What A Terrific Quote!

I have my own personalized Google page set-up as the home page on my computer and use some of their modules for items I want to see. One of the modules that I like is "Quotes of the Day" and check it every morning to see what the new quote is.

I've been a fan of quotes ever since I can remember. Maybe it's because my Mother used to buy me some of those little tiny books you find in the bookstores like"The Love Between Mothers and Daughters" edited by Helen Exley or "Dreams For My Daughter" illustrated by Becky Kelly.

In fact the very first tiny little book she gave me was no bigger than 1 1/2" wide by 2" tall. It was "The Little Bible" by David C. Cook. I still have it - albeit the cover has become a bit worn.

The second book she gave me was "Prayers For Girls" by Elisabeth Robinson Scovil published in 1935. Copyright, 1924 by Howard E. Altemus. I think my great, great Aunt Flossie gave it to my grandmother, who in turn gave it to my Mother, who in turn gave it to me. It's still in pretty good shape - albeit the binding is a little loose.

In any event, I have received many, many little books over the years from family members and friends and have to attribute this to my love of quotes. So, back to the quotes. Well, the other day I I read the quote of the day and it really struck me as being so true. So much so that I thought I would share it with all of you.

Here's the quote:

The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason.

John Cage US composer of avant-garde music (1912 - 1992)

Every so often I really enjoy the quote of the day and have been meaning to share some of them with you with quite some time. I'm going to try and share more of the quotes that I like with you going forward. I hope you like the quote.

What Is Wrong With Her? You Can't Move In A Fancy Dress!

Patience was pacing back and forth, back and forth. Wringing her hands and muttering, "What is wrong with her? Doesn't she know you can't move in a fancy dress? She can't do that. It'll get all dirty. And, then what would she wear for her date? Doesn't she know you can't move in a fancy dress? What is wrong with her?"

"Calm down Patience. Just calm down and tell me what the matter is," Doris Marie said.

"Oh, Doris Marie. This time Linda has really gone too far. Too far indeed!"

"What, Patience. What are you talking about?" Doris responded.

"It's Linda, Doris Marie." She's making YoVille Linda move into her new house today. She can't do that. She's still wearing her fancy dress. She can't move all her stuff while wearing her fancy dress. It'll get ruined. Then, what will she wear for her date?" Patience replied.

"Well, Patience," Doris Marie responded. "I'm sure Linda will have her change into her jeans so she doesn't get her fancy dress ruined. Either that or Linda has hired movers to move YoVille Linda into her new house. I'm sure that's it. She's hired movers."

Doris Marie really didn't think Linda would let YoVille Linda move all her stuff in her beautiful new dress. Or, would she? Hmmmm......

"Come on Patience. Just calm down." Doris Marie said. "Let's go congratulate YoVille Linda on the purchase of her new home. After all, she worked double shifts at the factory in order to save enough money to buy her new home. Let's go congratulate her. Okay, Patience?"

"Alright, Doris Marie. Let's go congratulate her. You're probably right. Linda probably did hire movers to help YoVille Linda." Patience replied. "Let's go congratulate her. Should we bring a house warming gift?"

"Well, you're right about that, Patience. I guess we should bring her a house warming gift. What do you think YoVille Linda would like?" Doris asked.

So, off they went - hand in paw - to the gift store to buy YoVille Linda something nice for her new home.

YoVille Linda Bought A House! I Just Love It!

YoVille Linda was so happy she could hardly contain her enthusiasm. She had been working double shifts at the factory to save enough money to buy a house. And, she had finally done just that. She had bought her first house. A ranch style home just like the type Linda herself had lived in when she was growing up.



She was so excited and as proud as a peacock. She could hardly wait to show everyone her new home. She had decorated her living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen in her favorite "girly girl" style and "retro kitchen" style.



She had a garage that she was using for now as a craft/hobby and den. After all she didn't have a driver's license - let alone a car. And, she always wanted a craft and hobby room. Why not use the garage?


And, best of all, she had a yard. Well, a front yard anyway. She was sure there was a backyard, but, she wasn't at a high enough level in the YoVille game to see that just yet. In time - she'd get there in time. For now she could sit on her front lawn. And, she could have her flower garden. Her fingers were just itching to do some gardening.



But, for now she was happy that she had finally moved in and could show off her new abode. So, what do you think? How do you like YoVille Linda's new house?

Well, Have You Seen Her? Have You Seen YoVille Linda's New Outfit?

Well, Have You Seen Her? Have You Seen YoVille Linda's New Outfit?

"Oh, My!" "Doesn't she look lovely, Doris?" Patience asked Doris.

"Well, yes she does, Patience," Doris Marie replied. "She looks lovely indeed! What is she all dressed up for?"

"Well, I'm not sure, Doris Marie, but I think she's got a date."

"A date?" Doris Marie responded. "Hmmmmm..... But, she doesn't have any male friends in YoVille. Where would she meet someone?"

"Well, I'm not sure," Patience said. "Maybe, one of her YoVille friends set her up on a blind date."

"Well, that's possible, Patience. Maybe she did."

Well, what Doris Marie and Patience didn't know was that YoVille Linda had been secretly been using Linda's computer late at night and had become a member of one of the more popular website dating services. She had taped her video and had given them her profile information and was waiting to see who they would hook her up with. In the meantime she had bought a few new outfits and was trying each of them on to see which one she liked best as she was anticipating that she'd have a match soon.

She was hoping that she'd be matched with someone nice. Well mannered, intelligent, and with a good sense of humor. And, secretly she was hoping that he would be good looking. Not that looks were all that important, but, they certainly would sweeten the pot.

YoVille Linda just didn't want Linda to know that she was hoping for a good looking guy. Linda would tell her that looks were not important. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What counts is what's on the inside and whether or not he was a good person. Looks were secondary. Yada, yada, yada....

YoVille Linda knew that. It was just that she was going to have to look at this person from a flat dimension forever so she might as well enjoy the view. What's so wrong with that? After all his image on the computer screen had no dimension. Just a flat front and flat back image. If that's what she had to look at all day, she'd at least like it to be attractive. So, she secretly had her fingers crossed that he'd be good looking. Just don't tell anyone that - especially Linda.

In the meantime she was trying out her teal blue dress and shoes. So, what do you think - do you like her new outfit?

I Was In Crafting Heaven - Versus Sewing Heaven!

Two weeks ago I was in crafting heaven - versus sewing heaven. You see, I had previously been in sewing heaven when I was crafting my Santa for the Cloth Doll Artistry Santa Challenge.

Two weeks ago I was in crafting heaven for the Halloween Challenge of the Cloth Doll Artistry Crafts Studio.

If you'd like to know what the Halloween Challenge involved I'd previously posted about it in a post entitled "Having Some Halloween Fun!"

Now, of course, I can't show you my entry. I will when the winners are announced sometime after Halloween. Suffice to say I had a delightful time crafting away and was able to combine several different crafts - that I love to do. 

I can't tell you what those are, but I can tell you since it was for the CRAFTS Studio it wasn't a doll. 

Now, that's a surprise all by itself! 

What it is will have to remain a secret - for now!

Just know that I was in crafting heaven and couldn't be happier!

Graphics Courtesy of TheGraphicsFairy.com

A Generous Soul and Gifted Artist

Sometimes you run across people who you instantly take a liking too and who you seem to easily connect with. And, sometimes these individuals share your interests or are around your age and, therefore, share the same generational experiences as you.

Sometimes you meet such individuals in person and sometimes you meet them over the Internet.

Well, I have to consider myself truly blessed in this regard as I have met many, many such individuals over the Internet during the last four years. One such individual is Sue McFadden who is an ASTONISHING doll maker and who I had the wonderful opportunity to interview on my "I Love Crafts and Crafts Blogs" blog.

You need look no further than Sue's bio to see what an accomplished artist she is:

Sue is a published doll artist, doll maker, doll instructor, doll illustrator, fine arts artist, painter, sculptor, and art teacher. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education, has studied under portrait artist Chuck Hall, and has taught elementary art for five years while pursuing portrait and fine art classes at Penn State University. In 1981 she started making cloth dolls and in 1986 began to work independently creating felt dolls. She has taught at various doll conferences and doll clubs around the country. Her dolls have been published in "Cloth Dolls from Ancient to Modern, A Collector’s Guide - c. 1997 Linda Edwards" and "Crafting Cloth Dolls - c. 2002 Miriam Gourley." She has also been published in many national doll magazines including: Dolls, Contemporary Doll Collector, Fiber Arts, Dulce. In 1993 her doll from Spectrum series (Africaner) was purchased for the Musee de Decoratif, Louvre, Paris through the Toy Shoppe in Richmond, VA and in 1998 she was one of fifty doll artists selected to exhibit at Masterpieces at Spiegelhof, Brussels, Belgium.

Even if you didn't read Sue's bio all you would have to do is look at some of her amazing felt art doll creations to know how talented she is. Her creations just take my breath away and I would LOVE to be able to make sure beautiful felt art dolls.

If you've been following my Linda's Blog you know that one of my many objectives this year is to try and learn how to make clay dolls. It started with wanting to make " Goddess Dolls."

Well, two weeks ago I got an unbelievable surprise in the mail from Sue that may help with that objective and may just postpone that objective as well.

For several months Sue and I had been communicating back and forth about her "I Love Crafts and Craft Blogs" blog interview, her free 2 Piece Plaster Mold Tutorial/Pictorial" that I had posted on my "The Best Free Crafts Articles" blog, and posted about in the Cloth Doll Artistry group we both belong to, and communicating about some things she wanted to do with her patterns, website, and blog.

So, back to the surprise. I opened the package and inside was Sue's complete Vasilissa's Doll kit which is the picture to the right. It included her pattern, felt, paper clay mask, and paper clay. Also included were her Peace Fawn kit, Two Peas In A Pod kit, and Petite Sonja kit.

I was totally speechless - which I'm sure you find hard to believe. And, unbelievably grateful for her thoughtful and generous package. I immediately wanted to drop everything I was doing and make all of the kits right then and there.

Of course, I have to learn how to create paper clay dolls first and in doing so this will help with my goddess dolls adventure as some of them will have clay faces.

But, first I have to learn and experiment a little. And, Sue's paper clay masks and kits were just what I needed to get me started. I can't thank Sue enough for her very thoughtful and generous gift and hope that, maybe, in some way I can repay her somehow.

I hope you get a chance to visit Sue's "Sue McFadden - Original Felt Dolls" website at www.suemcfadden.com and her Sues Daily Blog at http://suesdailyblog.blogspot.com/ . If you'd like to see more of her astonishing creations she has a PictureTrail website at http://www.picturetrail.com/suemcfadden . I hope her doll creations take your breath away as much as they did mine.

Thanks, again, Sue for your very generous gifts. I hope I have the time this year to learn how to create with paper clay and to make all of the kits you sent me.

I want to do it right this very minute. The ideas are just swirling in my head.

Just think of the Victorian doll creations I could make if I knew how to create paper clay masks.

Oh, the possibilities.

I could .......

Okay muse - calm down!