The Country Register Cover Artwork

I'd like to thank publishers Amy and Dave Carter of the The Country Register for choosing my artwork for the cover of their magazine (Virginia edition; July-August 2009).

Last year, this same artwork titled Country Flag, graced the July 2008 Pennsylvania/West Virginia edition of The Country Register. I'm thrilled that this painting was chosen once again for the cover of this wonderful, well-respected magazine. It truly is an honor.

This magazine is a statewide guide to shopping and events. It features great articles, fantastic recipes, and lots of interesting information. Be sure to check it out, or visit http://www.countryregisteronline.com for more information. To go to the specific edition with my cover artwork, visit http://www.countryregisteronline.com/download.html, and choose the Virginia edition. You'll find my bio on page three as well.


Be sure to check out the blog at The Country Register by clicking here.

Studio Time

It was another productive weekend in my studio at Arts YOUniverse. I'm almost done with another textile design that I created yesterday. I work primarily with watercolors, but when designing textiles, I love to use gouache. I also like to paint on the block of Arches watercolor paper because I don't have to tape the watercolor paper down when I'm working.

My experience designing wedding runners certainly comes into play when designing these textiles. I love all the swirls and flowers that go into making each design.

I also started working on a new Halloween design. I'll have to post a picture of that design when I'm done.

Go Fish Bracelet in July 2009 Bead Trends

I just received my copy of the July 2009 issue of Bead Trends today, and I'm thrilled to learn that fellow jewelry designer, Sharon Borsavage, is also featured in this issue. I had the pleasure of teaching Sharon a few years ago, and she has gone on to become a great designer who creates beautiful, unique, and sophisticated jewelry.

My Go Fish bracelet is featured on pages 100 and 101. A picture of my bracelet is also featured in the table of contents. As always, the photographers did a fabulous job with the pictures. Be sure to check out Sharon's projects on pages 116 through 119. To learn more about Sharon, visit www.livewirejewelry.blogspot.com.

Recycle With Style™ Earrings

When creating my Recycle With Style™ earrings, which were featured in the earrings, earrings, earrings! book by Barb Switzer, it's important to remove the sharp edges from each pull tab. In the book, I recommended using a metal file, but if you want to speed up the process, use a Foredom Flexshaft or Dremel rotary tool. I usually polish each pull tab individually, but check out the cool contraption my dad created so that I can polish several tabs at one time. He's a genius! He missed his calling as an inventor. Although, it's never too late.


So many aluminum pull tabs, and so little time!

Celebrating Flag Day

Yes, I'm celebrating Flag Day today.

Egyptian Earrings Win Favorable Review

My Egyptian earrings project in the new earrings, earrings, earrings! book received a favorable review on Amazon.com. This is a nice surprise.

Wilkes-Barre, PA's New Inventor

Congratulations to artist and inventor John Pacovsky. His inventions (Corner Canvas and FloatTM Canvas) are now available online and in stores. I saw the FloatTM Canvas in A.C. Moore today, and I had to swing by John's studio to tell him.

John showed me the prototypes last year, and it's so exciting to see the actual products in the marketplace. Actress Jane Seymour is the spokesperson for the FloatTM Canvas. Wow! I love it when good things happen to nice people. Keep up the great work, John. You're an inspiration to us all!

For more information about John, click here. To learn more about the canvases, click here.

In Response To Margot Potter's Bead Dilemma

I've posted this picture in response to Margot Potter's post about what she should do with one of her hand-painted beads. I could definitely see incorporating the bead into a bead-embroidered pin/pendant. My bead-embroidered pin pictured here was featured in a magazine article I wrote titled Cross Over: Multi-Disciplinary Designs, which was featured in the October 2008 issue of Simply Beads.

Hopefully, this will give Margot an idea of what I was talking about when I commented on her post. For her future project, I'd probably opt for a simple beaded border to highlight the bead. Actually, the options are endless. Good luck with your project, Margot!

Bead Trends June 2009

I just received a copy of the June 2009 issue of Bead Trends, which features my three-strand knotted bracelet on page 24. Celebrate the month of June by creating your own pearl jewelry.