GIRLFRIENDS

Kate's Book Came Home!

2010-09-05T05:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I recieved my Girlfriends Traveling Sketchbook in the mail! After roaming the country and over the ocean and back, it is now here in my hands and I'm loving each and every page!

The first half of the book includes artwork from Soulbrush in England, Lynn from California, Babs in Oklahoma, and Cathie in North Carolina.

The second half features artwork from Lynnette in Virginia, Karen M from New York State, Mim in Massachusetts, Suki in New Hampshire and Karen C. from Chicago, Illinois.

Girls, I simply adore each and every wonderful page and I will treasure this book for the rest of my life. Thank you all so much for participating!

Suki's Page for Kate's Book

2010-06-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

I am so thrilled to see this new page for my book!! Suki, as usual, has done an outstanding job! I always love her collage work and this is no exception. This is the back of my page.

And this is the front. I wonder if she knows how much I love the moon and stars? Surely, she must. Suki, I love, love, love this. Can't wait to get it home. Thanks for the timely finish, too.

Karen M's Page for Mim's Book

2010-06-21T15:07:00.001-07:00

I am late getting this posted, but here is Karen M's page for Mim's book. Mim decided to go with the theme of "Home" and I really like this digital collage. Very nice, Karen. If you would like to see Mim's entire book, which just recently came home, please click HERE.

Mim Has Added Her Page to Kate's Book

2010-06-21T14:56:00.001-07:00

Mim recently received my,(Kate's) book and has added her new page. Since my theme was "I Believe...." Mim followed that theme beautifully, and purple is my favorite color!

This is the other side of the page and it is fantastic! Mim used Neocolors watersoluable crayons and acrylic paint on watercolor paper. I can't wait to see it in person. Thanks, Mim!

Karen M's Page for Kate's Book

2010-04-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

Karen M has added this lovely page to my book using bits and pieces of things from her grandmother's notes, recipe books, and journals. The little bird is watercolored. My theme is "I Believe" and Karen's page is titled, "I Believe I Can Fly". Thank you Karen, this is so beautiful and I simply cannot wait to see it in person.

Lynn's New Page!

2010-04-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

Amazing Lynn has created this unique and wonderful page as the last addition to Babs' book.
In her traditional style, Lynn has used everything but the kitchen sink in this page. On her blog she says she used tissue paper, glossy paper, magazine cut-outs, stick on gems and beads on a fabric bag! Lynn, this simply couldn't be more creative and unusual. Babs will love it!

Lynn's Book Has Flown Home!

2010-03-14T05:12:00.000-07:00

Lynn's Girlfriends Book has travelled around the country and over the ocean and now it has returned home! The diversity of creative talent shown in these books is outstanding! She has many lovely and exciting pages to show you, far too many for me to post here, so be sure to click HERE to see all that she has to share with you. Way to go, Lynn! Thank you so much for participating in our project and I hope you enjoy your book for years to come.

JOSS HAS TWO NEW PAGES DONE!

2010-03-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

Joss has been busy with two sketchbooks lately. She says she is experimenting with collage and has discovered gesso. Here are the results:

She says, "I have just discovered gesso and am playing with it. So, I used gesso and tissue paper and acrylics for Babs' book, and this is the result." Joss, I think this is wonderful and it is so perfect for Babs, who really likes abstracts! What do we see here? I think I see a tunnel there at the bottom, and a big, beautiful pink sky overhead.

Next is her page for Lynn. For this one she says, "And this is my very last page for Lynn. I used gesso again, with silver foil paper, and sand and acrylics. I loved the result, and I hope Lynn will too." Again, Joss, this is super! I am very partial to purple, so this one really speaks to me. They are both lovely and I'm sure their owners will love them.

I believe this is the last page for Lynn's book, so it is now on its way to her. After completing her page in Babs' book, that one will be finished as well, and Lynn will be sending it home to Babs. Mine is still out there somewhere, but I'm sure it will find its way home to me eventually. This has been great fun!

Kate's Page for Lynn's Book

2010-02-12T02:01:00.000-08:00

This is my page for Lynn's book. I love crazy quilts and Lynn makes the most wonderful art quilts, so I made her a paper crazy quilt.

I have one more book to finish before I will send three to England. This next book will be Joss' and hers will be done.

Kate's Page for Babs's Book

2010-02-07T05:24:00.000-08:00

This is my page for Babs's sketchbook. Babs said her book didn't really have a theme, so I went with "Girlfriends". This is a black and white transparency I made by coating a potocopy of a photo of me with my girlfriends celebrating one of my birthdays, with gloss medium. Then, when dry, soaking it in water and gently scrubbing off the paper from the medium. What is left is a clear photo on the medium. I collaged a picture of a sunbrella from a catalog onto watercolor paper along with my transparency, then watercolored the background and the transparency. This is for you, Babs. "Let Them Eat Cake!"

I have two other books to work on, then off they go to Merry Old England, where Soulbrush will add her art.

BABS HAS FINISHED CATHIE'S BOOK

2010-01-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

Babs has finished this beautiful page for Cathie's book and she says it will be the last one for this book. Our books are all beginning to find their way home and it has been an exciting and wonderful adventure for all of us. I can't wait to hear the stories mine will tell me when I see it again. This page is perfect for Cathie, but I have to say I am a little bit jealous!
This is how Babs has described this original work of art:

A mixed media collage of acrylic, Picasso jasper beads, wire, and a tiny rustic bell on canvas; it expresses Cathie's theme of "Words of Wisdom":

"The bell never rings of itself"

~Plautus

Lynn Is Starting A New Sketchbook Round Robin

2010-01-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

As we are drawing to a close on the "Girlfriends" Travelling Sketchbooks, Lynn has offered to start a new travelling sketchbook round robin and has asked that I post the news here. If anyone is interested in joining another group give her a jingle and let her know.

"I'd like to invite anyone who is interested in doing a next Traveling Sketch book to contact me on my blog (http://lynn-nonameblog.blogspot.com) by leaving a comment or emailing me at lyn_fred1@comcast.net. I have six committed artists to date. Would like at least four more for a nice next fat book full of wonderful art!"

Lynn, I wish you well on this adventure. It certainly has been a lot of fun. We will look forward to your new blog and lots more exciting art to view.

KAREN C'S NEW PAGE FOR SOULBRUSH'S BOOK

2010-01-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

You all are producing work faster than I can keep up with you! This is Karen C's lovely quilted page for Soulbrush. I guess we are in the final pages of these books. Karen says says she got her own book back in the same package as this book. Click HERE to see all the pages of her book spread out in a beautiful array. This has been so much fun, girls. You all have contributed outstanding works of art and these will be books to treasure and pass down to our children's children's children!

LYNN HAS AN EXTITING NEW PAGE FOR CATHIE'S BOOK

2010-01-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

Lynn, in her characteristcally amazingly creative style, has come up with another brilliant page. This one is for Cathie's book. Cathie, as you all know by now, had wanted us to create a page reflecting "Words of Wisdom". Well, this one takes the cake! Please click HERE to see all the aspects of Lynn's page. She posted so many wonderful pages showing the process of her creation.

This is the quote she used by Native American, Crowfoot, Blackfoot Warrior:

" What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset."

The buffalo in the center photo is on fabric and I took this photo last summer.

I used lots of highly textural brick a brac to make my collage. I in fact made it like I made the collagraph of the other day from Suki's instruction.

This piece has more snaps on cotton, strips of elastic, a zipper part, lace, candy wrapper, frayed edged cotton selvage and a charm with a buffalo on it that I got from my uncles house this past weekend.

I sewed all the pieces down and then I painted it with acrylic paints using a sponge brush.

I added Modge Podge to finish and seal it. The words are hand written on fabric.

2" of the left side of this page will be in the books binding.

The What is Life? words are inside the open zipper!

LYNETTE HAS DONE IT AGAIN!

2009-12-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

Lynette has created this wonderful page for Mim's book, whose theme is "Home". I think this has a dreamy, mystical look to it and it is surrounded by lovely words about home.

"This page (above) is for Auntie Mim's book and the theme for her book is 'home'. I used a collaged acrylic painting on heavy yupo paper and added some metallic gold touches and black sharpee ink and a sparkly gemstone on the window. I hope you will like your page and I will get this in the mail this week so it can make one more stop then be on it's way home to you!"

Lynette says this is her last page for all the books. I have no idea whose books are still out there waiting to be finished. I know I haven't done a page for everyone yet, but they are winding down and are winging their way homeward. It's been a wonderful year of artmaking and I thank all of you for participating in our little project. Everyone's art has been totally outstanding and wouldn't we love to see all the books stacked up in a row? Now, that would really be mind boggling!

SOULBRUSH HAS ADDED A PAGE TO CATHIE'S BOOK

2009-12-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

Despite the busy-ness of the holidays, Soulbrush has still carved out some time for working on our sketchbooks, and this one is a real knockout! I love this saying!
Here is how she describes her process:

I painted black acrylic paint on to a kitchen paper towel, then printed with it on to paper. (A bit of doiley was lying there and stuck to it too, and I left it there.)

I then used acrylics diluted with acrylic gloss medium and painted around the shapes I saw to create this image..which resembles a range of mountains to me.)

The words I found for this:

"LIFE is the ART of drawing without an ERASER" (John Gardner).

I hope she likes it.

I'm sure she will, Joss! What's not to like? Great job!

My Page For Cathie's Book

2009-12-17T02:52:00.000-08:00

This is my newest page and it is for Cathie's (Clevelandgirlie) sketchbook in the Girlfriends round robin. Cathie's theme is "words of wisdom" so I used some favorite lines from a James Taylor song. They say: "The Secret of Life is Enjoying the Passage of Time. There Ain't Nothing to it. Anyone Can do it. Try Not to Try Too Hard. It's Just a Lovely Ride."
I used an antique doily, tye dyed fabric, and dyed tissue paper all done on some fancy textured scrapbook paper.
Now it is winging its way to Joss in England!

Suki Has MORE New Pages!

2009-12-14T16:06:00.001-08:00

Suki is still dilligently working away on the multiple books she recently received. It's so kind of her to work on getting these done when we are all so pressed for free time right now.
This is a lovely collage page that she made for Bab's book. She said it started out as a painting that didn't work out, but I think it worked out just fine! Beautiful.

This page is for Lynn's book. Lynn liked the page that Suki had made for Karen C and since both Karen and Lynn are sewers, this is a perfectly wonderful page for Lynn, too.

As per Karen's request, Suki is holding off mailing these until after the first of the year. Good idea. We can take a holiday breather and resume right after New Year's. In the meantime, Suki has received her own book back and has made a cute little video of it on her blog. Be sure to visit and check out all the terrific artwork!

Suki Has New Pages!

2009-12-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

Suki recently got klobbered with FIVE sketchbooks all at once! She has been working hard on them and the results are fantastic!

This is her page for Karen C at Threadstory. Karen is a stiticher, and a very good one, too. I love all the little inclusions you put onto this page that speaks of sewing, Suki. Especially since you don't sew, yourself. This is wonderfu and I'm sure Karen will love it.

This page is for Soulbrush in London. Sending her a little sunshine to warm her up is a very thoughtful idea. I like it. That sun with a jewel on its forehead is a hoot!

KAREN C'S NEW PAGE FOR CATHIE'S BOOK

2009-12-06T16:55:00.000-08:00

This is Karen C's page for Cathie's book and isn't it fantastic! She says she had a tough time working this page out because Cathie's theme is about using quotes that we like. After some thought she came around to John Lennon's words, "We all shine on, like the stars and the moon and the sun" This lovely page is about how all of us shine in our own way.

MIM HAS PAGES TO SHOW! AGAIN!!

2009-11-30T14:15:00.000-08:00

Mim has been really busy, considering that she has an ill mother-in-law to help look after. But she has still managed to turn out some very fine art pages for FIVE, yes five! sketchbooks. Amazing, Mim, and they are all simply wonderful. Here they are in no particular order:

This is the page she did for Joss's (Soulbrush) book. I like all the glitter and glam, don't you?

Here is Karen C's (Threadstory) page. The feather was a nice touch, I think.

This is her collage page for Babs' (Off The Wall Art) book. Very nice, Mim.

Here is the page she made for Lynn's (Getting My Feet Wet) book. Is this fabric? It looks like quilted fabric. Whatever it is, it's very original.

And last is the page for Suki's book. I like this collage a lot. Of course we have a little house in it.

Mim, these are just a true work of love. They are all going to be eagerly recieved by their owners. Great job!

Karen M Has Been Busy As A Bee!

2009-11-09T17:55:00.001-08:00

It seems that Karen M has been a very busy person lately. In a flurry of activity, she has completed pages for five books, and they are each truly wonderful and so perfect for the book's owners. To read more about each page and Karen's creative process please visit her blog.

This page is for Suki of Paint, Poems and Ponderings. She calls this "Soul Drops" and the little quote is so perfect for Suki. I know she is going to simply love this page.

This page belongs to Karen Christensen of Threadstory. It is a mixed media painting on canvas.This is so delicate and sew right for Karen, who, as we all know is a magician with thread and a needle!

This page is for Lynn of Getting My Feet Wet and is titled "Sight". Through some complicated process, Karen has incorporated one of her actual photos of her beautiful eyes into this work of art. Amazing!

Next is a page for Babs of Off The Wall Art. This one is titled "Roots" and is another mixed media work with machine stitching and collage. Beautiful.

And last is a page for Joss's (Soulbrush) book. This page is based on a line from a lovely poem by Henry Ward Beecher: "Every artist dips his brush in his own soul and paints his own nature into his pictures." What a beautiful thought.

So much work and attention has been given to these pages and I know the owners of each of these books will love them. Great job, Karen!

Lynette Has Finished Karen M's Book!

2009-11-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

In keeping with Karen M's bee theme, Lynette has completed her page for Karen's book, thus making Karen's book finished! How exciting! Lynnie, this is a fabulous page and I really love all the intricate work on your funky tree. What a fun page! I know Karen will be so thrilled to have her book back.
Great Job!

Hooray! Lynette Has Her Book Back!

2009-11-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

This is exciting news!! Lynette Clay has received her finished book in our "Girlfriends" round of sketchbooks! Her book had traveled to New York State, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Chicago, Illinois, Ohio, then all the way across the ocean to jolly old England, back to California, then to Oklahoma, North Carolina, and finally home to Virginia! What an amazing ride it has taken and what wonderful stories it can tell!

I'm getting excited to see my own book back soon, aren't you?

At Last, We Have New Pages!

2009-10-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

Cathie has been hard at work on a new page for Karen M's sketchbook, and boy, is it worth the wait! As you all know, Karen is fond of bees and honey, so can you Beelieve this stunning echinecea flower with a bee perched perfectly on top?

Cathie, you out-do yourself with each and every book. How I love the work you do!

BABS IS ON A ROLL!

2009-09-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

When this Babs gets to painting, she just can't quit! She has been busy as a bee.......

two bees, actually! This is her busy bee page for Karen M's book. I love the suggestion of the bees buzzing around in the deep, dark, depths of a Van Gogh garden.

This is the exciting back page for Karen's book. You girls are all so good about giving us all two paintings for the price of one! Love this, Babs! The colors are so vibrant and rich.

This is half of her page for Lynette's book. Babs said she couldn't come up with a butterfly painting that suited her, so she colored outside the lines and painted Girlfriends instead.

This is the other half of the page......

....and this is the whole page! Babs and Lynnie, drinking coffee (until the wee hours of the morning) and painting. Although we live in different corners of the globe, we are all girlfriends connected by our love of art! Such a nice painting, Babs! You got it right!

"IMAGINATION" IS THE KEY WORD IN LYNETTE'S PAGE FOR KATE'S BOOK

2009-09-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Imagination abounds in this wonderfully creative page that Lynnette has made for my (Kate's) book. She has collaged some of her abstract art onto this page to make a beautiful picture and then she wrote backward the phrases she used to describe what she believes, which is the theme of my book.

If held up to a mirror, you can read that she believes in inspiration and dreams, the values that are at the very core of each and every one of us. Very well done, Lynnie, and I adore this and cannot wait to see it in person. Click HERE to read more.......

KAREN M'S BRILLIANT PAGE

2009-09-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I almost missed this absolutely stunning page Karen M has made for Cathie's book! I briefly surfed her blog recently, and I'm ashamed to say that I didn't take the time to read the fine print! I thought she was showing some more of her fabulous and amazing photographic ability,- (that girl is something else with a camera! Go look!),-and so I totally missed this page. This is a self portrait drawing she did of a self-portrait photo! Did that make sense?

Here is what Karen has to say about the page. "Cathie's book stumped me as she wanted words or favorite quotes. What if you have 1000 favorite quotes?
I chose "Happiness is not in having or being—it is in the doing" which was Lillian Eichler Watson's definition of happiness. As it should be all of ours."

We couldn't have said it better, Karen. These are wonderful words of wisdom to compliment a lovely sketch.

LYNN'S SPECTACULAR PAGE FOR KAREN M'S BOOK

2009-09-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well, once again Lynn has outdone herself with creativity and design ideas! Check out this marvelous page for Karen M's sketchbook. I'll let her describe it in her own words:

"My full page called "Quilting Bee".
Karen's book theme is Bees. She said we could do it any way we wanted even sneaking it in according to our own style. And that is what I did. This fabric is left over from some I used a two years ago that represented my grandmother's love of sewing. I turned the family group of sewing mother and daughters into a quilting bee something groups of women gathered to do in the past (and maybe they still do)."

Lynn, this is so like you; thoughtful and giving. What a treasure and a pleasure to behold.

Please click HERE to read more and see more photos.

LYNN HAS AN EXTITING NEW PAGE FOR LYNETTE'S BOOK

2009-09-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

With her usual fun and creative style, Lynn has done this wonderful page to add to Lynette's sketchbook. Using dyed paper towels, dyed dryer sheets, and paint she has imagined a magical butterfly garden complete with a real butterfly charm! Click HERE to see lots more photos of her page, and all the pages so far in this wonderous book. Good job, Lynn!

CHECK OUT THESE EXCITING NEW PAGES FROM LYNNETTE!

2009-09-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

Visiting Lynnette Clay's blog is always a treat. she does the most amazing things with paint and once again she has come through with flying colors for two new sketchbook pages.

For Suki's book, titled 'Fire and Ice', I collaged a painting on two pages and glued a really cool old button that I had found in my box of odds and ends......click HERE to read more!

AND

I titled Karen's book 'Grandma's Quilt Pieces'. I really had fun with her book too and I know she loves fabrics and sewing. I am a real fumble-fingers when it comes to sewing and then...aha, I remembered something I had sewn over 45 years ago.....click HERE to read the rest!

SUDDENLY, ART IS FLYING AROUND EVERYWHERE!

2009-08-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

I've just been notified that Soulbrush has completed pages in a couple more sketchbooks, so we are on the move again!

Here is what she had to say about this first page, "For Karen M's book, I took a picture I had already painted, and cut it up to fit the page and the story... and added a few bees....
This is what I wrote at the back...(the names are Zulu, and their pronunciations are in brackets.

"Lungile and Busiswe (Loongeele and Booseeswe) are sisters.
They often play in the garden with their best friend, Jabulile (Jabooleele), the hen."

I really like this idea. It looks similar to a painted clay tile mosaic, Soulbrush. Very nice.

And for Lynnette's book she did a picture puzzle collage, entitled, "Rumble In The Jungle: Find The Monkey". How clever! I never would have thought of that. It turned out really well.

CATHIE HAS BEEN BUSY - AGAIN!

2009-08-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

Cathie has been a stitching wizzard here lately! As she has only offered snippets of looks at her pages we can only wonder at how beautiful they really are.

These two photos are close ups of a page she made for Karen C. I love the tiny swirls on the blue and what are those little discs? More, I want to see more!! Ooo, the suspense! I want to see the whole thing! Well, we will just have to wait until it travels around to our doors.

And here we teased again with only peeps at this marvelous page for Suki's book. Knowing how Suki loves flowers, I'm sure this will be something she will love to see.

I've never been very good at surprises. I always want to know the ending of the story right from the start, so I told her not to hold back showing me the page she made for my book. I'm loving every stitch of it and I simply cannot wait to see this in person!

Cathie, I believe you've outdone yourself again. Everyone just keeps topping themselves with each book! These are all just fabulous works of art. Keep up the good work, girls!

KATE'S PAGE FOR LYNETTE'S BOOK

2009-08-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

This is my (Kate's) page for Lynette Clay's sketchbook. Most of the artists before me had followed a butterfly theme throughout her book, so I created a Butterfly Fairy garden.
After several failed attempts using various other mediums, I finally ended up with another collage. This is a mixed media, with acrylic painted background, photos from my own garden and photos of stained glass fairies. I added watercolor tissue paper, threads, ribbon, rubber stamps and embossing powder.

KATE HAS ONE PAGE DONE

2009-08-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have two books in my posession at this time. One is Karen M's of Beelieve and the other is Lynette's of Original Art by Lynette Clay.

This is the page I made for Karen's book. Karen is going with a "bee" theme for her book and I wanted to give her a happy "bee garden" with this mixed media collage.

I am still working on the other book, but hope to have them both ready to go into the mail to jolly old England by this weekend.

THE SKETCHBOOKS ARE MOVING AGAIN!

2009-08-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

After a bit of a lull due to summer vacations and other plans, I'm happy to announce that the sketchbooks are on the move again.

This is Karen C's wonderful addition to Lynette's book. Lynette has done her book a bit differently. She has a twelve inch page folded into three four-inch sections, which will give her a lot of art in a small compact book. I love this page, Karen. Karen is working watercolor and pen and ink on fabric which is then mounted onto canvas. The butterfly is also a watercolor on fabric and collaged to the background. Her little embroidery stitch shows the butterfly's path across the page. So nice.

This page is Karen C's addition to Karen M's book, which has a bee theme. This is another wonderful painted fabric collage on a painted canvas background. The lion's mane has some very nice chain embroidery stitiching and again, the bee's path is shown with a running stitch. Great job on the lion's face, Karen!

THERE IS MORE FROM BABS....

2009-07-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

Babs, your hand must be on the mend because you are really producing the art, Girlfriend!

This new painting is titled "Picasso On A Tuesday" and it is for Karen C's book. Babs, I love this.

This next double painting is for Suki's book and it is called "Puzzling World".

Very nice look.

And these are the front and reverse pages for Mim's book. As you may recall, Mim's theme is "Home" and Babs has captured the feel of home in every sense of the word.

Pretty good, I'd say, for someone with only one functioning hand. Let's hear it for Babs!

BABS IS BACK IN BUSINESS!

2009-07-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Despite a recent injury to her left hand, Babs is still working hard on her sketchbook pages.

Following my theme of "I Believe..." this is her most recent page for my (Kate's) book. Please be sure to enlarge this photo so that you can see all the girlfriends incorporated among the stars! Babs, this is super, and a true friend you are.

She even painted the reverse side of the page! If we continue painting on both sides we will all have TWO books each when we are done! Won't that be fun? Bab, thanks a million. I'm loving it already!

(P.S. Babs tells me she has several more books in her posession to work on, so get ready, gals. Here they come!)

TWO NEW PAGES FROM SUKI

2009-07-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

Suki posted on her blog today that she has completed two new pages in the sketchbook exchange.

This is the page she made for Lynette's book. I love the encaustic butterfly in the middle. This is very pretty, Suki.

This is her "bee page" for Karen M's book. I read that the photo in the corner is of Suki's great-grandmother, quilting. Don't you just love all the bright colors on these pages?

These pages are so very you, Suki, and are so right for the recepients.

ANOTHER NEW PAGE FROM LYNN!

2009-07-14T18:38:00.001-07:00

Lynn has been a Busy Beaver lately! This is what happens when you go away and have so much fun on vacation; when you come back you have to work hard to catch up! But, Lynn, I have to say you are certainly producing outstanding works of art!!!

I am so pleased to say that this is her page for MY book and I simply LOVE it! She ran with my theme of "I Believe" and took it to the limit. She ventured out of her comfort zone and worked with paper this time instead of fabric and I think she did a great job.

I even get MORE on the back side. Am I a lucky girl, or what? The poem is perfect and I love the musical notes and collage pieces. The flower looks like a little fairy in a pink dress with green slippers. Ooooo, Lynn! I just can't wait to see it in person! Thank you so much!

LYNN HAS NEW PAGES TO SHOW

2009-07-12T03:58:00.001-07:00

Lynn has been working hard since returning from her 10-state vacation out West! She has finished pages for three books and they are ready to send.

This is the page she made for Mim's book. As you all know, Mim's theme is "Home", so Lynn did this bright and colorful page in felt with top-stitched applique houses, grass and trees. She also did the reverse side (not shown) in a watercolor picture and listed her own houses. Lynn, this is adorable. She even "signed" the bottom right corner.

This is Lynn's addition to Karen C's book. She used hand dyed fabric she got from another blogger friend and did stitching and her signature on the reverse side. Karen does a lot of quilting and this is the perfect compliment to her book.

And this last page is for Suki. Lynn wanted to honor Suki's love for Cape Cod by stitching her a lovely seaside scene complete with a lighthouse!

Lynn, these are all so wonderful and the amount of work and thoughtfulness is evident in each one. These will all be terrific additions to each book.

PAGES AND PAGES AND PAGES, OH MY!

2009-07-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

You gals are really keeping me hopping with all your new pages!! I stop to sleep, and bang! someone's done a new page! Do you realize that when all these books are done I will have posted 100 pages??? I am so enjoying looking at all these and don't we all wish we could see every page in person? Okay, so now here are some more to feast your eyes on:

These pages are coming from Lynnette. I think she had an art frenzy this last weekend! Isn't this simply a treasured memory from our childhoods? She did this page for Babs's book, because Babs inner child has been posing as her muse for her art lately. I love when my inner child comes out to play, don't you?

And this wild collage is for Lynn's book! Lynnette even put little curtains in the window! Very cool!

Since she had three books in her posession she kindly photographed this spread shot for us. If you look closely you will see Soulbrush's book (so far) at the top, Babs's book (so far) is next, and Lynn's book (so far) is on the bottom row. Thanks, Lynnie. It's really fun to see all these marvelous pages.

JOSS HAS A NEW PAGE!

2009-07-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

Joss, at Soulbrush has just submitted this wonderful oil pastel page for Mim's book. She calls it, "Home Is Where The Heart Is". Joss, this is great. I'm sure Mim will be pleased to have this included in her book.

Many of us are on vacations, but there is still quite a lot of art going on out there! You go, Girls!!

MIM HAS PAGES TO SHOW!

2009-07-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

Mim has posted two new pages! The first page is for Karen M's book, so of course we have bees! This is so cute, Mim. We all have to get busy thinking of what to do to match this!

And this is her page for Lynnette's book. This is a mixed media page done with paint and collaged pictures. How adorable!

This is getting so exciting, seeing all the different types and styles of creative artwork! I wish I could have all the books when they are finished!

ANOTHER PAGE IS DISCOVERED

2009-07-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Lynnette Clay has posted this fantastic page for Soulbrush's book on her blog. In her familiar style of creating magical art she has done this crescent moon and stars. Lynn, this is simply beautiful and I know Joss will absolutely love it.

TWO NEW PAGES TO SHOW!

2009-06-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

Soulbrush has completed two new pages in the Girlfriends round of sketchbooks and they are very exciting! This is her page for Suki's book. She used a most unusual technique. In her word, she says, "I painted using:Coffee, Chilli Powder, Mustard Powder, Turmeric Powder, Blue food colouring, Green food colouring, and glued dried 'Parsley' on to the tree." Soulbrush, no matter what you used, or how you used it, this is an amazing painting. So original!

This is her lovely addition to Karen C's book. Karen has used butterflies in nearly all the pages she has done so far, so I know she will love this butterfly addition to her own book. Soulbrush, I feel the creative energy flowing!

Please visit Soulbrush's site to read more on her process for making these pages and some wonderful information about these cute African huts.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

2009-06-28T05:19:00.000-07:00

Here is my addition to Mim's book, themed "Home". It is a watercolor of a small cottage nestled in a lush garden. I love small, cozy houses and Dorothy's lines from "The Wizzard of Oz" seemed to fit.

It is on its way to Soulbrush now.

CATHIE HAS BEEN BUSY!

2009-06-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

Cathie has been very busy lately, as she found herself with three sketchbooks to work on at once. Well, the more, the merrier, right Cathie? Sometimes it's easier to work in multiples, I think. Anyway, here is what she has done.

"For Lynn's Book, I painted a base canvas with metallic Lumiere paint. I made a fiber embellished piece using organza, silk, yarns, threads, netting and stitched it on top of the canvas. As a final layer I made a square using metallic embossed canvas to which I stitched a fabric inchie and metal flower. I like how it came out and it fits with Lynn's style, I think."

Cathie, I think it looks wonderful!

"For Soul Brush's Book I painted a base cotton canvas with Neocolor II crayons, then threadpainted flowers on top and free motion quilted it. I hope she likes it."

Joss, I have seen this work of Cathie's, and I know you're going to love it!

"Finally, for Bab's Book - remember that Altier paint workshop I went to a few weekends ago? Well I painted a small piece of loose canvas using their paints with the intention of taking it home and stitching layers of organza on top. After I stitched the layers, I used my heat gun to melt away some of the organza. I then put in some really pretty cranberry red thread and continued stitching and defining the flowers. Lastly, I stitched some beads into the centers of the flowers."

This stuff is so cool, Cathie. Great job.

KAREN M'S PAGE

2009-06-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

This is Karen M's page for Lynette's book. I really love all the shimmery, shiny, and sparkly stuff going on in the art! Karen says she used Yupo Paper, Twinkling H2O Watercolors - and wow, do these look fabulous! and Inktense Pencils. Please visit her blog to see more about this exciting page. I want to run to the art supply store right this minute and check out this watercolor paint!

KAREN M'S FIRST PAGE IS REVEALED

2009-06-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

Karen M of Beelieve has finshed her first page and what a clever idea this is! Here is how she describes her book:

"What you see here is the inside cover and first 2 pages of my book, which will be accordion style when completed. I have chosen a loose theme, I want anything bee related...duh! I am also going to ask all the fabulous girlfriends to add a flower to any frame above, in any manner they choose. A quick doodle really girls! They may also decorate the frame and sign it."

For those of you who haven't met Karen before, she is a pharmacist and is so knowledgeable about healthy living. She loves bees and honey and bee pollen and her blog speaks it, so naturally she would "bee" doing a bee-related book! I love it Karen, and so will everyone else! We can't wait to see it!

THAT KAREN DID IT AGAIN!

2009-06-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

This is Karen C's newest page for Mim's book. This is paper quilting! If you enlarge this photo you can see all her stitches. This is so amazing, Karen. I just don't know how to compete with this. I had better get busy thinking of something good.

She even decorated the back side of her page! What a clever idea! Now we have to work doubly hard, girls!

JOSS'S PAGE

2009-06-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder where my mind goes! Several days ago Joss, of Soulbrush sent me this picture to show me what she had added to my book and I entirely forgot to post it. Joss, please hit me over the head if you so desire. I'm so sorry for being late.

I love this picture. Because my first page says "I Believe" Joss chose to follow this thread and here is her reason, in her own words: "I have chosen Whitney Houston's song 'The greatest love of all' (please listen to the words if you never have, they mean a lot to me, both as a teacher and personally. I believe the children are our future." Joss, this is so perfect, and the colors are wonderful.

ANOTHER PAGE REVEALED

2009-06-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

I just discovered this little gem (note the gem in the sky) while reading Lynette's post for today. This is her offering to Cathie's book. There is a very nice poem that goes with this page and you will have to skip over HERE to see the whole thing.

NEW WORK IN PROGRESS

2009-06-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

I have been working on my pages for two delightful books that arrived last week. As you recall, this is the first page in KAREN C's book. This is even more lovely in person than the computer can portray. Karen, if this is your first page I wonder how you could possibly top this with a cover.

This is the page I added to Karen's book. I wanted to make her a sewing cabinet stocked with all the things a stitcher needs. May you never run out of supplies, Karen.

SUKI forgot to post a photo of her first page in her book, so I am posting it here. Suki has fashioned her book in two halves with pages already cut for us to fill. When her book returns to her she will construct a cover and conbine the two halves into a whole book. Very clever. These are wonderful collages, Suki, and they are so YOU.

This is Karen C's beautiful addition to Suki's book, that she forgot to photograph before sending the book on to me. She made a light and floaty oil pastel background behind a beautiful ATC-sized embroidered butterfly on fabric. You will all love this when you see it.

This is my collaged page that I added to Suki's book. I am hoping to help her find her home.

Both of these, being finished, will be winging their way to Soulbrush in England in the next couple of days. Get Ready, Joss!

MORE PHOTOS ARRIVING DAILY!

2009-06-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

Just got word today that Cathie of Clevelandgirlie has taken a break from her wonderful quilting and fabric painting and switched to paper and a whole world of other amazing mixed media for the first page of her book. You'll need to visit her blog and read about the lengthy process she used to arrive at this marvelous page.

Suki has outdone herself with this very original page she made to add to Mim's book, whose theme is "Home". I simply love the way she created the house as part of the page. Be sure to visit her post to see more photos of this and her amazing journal pages.

This is getting very exciting, girls. You are all creating such wonderful art and keeping us all on our toes trying to outdo each other!

PHOTO UPDATE

2009-06-10T12:35:00.001-07:00

I've checked around and it has come to my attention that some of you would like to have your acutal work displayed on this site as you make it. So I am posting the photos in no particular order, just as I have collected them from your blogs and emails. This is the cover of Mim's book. Her book theme is "Home" and her book is going to be a flat book, 6" x 12". This cover is so creative, Mim.

This is Mim's first page in her book. I believe it is on its way to Suki at this moment.

Here is the first page of Bab's book! What a great start.

Now we have the cover and first page of Lynn's book. I can only imagine the texture in this. So much creativitiy going on everywhere!

Karen's first page looks like it stepped out of a woodland forest! She's doing a 6" x 6" flat book . I should be getting this in the mail soon. I'm so excited to see it in person.

Next we have the mystical pages of Lynnette's book. Lynnie, this is so beautiful and so you.

This is the cover of Bab's book. The photo quality is not great, because her camera was on the fritz at the time and she had to scan the image in. Still looks good to me.

This is the first page in Soulbrush's book. She calls this "Under the Sea". Very interesting.

And this is the actual cover of Lynn's book. She has a felting machine and does fantastic things with fabric and yarn.

ANOTHER NEWS FLASH......

2009-06-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Babs has just posted her fabulous first page and her amazing cover. Hop over there and take a look!

THIS JUST IN....

2009-06-07T16:11:00.001-07:00

Karen C at Threadstory has completed her first page in her book and is sending it to Kate. Please skip over there and have a look. As soon as I receive her book and get my page added I will post photos of both here. Can't wait to get it!!

NEW PAGES UPDATE

2009-06-05T15:00:00.001-07:00

The sketchbooks are whirling around in the mail! I have seen these gal's pages and they are something to get excited about!

Lynn - Getting My Feet Wet has posted her first page AND her cover on her blog and they are outstanding! Skip over there and take a look.

Also, Lynnette Clay has shown us her first page. Lynnie, I love it.

Mim has giving us a peek at her first page and I think we can all identify with her theme. This should be something really good. Mim has also posted her cover, which is staying home, but WOW Mim! This is so great.

I know that Soulbrush has her first page finished, but she slipped it into the mail without showing us a photo, so it will be a mailbox surprise for us all.

These are the only books I'm aware of at the moment. These girls are really on the ball! The books are really flying all around. Around and around and around they go, Where they stop....well, we all know!

SNEAK PEEK

2009-05-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is a "sneak peek" at Lynn's cover. She will not be including her cover with her sketchbook, but she wants you to see it. Hop over to HERE to see the whole thing and more.

KATE'S FIRST PAGE

2009-05-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

This is the first page in Kate's book. It is a tissue paper collage embellished with Perfect Pearls paint, rubber stamps, colored thread, yarn and a poem. It will be winging its way to Soulbrush the first week in June.