A Few More ATCs Finally Finished...

Another Use for Watercolor Canvas...

I was working on my fabric postcards today and discovered that watercolor canvas makes a great backing and can be run directly through the inkjet printer. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of using it before!

Acme Flowers Stitched

I had a blast adding simple stitches to my felt flower postcard. I just need to add the backing and it will be finished.

Felted Postcard in Progress...

I will be adding hand embroidery to this postcard created on the embellisher machine. It was inspired by a bouquet of flowers I saw while standing in the checkout line a few weeks ago at the Acme. Bright orange and hot pink together always catches my eye... The background is made from torn strips of silk (from an old blouse), organdy and a little bit of wool roving on Kunin felt.

More Snow Dyeing...

I tried dyeing some PFD cotton in a jar with snow but the results were a little weak, so I overdyed it (still using the snow dyeing method) and got much more intense colors. I haven’t been rinsing off the fabric at all, just squeezing out the excess moisture by hand and ironing between two pieces of parchment paper until dry.

SNOW!

This photo of the backyard was taken today. The snow would be even deeper but much of it was compacted by the rain we had last night (before it snowed again).

Rockin' Robin...

Okay, is everyone singing, now? This shot was actually taken during the first snowstorm in January right outside my studio window. I grabbed my camera and made a quick shot before he flew away – all pleased with myself until I realized that I hadn’t turned back the exposure from the last time I used the camera. The photo was terribly overexposed. But I wanted to preserve the memory of that colorful bird perched in the holly tree with the red berries and the snow – so I used a couple of Photoshop filters and got this result. I think it resembles a vintage illustration from an old postcard. I am happy with this image and am thinking about printing it directly on fabric after I get my inkjet printer up and running.

Everybody’s Doin’ it!

Snow dyeing is my February Art Experiment There are directions for this process all over blogland. This is my first attempt and, if nothing else, it will serve as a little memento of Snowmageddon.” I used a piece of wet, slightly crumpled PFD cotton and draped it over a couple of inverted plastic bowls so the excess paint and snow could drain off. I used Dye-Na- Flow fabric colors. The first image is of the snow on the fabric with the dripped paint. The second is the final product. I kinda like it! When DH saw it he said, “Oooh, tie-dye!” The old hippie...

Waiting for Mr. Darcy...

DH and I are thoroughly enjoying the “Emma” series currently running on PBS. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I have been on a Jane Austen kick since last summer. I’ve read Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, so far, with the aim of reading all of her novels. I have them downloaded to my E-reader and ready to go!

I'm particularly inspired by the fashions of the Regency period and have purchased a few patterns to create costumes for my Ellowyne dolls. Here is my first attempt modeled by dear Pru. I think it really suits her. The fabric is just some old quilting cotton from my stash. Prints on dresses from this period were mainly small floral or fern designs.

Binky and Vince

I had to share this photo of Binky and his little friend, Vince (sleeping). Vince is one of the feral kittens we captured last summer. He has gone from being completely wild (His folder at the vet's office was marked "DANGEROUS.") to being the most affectionate cat we’ve ever had. He loves to cuddle with us and all the other cats. Tony, Vince’s brother, is taking a bit longer to tame but he is making progress. He doesn’t exactly love being held (like Vince!) but he tolerates it. He does enjoy a good belly rub – with much purring and kneading of paws in the air. And he gets along great with the other cats.

It makes me sad to think of all the potentially great pets that are destroyed because shelters don’t have the necessary resources or personnel to work with them.

“Nothing cures like time and love.” Laura Nyro

Charming “Mirror”

Been having fun playing with dolls! I made a funky little dress to go with the shoes I made last week. Modeling the outfit is Goodreau’s BJD Mirror.” She is borrowing one of Ellowyne’s wigs.

Simple Felt Flowers

I made these little felt flowers today to decorate the shoes. I found the instructions in a vintage Barbie pattern (as a handbag decoration). They are so easy to make. You just cut a small square scrap of felt any size you want (I used a ¾” square), run a gathering thread on the guidelines, pull tight and knot off. I added a little French knot to the center.

First Attempt at Doll Shoes

I got two 16” Goodreau BJDs (ball-jointed dolls) for Christmas and a couple of patterns to make clothes for them. One of the patterns was for shoes and I was really curious if they would fit. They fit perfectly! They aren’t quite finished, yet. I still need to glue on the fun foam soles and little heels. Now, here is my dilemma. The pattern says to use a glue gun for this operation. And the glue gun is definitely not my friend. I never fail to burn myself! I’m thinking maybe I’ll use tacky glue – the same stuff I use for Santa beards. Anyway, I wanted to show you a quick picture of the shoes so far. I’m also thinking about adding some sort of little ornamentation to the fronts. The pattern contains several variations of this shoe; with strap, double strap and scalloped upper – but I thought I’d just try out the basic pump, first. The shoes are made of a deep brown felt with a reddish cast but my workroom lights can’t pick up the color. I lined them with a tiny brown gingham check. I'm downright tickled with these!

Another Fabric Paper Sample

Last night, I decided to try making a more subdued sample. I glued everything on top of a really ugly old piece of cotton. This is a great way to use fabric that would otherwise go unused...

2010 Monthly Experiment (January): Fabric Paper

Well, give me a little paper, paint, fabric and glue and I’m happy. This is my first experiment making fabric paper – what fun! (This is meant to be cut up and used for postcard and ATC backgrounds with added stitch and/or collage elements.) I put all of the cats in the bedroom and worked at the kitchen table last night for a little while – and what a fine mess I made! There are a few sources of instructions for this (and a couple of variations) on the web. The Quilting Arts web site has Beryl Taylor’s instructions, here. And Arlee Barr has a wonderful tutorial, here. Got to play with this some more...

Stitch Explorer Challenge

Here is a little sampler I embroidered for the final Stitch Explorer Challenge project. I combined some laid stitch samples (couched filling, laid trellis) with chicken scratch. Of all the new stitches I learned this year, chicken scratch is my favorite. I know I will be playing with that more in the future. Thanks to dear Sharon B for a fun year of stitching!

Ellowyne Goes Christmas Shopping...

In the holiday rush, I forgot to take a photograph of Ellowyne in the new fur jacket and hat I made for her two weeks ago. The jacket is from a pattern that is in the current issue of Doll Reader magazine. The hat is from a Kitty Collier doll pattern.

Ellowyne’s Christmas tree pin is actually a cheap earring! Her miniature shopping bag was one of several in a package from the dollar store. Who doesn’t love the dollar store?

Happy New Year!!!

In an attempt to get my act together for the New Year, I joined Susan Sorrell’s 2010 Monthly Art Experiment. I am hoping to actually try some of the wonderful projects in Quilting Arts and Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazines – instead of just admiring them. As a further challenge, I’m going to attempt to limit myself to supplies I have on hand (shouldn’t be too difficult as I seem to have every art supply known to man!). The challenge is very loose since the participants may choose to try any project from a book or magazine that interests them. Last summer, I sat outside one sunny afternoon with my stack of magazines and actually wrote down the page numbers of the projects I wanted to do someday. And, of course, I have since lost the list! Well, I’m looking at it as an excuse to go through the magazines again! I am really looking forward to broadening my horizons a bit.

I tried a little experiment today that I’ve wanted to try for a couple of years, since I first saw it in Quilting Arts magazine – and it took next to no time! I used a stamp to make an impression in some fusible fiber (a type of Angelina I got on sale quite awhile ago). I wasn’t sure it would work because I only had a foam rubber stamp and I was afraid it would melt. I put the stamp on the ironing board, face up; then put some fiber down on top and covered it with a piece of parchment paper. A few seconds later, with a dry iron set on the “silk” setting, I got a nice crisp image - and the stamp is none the worse for wear!

Merry Christmas to All!

DAE’s Smoking Flame Vivian is borrowing Gene Marshall’s American Countess gown. Madame Alexander’s Suzette is borrowing Gene’s Crescendo gown (with violin). This photo was taken a couple of years ago.

Treasures from the Sea

I mounted a small collection of delightful vintage carved Mother of Pearl buttons on an embellished and embroidered background I had created for the TAST challenge a couple of years ago. I think the frame (purchased in Michael’s) is evocative of a whitewashed beach cottage. I'll be adding this to my Etsy shop, soon.