Dream and Play

Paris Flea Market

2011-10-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

October was the first month I participated as a seller at the Paris Flea Market in Livermore, CA. I have rented a very small space, perfect for the small items I am selling. A lot of them I inherited from my mother and grandmother, and some are from my years of collecting vintage items. The PFM is only open the first weekend of each month and is a very popular local sales event. Love that Shabby Chic!

October's theme was Halloween, so I decorated my little shelf unit in orange and black. I took these pictures before the event opened. Good thing, as I was more successful than I had ever imagined I would be. The biggest hit was the Halloween and witch hats on headbands—the little cones in the drawer. I completely sold out and filled an order for 8 more. I am looking forward to next month, which will herald not only Thanksgiving, but the beginning of the holidays. I am going to be really busy getting my items ready for the November PFM weekend, as well as The Celebration of Craftswomen show on Nov. 11–13 at Fort Mason in San Francisco. The 10th and 11th of December I will be in the KPFA Christmas Craft Show at the Concourse in San Francisco. Wow! What a year this has been!

My New Parasol Doll

2011-09-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

I finally finished Penelope! She is constructed over a vintage silk parasol. Her face, body and hands are sculpted from cloth and consist of two layers, knit and gauze. She is the largest doll I have ever made... almost 44 inches tall including the base. Her costume is made from vintage taffeta and organza with vintage lace and jet beads for embellishment. The base is a cigar box with a graphic attached.

I made a tiny beaded drawstring bag to dangle from her wrist, as well as a dance card for the Halloween party she is attending.

Her dance card is full and she is waiting for the first dance to begin!

She is going to be on display in October in the window of the bookshop in Hayward and will also be in the Women's Craft Show at Fort Mason in San Francisco on November 11-13.

Her hat is made of felt and a variety of embellishments.

I have three more parasols to use for dolls. They are so much work to make (and take so much time) but I am looking forward to making the next ones. I have a beautiful pink parasol, as well as a ruffled one that is a pinkish-orange. I think they will make up very nicely.

BOOOOOOO!

2011-09-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

I finished my postcards for the Phoebe postcard exchange.

I must be the world's worst photographer... the colors are not as vibrant in the photos as they should be (in spite of my PhotoShop manipulation) and the postcards always look bowed in the middle, although they are precisely cut rectangles. I need to spend more time practicing photography and less time crafting (not as much fun!)

I had 8 postcards to make, and I finished them early. There is so much going on before my son's wedding in October... then the wedding in Maui... then the two craft shows to finish items to sell.

I can't wait to see the ones I get in return!

While I usually incorporate more fabric than paper in my postcards, these are mostly paper with some fabric embellishment.

Now that these are completed, I will move on to more crowns and dolls for the shows.

Wishing everyone a "Happy Halloween" early this year!

Finally Back to Dolls!

2011-09-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

After taking Akira Blount's class in April, I made numerous body parts, especially the faces, necks and hands, using the two layers of fabric (thin knit sculpted, stiffened, and covered with gauze). I am now in the process of putting them all together and creating dolls. Below is "Paris" who has a small shrine to Paris set into her midriff.

She is about 20" tall, and the ruffled skirt is vintage silk organza saved from a party dress my mother made for me when I was in high school.

Also in the shrine is a silk rose, a copy of some vintage French writing from Paris, a few pearls, and a small vial of French perfume.

Next I made a "Prince" doll using duiponi silk for his pants, jacket and turban. I made him little leather boots, and added feathers from a very old feather duster to the top of his head. I added some trim I bought in Montmartre (the fabulous fabric district) in Paris to the front of his jacket.

I used the same type of head and hands and a pattern I designed to incorporate into a doll in the Yoga Tree Pose. I painted and stiffened gauze to make tree moss, made a fabric boa to wrap around the waist and one leg, and added leaves and fibers to the head to finish out the "tree" look. I will be sending this doll to the International Quilt Festival in Houston this month in response to Pamela Armas's special invitation to be a part of her exhibit.

My friend, Rosie, inspired me to move outside my comfort zone and make a primitive owl. The pattern was drawn with my left hand (I'm right-handed) and she even donated part of one of her husband's sweaters to make the vest. I felt like a child again. I was so much fun to make, without my usual worrying and planning. He's one of three dolls I am submitting for the Phoebe window display at The Book Store on B Street in Hayward for the month of October.

Another doll I am submitting for the window is "Pumpkin Face." She has a cloth sculptured face, to which I added paperclay, gesso, and paint. She has a wired and wrapped body, not my usual stuffed fabric.

She has a large spider on her head, stiffened gauze on her costume, a bat at her waist, and a hollowed-out jack-o-lantern with a tiny real candle in it.

More Busy Days Ahead!

2011-05-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

Next month will start off with a bang—I will be in shows the first and second weekends. On June 4-5 I will be participating in the Flying Phoebe exhibit at East Bay Open Studios at Wanda Fudge’s Goose Cottage, 1610 Minturn, Alameda, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. I will be exhibiting sculptured cloth dolls, crowns, and my “Mad Hatter” 3-dimensional collage, plus a few small mixed media items. Can’t wait to get together with the other Phoebes and “hang out” in Wanda’s cozy garden.

Then, on June 11-12, I will be participating in the Live Oak Park Fair, 1301 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. I’m planning to exhibit items similar to those at East Bay Open Studios. I will be a part of the “It Figures” Art Dolls and Mixed Media group made up of Phoebe members.

However, even before June arrives, I am most looking forward to a 5-day doll-making class with internationally known Akira Blount. I have admired and loved her dolls ever since I saw her “Jester” in Susanna Oroyan’s Anatomy of a Doll. She will be conducting a Phoebe workshop on all her special techniques. I can’t wait to find out all about them and give it a try. I have been busily gathering up the items on her class supply list, and making a multitude of doll body parts on which the techniques will be applied. I hope to incorporate some of these techniques into the dolls I have to make before the end of the year. Those will include a parasol witch doll for Flying Phoebe window display at The Book Shop on “B” Street in Hayward in October. Incidentally, I have three flower faerie dolls that will be in the Phoebe display for the month of June at The Book Shop.

I have been invited to send a doll to “In Celebration of the Doll 2011” at the Houston Quilt Show in October. This will be my fourth year. And, I have decided to make and submit some items for Somerset Magazine challenges. There is the possibility that I will be involved in two more exhibits before Christmas in San Francisco. Let’s see it I can really get all of this done.

Before I put away my mixed media materials that I used in my crown making and started pulling out the doll materials stash, I made five new crowns. This post features the photos of some of them. The next photos you see should be of dolls!!!

Where Did April Go?

2011-05-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, where does the time go? I have been on a crown-making marathon. I made up my crown pattern and some new samples and demonstrated glue pens, glittering, foiling, and making rubbings with Shiva Paint Sticks at the Rusty Barn Show at Cal Expo in Sacramento on March 24-26 while working in the Embellishment Village booth. The weather was wild! Gale force winds and pounding rain, yet the attendance at the show was amazing, especially on the first day when the weather was the worst. The truly passionate artists and crafters turned out that day and were so enthusiastic and eager to buy. By the end of the three days I had sold out of almost all the items I was demonstrating… and that inventory was supposed to last three shows! It was tiring, but exhilarating! I love playing with those products!

My crown patterns were selling at the show, so Embellishment Village ordered some more to take with them to other shows. They were headed for Ohio and Kentucky in April, Salt Lake City in May, and Long Beach in July. They wanted me to continue demonstrating, but when I looked at my calendar, I realized I had much work to get done for the shows, challenges and exhibits I am participating in between now and the end of the year. And, upon my return from Sacramento, I had to start getting everything ready for the crown workshop I would be teaching to the Flying Phoebes on April 21. Not only did I have the class during the day, but I was also scheduled for an enrichment presentation that evening at the Phoebe quarterly joint member and associate meeting.

What a whirlwind day that was… and so much fun! My class members said over and over how much they enjoyed it… it was more like a play day… no stress… just letting the creative juices flow! They produced fabulous crowns. I don’t have all the photos of their finished crowns yet, but Wanda Fudge outdid herself and has probably produced 10 or more since the class. I, myself, have made five more… three for gifts and two for exhibit. This blog post features the photos of Wanda’s crowns.

At the class and during the enrichment presentation that evening, I demonstrated making rosettes from various types of ribbon, pinwheels and fans from paper, and all the exciting techniques for creating wonderful embellishments from Angelina fibers. I also demonstrated all those fun ways to use the glue pen and large size glue from Embellishment Village to glitter and foil. I was thrilled that everyone enjoyed the demonstration so much that Phoebes have decided to schedule free demonstration workshops for members and associates in the future, with segments that will cover various techniques and materials used in doll-making and mixed media. I’m looking forward to more fun!

The Great Postcard Exchange!

2011-03-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

It’s been a long time since I posted something to my blog. I have been SO BUSY—creating, creating, and CREATING! Let’s see—there was the fabulous Women’s Craft Show at Fort Mason in San Francisco in November. So much to make for that! The Flying Phoebe booth did extremely well… we were invited to come back for the second weekend (and did) and I sold more than I had imagined I would, including my little red, white and blue clad French doll. Then there was Christmas and the Phoebe Christmas party and exchange. I made a paperdoll for Zanaib that was embellished with images of butterfly wings.

And, then there were other things that got in the way—the taxes to get done and two Phoebe newsletters to coordinate and get published, and my new adventure as a demonstrator in the Embellishment Village booth at the Road 2 California Quilt Show in Ontario, CA in January. Check out the wonderful items they sell at http://www.embellishmentvillage.com/.

But, I’m back! My first big project for the year was the Phoebe postcard exchange. Judy Fleck proposed the idea and eleven of us agreed to take on the challenge. It meant completing ten 5 ½ x 8 ½ inch collaged postcards and sending them out before the April Phoebe meeting. It took much more work than I thought it would, but I was totally immersed in the project and had a great time! Now I am finished with the ones I mailed out, and have been receiving the most fabulous surprises in my mailbox from my Phoebe friends! We are all putting together booklets of the cards we have received and will be exhibiting them at the Phoebe meeting in April. I just love them all! Everyone did such a terrific job! I will cherish them forever (and publish them on my blog when the set is complete!)

Today I am sharing with you the ones I made. Although I took the pictures with them standing up, they look a little bent in the middle. Actually, they are on a stiff backing, so I think it had something to do with the angle, or the close-up lens. Anyway, you get the idea!

This is the paperdoll I gave Zanaib for Christmas!

Crowns, Crowns and More Crowns

2011-03-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started crafting crowns last year, I have been intrigued by the possibilities for embellishing them. Last year’s crowns are shown on the “Queen’s Accessories” page link at the top of my blog. I ended up selling all of my Halloween crowns and creating others for friends and family.

They are so much fun to make! This year the Flying Phoebe’s asked me to teach a workshop in April on how to make crowns . My mind has been filled with crowns ever since. Here are three of the new ones I have made recently. The pink one I made for my granddaughter, Emily, for her fifth birthday.

I have been experimenting with possibilities new to me—creating pinwheels from paper, rosettes from crepe paper and ribbon, and foiling and glittering techniques that I learned recently while working as a demonstrator for Embellishment Village, http://www.embellishmentvillage.com/ in their booth at the Road 2 California Quilt Show in Ontario, CA. I will be demonstrating again in their booth at the Rusty Barn Quilt Show in Sacramento, CA on Mar. 24-26. They sell fabulous supplies and materials that can be used on all types of mixed media projects, not just quilts! I have been having so much fun playing with their glue pen, foils and glitter.

Then, there's Angelina!

My friend Diane Carter at http://www.cowgirlquiltdesigns.com/ introduced me to the technique of making exciting motifs using Angelina fibers and rubber stamps, including her wonderful leaf stamplate! Embellishment Village sells all the materials required. I will be passing along everything I have recently learned at my class in April. I will also be sharing these techniques at the “Enrichment” portion of the Flying Phoebe associate/member meeting in the evening after class. In the meantime, I have several new ideas I want to incorporate into my crowns. I’m working on my pattern instructions, and possibly a kit. It’s time to get back to work!

New Items Debut at the Fort Mason Show

2010-11-30T22:23:00.000-08:00

I'm so thrilled to be a part of the "Phoebe 10" at the craft show at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Ten of us, all members of the Flying Phoebe Doll Club, were juried into this prestigious show. We only intended to have a booth the first weekend, but were asked by the promoters to also participate in the second weekend. The booth has been a great success in both sales and in gathering four pages of names of people who would like to either participate in our free doll-making classes or attend our meetings. Go to http://flyingphoebe.blogspot.com/ to read about us and see photos of the exhibit.

I've been busy, busy, busy for several months... ever since we found out we were accepted... making items for the show. They have been very well received. Here are some photos of some of the smaller items that are new.

Three Grandmothers and Emily Rose

2010-08-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

On the day before I went to Petaluma to take the Froud 3-day class, I was in San Leandro at the Barbara Willis Memory Box doll class. Barbara Willis is known world-wide for her exquisite dolls, classes and books. She is a long-time member of my Phoebe Doll Club. I had been wanting to take a class from her since I started making dolls and joined the Phoebes five years ago. I was thrilled when she decided to conduct one of our four Phoebe-sponsored classes held each year. The class was on her recently designed Memory Box doll, which hangs on the wall and is designed around a box filled with collected nostalgic items.

At the class Barbara demonstrated the various techniques for needle sculpting the face and assembling the box, but there was little time for other work in the class. The pre-work had included sewing and stuffing the legs and torso.

After I returned from Petaluma and finished Keiran and Valentine, I started working on finishing Barbara's doll. I decided to dedicate it to my adorable granddaughter, Emily Rose (now five years old), and incorporate meaningful items relating me, my mother, Sarah, and my grandmother, Amelia. We are Emily's grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother, respectively.

I never realized how labor-intensive this doll would be.

I cannot tell you how many hours and days I have worked on it. I can only say I spent more time on this doll than any I have ever made! I finally finished it yesterday. I scanned photos of all of us and reduced the sizes (Emily's two photos are in the heart-shaped locket hanging on the back right-hand corner of the inside of the box. The three grandmothers are in frames on the left inside door.

All four of us share similar interests in the ultra-feminine and we grandmothers have shared similar skills and interests. We have all three been interested in sewing. My grandmother would take my mother window shopping when she was a girl. They would pick out designs they liked and my grandmother would come home, draft patterns, and create copies. My mother made almost all my clothes until I was in high school—until I started sewing some of them for myself. Her sewing was amazing... she made beautiful garments and many of my prom dresses, often out of silk, and often beautifully and tastefully embellished with beads, etc. I started sewing and never stopped, eventually becoming co-owner of two tailoring, dressmaking and alterations shops. My business partner and I created many one-of-a-kind designs which were featured in the shop and many local fashion shows.

My grandmother and mother were masters at crochet. Between them, they crocheted hundreds of doilies, tablecloths, curtains and clothes from fine crochet thread in the most exquisite lacy patterns, sometimes incorporating tiny seed beads. I was the knitter and I was once really into knitting about anything you could think of, including dresses. We all three loved any type of crafts. The tiny hat hanging in the back of the box was made by my mother as a pin from some sort of natural coiled fiber. She won many awards for her flower arranging. She was constantly making centerpieces and decorations for parties and events she attended and I often helped her.

The buttons are from my grandmother's button box. The heart locket is some "junk jewelry" I had as a kid. The doilies and laces we all three collected. The perfume bottle was my mothers. I made tiny hat boxes by covering an old plastic zipper container (remember those?) and a small cardboard salt container we used to take on picnics. I made the dressform from black wire and stuffed doe suede. I put one of my grandmother's antique buttons on the heart in the doll's hands and scanned and reduced the images of some old postcards I had collected. I added a minature Eiffel Tower I brought back from my recent trip to Paris.

I will keep the doll hanging on my wall until Emily Rose is a little older and can understand the meaning of the items. In the meantime, I will go on sewing clothes for her—my living doll—because she really, really loves clothes and all things "girly." She definitely inherited her three grandmothers' genes!

Valentine (Colette) Is Ready For Houston

2010-08-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

For the third year in a row I have been invited by Pamela Armas (The Gypsy) to submit a doll to the "In Celebration of the Doll" exhibit at the Houston Quilt Market and Festival, which will be held October 30-November 7, 2010. After finishing Keiran, my doll from the Wendy Froud class (see last blog), I moved on to finish my Houston doll.

When I submitted my paperwork a few months ago to agree to participate in the exhibit, I named her Colette, but when I decided to use the unusual heart/wings piece of metal that I had picked up at an antique store in Lafayette many years ago and incorporate it into her costume, perhaps I should have named her "Valentine."

Regardless of her name, she is finally finished! She is sculptured cloth with Tibetan lamb hair. I hope she enjoys her trip to Houston and I hope she is well received when she arrives in Texas in September. She is probably my last "ballet slipper" doll for awhile, as now that I have also finished my Memory Box doll, "Three Grandmothers and Emily Rose" (next blog), I hope to switch to clay and try my hand at creating something new with the techniques I learned in Wendy Froud's wonderful class. And, perhaps also a different style of cloth doll pattern.

My Fabulous Wendy Froud Sculpting Class

2010-08-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

After I returned from my trip to Europe, the next big event I had been eagerly anticipating was my 3-day sculpting class taught by world-renowned Wendy Froud, which took place at the Petaluma Arts Center in Petaluma, CA.

Pictured on the right is the "furry creature, Keiran (little dark one), who was the result of three days of building an armature, sculpting the head, hands and feet, fleshing out the body, covering it will fake fur, and finally costuming it. When I signed up for the class, it was to be a fairy sculpting class. Due to time constraints, Wendy decided to make it a "furry creature" class, as the same techniques apply to both. I was a little out of my element when it came to dreaming up a fantasy creature. After struggling horribly, I finally crafted a furry little man, who seemed to resemble the little spirit guide in the "other world" Wendy led us into during a 15-minute pre-class meditation.

When I got home, I finished costuming Keiran by creating his little leather bag for amulets, his tiny rolled map of the "other world," a lamp to show the way at night, and a tiny dagger for dangerous situations.

My Phoebe friend Mary, whom I had driven up to Petaluma with (visit our Phoebe club's blog at http://flyingphoebe.blogspot.com/), had already conceived the idea for her tall, leaf-nosed furry bat creature well before the class. It turned out to be a fantastic Tim Curry-like creation. How I envied her imagination!

Wendy and her son Toby, also a talented sculptor, taught us so much during those three days.

In the class group photo, Wendy's husband Brian is shown on the right. He is a renowned author and artist. He and Wendy met when they both worked on the Muppets building puppets for Jim Henson. Wendy has been a sculptor for films such as The Dark Crystal (she sculpted Jen and Kira), Labyrinth, and The Empire Strikes Back (Yoda). They now live in Devon, England.

Here is Keiran again at the class, with some of his furry friends. There were so many talented people in the class!

Wonderful! Look at those claws!

Geri Olson (left), Curator for the Petaluma Arts Council doll exhibit that was taking place at the Center during our class, took Wendy's class with us.

Westly (right) was another of the participants with amazing imagination and sculpting skill.

The doll exhibit taking place is entitled "Art of the Doll: Protection, Healing, Power & Play." The Phoebes were invited to display dolls in a special display at the exhibit. I submitted a recently completed ballerina series doll, "Nicole."

Below is Nicole and the Phoebe exhibit. The exhibit runs through September 19, Thursdays through Mondays, 1 to 4 p.m. The Arts Center is located in the old train station, 230 Lakeville St., Petaluma. Exhibiting doll artists include Akira Blount, Wendy Froud, Toby Froud, Sha Sha Higby, Barbara Redemer, E.J. Taylor, Christine Shivley, and many more!

Since returning home and finishing Keiran (as well as two other dolls to appear in my next blog), I have ordered the materials I need to try some more sculpted dolls, including (hopefully) a pretty fairy. It will certainly be fun trying! I can't wait to start!

Three Dreams Came True

2010-08-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

In June, three of my life-long dreams came true in one trip. My friend Shelley and I spent the past year planning a 7-day Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian Jade, departing from and returning to Barcelona, Spain. We included three extra days in Barcelona and an additional five days in Paris. Shelley had already been to some of the sights we planned to see with her husband and daughters, but was eager to revisit them and linger longer!

Since high school I had been obsessed with traveling to Paris... I studied French, had two French poodles, and loved everything French. During my college days as an art minor, I dreamed of visiting the beautiful city of Florence, Italy and especially exploring the fantastic Renaissnace art in the Uffitzi museum. And, finally, I had always wondered what it would be like to take a cruise.
We flew from San Francisco to Barcelona. What a beautiful city! We stayed at the Hotel Colon in the old part of the city (Barri Gotic), right across from the Barcelona Cathedral and only a couple of blocks from Las Ramblas—Barcelona's main boulevard for strolling. Fantastic shopping—so many tiny boutiques with beautiful merchandise, hundreds of shoe stores, amazing tapas, cava (the local champagne) and pastries to die for. The city was so clean, the people so friendly, the Metro so easy to use with lots of signs—I would love to go back again.

We were lucky to be there during a festival, with dancing and music right outside our hotel door on the placa or square. All day about a dozen giant figures paraded up and down the streets and were awe-inspiring to meet.

We visited Parc Guell with it's fairytale mosiac buildings by Antoni Gaudi, his Sagrada Familia Cathedral and his apartment building, Casa Mila. What a creative, artistic mind! We ate at an eaterie at the amazing La Boqueria Market and marveled at the beautiful vegetable and fruit displays and the glistening fresh seafood. We visited the Picasso Museum, where I was also impressed by the paintings of his colleague, Santiago Rusinol.

We hated to leave Barcelona but departed on our cruise on the Jade, headed for more adventure. The first port was Monte Carlo, where we took the little red "train" for a ride around the city. We toured the royal palace and the church where Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier were married and where they are buried. We wandered the shops and opted for dessert for lunch. We each had a huge plate of crepes with cherries, ice cream and whipped cream. We could not finish our plates... and we really tried, as it was fantastic!

I took some photos through the store windows of clothes on display in Monte Carlo. They featured interesting eyelet and woven ribbon motifs, cut work inserts, and fabric collage.

The next day we arrived in Livorno and took the train to Florence, where we had only five hours to see everything we wanted to see. We had advance reservations at the Uffitzi and the Academia and we did spend three glorous hours in the Uffitzi, where I was completely overwhelmed by the size of two of my favorite Botticelli's, The Birth of Venus and Primavera (Spring). However, we ran out of time and couldn't make it to the Academia to see the real David and had to settle for the copy in the plaza.

We did tour the Duomo, saw the beautiful doors of the Baptistery (replicas), shopped on the Ponte Vecchio for jewelry, wandered the Palazzo Vecchio, and ate chocolate gelato. This is another city I would like to return to and be able to visit all those places we did not have time to see.

Our cruise then took us to Civitavecchia, where we took the train to Rome and spent a day touring the Collessum, the Forum, the Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain. We threw our coins into the fountain and wished for a return trip to Italy and the Eternal City.

We sailed to the Bay of Naples, where we took an excursion to Sorrento and Pompeii. In Sorrento we fell in love with the narrow lanes of shops, drank lemoncello, watched fresh mozarella and ricotta cheese being made, and dined on homemade bread, antipasto and pasta and cake. Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast is top on our list as a destination vacation! Of the places we visited in Italy on this trip, Sorrento was our favorite.

Our last port of call was Palma on the Spanish island of Majorca. We took a half-day excursion through the countryside scattered with quaint windmills. We shopped for Majorcan "pearls" along the way and dined on fresh seafood and the local speciality, almond ice cream, at Porto Cristo.

When we returned to Barcelona we immediately flew to Paris, where we stayed at the Hotel de Fleurie, a wonderful little hotel—very charming—and only two doors down from St. Germain Boulevard on the Left Bank.
The food in Paris was THE BEST! The best French Onion Soup (Mondrian), the best quiche (Le Buci), the best Filet Mignon (Vagenende), the best pastries and macaroons—and of course, the best wines. Our waiter at Vagenende was so delightful... the fastest, most hard-working, friendliest, and most endearing waiter we had on our entire trip. Thank you, Bogdan, for your Parisian hospitality. Your genuine charm, energy and enthusiam will take you far, I hope!

We spent five glorious days exploring Paris, as we were only a 10 to 15-minute walk to the Luxembourg Garden, St. Sulpice, the Musee Orsay, the Seine, Notre Dame, and the Louvre, which was directly across the river. The Impressionists in the Orsay wowed us the most (even though many were presently on loan to the De Young at home), especially the pastels. The intense colors of turquoise and orange juxtaposed literally seemed to vibrate. The Louvre was home to all that famous classical art—Venus de Milo (who is breath-takingly more beautiful and the marble more radiant than any photo could do justice), the Winged Victory, dear over-rated (?) Mona Lisa, and the Three Muses.

We took a tour to Monet's Garden in Giverny. Doesn't my photo look just like Monet's painting's composition? The garden was so beautiful... everything was in bloom.

We also visited Versailles, where we had enough time to tour the palace and walk all the way out to Marie Antoinette's Petit Triaon, her private abode where she liked to entertain her friends and spend her time living the "simple life" in the "country.'

This is a photo of the Queen's bedroom in the main palace. Her bedroom in the Petit Trianon was in the same palette, just not quite so gaudy and much smaller.

We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, cruised the Seine at sunset, and went fabric shopping in Montmartre, where I bought some pink dupioni silk and some gorgeous tiny trims for my doll-making.

The fashions in Paris were so flirty and feminine—it looks like ruffles, rosettes, ruching, and sparkling embellishments will remain in style for awhile. Tops made from a collage of voiles in coordinating patterns and colors were so cute. I was too intimidated to continue taking photos of store windows in Paris, so I have none to share.

The Parisian's were most friendly and helpful everywhere we went in the city, with the exception of one very curt and rude shopkeeper on Saint Germain who had a small shop selling silk parasols and elegent accessories. In fact, everywhere we went in Europe, we only met friendly people, eager to help us and make our stay more pleasant. As we struggled to speak their languages, they struggled to speak ours, and our conversations were well spiced with laughter and chuckles from both sides. As the younger generations emerge, we found more and more people were welcoming us as tourists in their countries, and expressing their desires to visit the United States.

The menus were available with English translations and tap water in a carafe was readily available everywhere we went. Every effort was made to accomodate us. Now, if only the service in this country was always so polite and prompt.

Even if I never have another opportunity to travel to Europe, I am so grateful for this one I had, and will savor my memories forever. The art, the beauty, the architecture, the elgance of Europe was so inspiring. I wanted to dash home and start painting again! A dream trip—a dream come true!

The Cake is Ready to Serve!

2010-07-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to make a Lisa Kaus embellished layer cake box every since I discovered them on her Web site. I bought the boxes and glued them together, and then got side-tracked and there they sat.

At the end of May, I decided I was going to finish the project. I searched through my stash and found I really didn't have to buy anthing new... and I was off. I was expecially happy to find the unfinished string of pearls and gold beads I had purchased years ago at an estate sale in Hemet. I'm sure the maker is long gone... wouldn't she be surprised to find out how her beads were eventually used! The "cake" went together pretty fast, and I love it. Thank you, Lisa Kaus, for your ideas and inspiration. The cake box adds a yummy touch to my kitchen decor!

Where Do I Start?

2010-07-29T23:17:00.000-07:00

I have been so very busy... so much has been happening...I have so much to say... where do I begin? June 1st brought a huge surprise. After submitting two challenges to Somerset Magazine and not having them returned (always a hopeful sign) I found my Aubergine submission was published on page 115 in the Summer 2010 issue of Somerset Studio Gallery. What a thrill! Until I receive back my Alice in Wonderland challenge, I can cling to the hope that it, too, will be also published in a future issue. Will keep you posted.

Aubergine was my second published work, after having my "Turkish Delight" doll published in Barbara Willis' book, Cloth Doll Artistry, in June 2009. I am counting my blessings!

Sweet Rose Makes Her Debut

2010-05-01T17:02:00.000-07:00

Another "ballet slipper" doll has emerged from my craft room. Her name is "Sweet Rose" and was inspired by my beautiful granddaughter, Emily Rose. Sweet Rose may make her debut at the Pleasanton Doll and Teddy Bear Show on August 28 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. My doll club, the Flying Phoebes, will have a vendor booth and also a special doll exhibit table. Or, she may wait to debut until September 16-18, when the Phoebes will have a vendor booth and a "make it and take it" event at the Rusty Barn Craft Show to be held at the San Mateo Convention Center. For details of this event, go to http://www.clothdollconnection.com/.

Miss Independence is Finished!

2010-05-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe how many dolls I have to make for special events and exhibits this year! I have been locked away in my craft room trying to keep up. Last month I made 32 stump dolls for my Flying Phoebe Doll Club's outreach day to be held at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, CA, July 10, from noon to 6 p.m. If you haven't been before (this is our 6th year)—it is so much fun for all ages and we have such a tremendous turn-out—girls AND boys, AND adult men and women love it! Some return year after year. It's absolutely free to all who come. Grab a stump doll and choose from tons of embellishments piled high on tables... and make your own special doll to take home with you and love.

Then I made five "Dolls 2 Love" to send with the Phoebe shipment of dolls to the children of Haiti. A small gesture in relation to the on-going tragedy in Haiti, but hopefully one that will bring a little comfort and something to "cling to" for these children living under such trying circumstances.

Next, I finished my "Red, White & Blue" doll for the Phoebe doll display in the window of the "B" Street Bookstore in Hayward, CA, throughout the entire month of July 2010. She is another addition to my "ballet slipper" series (check the feet). The fabrics I used in her costume come from long saved pieces of fabric from one of my high school prom dresses, an Easter dress my mother made for me when I was about 8 or 9, and ruffled edgings from little outfits my mother made for me when I was about 5. If you live nearby, stop by the bookstore in July to check out all the Phoebe dolls.

2010-03-04T15:58:00.000-08:00

I needed to make a new nametag for myself and some little gifts for some friends. I had so much fun assembling my little birds (both magnets and hangers) from sheet copper, wire, beads, and various collagéd elements. Everyone loved them.

2010-03-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

I recently took Cyndi Mahlstadt's class on "Evie Mae Flowers." What fun! Cyndi supplied us with wire (sprinkler and telephone wire) with which to make the body, which was wrapped with cheese cloth strips. Cyndi also supplied one of her darling clay faces, which I covered with cotton/lycra knit and painted. Evie's skirt is a silk flower, and I chose to embellish her with beads, silk ribbons and handmade ribbon flowers, with eyelash yarn for her hair. I loved the class (Cyndi is so sweet) and love my doll. Thanks Cyndi!