Once again, I am participating in the annual One World One Heart event. This is an international blog event that started back in 2007. It’s HUGE!

For some background on the event, I’m posting exactly what Lisa, the fabulous organizer of the event has to say:

WHAT IS ONE WORLD ONE HEART?

I created this event in 2007. The original idea behind this giveaway event was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. 2007 had roughly 85-90 participants and many connections were made because of it……friendships that are still going strong.
We had a strong showing the first year for sure, and then in 2008 we had just about tripled that number. In 2009 there were 911 participants, to say I was amazed is an understatement. 28 countries were represented in the 2009 event as well.
This is more than wanting to win something…….that is only the means…….in the end it’s about finding kindred spirits. Someone who may be fairly new to blogging, not sure how to navigate, find others and have others find them….Some are long time bloggers and in some cases well known in the blogging community. Whatever the case it brings all of them together. This is an INTERNATIONAL event that has and had participants from the US, Canada, France, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Malaysia, Brazil, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, England,Wales, Slovenia and more. It transcends geographical location, socio economics, political affiliation, religious beliefs……it’s a coming together like the giant community we are on this planet. If only it took a simple giveaway to create PEACE everywhere, in the mean time here we give from our hearts. We are not solving the worlds problems nor are we curing anything nor are we changing the world. We are merely generating a closer community between humans through blogging. What more could I ask for, my little idea has surpassed my wildest dreams of what it could become.

WHAT IS FRAN GIVING AWAY THIS YEAR?

Now on to the good stuff: What am I going to give away this year? This year, there will be two gifts available. Both are art dolls I made.

Doll pin-cushion

The first: For an artists’ holiday exchange in 2008, I made these funky doll-pin cushions. They were well-received by the recipients and we all use ours all the time. So, when I was talking with my friend Angie about what I should give away, I remembered that I had one of the doll-pin-cushions that I hadn’t gifted to anyone! Well, that made my decision easy!

I’m giving away this lovely doll pin cushion. She is hand-made by me. The face is a face I painted myself and then scanned and printed onto fabric. I added the hair, beads, embroidery, and buttons by hand. She was truly a labor of love. I’ve enjoyed having her here in the studio, but she’s ready for a new home. Perhaps it will be your home!

Funky Doll

The second is another doll I made. Like the other, she is hand-made by me. I made a few of these and intended to sell them, but they remain here in the studio. So, this one is up for you to win! Like the funky doll pincushion, she is hand-made by me. The face is another face I painted and printed onto fabric. I also drew the main image in the center and printed it on fabric. Some people have told me it looks like a rubber stamped image, but it’s not! I drew this when Dave and I went on our first trip overseas. It’s the ironwork from our first hotel in Paris, France. After printing the image on fabric, I added color to the fabric. The additional fabric on this doll’s front is from Vintage Kimono Fabric. She is sewn my machine with some quilting, but the beading is all added by hand.  She, too, is ready for a new home!

THE FINE PRINT:

To enter the drawing, please post a comment on THIS POST on my blog (Facebook comments will not be accepted for entry). Your email is required, but will NOT be published! It will only come to me – I need a way to reach you if you win! I will accept comments until noon Eastern time on February 15, 2010. At that point, I will add up the comments and use a Random Number Generator to choose the winner. The winner will be posted by 5 pm Mountain Time on February 15, 2010.

For the past two years that I’ve participated, I’ve made several new friends online. We correspond regularly. I look forward to “meeting” you and to becoming a part of your world! I’ll be stopping by all the websites of those who stop by mine so we can all get to know each other! Take some time to look at the main OWOH site to participate and to meet some other bloggers who are participating.

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments about my new pouches. I really am enjoying the process of creating them and getting to know my new machine. I have had a few inquiries about whether I will do a custom size and/or color. The answer is yes! Just email me and we’ll iron out the details!

I got to see Angie a few times this week! She’s done some awesome journals that she just put in her Etsy store. Do stop by! They’re exquisitely done!

I created name badges for Art Unraveled. My dear friend Tracey is coming again this year. Last year she took two classes. This year, she’s staying the whole week and she’s teaching a class on websites! So, to take some stress off of her, I made her this little pocket name badge. She can use it to hold her hotel key, some cash, and her class tickets! The front of this badge is on the left.

I also made my badge. Last year I made a pouch to put my tickets in and then put my reading glasses around my neck, as well. Well, this year, I’ve decided to just make a pouch for my reading glasses and add my name to it! It’s to the right. It’s nice and light-weight, so it won’t bug my neck in the middle of Monsoon Season!

And today we are celebrating my MIL’s birthday, which we missed while we were at the Grand Canyon. I picked up something special for her while we were away, but I wanted to give her something personal, as well. I made her this cute cell phone pouch in her favorite color – red! I hope she likes it – and the surprise I’ve put inside it!

I also received some cool mail that I want to share. I got my vintage tea cup from the Flickr Vintage Tea Swap this week. Icklemissus was my partner. I love the cup. It’s so bright and cheery! And all the tea she gave me YUMMY! Thank you so much!

On Tuesday, I started having trouble with my balance in the house – falling over to one side, walking into walls (I swear to you that they do move!), and vertigo when I laid down. By Wednesday, the problem was fairly unbearable, so, instead of waiting until my scheduled July 2nd treatment, DH worked his magic and got me in on Friday, June 29th. I spent a lot of time between Tuesday and Friday staring into space, trying to clear off the studio table and have some space to do whatever I felt like. But for the most part, I didn’t do much. This is why, my friends, you have not heard from me.

What I did spend quite a bit of time doing was taking things out of my multi-drawer storage unit and into small jars I received from a fellow freecycler. They’re much easier to use, look prettier to look at, and they were fun to put out there. Here is a photo of what I did with the jars. There are still about 10 jars left. Yes, they are baby food jars. Since I have no children, I’ve never had these lovely little jars before. I’m happy that they were freecycled. I’ll be watching for more! (Photos to come in the near future. I’m not near them right now! )

Oh, and there’s the not-so-fun thing that happened on Sunday that neglected to mention. Do not, under any circumstances, close a door on your iPod Nano. Ask me how I know… Yes, I was getting in my car on Sunday after meeting my MIL and FIL at a restaurant between our two homes. I *thought* my iPod was inside my purse. No. I had made it easily accessible by hooking it into one of the D-rings of my purse. Not, it turns out, a good idea. And the saddest part was that this new iPod Nano was my little present ot myself with my American Express Rewards points. I had just received it and fallen completley in love with it about six weeks before. Now it will become a part of a sculpture, for I cannot just toss it. And “squishing in a car door” is not a covered event on the AppleCare plan. A new Video iPod was purchased and is on its way to my home, along with a hard case that will withstand the abuse of the iPod being in my hands!
On Monday, I think, I worked on a piece for my Joggles clas. It’s an accordion book that uses dyed mulberry bark for the cover of a concertina book. I like the project; however, my finicky body did not enjoy the mulberry bark. I had to put this project into a sealed baggie and the leftover bark into a separate one. I think Angie will get the finished project (which is not in perfect order, sorry Angie… The allergies got the best of me!) if she’s not allergic to it. One of my fellow classmates, Rosaland, will get the rest of the bark, since she is here in town.

Tuesday through Friday, while I spent time at home, avoiding the car and staying on terra firma, I did the rest of that third lesson for my Joggles class.

Or at least I tried. I painted a silk cap with Dye-Na-Flow paints. I put it outside to dry and then I started to split it to turn it into a vase like Sue Bleiweiss shows in the class materials. To do this, however, you must use a product called Paverpol. I was excited to try this product; however, with my allergies being what they are, I was leery. I decided to open the container to see how I reacted. Well, let’s just say that I will not/should not use this product. My eyes started running, my face itched. It was all I could do to close that container and walk away. So, I did not finish that third week. I am still figuring out what to do with the silk, and I’m considering a padfolio. I hope to play with that tomorrow.

And on Wednesday I was the lucky recipient of a swap package by Mikki DuChenne (who, alas, has no blog!). Look at all the LOVELY delights from Mikki! I opened the box in the den with DH next to me. I apparently kept shaking my head and gasping. I really was amazed by all the amazing, fun things Mikki found for me. Mikki’s generosity is astounding! Now to make something with the goodies!

At 8:00 on Friday morning, I went to get my treatment. It was fairly uneventful, and I started on a different anti-nausea medication that definitely kept the nausea at bay. I am now, Sunday evening, starting to come out of the foggy fatigue I get after the infusion. I hope to leave the house tomorrow. But, at the least, I do plan to do some art in the studio.

	This is a mixed media collage using laser copies of hand-decorated papers and various acrylic media on canvas. It is 5″ x 5″ on gallery wrapped canvas. This piece was finished several months ago, but until recently, I wasn’t sure it was finished. It’s called, “Push & Pull”. This represents inner and external struggles we all deal with. You can find it here if you’re interested in purchasing it.
	“Mirror, Mirror” is the title of this mixed-media collage. All the images are from my art journal, laser copied and then pulled into a collage. When making this collage, I was thinking about the self-evaluation we all do. At some point, we all ned to “look in the mirror” and be realistic about who and what we see. If you are interested in purchasing this piece, you can find it here.
	“Sedona Sun” was created with some old text and images from my art journal, laser copied and then pulled into a collage. When making this collage, I had recently returned from a trip to Sedona, where I was inspired by the reds. If you are interested in purchasing this piece, you can find it here.
	“Cup of Life” is the title of this mixed-media collage. All the images are from my art journal, laser copied and then pulled into a collage. When making this collage, I was thinking about all the elements that make up a life and a composition. In this case, the composition includes an “xo”, signifying love as part of the cup of life.If you are interested in purchasing this piece, you can find it here.

I also went to some thrift stores today. I was able to pick up a vintage tea cup and matchign saucer for this swap on flickr. I had so much find looking for them, because my grandmother had a vintage teacup and saucer collection in her breakfront. And I admired it SO much. Each holiday, she’d pull them out of the breakfront to use them for coffee and tea after the meal. There was this one black tea set that I absolutely loved. It was so different from anything I had ever seen before.

Unfortunately, none of these teacups never made it to me. I know it’s silly, because they’re just things, but they held so many memories for me: the smell of grandma’s chicken soup, the day she taught me how to make chopped liver (the BEST in the world!), the day she took me to buy the comforter for my college dorm room (which I still have), and lots of beautiful holidays and family gatherings. I had coveted that one teacup and saucer set, but it’s not in the family any longer. So it was fun for me to go on this treasure hunt.

And I also realized that I often show the art that I like, but rarely the art I don’t like. I wanted to show you what I do with something when I don’t like it. To the left is an image of a canvas when, after four or five tries, I can’t seem to get the face right. I will either (a) throw it away if it’s on muslin or (b) cover it with at least two layers of gesso and start over. I took option “b” for this one, since i used a stretched canvas for this one. I often will repaint or gesso over a stretched canvas if I don’t like where it’s going. Or I’ll just paint over it and use the background and put enough paint or layers of collage elements over it to make it completely hidden. I just thought it was important to show that I don’t always like what I do and we all have to just keep trying!

I also wanted to share a face that is coming out as I envisioned it. I need to do a bit more on it to fine tune it, but I thought it would be fun to show you where it is at this point. I just need to fix the nose a bit and add some detail to the eyes and mouth. I started this one around 4 pm yesterday and stopped at 6:30. It’s getting easier and I think the practice is helping me to create my own style and to see which faces I really like and want to pursue. In general, I’m enjoying myself with this. It’s nice and relaxing and something I can do from my chair. I get completely mesmerized… it’s almost a meditative, zen state for me to focus on these paintings…

Enough philosophical thought. Now I have a piece of mail art to share that I received yesterday. Tracey created this postcard to use as her change of address postcard. She made this in a Traci Bautista class and I’m so glad she used it in this fun way. Congrats, Tracey and Tim, on your new home!

Not one to look a gift day in the mouth (yes, a mixed metaphor!), but I was not going to pass up a day when I felt good. So, I continued my efforts to organize my beads and wire. I labeled some of my containers, split out the beads by type and/or color, and put all of my wire into one box. Let me say, that I am so happy to have that organized! I went from having six boxes of disorganized mess that I was afraid to go anywhere near, to having four that are organized and not overstuffed. Things are labeled and I know what I have! And I have a LOT of wire. I need to start using it, I think. Click on the picture on the right to see how I have organized my studio (if you’re interested!).
And after that was done and I vacuumed up the studio, I decided to go ahead and create the journal I have promised to trade with Susan who is my CaC journal swap partner. I hope she enjoys it. I had fun making it with vintage ephemera I have unearthed in the past few weeks of organizing. It feels good to actually USE the stuff I have, rather than hoard it! The best part was that I knew exactly where the ribbon was that I wanted to use and I easily found the button for the closure. The illustration is from one of the books I have used for text on the pages. It was a fun project to reward myself with after doing more organizing. I have learned that I have to give myself time for the art side to come out!

Good night and I’ll see you all tomorrow!

But, before I do that, I want to thank NancyB, who I traded some collage sheets with this week. She had a one on one swap going so she could get some new images. And in Nancy’s fabulously generous way, she also sent me a piece of her art! And it’s a piece that speaks to me so clearly. I’ve put it on the right, here. Thanks, Nancy! And hubby says thanks for the Tootsie Rolls! I hope you enjoyed what I sent to you.
So, onto the WIPS!

I spent a good part of yesterday working on two or three pieces. The first was to create an image of a bird for a swap. One of my groups is doing a Bird-Themed Chunky Book. We were all inspired by the work that Christy did on her fabulous works. We, however are not all necessarily going to do all originals! LOL Christy, gal, I’m amazed that you had the stamina to do 40 pages all different and all original! My hat’s off to you, but I’ll probably create two different versions and scan and print, adding some sorts of embellishment… at least that’s the plan for now! I’ve spent a bit of time looking for the right image, but I couldn’t find one that really inspired me to create the page that’s forming in my mind. So, I decided to create my own bird through collage. It’s a bit abstract, but she’s a pretty bird. I’ll have to think of a name for her. And I have to create the background, too. I had considered putting her on a tree, and I even created a tree from similar papers, but I’m not sure. Either way, however, the process was quite meditative!

I’m still working on my journal pages. I find that the doodling I do in them often centers me. I’m really not nearly done with this one, but at least it’s getting some shape to it. I’m trying to play with some different shapes and designs to add some variety. In the end, however, I still turn to circles and swirls. I guess that’s just my “thing”!

I’m also working on a piece for a gallery locally. I am finally past the frozen stage – this being my first gallery submission – and I’m at the point where I’m trying all different things, and I’m not letting the inner critic take over in any way. For now, I won’t show you what I’m doing, since it’s all just in the play stages, but I will be doing something for this gallery submission. And I won’t be disappointed if it isn’t accepted, because at least I will have tried, right?

I’m going to try to get more done today and see where it will take me!