Singing the Praises

Thanks to Lori,

(& Katie's Rose Cottage)

 I got my hands on an advanced copy of the new Somerset Life.

It's one of the best ever, so many yummy pictures & great artists.

Including one of my favorites The Tin Rabbit herself, Ann.

Making her publishing debut with not 1 but 2 features!

She wrote a great how-to article about her memory pillows.

Then Kelsi Maree Borland wrote a wonderful piece about Ann's hanging luggage pockets.  That sweetie Ann made one for me awhile back, I blogged about it here.

I feel so proud for her, it's pretty great seeing your art in print.

Way to make your publishing debut girlfriend!

I've been in love with Ann's art & amazing style since I discovered her blog & flickr page ages ago.  I am very inspired & influenced by her work. 

Many of my pieces are now adorned with one of her signature seam binding wads.

I blogger stalked this poor soul for months before a mutual friend convinced her I wasn't crazy.  Now I am proud to call her friend, & on November 6 I will meet her in the flesh at her Tin Rabbit Sale.

Speaking of stalking....I eventually wore this sweet girl down too!

Life has devoted a few pages to Karla's beautiful pieces. 

Oh I love these peat pots...

Especially this one!

In exactly 3 days I'll be partying with Karla & her partner in crime Beth, in Round Top.

Yippee!!!!!!!

(Okay girls, I wanna see you score a church lady hat for $5. there!)

There's another pretty cool feature in this issue! LOL

Remember these?

I taught a second group of gals my 'Elements of Collage' at Cottage Panache a couple of weeks ago.

Maureen did such a great job remodeling her darling shop & designing the perfect classroom.

I am surprised & humbled that people would actually pay to take a class from me.

I know times are tough & workshops are kind of a luxury. Because of that I work really hard to meet my students expectations, pulling out all the stops with great vintage supplies & sharing every trick I know.

But after seeing their finished pieces I wondered who was teaching who!

A precious picture from Charlotte's childhood became her inspiration.

She use a vintage wedding veil as the skirt of her piece & generously shared bits of it with all of us.

Diane combined many different elements & scraps of lace to create her lovely collage.

My Paper Cowgirl buddy Sherry also used a family photo to personalize her work.

She has a great blog Lace And A Few Button's, go say hi!

Another Paper Cowgirl alum Linda, used a pair of Dawns slippers to embellish her collage.

I love how she framed a page from a Victorian autograph book with lace.

My running buddy Charlene from My Hearts Ease did an outstanding job on her collage.

 (of course, all of her art is beautiful)

Like I said, who was teaching who?

I'm very passionate about teaching & do it for totally selfish reasons.  It's certainly not about the money.  If I added up the time spent preparing, the supplies & everything else that goes into a workshop I would go crazy. 

 Also deadlines are not my friend, so I'm usually busting my booty into the late hours getting it all together. 

Around this time I tell myself this is the last time!

Then I set up the table......

the girls arrive & the process begins.

In the end we've spent a glorious day sharing  ideas, stories, supplies & laughs.  It's so rewarding, I learn so much from everyone & float away feeling totally renewed!

Thank you Charlotte, Linda, Charlene, Diane & Sherry for spending your day with me!