Little Saints and Sinners

I had the good fortune to host and participate in a wonderful workshop this past weekend taught by Janette Schuster who is a "found object" artist. I have been fascinated by her work, her use of unusual elements combined with personal photos and her skill with manipulating metal. We had a lovely small group who came to spend a rainy Saturday at my home. A perfect day to make art!

An example of one of Janette's icons

Some of the raw materials for the making of icons. We were able to incorporate photos of meaningful people in our lives and elevate them to icon status.
My sunroom all set up for the day.

Janette's tools of the trade and my box of goodies. I have been saving such things as metal dog tags, keys, game pieces, cookie tins and lots of other flotsam for years (way before I met Janette) and never knew I would have a use for them. I just knew they had some purpose.

Janette demonstrating for Victoria. We learned how to transfer images to wood.

One of Victoria's wood transfers. I love the glorious distressed look of it.

Dan's work

These were done by Emily

And these are mine...not yet completed. It was very good for me to work outside of my element and comfort zone. These materials are not soft like my usual textiles. They bite back! I definitely need practice on technique using some of the tools.

What a fun day and the time flew by! I am finishing these up this week and will post the finished works. Janette will be holding another workshop here on September 26th called Robot Riot. Better start saving my tin cans!

New Doll..Two Sides to Every Story and Every Girl

My new topsy-turvy Cinderella doll. She is made from cloth and then painted with several layers and varnished for a smooth almost wood like appearance.

In all her finery she wears a dress of dupioni silk in the palest of blues adorned with handmade rosettes and vintage ribbon and lace. In cinders she wears a dress made of humble cotton patchwork from a vintage quilt top.

There are two sides to this girl!

Back details

Handmade tag

Her lovely purse which contains an important message from you know who!

Don't get caught up in the evening and forget....

Good advice for any girl.

Summer Pleasures

I haven't been too diligent about keeping up my blog this summer. It is so darn hot right now that I have lost all motivation for anything. I lay around with the dogs on days like this. Actually, I would like to be laying around with the dogs but no such luck. My first born is home from college with his film degree in hand and ready to start the next phase of his journey. I had an exhausting day school shopping with my teenage daughter for her first day of high school. So, looking into my garden and finding this beauty was such a pleasure. I love dahlias even though they require digging up in the fall, they reward you with such gorgeous blossoms. This one is called "Bonny Blue" even though it looks pretty purple to me. Of course, folding clean crisp vintage linen off the washing line is like a religion to me. I call my clothesline my "temple". Do not disturb me out there!

On another note, I had the chance to visit this lovely shop in Guild, New Hampshire a couple of weeks ago. If you love wool this is a mecca! They really cater to rug hookers and braiders and their selection of hand-dyed and over-dyed wool is wonderful. I did come away with a little bundle and some packets of dye to try some dying of my own.

Aren't these colors luscious!!!

Stone Collecting

I am a sucker for stones. I never met one I didn't like. This little section of Cousin's Shore on PEI is like paradise for me. My daughter and I recently went stone hunting and came away with lots of smooth wonderful stones. She would ask "how about this one?" Oh yes, that's a beauty. We have to have that one. We don't take too many as to leave plenty for others to find.

Maybe I'll try my hand at crochet like the gorgeous stones here. Or just keep them by my side like a little stone garden at my fingertips. There is something very peaceful about touching and rearranging these stones. Perfection in a smooth round cool package.

Scenes from Prince Edward Island

I thought I would take you on a little tour of one of my favorite villages on PEI: Victoria by the Sea. This lovely little town is located along the southern coast of Prince Edward Island over looking the Northumberland Strait.

There are lots of tea rooms on the island revealing a decidedly British influence. This is one my favorites. I just love the vibrant island colors and sweet lace curtains, not to mention the window boxes bursting with geraniums.
This is a traditional island home with typical PEI colors. Notice the lovely painted details above the rounded dormer windows.

This sweet dory window box was found outside Olde Lovely, a cute little shop located in Burlington (5 minutes outside Kensington), PEI. If you have the chance, be sure to visit this beautiful shop and visit with Cyndi, the owner. Tell them Maminka Girl sent you!

More journal pages

A few more pages from my Journal of Interest: Permission to play Blind contour drawing...haven't done this since college.
Mixing styles: very old vintage pages mixed with modern day advertisements

I reworked this title page but am still not happy with it...don't like my handwriting but I still love that quote. And it is so true.

Journal of Interest

Here's a peek at my Journal of Interest which is an E-Zine workshop I have been taking with Teresa McFayden.

It was made by "deconstructing" an old book and using the covers..great idea! I was excited to find this old illustration of a mother scrapbooking with her children.

Inside cover above. One of my favorite quotes for the title page.