Missed the Party --but stayed cool!

I missed the Mad Hatter Tea Party, but stayed cool in Northern Arizona. We did some off-roading with friends in the Payson/Christopher Creek area. Then we traveled home on the 60 from Show-Low through Apache country. This area is so beautiful and we drove through at just the right time, sunset! Enjoy the pictures!



--the bunnies were a bit put off that we missed Vanessa's party!

Thanks Smadar! The Arte Y Pico Award!

Smadar of Smadar's Treasure, About Beads, Beading, and Bead Art bestowed on me the Arte Y Pico Award --which translates to, the peak of art. Thank you Smadar for choosing me for this lovely award. Smadar is a bead artist who creates some of most amazing beaded creations. You can visit this artist's blog or Etsy shop. When this award is bestowed the awarded then chooses five artist's that they feel deserve this honor. Today I pass this award on to these five wonderful artists:

Gilfling' Designs. Gilfling is a talented artist that not only paints thought evoking and emotional paintings, but also creates some of the loveliest textile designs.

A Fanciful Twist. You will be enamored as you read this amazing blog and take a peak at the creations that are produced by A Fanciful Twist.

Stiletto Heights. Visit her blog to see her striking original prints and check out her Etsy shop to pick up her latest indie comic.

Cicada Daydream. Lovely home furnishing and original textile designs. Plus, fun blog posts to read and contests...you will never be disappointed since this blogger updates almost daily!

Picciolo. A lovely blog and beautiful textile creations!

All of these bloggers and artists are very special and I'm sure you will enjoy reading their blogs and looking at their creations!

The rules for this award.

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" to show it's origin.

My It Things! Wow front page!

I'm so excited right now! I wrote an article for the website, MyItThings, and it made it to the front page. The article is titled, Stop, Don't Throw Away That Magazine. It's about my paper quilt, which I featured in an earlier blog post. I never imagined it would get included in the front page. MyItThings is a fun website and if you are looking for a little more exposure it certainly can provide that.

Virtual Mad Tea Party and Fanciful Twist!

Oh there's going to be a party...a summer party....WOOO HOOO

Get your party trimmings....masks....and favorite goodies and join everyone at

Fanciful Twist Carnivalee!

Off-Roading and Embroidery do go together!

Not only do I enjoy off-roading, but I also enjoy creating cool things to wear or use that feature the Toyota FJ and off-roading. This design was drawn by a friend, based on my DHs idea, to create stickers for our group/non-group of off-roaders. I thought it was so cool and would be perfect as an embroidery design on shirts. Up to the point of seeing this design and imagining it for embroidery uses I had never digitized anything to be turned into a sewn patch. I have a Pfaff 2144 and at that time 3D Creative Suite. The software is for the PC and allows you to take your original designs and create embroidery that can be transfered to your sewing machine to sew out on shirts, bags, jackets....whatever you can imagine...

When I first loaded the art (from a jpeg) into my PC and started creating the digitized artwork I ended up with about 35,000 stitches over a size of 100mm x 90mm. If you do machine embroidery you know that is a lot of stitches in that amount of space. So I had to start fiddling with it to reduce the number of stitches. I reduced the number of colors and some of the detail. I finally got it down to 15,000 stitches and it comes out perfectly on polo shirts. I stabilized with a stay in stabilizer on the wrong side and a water soluble stabilizer on top. I used all Robison-Anton thread. Initially I had issues with thread breakage, but found some titanium needles at the sewing shop in JoAnns and I have to say that I can sew just about anything with these needles. The FJ comes in many different colors, so when I get to the body color I just use whatever color thread needed for the FJ that I'm making.


See embroidery and off-roading do go together!

Out of this World! Winner!

My pictures are fuzzy...we were driving and it was at the last minute that I noticed that the light pole lamps appeared to be something more than just lights --I heard the music from close encounters..... They had eyes....not your normal everyday eyes....but ALIEN eyes! They lined the streets....I was taken by surprise. I wasn't in your normal American town I was in Roswell, NM.

Close Encounters music cued up...

Unbelievable pictures of aliens..

It was fun reading the comments to my "Thrill on the Hill" photo contest. You guys have great imaginations and certainly think outside of the box! Eight of you figured out what the picture was. And the out of this world winner is:

BeJeweled!

Artist Series - Two Left Hands!

Wouldn't you just love to sit in Two Left Hands craft room and watch how she makes all of these wonderful creations? Or, just sit and chat with her for a while? Every time we have shared emails Liz has been so sweet and kind. She also makes some of the most beautiful treasuries. And, look at her photography --the shots she takes of her lovely creations are so crisp and clear. So if you haven't visited Liz's etsy shop, you should do that immediately! If you see a treasury that she has created you should check that out too --you won't be disappointed!

1. When did you become interested in art and did you choose art, or did it choose you?

I have always been creating for as long as I can remember, so maybe it chose me! I can't sit still and need something in my hands all the time, usually some form of embroidery or handwork. When I was a kid my Dad made a felt Christmas tree and in the evening we would gather around the kitchen table and make little felt ornaments to hang on it! It was great fun, and being there were six kids in our family, we were always trying to see who could make the best ornament! That was when I fell in love with felt and embroidery.

2. You get to spend one weekend each with three historical figures, an artist, a writer and one of your choice. Who are they and what will you talk about or do?

An artist, probably Grandma Moses. She is the reason I love folk art and I like the fact that she didn't begin painting until she was elderly, which proves you are never to old to follow your dream!

My favorite author would be Margaret Mitchell, I have read and re-read Gone With the Wind at least five or six times, and seen the movie more times than I can count! And last would be Laura Ingalls Wilder. When I was a kid The Little House books were my favorites. I think I may have been born in the wrong century, sometimes!

3. Do any of these choices influence your work? and why?

I think they all influence me some how, I loved how Scarlett made a gorgeous dress from the velvet drapes, and how cherished handmade gifts were in Laura Ingalls life. She made a plain satin ribbon sound like a pot of gold!

4.How has the popularity of the internet affected your work?

It has effected my work a lot. I used to do craft shows and some consignment for my friends home decor store, but it wasn't near as satisfying as selling on Etsy has been. I have met so many wonderful new and talented friends from around the world, that everyday on Etsy is like opening a present. You just never know who you will meet, or what amazing piece of art you will see! It's a true blessing to be a part of this wonderful place!

5. Have you discovered any new technique to creating your work that you can share?

I can't really say that I have, I have been using the same techniques for a zillion years, and I just try to apply them to new things.

6. How do you overcome artist block?

I can't say I ever have a arist block! Usually when I am working on something, my mind is already planning the next project. If I feel the need for some inspiration, I head to the fabric store!

7. If I walked into your studio this moment what would you show me first? What would you want to hide?

I would probably show you the pictures of my grandkids that are hanging on the wall! I have nothing to hide..hehe!

8. Describe something that comes up in your work because of a life experience.

I think because I am left-handed I have always had to figure out how to do things my own way. For example, I used to smock a lot and it took me quite a while to figure out I had to work from the opposite side.










9. Is there anything else that you would like to share?

I would like to thank you for this interview, even though it wore out my brain! It has been great getting to know you this past year on Etsy, you're the best!

Steve Jobs Listened!

If you read my blog you know that about a week ago I wrote a letter to Steve Jobs about my iPhone and connectivity issues as well as unlocking the GPS. Many of you wished me luck on getting an answer....so many of you with little faith. He actually did better than politely sending a response to me...he actually improved most of the features that I requested.

The iPhone is now faster, developers will soon be releasing 100's of new applications, Apple developed a new service called Mobile Me (if you are already a .mac subscriber your subscription will be automatically upgraded), and the best of all they unlocked the GPS! Mobile me is push technology so that your phone, mail, and calender will stay in sync without the necessity of manually syncing! There are many other new features that come along with the 2.0 software update...if you are interested you should check it out on the Apple site.

I was going to write Steve a thank you letter...but then I read that to get the speed and GPS I'd have to buy a new iPhone...hmmm

Signs of Travel!

I seem to have an obsession with taking pictures of signs as we drive through towns. This is the latest collection I took traveling through Arizona on our way to New Mexico. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Thrill on the Hill! and contest!

We attended a Toyota FJ Trail Teams off-roading event called, Thrill on the Hill. If you hadn't noticed we love off-roading, not only for the adventure, but also the people that we meet. And, once again, we were not disappointed --the people at this event were friendly and fun. The only disappointing aspect of the trip was that, at least in this area of New Mexico, there has been little rain and there was an extreme fire danger warning for all protected forest lands. Which meant that we didn't get to do as much off-roading as we had planned. But, that just meant that we found other diversions, which I will write about in upcoming posts --since they need their own special post.

So everyone must remember while traveling through areas that have seen little rain and are dry with deserts and forests to be extremely careful about fire, no matter where in this country that you are. No throwing matches or cigarettes out your car window, make sure camp fires are extinguished, and if you do off-road stay on designated trails and obey fire danger warnings.

We made this trip on Memorial Day weekend from Arizona to New Mexico and as we drove north through Payson, Heber, and Springerville we were lucky enough to encounter snow. Real, big flake snow! It was wonderful!

During our drive we came across this field of satellite dishes. I have no clue what they are for and if anyone knows...please leave a post because I'm curious. They were just west of Riudoso and before the Valley of Fire.


Our off roading was limited, but we were able to go out in a group and run one trail in Coyote Canyon. We had a group of about 12 FJs. This trail was similar to trails that we run in the Florence, AZ area...dusty, cactus, rocks and oh, so much fun! After the run we met back at the campsite and had great food, music and a raffle.




CONTEST!!
And, here's a picture clue of an upcoming post...can you guess what this is? If you guess correctly (if more than one I will draw out of those that guess correctly) I will send you one embroidered ring. Just post your contact information and I will name the winner on Sunday, June 15th. (so leave your comments by midnight, Saturday, June 14th)