Pigs on Parade

A little more than a month ago I celebrated my Blogoversary and posted a challenge of sorts involving some papier mache pigs that I had found while attempting to clean up my craft room.  I offered the pigs to those who would like to have one to decorate with the following stipulations:  1) they had to have them done by March 31st, and 2) they had to send me a picture or post it on their blog so I could share it.  I was thrilled to have 7 requests from far and wide - Sabrina in Ireland and Sunshine in New Zealand, Clare in California and Michelle in  Colorado, Lauri in Connecticut and Dawn in North Carolina, and Dorrie a fellow "Jersey Girl".  (The participant's individual blog posts will be highlighted below.  Please visit them to see the details up close and personal.)

And of course I kept one for myself to decorate too.  

So without further ado, let's get the Parade going!  Get your seats in the Grandstand.

Leading the parade we have Dorrie's Pig.  Dorrie, like me, is from New Jersey and we are both in agreement that there is a lot of talent here in this small state.  You'll see what I mean.  Dorrie's Pig comes complete with her own carrying case and she is holding a little purse in her mouth.  Now I'm quite certain that since this is not a silk purse, it was not made out of a sow's ear, so the rest of our parade participants should not be afraid.   Don't you just love her little headpiece!

Dorrie's pig has a wonderful little traveling home also.  The flowers on top match her wings and headpiece, each one lovingly rolled and placed so perfectly.  (And if you look closely at the left side by the handle you can see a beautiful array of charms that are so meaningful to me!  A lighthouse, a jingle bell, a flying pig, a teapot, and a bird.)

The sides of her home each have a picture and some even have a pig-related quote.

The inside is a wonder also.  Look how snug and cozy she is.

Thank you Dorrie, for your wonderful entrant into our parade today.  She is stunning and I love her.

Next, coming all the way from the "Fringe of Heaven" is Shona, aka Sunshine's Miss Piggy.  To quote Sunshine:  "Here she is, all the way from Titirangi! It is called "The Fringe of Heaven" because I live high up on a ridge on the edge of the Waitakere Ranges. Titirangi is the highest point around & I can see both the East Coast & West Coast of NZ from up the road. I live on a very narrow part of NZ & am surrounded by beaches, which I love."

Miss Piggy has quite a pig persona.  She's a star with those golden locks and sunglasses.  

And, she has a curl in her tail to die for peaking out from that too too cute tutu!

What pig wouldn't love a cute button nose and golden hooves?  

Thank you for your cute and clever little Miss Piggy, Sunshine.  She has made me smile and giggle and is so much fun.  (I just may take you up on that visit someday!)

Coming up next, from the State of Colorado is a figment of Michelle's imagination, and what a wonderful imagination she has.  This little piggy is ready to Take Flight all right.  She is beaded and sparkled and full of whimsy and fun.

Michelle chronicled her process of trial and error in decorating this little pig.  She is not afraid to take chances and certainly is not afraid to fail.  But what I think is that we have learned here that we can benefit from our failures.  

Afterall, the flying pig is a symbol of persistence and boy, did this persistence in creativity pay off.  From the nose to the tail and those beautiful complimentary wings, this is a sparkly spectacular pig.

Thank you Michelle, for your creative perseverance.  I love the way you've "tethered" the pig.  She'll let your imagination FLY for sure.

Next we have another international entrant.  

Sabrina sends us Papillon all the way from Ireland.  I've never seen a more beautifully landscaped pig!

And..... she comes complete with a nose ring and those beautiful butterfly wings.  (I heard from a very reliable source that Sabrina gave up one of her very own gold earrings for that nose ring!)  

Each time I look at these pictures I see a new detail.  It's like finding a little treasure.  How sweet is the tiny butterfly on the necklace!  

I imagine a wonderful field of flowers with butterflies galore  when I look at this beautiful pig.  What amazing camouflage that would be.  I can only think that Sabrina got some of her inspiration from the beautiful scenery around her and the superb photographs that she takes and shares.  I am so lucky to have virtually visited so many beautiful places with her.

Thank you for adding your amazing pig to the parade Sabrina.  It was a small canvas to work with, but you did wonders with it with your breathtaking vista.  (And the eyes are gorgeous!)

Our next entrant comes from one of our southern states, North Carolina, and the very talented Dawn.  Dawn has a special place in her heart for pigs and didn't want to miss out on this parade.  

Having grown up on a pig farm, taking care of the pigs taught Dawn the meaning of hard work and determination.  You can see the fruits of Dawn's determination to get this pig prettied up for the parade today.  What a lovely "coat" of flowers she is wearing along with that precious bow.

Thank you Dawn, for sharing your creativity and hard work.  I'm thrilled to hear that you will be passing this on to someone who needs a lift in their spirits.  That means a lot to me.

Our pigs are flying in from coast to coast and this one is from the west coast.  Specifically, California.  

This is Clare's pig in a pink party hat and she is so precious.  She comes complete with rhinestones, and sequins, and flowers, and glittery wings to compliment the penwork.  Clare, who also has a blog dedicated to folding paper cranes and her 1000 paper crane project, I did not know you were a zentangler too!  

And I didn't miss those bluebirds under-hoove either.

Here is an aerial view.  (Hey, I didn't realize the MetLife blimp was covering the parade on the west coast!)

But, didn't she get some great shots, and just look at that face!

She sure looks all puckered up and beautiful.  Thank you Clare for sharing such a sweet and delightful creation.  The pink touches are perfect with your black and white penwork.  I love it.

Our caboose pig from Connecticut will be by shortly.  Poor Lauri's dog has been sick and family definitely comes before fun, so we hope the dog will be well soon and Lauri will join in later.

To round things up, here's one more glimpse of my pig.  I promise I'll post how I made her soon.

Like most of the participants, I found that this was fun and challenging at the same time.  Our starting product was only about 6" long, so we were limited to using things that would fit that size and not overpower the shape of the pig.  And didn't all of these ladies rise to the occasion!  They are all uniquely beautiful and so, so, creative.  I couldn't have imagined anything better.

Thank you all for being part of the Pigs on Parade.  You have no idea how much I have enjoyed reading each of your blogs, e-mails, and letters regarding this event.  And to see the finished projects was just the icing on the cake!

Today, as it turns out, is not only my birthday, but also my 1000th post on this blog.  What a journey it has been and what remarkable friends I have made through it.  Thank you for making my day special and for sharing so much with me throughout the years.