I'm still here!

I know, it's simply ridiculous that I have been absent from blogland for so long!
I have a billion excuses, like: Holiday craziness, the whole family cycling through at least 3 different viruses, daydreaming, multiple family trips, house guests, thinking really hard about starting an exercise program, playing with friends, eating way too much chocolate fondue...wait, there is no such thing as too much chocolate anything, playing with my little monsters...sometimes angels, but today they were monsters, writing run-on sentences, and getting ready for my display at our little local gallery.

This is my display at out local library's gallery. The librarians were so nice and helpful, and one of them mentioned that they have never had a display quite like this one. I hope that is a good thing! I have more creations to put on display, but I've been procrastinating. You see, I just took my Christmas tree down today. I just couldn't take it down when Isaac's eyes would light up each morning, and with a big grin he would say "Miss-miss tree lights on!". Then he would race down the stairs to turn them on, climb into my lap with his blankie "loodlelady", and thumb, and stare at the sparkling tree, and I would stare at the sparkles in his eyes. But during the past week or so, all ornaments on the lower half of the tree had been lovingly removed by Isabelle, and I think Isaac lost enthusiasm when he realized Santa wasn't coming again anytime soon. So, goodbye tree! We will see you in about 10 months. (AAck)

I love giving and getting unique and personalized gifts for the holidays. I painted this picture of my Oma and Opa to give to Oma for Christmas. Opa always wore dark glasses, but I saw a picture of the two of them before they were married, as they were joyfully playing in the sunshine. He didn't have his glasses on in that picture, and I wanted to capture them at that time in their lives. I hope Oma liked it. I loved going through all the wonderful pictures and stories in the book she had made for each of us! With the help of my dad and cousin, she made a beautiful hardbound book with the story of her life, complete with photos and letters. I will treasure it always!

Fun in Phoenix!

We had a lovely warm visit with my dad in Phoenix. I had always dreamed of riding a camel, and now that dream has been fulfilled! I don't think Isaac had ever dreamed of riding a camel, but now he can aim a bit higher in his dreaming than his silly mom. Now all I have to do is swim with dolphins, hug a koala, and ride an elephant, then my life will be complete. Well, at least when it comes to animal encounters. The Phoenix Zoo is fabulous, and I sure didn't mind that it was about 75 degrees! It sure beats negative 7!

This is the "Endangered Animal" carousel at the zoo. I am so bummed that rainbow dragons are endangered! We need to do all we can to prevent them from becoming extinct! Maybe a captive breeding program would do the trick! Sophia wants to work at the zoo when she grows up, in addition to the pet store, Disneyland, the fabric store, ans sea world. She is so much like me as a kid, it's frightening!

Isabelle wasn't so sure about the carousel. I tried to pick the least scary animal for her to ride, but I guess that didn't help the fact that she was surrounded by scarier animals.

We went on a walk through a nature conservatory near my dad's house, it was a lovely place.

What a good dad, watching closely so our little lad doesn't go kersplash. We loved Arizona, and on our way to the airport when we were going home I had to stop in Mesa
at the Blissful Living Studio.

It was a visual feast! I wish they had something like that here. I told them they should set up online classes or something.

Back to the snow and ice. We have a ice rink at our local park, and Isaac really did have fun, I think he was just being a stinker for the picture. He spent most of this day sliding around on his belly like a walrus. He has definitely improved since then. Don't you love his pink skates?

Thrift stores rock!

The little family - professionally taken by timer/tripod.

Getting a family picture is like conducting a symphony made up of goats. If you can even get them to sit in their seat, then they start eating their instruments!

I'm back, and I hope I can get myself back into the habit of blogging!

Kisses,

Star

The Christmas Cloak

I always dreamed of having a red velvet cloak, so when Sophia was 3 I made her just that.

I made it a few sizes big so it would last. She looked so elegant as it brushed the snow as she walked. Well, the funny thing is that here is that same cloak. At 8 it still fits her, that's the great thing about cloaks, no sleeves to grow out of.

I hope you all had a warm and happy Thanksgiving! We are decorating the tree today, it's like magic, once the tree goes up everyone is a little sweeter, a little quieter, and the number of hugs and kisses being distributed has greatly increased!

I think I should keep it up all year!

Here's a couple hugs and a kiss for all of you... Smoosh....Smoochy..Squish..!

Sweet little doll for a sweet little girl!

I am finally posting pics of the custom doll I made for my recent giveaway winner. This cute little girl is Amberlyn, and I had fun making a little friend for her in her likeness.

Thank you Jenice,
and a thank you to everyone who entered and donated to the Nielson family!

Kid Costumes 2008

Here they are!Tiny Princess Leia,And the cutest Garden Gnome ever!

This is what you get when your children are raised on old movies.

All Sophia wanted to be was Shirley Temple from "Captain January", what mom could refuse that request? We had many nights of wrapping her hair in rags to create the perfect ringlets. I designed her costume to be a cozy jacket style sailor top, with separating zipper and grosgrain ribbon trim. It is made of soft cotton flannel, and she loves it so much she's worn it many times since.I was trying to think of something warm and snuggly to make for the other kids since we frequently have snow on Halloween. Both the Gnome and Princess Leia costumes are made of polar fleece, with a faux for beard and metallic pleather belt. The Leia hat is my favorite, I think I will size up my pattern and make one for myself to wear snowboarding this season. Yes, I am that strange. All three were a smashing success with all who saw them, and it made me happy that they were all cozy and comfortable. I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

It's that time again!

Those of you that know me, know that I love any excuse to make a costume. I feel that we need a few more opportunities throughout the year to wear them, but I suppose I will settle for Halloween. I made the goal in Jr. High to go Trick-or-Treating every year of my life, and so far I have never missed a year. Silly goal I know, but I was always taught that setting goals and working to achieve them is a good thing! Here are pics of some of the costumes I have made over the years, I would love to hear which one is your favorite!

I just thought I'd post something for you to look at while I busily sew.
Check back for photos of this year's costume madness!

Blissful Living

As Part of the annual Blissfest in Mesa, there will be carnival and auction for the Nielson family. The Nie Recovery Carnival is a fundraising event for the whole family.
It is hosted by the Blissful Living Studio and proceeds are going to the Nie Recovery Fund. For those of us living outside of the Mesa Arizona area, there are many wonderful items being auctioned off online at the Blissfest Auction. There are 3 of my Nie Prints available online, and another 7 at the actual auction which will be held this Saturday.

It is so wonderful to see so many are still working together to help this wonderful family. I can't even fathom what kind of medical bills they will be faced with. I just know that it took us forever to pay off my last cesarean, and that was only a 3 day hospital stay with no complications,

no comparison. We are still thinking of you Nie.

A Gift for my Girl

For my daughter's 8th birthday, and as a baptism gift, I painted her this picture. She loves it, bless her heart, and has it hanging by her bed. She noticed the hands on the clock straight off and asked if it was also a reminder to get to bed on time. That girl doesn't miss a thing! She says the sweetest prayers, and always remembers what is important.

Happy Birthday sweet girl, I am so proud of you!

Sweet Hour of Prayer - Mixed Media - 8x10

I used watercolor, ink and colored pencils on smooth bristol board.

There is a story behind the shell sitting on the clock shelf.

Prints will be available in my shop soon.

Thank you Everyone!

Thank you for your bids and links and support! What a lovely bunch you are.

Here are the auction winners: Jenny won the Nie doll, and Jenny's sister who is in China won the "Sweet Nie" painting.

Make your payment to the Nie Fund, email me your paypal receipt with shipping info, and I will send your Nie creations on their way!

The random winner of the custom doll (taken from all those who linked back to this auction) is: The Smith Family!

To all of those who bid on these auction items, I will be emailing you for your mailing addresses so I can send off your free "Sweet Nie" pin as a little thank you.

Hugs and Kisses, from Star

Update! Nie Nie Auction and GIVEAWAY!

Okay Sparky, here's the deal...

The silent auction for my original painting"Sweet Nie", and the Nie softie/doll will be held rain or shine (tee hee) Thursday, October 9th. Bidding starts at 8 AM PT or 9 AM here in Utah. Last bid taken at 10pm PT.

On that date, place your bids in the comments of this post. Each item is being auctioned off separately, so here is an example bid:

"Hi Star, I love you, and I want to bid $65 on the Nie Softie"

or even simpler... "Nie Painting - $75"

Please include your email address with your bid, or some way for me to contact you at the auctions close!

Everyone who bids will receive a "Sweet Nie" pin.

A little about these pieces:

The painting is acrylic and ink on canvas, and measures 8"x10"x1". The sides are painted, so it can be hung with or without a frame. I have been deeply touched by the Nielson's story, and inspired by Nie and her fun and loving ways. She is so real, and I love that she takes time to enjoy all the little moments of life. The words listed on this painting were taken from this post on her blog, and her darling outfit was taken from here and here. I imagined this painting hanging where it could be seen often, as a gentle reminder of how we can be better moms, wives, daughters, and friends, how we can be more like Nie! Prints of this painting will be sold to help raise more money for the Nielson family, but you have the chance to own the original!

The Handmade Nie Softie/Doll, is made of cotton fabric and wool blend felt. Her hat necklace and dress are removable, but please keep our little Nie Nie modest. Her face is hand-painted, and the rose necklace is made of wool felt. She is about 19 inches tall, and I just love her sweet freckles!

All proceeds, I repeat, all proceeds go to the Nielson Family. If you don't know the Nielson's story, go here. Payments will be made directly to the Nie Nie Fund by the high bidders.

Spread the word folks, and you could win a custom made softie/doll similar to the one of Nie (but I won't make another Nie), which will be handmade by me in the likeness of your child, yourself, your pet monkey or whoever you choose!

Here's how to enter: Click the title of this post, then scroll down to "Create a Link", make a link to this post on your blog, and you are entered to win. If you don't use blogger, make a link to this post as you normally would, and in the comments of this post place your blog address. I will make sure that everyone who links back to this post is entered to win a custom made softie/doll (please allow 2 weeks for it to be completed and shipped)! The winner will be chosen at random

Please share your blog address, and please link to this auction/giveaway.
Thank you everyone for helping spread the word!

"Sweet Nie" Painting up for Auction

I am offering this original painting called "Sweet Nie" up for silent auction.

For all the details go HERE.

The bidding will begin the morning of Friday October 3rd Thursday, October 9th, and will end that night at around 10:00 pm PST. This little painting measures 8x10, and is acrylic and ink on canvas. The edges are painted so it can be hung with or without a frame. It was inspired by the sweet Nie Nie aka Stephanie Nielson and words of inspiration taken from her blog. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Nielson Family. The highest bidder will make the payment directly to the Nie Nie fund, and email me a copy of the receipt.

I also have a matching Nie Softie that I am almost finished making. It will be auctioned off that day as well, check back for pictures.

For more information on how to donate, visit Nie Recovery,

or to get updates on the Nielson's recovery go to Nie's sister's blog cjane.

Also thank you Morgan for all your hard work with the Nie Nie Benefit on Etsy!