Ankie Daanen Class

I had the most wonderful four day class with Ankie Daanen. I learned how to sculpt heads, hands and feet out of clay. As you can see from my almost finished head I learned a lot. Not only did I learn how to do some sculpting but also how to paint it with watercolor, a new medium for me. Because there wasn't enough time in class Ankie made costumes for all the dolls. They are exquisite with much attention to detail. As soon as I get pictures of my finished doll I will post them. I am looking forward to practicing my newly learned techniques and hopefully improving on them.

A pile of potential

There's nothing like a trip to your favorite fabric store, especially when everything is on sale. I love splurging every once in a while. My budget of course doesn't much like it, but oh well. All that new fabric-so many possibilities. So many things you can make-quilts, fabric journals, bags, softies, etc... Now I all need to do is find the time and an empty flat surface in my studio to work on them.

Time to Declutter

It's January. It's time to declutter the studio. What a mess! What a job! Decluttering seems so anti-productive in the short picture. But in the long view it really is very helpful. I've had a very productive year which means there's more clutter than ever. I don't really understand why the clutter goes up exponentially with the creativity, but it does. Also it's time to evaluate those UFO's. Are they really worth finishing? Sometimes you make something just to learn the process. Hopefully when I'm done reorganizing my creativity will be renewed. Not only that, but maybe I'll also be able to find the supplies and tools I need to support my new found creativity.

First Gift of the Year

The first gift of the year was this set of towels. It was a birthday present for a very good friend. I bought a set of plain towels. For me this is like a blank canvas, lots of possibilities. I embellished them with a charm pack, some lace and ribbon. My friend liked them very much.

Happy New Year and Happy Hedgehogs

Happy New Year everyone and happy hedgehogs. Why the happy hedgehogs? Well, my daughter has been asking for a real hedgehog for the last couple of years. You know how kids can be when they want something. But, they are illegal in Ca. So then, my daughter decided she wanted hedgehog earmuffs for Christmas. This was the only thing she asked for. So of course I had to design them. They kind of look like a green Princess Leah hair style when worn. They look very cute on on my daughter and I know she will wear them. The hedgehogs detach from the headband. This is useful if you just need to hold a hedgehog. The picture of the other hedgehog is one I designed for a swap-bot swap. He's about 4" long. I'd better mail him quickly before my daughter discovers him...