Giveaway Results

And the winners are.....

Jen of A Quilting Jewel

and Marlene of Sipiweske Quilt Designs

Congratulations ladies!!!

My thanks to everyone that participated. There we almost 200 entries. I had a chance to meet many new people and found some wonderful blogs that I had not seen before.

I am just returning home from a week away from home for work in Illinois. Taking the (long) way home I chance to meet my new nephew in Iowa. He was just two days old. What a cutie!!

I spent Saturday morning cleaning house and washing laundry for my sister and brother in-law so they can rest once they bring my nephew home.

I finally remembered to take some photographs of the stained glass items that I made for my sister over the years. She is a huge fan of Arts and Crafts period furnishings. I designed the lampshade with the art of Charles Renee MacKintosh in mind.

I designed these stained glass window hangings for her wedding day. My sister and her husband had a garden wedding in their backyard on a beautiful September day. These windows were the backdrop for the ceremony. I chose each flower and plant with its symbolic meaning in mind.

Tulips for perfect love

Roses for love and hope

Ivy for Friendship, fidelity and eternal love

Ginkgo for longevity and

Myrtle to symbolize love and marriage

Have a wonderful week! Chris

Dreaming and Creating

It all started again with stained glass. My husband and I took a stained glass class one winter. I had always wanted to learn this skill. After discovering the art glass designed for Greene and Greene's Gamble House I knew I had to learn. I fell in love with stained glass work and I decided I would eventually start a business called Shady Grove Studios. I sat down to design a logo, a rambling oak tree. My seven year old son saw the drawing and said "I didn't know you could draw." It was that pivotal moment where I learned something very important. I had lost my artistic self in becoming a wife and a mother and it was time to rediscover myself. I opened the door to my creativity and it has not stopped since. Our move to the beauty of the country and away from daily distractions of the city catapulted things exponentially. I can't wait to see what comes next.

“To dream anything that you want to dream. That's the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.” - Bernard Edmonds

Have a wonderful weekend! Chris

Work at the Red Door Gallery

I volunteer once a month at our local art gallery. The Red Door Gallery is artist cooperative staffed by its members. We have so many talented artists in our area. Here are some photos of my stained glass work on display. The two small items next to the prairie style lamp belong to another artist, Mary Stewart.