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Showing posts from December, 2010

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at a Happy New Year Craftside there are tutorials on how to paint dots with watercolors, redo a scarf with nuno felting, a video tutorial from Traci Bunkers, a fun poster idea that combines two iconic bands and using your stuff to decorate in a fun way. Crafty Princess Diaries Crafting while listening to a crafty podcast is fun, but some podcasts are better than others.   Cross Stitch at About.com Find out the most popular free patterns from 2010. Add them to your stash and stitch one or two up to ring in the New Year!   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Eileen made some lovely earrings from a kit by Tammy Powley and dubbed it “A Kit that Delivers”.   Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter Madge revisits a favorite New Year's Eve mixed media jewelry project.   Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi downloads a gorgeouss et of graphics to make a 2011 calendar.   Technorati Tags: mixed med

Plans for the new year?

Like all good goal-setting fanatics, I look forward to each new year with a palpitating heart: will this be the year that I finally get it right?   Probably not, but I keep trying!  I've mentioned before that I set and re-set goals on January 1, May 1, and September 1, but obviously January 1 is my favorite :-) I like to start by re-visiting the major goals from last year.  There were four big ones that I started off with, and I'm happy to say that all of them were addressed in one form or another: 1. Take another class this year in something… anything.  Took an online class with Sharon Boggon 2. Get a light tent or light box and learn to make my photography better.  DH made me a tent and I've been working on getting clearer brighter pictures 3. Work on a book proposal.  Decided to self-publish my book as an e-book , one chapter at a time 4. Schedule a better balance between making and writing.  I think I'm doing much better at this, spending approximately

Also on my wish-list: Mixed Media Paint Box

  Another new book available this month has caught my eye, and I'm considering buying it.   Mixed-Media Paint Box: Weekly Projects for a Year of Creative Expression has been edited by the staff of North Light Books, and contains tips and techniques by some of my favorite people, including Ruth Rae and Margot Potter.  There are no reviews yet, but what's not to like about the idea of 52 projects to inspire you creatively through the next year? Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Fall Migration - part two

Fall Migration 12x10 inches Please visit last week's tutorial for a complete materials and tools list, and for the first half of the instructions! 8. Add embroidery and beading details. 9. Cut backing fabric bigger than the top.  Square it up and cut all edges even. 10. Quilt by hand or by machine around largest shapes if desired. 11. Pin outside edge and add blanket stitch all around the outside, picking up a large seed bead with every other stitch.   12. Epoxy the cabochon to the earring stud and stick it through all layers of the quilt when dry.  13. Stitch on hanging hardware or dowel. 14. Finished quilt All posts on this project: Leaf fabrics - part one Leaf fabrics - part two Quilt instructions - part one Quilt instructions - part two Copyright 2010 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains

Merry Christmas!

More artsy links!

Peppermint Bark A delicious easy to make holiday treat the kids will love.  Beading Arts Come enjoy some insider information on the fabulous fiber and bead artist, Joan Babcock!   CreativeDream A recipe for corn chowder... a quick, hearty soup to warm you! Eileen - The Artful Crafter Did you run the Christmas Baking Marathon this year? Eileen did. And she still has the sore feet to show for it. But – yum – was it ever worth it!   Last Minute Stocking Stuffer Cherie shows you how to make a ribbon and charm bookmark for a last minute stocking stuffer gift for the booklover on your list.     Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi sews up an elephant using a vintage cigarette card pattern. Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside there are a whole bunch of Holiday Goodness Giveaways that include a Boye Electric Ball Winder, Deluxe Rotary Cutter and Embosser, Deluxe SideWinder, The Crochet Dude tools, and of course wonderful and inspiring craft and design books, pop over to leave a comment in all the posts to get yourself in the running!   Crafty Princess Diaries Valentine's Day already? Yes, it is a good time to start thinking about it if you hope to sell some Valentine's crafts.   Cross Stitch at About.com Print your Free 2011 Cross Stitch Calendar - use it to track stitching events, appointments and more. Keep track of how many days you stitch this year too.   Eileen - The Artful Crafter “Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night”. Read Eileen’s tale of her first magical Christmas birthday in Mexi

Also on my wish-list: Sharing Stitches

  Collaborative projects can be so much fun.  I haven't been involved in one for awhile now, although I do belong to several groups that share the results of our explorations.  The title of this new book, Sharing Stitches: Exchanging Fabric and Inspiration to Sew One-of-a-Kind Projects , just available at the beginning of this month, immediately caught my eye.  Haven't sharing and swaps (think recipes, childcare, carpooling as well as arts) always been at the core of a woman's world?  Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Fall Migration - part one

Using the fabrics that I painted the other week (links at the bottom of the post), I started to put together a small and simple hand-stitched quilt.  In this particular case, I pieced and stitched the fabrics directly to the batting layer of the quilt. In previous quilts, I've almost always used a layer of plain fabric as well as the batting.  You can do it either way you choose if you decide to make one like this.  Here are the instructions for the first part of the quilt.  The rest will be along next week!  Materials and Tools Freezer paper or other pattern paper Decorative fabrics (LINK to Leaf Fabrics) Backing fabric Thin cotton batting Lightweight fusible interfacing Nymo O beading thread Embroidery floss (Fuchsia, orange, green, yellow, peach) Size 8/0 seed beads (Red rainbow, hot pink, yellow, green, orange) Bugle beads (Red rainbow) 4mm red glass rounds Rough cut dark red rectangles Focal cabochon Epoxy Pieced ear stud base and nut Dowel Pencil Black

More artsy links!

  Creative Dreamer A Christmas Nail ornament by June! Eileen - The Artful Crafter Come join The Artful Crafter Christmas Parade of Crafts. Pssst … don’t miss the fabulous freebies at the end of the parade. Pine Cone Craft Ideas A list of 12 fun pine cone craft ideas kids can make.   Beading Arts How about an entire month of fast and easy tutorials for handmade jewelry gifts?  

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi makes some Christmas themed magnetic present toppers. Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside there are two fabulous prize packages of Windham Fabrics Fat Quarter Stacks, Westcott Scissors and quilt books along with tutorials on how to sew a Roman Stripe Quilt, quick gift bag stockings made from socks, a stamped polymer clay journal with a dowel binding system, and a cute tiny pear pocket pattern.   Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy is making a list of crafting and non-crafting must-do's as she heads off for her holiday school break.   Cross Stitch at About.com Up for a challenge? Connie's Kaleidoscope Cross Stitch Patterns are just the thing. Stitch them in holiday colors or alter the selection to your favorite colors or even your school colors for a fun project.   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Need a few more ornaments for the tree or some last minute gifts? The Artful Crafter sh

The image analyser

At last!  An easy to use online tool that will help you in your quest to determine whether or not an image has been 'shopped.  Check out the Image Analyser .  And then start checking out all the images you see that are too good to be true.  Like this one:   Sharks photo via: Photojojo Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

On my wish-list: Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams

  Doesn't this sound like an intriguing title?  Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams: Mixed Media Projects in Epoxy Clay is a new book by Kerin Gale, due out on December 16.  I don't even know what epoxy clay is, but I feel that I need to find out.  I'm supposing that, similar to epoxy resin, it must be a two-part material that hardens as it cures.  Inquiring minds want to know... Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

More stenciled leaf fabrics - part two

Yesterday I showed you the process that I used to stencil and paint these fabrics .  Today I just want to show you the other two that I was making at the same time.  Having several projects going at once helps...while one dries, you can mess around with another! Maple Leaf Fabric:  Before copper foil added  Detail with copper foil Hickory Leaf Fabric:  With just a few layers of stencils and stamps  More layers, plus Interference paint and details added Copper foil added All posts on this project: Leaf fabrics - part one Leaf fabrics - part two Quilt instructions - part one Quilt instructions - part two This post contains affiliate links Copyright 2010 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Stenciled leaf fabrics - part one

Although I started out being inspired by the kirigami leaf patterns that I showed you last week, I ended up using mostly the individual leaves to make my leaf fabrics.  Each fabric started with a thin wash of acrylic paint (I used Quinacridone magenta ), which I allowed to dry.  Then I added about 6 or 7 more layers of stenciling, stamping, and painting.  Any wonder that it took a few days to complete?  I hate having to wait for fabric to dry! I'll show you the process with my first piece of fabric, and tomorrow I'll post some pictures from the other two pieces. 1. Wet your fabric (I used muslin) and paint it with a very thin wash of acrylic paint.  Allow it to dry thoroughly before beginning to stencil.  I also like to iron the fabric between each step to set the color well. 2. I added a layer of "shadows" using a permanent black ink.  Contine to iron the fabric in between each step.  3. Stripe the fabric with tape and stencil on a "broken

More artsy links!

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Calling clay and gourd crafters: do you have any suggestions to help Kathy with a cracking problem on her wonderful her clay Santas? Paper House Ornament Create a paper house with a cherished old picture for your Christmas tree. Beading Arts Mama's Minerals returns with another fabulous giveaway for Cyndi's readers! Creative Dreamer June's gift to everyone for the holidays... a desk top calendar full of her doodles. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Aileen's Musings Aileen's going Christmas green and created a recycled Christmas card banner out of old cards she's saved. Check out her easy tutorial and make one yourself! Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi celebrates the 50th Anniversary of a British soap opera with a new set of fridge magnets.   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside we have a mega giveaway of tons of Westcott Scissors and books, tutorials on sewing recycled book page ornaments, stamping and sewing die cut fabric coasters, 9 techniques for working with pastels and a honey, banana, nut snack recipe.   Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy is very pleased with how her new college crafting club is moving along!  Cross Stitch at About.com Need some quick and easy ornaments or gift tags? Stitch up back stitch motifs in white floss on red fabric - simple and holiday-rific. Eileen - The Artful Crafter Not all projects run smoothly from start to

Quick, somebody hand me a baby!

I need a baby right NOW, because I need to make these adorable firefly booties for someone.  If I don't make a pair for a baby really really soon, I'll probably end up making a pair for myself.  And that would just be wrong on so many different levels... Firefly booties link The creator seems very protective of the images, so I'll send you there to see them.  Not that I wouldn't have sent you there anyway! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Book review: World's Best Origami

  I haven't really played with origami for a long long time. I loved it when I was a kid, although I did find some of the instructions frustrating because they weren't always consistent about how similar moves were to be performed. Now there's a new origami book on the scene that I've been fortunate enough to receive for review. And all I can say about it are good things, so how's that for a review? :-) World's Best Origami by Nick Robinson features both traditional designs and some brand new ones from top origami artists.  There is a rather large section in the beginning which both teaches the basics and also teaches you how to decipher the instructions!  No more wondering whether the fold is supposed to go up or down.  No more puzzling over what various symbols mean.  I love it! From there, the book is divided into chapters that are arranged by subject: animals, birds, faces, containers, etc.  Each design is shown step-by-step, and each one has a diff

Christmas ornaments to bring the generations together

When my children were young, I was always looking for easy projects that we could do together to decorate for different holidays.  They may be grown up and gone, but there are now GRANDchildren to think about!  Here are some of the projects that I've come across recently that make me wish so very very much that my grandbaby lived closer.  Oh heck, maybe I'll do some of them myself anyway...gotta get in practice! Quilled snowflake Fond memories ornament Kirigami paper snowflakes Ribbon ornament 3-D folded paper star The Wrap Artist Photo ornaments Gingerbread house book Fabric trees Great family photos Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Kirigami

Have you heard of kirigami?  It's a variation of origami that includes cutting.  I'd never heard of it until I stumbled upon this wonderful site called Zakka Life and saw how easy it is to make these.  Check out the easy instructions!   Using origami paper, or any lightweight paper square, you can create really fun "paper-doll-like" patterns that make wonderful decorations.  In addition, the negative cut-out can be used as a stencil!  I used some slightly stiffer fingerpainting paper to trace and cut my stencils.  Because my paper was thicker, I couldn't get really tiny details to show up, but they're not really good for stencils anyway, so it really didn't matter. While I was at it, I cut apart one of the circles of leaves and traced around them, preparing both the positive and negative images to use as stencils.  Next week I'll show you what I used these stencils for!    All posts on this project: Leaf fabrics - part one Leaf fabrics