Something About Nothing

(Paper + Mistyfuse)Paint = Mixed Media Fabric  Add some quilting and you have the beginnings of a great bag!  You meet some of the best people at art retreats!

My friend, Lynn Krawczyk  of Smudged Design Studio, wrote an awesome book this year. I really admire Lynn's ability to let her art brain fly. She gets a fabulous idea and she just goes for it! I spend too much time telling myself why the idea won't work, but Lynn thinks up fabulous stuff and then writes a book about it. I want to be more like Lynn. The Hand-Stitched Surface is all about creating great mixed media art with hand stitching. I've been doing a lot more hand stitching lately thanks to her book, and I have a tip for you: As I've quilted straight lines on my Thunderstruck quilt and the lines aren't always straight. They are straight-ish. I suppose that is part of the charm of this style of quilting, however as I am finishing the quilt I discovered an easier way to make straighter, better spaced lines and I want to share this simple idea: Fold the fabric over, and finger press (or iron) a line.  You now have a straighter line to follow...

Last week, while I was in DC, I stopped at Artistic Artifacts .  Artistic Artifacts is a quilt/mixed media shop and it was HEAVENLY!  I got there a little late in the day and really didn't have the time to inspect everything closely.  I know I will be returning when I am in the DC area. Let me give you a little tour of the shop:   ^^^ Panorama shot from the front of the shop.  Beautiful batiks. Gorgeous papers. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't buy some of Seth Apter's stamps. I don't know if the sewing machines are for sale or just for show but I LOVE them! Lots and lots of beautiful paints. I bought a nice selection to try out. ^^^These cigar boxes remind me of my grandfather. Folding yardsticks!  Lovely vintage photos to include in your art work.  LOTS and LOTS of Tjaps for batiking or enjoying. And a great big wall of stencils. And this is just a small part of the shop. ...

 Jill K. Berry, wrote a book called Personal Geographies: Mixed-Media Map-Making .  I read her book when it first came out in 2011 and have been wanting to make an arty map ever since.  Sometimes new things intimidate me and so they have to float about in my head for a long time before I make them.  I am a literal and linear thinker with a lot of things and just thinking about making an arty map has been stretching my brain in all kinds of unusual and interesting yoga poses!   Recently  Jill issued a challenge to draw a Map of 2014 for a blog hop she is hosting in January - here is how she describes what she would like everyone to do: "This project is about making a  map of the future, in particular the year 2014.  You can approach this in many ways, and here are some simple guidelines to get you started. Pick a subject or focus Goals Travels Relationship(s) Career Health Personal Journey And on and on… Pick a medium ...

My friend is a watercolorist and has a group of friends she paints with.     We have been trying to get together so that I could teach them how to use TAP (Transfer Artist Paper) on paper with their watercolors.  It isn't hard at all, they could figure it out on their own, but we wanted to have a play date, and show them something different than what they usually do.  We finally settled on a date and time and today was the day, until 5 a.m. this morning.  My daughter woke up with a stomach bug.   No fun for her!  And NO play date for me.  I feel terrible for all of us. It couldn't be avoided. So to make myself feel better I thought I would have a play date with my blog readers. Get out your supplies and let's play! Materials Needed: Watercolor or mixed media paper Board or foam core larger than paper painters tape pencil white gel roller  pen Sharpie or other markers watercolor paints and watercolor...

They are finished at last! As soon as I heard about Kick Off Your Heels , a fundraiser for  The Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at  Cedars-Sinai Hospital  in Los Angeles, California, I knew I wanted to participate.  Not only because this center treats and educates women, and does major research for heart disease with women exclusively, but because I personally have a bum ticker. You could say this is a fundraiser that is near and dear to my heart! While in my 40's my doctors discovered that I was having mini-strokes because of a hole in my heart.  Thanks to modern advancements I didn't have to have my chest cracked open.  The doctor was able to insert a titanium umbrella into a one inch incision in an artery in my leg and I was up and walking within a couple hours.   Easiest surgery I've ever had! (and I've had plenty!) Thank you for modern research!  I had an idea for the shoes but wasn't sure how to pull it off. ...