One has been spotted

There is a bug swap going on over at Cindy's and I have been searching the enchanted forest for just the critter I want to send. It is a very fast little thing, probably because of it's many feet.
It dwells under Sparkle Reindeer Moss, which is extremely rare and very hard to find. Early this morning I spied a clearing where the wood spirits had constructed a meeting table. There on the table I spied some moss and it was sparkling. Sure enough, I saw a sparkling foot and a golden leg. Since I am looking for "The Magenta, Golden legged,Sparkling footed Araneae" I am almost sure I have found what I've been searching for.

I did not capture it right away. There is still some time left before the swap so I want it to stay in the forest until it is time to send it on it's way. I did however, take a picture of what I saw. Plus I am keeping a diary on it's habits to send to my partner..

So very thrilled

No I haven't found the Magenta,Golden legged, sparkle footed Araneae, but I did find some sparkling Reindeer moss growing deep within the Enchanted forest, so it is just a matter of time.

So what am I thrilled about you ask? I got Happy Mail today. You remember that swap with my Damselfly, Syrina ? Well she had to go live with Mary Ann where I am sure she will be happy and well loved. To replace her, Mary Ann sent me a Damselfly and as she sprang from the box she hollered "Call me Violet, I'm happy to be here !" She is now busy flying around the house (I know Mary Ann will be delighted that she can use her wings LOL) I did manage to slow her down long enough to take a picture. Is she a beauty or what?
Also hidden within the tissue paper I found an adorable little Christmas Angel (someone must know me) Right now she is at home in my studio but will adorn my tree comes Christmas.

Also in the mail I received another piece of Happy Mail from Peggy. In another group I belong to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FabricInAlteredArt2/ we made Cinco de Mayo Postcards and made up little goodie bags that went with our PC's. I was very happy with all my little treats and can't wait to use them on PC's and dolls I have in mind.
Many thanks to Mary Ann for doing such a beautiful job at crating  Miss Violet...I love her.
And Thanks to Peggy for my Cinco de Mayo goodies...

Now I really must get busy looking for that little critter. These bugs just don't realize I  have dead lines to meet, places to go and people to see... Wishing everyone a fabulous week-end and please take time to remember why we call it Memorial Day.

Looking for a Special Bug

Well Cindy is at it again. I've joined her Bug Swap. Her swaps are so much fun...Since I live in an Enchanted Forest there are many kinds of bugs people do not often see. I'm very lucky in that respect. So when a swap like this comes up, I simply have to look for those very special bugs.
The hunt begins today. I am looking for "The Magenta, Golden legged, Sparkle shoe Araneae"...he's a tricky little fellow, very fast (must be those shoes). He can only be found deep within the forest hiding under sparkling Reindeer Moss..if I can capture him I think he would be the perfect addition to any bug collection...Wouldn't it be great if I could find a baby one and make a pin out of it :-) Who knows, perhaps in my search I will find other interesting bugs. Stay tuned, return if you dare  <g>

My Beautiful Pin keep

I've had a difficult time with this blog and I was so anxious to share my beautiful pin keep with everyone.
Vicky did such a fabulous job and everyone who knows me, knows it was made especially with me in mind...It is just perfect and I love it...Thank you Vicky for putting in so much effort and into every little detail.
Hugs,

Kathie

A Matter of Trust...

It has been a few days...I have spent them waiting to establish some trust with Syrina (OH yes, she told me her name) Finally I  felt that if I put her together she would stay and not fly away. I've told her that soon she will leave and go to live with someone else. Was that a little tear I saw in her eye? I told her about the fairy children. They always leave and I always miss them, but I know they will bring joy into the hearts of the people they live with. I Told Syrina she also will bring joy to my swap partner, but I will truly miss her.
How can anyone make a doll and not feel some attachment? Is it just me?
I promised Syrina that I would take a picture of her flying, but it hasn't stopped raining long enough and she already told me she's not fond of flying in the rain.

So she is laying on a foot stool...waiting. I promised to make her a pretty belt...so she is waiting.

Look what I found

I was walking through the enchanted forest and suddenly I saw this purple thing flying through the tree's...
Okay so maybe I was sitting in my studio and maybe the thing wasn't flying...but it is purple...almost...half..
Anyway, one of the swaps I am in  is called Damselfly...she looks pretty much like a dragon fly, but not exactly. Originally I had picked a real sparkly fabric for her tail and body, and a neutral shade for her face...However, when I began looking through fabric, the doll spirit (Oh stop laughing..they do kind of dictate what they want) so this doll spirit points to this teal fabric with purple dots and tells me that's the tail, then she shifts to purple for her body...and get this...a very light shade of purple for her face. I was a bit resistant..but since I have lots of time to play with her I figured I'd placate the spirit and end up making two.
She does like bling and as I was finishing her tail she told me exactly how to make it sparkle, same with her body and face...she is a pretty good designer. The first wings I made were much too heavy looking...She told me even if she can't fly, she'd never even try with those funky wings (her words not mine) So we went to check out my massive ribbon cache and she found just the right gossamer looking purple. I must say, her wings worked better then mine , certainly a lot lighter. She spoke about "flying" and 'blowing this Clambake" so this is a picture of how she will remain until  I can trust her....

PIN KEEP SWAP

A friend of mine once said "A person can never have enough pin cushions", so over the years I've made attempts to make her regret that statement. However, I'm still making pin cushions and she is still smiling.
When my friend Cherie told me of a "Pin Keep" swap  I just couldn't pass up the opportunity.
My mind began swirling, all sorts of idea's popped into my head...One kept coming back...a Witch.
Now I don't normally do Prims...I love them but I think eclectic is more my style LOL I'm all over the board when it comes to decorations...it works for me. I guess when I think Prims, I think Halloween, country, dark and homey. I sketched out a few designs for a witch. The pin keep had to be on a pedestal so when I found a piece of Birch in the wood pile, it seemed like a perfect pedestal for a Woodland Witch. The wood had a fork which then gave me the idea of a companion "pin keep" and what better companion for a witch, then a spider ? As I sketched, she evolved into something I could actually see, so I drew up a pattern, then worked on a spider pattern. In the mean time I contacted my "Partner" and asked her about herself. One of the questions was "Favorite holiday". Her response was "you may think I'm nuts, because most people would say Christmas, but I LOVE Halloween "...First thought? This was a partner sent from heaven. That and I wouldn't have to rethink my Witch design. I've been away at a quilt show in Paducah KY, so I didn't know about posting pictures...better late then ever...I introduce my original design "Woodland Witch and Friend".
Hope you like her.....

Easter Swap

Oh I know Easter has long passed, but I'm slow, what can I say. I joined an egg swap for several reasons.
(1) because I've collected eggs. I've always liked the shape of an egg and the fact that it is a container. many years ago (seems like 100) I made egg Christmas ornaments. Each year was different. One year I drew the persons house on the egg. Another year I did Disney characters...all in all there were about 15 years in the collection and it always makes me smile when one of my friends tells me about still decorating their tree with my eggs.
(2) The swap seemed like fun. I love being able to do my own thing.
So I played with different idea's and decided to go for whimsy...something fun and cute and Springy .
You can see how they developed. Wacky Wabbits were the ones I sent to Cindy .She in turn sent me 4 eggs from different artist..I will have to take a picture of them as well...I totally enjoyed that swap.