Mixed Media Artist

Fabric Photo Magnets   Discover how easy it is to make personalized magnets using a photo and some fabric.   Mail Art Inspires One's Art  Have you tried mail art? Mail art inspires creativity in both sender and recipient.   Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery   How to make a pom pom Easter bunny   Strength   Cherie talks about strength and art.   Beading Arts   Cyndi has her March pieces completed for the Bead Journal Project, and they feature an embroidered form of the Cellini spiral!   ACreativeDream   One thing leads to another... how creating an art doll led June to creating a necklace.   Bag Lady in Training   Tammy documents her training as a new recruit for Thirty-One Gifts, a company who sells bags and organizational products.  Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world   This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to measure a book for a slipcover, make a raw edge applique, draw a dramatic portrait and form a caramelle (candy) shaped

hi miss lavin, your work is adorable. i am really inspired . can you have any page about mixed media on facebook ? plz tell me where is mawra  Hi Mawra, Thank you so much for your lovely note!  I hope that you will always stay inspired to create!  I don't have a facebook page specifically for Mixed Media Artist , but I have a personal page and a page for Beading Arts .  I hope you'll consider becoming friends on facebook :-) Cyndi Lavin on facebook Beading Arts on facebook Best ~ Cyndi PS ~ That goes for the rest of you too!  Please friend me if you want more smart aleck stuff.  "Like" the Beading Arts page if you don't! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Cherie Burbach , who writes several amazing blogs , is the winner of  Adventures in Pompom Land !  Congratulations, Cherie!

Creating Spring: A Writing, Journaling, and Mixed-Media Prompt Adventure (The Creative Year) by Nellie Jo Noonan Crafty Birds: Bird Art & Crafts for Mixed Media Artists by Kristy Conlin Imagine Create Explore 3 Volume Set by Susan Lenart Kazmer Radiant Landscapes: Transform Tiled Colors & Textures into Dramatic Quilts by Gloria Loughman Acrylic Techniques in Mixed Media: Layer, Scribble, Stencil, Stamp by Roxanne Padgett Quick & Easy Hexie Quilts by Rhodes and Wood In Love with Squares & Rectangles: 10 Quilt Projects with Batiks & Solids from Blue Underground Studios by Amy Walsh and Janine Burke Phrex Brain by Elizabeth Was Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals  

Where else but Portland Oregon?

One of the trickiest tasks was to find the right foundation fabric this time.  A little alteration of the color, and this one was perfect.  I arranged the panels on it to measure for size and placement.  I cut the foundation several inches bigger than needed, and also cut a piece of batting to go beneath it. Once I was sure of the placement of the panels, I trimmed each along with the batting and pinned them into place. Although usually I would probably stitch the moons down first, working from the top downward, I wasn't 100% sure of the placement of the moons, so I stitched the panels down first, using a blanket stitch. Ok, I rotated and moved the moons until I was satisfied, and then blanket stitched them down (not stitching through all the layers) with a contrasting thread. Next week - backing and quilting Part one Part two Part three Part four Part five  Copyright 2013 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or red

  Beading Arts Cyndi has some process shots from a bead embroidered necklace that she made looooooong ago, and never got around to sharing before!   Craft Bag Giveaway! Tammy fell down the rabbit hole, but it's a good thing because you get a chance to win a cool craft project bag.   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there is a no-sew Easter Bunny fabric decoration, a Zentangled Easter egg with tutorials for 3 Zentangles, a crochet loopy leaf pattern, and a recipe for creme fraiche.   How to Decorate an Egg Sherri shares many creative ways you can dye or decorate your eggs for Easter.   Springtime Butterfly Theme Handmade Cards Kick your digital cards up a notch with 3D embellishments.   Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery Three necklaces made with a bit of old and new parts. ACreativeDream There's been a birth, and June's created a "chalk board art" style birth announcement to

Awhile back, I received a question from my friend Eileen who was trying to help out one of her own readers.  I'm sure you know Eileen...she's The Artful Crafter !  The link goes to the post she wrote to help her reader.   Do you sometimes use old newspapers in your mixed media? If yes, what media do you use to adhere and as a topcoat? Does the print on the backside show through? If yes, how do you avoid it? Thanks for any help! -- Eileen Hi Eileen, Yes, I love using newspapers, but the paper is very acidic so I'm always careful to coat it on both sides with polymer medium before adding it to any piece.  I usually use either the liquid medium or a slightly heavier gel medium (Golden's brand).  Sometimes the print on the back shows through a bit, but I don't mind it.  If you use two-part resin instead, the paper becomes very translucent and the writing, on both sides, is almost the only thing that shows...it's very cool.  If you really don't want the b

Do you remember making pompom animals when you were young?  Maybe you've never stopped making them.  That would put you squarely in the same camp with Myko Diann Bocek , who has written Adventures in Pompom Land .   Warning: this is a book full of cuteness overload!  Seriously, though, I don't think any of the pompom critters I ever made came out anywhere near as cute as these.  That's because Myko really knows what she's doing, and has elevated it to an artform.  The nice thing is that she shares all the tricks with you in this book, to take your critters from just ok to over-the-top adorable.  Check this out, and you can see more of Myko's work in her Flickr album :   ***Free Stuff Alert!!!***  Would you like to win a copy of Adventures in Pompom Land ?     Just leave me a comment below and you'll automatically be entered to win.  If you tweet or post on Facebook or other social spots about the contest, you can leave a second comment an

If you don't ask, I promise not to either!

Funny enough, this quilt is not going to have anything to do with trees! I received a fat quarter of my new texture design from Spoonflower and spent a few days just staring at it.  That's right...I had no prior idea what I was going to actually do with the fabric once it arrived.  All I knew was how I wanted to paint it, but nothing else! After awhile, an idea began to slowly take shape, and I cut out one large panel to paint.  Once painted and heat set, I cut them into thirds.  Here they are, painted with a graduted wash of anthraquinone blue acrylics. The next step ws to cut out some moons for the three square panels.  I didn't back the panels with fusible interfacing this time, but I did back the moons. I cut some natural cotton batting squares (slightly bigger as you can see) to back the panels and pinned the moons in place.  Then it was time to start messing around with position. It's almost time to get to the stitching...my favorite part!

Yarn Making Progress Crafty Princess is thrilled to show off her first skein of usable yarn.   ACreativeDream June's created an art doll from an altered domino. Adding Smiles Cherie experimenting with adding more smiles and smirks to her mixed media girls.   Beading Arts In celebration of Seed Bead Month, Cyndi shares a project to help you use up some left overs!   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there are a tutorials on how to draw barbed wire type and a wire fastener for the end of a cord necklace, an interview with Drawing Comics Lab author Robyn Chapman and a recipe for Irish Nachos.   Fun Projects to do with Craft Foam Did you know you can make original art stamps from inexpensive craft foam? At The Artful Crafter, we've used craft foam to make lots of fun stuff. Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery How to make a custom St Patrick's Day label and card .  Technorati Tags:

Hi Cyndi, I have been browsing your mixed media artist website and must say you do have a wealth of information available there and am enjoying it very much. I am a quilter by trade but enjoy mixed media in my spare time. I stumbled upon your site looking for information on fabric collage/books.  You mentioned using wood hardener a couple times but couldn't find a search engine for your site to find your first post on the subject of "wood hardener" Could you please tell me (or direct me to info) what the product is and the purpose for using it on fabrics for books? Is it just for stiffening or does it leave the surface ready for writing on? Thank you so much for your time in answering. Debbie  Kentucky Hi Debbie, I don't know if you were able to find both these posts or not: Fabric Books - part one Fabric Books - part two Those are the tutorials where I'm using wood hardener.  I used a Minwax product, and it served three purposes: stiffene

Are you fond of adding text to your mixed media pieces, and do you like to do so in your own hand?  If you are already involved in hand lettering, I think you'll find Creative Lettering very enjoyable.  If you've never done much with your own handwriting, then I'm not sure what your reaction will be.  Not that I think you won't enjoy the varieties of tips and techniques, and even projects, that the featured artists share, but you're not going to get much of any background on lettering. The artists who have been chosen for this volume are truly amazing.  Most, not all, of them are also people who have spent years mastering what we might call "traditional" calligraphic skills.  I like that most of what is featured in this book does not rely on those traditional skills, but I'm also somewhat skeptical that most people could produce beautiful fonts like these without some practice in the basics.  The basics section is very sparse, and the book jum

  In a restaurant restroom...

You know I've gotten all obsessed with digital line drawings and turning them into fabric that I can quilt with... Here's the next. I have had some close up photos of tree trunks from Virginia for quite some time.  I love the texture of the bark, and especially how it looks when you turn it into a line drawing in Photoshop .     I tiled them in Photoshop and then uploaded the file to Spoonflower to have some fabric printed up .  So now I wait. But while I'm waiting for the fabric to arrive, I've been making a few samples on the same type of fabric to see what color I'm going to end up using.  My idea this time is so simple that I don't really have to do a Photoshop mock up of the color , but I do need to pick one! Part one Part two Part three Part four Part five  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 electronical

  Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery Check out the tiny crochet carrots that Rorschach Amineko got!    Stitch Markers Giveaway To celebrate National Crochet Month, Crafty Princess Diariies weblog has a stitch marker giveaway.  ACreativeDream Another mixed media journal page by June.   Beading Arts As a part of celebrating Seed Bead Month on Beading Arts, Cyndi shares her favorite seed bead suppliers and books!   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there is a video tutorial on a bunch of Zentangles with Beckah Kruhula, a beading on a ring how-to, a circle punch paper tab idea along with how to make puff pastry cups. Felt Peep Bunnies Cherie makes some Peep bunnies for Easter out of felt.   Spring and Easter Craft Projects for You Crafty Peeps Looking for spring and Easter craft ideas? We've got lots of egg decorating ideas, plus a wall hanging, place cards, greeting cards, and some pretty specia

Hi Cyndi, I just came upon your blog(s) and am thrilled! Loved your quotes...of things you've heard others say about you.....and "please mommy don't throw that away"...I feel I dabble with everything....you have shown me how to use it together...quilting with painting...I look forward to following you and your creativity...its a lot you put out there for others...thank you. Debbie Hi Debbie! Thank you so much for your lovely note...may you always stay inspired to create and to try new things!  If you'd like to share any of the things you make with readers on Mixed Media Artist , please let me know.  We all inspire each other that way. Best ~ Cyndi Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Text Me reader challenge Deadline: 03/29/13    Somerset Digital Studio Deadline: 04/15/13   Somerset Studio: Haunted Deadline: 04/15/13 Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  Dick's Kitchen , home of the Dork Burger!

Delicate papers pose a special problem in collage and in mixed media art quilting.  Over the years, I have been on the lookout for methods that allow them to be included in my work without compromising the strength of the finished piece.  One of my favorites is a method made popular by Jonathan Talbot , which involves encasing the delicate papers in acrylic medium before fusing them together.   Dreaming of June , an encased collage I came across a second method by Beryl Taylor which also used acrylic medium, with a substrate of muslin.  My own take on it was to use gesso instead of medium to make a layered "paper fabric" so that the resulting merger would be more needle-friendly.  Gesso isn't a particularly good adhesive, however, so there were still compromises being made. Layered paper fabric on muslin More recently, I came across Rebekah Meier's method, which she called "Fragile Fusion" in the March/April 2012 issue of Cloth Pap

  Getting Fresh Woot! The Crafty Princess guest blogged over at Fresh Stitches about how to start a craft club.   Learn to make these book covers in my new altered book class! L Thykeson's Uniques Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery Easy way to dress up a shower curtain with yarn and ribbon.   Tomorrow I Will Laugh Like a Child Cherie uses words from an early poem to create a new mixed media print.   ACreativeDream June's playing with gouache paint.   Beading Arts Cyndi finished up her February piece for the 2013 Bead Journal Project!   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there is an idea on how to stitch a pet portrait, a design technique from the book I Just Like to Make Things, an interview with John Sartin author of The Complete Photo Guide to Making Metal Jewelry, and a tip on how to texture frosting. Fancy Paper Flowers are Easy and Inexpensive to Make Learn how to make elegant p