April 15th ended the 2010 tax season which means that I finally have a little more time on my hands again. As many of you know this was my first foray out of the family business in about 17 years. I learned a lot. I loved the clients who came to H&R Block and mini tax geek that I am, I loved the actual job. The inter-office dynamics, now that was another thing entirely! I generally try to keep my blog positive in nature so I've decided not to dwell to much on the subject of my co-workers but I will caution those of you who were negative, life-sucking, energy draining, leeches (you know who you are) - Clean up your act or you are certain to be sucked into the Vortex of Hell! Whew! Feels good to get that out of my system....


Now on to more positive things. The Art Nest is busy learning and creating again. I am currently taking a small course in drawing to increase my illustration skills. This is somewhat of a leap for me since I have to conquer that internal voice that tries to convince me that I can't illustrate. So far I am doing well and I hope to post some of my illustrations soon. In the meantime I have taken out my machine and created a new dish/tea towel from the retro Japanese series I have for sale in my Etsy shop.

Isn't she just delightful! I found her happy little expression so uplifting...

Check out all the designs in this series at www.theartnest.etsy.com.

I've Got the Woolies!

Fall generally brings out the best in me. I love the weather and the general sense of change that is in the air. This fall brings into fruition an idea that I have had loosely rattling around in my head for the last year.

Meet The Wishing Wood Woolies...

All Wishing Wood Woolies are created from the secret thoughts of children. Most live happily in the Wishing Wood, but on occasion a Woolie will decide to come over into our world. Traversing the Sea of Leaves in a boat made of paper they arrive in various parts of the world. One must always be kind to Wishing Wood Woolies as they are full of wishcraft and when treated well can help your wishes come true.

These three guys are the first of the Woolies and can be found in my Etsy shop at www.theartnest.etsy.com. Each Woolie is one of a kind and comes with a background story. I love the combination of story creation and sewing when creating these sweet little softies. I'll be posting more of these guys with their bios in the future.

Seasons of Change

September has arrived and Summer seems to be drawing to a close. The kids have headed back to school which allows me to finish up a few projects that were on hold and begin new projects.

I finally stitched out the woodland deer towels for my newly painted downstairs bathroom. I love them! I actually like them better stitched on the chocolate brown waffle weave towels than I do on the solid white background. Anyway I think they look totally sweet....

I sewed up some cool cool fabric coasters from a tutorial I got from www.makeitfromscratch.blogspot.com/2009/03/drink-coasters-from-scrap-fabric.html. I liked them so much I am planning to make some in different designs for my etsy shop as well.




And, check out the cool necklace and earrings I made during a beading class I took with my friend Nancy...

I hope to delve a little further into jewelry making in the future but I thought this was a good start.

Oh, What a Softie....

It seems Miss Emma (my embroidery/sewing machine) is once again under the weather. But all is well, I have borrowed my good friends sewing machine and I am all about making softies. It's totally been on my agenda for some time now, so I'm taking the time to make them while my embroidery machine is out for repair. I love working with all the beautiful fabric combinations and creating three dimensional creatures from the different colors and textures is a lot of fun.

Here's a little ducky I have cut out and ready to stitch. The fabric in the background is going to be a big-eared creature I've created a new pattern for. I'll blog them both when completed.

This is Freddy Fabulous! He's my tres' chic owl created from an upcycled sweater and awesome orange/cream cotton fabric I found on sale. I've just recently listed him in my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24643805. Check him out!

She's Back.....

Ms. Emma is back! That's right Ms. Emma my sewing/embroidery machine is finally back. She seems to be rested and in good shape after taking her mental health holiday. So I am currently working on kitchen towels. I have plans of making softies in the near future as well, so check back to see what kind of cuteness is hatching out of the Nest....



Aren't these cute? I made a set of the blue ones for a friend of mine who has recently moved into a new home. The tea towel embroidered in red will be added to my Etsy store.

Days Like This...

I've heard that boats who go unnamed are plagued with problems and bad luck. I wonder if the same is true of sewing machines? I'm beginning to think it is... I have really had just the worst luck recently with my new embroidery/sewing machine. She is shredding thread (giving me the worst fits) and the repair shop can't seem to nail down the exact problem. I'm totally frustrated because I have so many sewing projects in the works.

So I've decided to name my machine Ms. Emma. Ms. Emma is a powerful, mature sewing machine with much potential and many years of good stitches in her. Unfortunately she is prone to accidents and must be monitored vigilantly. While she is on vacation (due to her emotional breakdown of course) I have moved on to card making and crochet. Hopefully that will keep both my hands and my mind busy so I don't wind up on a mini-vacation like Ms. Emma!

These are little thank you notes I made to leave with service tips. I love the googly eyes on the owls!