Altered Goodness Continues

The Spring 2010 issue of Altered Couture is about the hit the newstands! So, this is your notice to get out there and buy it, or at least take a look! You can find my refashioned vests on pages 76-78. The vests are a limited edition, and all one of a kind!

I will post the article very soon, just waiting to get the jpgs from Beth. In the meantime, take a look over at Beth's blog, Couture Over Coffee, where she's found the most incredible shoe planters ever! I think these repurposed stilettos were worn by call girls or exotic dancers, dominatrix types (?) (not any part of MY life!) ... or midgets, I guess. Heck, who could actually wear 10" heels?! Wonder what my Landscape Architect husband would think if I started putting these stiletto planters all around our garden (hee hee!). In any case, I love GiddySpinster's motto;

Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels. ~Faith Whittlesey

Priceless!

Ok, here are the shots from my article. I know, they pale in comparison to those shoes!!

VivaLaModa #7 is Out!

... and my Mr. Toasty pillow friend is in it! Check it out by clicking the link here! What a great online publication. My Mr. Toasty can be found on page 5.... the FIRST article inside the mag. With a direct link to my shop. Wow, thanks Ainhoa. Thanks twice, once for featuring Mr. Toasty, and secondly, for making me aware of your great publication. I'm subscribed for good!

Okay, now to get back to the MOPPING UP. The rain storm has hit. Two of my three windows are behaving, but the big badboy window needs constant attention. We even had a door blow OFF the back of our house. Ooh, I'm not liking this one little BIT!

Daily Favorites

All in all, it was a very good day, considering the rough night I had last night, but that's another story...

I found myself in dreamland, finally, at 2:30am... yes, finally, ... And was all about Houses in my dreams. Houses and gardens... (These house pillow fronts were to be for pillows on their way to Beth Livesay, and an upcoming Somerset Home publication, but I'm already on to something else. I know, things change over very quickly around here!) Well, going to sleep at 2:30 meant a late wake up call, 9:30 to be exact. But, upon waking, I learned that:

a) my needle felted birdy had sold off the CraftHope for Haiti site, yea!

b) my needle felted Toasty pillow had sold off my Craft Hope section in my etsy shop, yea! (thank you, Sandy, again :o)

c) my Craft Hope Toasty pillow is going to be featured in an article by LaVidaModa, yea!

d) my needle felted Toasty sold off the Craft Hope site, too, and, yea!

e) I'd better get busy making Toasty pillows, ok, yea!

f) I had a lovely feature on the FeltPlum website, wow, YEA!

I know this image is smaller than even a good, young pair of eyes can see, but it's the upcoming article for LaVidaModa, set to come out mid-January (soon). See my little, tiny Toasty in the lower left corner? Sooo cute! You can subscribe to the magazine online by clicking here, and it will come directly to you in your inbox. How cool is that?!

Felt Plum is a great new site that I was turned onto by a fellow needle felter I've met in blog and twitter land, Wool Crazy. Well, some people are really in the know, and that would be the perfect description of Karen over at Wool Crazy! She is a fountain of needle felting knowledge. One look at Felt Plum's site, and ...bookmarked! A few emails and comments later, and sweet Rachel at Felt Plum has my number. With the gift of a Focus. Well, my husband looks at me like I'm crazy, but with all the "blog love" out here, how can I even think of not spending about 1/4 of my life in blogland?! So, yep, that's my number...

Now, onto the end of my day, when Greg and I had a very good chuckle over our outdoor creation... rather a crazy window sculpture, I think. What do you think of this:

So, what is IT???

I know, it really looks crazy! Well, here in SoCal, we are supposed to get 6" - yes, SIX INCHES OF RAIN over the next 3-4 days. See, that's how things happen here. No rain for 99.9% of the year, and it all comes in 3-4 days. Okay, this makes me rather tense, because we live in an old house, and when it rains hard, it not only rains outside, but it rains INSIDE as well. Three of our old windows are unable to keep out the rain, even as hard as they try! When it rains hard, you should see me in action. Running to the dining room to mop up inside the side window, then to the large arched window where many panes leak, then to the bedrooms, while all the while placing towels, wringing out towels, plastic everywhere, dryer running full tilt. Wow, can you see me doing this for the NEXT 3-4 days? Well, I CANNOT. So, my solution came in the trip today to Home Depot, where I bought flashing and flashing glue. I cut the flashing and Greg and I glued it up above the windows in an effort to shield the tops of the windows from the driving rain. Well, the first one fell down flat after we glued it, so out came everything and the scissors, to hold the flashing until the glue dries. It's quite the site outside!

Then, here's the supervisor, Lola. How she manages to stand in the spot with just enough light, I'll never figure out. I say she's taking notes for when she comes back, as a handywoman. She'll be extra good at vacuuming, and in hanging flashing, no doubt!

My CraftHope for Haiti Donation

... can now also be found in my ValsArtStudio etsy shop! Since the two women who are "working" the CraftHope etsy shop are overwhelmed with donations, getting all the donated items up on their site is taking them a long time. So, with Sandy's suggestion, I've decided to take matters into my own hands, and plan to put a few CraftHope items in my own shop. What this means is you buy an item from my "CraftHope" section, and 100% of the proceeds from that item will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. THe shipping fees will be included in the price of the item, just like on the Craft Hope for Haiti site. I think this will make things a bit easier if you'd be interested in a Val's Art Studio item... like a stuffed Needle Felted Toasty :o)

Craft Hope for Haiti

For a very good cause...
Visit the Craft Hope for Haiti website, where all the craft projects have been donated by etsy sellers. All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders, and their relief efforts for Haiti. Here's my donation, a happy Birdie Brooch, which will hopefully be up on their site soon. Also, if you are interested in buying anything from my etsy shop, I am offering a 5% donation to Haitian relief efforts, AND free shipping on your order! Just list "Haiti" in the Message to Seller box, and your shipping fees will be refunded after confirmed receipt of payment.

I Heart Handmade Marketplace

... have you heard of it? Well, I found out about this site on Twitter, so I submitted my shop for their Valentines Market, and was accepted! It's a great concept, they do seasonal feature shows, with new sellers for each market. The idea is to promote a Grand Opening for each show, with a big dose of excitement! I love it! My shop is all set up, and it goes live on Jan 16th, tomorrow! You can check it out by clicking on this link here, or visit my shop directly here.

I am offering a few specials. The first is that I'm donating a portion of each sale to the relief efforts in Haiti. The second is free shipping on any order of two or more items from my shop. Just list "Heart Handmade" in the Message to Seller box at check out, and I'll refund your shipping fees!

There will be plenty of fantastic finds, no doubt, so be sure to check it out. :o)

These fantastic Felt Fortune Cookie instructions are available on Martha Stewart's website.

Best Architectural Garment

... hands down. It's from Celapiu's shop, who is from Cracow, Poland. Wow, if this is how they do things in Poland, well, I want to see more! Celapiu knits all the accessories in her shop, from what I can tell. This piece has sold, but there are other, equally memorable pieces in her shop as well. Enjoy a moment, and take a visit to Celapiu. You won't be disappointed.

Heart Handmade

This is when a wide angle lens camera would come in handy...

Here's my Valentine window decoration for Austin's Gallery. After a very late night of baking healthy apple cupcakes, and frosting paper hearts -instead of cupcakes-, with glitter and glue sprinkled everywhere.... even on the cupcakes (sigh). What can I say, I use what's handy! Those cupcakes were just what I needed to prop up the glittered hearts! It may be a little "cutesy" for the other artists who show their work there, but as Linda, the gallery owner said, "no one else is volunteering to do anything!" So, cutesy, it is. If you're in the neighborhood of 1024 C Street in Coronado, stop by to check out the cute and sparkly hearts fluttering as you walk by!

And, as for "cutes" (you know I'm all about them!), here's what I've been working on for an upcoming class at Paper Tales... Stuffed Toasts! We have Tattooed Pirate Toasty on the left, Cutie Pie Toasty in the middle, and Miss Kiss Me, I'm Toast! on the right. All with needle felted faces, a pat of butter, soft and fluffy breaded fronts and backs, and crust from recycled wool sweater fabric. Well, really... who can resist Toast?

And last but not least... remember Mr. Porcupine Pincushion? Well, even though he sits there with his back end unfinished (need to add beans to weight him properly, then figure out the best way to sew him closed), he's made his way back into my sketch book as a NEW design. Ooh, I can't WAIT to share this one with you, but I'm going to WAIT to post a picture when it's all done and ready for viewing... hee hee!

Intentions 101

My declared intentions are working out for me in a fine way so far, and that's a good thing :o) (that phrase always makes me think of Martha Stewart). In any case, my new journal has been put to work as my "idea catcher", so today I thought I'd blog about it, the goods and the not so goods. Here's the journal in action.

Today, things over here are about Stuffs, and Porcupines. Just how these things come about, I can't explain. You'll just have to go with me on this. Well, I have been pondering Pincushions too, and wondering if they should be retired from my repertoire. Then, I came across the a picture of little stuffed friends (the small colored picture above), and pincushions are playing around with the idea they might like to be reborn as small stuffs instead of what they are now (rolled and molded felt). They need to be in the "Three F's Club"; Functional, Fun, and Friendly. But what Stuffs want to be poked with pins? Why, of course! A Porcupine wouldn't mind.

So, here's the pattern I came up with...

And here's the thing; I spent the better part of this afternoon working up Mr. Porcupine Pincushion, and frankly, I just don't like him... Sometimes these things work, and sometimes not... so, for the time being, he is shelved, and we are back to the Pincushion drawing board. I'm hoping for better luck next time regarding the idea catcher, and working out the details. Mr. Porcupine will likely go to work carrying around all my stray pins, and by tomorrow he might look a tad bit better to me. His cute mug may come into play in one way or another... on a different day!

My Intentions For 2010

Intentions... might be confused with resolutions. I just think intentions sound better, don't you? Resolutions just seem like something we think about doing on January 1st, and quickly forget about them by mid-January. They just seem to come along with a "forgetaboutit" stigma attached. With an intention, I think we can give ourselves the time to allow them to unfold. Intentions may unfold right away, or they may wait... until the month of May. Or, even later still, until the winter's chill...

So, I'm setting my intentions for the year 2010, and allowing that they may change as the year unfolds. New intentions will most likely be added, and some perhaps as soon as tomorrow. But for today, this first day of a brand spanking new decade, here are my intentions...

+ I am going to reaffirm my belief in myself and my chosen path of work. I will do this every day, and I will work on chasing out all forms of doubt.

+ I am going to trust that there is a reason for things working out the way they currently are, and I will go with it. I am not going to try to control the chain of events in my life, but will surrender to the path I am on, and trust that it's the right one.

+ I am going to accept and work with my current reality, and realize that by visualizing where I want to be, I will get there, and I will be as successful then as I am now. In the meantime, I am doing just what I am meant to do, right here and right now! (this is the big one for me, because I'm always so anxious to get to the very next thing)

And, on a more concrete level;

+ I am going to stop pandering to my picky eater son's taste (he's 13), and serve him what the rest of the family is eating.

+ I will spend more quality time with my family, and less time on this computer (sorry, but I'm going to try).

+ I am going to be better about making notes in my journal when I get that major brain storm. Lord only knows how many times I've uttered "later", only to have them slip right through the cracks of my consciousness, and , float away on thin air...

+ I am going to try my hardest to do that thing I see on dog lover's shirts; "Greet others as you do your dog!" so, please don't be offended when I use my sing-song baby voice to say hello. :o)

Do you have any New Years Intentions? Well, heck, spill your guts, and tell me all about them right here. I promise not to tell anyone else... well, not unless you want me to!

Today, I'm Fascinated By...

... Brooklyn Tweed ...(big time sigh)

Do you knit? Perhaps you are a lover of beautifully knitted garments? Well, you simply MUST stop and take a visit over at Jared Flood's website and blog, Brooklyn Tweed. Jared is a Brooklyn based knitwear designer and photographer, and his blog is one I haven't been able to leave all day. It's all about the knitting, the projects, and the photographs. They are simply beyond good!

I knit, that is, I knit when time permits. Perhaps I should say that I knit when there's an opening in my schedule... and that's not as often as I'd like. I aspire to make the most beautifully knitted items I can possibly make. Knitting is a beloved pastime, born of moments filled with relaxing and creating at the same time. It's lovely. I was lucky enough to learn to knit when The Grove opened near my then home, and Susan Wells came into my life. I had always wanted to learn, for my mother and sister were both avid knitters. I just couldn't learn from them. But, Susan's patience and confidence in my abilities were just what I needed. Under Susan's guidance, I became a successful and somewhat adventuresome knitter, and even got to the point where I could teach knitting classes at The Grove. What a gift!

Jared's knitting prowess is evident in this gorgeous scarf, made from the "Aran Cashmere Scarf" pattern (here's the link on Ravelry) out of the book Simple 1-2-3 Knitting. Do you think this is going to be my next project? Heck YES! Well, that is after I finish the 7 current knitting projects I have on the needles...

Oh, and just one other thing from my daily fascinations... and that would be Cope's Corn. (Yes, this is a post of the moment, after a bit of New's Years celebrating at home... a bit of champagne, and Cope's Corn pudding, what more does one need or want?!) So, when we visited Colonial Williamsburg at Thanksgiving, we spent a wonderful evening at Christiana Campbell's Tavern, and were treated to the most delectable Spoon Corn Bread ever on this earth. Tonight, I made a lovely Toasted Sweet Corn Pudding out of the last issue of Gourmet Magazine, with a special order of Cope's Corn from the Pennsylvania Dutch area. It was glorious. As I savored spoonful after delectable spoonful (can you tell how much I liked it?!), my husband asked if it wasn't similar to the spoon bread from Williamsburg. That's when I located the recipe, which I will be making up very SOON, and I will be using Cope's Corn, which I'm sure will be every bit as wonderful as it was at Christiana Campbell's Tavern. Yum! Now, if I could only replicate those crab cakes...

Happy New Year, everyone! 2010, here we come!!!

Year End Musings + Thankfulness

Even though 2009 challenged us in many ways, if we can think of the things that made us feel thankful instead of what's made us grumpy, our reflections might prove that 2009 wasn't as bad as we thought after all. In an effort to put things into perspective, and get 2010 started off on the right foot, here are a few things I'm awfully glad that came into my life over the last year, and look for more good things to come as the new year soon gets underway.

*The blessings of being accepted as a needle felting teacher at Paper Tales, and all the creative women I've met along the way. I love sharing my craft with others, and showing them a new tool for bringing loveliness into their lives.

*A silly girl, Abbie, who is beloved to my mother. Abbie is a Bichon Frise, and a true princess. Lola and I share our mornings together with Abbie as we walk and visit with all the neighbor hood pups. Lola is friendly with everyone, while Abbie tolerates only a few. Abbie has taught me patience, and bossiness too, as it's very important that a princess pup not be the one in charge! Lola gave Abbie the special Christmas collar. Doesn't she wear it like a true princess?!

*Lola, who is the rock of our family, she keeps us playful and grounded, and teaches us that there's nothing more important that giving and being loved. She's such a special girl! Here she's playing in her new king sized bed she got for Christmas from Grammy and Abbie. She's gone ape for this giant new addition to our home. I swear it's made for a Great Dane!

*A holiday filled with more sales and custom orders than I have begun to count. Even though I am still recovering from all that work, I am so touched that you entrusted me with your special requests, and desires for special gifts for your loved ones. I continue to be energized by your enthusiasm for what I do, and will keep on doing it with all your support. I just know 2010 will be a great year in my studio, with lots of new and exciting ideas swirling around in my head. I can't wait to put the creative fingers in motion!

Birdie brooches for a custom order, ready to fly the coop!

Here's a beautiful custom sweater I made. The method I experimented with, piecing the felted sweater sections together, will take my work in a whole new direction this next year. I can't wait to get started with this!

*My continued love for knitting, which grounds me in a way like no other. My sweet Knitting Girls are a big part of my life, and our relationship takes me places I could never go on my own. I love you, Girls!!

*Most especially, my family. My boys are growing up so fast, I just can't believe it. It seems only yesterday that Kyle ended up in the ER the day after Christmas, after pulling the heavy reindeer stocking holder down on his head, thinking there were going to be treats in his stocking every day. Thankfully, the antler didn't put his eye out!

*And most of all, my husband, who is as silly with me as when we first met, 20 years ago. Dang! How in the heck does time fly by so unGodly fast?! Shucks...

Hey, Happy New Year to you! Enjoy the festivities, and please be safe. See you next year, where we'll share all kinds of adventures galore, and we'll just have the best time doing so. :o)

Christmas Vignettes From Me To You...xx

Christmas has finally arrived at my house... 'thankfully!', my boys mutter under their breath. What they don't realize is the holiday festivities have appeared because we are hosting a holiday party this weekend. If not for that, the decorating might have taken even more of a backseat, because I'm STILL working on custom orders...

Here's a view of our Santa collection. Most are hand carved wooden pieces, gourds, or stuffed and painted canvas. All are handmade, and very special. It's a treat for me to take the Santas out each year, and display them in a special place.

These are a few of the special snowmen I've recently started collecting. I also love the old bottle brush trees. I admit I've only put half of my collection on display this year, due to my husband's plea of "please keep it simple", due to our upcoming gathering of friends who mock my passion for overdecorating. Usually, I display them on fake snow, and really pig it up. So, next year, I'll be back to my old tricks because for now I'm keeping it dang simple...

Okay, I couldn't resist displaying my favorite yarn in a stacked Christmas tree fashion. My husband has no say over this display, I love it so :o)

Here's my very most special display for this Christmas; a bouquet I made from pods and cuttings I purchased from a lovely farmers market in Colonial Williamsburg when we were there last month. Did I tell you that I want to move to Historic Williamsburg? I just know my soul is rooted in Colonial Virginia! Did I tell you that I want to sit and knit all day while wearing colonial dress and telling people "Good Day"? Did I mention that I dream of the wooded areas in Virginia, and I loved it there more than words can say? (sigh)

Here's a little friendly fellow, an acorn cap from Williamsburg which I've adorned with a needle felted acorn. Sweet, no?!

Back to Coronado... This lovely camilla tree is right outside our front door, and when the flowers drop off the tree, I can't help but line them up at the feet of St. Francis. They are more beautiful than words, and the blooms last in this manner for days.

Well, I hope you are having yourself a Merry Little Christmas season, or a Happy Hanukkah season, or Happy Kwanza, or just a plain old Happy Holidays!!!

It's Snowing Over Here!!!

Photo and snow on my blog courtesy of ABunCanDance. Thank YOU for helping winterize my blog!

Can you see it?! Isn't it exciting?! I've had the most delightful time blog-visiting tonight, and I couldn't wait another minute to share some wonderful finds. Most especially, the falling snow :o)

The next bit of whimsy that I want to share with you belongs on a blog called Dottie Angel. There's a sweet story over there that you must read. It will get you into the spirit of the season in a wonderfully vintage handmade sort of way that really just needs to be ... well, experienced.

And finally for tonight, is this holiday pictorial delight swiped off Jolly All Sorts blog. This is exactly how I want my entire world to look; happy, snowman-y, and all red and teal. Since I'm still in finishing up the custom orders mode, and in planning for the big Christmas dinner party (it's our year to host...), nary a stitch of decorating has been done within the confines of my house... sniff. But I will begin, and SOON. For I have a deadline, and as we all know, I work BEST under pressure. Heck, don't we all :o) Have a happy snowman-y day!

Just LOVE them!

A Constant Dinner Guest

Whether invited or not, look who shows up... our constant dinner companion, Mr. Singer. He tries to fix himself up with a dusting off of all the loose threads and fluff, and sends the wayward spools of thread and bobbins back to their sewing box. But he comes as he is, and when he's there, he seems to just stay PUT. Oh well, the workhorse that he is, I suppose he can sit, relax, and listen to our conversation. He deserves a night off every once in a while!

And guess who will be arriving soon to hang out with Mr. Singer? Well, who else, but Ms. Singer!! Hooray! As you know, I've been wanting a dress form, and I found the one of my dreams. It's an antique 1930's Singer adjustable dress form, and I found it on eBay. Guess what my winning bid was? .... $12.50! What luck! Ms. Singer is up in LA, but will soon be transported to Val's Art Studio to start her new and very active life here with Mr. Singer.

Oh golly, aren't we just one big happy family?!

Now For The Necklace...

The necklace is all about... felt, what else?! Well, okay, included are beads and crystals, and the loveliest shibori silk ribbon you've ever seen.

So, my post about the dress and the necklace, both of which were responsible for several sleepless nights, finally resolved when I made up MY dress and MY necklace.

Somehow, people were confused, for it was Marcia deCoster who made the sample necklace in my post.

I suppose I had the felted leaves brewing their way into my subconsciousness, along with the Shibori silk necklace ribbon. I didn't like the unfinished portion of the ribbon, and that's when Marcia's inspirational beadwork woke me in the middle of the night, presenting the perfect finishing solution. Whereas Marcia's sophisticated clasp has an A and B side, mine is simplier; the ribbon ties on the back of the neck, either in a bow or a knot. Still quite a lovely solution, if you ask me!

I've made two of these necklaces so far. The first sold the moment it went on display, and the second is up at Somerset Studios being photographed for an upcoming jewelry publication.

I love the construction of this piece. It incorporates sculpture in the form of sculpting wool roving into the shape and size desired. It involves a small amount of metal sculpting, in that I add a handmade clasp on the back so the piece can be worn as a pin. It involves the selection of fabric in the shibori silk ribbon, and it involves a small amount of beading, which is about all the beading I can manage!

So, it pretty much covers all my bases. This piece makes for a home run in my book ;o)

A Dress and A Necklace, part 2

Do you remember the post from a couple months ago about the dress and the necklace that were responsible for keeping me up at night? (What?! You don't?! Well, HECK!) Anyhow, the post was called A Reason Not To Sleep, and now I am finally going to show you what became of those two most inspirational pieces.

First, the dress. The inspiration came from a Banana Republic dress with a ruched under the bust upper section, and flat middle panel to define the waist, and a lovely pleated skirt. I just couldn't stop thinking about that dress! Well, here's my take on the dress. I call this piece Swirled Grace.

The upper section is from a black cashmere sweater which I've turned backward, putting the buttons in back. The flat middle panel is from a separate sweater which I've embellished all the way around with needle felting. And, the bottom pleated section is formed in two sections which hang freely from each other. Sort of like a Gladiator outfit, or even two loincloths (what a visual!), but working very nicely for a "hippy" woman, because the fabric falls straight down, without emphasizing the hips. Wear a pair of black pants underneath, and it is so flattering!

Here's the back of the sweater, showing the button detail. (These pictures are terrible, and I so apologize. It's a rainy grey day today, and I can't seem to manage a good picture without my usual bright SoCal sunbeam)

And here's the side zip entry. You can see the gladiator panels a bit better in this picture. Now, when I wear this piece, since I am very long waisted, a triangular peek of skin shows on each side of my waist-very sexy! If I'm feeling rather large that day, a simple black shell under the vest solves the skin peekiness, no problem!

It's a lovely piece, and I appreciate all the comments from people admiring it on Saturday. And no, I didn't remove a rib to get so skinny in my waist, I just came that way! Just so you know, I can make you your very own custom piece just like this. The sweater selection will vary, and possibly the colors too, but it will be every bit as special as "Swirled Grace"!

Upcoming next: The Necklace... Stay tuned!

Hey All You Needlefelters!

Were you at Artisans' Alley today? Did you visit me, and see I wasn't laying prone in my booth?! (:o) Yea! I'm happy you came!) Do you want to learn how to Needlefelt in a similar style as I do? Well, now you have the opportunity! Call over to Paper Tales, and get yourself signed up for my CLASS! Next Saturday, Dec. 12 from 3-6 pm, you can learn how to make an AWESOME Needlefelted Birdy book cover. It's so magical and cute! It will be the start of your needle felting journey, and I will teach you how to do exactly the same thing as what I do. Once you learn the basic step, you can take it into any direction your heart desires. Hooray! So, call over to Paper Tales right now! and get yourself signed UP. The class is limited to 10 people, so Hurry UP! You'll be glad you did :o)

PS. I wrote this post 1.25 hours after I returned home from Artisans' Alley, and after my husband made me a very stiff martini. I don't know how my typing looks, and it's a good thing my computer tells me when I make a mistake, because there's LOTS that needs fixing here!

PPS. I loved seeing ALL of you today, and your comments ROCKED, make my DAY and YEAR spin out of ORBIT, and make everything I do completely worthwhile. I love you and all your support more than you will EVER know! xxxooo :o)