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Showing posts from February, 2012

Quote of the week

Manipulated fabrics - part three

I want to share one final fabric manipulation with you that I've found very helpful in creating a highly textured quilt.  It's the humble ruffle.  But oh my...there are so many different variations on it! 1. Anchor your thread just next to one of the short edges of a strip of fabric.  Do a loose running stitch along the length, and leave an unknotted tail at the other end.  I did a selection of strips with one line of stitching right down the center, one on each edge, and one on each edge with a middle line like the one shown above. 2. Gather the piece of fabric by gently pulling on the loose thread ends.  Work the fullness of the ruffle through the piece to get the amount of puckering that you desire.  When you are satisfied, knot off the loose ends and trim the tails a bit. 3. Pin the fabric to a thin piece of batting if desired.  Stitch through all layers, adding beads to hold the ruffles in place.  You can do this without the batting, but be careful t

More artsy links!

  Beading Arts Cyndi works through the first steps in turning an antique key into a lampworked pendant. Eileen - The Artful Crafter Make custom envelopes the quick and easy way with the Crafter's Companion Ultimate crafting tool.   Laura Thykeson - Taz's Corner Laura shares some random altered book pages. Mixed Media: I'm Not That Girl Cherie takes lines from her poetry to paint a mixed media picture.     Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi turns a rub on from Claudine Hellmuth into a fabulous wearable! Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to make a dog paw print plaque and cover a cake with fondant along with some cool deck railing details and a bead and chain bracelet. Eileen - The Artful Crafter Do you have old shower curtains in your linen closet? Make them over into garment and shoe bags. Waste not; want not!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Recent publications: February 2012

Hand Spun: New Spins on Traditional Techniques by Lexi Boeger Art Lab for Kids: 52 Creative Adventures in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, and Mixed Media-For Budding Artists of All Ages by Susan Schwake and Rainer Schwake Doodles Unleashed: Mixed-Media Techniques for Doodling, Mark-Making & Lettering by Traci Bautista Practical Mixed-Media Printmaking by Sarah Riley Digital Fashion Print with Photoshop and Illustrator by Kevin Tallon T-Shirt Quilts Made Easy by Martha DeLeonardis Quilts 1700-2010: Hidden Histories, Untold Stories by Sue Prichard Creative Quilting with Beads: 20+ Projects with Dimension, Sparkle & Shine by Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader Quilts in the Attic: Uncovering the Hidden Stories of the Quilts We Love by Karen Musgrave Tapestry: A Woven Narrative by Tom Howells, Timothy Wilcox and Caron Penney The Successful Artist's Career Guide: Finding Your Way in the Business of Art by Margaret Peot Paperwork: Peter Clark

Quote of the week

Manipulated fabrics - part two

In my first post on manipulated fabrics , I showed you how to add tucks to rectangular or square pieces of fabric and to twist them for a fun wavy effect.  The next thing I wanted to try was to add twisted tucks to a round piece of fabric in order to get a sort of spiraling out look. 1. Mark and cut out a circle from your fabric.  Mine is about 6 inches in diameter.  It doesn't have to be perfectly round, however, and a few of the other ones I made were oblongs. 2. Cut a hole out of the larger circle.  It can be dead-center or offset like mine.  Make it about 1 1/2 to 2 inches across. 3. Follow the instructions from part one for adding tucks running from the inner circle to the outer edge. 4. Pin the circle to a thin piece of batting.  Starting in the middle, stitch down all the tucks, pressing them all in one direction.  Move out to the halfway point of the radius and stitch another row, twisting the tucks the other direction.  Finally, stitch the out

More artsy links!

  Mixed Media: I'll Live the Life Cherie continues working on layers for a picture.   Mo(o)re Whimsies Happy Valentines Day to You! Taz's Corner-Laura Thykeson Hello Strangers!   Beading Arts Cyndi has some tagua nut beads to give away!   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Do you have old shower curtains in your linen closet? Make them over into garment and shoe bags. Waste not; want not!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Sew a cute pin cushion bracelet to keep your pins (literally) on hand.  Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery An old purse gets a new look with Simply Spray paint. Aileen's Musings Get your grunge on with Aileen's Grungy Heart Shrine tutorial.   Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi get's to work with the new Claudine Hellmuth HSN kits!   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there are chances to win 2 sets of 3 fabulous craft books, your choice of Indygo Junction patterns along with info on the Vintage Inspired Modern Style Design Challenge, a tutorial on how to paint on fusible web and a recipe for vegan Oreo cookie cookies.   Crafty Princess Diaries When does quality matter? Tammy takes a look at her second trip to a local yarn store and considers the cost of good yarn.   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered

Fingerless gloves ROCK!

Especially when they're made by my friend Heather Pyle , who writes the blog Aquariart .   I visited Heather's blog recently and left her a congratulations message because she was chosen as one of the finalists in Cloth Paper Scissors artisan search for this year!  Fabulous, huh?  Well it turns out that I was also signing up for a drawing, but I don't think I quite realized that. Imagine my delight when Heather contacted me and sent me that gorgeous set of wine red fingerless gloves shown up above.  Yup, they're mine!  And I love them.  You can get your own pair, lots of different colors available, at Heather's Etsy shop, also called Aquariart .   These things are GREAT...two people tried to steal them from me when they saw me wearing them ;-) Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

What books do when the lights go out...

Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Quote of the week

Click to get a larger view.  This is for everyone who has taken the Myers-Briggs test.  And anyway, it's sort of about love.  Kind of.

Embossed card challenge by Michelle Mach

How could I resist?  My friend Michelle Mach offered to send out an embossed card to 25 readers who wanted to play around with embellishing them for Valentines Day.  The rules were pretty simple: do what you want with the card and send an image to Michelle to share.  I can do that!   I received one of Michelle's gorgeous Hearts & Flowers blank note card.  How pretty is this?  She sells them in her Etsy shop, which you can access through the link above.  I decided that I wanted to do something non-Valentiney with mine, not to be difficult, but just because I'm really not the traditional Valentine type.  I've got a set of four Walnut Inks that I don't use as often as I feel I should, so my first plan was to do multiple sprayings/wipings with the different colors, and then to gild the raised portions just a bit with some Pearl Ex powders. I was so happy with the results of the multiple layers of inks that I came close to just stopping right there.  But I

More artsy links!

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Eileen made a hybrid Valentine’s Day card inspired by a book she just read, I Heart Stationery by Charlotte Rivers. Layering Mixed Media Papers Cherie answers a question about layering paper on a canvas.   Beading Arts Cyndi has lists of fabulous suppliers in all sorts of categories for jewelry makers and beaders. Do you have any faves you'd like to add? Maybe even yourself? Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Crafty Princess Diaries The yarn shortage is over, and the Crafty Princess can show off a baby ghan she made for a donation drive she is running for Healthy Start. Eileen - The Artful Crafter Eileen made a hybrid Valentine’s Day card inspired by a book she just read, I Heart Stationery by Charlotte Rivers.   Lindsay Sews Have you ever wondered what goes into writing a quilting pattern? About Family Crafts Want to participate in a fun craft challenge? Check out Sherri's current pirate make-it-over crafts challenge!   Aileen's Musings Check out the Blog Giveaway Aileen is sharing and find out how you can win a felt love banner kit!   Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi had a whole week of CHA posts starting with this one about Basic Grey!   Craft Buds Are you interested in writing and selling your sewing, quilting, knitting, crochet, or other craft patterns? Check out our tips and let us know if you have any of your own.   Techn

New issue of The Bonefolder is available for download

Always a great read!  Get yours now... The Bonefolder is a free download. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Book review: Complete Photo Guide to Needlework

Linda Wyszynski has tackled a daunting subject in The Complete Photo Guide to Needlework .  It helps a lot that she is a very accomplished needlewoman!  Since photos are the main claim to fame, a word about them first: they are fantastic.  Each image is clear and up-close so you can really see what the various stitches are supposed to look like.  Likewise for the tools, materials, and threads that Linda discusses.  The diagrams are equally clear and self-explanatory...a first rate job by Creative Publishing.    The first section is called the ABCs of Needlework , and it is extremely detailed in the explanation of what each tool is for and how to deal with charts, diagrams, transferring patterns, and the like...all the things you really need to know before you plunge in.  From there, you can take your pick from embroidery, crewel, silk ribbon, bead embroidery, cross-stitch, and needlepoint.  Or try them all!  This is an excellent resource for a beginner who needs a good technique

Quote of the week

This image looks like maybe it is from a t-shirt, but I'm not sure.  I've seen it all over the net recently.  Anyone know where it originated? Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Manipulated fabrics - part one

Last week, I showed you the glue gel resist fabrics that I painted.  Here is the first project that I used these fabrics for: I made manipulated fabric modules that I could later assemble into a quilt top.  As you'll see in the future, I didn't end up using all of them, and I had to make more later to fill in the gaps! 1. I made several pieces with twisted tucks.  Mark along each edge and sew with a loose running stitch between the marks, right through a small tuck that you make with your fingers.  These do not have to be really precise unless you want them to be, but try to make the tucks about 1/8 inch wide. 2. Here is simply a close-up of my tucks.  It looks like I ironed them, but I didn't.  Silk habotai folds pretty well and keeps a finger crease. 3. I left all the thread ends, because I already knew that I wanted them in my finished quilt.  You can snip them off if you like.  Pin the piece down to a thin piece of batting.  The batting isn't ma

More artsy links!

  Addicted to Love Cherie makes a mixed media girl that looks (very little) like the girls in that Robert Palmer video. Beading Arts Nobody ever likes to talk about that necessary evil...pricing!   Creative Dreamer June's sharing how she creates the brightly colored backgrounds for her journals... come see how!   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Have you tried using gel medium to transfer images to fabric? Eileen shares the how-to and the how-not-to!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside there is a recipe for Vegan Captain Crunch french toast, eye-candy in the form of a unique quilt canopy, drawings turned into coloring books, a fun book video and a crazy knitted scarf. Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy takes a look at one of The Crochet Dude's newest books written for those of use who donate our crochet goods to charity.   Eileen - The Artful Crafter You can transform plain glassware into unique home decor. Check out Eileen's first attempt with transparent glass paints. Aileen's Musings Aileen has a cool steampunk inspired valentine artist trading block tutorial for you. Craft Buds Learn how to frost cupcakes like a pro and turn your favorite chewy candy into some fab cupcake toppers for the Superbowl!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Yay for Carlyn!

Carlyn Clark, who writes Crafting with Style , won the  Chairs book!  Congratulations, Carlyn!

EcoFreek...need more free materials?

Nicole from EcoFreek wrote to me and told me about her interesting site.  You can use it for both gathering and dispersing! Our mission is to provide a means for people to find items they need while reducing landfill waste. ecofreek.com is a search engine that searches the web for free and 'for swap/trade' items people no longer need or want from over 45+ major sources, providing the most diverse and accurate results anywhere in the world.  ecofreek also includes garage sale items and listings, estate sales, moving sales, flea markets and more. Also included are items for trade like books, sports equipment, antiques, automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles, CDs/DVDs, computers, property, seeds/gardening supplies, and lots more (including pets looking for new homes). We also encourage people to exchange and re-use items though our search engine and also our 'places to give things away' section. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage ,

Calls for entries and submissions

Bead-It-Forward bead quilt project Deadline: 03/01/12 Lark Publishing: 500 Lights Deadline: 03/01/12       The Ugly Necklace Contest Deadline: 03/15/12       From Sketch to Art Quilt Deadline: 03/16/12        Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals