"Laighla"

This piece was requested by one of my former coworkers.  It was to be teal and yellow with maybe a bunch of poinsettias.  This is what the creative process produced.  I added some faux pearls and pearl-colored seed beads to tie the color scheme together.  Hidden bells under the flowers give it a festive jingle.  All hand-beaded.

"Avonlea"

A companion piece for "Anthony" and "Kristen."

"Matthew"

(Part of the family group, "Patricia," "Rob," "Elizabeth," and "Matthew.")

Hard-pressed to come up with a masculine design that also complimented the color scheme of "Patricia," I finally arrived at the Charlie Brown tree.

"Elizabeth"

(Part of the family group, "Patricia," "Rob," "Elizabeth," and "Matthew.")

Elizabeth is a musician and also named after a famous Jane Austen character, so we combined those themes into a sort of symphonic ball with red pinched taffeta and gold satin.

"Rob"

(Part of the family group, "Patricia," "Rob," "Elizabeth," and "Matthew.")

You knew it was coming.  Somehow it isn't quite Christmas without a polar bear Coke commercial, and below we have a snowman attempting every man's favorite holiday chore.  All hand-painted.

"Patricia"

(Part of the family group, "Patricia," "Rob," "Elizabeth," and "Matthew.")

For this Kentucky family, the cardinal would have to feature prominently, and I developed a traditional holly and ivy theme around it.  The cardinal and leaves were each hand painted with fabric paint.  If I may be so bold, I will direct your attention to the glint in the bird's eye, made with a straight pin dipped in white paint.  It may not seem like much, but it was probably my proudest artistic moment thus far.  :)

"Arline"

A companion piece for "Stephen," Arline reportedly loves cats.

"Stephen"

This piece was supposed to reflect a love of stamp collecting and a bit of the German family heritage.  The stamps are a cotton quilting print on felt.