The Magic of Winter's Gifts

December 21st was the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice and the start of the Yule season. Most of us know it as the beginning of Winter. Although this means the days are colder, it is the start of the solar year, a celebration of light and the rebirth of the sun.


I took a walk to the local market today. As new snow quietly fluttered down upon me, and crackled under foot with each step, I thought about all the wonder and beauty surrounding me. Nature has many secrets to tell. We need only open up our hearts and minds and little by little, her message is revealed.


Sparkling, crystal snowflakes landed delicately upon my eyelashes, nose and lips like gentle fairy kisses. Through the softness of the winter breezes, her fairy wings did whisper to me of nature's never ending promise of renewal.


I see the winter as a time of patient waiting, of quiet contemplation and appreciation for the cycles of life as shown to us through the seasons. We begin the new year full of hope and positive expectation for what may lie ahead for us. I find such possibility in new beginnings and I, like most have set my sights on change in the coming year.


If I could say one thing to help others along their path it would be to listen to your inner fairy. She has great wisdom for you. She is full of love, light and has only positive, affirming wishes for you. Believe in yourself, and listen to your heart for there is where your joy will always be.

Call for Nominations ~ February Feature CLOSED

The Artful Elite panel is now accepting nominations for the February feature. Please refer to About the Artful Elite Club for questions about who and how to nominate a blog.


Leave the link to your nominee in the comment area by copying and pasting the web address from your browser window. Do not attempt to leave it in html code as it will not work, I've already tried. If you miss type the address, we will not spend time searching for the correct one so do be sure you check them carefully before posting.
I would love for visitors to be able to see who is being nominated and by whom just to keep things honest!


Be sure to include a brief (no more than 2 sentences) about why you believe your selected artist should be featured. Be creative as we will include your statement and a link to you in the feature article.

Enjoy and happy blog hunting!

Cheers! =D
~Kellie

One Lovely Blog Award

I am flattered and delighted to have been nominated by the lovely SueAnn of SueAnn's Journey for this beautiful award. Thank you so much for thinking of me! Be sure to have a peek at some of the thought provoking work she is doing which is just magnificent!



Below are a few guidelines for receiving and passing this award on:

1. Add the logo to your blog.
2. Link to the person from whom you received this award
3. Nominate some blogs (as many or as few as you like)
4. Leave a message on their blog, letting them know they are "One Lovely Blog"!

I want to thank the beautiful ladies who are members of my Ning network of the same name. Below are a few of my picks for this lovely award! Thank you for being part of the magic at The Artful Paper Doll Ning network!

Fleur de Bee ~ An absolutely elegant blog!

Michelle Brown ~ Exquisite watercolor paintings!

Sharon's Cottage Quilts ~ Beautiful shabby chic, cottage charm!

Alison's Heart Sings ~ Love her beautiful girls!

This Good Day ~ Such delectable pretties!

This is in no way meat to be an exhaustive list. I wanted to recognize of few of my members and hope to do this on an ongoing basis. Thank you for enriching my life with your artistic expression.

What is our fascination with dolls?

By creating the human form we also recreate part of ourselves in all our perfect glory. Perhaps our dolls have qualities we believe we never had but want because we have long since forgotten that we never lost them to begin with.


The doll is the mirror to our heart and soul. Through the creation of our doll art we can create our perfect lives as we want them to be. By doing so, we find our lives transforming as they become the dream we always envisioned for ourselves.


Our dolls represent possibility. She is luxurious and elegant. She is a magical child of nature. She is cottage chic or modern town girl. She wears our dream wardrobe, has our dream qualities and lives our perfect life. She has no worries, no fears and all is right in her world. Where does the dream end and the paper begin? I'll tell you, it does not end it only intertwines.


Each and every one of you beautiful, perfect souls has magical power within you whether you believe it or not. You have the power to tell the story of your life through your art. Tell the story as you want it to be and magic will start to happen!

Magical Blessing!
~Kellie

Call for Nominations ~ January Feature CLOSED

It'll be the social event of the month!!

I have made a selection for the December feature but do not want to give away the surprise until she officially accepts the invitation! Shhhhh!

However, the Artful Elite panel is now accepting nominations for the January feature. Please refer to About the Artful Elite Club for questions about who and how to nominate a blog.

Leave the link to your nominee in the comment area by copying and pasting the web address from your browser window. Do not attempt to leave it in html code as it will not work, I've already tried. If you miss type the address, we will not spend time searching for the correct one so do be sure you check them carefully before posting.
I would love for visitors to be able to see who is being nominated and by whom just to keep things honest!

Be sure to include a brief (no more than 2 sentences) about why you believe your selected artist should be featured. Be creative as we will include your statement and a link to you in the feature article.

Enjoy and happy blog hunting!

Cheers! =D
~Kellie

A Call for Artists

I am currently accepting requests from anyone who wishes to be a member of my review panel. Ideally I would like at least two others (an odd number is better) to help me review and select members for this brand new club. You can drop out at any time. Inclusion is based upon the submission of at least one nomination per month.

If interested, simply leave a comment letting me know you are interested and I will respond. Acceptance will be on a first come, first served basis. If your nominee is selected, you will have the opportunity to create your own interview and select material for posting. You will also have a link in the sidebar.

Having a panel should make the review process more objective. Plus, it will give fresh input to my own thoughts and ideas.

Cheers! =D
~Kellie

About The Artful Elite Club

What is The Artful Elite Club? This is an exclusive club started by Kellie Reynolds to recognize artistic style and elegance in mixed media and the subsequent presentation of that material via a blog. Membership here is by invitation or nomination only and designed to give status and prestige to its inductees.

How to nominate a blog:

Anyone can nominate a blog. To do this you simply need to leave a comment in the post for the current month letting you know that nominations are open. For example, the January 09 feature would be open for nominations around the middle of November and close on the 15th of December to give the panel time to select and write the article for the feature.

Include a link to the blog in your comment by copying and pasting the web address from your browser window. Do not attempt to leave it in html code as it will not work, I've already tried. If you miss type the address, we will not spend time searching for the correct one so do be sure you check them carefully before posting. Please also include a brief, 2 sentence statement about why you believe your nominee should be featured. We will include your statement if your nominee is selected for feature so make it a good one!

My panel and I will review nominations once each month and select one blogger to feature either from the nominations or from our picks. If you are selected, you will be contacted and invited to accept or decline the invitation. We will provide you with some interview questions, answers to which will be posted along with photos mutually agreed upon by you and the panel. You as the artist will retain full copyrights to your images and may request their removal any time.

Guidelines for blog nomination:

1. You must nominate a blog that you do not either maintain, or are a co-author of. After all, where's the fun and mystery in that?

2. The blog must be updated regularly. Two posts per month at minimum is required. It is not good etiquette to send visitors to a host/hostess who is never home.

3. The blog must have been maintained for a minimum of six months in order to demonstrate a strong prior history of material.

Requirements 5 and 6 are subjective so when in doubt, make the nomination and/or refer to previously featured artists for help in your selection process.

4. The artwork presented in the blog should be mixed media with a heavy emphasis on paper as a dimensional design element or on artistic dolls. Some examples are: Altered Art (encompasses a broad rage of projects), Paper Shadow Boxes, Paper Dolls, Paper Sculpture, Shabby Chic, Art Dolls, Clay Dolls, and Fairies. While this is not an exhaustive list it is someplace to start.

5. The copy and blog layout should have relevant visual appeal and be creatively written to command attention. Although I would prefer the blog have both 4 and 5 qualities it is not required for inclusion.

While these may seem like very high standards by which one (or several) person(s) judges another, this is absolutely not meant as a way to judge worthiness, talent or artistic expression in any way. You are all worthy, artistic and talented in my eyes. This is my way of recognizing what I believe (and most if not all of you would agree with me) is outstanding, creative achievement in successfully accomplishing the marriage of both art and artful blogging.

The combination of the two is something even I aspire to because such artistry manages to reach beyond the computer screen and connect one person to another through the power of emotional appeal. THAT my friend is the essence of what keeps your visitors coming back to you!

Once you have become a member of the Artful Elite, you are welcome to post a button on your blog as well as the entire article featuring you and your work. You will also be given a permanent link in the sidebar of this blog for having been featured. Click the image below to get the code.



I welcome comments here regarding ideas and thoughts. This is a work in progress that I expect will evolve just as we as artists evolve. Enjoy!

~Kellie
Paper Cat Designs