I'm going to be working on a commissioned art doll and costume for my friend in Australia, writing a how-to article about smash books/art journals for Natural Life Magazine, making finished examples for my upcycling book proposal, and working very hard on the art and layouts for my soon to be announced publication venture. What will you be doing? Make a comment here by March 10 telling me about your crafting plans for the month and be in the drawing to receive a beaded Wish Doll with your choice of Indian Musk or Lavender scented sachet. Tell your friends! Wish Doll with votive candle, aromatic sachet and instructions. Colors vary.

Deborah has some cool stuff to giveaway after the ScraPerfect trip to CHA. Go to the ScraPerfect blog , leave a comment there , and you will be entered to win. Deadline to enter: Saturday March 3rd. While you're at it be sure to check out the You Tube videos of the new Best Cleaner Ever, a completely non-toxic cleaner that removes glue residues, stamp ink (even Staz-On) and markers from all kinds of surfaces, including skin. It will not cause your rubber stamps to deteriorate. My current experiment in progress is that I have used it to clean my make up brushes. I easily cleaned the eye make up and concealer brushes with the spray and absorbent paper. I cleaned the blusher brush with spray, paper and then rinsed in plain water - just because it's so much fuller than the other two, and I wanted to make sure there was no residue. It seemed to rinse very easily and they are all still nice and soft. My next trial will be so see how it does with a brush where some old gl...

The holidays are past, but you can still bring subtle holiday cheer to your home all year long with this very pretty 8.5 inch tall lady in red and green yard dyed woven plaid cotton. I decorated her with beads and sequins in the holiday spirit. She wears a bright red petal and leaf skirt, of course embellished with glass beads. She is one of a kind in a series. Her holiday themed sisters have all traveled to their new homes. Her festive charms including a wee snowman hanging from her ribbon sash, an epoxy button, and a bead from a vintage rosary. I like repurposing pre-loved jewelry in my dolls to give them connections with the past. I paint all my dolls faces individually. What I love about this lady is her gentle smile. Her bright multihued yarn hair sets off her sweet teal colored eyes.  Set her on a mantle, shelf or boudoir table to remind you of the holidays all year, or enjoy her as part of your holiday decor. Either way, she is there to remind you to follow your dreams. ...

I rather like this sketch. It seems tropical to me. Maybe it's the way the curved line of flowers looks like a lei. Maybe it's the wavy border - but use any edging you like behind your pictures. I'm envisioning journaling right on the paper, or perhaps on a transparency.

One of my Kabuki dolls has been sold  - to my cousin in Norway. I've been learning so many wonderful new facts about my father's family, including how this branch ended up in Norway. My cousin Petter is starting a new venture designing hand woven silk bow ties. I can hardly wait to see them. And it's all down to Facebook! That is how we found each other.

Here's some of the sample display and the prize package. I've just spent a few glorious days at CHA in Anaheim with ScraPerfect . I made some cards for my demo slots, although no-one was really interested in what I was doing because it was far more fun and informative to listen to Amy talk about her products. We are especially excited about the new Best Cleaner Ever . Amy at work. I traded two Dream Star dolls for some gorgeous Czech glass beads (as I have used in the dolls) from Beader's Paradise in Knoxville, TN ( their website will be up at the end of February) and I'm sure we both think we got the best of the deal. I have an upcoming commission that some of the beads will adorn.  Brush with fame: I spoke to Vicki Howell and Cathie and Steve at the Plaid exhibit. I can hardly wait to buy this collection of useful hot glue tools. Mod Podge has an upcoming new line of very nice spray sealers too, but we'll have to wait until midsummer to see most of them...