Freckled Birds Folk Art Pillow

I have freckles and so do my birds! This fun folk art pillow was recently featured in an Etsy article title A Colorful Countryside, and it has been fun to see how many people from around the world are enjoying these little birds! Click here to read the article. A Colorful Countryside Article.

There are many ways to applique a design like these birds. Lots of folks are enjoying the raw edge applique technique, which my design could be described as, because I did not turn under the edges of the birds when I sewed them. My birds are made of wool felt, so they will not fray or change shape. I found a helpful video about raw edge applique using a sewing machine, if you'd like to learn more.

The method I used for making my Freckled Bird Pillow involves all hand embroidery. Using embroidery floss and a simple running stitch, I apply the felt birds to the taupe linen pillow front. I know that it would be faster to sew these birds on by machine, but I like how the hand stitching looks in this design. I've sewn seed beads onto each bird to represent the freckles. It almost makes freckles seem charming...which is an attitude about freckles that I wish everyone enjoyed!

I've heard from dozens and dozens of people since the Colorful Countryside article was published this weekend. It is fun how immediate activity happens in this world of Internet retailing. I am pleased that this pillow design strikes a chord with people and I will have fun making the custom orders that are coming my way for this pillow design. I will be teaching an applique class in August and plan to teach several applique techniques. It is a time-honored method for creating quilt blocks, pillow fronts, and embellishing clothes and accessories. It is one if my favorite art forms!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Hip Baby Boomer - Yes, I mean Me!

It is baby week for me, and when I saw these baby birds reaching for food, I felt that deep pull of maternal instinct kick in! It is a real emotional empowerment, that desire to keep my loved one's fed. And this week especially, as all of our grandchildren are in Colorado for a visit, which is unusual and wonderful!

So as I fuss over the Holland babies, let me tell you a funny thing about being a baby boomer. As the role of grandparent is new to us, and we are just barely in the boomer generation, we create new ways of thinking about ourselves as the "older generation" in our ever growing family. I can envision myself as a grandmother, but I'm not sure yet about being married to the grandfather of 3! So I did a little research about what all the hip baby boomers are doing out there in this wonderful world of grandparenting. I mean, being hip is something that is kind of a stretch for me...I was always the nerdy Susie Homemaker girl, not really the Happening Hipster during any previous decade of my life! So, research is a legitimate thing when one wants to know what real hip grandparents are doing.

Do you know what one finds when they Google "Hip Baby Boomer"?

Yes, my friends, I received many links to information about getting a Free Hip. Funny, huh?

So, I am feeling old, I am feeling weak in the knees (my particular area of future replacement parts), and I am feeling very hip, for my grandfather/husband and I are no where near needing any sort of mobility help! We are young, active, vital, and yes, the grandparents of 3. Or so I think (3 grand babies, that is), for Thomas and Jenny have been in labor all night, and I am ready for the phone to ring with a "Come on up, there's a new baby for you to meet!".

Our bird's nest of hungry babies is full, all in Colorado, and we can walk there under our own steam!
Yeah!

Thanks for stopping by. I'm off to a grandma rave...kidding!
Georgianne

Soft Sunflower Folk Art Pillow

It is sunflower time in Colorado, or so I am told by my handsome husband, who grew up in Kansas and knows his sunflowers. As we drove yesterday to Greeley, Colorado, we saw our highways lined with sunflowers ready to burst with yellow light! I'm also told that a patch of sunflowers is difficult to walk around and through. Their stalks are thick, prickly, and densely packed together. I'd love to have my picture taken surrounded by sunflowers though.

Did you watch any of the Tour de France? The Sunflower fields in France are sooo lovely. I'd like to say that someday I will see them in person...in the meantime...I've made this soft sunflower folk art pillow!

There are eleven shades of yellow and gold in this needle felt pillow. It is great fun blending, twisting, and playing with the wool roving that I use in my dry felting! I added some tiny seed beads for sparkle, because in my sunflower fantasy, sparkling happens! If you'd like to see more photos of this playful pillow, you can check it out at Soft Sunflower Pillow.

I hope that as you enjoy the last week of July, you come across some lovely sunflowers and perhaps even taking a stroll amonst them. Please let me know how it goes!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Peacock Feathers

I am in love with peacock feathers, and this lovely pendant is my new favorite thing! My daughter Jessie took care of many of the birds at the Denver Zoo, and while on duty, found discarded peacock feathers on the walkways. Those peacocks are free to roam the zoo grounds, and often show off their magnificent feathers to amazed children and zookeepers alike. So I have a fun collection of feathers.

I asked my mom to help me decorate a lampshade with peacock feathers and that was one of our most recent shared home decor projects. What a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon with my mom!

When I found this lovely peacock pendant on an etsy shop called http://www.verabel.etsy.com/, I knew I'd want to share it with all of you. This charming shop is located in Portland, Oregon, and it looks like they have found huge success on the etsy marketplace. I hope you will enjoy looking at all of their jewelry as much as I did!

Thanks for stopping by today...have a wonderful weekend!

Peace,
Georgianne

Heartfelt or Knee-Jerk?

I have had a revelation about how I make decisions and then take action! This bolt of insight came to me while I was making the bed, which, a lot like the time I spend knitting, is fertile thought time. Here's what I learned mid-pillow plump:

I make decisions one of two ways

1. HEARTFELT DESIRE
2. KNEE-JERK SHOULD

Perhaps you can relate? There are many decision points in every day life, and when the decision involves choosing either A or B, it is easy for me to apply the socially acceptable "What SHOULD I do" rationale.

This is different for me when the decision point involves no outside observers! My choice only impacts me, and in those moments, I am learning to make HEARTFELT DESIRES  take center stage.

What is exciting to me is knowing that as I gain the wisdom that comes naturally with my gray hairs, I can begin to make heartfelt decisions even when other folks are involved. I am at the stage of life where knee-jerk reactions can ease up a bit and I can enjoy the larger world of deciding what truly makes my heart sing. I really can release the rest. As the world keeps turning, I am happy to report that more of my heartfelt needs and wants are being met by me and those who share this wonderful ride with me.

What is the most significant heartfelt desire you have back-burnered or given up hope of claiming for your own? I think you should let your heart sing!

Peace,
Georgianne

Color Inspiration and Abundance

I have been looking very carefully at the colors in my life. It takes, for me at least, a deliberate effort to be present during my creative time, as I can often find my mind racing from project to project, what needs to happen tomorrow, and how much corn on the cob to buy for dinner. Deliberately quieting my mind and looking very closely at color is a wonderful retreat from this busy mind.  

I want to share with you today some of the colors I found around my home--colors that inspire me in my folk art, but more importantly I think, inspire me to realize how much beauty surrounds me.

I am looking today in my family room and my flower beds. It has been interesting for me to see these two spaces in my home through the lens of my camera. I know my silk flowers to be lovely, but looking at them in this light and so close helped me to really see them for the first time in years.

The way that this gray-green leaf of my hydrangea bush is gently holding the rain from the storm that happened in the middle of the night adds to the beauty of the color itself.

I think that taking the time to slow down, look around my home, and then really look up close at the things I have decided to fill my space with, is a great way to be inspired by color and inspired by abundance. What is the color of your abundance?

Peace,

Georgianne