My Second Day in Sitka Alaska

What a fun day. This is my 2nd day in Sitka. It has been snowing all day. This is one of the little harbor in Sitka. The boats were so "salty" and full of character. It was really fun walking out on the docks looking at all the boats, and the view of the ocean was breathtaking.

Tam took me on a little tour of Sitka today. We also went to Totem Park and walked around a bit.

Here are two of five huge King Crabs that Chris, Tam's husband, brought home my first night here....I ate one of those crab legs with dinner. I have never tasted anything so yummy - talk about fresh. The crabs are such interesting creatures. I also ate Halibut Cheeks for dinner....I bet you didn't know fish have cheeks! They are pretty tasty!

A face only a mother could love!

It was the oddest thing, when the crabs were right side up, they were crawling all over the place and very active. This in itself gave me a very odd feeling just because of their size (it was totally Sci-Fi-ish. Then if you flip them over on their backs it was like magic, they were suddenly motionless. Like they had just finish with a rubdown at the Fondell Spa and Resort, and were waiting to finish up with a hot salted steam bath! Yum!

One of the highlights of my day was visiting a small bear sanctuary. There are two brown bears that live at the sanctuary right now. They were rescued when they were just little cubs after there mother had been killed. Now they are 2 years old and just as happy as can be living in this truly remarkable home that has been created for them. A man named Les has poured his heart and life into this Sanctuary for quite a few years. It was very apparent that this is his passion, and all his hard work has and perseverance has saved these two bears. They really do look like big fuzzy teddy bears and it just makes you dream about cuddling them. But, they are wild animals and their enormous size and apparent strength demand and deserve respected. They are truly magnificent animals!

Tomorrow will be the first day of doll classes. I met the ladies tonight at dinner, and they are a vibrant, fun lovin' group! This is going to be FUN!!!!

My tiny fae....

Tiny Fae 004, originally uploaded by cmahlstadt.

I've been playing again! This is the tiniest fae I've ever made! She is about 6" from head to toe. In my last post I told you about a nest wall hanging that I have been working on. Lots of machine embroidery, with a 3D nest and branches. Well now I have added a tiny little faerie sitting on one of the branches (she is peeking at the eggs). I have really enjoyed this project. It is still a work in progress... I am still pondering how I want to mount the whole piece to hang on the wall. I have a few thoughts. I'll keep you posted.

Here is a link to my flickr where I have more pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20224083@N03/. Feel free to take a peek! I'd love to hear what you think!

Enjoy!
Cyndi

I've been playin'....

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Road to California Quilt show with my good friends Patti Culea and Karen Wooten. We had so much fun. The show was very inspirational and my time with my girlfriends was even more so! We explored, we shared, and we drank lots of starbucks! So FUN!!!

Then this week I met Patti up at CHA…oh my gosh!!!! What a great day! So many fun things to look at! My creative juices are on OVERLOAD!!! I just wish I didn't need to sleep. What a nuisance!

As a lot of you probably know Patti does A LOT with free motion embroidery, and every time I see her she has something new (like a book) and everything is always so yummy! So…I figure….I have a Bernina that will do free motion embroidery….I'M GONNA PLAY!

Oh my gosh!!! Free motion is so much fun! I have dabbled a little in the past. Took a purse class a long time ago. But this time, it just clicked! I have had so much fun!!! Also, I think Spring Fever is brewing! Everything has a nest and eggs. So the piece grew from my heart....I just love it when that happens.

Here's a couple of pictures for you to take a peek at. It’s not finished yet...I still want to add some pink velvet trim at the bottom, add a frame of some kind, add a few beads, add a tiny little fae sitting on a branch…..

Thanks for letting me share!

Hugs, Cyndi

Dazzling Daze Spring

I am tickled pink to announce
that I will be teaching at DDS 2009!

Space is limited so get your registration in ASAP.
This is going to be an AWESOME event
that you won't want to miss!!!

Follow the link above to read more about the Dazzling Daze Spring 2009. Patti has a wonderful writeup on her blog!
To register for DDS or for more info contact Patti Culea at patti@pmcdesigns.com

girl power party....

Oh my....what a fun day!!!! My sister Cheryl and her family are in town visiting. They are currently stationed in Japan where Ken serves in the US Marines. Let me tell you, they are quite an adventuresome family. Usually they fly commercial but on this trip they jumped on a military cargo plane. The way they describe it...it sounds just like a warehouse with wings. The stories they tell are so much fun! It has been great visiting with them and catching up. My niece Jen is 9 and Jess is 12; and I really miss them when their not here. So, while they are here, I thought it would be fun to have a little creativity get together. I immediately started working on a little project we could do together.

Well, today was the day all six of us girls got together and had a "Girl Power" Party! In attendance was my mom (Carolyn), my sister (Cheryl), and my nieces Jennifer, Jessika, Summer (who lives close to me thank goodness), and me.



I went through my stash and pulled out anything and everything that had a retro, hippie, big daisy, girl power look and feel. Then I got my hands on pictures of the girls and photoshopped them together into a funky retro background. I thought it would be fun to use their picture, because they are the girl power in my world. Also, they are best of friends and I thought it would make it special for them. A keepsake!



I prepped everything ahead of time and put it all in individual kits. This way we were able to jump right in and start playing. I did have it set up so that everyone could pick out their own fibers and beads. First we sponge painted the tin with alcohol inks. Then we glued the picture of the girls into the tin. Next we eembellished with yarns, fibers, pearls, bead fringe, rhinestones, paper daisies, tiaras, and all things girly. Ahead of time I had cut out just the headshots from a copy of the picture. We then used double stick foam tape to stack the headshots onto the picture in the tin. This created a really cool 3-D effect. The girls put little rhinestone tiaras on the heads and then we covered the whole picture with triple thick glaze. They really turned out cute.



The girls! (left to right: Carolyn (my mom), Jess, Cheryl, Summer, Jen)



Let's get this party started!



Here the girls are painting their tins with alcohol inks. They thought it was pretty cool. They really like the way it looked. Jen thought they were a little stinky, while my mom liked the smell. Mmmmm...not sure what that's all about?



We had to take time for a little bit of mustache fun....



You could just feel the creative energy in the air....the estrogen flowing too! The boys all went to Fry's Electronics while the girls played.



My family is quite creative. My sister homeschools her girls, loves counted cross-stitch, crocheting, and scrapbooking. My mom has many talents - florist, quilter, plant guru...just to name a few. Mom is the one who taught my sister and I how to sew and crochet. Like I said many talents. My mom and grandma are the two people who continually nurtured my artsy side. I am very grateful!



As you can see the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Jen loves to draw. Her GP Tin turned out beautiful! She is very proud of her accomplishment and so am I!



A close up of Jen's GP Tin.



This is my mom's little work of art. I love the fringe at the bottom. It looks really cool!



My sister's GP Tin. I love the way the fibers make it fuzzy!

Summer and Jess' tins are still a work in progress. Summer had to leave the party a little early to go to softball practice. She was feeling a little sad because she had to leave early. But Jess said she would wait to finish her tin until Summer got home. They wanted to finish them together. Told ya...best of friends. Jen is holding up Summer's tin for her in the picture below. I will post pictures of there tins as so as they are finished!



A good time was had by all! It was special day for us. It's not often we have the opportunity to ALL be together and CREATE! It was a very good day!


Hugs,
Cyndi

help me name my mermaid.....

I have a new workshop!
Her debut will be with the Rainy Day Dollmakers in Sitka Alaska in March. I just love her and wanted to share a few pictures!



Her face is made using my "Jubilee" press mold.



This is an altered tin doll. Her center is filled with pictures, shells, pearls, glass glitter, and marbles. Yummy!



Lots of fun yummy fibers used for her tail fin and then embelished with beads and shells.



I need your help!! She needs a name....what do you think? I'd love to hear your suggestions.

ENJOY!
Cyndi