Yearly Archives: 2012

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101010 Project – Paula Joerling! Who is that one person….

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The 101010 Project question today will be answered by Paula Joerling.

Paula Joerling

Business – Paula Joerling Studio

Blog – Paula Joerling

Paula’s Facebook Page 

Etsy Hand Made

Etsy Vintage

Years in Business: Paula has been a freelance artist in one form or another for 30 years. I have been a freelance illustrator for about 8 years.

A little about Paula:  She is a freelance illustrator living in Atlanta Georgia. Her designs are primarily used for the gift and tabletop industry. Typically, she works in watercolor and collage and enjoys incorporating fabric, stitched paper and found objects in my art.

The Question #8:  Who is that one person you would like to sit and talk with about your business?

Paula:

A magic genie. Seriously though, I have been “in the business” as they say, a long time and I pretty much get to talk to all of the people that I want to talk to. I am very fortunate to have an amazing network of creative, successful and sharing friends.

Paula’s current projects:  She is currently working on a series of collage pieces that will make their way to my etsy handmade shop.

Below are the other artists and the questions they will be hosting. Please check them out! And I will be posting the answer by another artist on Monday.

Phyllis

Laure Otero – #1 – Is it necessary for your business to line up with your soul purpose?  What value is there to having that aligned?

Stephanie Guimond – #2 – Do you have a business mentor?  What value does that offer to your experiences as a business owner?

Shari Sherman – #3 – What animal would represent your first year of business.

Robin Norgren – #4 – What business/businesses have you chosen to model your business after?

Dani Keith – #5 – At this moment, what one idea do you need to start executing for your business?

Paula Joerling – #6 – What part of your business have you delegated or put on hold in order to focus your energy more efficiently?

Valerie Weller – #7 – How did you finally decide on the look of your brand?  What did the evolution look like?

Due to life’s twists and turns, this session of the 101010 Project features 8 participants instead of 10.

 

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What do Creative Business Minds Think?

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Left brain, right brain – creatives are definitely right brained people, but are they right brained when it comes to running a business? To find out how (or what) creatives think regarding their businesses – how we developed our business look, our inspirations, and more, check back on Friday for the start of the 101010 Project. I’m delighted to be involved in this creative business blog hop which works differently from most blog hops. I know it will be fun and informative!

101010 Project

101010 Project – 10 women, 10 business, 10 questions! 10 women with business are asked 10 questions. Each artist is assigned one of the questions and posts that question each day with the reply by one of the other women. You can easily scoot over to the other artists blogs to see the questions they are posting with the answses by a different artist each day. So to sum it up, each woman posts the answer to 1 question by all 10 women, one answer each day.

The question that will be answered on my blog is “Who is that one person you would like to sit and talk with about your business?  What would you talk about?”

I can’t wait to see all the answers – do we think alike? Heaven forbid!  I know we will go from one end of the spectrum to the other with our thoughts!

Remember the date, June 15!

Phyllis

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The In’s and Out’s of Designing and Licensing!

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Do  you want to know more about the in’s and out’s of either designing or licensing?  I was delighted to be interviewed by Monica Lee in her video series Smart Creative Women. In the interview, I discussed my career of over 25 years. I talk about some of the many, many things that I learned over the years in the business of designing and licensing. And it has been a very rewarding career, especially from the view of doing something that I really love and in getting to be creative on a daily basis.

I hope that you will check it out.  But warning, you need to understand the “southern” way of talking! Thank you to Monica for the interview!

Phyllis

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Hot Potatoes – Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head at Quilt Market

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Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head bring back childhood memories for me.  It was a fun toy that I loved playing with.  Hot Potatoes from Hasbro, a new fabric line from Quilting Treasures is delightful. It was even more fun with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head as an adult – designing several sewing and quilting projects with the fabric collection.  I designed and created the Hot Potatoes quilted play mat, large tote bag, half apron and potholder. The potholder is potato shaped and can hang from the apron.  The projects were featured in Quilting Treasures booth at the Spring International Quilt Market held in Kansas City.

Hot Potatoes Fabric free projects Quilt Market

Hot Potatoes Free sewing projects at Quilt Market

I also designed additional pieces for this collection.  All will be free patterns for download from Quilting Treasures website.  The fabric will be available soon – August 2012. Please check back to see all the Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head projects.

Phyllis

 

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New Products to Shout Your Love of Quilting!

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I have been busy adding new quilt art to items in my Zazzle store. Zazzle has also added so many great new products to their line as well, including cookie jars, laptop and ipad sleeves, cat and dog food dishes, cork coasters, plates, water bottles  and many, many more!

I have ordered several products from Zazzle, including the business cards below, and can vouch for the high quality. Their sturdy business cards are two sided and are customizable so that you can put all your info on them. The card with the tossed blocks comes in several color choices. Simply fill in your info and your business card is ready to go!

You can remind your cat or dog that you love quilting as much as you love them. Put it in their face with one of these pet food bowls available also in assorted colors as well as two sizes. They come in a smaller size for cats, but if your cat is like mine, he likes a large bowl filled at all times. If not, he lets me know and its usually in the middle of the night.
I like to keep some water to sip on while I’m working and have found that keeping it in a handy water bottle is much better than a glass. I’ve killed more than one keyboard by spilling my drink and this way, when I knock it over, no dead keyboard.  The travel mug also works the same way to prevent spilling your coffee. So if you are going to look at a water bottle or travel mug or both all day, you may as well pamper yourself and enjoy one with a quilt design!

Have a great day and I would love for you to check out the other products!

Phyllis
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Pink Hydrangeas Add a Beautiful Burst of Color!

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I love flowers and hydrangeas are one of my favorites. While I was walking in my driveway today, I was stopped by the large pink blooms on the hydrangea bushes and just have to share.

Pink hydrangea blooms

I bought the original plant many years ago. It had pink blooms, but after I planted it, it bloomed assorted colors ranging from blue, purple and pink, with some of the individual blooms multicolor due to the soil. It’s not as multicolored this year as in past years. The blooms have always attracted comments from neighbors. The past couple of summers, the hydrangeas did not bloom well due to the cold winters, but I think that the huge spectacular blooms made up for it this year.

I wish a bouquet for you!

Phyllis

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Showing Friendship with a Quilt!

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Quilts are so comforting, both with the cuddling factor and the warmth of their beauty. Rita Clarke made a special quilt for a friend’s daughter who’s dog Shug had died. Pets are so important to us and are a part of our families so the loss of a pet is heartbreaking. Rita designed and made this quilt in memory of Shug using the pink fabrics in the “Its a Dog’s Life” fabric collection I designed a while back for Quilting Treasures.

Its a Dog's Life Quilt by Rita Clarke

Rita also embroidered Shug’s name in the sashing throughout the quilt. I’m sure that this quilt provides Mary a lot of  comfort and warm memories of Shug each time she cuddles with it.

Rita Clarke's It's a Dog's Life Quilt

Rita does take orders to create personalized quilts through her business Sew Creative by Rita.

I love Rita’s use of pink throughout the quilt. One of the things that amazes me with quilting is that you can get such different looks from the same fabrics, based on how you put the fabrics together and arrange the colors and the patterns of the fabrics. Other posts I have written feature a locker caddy and notebook, a dog coat, aprons, tote bag, and a quilt made with “Its’s a Dog’s Life” fabrics and each in different color combinations.

Thanks to Rita for showing me the pictures of the quilt she made! I think she’s a wonderful friend to make this beautiful quilt for Mary.

Happy quilting!

Phyllis

 

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Think Snow with this Free Quilt Pattern!

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I know its May and the weather is getting hot, but its not too early to start thinking about your Christmas quilting with this free quilt pattern that I designed!  Think “Let it Snow” to cool down with this adorable fabric collection from Quilting Treasures based on the art of Debra Jordan Bryan.

Let it Snow Free quilt Pattern by Phyllis Dobbs for Quilting Treasures

It was a treat to design this quilt with the fun, colorful fabric.  At 43 1/2″ x 48 1/4″, its a perfect size for a wall hanging, a lap quilt or for a little one to cuddle with. The quilt is pieced and is topped with appliqued green and red mittens in the wide border area. Buttons are used for accents on the mittens. The quilt center is a snowman panel with other snowman pieces in the corners. Its easy to piece and is a great project for beginners as well as all skill levels.

When you check out this pattern, look through all the other free quilt patterns from Quilting Treasures. I’m sure you will find several that you will love!

Happy quilting and stay cool!

Phyllis

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Upcycle – Create a Decorative Pillow from Pants or Other Clothing!

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If you are like me, you have a lot of clothing hanging in your closet that you no longer wear. But there is something you still love about these pieces – the color, fabric design, etc. Repurpose or upcycle it to give it a new life. I repurposed a pair of capri pants made with fabric that I loved into a decorative pillow for a guest blog post on FaveCrafts for Earth Week. I had never worn these pants and think that I bought them just for the fabric.

Upcycled decorative pillow by Phyllis Dobbs

Although I chose to make a decorative pillow, you can make many different type projects using this technique. I added detail to the pillow top by sewing multiple wavy lines of both non-metallic and metallic Gutermann threads vertically to quilt the fabric to a piece of cotton batting.  I used different shades of both turquoise and coral threads in addition to a black thread. I also sewed turquoise, red and yellow beads randomly and to the flowers. Please visit the FaveCrafts blog post for full tutorial instructions as well as additional photos.

Close up detail of upcycled pillow by Phyllis Dobbs

In addition to your closet, you can locate fabulous finds at thrift stores or yard sales to repurpose. I’m a fabric junkie so I always keep my eyes peeled for fabrics, as well as sweaters and other items I can sew into something else or use in other type of crafts.

Phyllis

 

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Sneak Peak – New Fabric Collection “Celebrate”

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I’m excited to give you a sneak peak at my newest fabric collection “Celebrate” from Quilting Treasures, filled with cakes and cupcakes. It will be available for shipping to stores in June 2012. As you can see, the colors are bright primary colors that are perfect for both boys and girls. The designs are also great for all ages, from kids to adults, after all, you never get too old to celebrate! It was really fun creating these designs but it did activate my sweet tooth! Fortunately, all the cakes and cupcakes were created with paint so no calories!

Celebrate fabric collection from Quilting Treasures by Phyllis Dobbs

This design is the main design of a patch panel. Other fabrics in the “Celebrate” collection will include lots of fun designs and stripes all in bright “celebration” colors and all coordinated for delightful quilting and sewing projects. Think of a celebration or birthday quilt, or a banner or table runner for a birthday party.  There will be several free patterns available from Quilting Treasures when the fabric is in. Plus, I will create some patterns to post here on my blog for free download – I already have several ideas formed and just waiting to sew them. I just love designing patterns to go with my fabrics.

I can’t wait to show you all the fabrics when they are out!  And it won’t be long – I can’t believe June is so close already!  Meanwhile, I’ve been working away on the next fabric collection and am just as excited about it! Its still on the drawing board, but I’m loving it.

So please check back for fun fabrics and lots of free patterns and think cake and cupcakes. And here’s to a little celebration in your life each day.

Phyllis