PURE JOY. . .

I am so excited to finally share this post today! On September 23rd, I received a package of pure joy and love from my dear friend, Dot, of Dot's Life and Art. We decided to do a swap months ago, but I made her promise that she wouldn't send a thing to me until she received my package. Dot received her gift from me in July, and I knew that one day I would receive a package from her. That very special day came and I can hardly express the joy and gratitude I felt when I opened the package that she created for me. The love that she stitched and created from her heart, literally brought tears to my eyes!!! What an incredible labor of love, thoughtfulness and generosity that awaited me. Opening this gift was like being wrapped in the biggest and warmest hug ever. I want to share with you the precious gifts she created.

I think Dot is best known for the Dotee dolls she created and that have been stitched with love for friends all around the world. I first fell in love with Dot's colorful and warm blog when she began making Dotee dolls. That was a time ago, and she and her art have come a long way!!! I have stitched quite a few Dotee dolls myself, but never have made one for me or even received one from a friend. I began to open a gift that was wrapped in a gorgeous turquoise/teal silk and tied with a piece of Kaffe's fabric and inside was this BEAUTIFUL Dotee doll! She just melted my heart. I absolutely adore the colors, the sari silk, her serene/sweet face and flowered cheeks, the heart with *JOY*, the Swarovski crystals, the beads, the birds, the dragonfly and leaf...all stitched from the heart exquisitely! She is the first Dotee doll I've ever received and being made from *THE* Dot...couldn't be anymore special to me. I absolutely adore her!

Here she is outside having her photo shoot on a sunny autumn day! I took a lot of photos trying to catch the crystals sparkling in the sunshine and I wasn't happy with any of them. The best pictures were these in the shade because her coloring and the beads are more true. You can click and enlarge my photos to see the beautiful colors, attention to detail and all those stitches made with love!

Here is a close up...isn't she precious?!! And, of course, Dot included a bird and dragonfly knowing how much I adore them! I have the biggest smile on my face and feel so fortunate that she'd create one just for me.

My heart is already full and then I pulled out a cellophane wrapped gift that was one of her most special birds!!! It is gorgeous!!! It is encrusted with such heart and pure beauty. To hold one in your hand is such a treat. I always thought they were so beautiful when I'd see them on her blog, but to really see and hold one is something else. The colors are so pretty and I adore all the different beads, buttons, Swarvoski crystals, sequins, and bugle beads. I just love how Dot mixes up all that color and it turns out spectacular. Isn't the vintage Czech glass button on her wing perfect?! Almost looks like little wings on the button itself. I adore the pom pom yarn to hang her with and I love how she hangs with a slight curve. Dot stitches beautifully and I admire that so much. You can see and feel when something is stitched from the heart...and her work is just that. Full of heart and love. She is GORGEOUS and my most cherished bird...I just adore her!

I am absolutely floored...as if what she'd sent weren't love enough. But there is a beautiful floral fabric wrapped gift with buttons and beads strung on embroidery thread in my hand. I slowly unwrapped it and got the bigguest lump in my throat and my eyes filled with tears! Dot made me one of her BEAUTIFUL fabric books and I couldn't believe that she would stitch something so precious for me! What a treasure this book of love is. Again, it feels so special to hold in your hands. Every page and each square inch is something to behold! I love the jewel tone colors and how the sari silk, wool and cotton fabrics all go together perfectly. There are thousands of stitches, beads, buttons, Swarvoski crystals, charms, vintage nailheads, gorgeous lace, and even a bell stitched on this book. It is full of texture and a feast for the eyes. I've admired the books she has made and shared on her blog, but I couldn't imagine holding or having one of my own! I will always treasure it...I LOVE it!

This is the cover. I adore the owl in the tree, the leaves and flowers, the beads scattered about, the vintage nailheads, the tiny flowered buttons and, again, the bead *JOY*! Isn't he the cutest owl!

The second page is lovely using a portion of silk as the focal point and not one bit less embellished. The square green mosaic buttons are gorgeous!

This is a gorgeous page stitched in beautiful pinks and purples. I love the bird sitting on a jeweled egg with the branch of charms around it and the tree charm too. The stitching and embellishments are unbelievable. Don't you love the serious bling around the birds neck!

Wish my camera had picked up on these colors better! Just think DEEP jewel tones...each page is stunning. This page Dot added a Carla Sonheim printed transfer for the center of this page. Isn't the girl cute with the bird on her head! Notice this bird is wearing a stunning necklace too!

This page is gorgeous and embellished to the hilt. Notice this cute bird is sporting jewels too! These pages just sparkle more than I can convey with my pictures!

This is a stunning page and Dot used lovely goodies that she received from friends. I love that! She used a beautiful olive green felt bird from her friend Julie, and a piece of gorgeous lace from her dear friend, Jacky. She even stitched around the bird with some size 15/0 seed beads that I recently shared with her. What a special page!

My camera did not capture the color on this page at all. It is a stunning deep burgundy color with a deep bottle green silk lace rose, with gold beads and embellishments and even more Swarovski crystals! It is lovely!!!

This is the back and is embellished, once again, with buttons, flower beads, seed beads, sequins and Swarovski crystals. I don't think anyone embellishes or encrusts like Dot does...her work is stunning!

Here is a shot of the spine that is stitched with a beautiful mix of buttons and beads! What a book, what a treasure...it's more beautiful than I can convey!

I'm on overload now...there are still two more things in the package!!! I begin to untape a carefully wrapped gift in bubble wrap and cardboard. I opened it to find the most beautiful stitched and beaded fabric collage stitched to a piece of Nuno felt that Dot made. I am just in awe!!! It is a BEAUTIFUL piece of art. She added some gorgeous sari silk, felt, birds, sequins, seed beads and even more Swarovski crystals. It just sparkles!!! This piece is mounted on a 8 x 10" posterboard to give you an idea of the size. It is so pretty and I think it would be lovely framed!

Last, but certainly not least, I opened a stack of the most beautiful fabrics wrapped in a silk yarn. Dot shared some of her fabric pieces that included cotton fabrics with owls, birds, flowers, and birdhouses to beautiful pieces of sari silk. No wonder she loves these. The jewel tone colors, texture and embellishments on these pieces are gorgeous. Then wrapped were packets of buttons, beads, charms, clay bird beads, bells, flowers and more that she shared with me. I will treasure these and enjoy them so much!


I was speechless! Everything Dot created and shared with me is full of LOVE, truly BEAUTIFUL and simply GORGEOUS! She is so talented and creative. Thank you, Dot, for the thousands of stitches, love and *JOY* that you've shared with me. I feel so honored. I cherish everything you've made and will treasure them always. More importantly, I treasure you and our friendship. You are a very special person and have a heart of gold!!!

I also wanted to share who won the earrings from my last post! I wrote the names down and they were put into Mark's baseball hat. I held the hat high and Mark pulled these two names...

Number 1)...Jacky...She will receive the Swarovski Jet Crystal Rivoli Earrings, 3mm Jet Faceted Bicone Crystals, 15/0 sterling silver-plated charlottes with sterling earwires.

Number 2)...Carol...She will receive the Swarovski Vitrail Medium Rivoli Crystal Earrings, 3mm Vitrail Medium Faceted Bicone Crystals, 15/0 24K gold lined crystal seed beads with gold filled lever backs.

Thank you everyone for your sweet and thoughtful comments on my last post! You are all such good friends to me!

A friend is like a flower,
a rose to be exact,
Or maybe like a brand new gate
that never comes unlatched.
A friend is like an owl,
both beautiful and wise.
Or perhaps a friend is like a ghost,
whose spirit never dies.
A friend is like a heart that goes
strong until the end.
Where would we be in this world
if we didn't have friends. ~Emma Guest~