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Showing posts from October, 2013

It's never too early to start...

More ideas to make your holiday gift giving all handmade this year! Click  tutorials  to see the rest. Dinosaur Photo Stand by Photojojo Recycled Plastic Bag Tutu by Rachael Rabbit The Baylie Bear Cowl by Heidi May Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Recent publications: October 2013

Zen Doodle: Tons of Tangles by Tonia Jenny and Amy Jones Playing with Image Transfers: Exploring Creative Imagery for Use in Art, Mixed Media, and Design by Courtney Cerruti Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop Elements 12 (Teach Yourself VISUALLY (Tech)) by Mike Wooldridge The Crafter's Book of Clever Ideas: Awesome Craft Techniques for Handmade Craft Projects by Cliff Currie and Andrea Currie Vintage Crafts: 75 Do-It-Yourself Decorating Projects Using Candles, Colors, and Other Flea Market Finds by Clara Lidström Making Etched Metal Jewelry: Techniques and Projects, Step by Step by Kristen Robinson and Ruth Rae Stencil Girl: Mixed-Media Techniques for Making and Using Stencils by Mary Beth Shaw ReFashioned: Cutting-Edge Clothing from Upcycled Materials by Sass Brown Photoshop Elements Quick Reference Guide by Jennifer Moreau Quilters, Their Quilts, Their Studios, Their Stories: With Access to More than 80 Online Quilt Patterns (A WWC... by Jo Packham

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Alaska lap quilt

When I made my Alaska quilt a little while ago, I was disappointed to not be able to use any of the fabrics that I actually bought in Alaska!  There was possibly going to be another stumbling block, too, to using them in a different quilt...I don't like using very many identifiable prints in my work.  But these fabrics are all Alaska themes, so darn it, what to do? I finally settled on making a little lap quilt that would allow me to stitch it up quickly using my machine, which I rarely do in my art quilts, to feature the actual prints, and to basically finish the whole thing in one day! 1. I started by tearing strips of the fabrics to approximately 4 to 6 inches wide and the whole length of each fat quarter.  I arranged them, layering outward from a center strip and overlapping by about a 1/2 inch. 2.  I evened off the ends and pinned the strips in a few places to a piece of natural cotton batting.  I used 1 1/2 inch wide masking tape to measure off a batting borde

Artsy blogging round-up!

ACreativeDream June has started writing a new blog. It's a discussion about her artistic journey, and yours. How similar they are, and how different they can be, but how we can all offer one another support and encouragement... come visit! Fall and Thanksgiving Craft Projects Eileen is just about set for Halloween. How about you? Time to start thinking about Thanksgiving! Using Your Creative Gifts Cherie talks about the advice her aunt always gave her when it comes to creativity. Beading Arts What do you do when the beadwork on a prized dress falls apart? Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

It's never too early to start...

More ideas to make your holiday gift giving all handmade this year! Click  tutorials  to see the rest. Dinosaur Fingerless Gloves  by Natalie Bates Pretty Cat Toys by Design Sponge Easy Hand Puppets by Abby Larson Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

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Because mummies and zombies are people too!

Recent mixed media beadwork from Beading Arts

Over the last several months, I've shared a number of mixed media jewelry tutorials on Beading Arts .  For those of you here who are interested in wearables, I've given the direct links to the tutorials below. Myst of Avalon Drum Beat Resin-polymer clay bezel Shower of Pearls   Black jasper and crystal bracelet Photos copyright 2013 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 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. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

ACreativeDream June has a little gift for those who follow the blog... come see! Beading Arts Fancy but easy! This week Cyndi has a tutorial for a pretty black jasper and crystal bracelet for you! How to Make Felt Frog, Bunny, and Alien Creature Pillows These felt critter pillows are nine square inches of googley-eyed huggable fun.  More Red, Pink and Silver Prints Cherie revises a print and creates two more using Bible passages and the Ichthys symbol. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

It's never too early to start...

More ideas to make your holiday gift giving all handmade this year! Click  tutorials  to see the rest. Dinosaur Bag  by Lark Crafts Stir-Me-Up Potholders by Minty Fresh Tin Container Magnets by Martha Stewart Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

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Alaska quilt - part five

I've chosen to try a different kind of binding for this quilt than I usually do.  I've seen it called a "wrap and tuck" binding, but it may have other names.  The gist of it is easy: the backing fabric is cut larger so that it can be wrapped to the front and tucked under the outer 1/2 inch of the top.  At the bottom of this post are links to the other parts of the tutorial in case you missed anything. It's hard to see in this picture, but I'm trimming the netting even with the quilted top.  Notice that the outer 1/2 inch of the top has not been quilted. Using the 1 1/2 inch masking tape as a guide, trim the batting to match. Still using the masking tape as a guide, trim the backing fabric 2 inches wider all around (3 1/2 inches wider than the top on all sides.  Fold the backing up and over the masking tape and iron to form a good crease.  Remove the masking tape. Tuck the backing underneath the free edge of the top and iron again.

Artsy blogging round-up!

How to Transfer Laser Images Using PVA Medium From artist's gel medium, to Mod Podge or white school glue - any PVA medium can be used to transfer laser images to wood or paper. Vibrant Blue Ichthys Print Cherie layers over an old picture to create a new print. Beading Arts Don't you feel sooo good when you finish a project? Cyndi has just finished a large bead embroidered necklace, so she's feeling GREAT! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

It's never too early to start...

More ideas to make your holiday gift giving all handmade this year! Click tutorials to see the rest. Crocheted Gnome by Else M Tennessen Plaid Fox Scarf by Pretty Prudent Stuffed Puppy by Lark Crafts Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Business advice from around the blogosphere

I have bookmarked so many helpful articles and posts that it's past time I shared some of them with you and got them out of my desktop folder! Five Keys for a Successful Site Redesign , by Jonathan Bailey for BloggingPro Five Visual Design Elements When it comes to price, context is everything  by Megan Auman of Designing an MBA Advice on getting advice , a three-part article by Luann Udell Why artists publish a newsletter by Alyson Stanfield Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

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Photoshop poster edges

Alaska Quilt, in process So, whenever you know you're not going to get a project done by your own self-imposed deadline, what do you do?  Start another project, right?  :-) It seems like that's what I often do, and this time is no different.  I took the photo that I've been working with on my latest quilt, and decided to fool around with it in Photoshop instead.  I altered the colors a bit, and changed the contrast and light levels. And then I messed around with the Poster Edges filter until I got exactly what I was looking for. Easy, but not quite as straightforward as merely pushing the "make art" button.  I haven't found that one yet! Copyright 2013 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 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. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art

Artsy blogging round-up!

Craftside: A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world  Fauxlaroid idea from the new book Playing with Image Transfers, a Polaroid template and win a copy of the book! Win 1 of 15 Prize Packages from Card Maker Magazine! World Card Making Day is October 5. You may want to get a head start because there are BIG prizes and GOOD causes involved. ACreativeDream June is hosting a miniature art/ATC swap, come join in! Beading Arts Cyndi enjoyed taking part in her friend's Sequintastic September blog hop. Come see what she made, and find links to all the rest of the gang! Red, Pink and Silver Prints Cherie creates the first in a series of new prints. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

It's never too early to start...

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2013 was to start making gifts for Christmas earlier, and towards that end, I'm going to be sharing some of the fun and easy ideas and tutorials that I've been collecting all year.  Yup, I actually started my search back in January, if you can believe.  So there's a chance you've seen a few of these before, but maybe you won't mind so much being reminded of these great ideas! I'm going to share a few each week until we run out of time.  If you'd like to see tutorials for jewelry items, be sure to check out Beading Arts, where I'll be posting those! Knitted Hats for Everyone by Purl Soho DIY Nesting Dolls  by Say Yes to Hoboken Crocheted Totoros  by Angry Angel Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Book review: 500 Handmade Books volume 2

If you saw or owned the first volume of this treasure by Lark Books , you already know some of what awaits you...hours and hours of pleasure and awe, leafing through 500 Handmade Books volume 2 . If you enjoy making handmade books yourself, then you know how it is: you learn a new structure and you immediately MUST TRY IT OUT!!  But later, the trick is to make sure that the structure of your book matches the message in some way.  Even though I love learning new forms, I'm not a fan of alternate structures simply for their own sake.  While there may be some included in this volume that lack the cohesion I prefer, there probably aren't a lot.  I marked soooo many examples as I leafed through of form matching function matching message, that I just don't have time to share them all.  Here are a few to whet your appetite. Will Karp , 49 Masterpieces of Art, 2011 Accordian style Bettina Pauly , Cista Nova Bestiolarum, 2011 Tunnel style Charles Miley