A little vacation...

Art Camp 2007

I am so excited!

I am going back to art camp at Anderson Ranch for a week of book binding but this year Melanie is coming with me! We leave this weekend for our vacation of art in beautiful Snowmass, Colorado.

We are taking a class called Wooden Books where we get to learn ancient binding techniques and create at least two books from scratch.


This workshop will immerse you in the world of historical bookbinding. Participants will make an Ethiopian-style binding, a structure developed as early as the 4th century. The fact that some of these books are still around is a testament to their sturdiness. After creating a miniature paste-board model with papyrus covers, you will construct a sewn-board Coptic binding. The elegant sewn structure, combined with wooden covers, opens a wide range of possibilities for both the beginner and the advanced bookbinder. Using simple hand tools, you will drill, shape, and smooth your book covers. Finishing includes sealing wooden covers with milk paint and a coating of wax and adding a leather closure. As time allows, your instructor will share various features he includes in his own bindings and sculptural books.


We will be back on Friday August 1st which is a very special day. It is Emmitt's 12th birthday!

Please come back and wish him a happy birthday next Friday, and I will show you lots of pictures of camp when I get back. :)

Have a great week!

Emmitt Expressions

Emmitt always makes me smile.

There is so much personality in this one little pug.

I enjoyed collaging these quick sequences I recently shot and wanted to share them with you.

Have a great day!

A Pug from Hong Kong!

I love pug art!

I collect it from every corner of the planet! Look at this wonderful magnet Melanie just got for me from an a talented artist in Hong Kong. Here is pinkpandamary's Etsy shop. She has got a ton of cute pug and boston terrier art.

Thanks Melly! I just love him!

He is going on my fridge now so that it is not so empty! :)

Emmitt is Pugtastic!

Emmitt wants to thank everyone for their nice comments and is so happy that everyone got treats on him this weekend.

Sophie, Dixie and their mom made Emmitt this wonderful magazine cover award for winning the SNPM contest and gave Emmitt permission to post it over on our blog. Thank you so much for sharing your art!

Oooo! I hear something...
Ah! Emmitt has put on his SuperPug suit and is "football baby" running, running down the hall gaining speed... he has popped out his doggy door and is up, up and away.

He just heard there is a new contest starting on Ladypug Mugs Blog! Check it out!

Emmitt is flying in loopdy loops telling every doggy he knows. Come and play!

Look Ma, No Clumps!

Emmitt is a very soft and well... clumpy pug at times. He sheds constantly, but sometimes it comes out in clumps and when you pull out one clump, another one takes it place and he looks, sorry Emmitt... terrible. Well no longer! Emmitt has been Furminated. :)

Yesterday was a very hot day here in Colorado, reaching almost 100 degrees. Here is Fred enjoying some lemonade before calling Emmitt out to be declumped.

Here comes the innocent pug, hoping for a treat...

I was so proud of Emmitt. He sat so nicely while he was brushed which sometimes is not the case. We got all the undercoat off and now He is beautiful!

"Ooo I feel so light and free."

"Come on, Let's go and get me a treat for being such a good Pug!"

"Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!"

Happy Monday everyone!

Friday Fun!

Emmitt is so excited!

By a very narrow margin, Emmitt has won Sophie's Next Pug Model Contest!

He cannot believe it! He has never won anything!

Thank you to all of the fierce competitors, Sophie and Dixie who ran this fun contest and all of you who voted and/or rooted for Emmitt.

He is a happy pug!

Emmitt wants to say a huge thank you again to Sophie, Dixie and their mom for running such a fun contest and to everyone who played. Everyone is a winner and Emmitt says all the doggy moms and dads out there owe their fur babies lots of treats on him. Just send him the bill and let him know what you got!

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Wonderful Award for You

A very talented artist and friend, Marianne, created this beautiful award. Marianne creates beautiful mandalas and shares them daily on her blog. I love this award she has made and I want to share it with you. If you are reading this post (thank for coming and visting) I would be honored if you accepted this award from me.

The rules?

None. Just like love, all good things should be shared and passed on freely.

Emmitt sends his love and kisses.

Have a wonderful day!

Emmitt is in the Finals...

Emmitt is in the final 4 contestants in Sophie's Next Pug Model Contest!

Sophie and Dixie have been hosting a fabulous contest over the last few weeks with fun challenges and the final challenge is to create an ad for one of your dog's favorite things.

Our submission is above and you can see the other fierce ads here on Flickr.

If you would like to vote for Emmitt please visit Sophie and Dixie's blog. There is a poll in the top right side. The results will be announced on Friday!

Emmitt says he thinks he ate a few butterflies because they are flittering around in his tummy. :)

A Circus Day and A Craft Day!

This weekend was the first annual Italian Festival and Circus at the Winter Park ski resort.

We went up with Mark and Melanie on Saturday to check it out and escape the heat.

It was a beautiful and fun day.

Here are Mark and Fred checking out the Circus tent.

There were several artists creating art on the sidewalks. It was fun to watch.

There were also Italian cars, food, wine, live music and games like Bocci ball.

It was a fun day!

And then on Sunday, I made crafts all day. I finished two more pug dolls that are now available in my etsy store.

and more pug finger puppets too.

My finger puppets are sold separately and are also available as a set with a signed copy of my children's book, Emmitt & Olive.

I am excited to say that my etsy store is now restocked with all of my fiber art!

What did you do this weekend? Please leave me a comment and let me know. :)

Funny Friday!

I was just looking through the stream of pictures I snapped of Emmitt during the day in my office last week and had to laugh. The puggy keeps me company all day and has many places he likes to sit.

Right after breakfast, Emmitt follows me everywhere licking his nose. It is his way of expressing joy. You can see him doing this in the first two pics.

Then he settles in under my work table so he can watch what I am doing. I love this picture. He has found a comfy place to tuck his legs under him. The next picture is a close up. My friend Rachel showed her pug, Clemmy, doing this the other day and it cracked me up. I did not realize Emmitt did this too until I saw this pic this morning.

And the last picture is Emmitt on his chair all stretched out. What a Funny Pug!

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Tag and an Award!

How fun to receive a tag and an award on the very same day.

My Blog friends are the best! Thank you for thinking of us.

The first is an Ice Box Tag from Roxy and Lucky

The rules are:

• Show us a photo of the front of your Cold Box
• tell us about at least one thing on it and
• one thing you keep inside of it
• Tag your friends and remember to stay COOL! And no fair cleaning it up first!!!

This is the front of my Cold Box. It has two crazy fiber art faces on the front that I got at an art show last winter. They crack me up!

Here is the side of my cold box. It has pictures of Moe, Emmitt, Fred and me held up by magnets from friends, etsy and the little Pinocchio is from Spain. My friend Briggs just brought him back for me. Isn't he great?
I crocheted the flower granny squares out of Lopi Wool Yarn and hung them there for fun.

Something I have inside my cold box but not for long, are two huge zucchinis that Fred grew in his garden. I cannot wait to grill them for lunch.

The award I received is from Lisa M. Griffin

The rules for accepting the award are as follows:
1. Add the logo of the award to my site
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Add links to those blogs on your site
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Thank you Lisa! I am honored!

I am giving this Cold Box Tag and the Blog Award to these 7 bloggers...

Fannie, Nancy, Diana, Salinger, Ruby, Peng Peng, and Manon

Collage Class!

"Want to Find Happiness? Your dog will show you the way."

I had a fantastic time in collage class on Monday. What a fun workshop!

I created 2 collages. Well, actually 1 and a half. I will add to the bird one below as new ideas come to me. I am really happy with both of them, especially the backgrounds.

My goals for the day were:

• to have fun


• learn something new


• create something without a plan


• create some interesting backgrounds
  
  

The backgrounds were created by gluing textured papers to gessoed hardboard and then painting them. Super fun and easy with great results.

Here is my class.

Look at all of the supplies and fun art making going on. Lots of great energy in this room!

This is my work table. Here is my first collage as I was laying it out.

Here is the final design I glued down.

I definitely accomplished all of my goals for the day and more. I met some really nice people. One of the ladies had a 2 year old pug named Dimple at home. She was fun. She looked at the art I had brought to collage with and asked... Are you a pug person? I smiled. Little did she know she had met one of the craziest pug people she would ever meet. :)

It was a really fun day!

Oh! and I always want to let my blog friends know everything first... I just finished making two new pug dolls and made them available in my Etsy store.

Have a great Wednesday!

Melanie's Teddy Bear Art!

My twin sister, Melanie, makes the most fabulous teddy bears!

She has just completed this 100% merino wool felted bear. He is 6" sitting, fully jointed and has glass eyes.

He is now available in her Etsy store.

My sister is such an inspiration to me!

I am so excited because she is going to go to art camp at Anderson Ranch this year. We will be there for a week, July 28-Aug 1, learning book binding techniques in a class called Wooden Books.

I cannot wait!

Why I Love My Job...

Meet Albert!

Albert just loves "his" tote bag! Michelle G. of E. Brookfield, MA just sent me this wonderful picture of Albert enjoying his tote bag.

The best part of what I do is meeting all the wonderful people and pugs out there! This picture made my whole day! Albert is also on my website and will be featured in the "Meet the Pugs" section of my Fall Newsletter to be released in October.

Please e-mail me anytime with your favorite pictures of your pug(s) if you would also like them to be in the Newsletter. I would love to share them and their story with everyone!

Today is going to be so fun. I have treated myself to a day of art class in Denver learning Collage with Paper and Fiber. I will be leaving here shortly, but will take lots of pictures to show you of my day. Have a great Monday!

New Pug Art Dolls

I have created these fabric art dolls from my original paintings that I transfered onto cotton and then hand-sewed with love into little hanging dolls or ornaments.

They are backed with muslin, stuffed with polyfil and their arms and legs are made from jute and wood beads. They are not intended for children as they have several small pieces.

Here is a fun display idea. I framed mine in a ready-made shadowbox and put it on my mantle.

My blog friends get first dibs! The black and fawn pug dolls are now available in my Etsy Store.