January 28, 2013

Making a Small Quilt

It's that time of year again - SAQA's on-line auction.  These small works measure 12" x 12".  The auction begins on Monday, September 29 at 2PM EST.

I like the challenge of making something small since most of my quilts are quite large.  Working intuitively, this piece came together very quickly.

assorted cream colored fabrics cut into strips of varying widths

strips sewn together

to add a little interest, rubber stamped butterflies

 image transfer of a vintage little girl photo in my stash of photos; some of my quilt markings shown here.  The silk fabrics on the right will soon become a flower

quilting done; hand stitching binding


I love this little piece.  I designed a very "modern" brightly colored flower to contrast with vintage look of the little girls - added some buttons - and called it done!

Two Girls and a Flower

Linking to:


January 24, 2013

January 21, 2013

Weathered Wood

Mother Nature has a way of weathering wood that makes the ordinary extraordinary.  She is not as kind to the human face, however!

Original photos taken at the beach on Naples Bay.


"Be Still" texture courtesy of Kim Klassen.

January 18, 2013

4 Chairs and a Table

Adirondack chairs are perfect by the water - don't you think so too?

Original photo taken at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia.  

"Perfect" texture courtesy of Pixel Dust Photo Art.

Linking to:


January 15, 2013

Morning Cuppa Jo

My mornings are fairly routine.  Getting up early, check email, take daily walk/run, return home for breakfast and the read the newspaper before heading into the studio.

My breakfast most days is oatmeal with walnuts and raisins.  The first cup of coffee in the morning is a beautiful thing!


"Beauty" texture courtesy of Kim Klassen

January 11, 2013

Ordinary Things

Sometimes I find it hard to find something to photograph.  I know that's silly.  I live in a beautiful part of the country and yet...I decided to take some pictures of ordinary things in my kitchen.

My collection of decorative teapots sits on the kitchen counter.  The texture was masked over the foreground teapot.

Handy utensils - texture over entire photo.

"Brown Rice Paper" texture courtesy of Pixel Dust Photo Art.



January 7, 2013

A Day at the Beach

My husband and I drove to Estero FL on Saturday and walked around Lovers Key State Park.  It was a fine day on the beach.

A PSE artistic filter - water color - was added to each of the photos.  As a result, adding a texture did not seem necessary.  What do you think?





January 3, 2013

Talk about recycling!

This is the smallest Post Office in Florida.  Can you believe it - this teeny tiny closet sized, 7x8 foot building used to be an irrigation pipe shed for a tomato farm.  In 1953, it was pressed into service after a fire destroyed the Ochopee general store - which also housed the post office.  It is still in service today.
The sky was blue, blue, blue the day I photographed this little post office.  Nothing would do but to add a new cloud-filled sky - a little grungy texture and postage brush add a bit of drama.

"Thursday" texture courtesy of Kim Klassen.