International Bird Rescue -- Every Bird Matters

Perhaps you have seen the images from ocean-side communities where people work to clean up a bird that has been damaged by an oil spill? This kind of human intervention due to humankind's mess-making around the world is often covered in the news these days.

My love of birds has been celebrated in my fiber art studio for many years now, so when the folks at International Bird Rescue, an organization dedicated to rescuing birds that have been injured due to a natural disaster or human cruelty, asked me to sponsor a membership drive for their non-profit organization, I was happy to participate! I hope you will enjoy learning more about their fine work.

If you decide to become a member of Bird Rescue this week, with a $25 donation, you will be eligible to win one of the many lovely sponsor-donated items perfect for every bird lover! Learn more here.

Tattoo Sparrow Pillow at Nestle And Soar

The Tattoo Sparrow Pillow from my eco-chic collection, shown at left, has been donated to Bird Rescue (IBR) as a give-away item! Other companies who also love birds, as well as the fans of birds around the world, are joining in to help raise awareness about the work of the Bird Rescue team.

In addition to becoming a IBR member, there are many ways to participate with bird-loving organizations, and often, you can participate from the comfort of your own home. If you enjoy spending time on Facebook, there are many hard-working groups represented there you could follow and help to support. I like to keep up with the I Love Birds page!

Another bird-loving spot I like to visit from home is the blog of the popular 10,000 Birds. Here you will find great information on birding, nature, and conservation as well as fabulous bird photography from around the world. Do you love learning about birds and where they live?

It is tremendous fun to fill my home with art and images that celebrate my love of nature! This is the passion behind my artistic practice and my small business efforts. If you also love to celebrate your love of nature this way, I hope you will join me in helping organizations like International Bird Rescue who work to preserve the health and legacy of birds in their natural environments for everyone's benefit.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

English Garden Fiber Folk Art Pillow is Pure Romance

Simply Elegant Home Decor

Romantic home decor is a comfortable style that is sweet, but never saccharine. Romantics celebrate the idealistic side of life, and like their home environment to be softly welcoming. All of the senses are addressed when romantic decorating is honored, with luxurious textiles, a creamy color palette, light filtering through draped windows, and lovely flower arrangements. In my most successful romantically decorated room, feminine energy may reign, but my husband also feels comfortable.

English Garden Fiber Folk Art Pillow, 18"x18"

The romantic in me was fully present on the day I designed and created the English Garden Pillow for Nestle And Soar! A mother bird is feeding her chick inside a swirly, gentle tree. A slight sparkle from the hand-applied seed beads adds a touch of glitz, and the organic linen I used is creamy and super soft.

Have you experimented with the romantic decorating style in your own home? Many of the textiles that I have inherited over the years come to me from the women in my family who lived in beautifully simple, Victorian-era lives. The fancy manor house living with rose gardens dappled around the English countryside is not my background, yet I like to pretend that it could have been! A lot of the romantic women I know enjoy incorporating a soft English-country style into their modern family homes. Do you? I'd love to hear about it.

Bright Colors and Soft Textures in Home Decor Fiber Art

Wool circles staged for my new line of pillows!

Lots of embroidery will need to happen next!

Bright colors and silky textures are the inspiration I count on as I spend hot June days in my fiber art studio.  This new batch of 100% wool felt is now cut into circles, waiting patiently for me to sort out new fiber art designs! The popular Folk Art Flowers pillows I've had in my collection for a few years need to have some fresh design touches. I am planning to add flags and other bold circle-centric designs in the upcoming months.

Some of the soft and colorful wool from the Wool Festival in Estes Park.

Do you have a favorite color scheme in your home that you can share with me? I'd love to have your input.






This small folk art flag design is similar to a large wall fiber art piece I've been attending to this year. This smaller version is being made for a 12"x15" pillow design, and I am enjoying the process. Iconic flags are a fun addition to many home decor styles, and the layout of this flag is straight- forward. Perhaps this design is too traditional?

Do you think I should be more contemporary and angle the flag or give it some wave-like motion?








I visited the Wool Festival in Estes Park, Colorado, last weekend with some of my fun knitting friends! This picture shows some of the lovely colors and soft textures I purchased from the vendors at this terrific annual event. I always enjoy visiting with vendors at the market and catching up with their news and exciting products. Some of these friendly people are my year-long source of hand-dyed, eco-friendly wools for my fiber art. I have to admit, it is taking a lot of self-restraint to create this blog post today instead of getting elbow deep in this luscious pile of bright and silky wool! I wanted to share before I start pulling these fibers apart in the creative process.

I hope you will keep an eye out for new creations from Nestle And Soar in the coming weeks, and I also hope you will let me know if there is anything special I could Customize especially for you!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

P.S. Thank you for following this blog. I do appreciate it! Today through June 15, 2013, I invite you to use a special coupon code "BlogFriend" at checkout on my Nestle And Soar website, and receive 20% off your purchase of any one regular-priced item. If you aren't a follower of this blog, sign up today! Great coupons and fun specials are a part of the fun here. Georgianne

New Work in the Studio

Here's what's happening at Nestle And Soar this week...

A huge shipment of celadon green wool roving arrived and my hands could not stop until I played with this elegant color! I read a reference to the word celadon, commonly used to describe a delicate green, earlier, used to describe a tender lover, after Celadon, the hero in a romance by d'Urfe. I believe that there is a romantic quality to this green, and hopefully, to these three pieces on my worktable. Oh, my sweet Celadon.

English Garden, hand needle felt, embroidery, beading on linen

Love Birds, hand needle felt on linen

Piece 4 in series of 6, patchwork with needle felting

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Audubon Bird Photos --- Top 100 Images of 2012

I am a bird lover. As a bird lover, it seems to me that there are many, many people who are also enthralled by birds. What's that saying, "Like Attracts Like"? Have you ever noticed that when you have something special that is brand new -- a pair of sneakers, shiny new car, or even a pregnant belly -- all of a sudden, you see new shoes, cars and big bellies all around you? When I decided to focus my fiber art three years ago on the natural world, especially birds and trees, I suddenly noticed that all around me are folks who completely understand this passion! To help us all enjoy birds in full color today, I want to pass along the online gallery of Audubon Magazine's Top 100 bird photos from 2012. I have had so much fun reviewing these images captured by three categories of photographers: professional, amateur, and youth. Some of the photos made me say "How did they get that shot?!" Others make me laugh out loud at the winsome personality of these divine creatures.

I would truly enjoy hearing which of these 100 photos is your favorite. (Link here) I do believe that I should begin my artistic fiber art exploration of the majestic Egret...the first photo shown above is called Cattle Egret by Troy Lim. The second photo is called Great Egret by Tara Tanaka. These two are my favorites!

New Fiber Art on my Table

The cold winds are blowing here in Colorado today, and I'm keeping my hands warm with one of my favorite things, hand embroidery. The working of many stitches on a soft mid-tone grey linen is a great way to keep my hands moving and warm. Each colorful wool felt circle is being stitched with a lovely Valdani pearl cotton in a softer shade of grey. Isn't it inspirational to have a wide variety of lovely threads spread in front of you as you create? I get a little rush of excitement when the colors and the textures are all within reach like this! I hope you have something as colorful to help you keep warm where you are today...Thanks for stopping by, Georgianne

My Favorite Creations Today

Vintage Peacock Fiber Art

How do you decide what your "favorite" of anything is? Is it the thing that is part of your current interests? Is it the thing that was very hard to come by, and therefore has a built-in satisfaction level? For me, I get a rush of energy when I am around my favorites, whether that be my favorite people, places or things! Do you get that rush of positive energy?

I want to share two items that make my heart sing. When I began making each item, I did not have a firm plan in place for the end product. Don't you love working like that? To me, it is like being open to what happens, instead of being determined to force something in particular to happen. I love the energy of that creative flow.

The first item began as an ornate and shabby vintage frame. After it was cleaned up and painted a bright and glossy purple, it was time for me to create fiber art. I have been playing around with printing my images onto fabric. This is a photo of a magnificent peacock that I printed onto cotton fabric. I added some sparkle with seed beads, thinking "If a peacock in full plumage cannot sparkle, who can?".

Aspen Grove Fiber Art Pillow

The next item represents a favorite place for me: the mountains of Colorado in the midst of an Aspen Tree grove. I love the towering presence of those trees, but I especially love the sound you hear when you are near them...the quaking sound.

This needle-felt and applique pillow was made to recreate that feeling -- the one where you are standing on a mountain and you look over a gently sloping field, and just beyond the aspen trees, you see another glorious royal-blue mountain range. Have you ever been there? I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Photographic Adventures at Nestle and Soar

As a gal who never took a photography class, it is somewhat frightening to rely so heavily on great photos to operate my business! Kind of gutsy, even. Now I know that improving my photos on my own website, in my Etsy shop, and all along the Internet highways is the right thing to do, so I decided to learn from my good friend Kelly, who is quite patient with me. Today there are a few progress shots of pillows I am working on that have me kind of excited! I know that I still have a lot to learn, but each effort has a marked improvement, so that feels good. What is the one skill you know you need to improve to make your work or life more "just right"? I'd love to hear!

Soft Sunflower Pillow ©2010 Georgianne Holland

Coexist Tree ©2011 Georgianne Holland

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne