Thinkin' Pink

I have done something I have never done before, yes it seems rather silly, maybe even a bit on the ridiculous that I have not done this sooner. I am fighting against breast cancer with my art. No, I don't have cancer... but I do know those who have fought this battle like a mighty warrior and I grieve their loss and celebrate their victory simply because I am a woman.

What a priviledge to participate in such an amazing collaborative project. What is this artist effort you ask? It is call The Pink Artist project and it is being hosted by Monica Magness. She is the woman with the vision and what a great vision it is!

Create a 2x2 in. fabric art square. Over 150 artist are participating at this jucture. She will take all the entries and she will handsew all the squares onto a doll form she has created. Once the doll is created she will submitt it to Somersets Doll Quarterly, an art magazine devoted to doll artists. After the article runs then the doll will put up for auction and the proceeds will be sent to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself and use my giftings to fight a good fight! This project has helped me to remember and pray for those who fight on all levels, research, doctors, patients, families and friends. I wanted to join other artists to fight, support, love, bring corage and inspire those who know this stranger, breast cancer.

This is a picture of the square I submitted. I would like to encourage you to visit the site but also get involved.

I used lots of symbolism in this little 2x2 in square and I wanted to share its meaning.

The heart represents the place in all of us where hope resides. It also represents my personal story of healing and spiritual re-birth.

The gold seed beads are the preciousness of life, each one of us is a priceless gem.

Orange/fuchsia fibers are the flames of hope for a cure and the joy of a life lived to the fullest!

The wings symbolize freedom in life or in death.

The pink silk dupioni represents the beauty found in the heart of every woman no matter how bald she is!

And last but not least the antique charm on the heart is a shield of faith, the armor a true warrior can not live without.

2x2 in. to speak about life... the life lost. The life of a survivor. The life of a woman. How is that possible? It isn't. What is possible is to say something with a bunch of 2x2 in. squares! A musical note is just a note until it is united with other notes, then it becomes a symphony. We, as women throughout history, have shaken kingdoms, changed hearts, promoted peace, fought injustice, made discoveries, pioneered adventure and set out minds on the stars. We are limitless in desire, intellgence, imagination, and perserverance. We will not let this disease set our limits.

Five Things I Love About...

I have really been in the valentine mood this year...”I'm in the mood for love simply because your near me...” anyone else?

I was thinking of ways to bless my family. I decided the best way, is to show them that I love them by using my creativity and make them a valentine. Then from the far reaches of my memory the sweetest picture of love came to the forefront drifting on the breeze...


One year, a while back, my son's favorite friend made him a book. It was a very special, out-of- the-blue gift. The title was “Five Reasons Why I Like Jacob” this was scrawled at the top in sweet beginner writing with backwards 'e's and large spacing in between the loose letters. Inside was such pure truths about my son, of course the reasons why this little boy liked my child.

1. I like Jacob because... he plays fair and is a good sport.

2. I like Jacob because...he lets me take my turn.

3. I like Jacob because...he likes the things I like.

4. I like Jacob because...he is nice.

5. I like Jacob because...he is a good friend.

Each wonderful reason was accompanied by a sweet little hand penciled drawing of the two friends! Simple. Honest. True!

His mother showed me before her son gave it to Jacob and we fawned and marveled at the pure joy and sweet tenderness of a first true friend. This boy is still my son's favorite friend. I think we all need a friendship like this one. I was thinking what a wonderful expression of love this was and I decided that it was a lovely model for me to use to make my valentines for my family.

Here are the valentines that I have made for my family expressing my love. They are just small tokens to remind them that they are not only special to me but also special to our Creator. This was a fun project and here in the Pacific Northwest there are no shortage of these lovely brown coffee sleves. So I used these to make little books depicting each person's personality and then wrote 5 Things I Love About.... and the person's name. I was inspired by Linda's blog The Art Sook Nov.13th entry aren't these too beautiful!

My prayer this Valentine's Day is for all to experience the deep love of Jesus that loves us even when we are unloveable and far from deserving it.

Much of the time I don't deserve it, that's what gets me every time. That is when my eyes well with tears, my voice gets stuck and I can't even utter the words thank you, Lord. I will never do anything that deserves the sacrifice of such a price. I often become bound by chains of self-doubt, anger, unforgiveness, selfishness, the belief that I am unworthy and unlovely, this is my prison of lies. But then, Jesus comes and untangles the knotted madness and then gives me His healing, restoring breath. I pray your chains be broken! You have been set free, just step out of your prison of sin, shed the outer, orange suit of lies and with head high step into the beautiful colors of sunlight and truth,

for you ARE a NEW CREATION.

Love comes in many ways, sometimes, all we need are five things I love about you to remind us we are loved and then other times we need to remember our justification. We are made new by the greatest love of all.

Let Me Introduce You...

I have had the privildge of meeting some amazing women this year, who totally inspire me not only in business, and art, but as wonderful women in spirit too! One of those women is Alice Wingerden. This lovely gal has a great eye for antiques, does wonderful still life photography and acquires beautiful vintage collectibles. (check out these vintage earings, do they come in other colors?) She is also a web designer and does digital collaging. Talk about multi-talented I love that! When I wrote to her inquiring about a Christian Artists website she graciously welcomed me and shared her thoughts with me! I have to tell you that, when I got her notes for the interview, I could swear I was reading about myself! God is so good at finding us new friends!

She is a true kindred spirit! I would like to introduce you to :

Alice Wingerden, Proprietor of Painted White!

"Here at Painted White, we hope to bring uniqueness and inspirations to your life! If you enjoy all things vintage, handmade, and one-of-a- kind, you are sure to love our little shop."

-Alice W.

Could you tell me a little about yourself?

I am 26 years old...married to my best friend, Joshua, whom I met at the tiniest church ever (like 25 people!). We fell in love within my first year there...but didn't start "officially" dating for quite awhile (we are both shy ;)! Once we did start dating though...we were engaged soon after and were married on Oct. 1st, 2006. We have an adorable Cairn Terrier, Renoir...our spoiled baby who keeps us on our toes! We live in a townhouse in West Henrietta, NY...just south of Rochester.

How did you get started in your business? How long?

I was actually working on a Masters in Art Therapy and discovered "altered art" at an internship that I was doing. I became quite enthralled with creating and began to feel the pull (that I had felt often in my life) towards starting my own business...art & decor related. I ended up leaving the program I was in (for various reasons...not just to start my business)...but ended up working at home selling on eBay. I eventually created my own website (in 2006). Joshua has been so supportive through it all which makes it much easier!

What is the spark that ignites your creativity? What is your creative process like?

Usually my creativity moods come when I see something inspiring...it can be anything from an upclose photo in a magazine of old ephemera to a pretty chandelier that I see in an antique store. I usually end up working all hours of the night (I am quite a night owl!) when I have a project that I just can't put down.

Can you tell me where your appreciation for vintage and antique things comes from?

My mother, Janine...she brought me to lots of auctions, flea markets and church sales as a child. She is actually an antique dealer and has always brought home lovely finds just for me. I have always had a penchant for old things...my mom loves to tell the story about when my sister and I would go to flea markets and there would be brand new dolls...never used...and old, ratty dolls...and we always chose the old ratty ones!!! We knew they needed a good home ;) ...and I guess that feeling continues...like when I see an old door on the side of the road...I HAVE to go back and get it! I would love to have been born in the Victorian Era...the clothes...the homes...the furniture...the decor...I love it all.

How do you feel that your business is a reflection of God working in your life?

It is completely a reflection of Him working in my life. I absolutely would not be able to do this without God in my life. He is my strength and support...especially when things seem to be going against me (lack of finances, lack of support from friends or family, etc.) . I owe it all to him that I am able to live out my dream.

Do you own a shop/ art studio/ office? Where do you do your work from?

I currently work from my home. I have the master bedroom as my studio...we moved into this home in October, and I still have not organized this room...so it isn't used much yet for creative work...except for things relating to the computer. It actually is just a HUGE storage room right now for all my supplies.

My dream is to own my own shop someday though...hopefully within the next five years. My main line of selling will most likely continue to be the internet (because of my website designs)...but I would love to have a shop for the joy of decorating it and having a beautiful space for customers to come!

Thanks Alice for sharing with us. I love your eye for all things lovely. Don't you just love her gallery, so fresh and bright? Be sure to visit her website Painted White with Alice W. where you will find wonderful treasure. Also visit her blog Romantic Thoughts where you can read about the romantic life to wonderful french music playing in the background, ah, I felt like I was back in Paris. You will not be disappointed.

Wool Felt Tutorial

Hello Fellow Wool Felt Lovers and Wannabes!

Thanks for your interest in a tutorial on how I make wool felt and what I do with it. I appreciate you tuning in after a week, (holy cow sorry about that) this home schooling mom of 3 is pretty good at multi-tasking but I am NOT that good. So, thank you for the grace period.

I love, love, love taking old things and making them new and useful, with new purpose and practicality! I admit it I am a recycling junkie! Frugality is part of my personality, it must be the Scottish stock I come from. I am all about efficiency and being a good steward of my time. Why do something in 5 steps when you could do it in 2? Wool felt is wonderful for all of these reasons!

Wool felt is utilitarian in nature but that is what I like about it. I favor wool felt over common craft felt, believe it or not, there is a difference. Wool felt is a natural fiber and uniformly dense. Common craft felt is a synthetic fabric and often irregular in it's density. Craft felt is good in a pinch and comes in a variety of types, plush for example. But my favorite is wool, it is durable, wears great and nowadays comes in an array of amazing colors. I love using this fabric as the base for fabric collaging and other sewing projects because it doesn't need to be hemmed or finished-super cool! It is a great fabric to teach young ones how to sew and stitch on too! SO...Let's begin.

Wool comes in different forms:

1. Roving which is loose combed wool before being spun into yarn.

2. Wool fabric is woven wool yarn

3. then store bought wool felt.












The process I am talking about is taking wool fabric and turning it into felt . This process is so easy you are going to be amazed!

Take your 100% wool fabric and wash it alone, with a small amount of gentle detergent (woolite) using warm water cycle. Dry on hot heat. This can be done more than once to achieve the desired thickness and density for your felt the more you wash it and dry it the denser it becomes. It is important that you use 100% wool. I have felted wool blends with some success but the higher the wool content the better your results so I would advise you stick with the higher wool content fabrics, 80% and above, you will be happier with the results. For 100% wool 1-2 washings should do. Wool blends may take 2-4 washings, depending on the fiber the wool is blended with.
Remember, I said I am all about recycling-another thing that I like to do is look in second hand shops-my favorite way to spend a Saturday afternoon- for wool sweaters, felt them and then cut them apart for other projects, and appliqués. Here is a sweater I made for my niece using recycled sweaters. The sweater itself, strawberries, leaves and flowers are from old sweaters.

Thanks for letting me share with you my love of felt and now you know why I love it, hopefully I have made a felt lover out of you too!

The Birthday Parade

I was in my studio early this morning, in a creative tither, ideas were coming faster than I could write them down. I'm skectching, writing, making notations, flooded with great images in my mind's eye. For whatever reason, I open up a notebook out of my computer case that I hadn't seen since the fall...within the breath of a moment the roar of my personal heady chaos is silenced. I read my makeshift entry,obviously, I hadn't the time to write it where it belonged, in my journal. The Birthday Parade. hmmmm I don't remember a birthday....I have to say that it was such a delightful interruption that I had to sit down and write it on my blog to share. I love the feeling of discovery it is so pleasureable to me, delight and triggered learing wrapped in one package!

Enjoy a look into the day and life of our household. I enjoyed remembering.

May 24, 2007

I had the great pleasure of listening to The Birthday Parade rehearsal played over and over...and over again. My two younger children had whiled away the afternoon with excited chatter and planning for the Birthday Parade. "The birthday for Gina Celebation Song" as it was dubbed. It went something like this, (now be creative and envision two of your younger siblings doing this for you).

"GINA! GINA! GINA!...Happy Birthday Gina...you are the best sister GINA"-marching, marching, marching,... and so it goes, around and around with lots of bells and rattles and noise making, preferably repeating no less then 10 times in a row, then..."GIIIIIINNNNNAAAAA!" with an exuberent ending note, so as not to miss that it is the end of the song.

I giggled almost outloud to their distraction, but with great delight! I just had to write it down and secretly observe this phenomenon.. then quickly, I hear the patter of little feet as they hurry to their rooms for their costumes- well of course...WAIT Costumes?! My goodness, this will be some parade! You should know, that proper parade attire consists of homemade flags, coon-skin hats, blazer jackets and pouches filled with grass confetti to throw at the recipient!

I love sitting at my desk and listening to the amazing things my kids come up with. Their childhood creativity is so beautiful and bountiful, full of life and sound. Not the abridged version we adults have. Thank you Lord for this celebration of many things all at once. A birthday, growing up, the age of innocence, sibling love, working toward a common goal, honoring someone. The celebration of music and rythmn, and love. A perfect example of your omnipresent power in our lives. You waste nothing and count it all.

Needless to say, the parade was a huge success and Gina snickered and giggled through the whole show. What a wonderful way to be praised and remembered. I know big sister Gina was honored today, on the day she came to be part of the world and I think God was too.