins. The spray of leaves is the new T!m Holtz strip die. The dress form on the right is covered with mulberry leaves also a gift from Tery and the twine on it is actually silk unraveled from a jacket. I just inked the backgrounds a little - the papers are from the Luxery Stack.

Winter pages. Martha Stewart snowflake punches. The skirt is one of the new EK Success Quilling punches. The pine trees are embossed, inked then cut from a T!m Holtz embossing folder. the pine sprays are a Uchida punch. The flowers are sizzix die cuts from a sizzix die cut from metallic papers.

The tags from the book.

Finally! New Doll and Pattern

2011-10-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

I had an inspiration and decided to make a doll from the original sketch I did for the Hoffman Challenge. I am calling her Flirty Flora. I really enjoyed designing her - she looks harder than she is! The pattern contains two costuming versions - the petal skirt for those who like to sew and the scalloped skirt for those who don't! I also offer two hairstyles and two base styles. The base on the Petal Skirted Flora is a wooden plaque with an embossed top. The second version is made from Cardboard and is on the Scallop Skirted Flora. I didn't have any more wooden bases when I got to her and didn't feel like getting in the car and driving, so I thought I would improvise. Hope you like her. There are 57 pages of directions (25 just for her face!) with 150+ photos and illustrations. The patterns are being reproduced and should be available shortly. Will let you know where and when.

Just incase you were curious, here is the original sketch.

New Accordian Fold Book

2011-09-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

Book front closed with Ribbon also a gift.

The picture is from another DCWV book and layered
with plastic from a clear eggcarton on top. The
Heart and swirls are a Sizzix Die

I saw a post on Laura Dennison's blog for a book made from envelopes. It intrigued me so I had to give it a try. I made the minimum number of pages - 3 - and it took me forever! I decided to make it Pink (my dear friend Tery gave me 3 sheets of paper from DCWV Lace and Linen stack which were pink), black and white with gold. Used lots of Distress Inks and Stickles glitter glue and of course Inca Gold Gilder's paste.

The title is Girly Girlz and I was going to add pics of my GFs but went in a slightly different direction and used vintage photos to depict themes of friendship, life and Channel.

Here are the pages.

Pocket is embossed with a Tim Holtz
Embossing Folder and colored with Distress
Inks and Perfect Pearls Bubblegum.

The little envelope is a Sizzix die, the crown is Grunge
Board. The picture is aged with textured gel medium
and colored with Distress Inks. This page also has
a pocket for another pic or journaling.

Love this pic! It is colored with pencils,
covered with Distress Crackle Rock Candy.
The cracks were enhanced with Gilder's
paste. The papers were black and white and
colored with Lipstick and Spun sugar DI.

The quote is from Peter Pan! The background
is from TH Crowded Attic stack.

Stamped face colored with pencils, the petals are a new
Punch by EK success.

Pocket insert. They have pink glitter shoes!

This quote is from Oprah. Love this pic! Colored
with pencils, then Rock Candy Crackle.

This pic already had color, just added a bit more with
pencils. also coated with Rock Candy Crackle and then
some Tea Stain DI.

Wings have Glitter Glue. Pages colored with DI
and Perfect Pearls

Another great shot and the caption really fits! The
flower is also an EK success punch.

This is a picture from Channel and the quote is also
attributed to her. This page has a pocket and can hold
another pic or journaling.

A Black and white pic of Vivian Leigh
as Tatiana. Rock Candy Crackle paint
and gold Gilder's paste.

Back cover also from the Sizzix die and lots of
Stickles

Top view of the book so you can see the accordian fold.

A Haunting We Will Go Swap Book

2011-08-19T05:12:00.000-07:00

I took part in a Halloween Swap on the All Things Tim Yahoo list. We had to make postcard sized pages (4"x6") any orientation. Here is my contribution front and back. The ghost body is a stamp from Graphic 45, Steampunk debutante on vellum and embossed with silver and highlighted with Stickles glitter. The borders are TH Sizzi as are the tree branches on the back and the pumpkins that were embossed on paper backed newsprint and then cut out. The faces are from my French ladies Ghostie dolls. The tickets are TH stamps and die cuts and have clear printed labels with all the swap and my info.

I created a book to place the cards in. The covers are chipboard base with embossed, inked, gilded and pieced paper brackground. The corner medalions are also paper. The borders inbetween are a Tim Holtz sizzix on the edge die embossed with Gold, Black and Bronze UTEE. The center plaque is chipboard with metal tape then embossed and inked. The title is computer generated then stamped with a cross-hatch stamp multiple times so it loks woven. The spine is black leather that was sanded, inked and gilded. Since the pages (16 of them) were variuos orientations (half landscape, half portrait) I needed a unique way to hold them in the book. I couldn't punch holes in the pages so I attached them with paper clips threaded on ribbon.

There are 4 ribbons placed so I can center the pages. One set is for the portrait oriented pages, the center two are for the landscape pages. there are 8 clips on each piece of ribbon which is threaded through the reinforced spine then the medallions which were cut with a new jewelry die from sizzix from matte board covered with meal foil. The fleur-de-lis back is done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and black paper. I used Ranger Quartz ink pad to highlight the raised parts, then Ranger Gold paint dabber, varius shades of distress inks and gold and bronze gilders paste.

Here is the inside front cover with a list of the contributors. You can see how the pages are mounted and arranged. The first one is my own of course! The names were computer printed and stamped with the cross hatch stamp to look like old textured paper. The background is from a Halloween stack that I no longer have the cover for. not sure I like it - may change it to be more like the back inside cover.

Here is the inside back cover. The plaque (as are all of them) are Tim Holtz sizzix. Only change I would make is to get black paperclips - which I couldn't find. I thought I could change the color of these, but they are too slick. If I want to add more pages, I just need to loosen the ribbons which are just knotted . Really pleased at how this turned out. The pages that I received were all great and really needed someplace special to reside and be shared. Thanks to all who contributed!

2012 Hoffman Challenge Fabric Annouced!

2011-08-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

Went to the Hoffman Challenge site to check on the traveling schedules and was very surprised to see the 2012 fabric posted. Like many of the coordinates. It is very feminine and very purple and pink. Now the thought process starts.

Great Mail Day!!!

2011-08-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Friday I received a wonderful package and I am just getting time to post a pic! It was from Hoffman Fabrics and contained my Fabric prize - 10 yards of beautiful designer (McKenna Ryan) fabrics - and my colors too! Can't wait to start using them. AWESOME!!!! Thanks sooo much Hoffman fabrics and Julie Breidt, the curator.

Winding Down

2011-08-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

After Day With Dolls, I started to clean up my studio and found these sheets of holes left from punching out letters using my Cuttlebug http://www.provocraft.com/products/detail.php?cl=cuttlebug&scl=&cat=&item=20-00252 I decided I had to do something with them so I did! I took some of the letters and re-embossed them with different patterns. So out came the Journal. I had a couple pages I had gessoed and decided to use them and create backgrounds so here are the befores and after

Colored with DI pastel colors then I drew on the background with a black Perfect Pearls pen and went over the whole thing with various colors of Perfect Pearls. Wasn't really that happy with it, but when I added the overlay, it looked really good. The overlay was white and I rubbed it with Black Soot DI. Love how it turned out. I left the background of the inserts white and used the bright colors of the Distress inks to highlight the embossing. Left some of the background exposed.

This page I used almost all the browns/tans of the DIs to color the background. Then I stamped with Staz-on Timber brown then embossed with clear. Should have dried the DI's first as the whole page embossed and not just the stamping, but still looks very cool. The cream overlay was colored with Copper Pearl-ex and Corduroy DI. The cream inserts were embossed with a Cuttlebug snowflakes folder to look like suns/flowers then some were embossed with Gold, Copper, some Glitter embossing powders all by Ranger. I colored some with Guilder's paste, and the Gold Paint Dabber. Went back on both and added Glossy accents on some of the circles.

Been Busy

2011-08-04T06:50:00.000-07:00

I took some time between family obligations and projects for Day With Doll to make a new purse. I had this fabric set aside - upolstery samples. I modified the pattern I created for the fish purse and narrowed the sides and added a front flap. I also made the strap as wide as the side but it decreases in width torward the center. I was just going to add a small medallion in beads on the flap but got carried away. Can't wait to use it.

I also took some time to experiment with the jewelry dies by Sizzix (purchased these online from Absolutely Everything and they are having a sale on Sizzix!!). The image is from a Graphics 45 paper stack Steampunk Debutante that I purchased from Frantic Stamper (another great on-line vendor). The image is under a Fragment by Tim Holtz. I cut the piece from matte board, painted it gold with a Ranger Gold paint dabber, embossed it with Ranger Gold EP then added some Distress Ink along the edges.

This pin is also cut from matte board, this time black core, grey top. I inked it with distress inks, added the graphic again from Steampunk Debutante and a Tim Holtz Fragment. The leaves were cut from the Sizzix die used in the brooch above then enameled with Ranger Verdigris EP. I added the silver highlights with Silver Guilders paste.

This one was the most fun to make! I covered matte board with aluminum tape and cut out Gears from the Tim Holtz dies. I ran them through the texture folder by Tim also (put the folder only on the top of the gears then ran it through so the back remains flat). Added Distress inks and embossing powders. The images were again from Graphic 45 and covered with Ranger Glossy Accents. This pin is a little larger than the others. Would make a good clasp on a purse mounted on a piece of distressed leather.

Hoffman Challenge

2011-07-21T05:49:00.000-07:00

Found out last night my doll, "It's the Economy's Fault!" won Curator's Choice. I am soo excited! The prize is a fabric package and I love Hoffman Batiks! Deanna Hogan's beautiful Doll won Second and Dallas Sill's won for Most Humorous. No pics or more info on the Hoffman site yet. Should be updated with pics of all the winners in all categories tomorrow. Congratulations to all the winners whoever you may be!. If you would like to see some of the dolls entered, visit Deanna's site http://www.blueherondolls.com/2011HoffmanChallenge.htm

I must admit I am surprised. I had dreams of her head coming off in shipping to Colorado! I packaged her a little differently than I usually do because of her big hair (she is a Jersey girl after all!). And the pics of the dolls I have seen so far are just AWESOME!

Just checked the Hoffman Challenge site and they have published the list of traveling dolls. I learned my doll will be in trunk C. Dont know if it will be traveling close to home or not as the schedule isn't filled in yet. Here are the list of winning dolls:
1st place: Nancy Hall, "Blossoms"
2nd Place: Deanna Hogan, "Eolande"
3rd Place: Vicki Crossland, "Reluctant Princess"
Honorable Mention: Karen McGregor, "Oriental Blossoms"
Curator's Choice: ME!
Most Humorous: Dallas Sills, "Fern"
Best First Time Entry: Trudy Watkins, "Underwater Friends"
Best Incorporation of Theme: Joyce Jurczak, "Paradise"

Congratulations again to all who entered and to all the winners. Well Done!!!
Third Place, Best Use of Sulky: Liz Waechter, "Fairy Dreams"

New Beaded Fish

2011-07-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

I made a purse awhile ago using a 1/2 yd of fabric I had purchased years ago on sale. Once I received it I didn't know why I purchased it! I liked it, a flamingo border print. I recently used it for a purse and LOVE it! It needed a little bling so I added a fish I had beaded but decided it blended in too much so I beaded a new on pictured on the left. I took the design from a piece of fish fabric, traced the outline and colored it with colored pencils then beaded the colors I wanted. The original fish was almost all black with yellow stripes. Here is the purse before and after and the semi-unbeaded fish sketch.

New Experiment - Paper Jewelry

2011-07-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe this is made with paper and aluminum Duct tape! I received some of the new Sizzix dies ordered from Absolutely Everything (GREAT Service!). I used a combination of Frame leaves and flower and the center flowers from another Sizzix die, Cottage Trio Layered flower. I cut the frame from black matte board with a layer of duct tape (this stuff is on a roll and is sticky backed. I sprayed it with gold metallic paint first). The leaves and flowers were from the Duct tape with black cardstock in the center (tape, cardstock, tape). I then opened up a texture folder and put the frame through my Big Kick so it would be embossed only on the metal side.

After I embossed the frame, I used Black Soot distress ink
on the top and Ranger Adirondack Black ink pen to ink the
edges. Should have used Black Core Matte Board.

Using my Perfect Medium Pen, I added Pine Needles
Distress embossing powder to the whole thing then
added highlights to the leaves with Ranger Verdigris
EP. LOVE this stuff!

I use Distress EP Concord Grape and Adirondack
Eggplant on the flowers. I edged the smaller one
With Ranger Princess Gold.

I inked the back aroound the edges and slid the pin
through then glued it to the front. Finished touch was
a crystal in the flower center. I also bent the flower
center to add a little shape.

I cut out another frame for the back and inked
the edges. I added holes to slide the pin back through
and then carved out a channel so it is flush with
the matte board.

"It's the Economy's Fault!" Hoffman doll finished!

2011-07-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

She is actually in Colorado and arrived in one piece! I had visions of her head coming off in transit though I sewed it around three times. Here are some pics of her. Her skirt is three tiers with scalloped edges and various flowers that were fussy cut, cut with my sizzix, or made from Sulky thread.

Hoffman Challenge Doll Progress

2011-06-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

I have been playing with the doll - she is dressed and sitting on the stool but I am not 100%. I needed to name her though I did have a specific idea, just not a name but I have decided on "It's the Economy's Fault!" The sign in the flowers says it all - I hope!

The rolled roses and the daisy are two of the flowers I will be demonstrating at Day With Dolls in August. Actually, the lilac behind the sign is also another one. These are all made with two layers of fabric fused with fusible web. the lilac flowers were cut out with my Sizzix. The daisy and the roses are my design.

The sign is made from paper, embossed with wood-grain and colored with alcohol inks over 3 layers of chipboard so it is very sturdy.

Off with her head!!!!!

2011-06-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

When I originally made the Red Queen, I experimented with sculpting and cloth over. I really never was very happy with the face - her nose was too big, her eyes too slanted so I decided to do another. I took pics as I was doing it as I think I may put her out as a pattern. So here is the after and before and a pic of the whole doll. I reused her hair and eyelashes though I see her one needs to be adjusted. I have been staring at this doll hating her face for weeks now that she is sitting in my studio. Now I am happy with her.

Watch for information on Day with Dolls to be held August 13, in Boonton New Jersey. Hope to see lots of dollmakers there. We always have such a wonderful time. Flyer coming soon!

Fairy Prince Shoes

2011-06-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

I made a little change in the Pink Fairy shoes - adding and changing some of the embellishements to make them a little more feminine. I also modified the pattern a little to make a pair of fairy boots fit for a Prince. I am going to modify the pattern a little to make the toes a bit longer so they don't look so much like babie booties. The blue shoes are made from felt with cotton fabric fused on. I dyed and stamped this fabric then added highlights with dimensional paint. The felt was covered with blue glitter glue so the inside of the shoes sparkle too. I buttonhole stitched all around the pieces by hand with metallic thread then whip stitched them together couching in metallic fuzzy yarn. The actually took only about 3 hours not counting drying time. Now to finish my Hoffman Challenge doll.

Pink Fairy Shoes

2011-06-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I started to design fairy shoes for a possible class. Never did finish but this week I received a wonderful gift in the mail from my dear friend Leonie - an article torn from the April/May 2011 Stitch magazine. The article is a pattern and directions for fairy shoes by Annette Emms. They are just lovely but before I read the article, I was determined to finish my own design-which I did! Here are the results. They measure about 4 .5" from toe tip to heel along the sole. A bit larger than Annette's.

I started out with red felt but after I had them sewed around and cut out, thought they would look too Chrismassy so painted them with Lumierre Halo Pink, Metallic Fuschia , Yellow and Gold. I took strips of sheer fabrics, distressed them with a heat tool and attached them to the sides and front top with beads and sequins. Finishing touch was gold dimensional paint along the top edge.

I made them like slippers with a right and left foot, separate sole, shoe sides and front foot top. You can see how the felt was treated to change it from red to Pink. I wasn't too careful when sewing the outline so the shapes aren't exactly matching, but not bad for the first attempt. If you would like to see Annette Emm's beautiful shoes, her blog is here. Now I am going to sit down and read her directions. I am sure I will learn something new.

More Journal RR Pages

2011-06-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

First, some Art Bra news! The ArtBra site is no more. There are still a few 2011 and older calendars left and they can be purchased from Ribbonsmyth Once they are gone - they are gone!

I received an order from Joann's of the new Cuttlebug Quilling dies. There are three, Chrysanthemum, daisy, and carnation/rose (shown in that order is the pic). Here is a pic of the flowers I made experimenting. They are so cool! Each kit contains 4 strip dies (center strips, flower centers, outer petals, and leaves), a quilling tool, floral wire for stems, and a ready made sample! WOW! I used construction paper for them though cardstock works also.

I received the second RR Journal, this one belonging to Sandy A. with a theme of Grungy Numbers. The base of the book is grunge board. Here are the pages I made. I am really enjoying this.

Front
The background is done with a Shabby Chic
Technique created by Tim Holtz. Background
is colored, numbers stamped in clear, then
the whole thing is painted over and the paint
is removed to exposed the embossed elements.
The dressform and scroll at the bottom is from
paper I created using a new stamp of rows of
small numbers I embossed in clear on offwhite
paper then colored with inks. The top frame
is grunge board with verdigris embossing
Powder. The numbers are also grunge board
embossed with DI Weathered Wood EP.

Back
The background is paper done with that
number stamp and inked. Lady Time is a
stamp from Stampers Anonymous, the
numbers on the bottom is a Tim Holtz
stamp. The numbers on the top are Grunge
board on grunge board background squares.

New Project

2011-06-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

When I created the ArtBra "Closet Cowgirl" I wrote a poem to go with it. While the bra was on display in Texas, I received an email from someone who said she and her friends were very touched by the poem and could they have a copy. So, I thought I would make a little hanging with the poem with some inspiration from KC Willis and my dear friend Vickie. Also, a tut on the rolled muslin flower was posted on a blog I follow http://craftingwithowse.blogspot.com/ though I used regular glue and no cardboard base (mine is smaller too). This just meant I had to use Muslin for the project. I printed out a picture I liked (Rose Dunne, the Rose of Cimmeron - google her-very interesting!), my poem and I also used my print program to create the striped fabric. I used Tim's mini scroll mask for the corners and made pale stripes with inks and a sponge brush. I placed the muslin background on a piece of felt and stiched around the scrolls and added stitched lines. The picture, poem and words were hand sewn on with a piece of felt behind them. Everything but the pearl buttons is colored with Distress Inks including the lace and ribbon. The plaque it hangs from is a Tim Holtz die and wood grain embossing folder, the smaller plaque is a sizzix die made with 5 layers of cardstock and the words applied with gel medium transfer. The chains are also Tim Holtz. Learned lots doing this and can't wait to try it again. Since I did a print out on paper as a test, next one will be paper. Following is a tut on how I made the small flowers. At the scrapbook show there was lots of trim with little rolled raw edge flowers. This is my version.

First step is to tear a stip of fabric about 1" wide x 8" long and cut it in half so you have two strips 1/2" wide. Color with Distress Inks (I used dried Marigold, Worn Lipstick, and Tea Dye).

With Heavy thread, fold one short edge of the fabric, secure the thread and make a running stitch about 3 thread from the cut long edge. Gather to 4".

Put spots of glue along the stitching and roll up the strip.

Press the bottom together. And there you have a rose. I also trimmed off all the extra threads

Hair Today and Hopefully not Gone Tomorrow

2011-05-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

She has new hair. I dyed it with Procion dye, nuked it, added highlights with Dynaflow, nuked it again, then dried it with my heat tool. This is the hair from my friend Colleen and I love it. The strands are very soft and long with just enough curl though it is hard to keep it in after wetting it without setting it. I did curl some strands for around the face by wrapping them on a knitting needle and spraying them. Very happy with the color. Mixed Turquoise, Cerise, and Black. The highlights are Violet. This hair styled better too. She reminds me of a Jersey Girl (big hair) version of Beatrix LeStrange from Harry Potter. Can't wait to see the last movie! I am going to take a break from her costume - lots of beading planned and I have to make another dozen of those small thread flowers. Now on to the journal.

OH OH!

2011-05-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

Just found out the Distress Stains are not waterproof. See what happens when you don't do your homework and try to take the quick path??? I don't think she will get wet, but even a little humidity may make them run if they aren't sealed and I can't seal her hair so she is bald again while I dye some other wool. My dear friend Colleen gave me some beautiful long locks. I don't know where she got them, but they are soooo soft. I mixed some dyes and think I got the perfect color. It is drying now and wool always drys so much lighter, so this may be a many step process. Think I will pull the Stained wool apart and wet felt.
Gives me time to work on a Journal Round Robin I am in on the All Things Tim (Holtz) Yahoo group. Here are some pics of the journal I created (more like a chunky book). My theme is "No Place Like Home" and I have asked the 4 other participants to create "rooms" in my home. I created the first room, the royal Hattery with some quotes, the second one by Shirley McClaine. I received a journal with "The Animals We Love" theme. Guess who is going to be the star of my page - Diamond Dog of course!

Front and back covers. Quote on back cover is from Alice in Wonderland.

The Royal Hattery. Don't know who the quote is from, no name was given.

This is the quote from Shirly McClaine.

Hairy Decisions

2011-05-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Incase you don't remember the Hoffman Challenge fabric, here is a pic. I purchased dyed wool at AFIC and got a lit purple and lt green I thought would work with the hoffman fabric. I gave her the lt purple hair first and wasn't too crazy about it. I decided to virtually change her hair color to the green but I think it would blend in too much with her eyes and the green of the Challenge fabric. I pulled the hair off and decided to make it a few shades darker to match the darker purple in the fabric and the first coordinating fabric. I used a new Ranger product, Distress stains in dusty Concord. Like this hair color best which is a good thing because it's permenant! Makes her eyes stand out I think. So now onto the rest of the doll and figuring out how to firmly attach her to the base and seat. YIKES!!!

Base Finished

2011-05-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of the finished base. The "seat" is an altered candle holder (cut the bottom ring and about 1" off in height and bent the top to make a seat). It is set into the base. The bucket I found at Michael's in the $1 bin section. Love these!!! The flowers are all made from the challenge fabric and coordinates. Now to finish the doll. I can't decide on what color hair to give her - I'm thinking purple....

Thanks so much for all the comments on the base. I really appreciate it!

Progress on Challenge Doll

2011-05-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

I spent all day yesterday making the base. I wanted it to look like cobblestones. My first approach was to embossed cardstock, color it with inks and then attach it to the wooden plaque base but I decided to try something new for me. I covered the top of the base with a thick coat of modeling paste and let it dry slightly then I carved it to look like small squares though I wish I made the lines more uneven, sanded it and let it dry until it was hard (went shopping and took my Mother to get her hair done while I waited). I then gave it a coat of a very watered down acryllic (a mix of white, brown and black from Ranger paint dabbers). Once it was dry, I rubbed on Soot, Tea Dye, Bundled Sage, Vintage Photo and Pumice Stone Distress inks to give the stones color and depth. I added highlights with Inca Gold, Foundry Bronze, and Silver Guilder's Paste which has mica in it. Once the top was done, I painted the sides with the same paints only thicker and coated it with crackle medium. Once that was dry, I gave it another coat of the paints using a sponge and dabbing it on. After it dried and crackled, I added the DIs and Guilder's Paste. There are some shiny spots on the top which were an accident but I like them! I got a little sloppy with the crackle medium but it didn't crackle and dried shiny. Now to mount the "perch" for the doll. If I don't like the doll on it, back to idea one!

Hand Tutorial

2011-05-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

I have been working on my Hoffman Challenge doll. I sketched her out but can't seem to make the fabric fit the vision. I did get her face/head done and am pleased with the way it came out. I also finished her body and am in the process of making her costume which is the most time consuming. While I was doing her hands, I decided to make a little tutorial of how I sew and turn them. I got quite a few questions while I was at AFIC so I thought I would put together a little tutorial which can be found here: http://www.novasblossoms.com/handtut.pdf This is the method that works best for me. Hope someone out there finds it helpful.

Linda Misa's Visit and class

2011-05-08T05:44:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful treat of bringing Linda Misa from Australia home with me from AFIC. She taught her Phyllis class to our doll club members and a few others. I hope Linda has as good a time as we did. Her husband is a car nut like mine and he gave a ride in one of his "toys". I think Linda was trying to concoct a way to bring it back as a souvinier for her husband! Sorry it just wouldn't fit in her suitcase!

Here are some pics from the class. First the dolls as they appeared on the last day (Linda's class sample is the doll standing up), the group with a few friends with our royal guest (tiara look familiar?) in the middle, and the last is a pic of my finished doll, Fly me to the Moon. The Stars are Polymer Clay made with a cutting set from my friend Colleen (http://dolljourney.blogspot.com) who sells them. Her Parachute was molded over a lovely crystal bowl I have. Love how it came out! I really don't like to work with clay - guess I just need to practice and get out of my comfort zone. Really loved the class and learned many wonderful techniques. Thanks Linda. People in pic: back row Janice's Daughter, Heather, Diane K, Diane I, Maria, and Janice. Sitting front row: Me and Diamond, Linda, Colleen.

The Royals at AFIC

2011-05-01T05:33:00.000-07:00

I am currently at AFIC in Ohio helping my dear friend Vickie in her booth. She is the proprietor of Ribbonsmyth - my fav place for ribbons, trims, and dyes. We wanted to pay tribute to the Royal Wedding so we wore our tiaras/Crown for the occasion.

The dolls here are just amazing. The gallery was mind boggling to walk through and it is such a joy to meet so many doll makers in one place! Our booth is right next to DollMakers Journey (http://www.dollmakersjourney.com ). I brought a small "trunk show" of dolls to display and also my new pattern Ladies of the French Court which is now available on CD through them. It is also available as an Epattern from Fabric Addictions (http://www.fabricaddictions.com ).

We leave Monday for home. Can't wait to see my DH and Diva Dog Diamond. I am bringing Linda Misa from Australia with me. She is going to teach a class to my doll club and then a few more to the 3D Doll Club in New York.

Grungy Monday and Announcement

2011-04-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

There is a challenge going on sponsored on Studio L3 blot (http://studioL3.blogspot.com) using all things Tim Holtz http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/ I usually don't enter these challenges but I received some new stuff in the mail - Distress Stain, Distress Embossing Powders, and a Stamp Set, al by Tim, so I had to play. I created a new page for my journal. This week's challenge required the use of Texture fades (I used Burlap) and distress. I colored the lace with the house (isn't that the neatest lace??? I have had it for about 25 years!) with distress stains, highlighted the burlap texture with distress Embossing Powders, Shaded the ticket and the shoes (a stamp from Stamp Camp http://www.stampcamp.com) and applied stickles to the stamp. The background paper is from a new DCWV stack I bought, Madamoiselles. I stamped the work Home in the ticket with a neat letter set given to me by my friend Tery - Love these Tery! and wrote in One Way with an Adirondack pen. The leaves are from http://www.ribbonsmyth.com and I distressed them using Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint distress inks. The flowers are left over from my NJ pages. I highlighted the lace with a Krylon 24K gold pen and Metallic Copper Paint dabbers.

I also have an announcement about my Madame LeChat pattern. I have never been really happy with the Black and white photos plus it is about 30 pages to print, so I have decided to change it over to CD. I have changed all the pictures in the pattern to high resolution color (slightly lower res for the epat download). I am going to try and do this with One Kiss is Not Enough too.

Also, look for a new release at the end of the Month!

Jouney through the Garden State

2011-04-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

I belong to a yahoo group, All Things Tim (that's Tim Holtz of course) and joined a 6" x 6" chunky page swap, Journey around the world. We were to illustrate on our page what is unique to our little part of the world. My page has all things New Jersey - or almost! Did you know NJ's state colors are Buff and Jersey Blue, the state bird is the Gold Finch, State Flower is the Field Violet, and the state nickname is the Garden State? New Jersey is also the home to "the Boss" Bruce Springstein who I went to High School with so I though I would use his HS picture that he signed (he said he would never forget me. HAH!!!) as the center point. The frame was cut on my Cricut (I needed 34 of them!) from cardstock that I doubled. Then I painted the frame with white glue and sprinkled Gold UTEE on it and applied heat. Love the texture. The crown is a mold from Ranger's Mold and Pour of a pin cast in clay then painted and colored with Alcholol Inks. The houses (we are the most densly populated) are Sizzix Tim Holtz on the Edge Die. The edges are covered with printer paper that I covered with facts about NJ and printed on a buff background with blue ink. The bird was also cut with the Cricuit, embossed with Ranger EP and colored with Distress Ink (as were the houses). The lace flowers were colored with Distress ink. The fabric flower was made using Sizzix dies (also Tim Holtz and others). The center metal flower is a Tim Holtz covered with Ranger Embossing Powder. The dangles are a Tim Holtz Fragment (the Garden State), the heart is from a score in the clearance aisle at AC Moore. It is rusted metal that I embossed with NJ in Distress Tea Stain EP. I did the same with the butterfly (please note: the state insect is the honey bee but I couldn't find any of them in quantity so the butterfly agreed to substitute!). The background is Cardstock that I dry embossed.

The back of the page has Pine Trees (signifing the Pine Barrens) from a Tim Holtz embossing folder that I colored with Distress ink and cut out. The base is newspapger (Asbury Park Press actually). The page background is the Real Estate Ads for NJ colored with Distress Ink. I added my business card, a printout of the state stamp that was issued in 2003(?) and a postage stamp. Hope those who receive them like them!

I also made an ATC - my first! with some stamps from Stamp Camp http://www.stampcamp.com I bought at the Stamp Show a few weeks ago. LOVE these stamps. I used the Harlequin Stamp for the background and embossed the black. I then stamped the flowers from Tim's Flights of Fancy Collection and embossed them in Gold. The Crown is a $1 stamp from Michaels, the vines a Sizzix die, the flowers are Distress Stained Vellum and cardstock cut with punches. Lot of stuff in a 2.5 x 3.5" area!

Journal Update

2011-03-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

A few years ago(2008 to be exact) I made a book to use as a journal. I decided to dedicate it to faces and proceeded from there. That lasted about 4 pages! It became more of a notebook and one I wasn't too proud of so I decided to make it a "sample" book. I was at a Stamp show this weekend in Pa and one of my favorite vendors, Stamp Camp, was there. I bought lots of stamps including the red queen and saying from Alice, a Harlequin background, a lovely saying, and some birds. I also got an order in of new Sizzix dies and Ranger/Tim Holtz products. I couldn't wait to play with them so decided to make some journal pages. The If I was queen is the first in my revamped journal. Stamps saying, Harlequin background and queen from Stamp Camp, flourish Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous. Flowers, leaves, green fourishes and Iron fence (Tim Holtz die) cut with Sizzix - the purple one thanks to another blogger Neil for the idea - is the small wings from the butterfly die. All the inks used are Ranger, most Distress inks. All the embossing powders (including UTEE black on the fence and white on the saying) are Ranger. Lots of stickles too. The crown was a stamp from the dollar bin at Michaels. What a find!

The embossed flourish on the birdhouse birds is Zing EP and the birds were cut with my Cricut (Serenade Cartridge). The rusted heart was from the clearance bin (I bought 50 of them at about 2c each! at ACMoore)and then added some Distress EP Tea Dye, Tree Sizzix Tim Holtz die, leaves Uchida punch, flower on top is cut with another new Sizzix die (not the Tim Holtz one). House is embossed with Cuttlebug, colored and embossed with Distress ink and Powder. The background paper is wrapping paper from the dollar store and colored with Adirindack Inks. Punches, house trim, flowers on bottom side are Martha Stewart. The little house is more of the same products just different colors and styles. The twill tape sentiment I purchased from a ribbon store. Love it! Also got a reel with the alphabet on it. The hearts are embossed fun foam with Stamp Camp stamp set (LOVE These!!!) and colored with Ranger inks and Perfect Pearls. The birds and saying are from the new Stamp Camp stamp. Aren't they great? The wings I added and are stamped with stamps from a Paisley set I purchased at Michaels. Something new - cling rubber. The trees are from Sizzix Tim Holtz Branch tree die. All the birds were stamped on black paper and colore with embossing powders. The saying was stamped with Lettuce Adirondack ink, embossed with Utee and then colored with Tea Dye Distress ink. The background was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and colored with Ranger Ink. Now I have to clean up the mess I made!

Working with Paper - again!

2011-03-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

My Husband's brother got married last weekend. Wish I could have delivered it in person but we just couldn't get to Colorado with my MIL. So sad we couldn't share this happy occasion with them - and meet my new SIL. But I did make them a card. Hope they like it!

Since I had all the paper stuff out, I decided to play a bit. I wanted to make a little 3D house. There were a couple challenges on some groups I belong to so I thought this would be good encouragement. I started making a birdhouse then decided to make it a shadow box (actually recycled packaging from a toy purchased at the dollar store!). I used some new Tim Holtz Dies and Distress embossing powders and pads and some new Martha Stewart punches. I had such fun I kept going and made a total of 3 houses. If you would like to make you own, I have created a tutorial and pattern here for the basic house and the embellishements I used. http://www.novasblossoms.com/3dhouses.htm

New Purse

2011-03-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

A while back my stepson who works at Pottery Barn gave me a bag of discontinued fabric samples. I have slowly been using them. There are some coordinates including a brown and greyish aqua paisley and stripe. I love the paisley and decided it would make a wonderful purse. I fussy cut one of the paisleys large enough to make a pocket for the front and then beaded it. Of course I had to add sequins. After it was done, I found a great piece of broken jewelry in my stash that would have worked perfectly in the center of the paisley. Oh well - next time! I took the purse with me to the quilt show today because I was hoping to find a new longer set of straps but the ones I saw weren't much longer and they weren't suede - the fabric is chenille and the suede goes perfectly! I really like how it turned out. The front measures 9.5 x 10" and it is 2" deep. I thought it would be small, but I fit my small sketch book, wallet, calendar, camera, cards, cell and a few other odds and ends in it. I do like a smallish purse. I need to make a new clasp though. One that mimics the paisley.

I also took lots of pictures of the Hoffman Challenge Dolls that were on display. I am so amazed at the caliber of these dolls. Every one is a work of art. I have set up a webpage so they can be viewed better. Check them out here http://www.novasblossoms.com/hoffman21.htm.

More Pics of the French Ladies

2011-02-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

Thought you may like to see them together - I did!

Ghostie Marie done

2011-02-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

Today I finished Ghostie Marie. Just have to add her pics and how to to the directions and the pattern will be done too. I'm not real sure about her crown - don't know if I like it small floating above her head or lower in her hair. Also not sure if I like the color of the crown. I'm thinking it needs to be more white than silver - I tried to make it look as though it was made from filagree with pearls and diamonds. I also added lots of diamond dust glitter. But any way here's a pic of her with the crown floating and one of her face with the crown in her hair.

Another Mini-Book

2011-02-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

Saturday a dear friend and I went to the local flower show. It was quite a feast for the eyes. In case you haven't figured it out, flowers are among my favorite things. One of the freebies I took away was a glossy poster defending the Rain forest. I decided to recycle it and make it into a mini book. I made it a little larger than my previous book. I cut the poster down to 16"x16" so the final book is 4"x4". I printed out a bunch of vintage seed packets and used them on every page save the front cover. The little flowers are a Martha Stewart punch. The large rose, the My Garden letters and the Wish banner are from a sizzix die sand the small roses are from a Uchida punch. All the inks used were Distress inks. the birds and cage are from a Cricut Cartridge, Serenade, and the scalloped backgrounds are cut from a spellbinders die. I have enough paper to make a small one though I may play with different finishes since it has large text on it but the wrong side is also glossy. I feel one more book bouncing around in my head but I need to finish my Marie Ghostie doll first.

Ghosty Girl #1 Completed

2011-02-17T16:52:00.001-08:00

Today I finished the first of the Ghosties. Here is a pic of the bodies with the heads. the first one I did was Jeanne Antionette aka Madame de Pompadour. Had lots of fun with her. I started with all white trims, pale grey fabrics and lace and using a variety of medium including watercolor paints, dyes, and alcohol inks, tried to make clothes look faded. Next one I am going to distress the fabrics I think. All the directions will be included in the pattern. I really wanted a very white mohair for Jeanne's hair but didn't have any so I mixed in some white mohair I did have and white and silver angelina fibers. She needs something to hold-maybe a candle stick-and a flower on her lapel.

Mini Valentine Book

2011-02-17T16:29:00.000-08:00

I am a great admirer of Tim Holtz and his art. He had a tutorial on his blog on making a mini book from 1 sheet of 12x12" paper though we did this at doll club about 5 years ago. So I thought I would make one. I don't have the tissue tape so I used a stip I made with a punch for the top, bottom and binding. The cover heart is a Tim Holtz Sizzix Die. I used Martha Stewart, Uchida and EK Success punches and stickers by 7 Gypsies. It is 3x3" and has LOTS of pages - took me a long time to finish! I love hearts and flowers so this was fun. I used Distress Ink pads exclusively and Ranger Embossing Powders. The love on the cover was cut with my Cricut.

Most of the letters are from Tim Holtz Vintage Market Sizzix Die. The fabric flower is also cut using Sizzix dies including Tim's Tattered Petals.

Back Cover is Sizzix Die and Sizzix and Cuttlebug embossing folders.

Stuff

2011-02-13T12:51:00.001-08:00

I finished another beaded fish. Really like doing these! I decided I needed a break from the Santas. I do have one dressed in Red waiting for his bag of goodies, but he can wait. I also decided to work on my Marie Antionette Stump doll Pattern. It is written, just have to trace out and scan the pattern pieces then send it off to be reproduced. I made a new doll to test with and take pics. The pattern will include directions on dying and painting lace, wefting a wig from mohair, yarn or other fiber (Marie's hair is made from Soy Silk!) Now I am making two more final versions but these will be a variation on the original dolls - Ghostly versions of these lovely ladies. Here is a pic of the new Marie and the Ghosty Faces. The bodies are done just waiting to be dressed. I am going to torture the fabrics and trims . Can't wait! All the instructions will be inluded n the pattern. The original Marie is here and Jeanne is here. Fortunately, I did take pics when I was making her. Hope everyone who expressed interest in a pattern is still interested.

Another UFO Finished

2011-01-30T06:41:00.000-08:00

I love to take fabric motifs such as butterflies and bead them. Sometimes I use already printed fabric and sometimes I draw my own motifs. A few years ago I started beading this fish. For some reason, I fused it to felt - I usually use stabelizer used for machine embroidery - so I know why I didn't finish it! But I love the fish so while cleaning off my work space I found it burried and decided to finish it. Here are pics of the fish where I left off and one of it completed. It's about 4" long so it is a little large for a pin. I may use it on a purse.

How Diamond Spent her Snow Days

2011-01-28T05:48:00.000-08:00

Need I say more????

Snow Days Project

2011-01-27T13:57:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of 2010, there was a mannequin challenge on a group I am a member of, Cloth Doll Making. The pattern we were to use was designed by Phyllis Robinson (you can see more of her fabulous designs here ) Here is a pic of the naked mannequin. I have to add this is a fabulous pattern. It went together so well and I just LOVE the shape. Used scraps for her dress and leftovers from the Bride's house and one of the Art Bras. Too late for the competition, but at least it is done!

Hair Again

2011-01-26T05:44:00.000-08:00

Another Santa is almost done. This fellow has a chubbier body and will be dressed in Red like a classic Santa. I also changed the eye technique to using flatback acryllic eyes and eyelashes made from black organza. Amazing what a difference hair and a beard makes! Too bad it doesn't hide his crooked nose! The naked head is on a piece of the wool I felted however, it wasn't red enough for his coat which I discovered after the coat was almost done. But I had a lovely red damask sample that worked perfectly. He needs his shoes and his pose and then I think I will fit a different doll in for a change of pace.

Santa Progress

2011-01-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

I finished prototype 1 of the Santa.I want to make his body plumper. I also made two heads - the first one was too big for the body but I think it would make a great King Neptune (even though he has brown eyes). His pants are from a silk blouse, his coat was made with scraps of panne velvet. I like a heavier fabric, so I fused a light weight crepe from another blouse (only 50c at the thrift shop and lots of large pieces!)to add body, keep the velvet from stretching, and make the inside pretty. Next version hopefully will be the last. I'm going to use purchased acryllic flat eyes this time so the pattern will have two versions of the cloth over with different ways to do the eyes. I may do a third head with painted eyes so there is no fussing with set-ins. This next one will use the fabric I felted. Here is a comparison of the two heads, the doll without his big coat and accessories (made from a xmas pics I deconstructed from an old wreath, his watch is a button and the watch chain is from a broken necklace, suspenders are ribbon), and finished. He is going to be a Hostess gift for a friend who has issues with getting a tree and decorations up for the holidays - LONG story! LOL
OOPs! forgot to give him eyebrows!

Hats

2011-01-16T17:32:00.000-08:00

Something else I have completed in the past week are two hats for me of course! It has been so cold here and my daily coat doesn't have a hood so I decided I needed a cloche with a flower on the side. I was going to knit it, but decided crochet would be quicker and probably warmer. So, I used yarn I had on hand and improvised. Made the white one first, then the black since my coat is black. And boy are they warm! Te black one is a fuzzy yarn and a metallic yarn. The woven ribbons are crocheted with metallic yarn as is the flower. The white one is a fuzzy yarn and the flower and ribbon are ribbon yarn. I guess I should have written down the directions as I did them but each yarn worked up differently. They are both double crochet throughout.

Recycled Santa

2011-01-16T05:22:00.000-08:00

Recently I took part in a Santa challenge on one of the yahoo lists I belong to. We could use any pattern we wanted and one by Runo, Skinny Santa, was the challenge choice. I decided a day before to enter-I was cleaning and found a head that I could use - so I used the pattern and made the doll. Here is a pic of him. Once he was done, I liked the face, but it didn't suit the body and I wasn't happy with my choice of fabrics. And the head just didn't fit the body-too big and chubby cheeked! So, I decided to make a Santa body to match the head which was a practice head I made for "Grandma's Flying Lesson" by Marilyn Halcomb using the cloth over cloth technique. The head looked nothing like it does not - I resculpted it to make it more masculine and gave it more wrinkles and chubbier cheeks. Here is the remade doll with his new body, gloved hands and lace up boots. The remade Santa uses almost all recyled or reclaimed materials. The fur and doe suede boot fabric was from a vest I got at a thrift store. His Coat and pants were samples of upholstery fabrics from Crate and Barrel (gifts from my Step-son!) His body fabrics which can't be seen are drapery lining scraps. I had such fun making him, I thought of making him a pattern. I have designed a new head - still cloth over cloth but with eyes made from wooden beads and set in the head. Here is a preliminary pic of his beardless face and his gloved hand - though the newest Santa has black gloves (fabric left from Noira) but you can't see the details so this pic of from the Revamped Santa above. He will be wearing boots made from old black leather pants, suspenders, pants from a thrift store silk blouse and fur from a childs coat also from a thrift store. I must admit, I feel bad cutting these items up, but the coat was very stained and the blouse had holes in it. He stands alone and has a full armature made from 2 wire hangers. So far, so good, but still needs a little tweaking before he is ready for publication, so that means one more to make and I already know who it will be for. He will be dressed in felted wool fabric from an old jacket of mine.

Diamond

2011-01-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of my little couch potato, Diamond in my studio. See how she hogs the couch????

She loves this little bed I made for her from a basket and velvet liner. She fits perfectly. Like her little sweater? It has a skull and crossbones with a purple bow.

Another Hostess Gift for a canceled party

2011-01-05T12:55:00.000-08:00

I have a very dear friend who is VERY into bears. Her and her hubbie usually give a party after Christmas but this year it was canceled due to the snow. I made her a little hostess gift that I am going to give her anyway. The case started out as muslin I rusted and stained with alcohol inks. the pics were printed on muslin and aged with inks. The laces and other fabrics were also stained with ink and watercolors.

The case contains a set of 8 note cards all done in a similar format but with different colorways and trims. Hope she likes them.

New Winter Witch finished

2010-12-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

Finished her last week but forgot to post pics. Love making these! Now I have a complete set again. Still have another head left. I'll have to let her tell me what witch she is!

Hostess Gifts

2010-12-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

I have been making Hostess Gifts for the Holiday parties we have been invited to. Unfortunately because of my MIL's broken ankle/leg, only one of us can go - someone has to stay home with her. Here are a couple of the gifts I made. Some of our friends are planning to relocate away from the Jersey Shore when they retire, so I thought a Jersey Mermaid would be appropriate. I also made them a set of note cards - hope they also look masculine.

And so it begins again - Hoffman Challenge 2011

2010-12-11T07:03:00.000-08:00

Thursday I received my order of Hoffman Challenge 2011 fabrics. Last year I ordered most of mine (I was a little late and they sold out of many) from Quilt-Kits-On-Line. The service was excellent and FAST! This year I ordered their "1/2 yd Challenge Package" and increased the main fabric to 1 yard. The fabrics are just stunning! I love them all and have an idea in mind for my doll. It's so nice to open the package and see them all together. Thanks so much Cindy and Don!I also have started my new Winter Witch. Here she is with just her bodice on. I rusched some metallic ribbon for the top of her bodice. I am doing her in blue and light purple touched with grey and pearl.

Just in time for the Holidays

2010-12-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

I have been working with my Witches pattern - I sold the Winter Witch and needed a new one. I started by using holiday fabric and made the arms and legs but decided to stick to the original colors. Here are the heads I did - 2 is always better than 1! I thought the arms and legs would work great for an elf so made a couple heads for one. Like the smiley guy, so used him. I used the Witches pattern and made a few adjustments - new head, bodice piece, jacket and modified the bloomers by pleating the bottom and adding a folded piece of fabric for the band. The shoes are from the pattern (Winter witch). He is sitting in a chair gifted me by a dear friend Mary Louisa (Dreamlitdolls.com). I am posting the modified pieces and head here for anyone to use! Hope you like them. Enjoy. PS: you are on your own for the ears! I have named him "Santa in Training"

New items posted for sale on Etsy

2010-12-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

I have added some new items to my etsy shop. I love making the faux dichroic glass cabachons and beading them to create brooches. Here are a few of them. I finished two more - aqua and eggplant/very deep purple. I really enjoy making them. I have a bunch ready to bead-colors include lime, copper, orange, dark burnished gold and red. I am trying to match them with some gemstones I have including garnets and peridot stones. The purple one has real amethyst. Haven't taken pics yet, but hopefully tomorrow. I also added the Ghost Witch, Arachnia.

End Stories

2010-11-22T10:13:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of finished projects doing what they were meant to do. First is the Christening gown worn by baby Cecelia who is being held by her Mother Felecia who actually wore it first - when it was a wedding gown. Beautiful baby and beautiful mother.

Next is the heart quilt that was an EGA project. It was donated to the Deborah Hospital in Browns Mills, NJ. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the handover, but I plan on driving down to see it in its new home in the lobby when the remodeling is completed. The framing was done by Carol Martin of U-Frame It in Matawan, NJ. She sewed the quilt to the backing. The hospital required it to be encased to prevent any dust. I think it looks wonderful and I am so glad it has a good home and will bring some joy and beauty to those who see it.

I also received back my Hoffman Challenge doll, Morning Serenade. She came back in perfect condition and she is already sold. I just need to refasten her feet to the base and off she goes. She was purchased by the owner of the bead store, The Birds and the Beads, I frequent. How fitting! One last pic.

More Cards

2010-11-10T05:43:00.001-08:00

I finished all my Christmas cards! Yeah! I tend to save the cards I get in the mail and this year tried to recycle them into my new cards (the ribbons, ornaments, stars, flowers, Noel words). I used my Sizzix and also my Cricut to cut the shapes. Love those two toys! I didn't make these as dimensional as last year as I had to smoosh them so I didn't have to pay extra postage. These pics are samples of the basic designs. I made about 70 cards. I also made a few sets of Thank You cards but didn't get the thank yous lined up perfectly so I may add something to them to cover the crooked words. These sets go together quickly once I pick the papers. The paper lace was cut with punches by Martha Stewart and EK Success. Love these!

New Cards

2010-11-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

This has been an eventful few months - two weddings, a milestone birthday and anniversary, and a christening so I have been making cards. Unfortunately, I didn't take pics of the wedding cards, but here are pics of the others. My parents' 65th Anniversary, my mother's 90th birthday, my grandson's christening and some thank you notes. For the thank you notes, I created the background paper in Word and printed it out in brown ink on ivory and black ink on white for the combos. The heart, butterflie and lacy border are Martha Stewart Punches. Very cool!

Latest Doings

2010-11-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

I have been working on creating a christening outfit from a Wedding gown for a lovely new baby girl Cecelia was born late September. Mother Felecia is a very petite and so is her gown but I love a challenge! Her lovely gown was silk satin - probably not the best fabric as it has a lot of body. Felecia also wanted a "convertible" outfit which I found very interesting. It is rompers (for a boy) with a button on overskirt (for a girl). I was amazed I was able to get all the pieces out of the dress because there really wasn't that much fabric to the fitted and flared gown, but I did it and here are the results. First the gown (was she trusting or what!) Felecia was sent my way by my SIL Nancy. I made a christening gown for my nephew Brian (now 28 and just married last weekend!) from her wedding gown. I didn't even remember doing that! LOL The skirt has an attached sash which can be tied in front or back. I embroidered the baby's name on a piece of ribbon and attached it inside the skirt bottom. Lots of room for other names. Final pic is of the gown with the skirt attached and the sash tied in the back. I couldn't use the ribbon sash from her gown because the ribbon was too wide and too heavy. I did use all the buttons from her gown. For the back, I used vintage pearl buttons. The Bodice is lined with a fine cotton voile.

Halloween

2010-11-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Halloween and look who was out trick or treating? My 6 mo old grandson, Jake dressed as a monkey with his little monkey pal. What a cutie pie!

I was going to post my latest witch but after looking at her, I felt she needed some spiders. I had shopped for them but couldn't find any I liked so I made some out of beads and wire. Here she is, the Ghost Witch. I was going to call her Ghastlea, but I think Arachnia better suits her. Her skirt was misted with Gold Perfect pearls in water and then the webs were outlined with Gold, Silver, and Crystal Stickles. I also used perfect pearls on her hair to add a little glimmer but applied it with Perfect Medium. Her jacket is white velvet that was colored with Alcohol inks. Love how they don't change the hand of the fabric. She has three underskirts on, first one of glitter tulle, then a slip of feathers, and another one of glitter tulle. I had to make her legs twice - I used a halographic lame that turned out to be more fragile than I thought it would be so I remade them with an iron on interfacing backing. Don't you love that little skull and bones charm at her neck? I didn't even know I had it until I started looking for a spider! Her head is recycled cloth over clay over cloth and then I put messy mix (see Deanna's blog here First time I tried it and not sure I will do it again - too much sanding! but interesting.

Long time No Post - But I have been productive!

2010-10-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Mike and Michelle's wedding was beautiful. They loved the house and I must admit it did look good sitting there. I also discovered I need a purse to go with my dress which was a soft muted grey-purple. I have been playing with making roses out of paper so I got the idea to make one to put on the front of my purse. The body is purple lame with black burnout velvet over it. The color of the flower matches my dress perfectly. The center of the flower is a vintage rhinestone button from my collection. I am really pleased with how it turned out. Got lots of compliments too!

A friend Mary and I went galavanting a few weeks ago and stopped at a quilt shop. They had a purse made up that caught my eye - I like the design. Looked like it was made from only 2 pattern pieces that formed the bottom and sides. It was cute but a little too large for me but I thought I could design my own to suit my needs. I had a lot of upolstery pieces given to me so thought I would play. Here are the results. I made the flowers from pieces of leather from old belts and other sources. The pink flowers are construction paper fabric! Love the stuff. It's a fun purse to carry. I think I am going to make another from some cotton fabrics that have been waiting for just the right project. I am going to incorporate the flap into the back so it won't be a separate piece.

Yesterday was my grandson Jake's Christening. It was a wonderful ceremony and a fun family dinner followed. I really wanted to make his outfit but wound up buying one - size 9-12 mos that JUST fit. He is 27" long and almost 20 lbs already - and just 5 months old. He is going to be tall like his father. I'll have some pics later. Here is the card I made for him using my Cricut and the shoe files created by Nancy, here is a link. She makes beautiful cards. The scalloped background I created. It was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and colored with Adirondack ink pads.

Card House is Done!

2010-09-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here it is - done. In case you don't notice, I remade the garage side wider so I could get the two garage doors there. I think it's a fairly accurate image of their house - as accurate as you can get with foam-core, ribbon, and silk. I added a little sparkle to the roof and flowers. I purchase those deep purple mums months ago and when I was ready to add them, I couldn't find them! Of course they were where they belonged - in a large vase in my MILs room I keep all my future use flowers in (and also buys I couldn't pass up!) Here are side views. I think the gable roofs came out OK. The ivy leaves around the base were lightly sprayed with gold and silver metallic paint. The vines are the same ones I used on Katie's house. They started life as a wreath from AC Moore's Clearance Aisle. I'm glad I bought 2!

Back in Wedding Mode

2010-09-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

The dolls were shipped via Global Priority to Australia where they arrived (only took about 1 week!) safe and sound to a great home. Thanks so much to all who shared their creation with me and all the wonderful comments. I felt like I was sending off a rainbow!

Now, I am finally making the gift card house for my nephew Mike and Michele's wedding which is Sept 25th. I wanted to make it look similar to their home but I did take some artistic liberties. Here is their lovely house. Here is how I am building the gift Card House. first I start with a wooden frame made by 1"x1" wood (my DH cut down some 1" x 2" for me). Next I skin the frame with foamcore and cut out the windows and door. The roof, which is made from machine embroidered purple silk, is put together with an opening in the center and then laid on top. The roof is also trimmed with french lace I dyed to match. It actually will be attached in the front only so it can be lifted up in the back and the house emptied of it's contents. I wrapped the house in felt. To imitate siding, I next wrapped the house in overlaping rows of beige satin ribbon and cut out the doors and windows. I also attached the house to the base before I added the siding. Now I am working on the front creating the gables. When I finish them and the door and windows which will be off white satin with white satin ribbon sashing and beaded trim, I'll attach the gables and add their roofs, then the little porch over the front door and roof over the garage. Final embellishments with be foliage around the base and more white trim to define the roof lines. Right now, this pic has the gables pinned in place. Sorry guys, I had to eliminate one of your garages! I wanted to emphasize the front door a bit more.

Tomorrow is Labor Day and we plan to spend it with family. Hope you enjoy too!

Early Halloween - Excuse me while I put on my face

2010-08-24T07:48:00.001-07:00

Cloth Doll Artistry is having a Halloween Blog Hop. It actually started yesterday, but I wanted to post something "new". In the newest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, Michael DeMenge decontructed dolls and skeletons and made quite an interesting doll so I thought, after a trip to the dollar store, I would play too. I bought a Barbie look alike, some rubber creepy crawleys and a bag of skulls - the vase I had. There is a rat in the bottom of the vase though it is hard to see. I think she needs a pet crow or two or maybe a bat. I also bought a full skeleton and have an idea for that!

Pink and her new do

2010-08-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

The other hairstyle was OK. But she is going to the Ballet so I just had to step it up a notch. Today they will be packed so I can ship them tomorrow. Here are finished pics front and back.

I also updated my etsy site with some dolls for sale. I will be posting more in a few days too.

I also want to thank everyone who has been on this creative journey with me. I am sad to see it end, but happy to send them off to their new home where I know they will be appreciated.

Finally - Pink has Hair!

2010-08-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here she is, done. I may change her hairdo though. She started with pig-tails but I wasn't sure I liked them. Not sure I like it tied back either. Hmm. I'm up for suggestions.

I was also fortunate to attend the 5th Annual Day With Doll. I put the pics I took of the display dolls on my website Wonderful eyecandy!

The Blues are done

2010-08-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

Dark blue's apron is made from vintage embroidered batiste fabric. I think I will shorten it - need more of the dress showing especially the pretty daisy scallop lace around the bottom.

Light blue has an apron made to coordinate by incorporating a band of the check. I first tried the bow trim but it was too much. The apron fabric has hearts in the print so I think the venice lace hearts go well.

Now to Pink some hair!

Two more Done

2010-08-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who have commented on the progress of these girls. It is much appreciated. This is the first pattern (Lady Ragalia) I designed about 4 years ago but I still love making it.

Yesterday I finished Lavendar and Green. Pink is still waiting for hair and the Blues will get aprons today. I spent half the day with my darling grandson. He is such a sweet baby - laughing and cooing and singing to himself. He is getting big - 15 lbs at 3mo!- I'm going to have to start lifting weights!

First little lady is Green. I have had the green eyelet fabric used for her apron for at least 20 years! It must have been end of bolt because the last few inches are not embroidered. Unfortunately, it was only 18" and when I made the apron, it wasn't full enough so I took it apart and added an under piece of sheer embroidered organza. I added a scallop edge in a variegated green/pink/white thread and think it looks very sweet. I also gave her a new hairstyle-much improved!

Next is Lavendar. I love the paisley of her dress. I have already cut out the blue aprons and picked out the trims. Pink's hair will just have to wait!

New Pattern

2010-08-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, through DollMakersJourney.com, at Day With Dolls in New York, I introduced my newest pattern, Year of the Witches. It is on CD and also includes the pattern for Barefoot Valentines. The bodies for both dolls are the same, but the heads (flat Face and Profile/needlesculpted), feet (barefeet and shoes), and hands (articulated Mitt and separate fingers) are interchangeable. The possibilities are endless for this 16" rag style doll. The 24 pages of directions include detailed instructions for coloring and sculpting the face and creating all 5 different costumes and hats. The CD sells for $20 and is available through Dollmakers Journey at the above link. I will also be selling the Witches only pattern as an E-Pattern for $15. If you would like to purchase the E-Pattern, click on the Buy Now Button to the left. Once I receive payment, I will email you the 5 pages of pattern pieces, the 24 page PDF instruction document and a separate Materials List to take with you when shopping.

One doll done!

2010-08-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

I finished Apricot today. I also made the aprons for Pink and Green but both are having hair issues. So, here she is . The printed ribbon on her apron is vintage - and the perfect colors. I dyed the ribbon for her apron and the lace on her sleeves, bloomer leg bottoms and peeking out of her dress. I also dyed the trim on her shoes. I also dyed the fabric for her legs. It started out as pink but I love that floral ticking stripe. Very victorian.

Dresses

2010-08-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

I just have the dress for Lavendar to do - I am waiting for some lace I dyed to dry. Here are pics of 4 of them in their dresses. Pink still doesn't have hair but it's coming. I decided I wasn't happy with Green's hair so I am revisiting it. Next is the finishing touch on their outfits- the aprons.

More Hair and Bloomers too

2010-08-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have all the hair done except for Pink. I wasn't totally happy with the "hair" so Iam holding off until I can find something better. However, I did finish Lavendar and blue. I also enhanced Apricot's hair a bit so it didn't look so flat. I am after all a Jersey girl. Here are the girls in their bloomers. I need to tack blue's bangs. Here is a pic of all the bloomers.

Amazing what a little Styling can do!

2010-08-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

These little ladies have received their crowning glory and I think it actually changed their expressions! LOL 3 more left. Hope to get them done today.

BIG News!

2010-08-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

First, thanks to all for your kind comments on these dolls. Here is a pic of the last three heads, Pink, Blue and Green. Now to attach the heads to the bodies so I can coif them.

Now on to the BIG news - The Art Bra Calendar is being shipped! I had the opportunity to receive some yesterday and it is AWESOME!!! If you want to order one, go to http://www.artbra.org/ There will be an Art Bra exhibit at the American Sewing Guild National Conference in Atlanta, GA this weekend. Check here for info. Wish I could be there. It is always great to hear the comments. ArtBras will also be featured in a special exhibit at the Houston International Quilt show in November. Info here. Some of the ArtBra Ladies will be there signing calendars. If you are in the area, make sure you stop in and bring your calendar or buy one there!

Progress Report

2010-08-05T04:49:00.000-07:00

I have stuffed all the heads and started doing faces. I can only do these in natural light because I have a problem with artificial light and color. I think I am so used to the natural light that floods my studio because of my skylights, I am spoiled. I have finished three faces, Lavendar, Apricot, and Sky. (yes. I named them based on the colors requested. I also talk to them but please don't tell anyone!) Off to the last three. Once the heads are done it is on to providing them with coifs. Then comes the hardest part - dressing them! The hard part is not the making of the clothes it's picking out the fabrics and embellishments!

Latest Project

2010-08-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

I recently was contacted by the Brisbane City Youth Ballet to make dolls for their September performance of the NutCracker. Take a look at their website, their productions are stunning. I am truly honored I was asked to create dolls for this performance as their costuming and staging is impecable. Six of the dolls are Rag Dolls and considering the time line and the distance they have to travel, I started immediately. I am using my Ragalia pattern and have made no changes in the basic doll. I started with the arms to get the hands done first. Then I moved on to the lets. I had to dye some of the fabrics to blend with the color scheme because I just couldn't find the exact ones I wanted to fit the colorways they chose. Next of course was the shoes. First a coat of paint. Next the embellishments which are all sewed on - no glue here. I want to make sure they survive many performances.

I think they came out pretty cute. I used different trims on all of them and dyed some to match. Now that the arms and legs are done, they need to be attached to the body. So here they are, this is 4 days work so far. Today I am going to work on the heads and faces.

THANK YOU!

2010-08-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for the nice words about my Hoffman Challenge doll. I had a question from Judi W. about the sequins. Clear tinted AB sequins are clear but with a hint of color and with an irridescent finish so they really shimmer but blend at the same time. I used about 5 colors on the cape and zig-zag trim. I get almost all my sequins from Cartrights. I asked them if I could add a link to their site, http://www.ccartwright.com/ and they said yes and are offering my blog readers a 15% discount (use code novasblossoms) How cool is that! I also LOVE their flower sequins, circle, leaf, shell and matte finish. Hope you have fun shopping!

Forgive me for Bragging....

2010-07-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

The Hoffman Challenge winners were announced late last night. I checked the website at 1am (couldn't sleep!) and got the biggest thrill - my doll The Dragon Slayer won 1st place! Here are the winners

1st Place: The Dragon Slayer by Stephanie Novatski (me!)
2nd Place: Miss Izabelle Darling by Marie Carter
3rd Place: Miss Chao Mian by Susan Ranoa
Honorable Mention: Bingo Little by Sheri Sheppard
Curator's Choice: Behold: B’Elanna, Princess of Mongo and bride of Flash Gordon by Doris Moore

Best First Time Doll: Sultan of Akteo by Linda Brackett
Most Humorous: Anne Bolyn's Nightmare by Wendy Whittemore
Best Incorporation of Theme: Dance of the Blue Lagoon by Patricia Wormuth

I can't wait to see the pics which will be posted next week. What intriguing titles!!! So you're not in suspense, you can see more pics of my doll here.

Preview of the ArtBra Calendar!

2010-07-24T17:23:00.001-07:00

We have finished the proofing and now it is being printed! Here is a preview of the cover with one of my favorites, "Are They Real?" by Jan Campbell, a 1 year survivor working on many more. Want to order yours? The printing is limited so get your copy now. They should start shipping the beginning of August. Order from http://www.artbra.org

Card Sets

2010-07-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

As a change of pace during the last few months, I have been making sets of note cards for some special friends and as thank you and hostess gifts. So far they have been well received. Here are a few. I posted the teacup cards a few posts ago. This first set uses a Martha Stewart punch, die cut lace flowers colored with alcolhol inks, ribbon and stitching.

These small flowers were cut out with my cricut and a Flower font (who knew!), a Marthat Stewart punch, ribbon, and lots of Metallic gold spray paint.

These flowers were cut on my cricut and embossed with polkadots then hit with ink to highlight them. The punch is also a Martha Stewart. I used Alcholol Inks to "dye the ribbons. The flower centers are brads.

A lovely friend from EGA gave me a bag of lace so I made her these cards using it, dimensional paint, a punch border, embossed and inked paper, ribbon, and a dragonfly I designed and cut on my cricut.

Butterflies cut and embossed using a Cuttlebug 2-step folder and my Sizzix die cut, ribbon, flowers cut with my Cricut, dimensional paint, machine stitching.

More with the dragonfly using elements used before.

My oriental peony set. The large flower was cut with my Cricut, the paper ribbn a punch from Martha Stewart. those butterflies again (love them!) and my favorite, gold spray paing. Most of the papers were from a book by K and Company.

Doll Club Adventure and Art Bra Calendar

2010-07-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

For the past three meetings, we have been working on a lovely little doll taught by the most talented Heather. It is a version of a doll she made in a Pam Grosse class. We have been having lots of fun with it. Very little machine sewing, the body armature is wrapped. The face is a cloth over cloth. I finished mine this week. She is going to be a gift for a special 11 yr old lady. Hope she likes it!

The ArtBra Calendar has gone to the printer!!! It should be ready by the beginning of August. This is sooooo exciting! Can't wait! They can be pre-ordered at http://www.artbra.org/ Make sure you get your copy - printing is limited.