Long time, no blog!

Hello,

I was hoping to "blog" earlier than today, but things just didn't work out as expected. The last week has been very busy. Last weekend, on Sunday, I helped my friend Robin at her fundraiser for St. Baldrick's. It's an organization that raises money for children's cancer research by people collecting donations to get their heads shaved at the event. They are called "Shavees." Robin has gotten her head shaved for this event for the last three years. And the last two years she organized a St. Baldrick's event in the Fond du Lac area. Last year, at her first event, she raised $30,000 for St. Baldrick's and this year it looks like another successful year. She does an excellent job at getting the event organized and I'm so proud of her.



This year was my first year attending the event. My friend Hannah also volunteered along with me at the fundraiser. We had a great time and it was awesome to see young school kids getting their heads shaved to support a classmate who has cancer. And then there were the high school kids giving their own money to get their own head shaved. It was inspiring.

As the event progressed, Hannah and I didn't have too much to do at our table, so we decided to do some coloring. There were some St. Balrick's coloring pages and crayons at the event. The photo above is the page that Hannah colored and gave to me. Isn't it nice?



The photo pictured above is of one of my storybook watercolor prints. I donated a print of this image for the silent auction at the St. Baldrick's event. Later, I was introduced to the person who "won" my print and she told me that she works at the local post office and she's going to hang it up at the post office. I thought that was pretty nice.

The rest of the week was spent getting ready for my first craft show and making arrangements to have some of my work at a gallery in Illinois. As we speak my bunnies are in the painting studio and I would've taken a photo of them "in the process", but they have been very camera shy right now. However, I think once they are painted, they will be feeling a little more bold and ready for a photo shoot.



And this week I found someone through my local Freecycle group who can supply me with burned out light bulbs. She works at a recycling center not too far from where I live and I can stop by the recycling center to get light bulbs for my Recyc-a-lite sculptures. Hurray!

I guess I better be going for now. Have a nice day and "Welcome Spring!"

I won a prize from the La Belle Ave Blog! :-)

Hello,

Have you ever seen the magazine, Artful Blogging? Last year I bought an issue to help "inspire" me to start my own blog. It probably sounds bad, but I didn't start reading the issue until last month. In its pages I found interesting and inspiring stories and beautiful photos from bloggers worldwide. One article I read featured the blog, La Belle Avenue, created by Gina Lewis. There was one photo that really caught my eye, it was the first quilt Gina ever made and she made it from fabric that people sent to her from all around the world. The quilt turned out beautiful and I wish that I could own one like it. After reading about Gina's blog, I wanted to visit her blog and see it "in person" so to speak. The very first day I visited her blog she was having an "un-birthday" giveaway in honor of her birthday. I posted a comment on her blog to be entered in the giveaway and guess what? Yes, I was one of the winners. My very first blogging experience and I won a prize. Beginner's luck?!?



Yesterday I received the prize that I won from La Belle Avenue. It is a cute softie beetle bug. My new beetle friend found a nice home right next to my Grassy the Grasshopper sculpture. He's a really nice addition to my storybook sculptures and has made friends with the whole gang, Lilly, Toby, Oliver and the rest of the Lilly Bug Gang. Now what should I name the beetle? Any suggestions?

Thank you Gina for being so generous on your birthday. I love my beetle! :-)

Leo the Bunny is giving you an update.

"Hello, I am Leo and I wanted to share with you the status of my chickie and bunny friends. Right now they are 'hanging in there', though they are looking a little pale - lacking a 'healthy glow'. As of now they have not gotten their color yet. They are being very patient and are expecting to start getting a little color tomorrow, despite the cold Wisconsin winter temps. From my sources, it looks like the chicks are first in line to receive their color treatments. Then it will be the bunnies' turn. Both the chicks and bunnies are planning to be available for photos as soon as the color treatments are completed. The earliest time for photos is scheduled for the weekend. Please stay tuned for further updates. And note, the photo below shows a sampling of some items that are pre-color and as we speak are in the final stages of color treatments. They will soon be off to get glazed and to make room for the chicks to get some color of their own. Thank you for tuning in and have a nice day." :-)

Snowy White "Chick-a-lites" and "Bunn-a-lites"?

After my snowy post, I was anxious to bring a little color to my blog. I'm not much of a snow enthusiast, but a color enthusiast? Yes, definitely.

I wanted to share a peak into my Recyc-a-lite projects. What are Recyc-a-lites? They are sculptures I make with burned out light bulbs. After friends and family have saved their bulbs for me, I had a couple dozen to make some characters with. Oh, and by the way, I'm in need of some more burned out light bulbs. If you have any bulbs needing a new outlook on life send them my way. I give "burned out" light bulbs a new life and prevent them from ending up to a "life in the dumps". Take a look.



Bunnies without eyes and beakless chicks. What's happening?

I'm working on some Recyc-a-lite chicks and bunnies for an upcoming craft show in April. By the way, this craft show is my very first craft show. The "Chick-a-lites" and "Bunn-a-lites" are the newest members of the Recyc-a-lite family. Some of the first Recyc-a-lites were penguin sculptures. My USA Bride and Quebec Groom penguins made it on display at the CHA convention earlier this year. The very first USA Bride and Quebec Groom penguins I made are now living in Quebec with my friend, Megan and her husband, Jean. They were a wedding gift for them last year. I also have a Recyc-a-lite penguin for sale at my Etsy store, Lilly Bug Boutique.

These bunnies and chickies are ready for a little color in their lives and so am I. Once painted, I will post some new chickies and bunnies in bloomin' color.

Talk to you later. C-ya! :-)

Snowy Sunday Birthday

Welcome to my blog!

Today on my Snowy Sunday Birthday, I finally have decided to begin my blog. It has actually happened after much trepidation. Will I find enough things to share and say to continue blogging regularly? I sure hope so and plan to do so. I have plenty of photos to share some of them including a "behind the scenes" look at making my storybook sculptures. And maybe there will be a video or two of some demos of things I'm working on. Please stop by and blog along with me!

And don't forget to visit my website, www.lillybugstudio.com