ARTFEST or BUST!

My... Oh My, I can hardly believe it.. the time has arrived!!!!

I am leaving for Artfest on Monday. It has been a whole year of planning, dreaming, and creating. ALL of this for one UNFORGETTABLE week!

It seems difficult to adequately express the multitude of feelings I am having... excitment.. anticipation... joy... sincere gratitude. I will be seeing friends old and new, and spending time with like minds and hearts.

The last few days have been almost a blur of activities like shipping box... upon box for our class and vendor night, finishing all outstanding projects, washing and packing clothes, along with driving hither and yon checking off items from an endless list of errands... WHEW.

Yet, I would not take back one minute of it!

My flight from Kansas City to Seattle is 3 hours long, I use those moments, when I am confined to what seems to be an ever shrinking seat, to journal and reflect on the upcoming art filled days. Honestly, I am looking forward to those 3 hours. I think it will be the first time I have sat for that long since my trip home last year from ArtFiberfest in June.

Sadly, this must be my last post until I return. However, when I get home I will have a myriad of MARVELOUS stories and pictures to share!

So while I am away, I would like to leave you with a recent weekly Fiber Journal artwork I completed. The text is from a verse I penned in my 2007 Artfest journal. It seemed appropriate to also incorporate these words into my weekly art.

A Place to Bark Art Auction

Dear Friends...

There is a NEW round of Art Auctions posted on Ebay. 100% of the money raised from the sale of the art listed will be donated to Bernie Berlin's Animal Shelter.

Bernie has rescued hundreds of animals from abusive, sometimes torturous situations, and/or certain death. Her non-profit shelter incur enormous expenses from vet bills and general care of the animals she saves.

Let's HELP HER OUT!!!

Pick out a piece or two as a gift or for yourself!!!! Not only will you be getting some INCREDIBLE Artwork, you will be supporting a VERY NOBLE CAUSE!

Organized Chaos!

As the days quickly pass, the time has come to begin packing teacher and class supplies along with lots of vendor goodies for the journey to Artfest in Port Townsend, Washington.

I thought I my might share a few photos of my piles of important stuff along with a little project I started. Although it might look like a mish mash of this and that, I TRULY have it all organized in a somewhat chaotic manner... if that makes any sense.

The picture above is a current view of my work table. As you can see I have a lot of odds and ends strewn about the surface.

As a last minute project, I decided to trace a bird silhouette onto fabric from one of my newly designed Songbird Stencil Sheets. This little birdie is sitting on a leafy fabric tree limb that I sketched.

I am creating a fun t-shirt I hope to wear on vendor night. However, the shirt is not quite finished because I am still embellishing the design with some decorative stitching for that added bit of texture.

Not only am I one lucky girl for having the opportunity to teach at Artfest this year, but I get the added bonus of participating as a student. So, this pile is a group of supplies I will need for the classes I am taking on Friday and Saturday.

The Artfest Wednesday night Opening Ceremony is shaping up to be a HUGE Extravaganza!

Someguy, the creator of the 1000 Journals, will be the guest speaker. He has a brand new book that gives details about the project with example pages from some of the journals. I am really looking forward to hearing his talk and having him autograph my purchased copy. I had the incredible honor of journaling in book #775 last year at ArtFiberfest.

Teesha has also asked all the teachers to bring 550 postcards (WOW!) to hand out to our fellow Artfesters as a memento of the 2007 event. Teachers will be giving out postcards and signing yearbooks after Someguy's speech. I have designed a new card just for this special occasion. Here they are all bundled up and ready to go in my suitcase.

Well... as you can probably guess... if I had a wish or two I would want to be packed up and headin' out to Artfest today. BUT... since it is over a week before I get on that plane and fly away, I will continue gathering my stuff... anxiously anticipating all the fun I'm going to have... and knowing I will see everyone VERY SOON!

a little peek...

I thought I might share a few of my Artfest Vendor Night treasures. The shimmering heart above is a close-up from one of my FAVORITE Garlands.

Each letter is embellished with the most INCREDIBLE vintage papers, and illustrations. I have carefully selected several heartfelt words to weave into wonderful hanging sentiments...SO be sure to stop by and pick out your favorite.

The image on the left is one of only two small fabric paintings I will be selling. Each piece is inspired by the work I have been doing weekly in my 2007 Fabric Journal. Both artworks are embellished with antique lace and vintage papers!

I will also have a WONDERFUL selection of authentic handwritten letters and documents from France, gorgeous calligraphic ledger papers, vintage collage packs, antique door hardware, delicate tintype frames, and vintage flash cards along with my NEW Songbird Silhouette Stencil Sheets!

I look forward to a FUN Filled... ARTFUL Evening. See You There!

For the Cause

Dear Friends...
There are two groups of Ebay auctions that I would invite you all to visit. These auctions are for a couple of Very VERY WORTHWHILE causes.

The first is a trio of fatbooks being auctioned off by the WONDERFUL Maija Lepore. All proceeds will go to benefit Bernie Berlin's Animal Rescue, A Place to Bark.

Check out those fatbooks here, here, and here.



The second is a Valentine Art Charm Bracelet. ArtErratica and the FABULOUS Melissa McCobb Hubbell is auctioning an additional Bracelet for Meganaid. All proceeds will go to help Megan and her little girl. The last auction raised an amazing $107. Hopefully, this one will do the same!



Please take a look at all the auctions, and pass the word.
Thanks SO MUCH!

Wrapping It Up!

With preparations for Artfest winding down, I spent part of the afternoon wrapping up just a few details for our upcoming class.

They say good things come in small packages. Well, I sure hope our students think so. Marylin and I have an extra bonus goodie to give each one of them as just another way of saying, "Thank You for spending the day with us".

These little gifties are wrapped in the prettiest shimmering silver paper, and tied with a lovely bow on top.

Honestly, all of this has been like planning a GRAND PARTY. We are both simply GIDDY with excitement to meet everyone and see their faces when they spy the wonderful treats for each of them!

AND.. do you remember this journal, and the fun little bird silhouettes I used?

Well, I am so thrilled to share the news that I have designed NOT JUST ONE... BUT TWO... BRAND NEW Songbird Stencil Sheets!

I will be selling these gems at the Artfest vendor night on Friday. But, I am planning to share them in class on Thursday so students can use them while creating those FABULOUS fiber journals!


PS... I will be posting a sneak peak of some of the other treasures I will have available to purchase at vendor night. So... STAY TUNED!

WELCOME SPRING

Dear Friends....

On this first day of March, I thought I might welcome the coming of spring with a fresh new look for my blog.

I hope you like it!