Creating to Exhaustion?
I'm not feeling very creative today - writing wise - as I'm tired. I've felt a bit tired the past few weeks but somehow managed to overcome. Today I'm just tired, but I need to update my blog and so I will write in a dull manner and load some pictures and be done with it! It will no longer be hanging over my head, lurking in the back of my mind saying, "Do it! Update your blog you lazy slob!" So I'll write and then go to bed, well, I can't. I need to run the bikes to the "Bike Guy" and then go to the bank and run some other errands. Sleep will have to wait.
I worked Friday and Saturday of last week at Whimsy and had a wonderful time as the shop was not very busy (we think because Quiltfest was going on). I had time to be create and play and have all of the supplies I could ever want right there in front of me. It really was like being a kid let loose in a toy store!
Nancy bought some stamps from Artgirlz which have some cute faces, and body parts and dresses you can use to create things. Nancy stamped them onto paper and then copied them onto photo fabric and then modge podged them so that I could cut them out without fear of the fabric unravelling. I decided I wanted to use them in a "doll" quilt I had seen in a book called Creative Beading for Quilts, but once the "doll" was made I decided that I like the Artgirlz charms on her better than the stamped faces, and so I needed to think of something else to use the stamped girls on. (See photos below)
I really had originally created my beach scene thinking that I would stick one of these girls into the water, but Nancy thought she would look out of place, and so I had to come up with a new idea. Somehow I came up with the idea of making a forest scene with witches and a fairy. I like to refer to the wall hanging as Fairy Hunting.
I painted the all the faces green, mostly because I didn't have any skin tones in my stencil paint set I had brought to work. I used purple and yellow for the clothing because I like those colors. After I painted the stamped images and the paint was dried I ironed the images to seal the paint. I used a paper towel on top of the images to keep the iron nice and soak up any extra paint. The color went dull because the modge podge had created a layer on the fabric which was difficult for the paint to stick to. In the future I will paint the images first and then modge podge them so that the color can soak into the fabric better, and then I could use about any material to paint with - colored pencils, markers, paints, whatever.
I didn't want my trees to be of just one fabric and so I went around the store and took various sized strips of different batiks. I lined the batiks up on the ironing board so that there were not any holes in between and then ironed a piece of wonder-under type stuff over the top creating a new piece of fabric. I then drew my trees on the paper side of the wonder-under, and proceeded to cut them out. Once I cut the trees out I peeled off the paper and placed my trees onto the background piece. I cut more branches of various pieces of my new batik "fabric" and laid them out where they looked best. I then cut out the faces and body parts and played around with where I wanted them to be. Once I had these in place I ironed the trees and branches down and then used the free motion foot to sew it all down to the background fabric. I really should have used some stabilizer before I "painted" the lines on the trees with thread, but I wasn't thinking properly. Despite the flubs, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. I know at lease two things I will change next time I do something like this: paint the stamped images before the modge podge is put on, and use a stabilizer before "painting with thread." The big issue now is how I want to quilt and embellish it. I'm too tired to think about that right now!
The wall hanging with the border is about 15" tall x 20" wide
I worked Friday and Saturday of last week at Whimsy and had a wonderful time as the shop was not very busy (we think because Quiltfest was going on). I had time to be create and play and have all of the supplies I could ever want right there in front of me. It really was like being a kid let loose in a toy store!
Nancy bought some stamps from Artgirlz which have some cute faces, and body parts and dresses you can use to create things. Nancy stamped them onto paper and then copied them onto photo fabric and then modge podged them so that I could cut them out without fear of the fabric unravelling. I decided I wanted to use them in a "doll" quilt I had seen in a book called Creative Beading for Quilts, but once the "doll" was made I decided that I like the Artgirlz charms on her better than the stamped faces, and so I needed to think of something else to use the stamped girls on. (See photos below)
I really had originally created my beach scene thinking that I would stick one of these girls into the water, but Nancy thought she would look out of place, and so I had to come up with a new idea. Somehow I came up with the idea of making a forest scene with witches and a fairy. I like to refer to the wall hanging as Fairy Hunting.
I painted the all the faces green, mostly because I didn't have any skin tones in my stencil paint set I had brought to work. I used purple and yellow for the clothing because I like those colors. After I painted the stamped images and the paint was dried I ironed the images to seal the paint. I used a paper towel on top of the images to keep the iron nice and soak up any extra paint. The color went dull because the modge podge had created a layer on the fabric which was difficult for the paint to stick to. In the future I will paint the images first and then modge podge them so that the color can soak into the fabric better, and then I could use about any material to paint with - colored pencils, markers, paints, whatever.
I didn't want my trees to be of just one fabric and so I went around the store and took various sized strips of different batiks. I lined the batiks up on the ironing board so that there were not any holes in between and then ironed a piece of wonder-under type stuff over the top creating a new piece of fabric. I then drew my trees on the paper side of the wonder-under, and proceeded to cut them out. Once I cut the trees out I peeled off the paper and placed my trees onto the background piece. I cut more branches of various pieces of my new batik "fabric" and laid them out where they looked best. I then cut out the faces and body parts and played around with where I wanted them to be. Once I had these in place I ironed the trees and branches down and then used the free motion foot to sew it all down to the background fabric. I really should have used some stabilizer before I "painted" the lines on the trees with thread, but I wasn't thinking properly. Despite the flubs, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. I know at lease two things I will change next time I do something like this: paint the stamped images before the modge podge is put on, and use a stabilizer before "painting with thread." The big issue now is how I want to quilt and embellish it. I'm too tired to think about that right now!
Close up of the Fairy the witches are hunting
(she's wearing sunglasses to disguise herself).
The color really doesn't show up well in this picture - ugh!
The wall hanging with the border is about 15" tall x 20" wideI should have put close up's of the witches on here as well, as their faces are very funny looking.
The doll quilt I made using Artgirlz Charms, & wool balls,
as well as some of my stash of sequins and beads.
The doll in the book had images stamped on her as well,
and so I may have to add to her if I can find some stamps I love.
Close up of the Christmas Doll.
By the Sea art quilt.
Close up of some of the embellishments in the ocean.
The doll quilt I made using Artgirlz Charms, & wool balls,
as well as some of my stash of sequins and beads.
The doll in the book had images stamped on her as well,
and so I may have to add to her if I can find some stamps I love.
Close up of the Christmas Doll.
By the Sea art quilt.
I added three "star" sequins to the sky but it's difficult to tell.
I still think the sky is lacking some depth or something.
Close up of some of the embellishments in the ocean.
Oh, and next week my friend, Ali, is going to teach me how to spruce up the design of my blog. I've spent a few hours downloading fonts from this great website called Abstract Fonts. They have thousands of very fun fonts I can use on my blog as well as in some of the print things I do for church, and other projects.
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