A beautiful story


Hi there. I hope you are in the mood for a sweet story. I have wanted to write about this since Christmas. Now seems as good a time as ever :o)

I'd like to introduce you to Nancy. Here she is... (Hi Nancy!)

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I met Nancy a few years ago at one of my shows. As normally happens, we got to talking about my work with repurposing old discarded sweaters. Nancy asked me if I would be open to working with her to restore a beloved sweater of hers that she just wasn't ready to part with. I said I'd be happy to give it a go.  


I took Nancy's old sweater and cut away the frayed areas. I dug out my stash of repurposed sweaters, borrowing cuffs and hem border from several other sweaters. I added color, pattern and unique features to Nancy's sweater. I finished the piece by needle felting a lovely simple branch with berries, picking up the new colors I added to Nancy's original sweater. A sweater so beloved and tired was remade into something new and ready for another lifetime of loving. Nancy was thrilled with the job I did for her. Yay!

Fast forward to last Spring. Nancy called on me for ideas of what to do with her Mother's sweater. Her mother knit the sweater and had worn it during Nancy's childhood. We talked over a few options, and decided to try a pillow featuring a Cardinal. I made up the first one. I used the buttons from the sweater as nuts on the tree branches. Nancy was thrilled.


Maybe she didn't cry... but with a tear in her eye, she asked me to make one for each of her sisters for Christmas gifts. 



Christmas came quickly and with juggling all my custom orders and shows meant I forgot to photograph all the pillows. Each one was unique, each so lovely. Nancy shared there would be no packing the pillows away for any of the 5 sisters. These pillows would be "year round" display pillows!


Thank you, Nancy. I loved working with you on this project, as ever. You are so special to me. 
xx
Val

What's new?


Hey there! What's new with you? I have been up to something new, and wanted to share it with you :o)


My creative brain is always up to something when I least expect it. Lately, these cameo pendants have been showing up on my work table. They are pretty amazing, even if I do say so myself! They have incredible detail for being so small. 



Of course, it make sense that I would begin with bird faces. Even so, I soon moved on to women faces. I had been searching for Picasso art influences on Pinterest, and well, here we are. This is how things go over here.


In one of my MATS classes, I created an illustration of a big lipped woman with a fabulous shade of coral lipstick, and she has stayed with me. 


Starting to create the pendants is an exercise of will over the wool, which resists being tamed by the needle felting needle. And these are so small that I can only use a single needle. My next purchase will involve some extra strength magnifying glasses, that is for sure!


Once finished, I set them into the pendant blanks, and have fun pairing them with some geometric beads I found. I paint the beads to bring out colors in the pendant. I also use some of my crystal beads and lampwork beads I collected during my stint at beading. It's all too fun!

I will be at Glitterfest this coming Saturday. Hope to see some of you there!

xx
Val



Valentine Santas?





Silly... I know. Spring Santas? Valentine Santas? You might be asking 'What ... are these and (um) why?'


Well, you may or may not know that I sometimes enjoy making dolls. They started as a way for me to use up some scraps from my scrap bin. I just like making the occasional one or another. But by now, they have taken on a little life of their own. 

Right before Christmas, I experimented with making a couple of Santa dolls. They were well received... They all sold right away. Nice!


Here are the first three. Actually in order of making them, left to right. Each one got much better as I went along, don't you agree? 


The faces are super cute :o)



Well, as things tend to happen, one thing leads to another. Today, they are rather Scandinavian looking, and well, those hearts? Valentines Santas, for sure! I guess it will be A Santa for every Season. Or something like that!

Happy Santa!
xx
Val