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.

another one and some journalling

Another ATC from the same source as yesterday.  I like this one because I like how the blob of magenta alcohol ink at the top with the dragonfly stamp looks like a poppy.  I think I will have to make a stamp just for poppy centres and do more, perhaps even on red organza - yummy.
alcohol inks, dilute lumiere spray, Handmade and commercial stamps

Have been very busy - out most of the day doing forward planning for beading classes at our local community house, so just a journal page, today.

After I had played all over this page with lots of stamps and textures, I decided 'Chaos' was a good word to describe it, lol. So I dulled it all down with a bit of gesso and wrote the message.  I certainly had fun doing it!

a gem or two

This ATC started it's life as a piece of mountboard, but the paper layer came off since I added so much water and I had to mount it again on card when it was dry.
Green and magenta alcohol ink, gold lumiere diluted with water and sprayed, then finger painted dots of other lumiere colours that were on my palette were added.  I painted the word with halo rose and a small brush, then added the red and white highlights after.  The dragonfly is a handmade stamp with a sticky rhinestone on it.

This journal quilt was thread sketched then painted with lumiere paints.  I added hot fix crystals to the top wings.  I don't like the yellow effect of the gold paint, although it is not this lary in real life.  I have not finished the edge of this one yet, and I may still play with a bit more stitching and beading.

Beady beautiful and bit of cardboard

 

This ATC was  just made with a little charm square I was given.  I loved the fabric, but what to do with such a little piece?  Ah when all inspiration fails, bead it!

This journal quilt came about from a visit to recycle rescue.

The silver bits are pieces of cardboard, which are what is left over when circles are cut out of silver cardboard in a factory.   they reminded me of a double wedding ring pattern.  I placed them on a black background, then placed some filmy chiffon with a blue rose design over the top.  I did seed stitch with black thread in the melon wedges in the centre to define it then did running stitches in a low contrast thread outside.  I liked the way the rose or the underlying design is visible depending on how you look at it and I especially love the texture of the stitches.

I agree, that the inconveniences of remote rural life are outweighed by the creative benefits of the landscape.  Our land backs onto state forest, which begins about 100 metres from the back door and it is an inspiration to me all the time.  I can always go up (Yes, it is all uphill, lol) and find something to inspire my work.

Here's an example of something I found today.

 A tiny, tiny wren's nest hanging from the tea trees.  So beautiful.

writing and journals

This ATC just happened.  I painted a scrap of interfacing, and I liked the feather against it.  The squiggly and word seemed right with a gold leaf pen.

I thought this journal page would go well with the feather

 It's a bit bolder than my usual pages, but it just happens like that some days.  I used both real and paper feathers, which I just snipped to give the feathery bits.

I got this quote from Donna Downey on Inspiration Wednesday, but Have been told it was in an old adidas advert.

 All the more reason to experiment!  Yes.

Oh and sorry about the missed days, sometimes living way out here is a pain, especially when the internet is not working properly.

oops....

unfortunately, due to problems with our internet service, I will be unable to post untill next week.
Ahh, the joys of living in the country......

spiralling into green

This atc was made from a sample of  silk fabric.  I felt the candy wrapper was just right for it, so I sewed that on,  The spiral was made from a cheap broken child's bangle that I bent into shape.  I added the black felt circle just because!  And I used some letter beads to spell out the word, even though I didn't have the right letters (the P and R are made from B letters by using a bit of white out or tippex).

Ahhh, green.  Well our Tangled Textiles Challenge this round is 'green' and the last few days I have been immersed in green

A selection of green, including paper, chiffon, organza, velvet, silk, brocade, fabric paper, foil, plastic faux suede, tyvek, lutradur, felt, silk paper, polar fleece and lots of cottons.....all some shade of green

One of the things I am doing with some of the fabrics, especially the cottons, is stiffening and stabilising them by painting with PVA.  This makes them-

• stiff and able to be used as dimensional elements
• able to be free motion embroidered without a hoop ie they are stiff
• it also makes them stable for cutting shapes, ie the edges won't fray

 I have some tulle and batting and scrim that I will also paint and dye, but above, I painted a piece of cellofoil with Alcohol ink, and it is pretty yummy.  I might also admit that I have a fair bit of green transfer foil.

Probably by now, you are wondering what I am going to do with all this green stuff, and I probably should keep it secret, but I don't think my final piece is really guessable from these fabrics.  They are only stage 2 of my piece and stage one I did a long time ago.

Of course, those who know me well could probably have guessed that green + vicki = leaves, lol.  In fact, any colour will suffice for me to create leaves, however in this particular instance, I needed green ones.
Here are some of the leaves I cut out today with yesterday's stiffened fabric.  I want lots.  And I want them all different!
Sometimes I am asked why I use a sketchbook in my work, and here is a great example.

These sketchbook pages from way back in January came in very handy!