Following my muse....

Cloth Doll Cruise 2011

Come join Patti Culea (www.pmcdesigns.com) and I on a fabulous Doll Making Cruise to the Caribbean.

February 25 - March 7, 2011

 

Doll making and cruising....it doesn't get any better than this!  I hope you can join us!

Contact Barbara Ann Robby with BR Travel Services for information.

 

 

Little phone purse...

  

I am forever loosing my phone.  When I have my purse with me I don't have a problem.  But when I'm working around the house or in my studio...I am forever forgetting to bring it with me when I move from room to room.  So my husband, being the wise man that he is, suggested I make a little purse for my phone that I can wear around the house.  Brilliant!

So, I immediately dropped everything I was doing (sometimes the muse works that way) and started working on a simple little purse.  I love it!!!!  It was so much fun to make, and I love all the little feminine trims and flowers.  It feels so pretty to wear.   

 

Also, I wanted to tell you about a fantastic blog I came across today.  This blog is packed full of great information for Doll Artists. It's called Art Doll Artists.  I found it in a round about way.  I was checking out Cody Goodins blog (I love following his blog) and noticed a picture of one of my dolls listed under the blogs that he follows.  Now I started to get a little inflated thinking that he was following my blog...NOT!  It was for the blog Art Doll Artists.  This blog had mentioned that I was teaching at MMM, and that bit of news was listed in this really great informational post called Attending Conferences in 2010.  It covers information about accommodations, meals, workshops, challenges, and more.  It also lists events that are scheduled for this year, their locations, the teachers, and contact information.  So check it out...you won't be disappointed!

Thanks for letting me share.  Have a great day!

Sneak peek....

 
  

 
   

This little mermaid has gone to live in California!  She will love living closer to the ocean....

I think she turned out really pretty!

Enjoy! 
 

simple pleasures....

 

I just had to share this with you!  This morning I'm standing at the kitchen sink working on dishes, when all of a sudden there is a beautiful red glow covering the white walls.  I knew exactly what it was!  I turned and looked out my kitchen window....good morning sunshine!

Make sure you take time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life!  

Have a great day! 

Winter Wonderland!

 

Here are a few awesome pictures my husband took during an ice storm in January.  I was in California teaching for nearly three weeks and missed the whole thing.  Our area lost power for about 24 hours, which was fortunate compared to come areas that lost power for days.  We also had a lot of tree branches come down.  There were  twigs and branches scattered all over the yard.  It looked so odd.  I know the ice can cause a lot of problems....but it sure is pretty!  The trees are spectacular when covered in ice!

My family gives me a hard time about the timing of my trips.  One, because of the ice storm while I was gone, and two because there was a blizzard the day I left and the day I returned home.  When we left for the airport, it was during a white out.  We had had a blizzard the day before I left that dumped a lot of snow, and then the winds picked up and they were howling from the north.  It was blowing so hard that it picked up all the snow in Minnesota and Northern Iowa and moved it to Southern Iowa!  Well, I'm exaggerating about the Minnesota part, but there was a whole lot of snow blowing around.  You couldn't see the road in front of you, and when you could, you really didn't want to.  The wind can, and usually does, create very impressive snow drifts, and they're usually in very inconvenient places like your driveway or the middle of the road.  To add to the excitement, I had an early flight, so we left the house before the snow plows had a chance to clear the roads.  It's a little scary hitting a 3 foot snow drift at 20 miles an hour, so you can plow through.  I know 20 miles an hour normally doesn't seem that fast....but when facing a 3'x8' pile of snow....it's scary fast.  My husband was a beast, and he just kept on busting our way through the drifts!  We made it to the airport safely and I made my flight on time.  All the way there I kept thinking they would cancel my flight...but they didn't.

Then when I returned home my brother-in-law Ed picked me up at the airport, during another blizzard.  This blizzard was a bit of a surprise.  We were only supposed to get a mere 1-3 inches of of gentle snow fall....it turned into 9 inches of snow with high winds blowing the snow horizontally across the road....that's an extreme difference!  So needless to say it turned out to be a full fledged white knuckle, get out the rosary beads, trip home from the airport....in a blizzard.  It took over 2 hours to make what would usually be a 45 minute trip.  My husband Mark was so sweet, he turned on every light in the house and stood outside waving his flashlight, so we'd know we were getting close......it was our lighthouse!  We arrived safe and sound, with pure adrenalin PUMPING through our veins!  It was impossible for Ed to make it safely home, so he camped out at our house.  Mark made us dinner, and then we all hit the sack.  The next morning the weather was quiet, crisp, and clear.  We had breakfast and everyone was on their merry way....another beautiful day in Iowa.  Ed and I joke that we will never forget our special bonding time during THE BLIZZARD OF 2010!

 

I leave for California the middle of March to teach a couple classes.  The newest joke and razz is that there will be another blizzard because I'm leaving town.  My family's marking the dates on their calendars...boy will I be in trouble if there really is a blizzard!

 
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been blessed with.  This has been a whirlwind of a year and I have enjoyed the adventure.  A big thanks to all of you who have faithfully check in to see what I'm up to and for all the emails of encouragement!  I truly appreciate your friendship!  You enrich my life! 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Enjoy!!!

 

Livin' our dream...

It has been TOO long since my last post!  I have so much to tell you!  On August 15th my family and I packed up our lives and moved them from Escondido, California to Redfield, Iowa.  It was a huge move for us!  We have dreamed of moving to Iowa for the longest time, and finally the time had come for us to make a decision....do we stay where we are or do we seize the moment! 

Over a course of two weeks, we packed our belongings into two "PODS".  Packed a few belongings into two cars along with my husband, my son, myself, and two pets (a cat and a dog); and hit the road.  The roadtrip went very well.  We all arrived in our right minds and without any wounds or scars.  Our PODS containing all our worldly possesions arrived about a week after we did.  This was a good thing, it gave us just enough time before move in day, to recover from packing and our cross country roadtrip.  Also, that was a big week for my son.  He registered at WCV for 9th grade, attended Back to School night, and started High School. 

It's been a little over a month since our move; and our days are filled with unpacking, rearranging, and ADVENTURES.  The sweet old farmhouse we've moved into is about 100 years old and sitting on a big chunck of land out in the country.  We are surrounded by soybean and corn fields; and our neighbors on the right are COWS!   

IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!

I'll keep you posted about my new adventures on my blog - Following my muse...

My babies growing up!

Wow!  I can't believe my little baby boy is graduating from the 8th grade.  Next year it's High School!  Where does the time go?  I'm so proud of Wade.  He is so artistic and not afraid to try whatever is on his mind.  He is constantly thinking about new designs for pants, vest, jackets.....he is very much into altering his cloths. 

These are the most recent pants that have been altered - I think they're really cool!  We worked on them together! But to tell you honestly he did at least 90% of it...I just stepped in when there was clear danger for the possible loss of fingers.

These used to be two pairs of pants....

 

There used to be a patch on the leg on the right.  He used my sewing machine to stitch out the name of a girl he used to be sweet on.  The patch has been removed....less painful than a tattoo.

In addition to his talent for designing clothing, he draws, plays the electric guitar, has a super fun sense of humor, and loves people.  He dreams of someday being a "rock star".   I have no doubt that he will accomplish whatever he sets out to do.

Congratulations Wade!  Next year you'll be with the big dawgs!
You'll be a Freshman!


Thanks for letting share my awesome son with you!

Hugs,
Cyndi

Getting a jump start on Halloween...

Oh I do love Halloween!  I started feeling the urge to play around with a few new pieces for the Halloween season.  The witch will probably be a workshop or pattern and the pumpkin will be to sell as a OOAK.  I've also got a Frankenstein rolling around in my head!  Anyways just wanted to give you a sneak peak of what I'm working on...I'll keep you posted on the progress!







It's all fun!  Enjoy!

New little Pixie...

I thought I'd share this little Pixie with you.  This is what I made for my mom for Mother's Day!  She loves her! 
Enjoy!