In Progress: Altered Book 2008

I wanted to keep you posted on the progress I have made on my second altered book. It is not complete, but all of the background pages have been painted, glued in and sewn.

It is all ready for the pieces of art I have yet to create and glue in. I am enjoying the process of making a space for things to come instead of wanting to start and complete the project right away.

The cover is made of felt with the altered photo of Emmitt I created last week in photoshop sewn on the front.

The new empty pages were made from glueing in decorative papers and sewing on beads and embellishments. They are ready for more art!

Some completed pages...

Ready for art...

I purchased this cool pug embellishment on Etsy and glued it onto the last page of my book.

Here are the last two pages of my book. I created a little polka dot envelope to put small mementos into.

I am excited to see what I will create this Spring/Summer to finish off this book. I will keep you posted. :)

A New Papillon Pal

I just finished painting this cute little Papillon.

He is my 65th Pug Pal!

Emmitt cannot believe how many pug pals are now in the Pug Notes family.

Phooey!

Meet Henri Hopper

Meet Henri Hopper...

He is a beautiful French Bulldog from San Diego.

I am so excited because I will get to meet him and his mom Liz at the Pug Party I am going to be a vendor at in San Diego on May 3rd.

He and his mom, Liz, have a great blog and an Etsy Shop that tell of all of Henri's adventures and showcase Liz's art. Liz and Henri were sweet enough to purchase one of my crocheted pug finger puppets and documented the homecoming.

I am so excited because I just treated myself to Liz's painting, Green Henri. He is going to live in my office and inspire me everyday. Don't you think he will be a great friend for Emmitt when he is riding around in his spaceship?

Speaking of Emmitt in his spaceship, I was inspired by two of my favorite bloggers, Abby Creek Art and Art Dog Blog, to try and create a digital painting of Emmitt. I used his spaceship photo and created the painting above. You must check out the beautiful digital paintings Rebecca of Art Paw creates using your own photos. Her work is amazing!

A Treasury & A Pug and his Spaceship...

I got a fun e-mail from my friend Diana today. She found my pug art in a Treasury List on Etsy this morning. This is a huge compliment since it is a listing of people's favorites that they submit to Etsy. What a fun way to start the day.

I also had so much fun making cards yesterday that I also made a black and fawn pug card. I am not sure where all of these pugs are going, but they are having a great time!

Speaking of journeys, every morning after breakfast, Emmitt follows me up to the office and licks his nose with joy. I think it is the favorite time of the day for both of us. After a few minutes he goes under my art table, behind the little space heater and licks his nose. I tease him that he is in his spaceship ready to take off on an adventure. Here he is this morning...

Emmitt in his spaceship...

I wonder where he will go today.

Shaped Cut-out Cards

I loved doing my homework in my Eclectic Acadamy, Cards with Flair class this week.

We made shaped cut-out cards!

Now Available in my Etsy Store

Pug Alarm Clock - It is Time To Celebrate!

I could give this card for almost any occasion. :)

Card Standing Open

Card Back

Emmitt & a friend going for a joy ride!

This was so much fun! I even painted the car digitally in photoshop.

Front of card

Back of card

I like how the car tail lights came out.

The inside of the cards are blank. I think handwritten messages look nicer.

Both cards fold and open from the side and can stand up by themselves on 4 tires or feet.

I cannot wait to see what we make next week!

Meet a Sock Dog & a Glove Bear

While at my favorite yarn store last week, I picked up a fun book that shows you how to make stuffed animals from socks and gloves. I had a great time this weekend making a dog from two socks and a bear from 2 gloves. The instructions are clearly written and the projects are fast! I hand sewed each one in about an hour or so. The possibilities are endless and she shows you how to make several animals including birds, fish, pigs and elephants.

Sock Dog

Glove Bear

Emmitt with his new friend!

Mutt Madness Contest

I entered Emmitt's video, Emmitt and the Piggy, in the Mutt Madness Contest. He made it into the Shaggy 16 and needs your help getting to the next round. Please vote for him if you like his video. He could win up to $1000!

Emmitt says Thank You for your vote!

Friday Fun!

Happy 1st day of Spring!

I thought it would be fun to share my friend Linda O'Neill's New Spring Marketing campaign with you. As you might remember, she surprised me this holiday season with this amazing portrait of Emmitt. This painting brings me so much joy, you can only imagine how excited I am to see it in Linda's new Spring presentation on her website, Etsy Store and ad in The Bark Magazine. Emmitt is truly honored.

Abby Creek Studios website

Etsy Store Banner

The Bark Ad

She even designed note cards that you can purchase. Just email her through her Etsy Store and she will be happy to create a listing just for you.

Have a great weekend!

Kumihimo Braids

I had a great day yesterday learning about an art form I have never heard about before. It is called Kumihimo, and it is an ancient Japanese way of braiding cords. It is traditionally done using fine silk threads to make cords for such things as Kimonos. There is so much I do not know that I won't say more about the history, but I can show you what I made...

Here is the stand we built to do the braiding.

Here is my stand all set up. We used 8 weighted bundles of 5:2 pearlized cotton thread (4 threads per bundle) with the center counter-balanced inside. The whole weaving process is moving the strands around the circle in pairs like a dance and a braid is created inside the stand as you go. You can create an infinite combination of patterns and shapes depending on the way you move your strands. My favorite was the box stitch which I created with the pink and orange combo above. The mustard and green braid is a sampler of 5 different stitches (z formation, s formation, flat, box and circular.)

Top view with the braid starting to form.

Stand showing the braid inside with the weights and counter weight pulling the braid down as I go.

Ta da!

Flat and circular braids.

My two new cords in their new home.

It was really a fun day, and I will be making more of these braids. They are very strong and can be used for curtain pulls, key chains, book marks, dog leashes, etc.

The finished product reminds me of the lanyards we used to make in camp as kids.