water and more water

blue satin, blue chiffon, frayed, stitching, beads, sequins.

here are a couple of journal quilts and another fabric page

This one is made of scrunched strips of lots of blue (and white) synthetics, which were sewn down, then zapped with a heat tool.  I added the pebbly beads and shells to extend the watery idea.

This one used a piece of  woven dark magenta woven wool fabric as the backing.  I frayed the edges, then used squares of black japanese brocade and faux suede (which you might have seen in some recent ATCs).  The beaded motifs were ones I bought from someone at AQC.  The contrast is not good with all the shiny bits and the wool and suede.  It looks very yummy in reality.

This is a fabric page I recieved from a friend yesterday,  The leaves are handpainted lutradur and the stitching is beautiful.  Thanks!  My theme for this round robin swap is leaves, if you didn't guess.

And here's a quote I know is very true.

More pink and a couple of mini quilts

Well, here is another ATC using the japanese brocade and painted tyvek scraps.  painted tyvek, japanese brocade, faux suede, seed beads, sequins.

And here are a couple of recent mini quilts.  The first is a fabric page (8") made for a swap.

The theme for the page was 'Vintage', so I used lots of satin and a wintage print on satin which I embellished with lace, ribbon, embroidery, beads and buttons.  I really enjoyed making this one.
This next one is a journal quilt 5"

This one is free motion sketched on a painted face wipe.  The edge is glued and gold leafed.  I intended to add a little eiffel tower charm which is what started me sketching, but decided to keep it clean and simple.


I am actually away from home for a few days, and will be home tomorrow, with lots of new inspiration.

Happy Creating!

fishy business and more mess

This card backgound was one I made in a crackle experiment.  This particular card did not turn out as expected, so I played a bit with it.  The background was yellow and white over green.  I happened to see a fish stencil just lying there, so I used it to make the fish.  I used a failed batch of gold wax (like rubnbuff) and it caught up around the edges of the fish, making a raised outline, with a little bit of gold in the centre.  Next, I dribbled a bit of blue watercolour over the top.  I finished up with a few bubbles I stamped using white acrylic and the end of a straw.

I have started working on a project I was supposed to start on the 15th, but as you all know, I was ill, and then very busy.
So, today, I started getting out things I might use for this project.  It is a fabric page for a swap.  The theme is vintage.

Here is a selection of elements I might use.  I find sometimes, it is easier to start with these than the background.  So what have I got here?

A vintage piece of eyelet tape.

A variety of ribbon tape laces.  Anyone who knows me knows I have lots of ribbons!

A few narrow laces.  I have more, but we must draw the line somewhere, lol.

'Silk' flower parts.  It is actually quite east to make  these flowers, using polyester satin and watered down PVA, some small plastic containers and templates which you can either get by tracing a real one, or by looking for flower templates on google.

Commercial lace motofs and appliques.

A variety of doilies and linens, some old, some new.

Small crochet and needle lace motifs which i made my ownty downty self.

Lots of fine bobbin lace samples, from when I was learning years ago.

and finally a few vintage notions.

And this is only the embellishments.  I need to decide on a focus picture and some luxurious backround fabrics next, won't that be fun?

Being creative doesn't neccesarily mean creating something in a moment of inspiration.  Sometimes it takes a while and involves thinking, playing or drawing or most times all three.