Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Dear friends,
I so love St. Patrick's Day.  A day of celebration, laughter and reflection on faith.  The Irish are such a spiritual group - whether you are Catholic, Protestant or a Druid.  The passion for our faith is strong and we see this faith in so much that we look at.  Our conversion to Christianity is an exciting tale that leads us to the current legends of St. Patrick and shamrocks.  Many believe that St. Patrick used the shamrock as a way of explaining the Holy Trinity.  True or not, the shamrock has become the un-official symbol for Irish folks and of the Irish Catholic faith.  Take a look at St. Patrick's cathedral (one of my favorite places in NY.) Within the Gothic styled architecture you'll see several 3 "leafed" images. 

So either before or after you begin your Guinness fest, take a moment to reflect and remember the mystery and legends of our people and our faith.  We have such a wonderful history and today is our day to dance a jig to celebrate it. 

Slainte my dear friends!


Best wishes and high Irish hopes to you all,
Jennie and the temporarily green Pekes 





A wonderful new swap! Banners and Buntings!

Dear friends,
Amy with RubyMoon Art is hosting a great swap!  Please visit her site for all of the details but here's a snippet from her website.

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Here's how it will work. Each participant will make 5 triangles, send them to me, I will mix them up, arrange them all into buntings and then send them back to you. Your pieces will be mixed with the other pieces and we'd all end up with a bunting that includes artwork from around the globe! Looking at the time line I'd like to have these back to you in time for May Day (May 1). Create with spring in mind, just think spring colors, themes, bright, cheerful. I will take sign ups until 3/25 (or until full), mail the completed pieces to me on 4/11 (I want them here by the 15th) I will assemble and return to you by May 1st.


•To sign up, send an email to amypytlik@yahoo.com. Include your name, address, blog/shop address and any info you'd like to include about yourself.

•Make 5 flags, alter or embellish them as you wish, be creative, (please don't just cut out a piece of scrapbook paper or fabric and call it good) add your touch to each one, make it you!

•Anything goes for your theme, any medium... paper, fabric, altered, digital, painting, drawing, collage, mixed media, sewing, crochet, knit...I will email you a pattern to use so they are all approximately the same size.

•You can make 5 of the same or 5 completely different flags, your choice.

•Please sign and put your contact information on the back of each piece! Everyone likes to know where their art came from :)

•Join this flickr group to post pictures of your finished pieces or join just to watch what everyone is doing, even if you're not participating.

•On April 11th mail your pieces to me, include a return address label and return shipping payment, $6 US, $7 Canada & $9 int'l by paypal.

•Post this on your blog to spread the word and invite your friends to join in.

Match Boxes, Tags, Dresses and Funky Finds Oh My!

Hello dear friends,
Over the last few weeks I've participated in 2 really fun swaps.  The first was a Thinking Spring tag swap hosted by the fabulous JoAnne of the Vintage Dragonfly.  There were 10 participants and we were each challenged with creating tags that reflect what inspires us to think spring.  So many lovely artists participated and my tag book is now a treasured part of my collections.  I just love it. 

Another swap that I particpated in was the Petite Inspiration Matchbox swap with the theme Flea Market Finds.  This swap was hosted bythe Speckled Egg.  My swap partners were wonderful and spoiled me with their creativity and finds. 

Below are the images from my sweet swap partner Catherine.  I just love how she covered the inside of the box and the detail to the exterior.  Not to mention the wonderful goodies within!  Thank you Catherine!  I love it!







My other swap partner was the lovely Kana.  Kana lives just outside of my hometown of Nashville so seeing her box was extra special.  It was like getting pieces of home sent to me.  I miss Tennessee so much and knowing that she went to one of my favorite flea markets in the South (Nashville fair grounds) wow...was pretty awesome.
 

Next, I completed my February dress for the Monthly Dress Up Challenge being hosted by Angela with Sew Loquacious.  February's inspiration was Gustav Klimdt.  This was a tough one for me because I'm not a fan of his but that's the point of a challenge.  To push your comfort levels and test your creativity!  Here's my interpretation.  I was inspired by "The Kiss" with all of the shimmery gold and accents of color dotted throughout.  My dress is made of leaf shaped sequins (in honor of his many nature inspired paintings).  I'm working on the March dress which is to be inspired by Modern Art.  This one I'm having a lot of fun with!!  Pictures to follow in a few days.

 Please visit Angela's website for other amazing images of dresses. 

Last but by no means least...Funky Finds was this weekend.  Funky Finds is an amazing event that is open to all types of artists.  It's a great opportunity to see and meet artists and learn about their creations.  I found an amazing woman that made earrings from paper, another person that made belt buckles and cuff bracelets from discarded materials like old watches, industrial items and broken jewelry.  Beautiful.  But I'm biased.  My favorite booth was Sandra Feazel.  She is an amazing artist that I met at the October Wicked Tea hosted by the Paper Cowgirl.  I was lucky enough to snag a piece of art and even better sign up for a class she's teaching at the Paper Cowgirl event in January.  I also grabbed the cutest ring too that will be perfect for the Paper Cowgirl event. 

Sandra will be teaching this in June at Paper Cowgirl!



 


Picture I purchased at Funky Finds!

I wasn't able to get a good picture of the ring, partly because my manicure is so chipped from yard work today.

I wish everyone a creative week and thanks for spending some time catching up with me.

Best wishes and high hopes to everyone,
Jennie and the Pekes