LIONS, TIGERS...BEARS!!!

Teddies in progress! So cute!!!

SKYSCRAPERS

They have finally arrived! They are SOOOO tall...like skyscrapers! I'm not sure how easy it is to spot in this small image, but the moon can be seen just above the second flower in from the left.

These icy, pale sunflowers recently popped out as well.

This guy is so happy just drinking up the sun!

Sadly, these fellows are done blooming. I spent some time this morning collecting the spent sunflowers so I could lay them out to dry. Not all is lost. I'll put them out during the winter months so that our hungry birdies will have seeds to munch.

I seem to have a lot of these purple morning glories....

...but today I noticed that a single pale blue one had bloomed!

Don't think I've photographed these yet. They're planted along the side of the house. I love the red and purple combination. Actually, it makes me want to get back to sewing (I use a lot of red and purple in my art quilts). I think the garden has been stealing my attention long enough. I'll have to wind down with the summer. Too bad autumn is on the way. I know there are plenty of mums to plant and pumpkins to carve.

ARTFEST

ArtFest was such a blast! Thank you to everyone who stopped by to visit. For being the 1st Annual Art Festival, it was extremely well organized and ran very smoothly. I loved the entire experience and would do it again in a heartbeat! I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in an event like this. I was pleased to see the community express a genuine interest in the artists and their work. I hope this is only the beginning. I'm sure the event will grow in size and attendance in years to come.

My picture was published in the paper with an article about the ArtFest! It was accompanied by a caption that read, " Sara Mika of Catawissa, in photo above, hangs a fabric star in her tent Saturday during ArtFest on Center Street in Bloomsburg. Mika makes fabric art".

My "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?" art quilt was quite the crowd pleaser. After seeing people's reactions and hearing their interpretations, a more appropriate title might be "Should the Chicken Cross the Road?"

What an adorable bee! I love him! He's stuck in a paint can and is surrounded by several quilted pinwheels.

The display wall my husband built for the art quilts was amazing! It worked perfectly.

My fine art giclee prints hung on these old shutters.

I displayed several quilted postcards. Playing cards, used stamps, silk flowers and dried tea bags are some of the materials I used to make them.

These 'rooster' and 'orange star' quilts are two of the first I ever made.

I hung the more traditional quilts along with vintage quilt block pillows using clothespins on a line we strung around the tent.

Here are the fiber stars we hung from the roof of the tent. We looped fishing line around the support poles.

Isn't "Peck" precious?

The whole set up...

Here's a shot of the view down Center Street. You can see the theater and the art galleries in the background.

Some of my favorite people stopped by for a surprise visit! Here are two of them devouring yummy orange push up pops!

PRINTS ON PARADE

Yippee! Several prints of my art quilts are now available on Mock Pie Studio's Etsy shop!!! Please visit me there by clicking the Etsy link to the right.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING, LITTLE ONE?

Happy 2'nd Birthday, Gracie!!! How time flies. Seems like just the other day I snapped this pic of you as a newborn. I believe you were only 5 days old! So sweet...my baby holding a baby. Now there's a sight! In honor of your big day, here are some happy flowers from Aunt Sara's yard...

I adore the sunshine as it streams through the petals!

I like to think my yard is single-handedly to thank for sustaining the honey bee population. Kidding...

These are so far over my head! This is the closest I could get without kicking in the zoom.

Things to come. The tallest Mammoth Russians have yet to bloom. They will be monsters!

DAZZLING DRAPES

I've got two-thirds of the color wheel going on here! I spent my day off at the fabric store and look what I found! All the necessary elements for the totally artsy drapes that will soon fashion the windows of my studio. They will look stunning against "Vintage Taupe" walls. That's the name of the paint color, but it's actually just a fancy way of saying "White." Desperately makes me want to have a fun day job...like naming Crayola Crayons.

LOGO ON CANVAS

Finished my jumbo "logo on canvas" today. It can hardly wait to show off next weekend at Bloomsburg's ArtFest! (For more information check out "Where I'm Going" to the right!) Aren't the buttons so cute? I created the original Mock Pie Studio logo with six hand carved rubber stamps. Replicating the image that way was extremely time consuming. Yes, I did do it that way for awhile. I quite liked the results of hand stamping. If only there were one stamp instead of six! I quickly adapted digital means for producing business cards, fliers, etc. But I'm still a sucker for that handmade look, so I just HAD to paint the logo on canvas.

GLORIOUS GLADIOLUS

A co-worker brought me these glorious gladiolus from his garden! Unfortunately mine have yet to bloom. When I told him I planted the bulbs Memorial Day weekend, he sort of chuckled. I guess I waited a little too long! Hey, I'm still new to this whole gardening thing!

These precious pink ones look like they're aching to be in a bridal bouquet!

A few peachy petals in honor of the fruit that is imminently nearing it's peak. Can't wait to make yummy peach cobbler cake!

I used these flowers to make a pretty centerpiece for the housewarming party we hosted this last week. I arranged them in a tin watering can. They looked great! Loved having several friends over to see our new place.