Things I'm Happy For...

Coming across a really cool knitting magazine.  All of the designs here are inspired by Jane Austen!  How awesome is that?    I discovered this little treasure while walking around in New Haven with my hubby last weekend.  I was immediately smitten...

Here's a sample of some of the designs within...it sent my heart a beating, that's for sure!  And I just recently came into some new yummy yarn, so...

I received the Tasha Tudor Museum newsletter in the mail!  I'm especially excited because this is the year for our visit to Vermont, where the museum is located.  We didn't get to go on a vacation last year, so it will be an especially happy occasion this year (not to mention that it will also mark our 15th wedding anniversary).  The Tasha Tudor Museum is going to be the number one stop on our trip.   I am also yearning to revisit the Grandma Moses exhibit at the Bennington Museum.   Can you tell that I wish it was October already???

While on our travels last weekend, I found this adorable book by Sharon Montrose at half-price.  (I truly miss  working at a bookstore!)  I just had to bring it home!  Each page is filled with the most enchanting portraits of animals both large and small!

I really adore this simple image called "The Fox and the Hound."  How cute is this?

You might remember me mentioning that the hubby and I would be handcrafting many of our holiday gifts.  Well, we did - and I forgot to photograph some of them to share with you!  I did manage to take a few before madly dashing off the gifts in the mail.  Here is my favorite that we collaborated on...three cupcake photo holders for our niece and her family.   We used paperclay for this project - my hubby carefully molded each "cupcake" in an actual silicone cupcake mold and then created the "frosting" and "cherry" for the tops.  I did the painting!  You can't really tell from the photo, but each cherry has a liberal sprinkling of glitter!  We used heavy copper wire for the photo holder itself.

 We created this necklace and earring set for another one of our nieces.  Her favorite color is blue, and so that was the primary color throughout the set.

Here's another necklace we created for another one of our nieces.  Her favorite color is pink - so we took a lovely paper rose in a beautiful pink shade and hot-glued it to a filigree base and adorned it with beautiful silver, pink, clear and crystal beads.  

 I am so thrilled that I joined Life Book this year! And I'm even more excited to share with you my first piece of art of the New Year - produced through this amazing workshop.  The theme was our Goddess Superpowers.  I used key words that are important to me in my life - and created an earthy background dappled with moths and butterflies (which also appear on the backing art paper for this piece).  I created a goddess of my own creation - perhaps a manifestation of my own inner goddess and ran a fern stamp and music notes through her hair - which I coated with a metallic copper powder.  Of course, since she's a goddess - I had to affix some clear jewels to her face.

I'm delighted with how she came out.  If you enlarge the first photo, you might be able to read the Kahlil Gibran quote that encircles her head and hair. I am considering making a print of this piece, as I am hopeful that it will resonate with others as much as she resonates personally with me.

Til next time,

Theresa