Pages Magazine & a giveaway…

Administrator — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:46:32 +0000

The latest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Pages is out and I’ve got an article in it!

You’ll find an article from me in this issue on making key chain books:

This 145 page issue is jam packed with some really great techniques for journaling and book making. In fact, Jane LaFazio also has an article in this issue as well.

Interweave very generously provided me with two copies of the magazine and I’ve decided to give one away along with a key chain book! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post between now and Sunday 5/20/12 telling me which key chain book you want and I’ll pull a name on Monday morning to send the magazine and key chain to.

get a sneak peek of the table of contents for the issue here on the Interweave website.

Tutti Frutti Lane

Administrator — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:58:50 +0000

I put the finishing touches on Tutti Frutti Lane this past weekend…

“Tutti Frutti Lane”

40″x40″, hand dyed sandwashed cotton, Mistyfuse applique, machine quilted

detail:

I am really having fun working with house imagery and have started another one in the series based on the sketches I blogged about here in my last post. Here’s a peek at the start of”Tutti Frutti Village”…

digital sketching

Administrator — Sat, 12 May 2012 10:07:24 +0000

I have been experimenting with different sketching apps on my Ipad and found one I really like using. It’s called Paper by FiftyThree. Here’s a couple of recent ones I’ve done and that I’m pretty sure are going to end up being turned into quilts:

You can see some of the fruits & veggie sketches that I did for this months Sketchbook Challenge theme on the Sketchbook Challenge blog here.

Book reviews: 30 minute jewelry

Administrator — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:11:37 +0000

30-Minute jewelry making series by Lark Books

30-Minute Bracelets

Pub Date: June 2012
ISBN: 9781600594885
Format: Paper, 136pp
Color: 8 X 9

30 Minute Bracelets is the latest release in the 30 Minutes series from Lark Books. The book includes 60 quick and creative projects for jewelry makers but it does not include any basic how to techniques or information on working with tools and materials. So if you’re a beginner with no jewelry making experience then this would not be the book to start learning the basics. However, if you’ve made jewelry and have some basic how to knowledge or other reference books on the subject and you’re looking for some fun and interesting new bracelets to add to your jewelry box then you’ll love this book. Projects include bracelets made from leather, plastic, copper, sterling, brass and beads and all can be made in 30 minutes. Rather than a standard table of contents that lists a description and a page number, the book opens with a visual table of contents that shows an image of the bracelet and the page number so you can easily scan through all the projects in the book visually.

There are three other books in this series too: 30-Minute Rings, 30-Minute Earrings and 30-Minute Necklaces. All of these books are formatted the same with a visual table of contents and none of them include any basic how to jewelry making techniques so they’re not for beginners with no jewelry making experience. All of them however, are filled with beautiful, contemporary and even some eclectic jewelry ranging from casual to elegant styles. You can see my complete review of all of these books on their individual product pages on Amazon.

Home is where the quilt is

Administrator — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:09:22 +0000

The Alliance for American Quilts organizations contest theme this year is Home is Where the Quit is. Since I’ve been working a lot lately with house imagery I thought I’d make a quilt for the contest:

“quilters neighborhood”

Hand dyed sandwashed cotton, Mistyfuse, machine quilted

Overall size: 19″x15″

and a close up:

Fruits&Veggies

Administrator — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:48:12 +0000

Leslie picked the theme for May over at the sketchbook challenge…

The theme for May is: Fruits & Veggies

Pop over to the Sketchbook Challenge for all the details!

empty spaces

Administrator — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:42:21 +0000

"empty spaces" hand painted silk, hand dyed black cotton, mounted on stretcher frame - 12" x 24"

This is the piece that I created for the 8 That Create them “empty spaces”. Pop over to the 8 That Create blog here to read more about this piece and see what all the 8 That Create members created.

book review: Dreaming from the journal page

Administrator — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:41:59 +0000

Dreaming from the journal page
by Melanie Testa

Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: North Light Books (May 8, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1440314349

This book covers everything you’ll want to know about how to begin your art making journey through the pages of your sketchbook. Broken into 5 main categories opening with a chapter on “the what” Melanie starts with a choosing a journal, paints & brushes, pens & pencils, glues and more. You’ll find a very helpful chart that cross references techniques with both paper and cloth so you can see at a glance which techniques are compatible with paper or cloth and in some cases both.

Chapter 2 is all about color and she has several fun and easy exercises designed to help you get to know the colors in your paint box and how they interact with each other when mixed. Learn wet and dry techniques for working with watercolor and for those who want to incorporate textiles into their art journaling she has directions for easy low water immersion fabric dyeing techniques that include how to create two color gradations and how to create your own hand dyed color wheel.

Chapter 3 is jam packed with techniques that include working with resists such as frisket and mediums, transfers using tracing paper and saral paper, carving your own stamps and making them from fun foam as well as working with a ruling pen and stencils and more. You’ll also find a section on soy wax and how to use it as a resist on both paper and fabric.

There are tips and techniques for drawing covered in chapter 4. She starts with some simple loosening up techniques and learn some easy shading techniques and then moves into some fun and easy drawing exercises that are sure to inspire you to pick up the pencil and start drawing. For those of you who prefer using stitch as your drawn line you’ll find directions for using your sewing machine to draw your images on cloth to create stitched outlines you can add color to later using the techniques from Chapter 3.

The last chapter is the “Throw Downs” chapter and it’s here where Melanie encourages you to create journal pages rich with imagery and complexity by combining and layering the techniques that she’s covered in the first four chapters of the book. You’ll find single, double and triple technique challenges that are designed to help take the guesswork and fear out of where to begin and which techniques to combine with each other. The gallery of Melanie’s work at the back of the book is rich with eye candy and is sure to inspire.

Melanie has an easy conversational tone that makes the book an enjoyable and engaging read and the entire book is illustrated with clear, bright, beautiful photographs of step by step directions, examples and artwork. This book is sure to become the one “must have” book for art journalers so whether you’re a beginning or experienced art journaler I highly recommend adding this book to you personal library!

the prayer flag project

Administrator — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:00:41 +0000

Over the last year I’ve watched several friends deal with more than their fair share of grief and health issues and so today I decided to honor their grace, strength and courage through all they’ve been through by making some prayer flags.

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~Irish Blessing

making houses from scraps

Administrator — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:58:25 +0000

After finishing all the fabric strip blocks I was still left with a pretty big pile of scraps:

and so I decided to build some houses with some of it:

25" x 35" hand dyed sandwashed cotton, machine quilted

This piece has a lot of quilting on it!. It’s been ages since I dropped the feed dogs on my sewing machine and I was a more than a little nervous but I think I did pretty good for being so out of practice. All of the black lines are hand cut from black fabric, fused on and then stitched over with black cotton thread. I did this quilt in stages, quilting as I went. First the 3 background pieces were Mistyfused in place on top of some felt and I quilted those. Then I added the house structures, Mistyfuse‘d them in place and quilted them. Next came the doors and then finally the windows. If you have any doubt that Mistyfuse is the best fusible for stitching over, this little quilt is all the evidence you need! In some places I was stitching through 5 layers of it and I used the same needle to stitch the entire piece with no gunking or any issues at all. It’s the only fusible you’ll find in my studio.

Now I just need a title for this quilt – any suggestions?