"Under the Sea Swap" Project Update

A Tantilizing Tidbit

Thought I would share a wee smidgen of my "Under the Sea Swap" project. It is coming along swimmingly...pun intended! I do believe, if all goes well & no disaster ensues...that it will be ready to go to it's new home by the end of next week.

My original plan was to create a wool~felt seahorse with needle felted details sitting on a ocean inspired paper-mache box. Well, I did make the seahorse, it's not yet finished... but it is turning out to be a much more elaborate project then I thought it would be. Something I want to take my time with & work on now & then. Instead... I came up with a similar design, but one which can be completed in the time frame given for this swap. I love how it has turned out...quaint, whimsical, funny & a little odd...exactly how I like my dolly's!

It is a brand new design & one I think will be well liked by its recipient! All I have to do now is make a wee something for it to rest it's wee fuzzy behind on.

I will be posting photos of the completed piece in the near future. For now have a great week-end & thanks for popping by.

Warmly, Susan

Giddy~up Little Sea Horse...Under the Sea Swap

Work-up sketches for Sea~Horse project

Thought I would share another work-up sketch for the "Under the Sea" doll swap project. Think I can actually start work on it now that I have an idea of what I want to create. This is the part I like best...I get so excited at this stage because the possibilities are endless... even though you have thought the design, drawn the design...it still could turn out completely different from what your originally planned. That's why I like these doll challenges...you can use your imagination & from one idea can spring a multitude of new projects for months to come. My hope is that I will end up with a doll design that will be marketable & one that is not so complicated that it will be hard to replicate. I still see some changes to my plan in my head so who knows what will happen....stay tuned for more & have a Super~Duper Deluxe Day!
Susan

Under the Sea Art Doll Swap Link - http://wildatheartart.blogspot.com/20

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day

"For the hand that rocks the cradle ~ rules the world"

Under the Sea Art Doll Swap

Wild at Heart ART

UnDeR tHe SeA sWAp

http://wildatheartart.blogspot.com/2009/04/under-sea-swap.html

Hello & good morning...yesterday I decided to take part in the Under the Sea Swap being held by "Wild at Heart Art"

http://wildatheartart.blogspot.com/

I'm really looking forward to it & am excited at the opportunity to meet more art doll enthusiasts. I love these swaps...they stretch my creative muscle & give you the chance to think outside the box...which is something I need when I hit those artistic slumps. I took the time this morning to sketch up a few new designs for this swap...will be tweeking them in the next few days & hopefully one of them will end up as a successful piece...

Off to their new homes

I have been busy, busy working on custom orders, packing, shipping & really enjoying my studio time. Been thinking about the art process... the act of creating something from nothing. Where once there was just an idea...there now sits an object that has a life of it's own. It's strange for me to think about the art process. How is it that you can infuse an inanimate object with life? Why is it that some art seems dead, while other types of art seem alive?

Sorry I've been Adopted

Strawberry Fields Forever Bunny

Still available for adoption on the TDIPT Mercantile website

http://tdipt-crowsnest.blogspot.com/

This wee little guy is feeling a little lonely as his friends have been adopted.

Do you think you could find a space in your heart for him? He needs a forever home.

Price requests for TDIPT Trio

I have received a few emails asking me what the individual prices are for my TDIPT Trio, as well as shipping costs.

Below is the price list for these three items.

Above are more detailed photos of the small rabbit which will be

available for adoption.

- Americana Mouse ~ $65.00 US plus $10.00 US for shipping.

- Black & white spotted rabbit holding a strawberry ~ $65.00 US plus $10.00

US for shipping.

- Small rabbit with blue & cream striped coat ~ $65.00 US plus $10.00

US for shipping.

I will ship to anywhere in the US or Canada.

Photos of the three items available for purchase are pictured below.

Remember that it is first come, first serve... If the item you like has sold I would be happy to create a custom order for you.

Thanks again. Susan

My TDIPT Trio - 3 New Critters Up For Adoption

http://tdipt-crowsnest.blogspot.com/

I just completed my last addition for this months TDIPT Mercantile update. The photo above shows the three items that will be available for purchase come May 1st. Starting from the far left is my Americana Mouse then a spotted rabbit with strawberry pin~keep & last but not least, another wee rabbit dressed up in his wooley striped coat...complete with wee pockets & yellow bead buttons. I am very pleased at how they turned out & am excited to see them go to their new homes. Soooo.... if you are interested in adopting one of them, please feel free to pop by my TDIPT Mercantile page... I will have a more detailed description of all three of them.

I welcome all & any questions you may have...

drop me a line...I would love to hear from you!

Warmly, Susan

TDIPT mercantile month of May theme

http://www.tdiptmercantile.com/

TDIPT Mercantile will be chock full of your favorite Patriotic subjects...whether it's Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty or anything in between.....we'll have Red White and Blue galore, and just in time for all of the fun summer American Holidays!

Make sure you pop by for a visit!

TDIPT is updated with new items on 1st of each month.

Check out the wee mouse below...he is one of my May TDIPT Mercantile offerings.

Americana Mouse

For the month of May, TDIPT is having an Americana theme & this is the little guy I will have available for adoption. He is all dressed up with red needle~felted sheep's wool trousers... this is the fist time I have added needle~felted details... I like how it turned out & am pretty excited about applying this technique to future creations. His trousers also have teeny tiny pockets as well as hand stitched details. The round tuffet he is sitting on is sewn from wool & the star tuffet below it is made of of tea~stained red striped flannel. This little guy is hand painted...I have given him black glass bead eyes & he is holding a wee American paper flag attached to a metal stem. This piece is 5 1/2 inches tall from the bottom star tuffet to the top of his wee ears. The price for this piece is $65.00 US. I charge a flat rate fee of $10.00 for shipping to anywhere in the US or Canada, this price includes insurance. If you should have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me, I would love to hear from you!

Have a sunshiny day! Warmly, Susan

A bike that makes you feel good - in a lot of ways!

Yesterday I got my new bike...& one I feel pretty good about buying!Its the Africa Kona bike as pictured above.

http://www.konabiketown.com/
Everytime two of these bikes are sold a third one gets donated to a community in Africa where they give the bikes to health care workers so that they can get out more & travel further to help those in need.

SO NEXT TIME YOU ARE THINKING OF BUYING A NEW BIKE....... http://www.konabiketown.com/

"BikeTown Africa began in 2006 with the delivery of 200 bicycles to health care workers in Botswana. A partnership between Bicycling Magazine, Rodale Press, Kona Bicycle Company and Bristol Myers Squibb, BikeTown Africa donates bicycles to health care workers, focusing on HIV/Aids, and then documents the way the bicycle changes their lives. The program grew in 2007 to include a donation of 150 bicycles in Katimo Mulilo on the Caprivi Strip in Namibia and 169 bicycles in Tambacounda, Senegal. The BikeTown Africa team assembles the bicycles in each location and does maintenance and repair workshops, providing tools and spares for mechanics in the area."

2009 Update On BikeTown

http://www.konabiketown.com/

http://www.konabiketown.com/

Global recession, un-employment rising, tightening of the belt.Those sorts of headlines don't usually foster up huge investment from companies into philanthropic activities, like bicycles for health care workers in rural Africa. Maybe there is different news up there in Canada-land, or it's so cold the global recession has stayed away. Actually after meeting the owner of Kona this year in Mozambique, I can assure you it's because Kona is a company that actually gives a damn. Kona's stand to support BikeTown Africa hasn't waivered this year. They have committed that by the end of 2009, instead of walking, another thousand health care workers will be cruising around on the Kona Africabikes.The second verse is going to be the same as the first. That is, we are going to do things pretty similar to last year. The partners are the same: Bicycling Magazine, Bristol Myers Squibb and Kona Bicycles. The bicycles will have slight modifications after the lessons we learned but are still the specially designed Kona Africabike. The health care workers will be part of Bristol Myers Squibb's - Secure the Future Foundation network.A large focus this year will be on formalizing the process of getting people involved in the builds. It's truly the best way to see the impact BikeTown Africa has on the ground. Working hand in hand with the recipient gives one a great sense of where the bicycle will end up and the effect it will have on the lives of the recipient. Those who participated last year are in constant contact with the project because, like all of us, it's gotten inside of them and it scratches at their hearts.Dates and locations are still being finalized but a bit of inside scoop is that we'll be heading to West (calling all French-speakers) and East (jambo rafiki) Africa, to countries that are quite rural and a bit more off the beaten track. The South African handover is going to take on a beast of its own but we are still working on exactly what that may be and are staying tight lipped.Are you keeping up to date?

A Nostalgic Day...ramblings of the middle aged.

Hello & good morning...Just sipping on my morning coffee...thought I would share some more photos of the stuff I have collected over the years. This is the spare bedroom in our new apartment...we moved in here during the month of November...I think...my mind is rather rusty! I picked up this cabinet over the summer...I am told by my husband & father that I paid way to much for it...it was a real wreck when I brought it home...but I could see a jewel in the making. Needless to say my hubby & my father ate their words when they saw what I did with it. Its a pie safe cuboard from an old home in Saskatchewan & I just love it! I have filled it with my vintage collectibles & yes....more of the books I was going to cut up & use in my artwork...but, as time passes I am becoming more & more attached to them...These books bring me such joy! I look in them & see the scibbles & notations of children long grown up. I am such a nostalgic fool! I miss those days...I can remember roaming the back fields of home...thickets that look small today...but were giant forests back then. We built forts & ran dusty trails, chased by boys who tormented us with dead gophers caught in their traps. I was a bit of a tomboy...stealing puppies from neighbors & disappearing for hours on end till my parents sent out a search party. I remember so many things...summers at the lake, poison Ivy. My dad teaching me to ride my new bike in the vacant lot next door. Sunburns & roasted marshmellows...my how time flys....

Have a nostaslgic day! warmly, Susan

Strawberry Fields Forever

Hello & good morning...been busy in my studio creating a small series of pin~keeps that are based around a strawberry theme...I will post photos of them as they are completed. This wee fella is the first...& I do believe he has a bit of a mischievous smile...maybe he knows he isn't supposed to be in my strawberry patch...He is a hand~painted wool felt rabbit that is 6 1/2 inches tall with glass bead eyes & chenille stem feet. His wee tuffet is sewn from cotton & wool felt with hand~stitched details.

I have a number of rabbits in various stages of completion...they are all staring at me from my shelf calling.....I have no arm....I need an ear....I can't see...Sooo... I better get back to work...Below are a few more photos for you to peruse.

Cheerio & have a great day!

Warmly, Susan

Hello...just got home from my vacation in Tucson... am feeling a little out of sorts....I sooo hate long flights. I made it into my studio today & actually managed to get some work done...I will be posting pics of my new pieces as I finish them. Short but sweet....I am poopied & off to hit the hay! Have a nice evening. Warmly, Susan

Happy Easter From Tucson

Just thought I would check in & wish you all a Happy Easter. I am still vacationing in Tucson & am going home this Monday. It has been a nice holiday for myself & my hubby....Hubs attended a conference & I spent the majority of my time touring around all the antique/thrift stores. It is a mixed media artist's paradise down here; some of the antique stores had booths loaded with every type of paper ephemera you could wish for. Stacks & stacks of old cabinet cards, vintage photos, maps, antique books, you name it they had it. Wish I would have brought another suitcase.

Today we are going downtown to do a walking tour of all these old mansions/houses which have been turned into art galleries...hoping for some fresh inspiration to take home & apply to my own artwork. Well I shall sign off for now & I will be back with lots of great Tucson photos to share with you.
Cheerio & Happy Easter!
Warmly, Susan

Spring Cleaning

House Cleaning Blues
by Ellen Bailey
I have the house cleaning blues

I look around and see so much to do

I look at the walls, the windows, and the floors

I see heaps of dust layered like boards

What I need is a good house cleaning crew

But where to get one, I haven't a clue

I asked for volunteers, but none would relent

Their community spirit, it seems had been spent

I could wish for an occasional hurricane
For me, that may not be such a bad thing

I could raise the windows and open the doors

And be done with these house cleaning chores

But hurricanes don't occur where I live

So its left up to me to clean this crib

I have devised a plan to get the job done

Since I can no longer depend on anyone

My plan is as simple as it can be

One that is not very taxing on me

My walking shoes I will lace up tight

And from this nightmare I will take flight

Spent all of yesterday spring cleaning...definately have spring fever...so nice to feel that sun again...to see the snow melt...can't wait to smell the sap rising in all the trees...I love that smell...of young green leaves opening...Cottonwood trees have that unbelievable scent when they open their sticky buds...Ok... I must be day dreaming here...I was talking about spring cleaning & ended up babbling about sap...Anyways...to make a long story short.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG...& THAT MAKES ME HAPPY

& so does a clean house!

Have a sunshiny day!

Be Happy

OK

To Cut...or Not to Cut ~ That is the Question

Well...I have a dilema...to cut...or not to cut into the books I have been collecting for years. All of which are quite old... old meaning that they are well over a hundred years in age. I love antique books, I love looking at them. the feel of them...even the smell of them. Buttttt...I also bought them to use in my art work. I have been looking at my small blank canvases, my altered art supplies, glues, stamps, inks, two sided tape, antique postcards, old photos, British vintage magazines from the 40's & 50's, antique sheet music, McCalls, Home Journal you name it...I have it....all waiting to be butchered by my ever shaky hand which holds my gleaming scissors.....Aggggggg...I can't do it!!! I swear...I need to go to a self help group for paper junkies...Should I do it...or should I not...I have so many projects & techniques I want to try out...so many supplies sitting there with smirks on their wee plastic faces....calling...callling.."USE ME...USE MEEE". WHAT WOULD YOU DO? IF YOU WERE ME? I need help...trully I do!!!

Below are a few photos of my old books

Susan

Some of My Old Beloved Books

Finally Finished My Rug

Thank-you all for your wonderful comments about my rug...

your making me blush...

Well....I finally finished this rug & have been meaning to take photos of it for some time now. It is a pattern designed by one of my favorite primitive artists...Lori Brechlin of "Notforgotten Farm" http://farmhousenotforgotten.blogspot.com/

The pattern is called " Give Ye Thanks" & I purchased it at "Spruce Ridge Studio" http://www.spruceridgestudios.com/notforgotten/lbrechlin.html . Its a biggy at 27.5" x 36" inches...& it took me a year to finish as I only worked at it sporadically. Every strip of wool is handcut so the rug has a really great texture & feel to it...something you just can't get with machine cut wool strips. The photo doesn't show the colors very well..it's a really warm cozy rug full of fall color...with touches of blue & green & I just love it!!! Lori has a wonderful talent for designing patterns....she trully has a primitve heart...

Fool's Gold Mouse listed on Ebay

"Fool's Gold" has been adopted

Hello, just thought I would let you know that my "Fool's Gold" mouse above was listed on Ebay as a five day auction. The auction will end on Sunday March 22 at 7:30 PST. You can click on my Ebay link on this blog to take you to my auction.

Cheerio, Susan

OK ...I am seriously getting sick of this Canadian winter business!!! Where the *$@#&*^$% is spring!!!! This has truly been one of Saskatchewan's longest coldest winters in years... Yesterday spring gave us a tease with melting and warmer weather...now today I can hardly see the houses down the block because of all the blowing snow!! I am getting depressed...its a good thing my hubby & I are off to Tuscon Arizona for 10 days...ahhhh sit by the pool...soak up some rays...can`t wait to get down there.

As for me artwork...its been a little dry in the creativity department due to my feeling under the weather...I am hoping to get cracking on some new projects...got some ideas I want to try out...well that's about it for this post...not very exciting I am afraid...me head is full of cobwebs...so I will end here!

Cheerio, warmly, Susan Pilotto

Forgot to add....you can come back here tomorrow night & click on the auction button to your right to view my new Ebay listings starting tomorrow night.

My new Ebay Listings

Adopted

Tattered & Torn Bunny Pin~Keep

Man....I haven't listed anything on Ebay for some time...over a year I think. I also forgot how much work it can be...I am so rusty...& so fussy...everything has to look just right or it gets redone. And now that I have a blog....& a mailing list....it can take hours to list a couple of things, notify people, etc, etc... But...I also remember how exciting it can be to, its nice to be back in the saddle...back at work & busy in my studio. I am listing two pieces...the bunny pin keep above & the wee mouse pictured below...the auction starts tomorrow night & will last for seven days. Well thats about it for this posting...I am pooped, its getting late in the day & I still have to clean house before my parents get here tomorrow...its a complete disaster area.

Have a nice evening.

Warmly, Susan Pilotto

Adopted - going to new home

One of two new creations that will be listed on EBay Sunday March 8th at 8:00 pm.

To Do

~finish mouse & rabbit for Ebay listing starting this Sunday

~phone sears to get glasses fixed...good thing I bought two pairs

~clean house...mom & pops visiting for a couple of days ~ Sunday

~go to Periwinkles to sign up for another class, as I missed the last one...see if they will apply payment for missed class to a new class

~take clothes you don't wear anymore to Sally Anne...try to walk out of Sally Anne without buying more stuff...not likely

~clean fridge out...looking pretty scarey in there

~fill car up...make appointment for servicing

~email hubby...miss him alot! wonder how he is doing in Africa...wonder what the mining camp is like that he is staying in...wonder if they have seen any wildlife...wonder if they have seen any lions...wonder if Dino is sleepng well there...when he knows there are lions about...wonder if he is keeping his bear spray beside his bed...wondering if he has had to use his bear spray...wondering why they don't call it lion spray...wondering & thinking he better get home soon...cause all this wondering is making me tired...

~wondering that I better get of this puter & get to work!!!

Chow, Susan

Barbara's Wee Mouse Commission

I haven't posted for a while now...been busy working on a few commissions...one of which is pictured above...she wanted a cream & black spotted mouse...quite happy with how it turned out...I think I am starting to eat, dream & hullucinate mice...God knows how many of these wee things I have made...I stopped counting a long time ago. Also did a couple of commissions for the same critter that is on my banner...the one sitting on the blue box with the pin in his paws...definately a crowd favorite...I have really enjoyed the feedback & comments I've been receiving...makes everything worthwhile & gives me a reason to get up in the morning...

Warmly, Susan