Here is a puzzle swap I am in! MINE is home now, finished.....the burgandy/pink one! Great fun right? The others I have worked on still have pieces to be worked on except for the person I send to, which is now complete also! The greenish one above! Most had themes, mine was Numbers and wings, and the ochre/brown one is ABC using words that begin with A B or C for the main idea of the piece, the other teal one is vintage children....and so I think they came out great! This was a fun swap! The puzzles are 5x7 total size! Little mini collaged works of art! :0)

I am in a wonderful swap with Alexandra(link is on the left hand side of my page here) and this is a canvas for her! I just got these wonderful canvases from Dick Blick.......they are great! No staples on the side and look super finished because of that! Can be hung right up if one wants!
My favorite color at the moment is still showing in my art.......and I used paint, stencils and stamping on this as well as collage! Happy Sunday! Hugs,Patti

In the same style from class, I made a pillow for my Niece Amy who is getting married May 3rd! I added a note about forgiveness and imperfection on the back.......something we all need to remembe in marriage! :)

Also, this is a valance I made for the newly painted computer room where Earl spends most of his time! The fabric is more "manly" than what was there before!
Happy Weekend everyone!
Hugs,Patti

More glorious quilts from the Chicago quilt show! Click on these and look at them closely. There was such variety and such beauty, I could have stayed there much longer! I will be sharing a few posts more and then I will move on from this, but after this show, I am always full of joy and want to share some of what I got to see! I wish everyone could see a show like this! Quilts that are funky, meaningful, fun and beautiful! :0)

Now, look at these! AMAZING right? First of all, the top two pictures are the FRONT AND BACK of the same quilt! The back is azzzzz beautiful as the front, with the thread painting that is done! Just so special! And then the little boy sitting on the bridge and the gorgeous cat and fish! CLICK on the pictures to enlarge! They are worth it!

More quilts from the quilt show! I will just share a few pictures! The QUILTS are more breath taking in person than you can imagine!

The LAST SUPPER quilt is HUGE and made completely of 1/2 INCH SQUARES.........can you even imagine?? From a distance, this was stunning!

http://www.thesupper.net/

Enjoy the photos! and read more about it at the link above. I will add more quilts each day!
Hugs,Patti

I took a fantastic class with Lisa Englebrecht at the Quilt Show in Chicago! If you ever get the chance to take a class from her, I would recomend it! Her soft soul shines through in her teaching and it was a real pleasure to be in her class! Here is her site....

http://www.lisaengelbrecht.com/

and her flicker site too...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25736261@N00/

The picture is of the class......and she is the one in the blue dress just off center right.....and I am in the purple fairy shirt (thanks Marcy:0)! Also, this is my completed class pillow! It was great fun and we came home with gorgeous projects! See the board behind us all in the class picture, that is everyone's projects! Great fun!!!!

This weekend I went to the Chicago Quilt Show! It was beyond AMAZING!!!!!!! The fabric artists have done a superb job to inspire fabric artwork! I am going to share a picture of my friend Laura Krasinski(her link is on the left of my blog), who had a quilt in the show in the Journal Exhibition.......

and also my FAVORITE QUILT of the show done by.......

Elizabeth Dillinger titled Woodland Story

and it is beyond beautiful and indescribable! Of course I am a FAIRY lover, but this has a tree spirit and such a gorgeous theme, it warmed my heart! I will share a few pictures to give you a feeling for it! She is a fabric artist extraordinaire!!!!!!! And reading her inspiration also showed me how she poured herself into this piece! I could feel it from viewing it! Just so special! Enjoy! I will share more in the days to come!

Hugs,Patti

I want to just post another link to carving stamps and stencils by MICHELLE WARD! She is amazing, and my friend Lyn A. reminded me of the link! :0) Thanks Lyn! This will be a bit more clear to everyone who might want to try! Trust me, you can do it!!!!!!! Just give it a try!
http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/
Go take a look and then sit down and give it a try! I used an exacto knife, and some plastic sheeting that I had here from a school binder! Be sure and share if you create anything! :0)
Hugs,Patti

Amber and I made a cake yesterday!

The recipe can be found here:

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/recipedetail.htm?recipe_id=105214&ctx=

Be sure to grease the pan well, as the cake does not like to pop right out! AND we were afraid to over marble, but just go crazy! It will come out fine! It tastes great and is NOT overly sweet at all! Pretty though for sure! Happy Moanday! :0)

Here we go! Another stencil cutting attempt and I was paying more attention this time! :0)

The plain ones, I just spray painted on plain cardstock to see clearly! The others are for an arty envelope swap! Those have some background paints, and stamping and the stencil! She came out much better huh?? See that neat crow Marilyn?? Hehehe! That would be neat sprayed black! :0)

Happy Friday!!!! The weekend is here! Wheeeee!

Hugs,Patti

This weekend I sat and watched tv and tried to carve a stencil! I had seen such a neat tutorial on this here.....
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/stentut.html
Mine are very plain compared, but I was just piddling around! I think this is a neat thing, and if I had more time.....I would do something more detailed and realistic! Just fun! I made these cards from the cardstock that I sprayed the stencils onto to! :0) The backgrounds are bleached and I did some stamping too! Enjoy!

Bird totas for a swap! We make 7 and trade them off, a bird of any style and type and we put loops at the top and bottom! When they come home, we attach them together onto a string, rope, fibers.....and hang them near our front door to welcome guests and be a positive vibe :0)

Mine are colorful, I hope they are enjoyed in the swap! I look forward to seeing the others and having them on display!