This had been one wild month! I’m finishing up two new kits for a fall release, working on a new fabric collection plus creating some fresh new art for my agents to show at Surtex later this month! So when this month’s challenge for our Designer Craft Connection blog hop was announced, I was relieved it had the title of “quick and easy”!

I used one of my Sizzix dies (which has just been retired) to create these colorful pins made from illustration board, metallic gold card stock and bits of fabric from my new collection, Piccadilly Lane by Henry Glass. As a final touch, I added some flat turquoise beads. These three pins literally took me 15 minutes to make so they would be a terrific “girls crafting night” project, don’t you think? Of course, if you wanted to spend a little more time, you could use all three pieces to create a stunning neckpiece.

Niki Meiners of 365 days of crafts made a lovely necklace with the same die which you can see here.

Be sure to continue on this month’s blog hop by clicking “next” on the Designer Craft Connection button on the right! Thanks for stopping by!

“If the plans of the city’s Public Arts Board come to fruition, the streets and parks of downtown Birmingham will soon be adorned with colorful yarn and knitted creations as part of an attempt to “yarnbomb” the city.” – and this -”Why yarnbombing? According to members of the board, the project seeks to unite the Birmingham community in an interactive art project, but also raise awareness for public art programs in Birmingham.”

According to author, Laura Houser, who reports on the BIRMINGHAM PATCH, the city  will be featuring the large scale pieces on trees, storefronts and city parking meters.

http://birmingham.patch.com/articles/public-arts-board-plans-to-yarnbomb-downtown-birmingham-this-fall

This image was included in the article above, with no attribution.

What an awesome way to celebrate the arts! Color is so energizing and the soft nature of knitted pieces is such a nice counterbalance to the hardness a city can possess. I hope to be able to see this in person if we go back home to MI for a fall visit.

On a recent trip to a thrift store, I found this little khaki skirt and thought it was nice but a bit plain. I brought it home for $3.00 and took it right downstairs to my studio. I wanted hot, bright hues on top of the neutral background and these bits and pieces of fabric almost climbed out of the basket on their own! The animal skin prints are from my earlier fabric collection, CouleurVie and the batiks are some I found at my local quilting fabric store.

You may remember a while back I did a feature on Melody Bradley’s green up-cycled jacket. Well, I took inspiration from her for my skirt appliqué. I used a heavy weight black thread in my sewing machine and I also used my new favorite product from the Warm Company – Steam a Seam 2, double sided fusible web. It’s fantastic! I love how it doesn’t gum up my sewing machine needle and it’s just the perfect weight. Soooo easy to use!

This post is part of a really creative blog hop and I hope you’ll continue hopping by clicking on the “hop forward” button on the Designer Craft Connection badge on the sidebar.

And, in celebration of all things Spring, I have a give-a-way! All you have to do is leave me a nice comment telling me what your favorite type of crafting is. I’m giving away some Sizzix Embossing folders I designed last year plus, a fabric bundle of fat quarters from my earlier fabric collection, CouleurVie.

Thanks for stopping by! If you have art or design which uses really nice or interesting color combinations, I’d love to hear from you and give you a feature here on ColorCafe!

Here are the give-a-way rules:

• You can only win if you leave a comment on this post
• Open to U.S. mainland residents only
• You must include your email address in the comment
• If I don’t hear back from you in one week after e-mailing you, I will choose a different winner and you will no longer be eligible for the prizes.

More about Wendy;

Born  6 weeks early ,Wendy Edelson sprnt her first couple years in New York, then moved with her parents to California, It was then, in the backseat of the station wagon with the country speeding past, that she began to draw, and draw…..and draw and hasn’t stopped yet.

Wendy , a self taught artist, moved  back to New York at the age of 16, eager to begin her professional career and began making the rounds of publishers and advertising agencies. After several years she moved further North up to Vermont, where she began working from her studio, illustrating children’s books and creating art for packaging, posters, advertising, collectibles and grown up books.

She now lives on Bainbridge Island and has recently begun licensing  her images for all sorts of products including puzzles, fabric collections, cards and tableware…all the while continuing to illustrate children’s books.

She has managed to steal just enough time away from her drawing board occasionally to travel the world and has learned how to whip up a mean Puttanesca sauce and bake biscotti , grow scented flower gardens and heirloom vegetables, learn to dance, be happy, write a children’s book, get married and have a son , love a Corgi and a fluffy gray cat….and the fun’s just begun!

http://www.wendyedelson.com http://www.elevenlemons.blogspot.com most recent work http://www.thatsmyfolio.com/folio/Wendy-Edelson http://hireanillustrator.com/i/wendy-edelson

My friend Karen Embry offers us this exquisite painting for today’s post. I am madly in love with the wonderful way in which she creates the illusion of stained glass on this beautiful painting of tulips! Notice the use of brown as a border, making the intense colors seem even more so. To learn more about Karen and her art, visit her at http://www.karenembry.com/

   Karen Embry is an award winning artist and accomplished designer in the creative industry.   As a third generation artist, Karen has been inspired since early childhood to express  creativity in her art and all aspects of her life.

Karen is a native Floridian and attended the University of South Florida.  In addition to licensing her art, she has been a painting instructor for many years as well as exhibiting her work at juried art shows.  Karen has authored numerous painting books and been published in countless nationally distributed creative publications. She has also been a guest host on the Home Shopping Network. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Plaid, New Horizons Award.

Eileen Hull is a multi-media artist and author whose work is sold in big box stores and featured in books, magazines, and on the internet. Her design style may be described as clean and sophisticated with a light touch of glitter. Specializing in three dimensional designs, Eileen’s primary medium is matboard. She developed an innovative line of dies for Sizzix and licenses her artwork with them. ScoreBoard™ dies are designed to cut and score matboard into boxes, folders and totes. Eileen is actively involved in the CHA Designer Section and currently serves as Vice Chair on the Designer Council and a member of the Trends Committee. She regularly posts innovative projects, recycled makeovers and insights on crafting trends on her blog: http://eileenhull.blogspot.com.

I’ve been traveling and then took a couple of days to re-group after my trip to HSN. I think it must be the adrenaline that sucks the energy out of this girl after going on air. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but it is e.x.h.a.u.s.t.i.n.g.

Here are a couple of cuckoo clocks from my portfolio of hand-painted images available for licensing. These are painted with acrylic onto canvas and measure 9×12″. There’s just something about cuckoo clocks… ; )

Today’s special- Bold Flavors- I think these qualify, don’t you?

Have a great weekend- I’ll be busy cleaning the studio and finishing up some art for Sizzix and for Henry Glass.

Here is a project made using three of my product categories. New stamps, New scrap papers, Sizzix embossing folder ( heart ).I’m packed and ready to go! So excited!!! Thanks for stopping by! ( I LOVE COMMENTS)

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Purchase inquiries – brenda@brendapinnick.com – subject – art purchase

I hope you’re planning to tune into HSN on Tuesday for ScrapBooking Day!! I’m scheduled to be on in the 2 am hour and again in the Noon hour with my new kits!