Happy is As Happy Does

I just love this little saying/photo I found online at Pinterest and I just had to share it everywhere I could!

Source: a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net via Lisa on Pinterest

Quilting Flotsam

If you quilt, you have flotsam.  Unwanted threads and materials floating about the sewing room, your clothing and eventually the entire house.  Our 12x12 challenge word was Flotsam a few months ago and I finally managed to pick up some of my quilting flotsam and arrange it on a quilted 12x12.

My inspiration came from a piece I saw on Pinterest which was actually pinned from a website called The Rag and Bone Boutique.  Check out the link here.  This post has some beautiful pieces made from recycled materials.  I think I should have went with a more neutral background and brighter colored flotsam.  The good thing about this idea is that I still have a LOT of flotsam I can use to make another!

I originally tried to stitch each piece of flotsam to the fabric but the machine stitching took away the dimension of the flotsam.  I really can't do a lot of hand sewing right now so I ended up glueing them on with Fabric Mod Podge.  As long as I don't wash the piece I think it will stay put just fine!

How to Mono-Print on Fabric with Gel Printing Plates

I thought I'd do a little "How to" on making Mono-Prints onto fabric using the Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate.  I've made some mono-prints using an acrylic sheet but I really like the ease and feel of using the gel printing plate much better.  The advantage of using the gel plate as opposed to a plate made from gelatin is that the plate is ready to use whenever you are ready.  The plate comes in a 6x6" size as well as an 8x10" and word has it they are coming out with a 12x14" plate!  I'm looking forward to the bigger size!

In the meanwhile here is how to make a Mono Print onto Fabric -

Supplies:

fabric paints (I used Jacquard Textile Paint)

a brayer

pfd fabric

Gelli Arts gel printing plate (I'm using an 8x10" plate)

stamps, stencils, toilet paper rolls and anything else you would like to use to make marks

Take the plate out of the package (remove the plastic from each side) and place it on a piece of paper to protect whatever surface you are working on.  The plate comes out so clean and clear.  

And here is what it looks like after a couple times of printing - little bit of paint residue that actually all came off when I cleaned it later with hand sanitizer (yup - you read that right!  Hand sanitizer!)

Next you will put a small bit of paint onto the plate.  About 1/2 a teaspoon.  You really don't need a whole lot.

 Use the brayer to spread the paint evenly across the plate

The paint will stay wet for a little bit giving you time to play.

On this printing I stamped the toilet paper rolls to make the large circles and a circle stencil to make the bubbly bits.  Just lay the stencil down and run the brayer over it briefly and then remove.

 

 Once you are done playing in the paint, lay the fabric over the top and rub.  

When you lift up the fabric magic happens!  

Look at that beautiful design now printed onto the fabric!

 And because I used fabric paint the hand of the fabric is still nice and soft!

 Here is more Magic with the red paint and

 toilet paper rolls, squares of foam core and sequin waste.

This piece is made from smudged sequin waste and sea shell stamps (in other words I laid the sequin waste down, rolled it with the brayer and then pulled slightly to smudge - I did it accidentally the first time but liked it so much I did it a few more times)

And here is what a simple mono-print looks like on one of my hand dyes: 

I like the bubbly look of the circles.

One you are done printing you can wash the plate in the sink with water or use hand sanitizer or a baby wipe.  All of them will wipe the paint right off.  Put the acetate sheets back onto the front and back of the plate and then place back in the container it comes in.  Store laying flat and it will be ready and waiting to play whenever you like!

Fabric Exchange

A few months ago I sent in four of my ice dyed fabrics to a surface design fabric exchange at Quilting Arts Magazine.

And this week I received these four beauties in return:

#1

From Deborah in Newburgh, NY.

She painted with acrylic paint and gesso and then stamped a nice leaf design with Distress Ink.

#2

From Torrie, who sun printed with seta color twice with different colors and textures.

 #3

From Lori who used a gauzy cotton fabric and a process called Hot Bundling from India Flint's book "Eco Colour."  She used red onion leaves and wrapped them up in the fabric and microwaved the bundles.  After letting them rest in the sun for a few days she washed the fabric in cold water and set with a hot iron.

#4

From Betsy who used soy wax, dyes, fabric paint and hand carved stamps.  To create the blue motif, she carved the stamp asymmetrically.  Then, using rotational symmetry, she created the feeling of motion and connection.

I love reading about how each fabric was made.  I think I will have a hard time cutting any of them up for a bit!

Which one is your favorite?

Reorganizing

Life has been so busy with the holidays that I haven't had the time I would like in my studio and so when I had a free evening I had to decide:  sew or clean up and reorganize?  I posted the options on Facebook and the overwhelming response was SEW!

But I just couldn't do it.  

I had to reorganize. 

There just comes a point sometimes when the creative juices cannot flow through the mess. I did resist the urge to tear the whole room apart, rearrange and reorganize. I cleared up the surfaces, put away things that had been piled here and there and then decided I needed a chalkboard, cork board and more organization containers.  (More about the chalkboard and cork board in another post)  Recently I read a great blog post on Art Camp for Women about how to make custom sized boxes to organize your art supplies.  I decided to try it out with my drawer of quilting threads.  They needed some reorganization anyway and it's hard to find boxes shallow enough for these wonderful map drawers.

Before:

And After:

Amazing!

I even organized them by color and a little bit by thread type as well.  This organizing really shows me what color threads I need to buy.

Next will be boxes for my sewing threads and then the markers, pens and pencils.

Eye Candy

40 Art Quilters from around the World

414 pages of sumptuous, beautiful, fascinating quilts

I've had this book for a couple of months now and have spent hours pouring over the beautiful quilts.  They are all so inspiring.  I want to be a fly on the wall of each quilter and see how they create such beauty - no not a fly because a fly can't ask questions, I'd rather be standing over their shoulder watching and then be like a 3 year old and ask as many questions as I could get away with: "Why did you chose that color scheme?  Why that process?  Why not this process?  What kind of paint do you use? What kind of fabric/batting/thread do you prefer? Do you keep a journal? Do you have a plan when you create?" Thankfully a number of these questions are answered in the brief commentary on each artist which does help to satisfy some of my curiosity.  I think I will be opening this book again and again when I feel the need for inspiration, or just want something beautiful to enjoy.

Makin' Pie

It's been almost 10 years since Mom passed away at the young age of 59.  Every moment I had with her is now precious.  One of those precious moments happened about a year and a half before she passed away.  Mom decided to teach my children to make fried apple pies just like their great-grandmother.  Four children ages 3, 3, 10 and 13, can do quite a number on a kitchen but Mom had the patience of a saint that day.  At least that is how I like to remember it.  After having them help her make the dough, Mom gave each child a space on the counter and a piece of dough to roll out and fill with apples.  Annie was the first to finish and Mom picked her up to show me and the camera the beautifully mangled pie.  I have cherished the look of pride in Annie's eyes about her first pie and the look of love in Mom's eyes over a beautiful granddaughter.

I made this mini-quilt for a Quilting Arts Reader Challenge titled:  "Time Flies."  The idea was to capture a moment in time in an 11x 14" quilt.  The background, magenta square, pink circles and binding are snow dyed cotton fabrics.  I posterized the original photo and then broke it down in photoshop to nothing more than a drawing which was then made into a thermofax.  The thermofax design was then printed onto a piece of white silk organza which was stitched down and trimmed.

What moment in time would you like to capture in your art?

Happy New Year

A sparkling Cider toast to you and yours in this New Year.

Here's to making Happy Memories,

and New Friendships,

Keeping Old Friendships

and making new Art!

Happy 2012!