Oh... How Time FLIES!

Hard to believe we are saying goodbye to another month as December 1st comes knocking at the door.

Hours become mere minutes, and minutes seen like seconds when I spend WONDERFUL moments carefully preparing cheerful boxes filled with bright and festive holiday treasures.

I LOVE tucking into each and every package a few surprises, such as glittery treat cups, pretty notecards, or bottle brush snowflakes ornaments, as my way of saying "THANK YOU" for making this GRAND Etsy Holiday Open House... SO SPECIAL!

The northwinds have begun to blow, here in the plains, and the sky has turned to a snowy colored gray. A chill in the air, the sounds of Christmas music drifting through the house, and baskets of BEAUTIFUL ornaments decorating my studio are definitely the PERFECT way to start a holiday celebration off on the right foot.

There are only a few days left to purchase SHIMMERING bits and baubles from my little shop. So be sure to stop by and pick out a unique hand-made treasure to grace your home or give as a gift for someone special!

May your heart be merry and light as you bask in the warmth and MAGIC of this Joyous Season!

A GRAND Holiday Open House

WELCOME dear friends...YES, Welcome... and THANK YOU so very much for stopping by to visit.

There is a REAL MAGIC that surrounds this time of year!

When I remember the joyous moments of Christmases past, I think about the excitement I felt as a child when my father arrived home with that fresh-cut evergreen. This always signified the beginning of the holiday season in our home.

After the fragrant tree was properly positioned in the living room, mom would pull down a box of decorations from the top shelf in the closet. My sister and I would carefully help her unwrap delicate ornaments that we had made, such as pipe cleaner candy canes, popsicle stick stars, glittered egg crates turned into silver bells, along with Santas and snowmen made of construction paper and cotton balls.

Each one a cherished treasure, and even though they were a little worn or a lot worn for some, the evergreen always shimmered and sparkled with our handcrafted artworks.

Oh, how I LOVED, every year, bringing home from school some new decorative adornment. Mom made sure to give it a place of honor, usually front and center on the Christmas tree.

Although I have graduated from using egg crates, and construction paper, those endearing memories are why, even today, I find myself longing to create BEAUTIFUL holiday ornaments to grace not only my own tree, but also those of my friends and family.

I am THRILLED you have come to The Red Door Studio's 1st Etsy Holiday Open House. My little shop is filled to the brim with WONDERFUL bits and baubles that are sure to DELIGHT!

These hand-made treasures will only be available starting today through Sunday, December 2nd. There are also several other wonderful home decor offerings that are on sale, so be sure to browse.

For every purchase made, your name will be entered in the Open House Giveaway. On December 3rd, two winners will be announced and each individual will win a Vintage "JOY" Garland, just like the one shown below.

My sincere wish is that you find that perfect piece to decorate your home, give as a gift, bring you joy, and perhaps cause you to revel, if only for a moment, in the MAGIC of the season.

Happiest of Holidays to you and yours!

Exciting Times

I am having such a good time, and feeling a little like one of Santa's elves, as I continue to prepare for my Etsy Holiday Open House.

However, I wanted to let you know that registration for Art & Soul Virginia starts TODAY!!!

Marylin and I are thrilled to be teaching at this retreat. We have two WONDERFUL workshops to share.

The first class is BRAND NEW!

Students will be constructing a BEAUTIFUL journal to preserve treasures found in nature. Check out all the details, here and take a peek below at this unique working piece of art.


Not only will we be constructing this INCREDIBLE book, but we will also explore techniques to transform live botanicals into cherished keepsakes, traditional methods for pressing flowers and plants, along with discussing ways to use natural elements in other mixed media artworks.


Our second offering is a workshop that is SO MUCH FUN!

Students will be building an ADORABLE 3-dimensional fiber abode with pages tucked inside to display cherished photos. Check out all the details, here.
We will be showing participants this FABULOUS technique for using up all those little pieces of fabric, ribbon, paper, metal, misc ephemera... whatever, to transform a plain piece of muslin into a GORGEOUS work of art. This is DEFINITELY a technique that can be used in so many different ways.We hope you will join us for class on Sunday, May 4th and Monday, May 5, 2008. We would LOVE to spend the day with you!

VERY Glittery, INDEED!

It was great fun attending the Silver Bella Vendor Show on Friday night.

This event DEFINITELY put me in a holiday mood! My table felt so festive with its gorgeous green table cloth and wintry trees as the backdrop to vintage wire baskets filled with YUMMY ornaments.

AND... I saved a few of these beautiful goodies for my upcoming Red Door Studio Holiday Open House on ETSY starting on Monday, November 19th.

Take a peek at just a few treasures that will be for sale.
NEW! to my Vintage Holiday Ornament Series is this design.


Shimmering, Sparkling, and Glittery Snowflakes, as well as Stars will also be among the treasures to pick from, each one with a unique heart-warming sentiment captured under glass.

Oh, did I mention that every ornament will come boxed, making them easy to wrap up as a PERFECT gift for someone special.
And this "Winter Wonder" ornament will be retiring after this year. I don't have many, so be sure to stop by my little etsy shop starting next Monday.

The Open House will last from November 19th through December 2nd.

Beautiful Gift Giving and Making...

I am EXCITED and PLEASED to announce that the Quilting Art Gifts Issue will be hitting newstands, TODAY!

I feel very honored to be part of this FANASTIC special publication. Every page is filled to the brim with some of the most enchanting projects and decor for creating a very merry holiday.So, don't wait to purchase this INCREDIBLE magazine!

Below is a sneek peek from a couple of pages...

WOW! Check out this link to Craft Magazine webzine, where they talk about the new Gifts Issue including a sneek peek at another piece of my artwork.

WHOAAAAA!!!!!

UNBELIEVABLE!, MIND-BOGGLING!!, OUTSTANDING!!!... Are only a few adjectives to describe this experience.

60,000 attendees, a convention center that is AS BIG AS! 5 football fields, a vendor show with OVER! 1000 booths, a quilt exhibit WORTH! millions and MILLIONS of dollars, a who's who of the sewing/fiber world EVERYWHERE! you turn.

Marylin and I were completely SPEECHLESS when we arrived at the Festival.

This event is run like a well oiled machine with a HIGHLY organized staff coordinating all efforts. Judy Murrah, Kim DeCosta, and their team are at the helm, keeping this ship afloat, and steering it in the right direction 24/7.

We were so lucky to have 3 classes filled to the brim with INCREDIBLE students. There was lots of laughter and merriment had by all.

Wednesday was our first day teaching. Our class made some COOL Extended Fusion Journals. Marylin and I got such a kick out of all the students hovering around the BIG piles of snippets, bits, and remnants... Or what we affectionately called "The Trash Bag"
Thursday was filled with both teaching and demonstrating in the Mixed Media Round Robin. Here is a picture of one of the dear sweet ladies in our morning class. Her name is Stella. She is in her 80's and this was her 27th year at Quilt... INCREDIBLE!!! Stella shared with me how excited she was to take our class. She wanted to learn how to create Fused Papers with beautiful butterflies for her daughter to give away in her work with Hospice.

How can you not be deeply touched by this story? It brought tears to my eyes, and I had to compose myself from breaking down into a messy heap of tears.

All day Friday, Marylin and I had the great honor of demonstrating in the Open Studios of Quilting Art and Cloth,Paper,Scissor. We had such an enjoyable time, and were overwhelmed with the extremely positive response we had to both of our demonstrations. It was GREAT FUN meeting people and talking about our passion for fibers and art.
This is a SLOW moment during one of Marylin's demonstrations. LOOK AT ALL THE PEOPLE gathered around.

A HUGE hovering crowd around every table was the way it was for all the artist's strutting their stuff!

Here is a picture of Christine Adams and myself. Christine is a VERY talented quilt and mixed media artist. I had the enormous pleasure of being introduced to her by none other than the FABULOUS Lesley Riley.
Christine's beautiful soul and charming personality made our time together so special. I miss her... already!

Our Friday night class started out with students feeling very tired after a full day of classes, shopping, and visiting the fanastic quilt exhibits. BUT by the end of our time together, the whole group was feeling REALLY ENERGIZED by the wall of inspiration created from all the artworks hanging up at the front of the class room.There were SO MANY memorable moments throughout my visit. It was OUT OF THIS WORLD surreal meeting Jane Dunnewold, face to face. She is a fiber artist I have admired forever!!!!!

I was also able to meet so many other talented individuals like Sue Bleiweiss(whom I missed having a picture snapped with the two of us), Terri Stegmiller, Judy Coates-Perez,, Clarie Benn, Beryl Taylor, and Jane Davila.

The days flew by in an instant, like they always do, when I am in the moment... and living this dream of an artistic life.