Eye candy

I made these last night after I saw a picture on Pinterest.   If you look up just for Peggy by Octaviabloom on etsy you will hopefully see it.  I can't work out how to copy URLs from Pinterest or etsy on my iPad yet!   The metal circles are ones that came from computer cd rooms.  I have a ton of them.  I really like the results and think they would make a great embellishment.  Obviously I have no intention of selling these and hope showing you a picture is OK.

Happy creating,

A brief update

I have a few bits and pieces to show, none of which are finished, but I though you might like to see what I have been up to.
first is my sunflower piece, which is decidedly NOT moving at present, except perhaps in my head.

I have all the little bits pinned up on a piece of felt, but at present I don't know what to do with them.  I think it might have to be a small series, because I have too much for one piece!

The little daisy collage I started work on has been coming along slowly.  this is where it is at.

It is coming along, but slowly.
I have also started adding to another of my collage a day foundations.

This one was very simple and the strip of felt was just crying out for a vine.  I have free motioned a bark design onto the silver fabric to the left.  The green leaves on the fight, are pieces of plastic cut into leaf shapes, painted with green nail polish and stitched on with fly stitches to reference the leaf veins.  I am at present doing some seed stitch into the black textured area in the centre with a green thread that matches the leaves.

The next thing to show you is just a practice piece.

 This is a sea theme fabric with pictures in squares which is layered up and has had the squares quilted, ditch, style.  The reason I am showing it is because this is what I get up to when I can't think of what to do.  I just stitch a square and usually, that gets me going.  Picasso once said "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" This is my "working" quilt, because even though it might seem like I am always on the ball, I have times when my muse is absent.  This mindless stitching sometimes gets me moving.
Next, is another thing I do when I am stuck.  you are probably getting the idea, I have been a bit stuck this week! lol

I have a pile of monoprints, like this one, on chiffon, which I just play with the stitching on.  I usually just use a layer of felt underneath.

You can see in this detail, i am just thread sketching over the colours in the background.
And of course, I have added to this pile of monoprints today, with a handful of prints on voile (Like chiffon, but a bit stiffer)

These will be cut up and ripped to use in collages. You can perhaps see a tiny bit of checked fabric in the background at top left.  This is a large panel which I have layered up for quilting, which will be a baby quilt for my niece.  Shock, Horror.  Me.  Actually making a quilt! i will show you it in a few weeks when it is finished.

So that is some of what I have been up to this week

Happy creating!

fifty collages

I now have over fifty collages from my collage a day challenge and now, my intention is to slow down and make a few a week, but to also begin working on the foundations I have so far created.  I want to add lots f embellishment!

Above, you can see I have started on one of the collages.  I added some free motion stitching on painted cheesecloth and have started some hand embroidery.

Here is the original, simple collage

And here is where I am with this.  you can see the free machined cheesecloth (or scrim) is transparent.  I will probably be adding a lot of stitch to this one.  I have started some french knots in the flower centres and some lazy daisies and also some seed stitch.  I have more of the embossed metal and thought I might like to do some rubbings with them and I have to find my orange hand dyed perle thread.  the thread I have used here is variegated and has too much white.  It is, in fact a vintage ball that I got from the opp shop.

Happy Creating!

a few bits

I have been working on several fronts, but not my tangled textiles piece, the deadline for which is beginning to loom.
I have been continuing my free motion samples.

Here is a week's worth of patterns.
I have been working on my Creative sketchbooks course, which I won't share here, but have also done a little art journaling, as well.

This was a dragonfly I drew on a very red page I didn't know what to do with.  I like this page a lot.

This was a very cathartic page to do.  The tree was done using a mask.  I sprayed over the mask, then  printed with it instead of painting around it. I stencilled the butterfly with some lumiere paint.  I am not happy with it's colour, and think I might change it to a green.

Another reworked failed page, This page had several incarnations and I now have this tree on it.  It doesn't have very good contrast, but I think it might make a great fibre piece using bias applique.

This is just a background, but I was playing with borders and just used a flat brush to make the squares in this grid.  I liked that.

And on the crazy quilt front, I have done a little

This is my first block with some satin samples.  I have actually done the last two seams on this one, now.  At present I have four blocks, but I may expand to nine, we'll see.

This second block also has a bit more since I took the photo.
I have also been practicing making flowers.

Here are a few pansies.  The top one is organza, the middle one  is satin ribbon and the bottom one is velvet ribbon.  The top red bit is just a gathered poppy, but has no black centre as yet.  The two red objects at the bottom are a rolled rose and bud, but they were not smiling at the camera like the pansies!
So, as you can see, I have been working away.

Remember to create every day

ipod cases

I have been working on some ipod cases for my gallery, which is open once a month at the moment.  This last month, I had some other artist's work in the community, which was really great.  DH and I are always trying to think up small things to draw more sales and so this month I am working on ipod or iphone cases.

This one is nearly finished.  I am thinking of adding a few beads and of course the clasp.  It is made from chiffon needlefelted onto felt.

This one is trimmed ready for embellishing and stitching and is made from slub yarn needle felted onto felt.  Obviously, felt is so easy to make these from.

Another one ready for stitching this one is made from felt scraps needlefelted onto a felt backing, then some free motion scribbling with my favourite gold thread (one day it is going to run out and what will I do then?).
I have found that the basic pattern for these cases is to use a half of an A4 (or letter) sized piece of felt or fabric (cut along the length) is perfect for this.

Here are three more with needle felted scraps on the flaps ready for stitching.  All I did was cut an A4 piece of felt in half.  Once I am happy with the design and stitching etc, I just fold it to the right size and trim about 1/4 to 1/2 inch off the (long) sides and blanket stitch the sides together.  It's a quick piece of work, depending on how much hand stitching and embellishing you do.

After reading a friend's blog about treasure bags, I am now  thinking about fabric cases using the decorative stitches as she did, since hers are so gorgeous and I have soooo much yummy thread.

Anyway, need to get back to my tangled textiles piece, which is due in a few short days.  Tomorrow, I am teaching a beading class and in a few weeks, a painted chiffon scarf workshop, so busy, busy.

Keep creating

A few little bits

A few months ago, I made something called air dry porcelain.  It was a bit like polymer clay, but made with cornstarch and PVA.  You know me, always wanting to make something out of nothing. 
The other day, I decided to do something with it.

I used a few stamps to make some little embellishments.  As you can see, above, I used a stamp made from fun foam, one cut from an eraser and a commercial stamp.

I painted them all with the verdigris base I used here.

Then when they were dry, I painted them with the developing solution.

After a few hours, the lovely blue verdigris developed.
I couldn't wait to play with them, so I put together a few arrangements.

This was my first one from some bits lying on the table.

And another one.

 And the first one after a bit more fiddling.  I had a fun time deciding what to do with them.

Happy creating.

weeds and more embellishing

This ATC is just a little sketch of a weed in the garden, using my pitt pens.  The background is a piece of mattboard, which I scribbled and smudged on using crayola slicks and a tiny bit of water.  The word is just made with my ancient Letraset (rub-ons) sheets and the bit of paper lace tape was a last little thought.

When I was cutting flowers the other day, I also embossed (with the same machine) using a clock embossing folder.

This is the folder, It also has a little lacy flourish.

This one is on heavy foil - can't wait to use this one!

Handmade paper.

Tracing paper.  I love how it makes white lines on the transparent paper.

A piece of plastic packaging.  Ditto the white lines.

A piece of light rainbow spun/lutradur

And finally, A painted face wipe

i really love this design.  I think I am going to have to design a mixed media piece to use all of these lovelies.
I did other bits and pieces of embossing, but that is enough eye candy for today, I think.

embossed and embellished

This ATC did not turn out as I planned, however I will show it.  It is made with a piece of heavy foil, embossed with my embossing machine which is a teeny tiny one.  The piece of foil had three holes in it, since it came out of a computer, so I added three die cut flowers.  The green is an experiment with alcohol ink that went wrong.  I was hoping the ink would stay where I wanted it - but no, it had a mind of it's own (message to self - alcohol ink is very runny)

these are a few embellishments I made a week or two ago and hadn't gotten round to posting. the top two are made with milk carton caps, which I have a collection of, lol.
I covered them with a scrap of satin or silk, yo-yo style, then embellished the top with sequins and beads. 
Oh. before I started, I punched a hole through the top with my soldering iron to allow for adding the beads.
I actually have made more, but obviously haven't taken a photo yet.
The bottom embellishments are made from these tiny tag shaped bits of metal I got from laptop frames.  I loved how tiny they were and the cute shape, but had to think about the holes for a bit.  sequins and beads were the best way to jazz them up  and fill the holes at the same time.

Here's a few more being made.  I am looking forward to making a piece with some of these on.  But as you know thinking is a long winded process.  It will happen when it's ready.

only a card, she says.....

Today, I only have an atc to post, mainly because it took quite a while to construct it.

Here is the front, it is mattboard, painted with acrylic.  The butterflies are die cut from melted wax on paper, and acrylic painted paper.

Here is the back.  More of the same.

As you can see here, it can stand up on it's own.

when it is standing up, you can peek inside.

And outside.
I'ts a 3-D atc!
It is based on a design I saw on youtube.

I also looked on the author's blog, but the instructions were a bit scanty.  You will find it in the archives under december 2010.

So I made most of it up myself.  Of course, now I know all the pitfalls, I can make one which is a bit nicer!

It has been really hot again, here and I am not taking it well, since being sick (do I ever?), so mostly this weekend I have been researching folded embellishments and mini books on youtube.
Here is my lap pad with a few of the thinks I have played with.

It was a lovely way to spend a few hot days, but deadlines are loooooooming again.

I think a bit of sewing is going to have to happen!


Be creative!