Annie's Attic Room

Fabric Paper Rainbow Book

2012-01-25T15:14:00.001Z

I am involved in a swap to make pages for a Rainbow Book. The pages are to be made of fabric paper, and to be only the colour of the month. This month it was RED…not one of my favourite colours to work with!

I made the fabric paper with muslin, tissue paper and a layer of organza over the top. When it was dry I gave it several coats of red paint, including some red glitter paint. When that was all dry I added a thin coat of silk paint. I then cut a piece 12inches by 6inches to make a 6x6 page. The creases in the paper showed up well, so I randomly stitched around them, and did a bit of few embroidery in the flatter areas. Searched out some red buttons from my stash and stitched them on and the machined on some red ric-rac for ‘stems’. An offcut of the fabric paper was used to tidy up along the bottom, and zig –zag stitch was used to edge.I gave the piece another coat of silk paint and that was it. Hope the person it is going to likes it.

Technorati Tags: Fabric paper,tissue,organza,paint,red glitter paint,silk paint. Free style embroidery,buttons.,ric-rac.

Page for Jessie’s Friend

2012-01-23T18:05:00.001Z

Painted background , various stamps, words on dymo tape.

Painted background embossed using Wizard with a Sizzix Embossing Folder. Cogs are card, painted with Viva Ferro. Tim Holtz stamp. Finished with printed words and barbed wire tape.

Technorati Tags: Tim Holtz,Wizard,Sizzix embossing folder,Viva Ferro paint,dymo tape

January ATC

2012-01-23T17:57:00.001Z

My ATC for January. Photo is my own which I printed onto matt photo paper, and used my Wizard to transfer to the background. No idea what colours or paints I used to make the background, made it over 2 days ago LOL. I have a little dotted stamp (which I love) which I stamped on the background. I printed out the words and coloured the paper with Versa Magic chalk inks. I did intend to edge it with a Viva Pearl Pen (Silver) but that went a little wrong, so I ended up dabbing it all over with a baby wipe.

Technorati Tags: Gel transfer,Wizard,Versa Magic chalk ink,Viva Pearl Pen.

First post of 2012

2012-01-23T17:42:00.002Z

I’ve been very busy arting, but updated my blog this year. Partly because I joined , together with a great bunch of people , a journaling group. This is Book of Days with Effy Wild, and if you want to join in I can assure you that there is a lot to be learnt from it. Guided by the wonderfully enthusiastic Effy, we are making a journal page a day, or whenever we can. As Effy says, there is no behind in this process. Two videos a week, a weekly news letter, and the encouragement of the almost 1000 members and Effy herself. And believe it or not, there is such a thing as a free lunch……..Effy charges not a penny for this! If you are interested details here.
I am not posting my journal pages here at the moment, maybe later.

I have been doing other stuff as well though, postcards, atcs and a book page.
Here are some pics and short descriptions of what I did.

Front of a double sided postcard for an on-going Alphabetica swap.
Background is gesso, stamped into whilst wet with a couple of different A stamps. For the big A I used string which I pressed into the wet gesso. Whilst still wet I sprayed with Aileen’s Colour Sprays, and let them run together a bit before drying. I stamped a couple of A’s using Stazon gray. The small A is a foam piece stamped and coloured with Stewart Gill Pearl paint. I also used this paint to dab onto the surface of the card.

The back was made from an already made background, to which I added a gel transfer. I then put it through the Wizard using a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, used Treasure Gold to highlight and added the ribbon to finish it off.

Background for B is acrylic paints in blues and purples. I put this through the Wizard using another Cuttlebug folder, and then stamped a similar design using a purple ink (it doesn’t show up here to well) I used Treasure Gold to highlight the embossing. The letters are both grungeboard, which luckily enough had the same swirly design. These were coloured with Viva paints and the embossing highlighted with a Sukura White Gel Pen. German Scrap was added to each side and toned down with a thin coat of Viva.

Background for this is a piece of coloured Lutrador on which I had stencilled butterflies, using moulding paste. I added several colours of treasure gold to highlight the fibres, the word and the butterfly brad.

Technorati Tags: Book of Days,Alphabetica postcards,gesso,colour sprays,string,stencil,Stewart Gill Paint,Viva Paint,Wizard,Cuttlebug Embossing Folder,Grungeboard,Treasure Gold German ScrapLutrador,Gel transfer

12 days of Christmas Swap 2011

2011-12-28T16:53:00.001Z

We did this swap again this year, and there were some beautiful things made. This was my effort:

First off I made 12 sheets of silk paper using Cocoon Strippings. You lay these out on a piece of baking parchment, spray with water cover with another sheet of baking paper and iron until dry. Once they were dry I painted them with a thinned down acrylic pearl paint and again allowed to dry. I stamped using a foam stamp and metallic acrylics, and then, using a different stamp, stamped a smaller design using Stazon. When this was dry , the whole sheet was painted again, using a watered down silk paint, in similar colours to the paints already used.

I then free machine embroidered around the larger stamp designs, and did a little hand stitching on some of the sheets.

The sheets were then cut to size and lined using some of my hand coloured fabrics attached using bond-a-web.

Once that was done I satin stitched around the edges. I now had my covers ready. Next step was cutting and folding the pages from hand made papers. I attached the pages with a wide zig-zag stitch and ribbon.

I then used double sided tape to attach plastic ATC holders to each page, and cut some metallic paper to pop into them.

The finishing touches were to add the fastenings, and I used Polymer clay pieces and ribbons, which I attached with Golden Gel Medium.

Technorati Tags: silk paper,cocoon strippings,acrylic paints,silk paints,free machining,handmade papers,polymer clay embellishments,Golden Gel Medium,Stazon

I also made an ATC, to go along with this:

Here they are, all wrapped and ready to go:

ATCs

2011-12-28T15:49:00.001Z

More alphabet ATCs

Q , a mini quilt ATC. Various toned fabrics cut into squares, joined and free machine embroidered.

R for Romance, silk paper background, lace and a romantic image.

S for silk paper, stitch and sequins.

T – it takes two to Tango, embellished background, image printed onto silk and funky foam letters, painted with Viva Ferro.

Technorati Tags: Silk paper,Viva Ferra,stitch,foam letters,sequins

Autumnal Colours Fabric Postcard

2011-11-04T23:34:00.001Z

Made this today for a swap.

The background was made using silk tops and non-fusible Angelina Fibres covered with organza and felted using the embellisher machine. The photograph is one of my own which I played about with in Photoshop Elements , and then adding the quote. I printed it out onto some plain white fabric (poly cotton maybe). The flower was made from various pieces of fabric die cut using a Tim Holtz Die and then stamped with Olive Green and Pumpkin Stazon Inks. This was attached securely and then a wooden button was stitched into place. A couple of beads were then added and the button coloured with Treasure Gold (Spanish Topaz). I used Pelmet Vilene for the backing and machine stitched around using a zig-zag stitch.

Technorati Tags: silk tops,non fusible Angelina Fibres,Tim Holtz tattered flower die,Photoshop Elements,Stazon inks,beads.,button,Treasure Gold

3 more ATCs from the same piece of fabric.

2011-11-03T15:04:00.001Z

Playing with fabrics

2011-10-31T15:04:00.001Z

Last week I decided to have a play with fabrics and my embellisher. I dragged out lots of fabric bits in blues and greens and then got out the embellisher. Oops, I had a problem, my foot control was not working, and there was an ominous rattle when I shook it. So no embellisher, I decided that I would have to sew instead.

This is what I did :I randomly stitched bits of fabric together, using different stitches and either green or blue thread. I stitched on some thick threads too.

I then decided to add some coloured copper curls and to cover the whole piece with some blue organza, which was attached using the darning foot and free stitching.

Here is what I did with some of the piece:

Beaded inches , using jewels and a couple of circular paper clips, which I hand stitched around. I hand stitched leaves and stems for the flower jewels. I attached them to pelmet Vilene, which on reflection was a little to thick, as I couldn’t stich around the edges. To neaten them I added some cord, which I attached with white glue.

I also made these:

3 ATCs using beads, sequins pieces od silk carrier rods and threads.

I hope those who receive these in a swap will like them.

Technorati Tags: fabric bits,enamelled copper curls,sequins,beads.,hand stitching,silk carrier rods,pelmet vilene.

Alphabet ATCs–O and P

2011-10-25T14:02:00.001+01:00

Latest alphabet swap ATCs.

O is for Opals embossing powders. These are nice thick crystals, which are not brittle when used to make tiles. I used black for the first two layers, and then sprinkled different colours for the last layer. Whilst it was still hot, I stamped into it with a Tim Holtz stamp. I then added the sunflower to finish it off.

P is for Pear. I stamped the pear onto a piece of dyed cotton and attached it to the same dyed cotton as a background. The word pear I hand stitched (!) using a simple chain stich. The rest of the stitching was done by machine, with the thick thread in the bobbin (ie stitched from the back). I mounted the whole lot onto a piece of pelmet vilene and zig –zag stitch around it. To finish of I painted on a little Jo Sonja’s Gold dust for subtle highlights.

Technorati Tags: Opals embossing powder,Tim Holtz stamp. Jo Sonja's Gold Dust,hand embroidery,chain stitch.

Conjoined ATCs

2011-10-23T18:00:00.001+01:00

For this swap we had to make 3 ATCs that were joined together in some way. This is what I did.

Proverb ATCs

2011-10-23T17:58:00.001+01:00

Three ATCs I made for a swap.

Odd Sized Art

2011-10-23T17:46:00.001+01:00

Not really an odd size, but Pauline very kindly sent me some plastic holders that were sized approx. 6.5 cms x 13.5 cms, so I arranged a swap to utilise these. Each participant would receive a holder back, along with her ‘odd sized’ art.

Here are the pieces that I made for this swap. I think we will be doing it again in the new year, as we did not do backs.

These were really great fun to do.

Silk Tie Phone Case

2011-10-13T14:24:00.001+01:00

This was made from a silk tie I picked up in a charity shop. I took it apart and there is a LOT more fabric in a tie than I realised!

I cut out a pattern , backed the silk with a medium vilene , and did some random stitching with a Maderia metallic thread. I then used bondaweb to attach a silk lining. I cut around the whole thing to get the correct size, folded it , and then stitched around the sides and edges of the flap. The closure gave me some problems, but eventually I settled on a pop –fastener.

Luckily it fitted the phone it was intended for

Technorati Tags: Silk Ties,medium weight vilene,Maderia metallic thread,Bondaweb,pop-fastener

ATCs with Moveable Parts–Part 3

2011-10-13T14:13:00.001+01:00

These were made using a stencilled moulding paste background. The stamp is one I have had for ages, not sure where it came from though.

ATCs with Moveable Parts–Part 2

2011-10-13T14:10:00.001+01:00

I had the background for these ATCs in my stash. They’d been made for a different swap, but I changed my mind(not unusual!) They were stamped, and embossed using Distress embossing powders.

The gears are diecuts, which I coloured using Viva Ferro Paint (Iron). They were then attached with brads and the words printed on my Dymo machine.

Technorati Tags: Distress embossing powder,diecuts,brads,Viva Ferro paint,Dymo machine

ATCs with moveable parts

2011-10-13T14:02:00.001+01:00

I entered this swap twice, but as it was partnered my designs for each were very similar.

The background for the 1st one was made from canvas, to which I’d added papers, tissue, paints and stamping. The heart shapes was cut using a Cuttlebug die. I stamped the image on some toning card and then stamped the words on the same card. The cut out heart was added with a brad, and finished off by edging with gold paint. The whole card was backed with pelmet vilene and machine stitched around.

The 2nd one was made with card, and a small piece of sparkling organza was placed between the 2 hearts.

Technorati Tags: Canvas,paints,stamps,tissue,Cuttlebug die,brad,pelmet vilene,organza

Autumn Colours ATCs

2011-10-13T13:48:00.001+01:00

The background of all three ATCs was made from a piece of painted cotton fabric, covered with organza and then free embroidered to hold in place.Using the heat gun, the organza was burnt away in places. Skeleton leaves were added and machine stitched on. Sequins and beads were added to bring a bit of glitz into the design.. They were backed with pelmet vilene and machine stitched around the edges.

Technorati Tags: Painted cotton fabric,organza,skeleton leaves,sequins,beads.,pelmet vilene

More ATCs for the alpha swap

2011-10-13T13:39:00.001+01:00

M and N

Marigold background was an embellished piece that was in my stash. I added some scrim and stamped onto a piece of alcohol inked card. Marigold was hand written onto a piece of coloured pelmet vilene.

Numbers was embossed silver tape, stuck onto card (2 layers) and put through the Wizard and the coloured with alcohol inks. The individual numbers were made in the same way and attached with brads.

Technorati Tags: Technorati Tags: Pelmet Vilene,embellished,scrim,alcohol ink,silver sticky backed tape,Wizard

Teesha Moore Style Tip in Page - Again

2011-09-09T13:18:00.001+01:00

I really enjoyed making the Teesha style page for the swap that I immediately made another one. I think these could be quite addictive, and certainly , if your mojo has gone walk-about,a good way to get the creative juices flowing.

Silk Cocoon Rods

2011-09-09T13:08:00.001+01:00

Was having a bit of a play with silk cocoon rods, stripping them and then painting. When they were dry I machined stitched them together onto a piece of black felt. I added a bit of glitter, by snipping pieces of Hemming Vilene onto the piece, ironing them on,(don’t forget the baking parchment!) and then using some transfer foil. I then started to machine stich, using cotton and metallic threads. I added a couple of rows of cable stitch, which is done from the back of the piece, using thicker thread in the bobbin, and because my bobbin is non adjustable, by passing the tension control. I have never tried this before, but i like the effect it gives.Something else that has stayed tucked away is my Flower Stitcher foot, which as the name implies, allows you to stitch flowers. Well you need to be cleverer then me to do that! lol, but I was able to stitch circles! I did these in two ways, one with a thickish metallic thread in the bobbin, stitched from the back, and one with a cotton machine embroidery thread. I finished the piece of with rows of metallic, again stitched from the back.

I cut out an ATC sized piece,backed with Pelmet Vilene and stitched around the edges. The paper flowers and the Fantasy Film butterfly were in my stash.

Technorati Tags: Silk cocoon rods,transfer foils,flower stitcher,paper flowers,fantasy film,cable stitch

Mixed Media Canvas

2011-08-29T13:14:00.001+01:00

First time I have tried anything like this , but the urge took me and I just went with it.

I started by roughly stitching scrim to Pelmet Vilene, and then adding strips of torn wallpaper. This was painted with Golden liquid acrylic , Transparent Pyrrole Orange.When this was touch dry I added a coat of Nickel Azo Yellow, and when dry just a few touches of Outside the Margins 22 Karat Gold spray (added with a brush.) The silk carrier rods were also coloured with this.

I stitched the carrier rods to a piece of brown silk, just enough to hold them in place. I used some thick silk thread, which I stitched with a ‘broken’ zig- zag stitch, working two at a time, and moving from one to the other without cutting the threads (these were cut later). I then added the orange silk threads to the scrim and wallpaper background, using a zig-zag stitch. The silk rods were stitched to the background and the whole piece was then attached to a canvas, painted with Windsor and Newton raw umber acrylic.

Technorati Tags: mixed media canvas,pelmet vilene,scrim,wallpaper,Golden Liquid Acrylics,Outside the Margins spray,silk carrier rods,silk,silk threads,zig zag stitch

More Alphabet ATCs

2011-08-26T12:45:00.001+01:00

K and L…..kiss and love.

K, background painted silk, image printed onto painted fine fabric. Kiss stamped using Stazon. Added some ‘pearls’ and mounted on card.

L, Background coloured fabric, cut up threads covered with organza and randomly stitched to hold into place. Zapped with the heat gun, and where the organza had shrunk away, free machining.

Piece of folded fabric stitched to one side and shell hearts added. Letters made from foam, painted, heated and a stamp impressed into them. They were then stitched to the background. Mounted on card.

Technorati Tags: alphabet atcs,fabric,organza,foam letters,stitched,Stazon ink

Toilet Paper

2011-08-23T12:55:00.001+01:00

Well who knew that you could make art from toilet paper. My friend Adrienne ran a swap to make embellishments using toilet paper.

It is a really simple process, you just need to be selective with the stamps you use. Deeply etched and with an obvious outline are the best for this technique.

Select your stamps, place 3 or 4 pieces of toilet paper on the stamp, wet with a sprayer and press carefully into the stamp, pressing into all the crevices. When dry (I left mine overnight) remove from the stamp, and colour with whichever medium you wish.

Tip In Pages

2011-08-23T12:48:00.001+01:00

I organised a swap for Tip-In Pages (A5 size) which had to be based on the Teesha Moore style. I was hoping that participants would sign up 3 times as they had for previous tip-in swaps, but no such look, so it became a one for one swap.

I haven’t done anything in this style for ages, and certainly not in this size, so I was apprehensive about tackling it. I don’t know if I’ve managed the Teesha style or not, but I had enormous fun making these pages.

Please go look up Teesha if you are interested in how these were done, she explains it so much better than I ever could.

Yet again ATCs

2011-08-23T12:28:00.001+01:00

The theme was ‘Beauties’. First one was made on a piece of hand coloured fabric, which I stamped after I’d placed the picture. A small amount of organza was placed on the right side and attached, with the sequins and beads. I gave it a very quick blast with the heat gun, but decided not to go any further with that idea!

Second one was a piece of painted silk, placed on some pink velvet (my old caravan curtains!), and an ink-jet printed picture. A piece of lace, a dictionary definition and a couple of small flowers finished it off. Both were then satin stitched around.

The third one is not stitched. I fell across this picture of a beautiful old woman and really wanted to use it in some way. The background is a piece from a National Geographic treated with Citra-Solv. I mounted this onto black card and added the quote. It still needed something else so I stamped a little with Stazon, and attached the sequin and bead. Of the three I think this is my favourite.

Technorati Tags: ATCs,velvet,silk,painted fabric,lace,ink-jet images,Citra-Solv,sequins

Rusted Fabric Postcard 2

2011-08-08T16:16:00.000+01:00

This was made from the remaining fabric from the one below. This time I added a silk flower, using a die cut and my Wizard machine, beads and sequins and the stitching was done using one of the set stitches on my machine.

Rusted Fabric Postcard

2011-08-08T13:50:00.002+01:00

This was made for a swap, with the theme of ‘Rust’
I had already made the print blocked fabric, and decided to use it for this project. Ages ago(like 18 months!) I had bought a rusting kit from Sarah Lawrence, and actually remembered I had it lol.
I stamped on the fabric using the acrylic wax, and then added the rusting powder and white vinegar, and left it to dry overnight.
I used various threads to free machine stitch , using straight and zig-zag stitch.
The embellishment was cut with the soldering iron, using 4 pieces of organza and a couple of metal embellishments to cut around.
I added a little some hand sewing,( a few knots only), some beads and finished with satin stitch around the edges.

Technorati Tags: Rusting powder,acrylic wax,hand stitching,free machining,soldering iron

Frayed Fabric ATCs

2011-07-25T23:08:00.001+01:00

Frayed Fabric ATCs made for a swap.

The backgrounds were made using the embellisher with bits and pieces from my scrap bag. Extra fibres were hand stitched, and embellishments added. Some ‘sacking’ was cut to size and the edges frayed. The embellished pieces were attached with a running stitch. I had fun making these, so hope that the recipients like them.

Technorati Tags: Frayed fabric atcs,embellisher machine,hand stictching,sacking

Organza and the soldering iron

2011-07-12T18:13:00.001+01:00

I had a week-end of playing with some friends recently , and whilst there we played with organza and the soldering iron. I just finished putting this together today.

The base is some acrylic felt, covered with a couple of pieces of organza attached together by using the soldering iron and a Fiskar’s shaped ruler. Once that was done, the squares were made, using 2 pieces of organza. The diamond shaped pattern was made with the use of the soldering iron and a piece of wire mesh. Hearts were ‘cut ‘from organza bits trapped inside two pieces of organza, and attached to the squares with a sequin and a bead. To finish of machine stitching was used , and a few French knots were added at the bottom.

Technorati Tags: Organza,acrylic felt,soldering iron,wire mesh,sequins,beads.,french knots

More Alphabet Swap ATCs

2011-07-09T12:29:00.001+01:00

Great fun making these . Fabric, card,machine stitching, bit of hand stitching, fabric inkjet transfers , printed words.

Technorati Tags: alphabet atcs

Hanging ATCs

2011-07-07T13:59:00.002+01:00

Also made for a swap. I used a background made using painted card, stamped with a Paper Artsy stamp, and embossed with a Distress Embossing powder. The images are ink-jet transferred onto a fine muslin. They were attached at an angle with a zig-zag stitch.

I added eyelets and threaded through the fibres and hanging loop.A

small flower was also added to the top card.

Technorati Tags: Paper Artsy,Distress embossing powder,inkjet transfer,fibre,hanging atcs

Black and White Embellished ATCs

2011-07-07T13:48:00.001+01:00

3 Black and White embellished ATCs made for a swap. I used the embellisher to make the background from bits in my scrap bag which grows, just like Topsy. I am trying hard not to use ‘new’ stuff to make small pieces!

Once I had finished the embellishing I backed them with a stabilizer, and stitched them using the machine. The outside of the ‘flowers’ are cardboard cogs, and I attached these using the machine.

I then added the buttons ,some random hand stitching.and backed with pelmet Vilene.

Technorati Tags: Embellisher machine,black and white,buttons.,hand stitching,machine stitching

Alphabet ATCs E and F

2011-06-28T16:34:00.001+01:00

Another swap!

Fantastic Fibres

2011-06-28T16:27:00.001+01:00

Another swap, fantastic fibre ATCs, or I could have made a card, but true to form I made ATCs lol

These were made using my embellishing machine, and left over scraps of wool, velvet, angelina fibres, organza, etc. I then added some embellishments, beads, buttons and some couched threads.

Technorati Tags: Embellisher machine,wool,velvet,organza,beads.,buttons.,threads.

Angie Hughes Influence

2011-06-28T16:17:00.001+01:00

I haven’t posted for a while, I’ve been under the influence……..

Here are just a few of the things I have made using a modified version of an Angie Hughes technique.

This was made for a Friendly Plastic bead swap. It’s a folder to hold some drawing paper, tied with a ribbon to which was attached two of the beads I made.

Another sewing kit roll for a friend’s birthday present.

This is a photo/postcard album.

They are all made using velvet as the background, silk

strips and strips of painted Bondaweb, covered with a piece of nylon organza. This is all stitched together, using basic machine stitches. It is then zapped with the heat gun to distress the organza.

A backing of cotton or silk is cut to size, and attached to the piece using a cord edging, or simply using a zig-zag stitch. A tie can either be inserted between the two pieces of fabric, or attached afterwards as in the example above.

Technorati Tags: Angie Hughes,Bondaweb,velvet,silk . machine stitching,organza,heat gun

Decorated Box

2011-05-16T15:06:00.001+01:00

I signed up for a swap for which I had to decorate a box. Searching through my stash I found a hexagonal plain wooden box, which I though would be ideal. Before I started I removed the hinges.I the

I decided to cover it with metal, or rather metal tape. For the outside of the box, I cut cardboard into the shapes I needed. One for the top, 6 for the sides of the lid , and six for the sides. I covered these with two or three layers of metal tape, which I brayed to get creases out. I ran ran it through my Wizard, using a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I stuck the pieces on using Golden Regular Gel.

I then covered all the inside with a couple of layers of tape, and ran around it with a metal embossing tool.

I then coloured it with Alcohol Inks, a mixture of Denim, Meadow and Sailboat Blue.

For the inside of the lid and the bottom I found a piece of velvet in a contrasting colour. I cut this out to shape together with a thin wadding and zig-zagged stitched around the edges. All stuck down using the Golden Gel.

I covered the bottom with normal black felt, and replaced the hinges , which I had toned down with the same alcohol inks used to colour the box.

Hope my swap partner likes this. I enjoyed making it for her.

Technorati Tags: Metal tape,wooden box,alcohol inks,Wizard,Cuttlebug embossing folder,velvet,Golden Gel Medium

Fabric Postcard

2011-05-10T15:12:00.001+01:00

This is a fabric postcard with the theme f time. Again made for a swap (almost caught up on them now )

I was searching my tidied fabric stash for a base fabric and found this piece, with travel times on it, together with maps and buildings.

I free-embroidered over the numbers, and added some printed images of clocks and the words. I hope Wendy likes it.

Music/Dance ATCs

2011-05-09T13:16:00.001+01:00

Another 3 ATCs for a swap. Theme of Music/Dance.

Stitch, fabric paper, stamps and images used to make these.

Technorati Tags: Dance/Music,ATCs,fabric paper,stitching

Tip In Pages

2011-05-08T16:10:00.000+01:00

Not much art for the last month Mojo seems to have taken a hike, but I did manage to get a couple of swaps done.
Paper Artsy Stamps had to be used for a tip-in swap. Here are mine.

Technorati Tags: Paper Artsy Stamps,Tip-ins

Time ATCs

2011-05-08T16:09:00.001+01:00

3 Time ATCs created for a swap.

Nature ATCs

2011-04-15T11:24:00.001+01:00

3 ATCs I made for a Nature themed swap.

ATCs using beads

2011-04-13T14:48:00.001+01:00

Another swap I’ve participated in needed me to make ATCs, using beads.

This was made using a Margaret Beale technique of fusing and burning organza’s. You pile up bits and pieces of organza, about 5/6 layers deep, and use a piece of fine gauge garden metal as a grid, which you cut around using a fine soldering iron.

I cut the piece to size, and added stitching and beads ti create a pattern.

This was made using 2 colours of sari silk stitched onto pelment vilene. The silk cords were couched on and beads added to embellish. The polymer clay embellishments were already in my stash.

This one is a silk piece on which I did a rubbing from a rubber stamp. I then hand-stitched around the pattern and added beads. The background is a piece of hand printed fabric, covered with organza and distressed slightly with the heat gun. The sequins and beads were added to finish.

Technorati Tags: beads.,hand-stitching,sequins,Margaret Beale,soldering iron,organza,silk ties,sari silk.

Oiled Paper

2011-04-13T14:33:00.001+01:00

I signed up for a mystery swap that Adrienne was organising and this is what we had to produce. Three sheets of oiled paper and 3 ATC’s using it.

I used baby oil, and copy paper (I did try others, but the copy paper worked best in my opinion).

For this piece I stamped , using black Stazon before I painted. It was then given a couple of thin coats of acrylic paint, with a gold acrylic dry brushed to give it a bit of a gleam. After drying it was oiled , crumpled a lot and again left to dry.The background was used in 2 different ways, one to make a background for the ATC, and the other to cut out the stamped circles, which were slightly darkened and then randomly stitched. The piece of friendly plastic stamped with the same stamp was already in my stash.

This piece was painted with a thin layer of acrylic, and whilst wet stamped with an un-inked stamp, and another light layer of acrylic added. It was left to dry , oiled , crumpled and left to dry again. It was then used as the background for the Spring ATC.

The third piece was painted in the same way and then oiled, crumpled and left to dry. The flower on the ATC was made with the background paper with the addition of a touch of sparkle.

Hope Pauline will like these.

Technorati Tags: Copy paper,acrylic paints,baby oil,friendly plastic,ATCs,background paper

Metal Inchie Canvas

2011-04-13T14:05:00.001+01:00

Several months ago I was involved in a metal inchies swap. I have finally done something with the lovely inchies I received.

I mounted them onto a 6in x 6 in box canvas which was covered with a rough layer of moulding paste, into which the inchies were placed. It was then given a couple of coats of acrylic paints, and highlighted with Treasure Gold.

Technorati Tags: Inchies,metallic thread,acrylic paints,canvas,Treasure Gold

Basic Sewing Kit Holder

2011-04-02T13:07:00.001+01:00

I had great enjoyment from making this, so many thanks to Angie Hughes

I firstly painted some Bondaweb with Luminaire Halo Paints (beautiful shimmering colours) and left to dry.I cut a piece of felt to make the holder, approx. 91/2 ins by 8ins, which made a pocket around 6 x 8. Several lines of straight stitching(31/2ins) were done, to hold various bits and pieces. How you do this depends on which individual bits you want to keep in the holder. I then zig-zagged around the bottom of the piece, folded it up and stitched down the sides.

I used a piece of black velvet cut to the correct size , backed with Vilene. Strips of the painted Bondaweb were cut and using a fairly hot iron and baking parchment, attached to the velvet. I had had silk strips of just the right colour, so these were cut to size and Bondaweb ironed onto the back . Once I had attached the silk to the velvet I realised that I had not made a great job of cutting the Bondaweb, lots of little sticky patches. Ah yes, Angie uses a lot of foils, so I searched out some transfer foil and added it to cover the mess I’d made. The whole piece was then covered with Organza, stitched with cotton thread, and given a blast with my heat gun . Once that was done I added more stitching.

This was then attached to the felt pocket, and a ribbon added for a tie. My basic sewing kit, all in one place, ready to pick up and go!

Technorati Tags: Angie Hughes,felted,organza,hotfoils,silk,Bondaweb,Luminere Halo Paints

ATC Giveaway

2011-03-22T16:19:00.001Z

ATCs giveaway, first come first served. If you would like one, please leave a comment saying which you would like, and email me your postal address and I will send it too you when I return from my short break .

These were all made from bits and pieces left over from previous projects. (Except for the beads)

Printed Postcard/Photo Album Cover

2011-03-10T14:38:00.001Z

Hand dyed and printed fabric before it was used to make the cover.

This started life as a piece of cotton which my friend Karen gave to me. I ‘dyed’ it using various sprays in blues and greens. The printing block was made by taking an impression from a large Indian print block with a piece of Penscore. I then stamped this with green and blue acrylic paints, which I then overprinted with white.

Front of Cover Back of Cover

To start I painted a piece of Pelmet Vilene, using the same colours as I had used on the fabric. I used the same impressed stamp in white, which dried to a subtle design. I then put this aside to use later.

Once I had cut the fabric to size, and attached some medium weight Vilene, I melted Angelina fibres to make a fairly dense fabric.This I cut into various shapes, and attached to the fabric with machine stitching. I then dug out a couple of images printed onto fabric with my printer, and again attached with machine stitching.

I coloured the ‘pearls’ with acrylic paint, and when dry stitched on.A bit of hand-stitching finished off the cover.

I made ties by using some dyed tape, and sewing a couple of lines of stitching along it.

A piece of batting and the painted pelmet Vilene were cut to size and pinned to the cover ready to sew. The ties were pinned into place, and the whole was double zig-zagged around the edges.

The inside came from photo albums, bought very cheaply a couple of years or so ago.

Technorati Tags: Fabric,printed,Penscore,impressed,Indian Print Blocks,acrylic paints,hand stitching,Angelina fibres,pelmet Vilene,fabric inkjet prints

Purple ATC’s

2011-03-08T16:07:00.001Z

3 ATCs for a swap, the theme being purple.

I decided to use Tyvek paper which I’d had for ages. Firstly I painted it with a thin covering of Golden Acrylic Fluid, just enough so the white still showed a little. Whilst it was drying I made a page on the computer, using purple ink and one of the special brushes, falling ivy leaves, and once the Tyvek was dry printed it out. Not that it is very evident…..I then attacked the tyvek with the iron to distress it a little. I didn’t want it to be completely distorted as I intended to use the heat gun on it.

I took a piece of purplish coloured organza, and using a cotton thread stitched more or less straight lines in a grid pattern. I then used the heat gun, to remove some of the organza. I cut this into pieces of approx. 6cms x 8.5cms , and machine stitched them to coloured tyvek cut to a normal ATC size.

I then cut some of the remaining tyvek into small squares and oblongs, and stamped onto these using Brilliance Victorian Violet, which I then attached using a metallic purple thread.

To finish off I sewed a button to a small piece of tyvek covered with a piece of organza, which I then melted around the button. This I attached with super glue. I then used a touch of Stickles to add a little glitz.

Technorati Tags: Tyvek,organza,cotton thread,metallic thread,button,Golden fluid acrylic,Brilliance Ink,Stickles,heat gun

Alphabet ATCs

2011-03-06T16:21:00.001Z

Alphabet ATCs, and as soon as I heard that a song started running through my head. You know the one? A you’re adorable etc…….

So I am going to try and do a whole alphabet based on the song….of course , mnop I could go on all day, qrst, alphabetically speaking you’re ok,and wxyz will take a bit of sorting out!

Here are the ones I have done so far:

Great fun doing these, all made with bits and pieces from my scrap bags and boxes.

Fabric/Mixed Media ATC Holders

2011-03-06T16:08:00.003Z

This was a first for me, making books from fabric. I had some guidance from my friend Sue, and once I was off really enjoyed making these.

This is the cover of the first one. It was made from a piece of fabric that had been previously coloured and printed on. Some Stewart Gill texture glitter was added to give it a bit of glitz. When it was dry it was cut to size, and, using Wonder Under was attached to a suitably sized piece of bump. The fabric for the inside cover was attached in the same way, and the two pieces stitched together.A ‘spine’ was made with three lines of straight stitching, one in the middle and one each side.


The fabric used for this page was purchased fabric, stamped with a foam stamp using silver acrylic. A piece of Vilene 250 was ironed onto the back   and a bit of free machinery stitching using silver thread completed the page. The pockets were made using the same Vilene as backing, hemmed along the tops and attached with a small zig-zag stitch. The back of the page was completed in the same way, both sides were pinned together and then cut to the correct size, and machined round. All pages were made in the same way.


This fabric was coloured and decorated with Thermofax screens, made at a Angie Hughes course which I attended last year.



The left hand side is purchased fabric, over stamped with a heart stamp and gold acrylic. Gold braid was attached to look like an envelope.


This is a two toned blue fabric, stamped in gold acrylic. Some gold stitching was added , following the shapes of the swirl. Gold thread was added to the pockets in a swirl shape.

To complete, the pages were folded in half, and stitched to the cover following the previously stitched lines, middle one first.
A simple button and thread tie was added to finish it off.


All the fabrics used in this holder were coloured using various sprays and when dried ,printed, using ‘plates’ made from Penscore.
It was made in the same way as the one above.
The flower on the cover was made using organza and the soldering iron, with some beads added to the middle. Some decorative beads were added on the cover edges and on the spine.

Random stitching was added to all of the inside pages.




Technorati Tags: Fabric,Acrylic paint,Penscore,wonder under.,vilene,stitching,thermofax screens,foam stamps,printing

Mixed–Media Art Quilt

2011-02-19T17:07:00.001Z

I really enjoyed making this, not sure if it really is an art quilt, or a sampler though lol.

I used a piece of fabric that I had painted and printed using on of my collection of old Indian print blocks. I used 505 to stick some batting on the back, and then started to decide on what to put on it!

I thought of hearts and sorted out some left over machine felted and stitched bits. These bits were all on Pelmet Vilene, and were able to be cut with my Wizard using a Cuttlebug heart die. I then cut the squares from Pelmet Vilene and covered them with a script fabric, which I roughly stitched around. I added the hearts to these squares, using various embellishments buttons, sequins and beads. The edges of the squares were then tidied up using a small zig-zag stitch.

The squares were then placed on the background fabric using 505 repositionable glue to hold them in place whilst I machine-stitched them on. To finish off I backed with pelmet Vilene and satin stitched around the edges.

Technorati Tags: Art Quilt,mixed media,pelmet vilene,Wizard,Cuttlebug,hearts,machine stitching,felted,buttons.,sequins,beads.

Fabric Tag Book

2011-02-05T18:19:00.001Z

A couple of weeks ago I went, along with Adrienne and Wendy to Ledbury Art Place run by Angie Hughes.

We did two courses, one on Indian Style Printing (more of which in a later post, the other on making fabric tag books.

We learnt how to use our printers to print onto fabric, tissue paper, transfer paper and how to print words out on to fairly narrow tape.

The secret of all this is a repositionable glue spray, we used 505, but I am sure that any brand will work, and being careful to keep your leading edge well stuck down.

We spent most of the morning, finding and printing backgrounds. Angie has a stand alone printer, but any flat feed printer should work. I have a Canon406 and it works perfectly. We also cut out several tags in a backing fabric, felt, pelmet vilene or anything of that kind.

When you have a background you like, either found on the computer, a made collage, or even stamped, you can get you fabric ready. You need to spray a piece of normal copy paper with the glue spray, and attach your fabric, smoothing it out well. Make sure that there are no overhangs and then print. Remove from the backing paper, which can then be re-used several times. If you want to print onto tissue it is better to use a backing paper that has been used several times, so that it has a few bits of fluff on it!

We then used Bondaweb to attach the fabric to our tags. Some of my tags have been painted with Gesso , but I didn’t so this with all of them. I used stitching and embellishments as needed to finish my tags of. I used 11mm eyelets (made by Prym) to finish the tags off , and put them onto a 2” book ring.

I had several small pieces of fabric left so pinching the idea from Adrienne I also made a baby tag book.

This was fun to do, and I shall run a swap along similar lines soon.

Technorati Tags: Fabric Tags,Pelmet Vilene,Felt,Gesso,Printer,505 glue,tissue,transfer paper,embellishments,book rings

Technorati Tags: Prym eyelets

Beads, Beads, Beads

2011-01-10T15:34:00.001Z

A trio of ATCs using beads.

Firstly I sorted out some already coloured backing card from my stash. I found enough for the three ATCs I needed to make. I decided that I would try to use bits that I already had , rather than start the whole process from scratch.

First one was using a piece of silk on which I had made a rubbing, using Markal Paint Sticks. I attached the beads and added a little colour with glitter pens. I then stamped and embossed the background card, using gold embossing powder . The heart was cut from a scrap of fabric paper, stitched around the heart and stitched the face to the middle. Finished off with gold Krylon around the edges.

With the second I stamped and embossed the background card, this time using copper embossing powder. I used a piece of lutrador, that had been stencilled using moulding paste, coloured with treasure gold (copper) and heavily distressed. I stitched this to a piece of red silk and randomly attached sequins and beads.

Number three, I again stamped and embossed the background card. I had a small piece of fused fabric that I’d made at a workshop ( Margaret Beale), so I cut this to the correct size and added sequins and beads.

Technorati Tags: ATC,embossing powders,krylon pen,markel paint sticks,beads,sequins,margaret beale,silk ties,lutrador,molding paste,treasure gold,fused fabric

Recycling Christmas

2011-01-10T15:10:00.002Z

Just getting back into the swing of things since the holidays, and this was an ideal one to start with. Make 3 ATCs using Christmas cards, wrapping paper etc.
The first one was made with a cut out from a card, coloured and mounted on a backing card from my stash. I cut the little hearts from gift wrapping paper.
The second was made again using card mounted on backing card, coloured , this time stamped and embossed . The fabric star was cut from the cover on a jar of jam that I was given. I added the button from my stash.
Third was again using card stamped and embossed. I attached some fibre that I had and added cut outs from the same gift wrap that the hearts came from.
These bits would normally have been binned, so it’s nice to get a bit of ‘free’ materials to use

Shrink Plastic Decorated Box

2011-01-03T22:47:00.001Z

This started life as a plain wooden box that I picked up in The Range.



I painted it with one of my all time favourites, Liquitex Super Heavy Bodied transparent Burnt Umber. I just use a little water with it to make it easier to go on. I used cream shrink plastic, and had several goes at getting the colour right. Stazon black just didn’t look right and Stazon timber Brown was almost black when it was shrunk. Of course I’d forgotten that colours intensify when heated!Any way, I finally tried Versa Magic chalk ink, Jumbo Java and it turned out to be just the colour I was hoping for. (Luckily, had nothing else to try lol). I used Crafty Individual ‘s stamps to make the tiles.
I then thought I would emboss the top of the box with gold embossing powder, and a flourish stamp, but this was a disaster. Bits of the embossing powder stuck everywhere, and the flourishes were much to heavy. Out with the sandpaper to sand it all back, touch it up so it was smooth again and add a touch of umber here and there where it was needed. I wasn’t able to get the flourishes out completely, but decided that they actually looked ok.I then dry brushed gold paint over .



The inside of the box. On a piece of gold coloured silk , I stamped the bird only , and, with a piece of felt underneath the silk, free stitched using straight stitch and free motion, with a variegated Madeira thread. This was cut to size and stuck into the lid. For the bottom I stuck a piece of plain brown felt, which I also used to cover the outside.
The last thing left to do, was to add the shrink plastic tiles, which was done using book binders glue.

Technorati Tags: wooden box liquitex heavy bodied,shrink plastic,stazon ink,Versa Magic chalk ink,embossing powder,Crafty Individual Stamps,birds,book binders glue,silk,felt,shrink plastic tiles,free machine stitch,Maderia varigated thread thread

Christmas Tags

2011-01-03T18:38:00.001Z

I had a great afternoon making tags for my 12 day gifts.

Firstly I cut pieces of card to the size I wanted the tags to be, and covered this on both sides with fabric paper, or bits of backgrounds that I had in my stash. I stamped with a Christmas words stamp. For the edging I used silver plumber’s tape, which I cut into thin strips and adhered around the cards. I then used various metal working wheels to press in firmly and give a pattern. I wondered why I’d bought a bingo card embossing folder, but it came in useful here! I cut spare bits of silver coloured metal into the correct size, and using my Wizard embossed it. The metal was coloured with alcohol ink, a hole punched and ribbon added.

Technorati Tags: fabric paper,background paper,stampboard,Wizard,metal tape,metal,embossing folders,alcohol inks

Christmas Notebooks

2011-01-03T18:27:00.001Z

On UKArt we had a 12 days of Christmas swap, in which all participants made 13 presents and got back 12. I made covers for hard-backed flip notebooks, which can be refilled as necessary.

I made the covers using both my sewing machine and embellisher.

Firstly I cut some pelmet Vilene to approximately the right size, allowing for the end pockets to insert the pads in. I then used various wools, threads, silk ties (wonderful source of patterned silk!) with the embellisher to make the basic fabric.

When this was done I used my sewing machine, with threads to enhance the basic fabric to add decorative elements, straight lines , some free embroidery and on some I stitched on additional fibres.

Next I choose some lining fabric to co-ordinate and attached it using wonder under. I then cut the piece to size, and finished off with two rows of satin stich all the way around. I then turned the ends in to make the pockets and stitched these using satin stitch.

Technorati Tags: Pelmet Vilene,wool,covered notebooks,silk ties,threads,sewing machine,embellisher,free embroidery,satin stitch,wonder under.

Fusing Fabric, Stitching and Beading

2011-01-03T18:06:00.001Z

When I was on a Margaret Beale course earlier in the year, I started fusing strips of organza, cutting shapes in them, but I got no further with it. Over the last few days I’ve had a bit of a clear up, and found the folder that I’d put the pieces in, so I thought I would have a play around with it and see what appeared!

I stitched the pieces of organza onto a felt backing, using various machine stitches. I then hand stitched using my very limited range of hand stitching. I finished off by adding beads, sequins and buttons.

Not sure what I shall do with it now, but I did enjoy just playing, with no specific aim in mind.

Technorati Tags: Margaret Beale,organza,fusing,machine stitching,hand stitching,beads,sequins,buttons.

Christmas Banner

2010-12-17T13:33:00.002Z

This is really not something that I would normally think of making., but the girls I meet with on a Wednesday choose to do it this week. I actually quite enjoyed making it, so much that I finished it off at home. A happy and peaceful Christmas to you all.

Fabric Postcard

2010-12-16T14:55:00.002Z

I just love making these. Hope my swap partner likes it.

Pieces of
coordinating silk stitched together with decorative stitches, and the middle piece stitched to make six spaces for the flowers. I added eyelets to the top, zig-zag stitched pieces of gold cord to make stems and added a selection of buttons for the flower heads. A piece of thread was attached , with a few small beads added here and there.

Technorati Tags: Fabric postcard,silk,buttons,eyelets,gold cord

Book Page ATCs

2010-12-16T14:47:00.001Z

I had a bit of fun with this one. Hope my partner sees the humour!

I’d picked up this book in a charity shop ages ago, was just waiting for the right project to come along so I could use it.

Altered Frame

2010-12-01T13:37:00.001Z

My friend Esther gave me a couple of plain wooden frames to play with. This is one of them completed, although the picture really doesn’t do the colour of it justice.

Firstly the frame was covered in bits and pieces of fabric paper, stuck with bookbinders glue. When dried, several thin coats of Golden Liquid Acrylics were added, not sure how many but at least 4. The final coat was Iridescent Copper Light.

A piece of silk was stamped with a calligraphy background stamp, using Versafine Vintage Sepia.

A piece of stamp board, the same Versafine ink and a Paper Artsy stamp produced the centre piece.

This was assembled and then what to do to finish it off? I found the edging in my stash, coloured it with a quick wipe over with the iridescent copper and attached to the frame using thin double sided tape.

Something was needed for the top, and in my bits and pieces tray I found Remember, left over from a previous project. It was ‘dirted’ up a little and mounted on a small piece of wire mesh, which was then attached to the frame using double sided tape.

Technorati Tags: frame,Golden Liquid Acrylics,Versafine Ink,stampboard,silk,wire mesh,Paper Artsy stamp,fabric paper

Using a Stencil

2010-11-30T16:15:00.002Z

One of Adrienne’s swaps was to make anything we liked, the only proviso being to use a stencil.
After a couple of false starts, I decided to make a postcard/photograph album for my swap partner.
I used Golden Moulding Paste to create a stencil on some black lutradur. When this was still wet it was sprayed with some gold spray paint and when it was dry treasure gold was used to highlight .
A piece of pelmet Vilene to the size needed, and creased well were the spine was to be. This was covered with some silk from my stash ( purchased it on E-Bay).
Thestencilled lutradur was mounted onto a piece of light coloured felt covered with cream silk, and stitched on the flowers and stems with a coppery coloured maderia thread. I used a fancy stitch in the same thread around the edge. This was then attached this to the front of the book, using a small zigzag stich.
Somefancy machine stitching around the edges of the book and on the spine, finished it of. For the ties,I used ribbon, which was pinned at each edge to keep it in place.The back of the pelmet vilene was covered with a piece of cream silk, and zig-zag stitched around the edges, removing the pins as I got to them. The ribbons were threaded through wooden beads, which were tied close to the edges of the covers. To finish off the photo holders were stuck in, using book binders glue.

.

Technorati Tags: Stencil,Golden Moulding Paste,Treasure gold,Maderia thread,Lutradur,pelment Vilelne,silk

Metal Inchies

2010-11-30T15:57:00.001Z

I made these for a swap I was in. We had to make 9 metal inchies and they got swapped out. There were 5 of us in the swap, meaning we got at least one of our own back.

I was running short of time, so mine were made using embossing folders for the backgrounds/ Some I coloured using treasure gold, alcohol inks and black gesso.A couple of them I coloured with a candle flame. I added various bits and pieces from my stash, and cut out a couple of embossed metal stars to attach to the darker backgrounds. One the middle top one, I used some glass paint in the ‘dips’ and added some glitter while it was still sticky. The one with the butterfly I used embossing powder. Good fun to relax doing these after a hectic few days.

Technorati Tags: Metal Inchies,glitter,embossing folders,treasure gold,alcohol inks

Dots and Circles

2010-11-06T16:36:00.001Z

A swap making anything we liked as long as it incorporated dots and circles. I decided to make ATCs.

The background is painted pelmet Vilene which I already had.( I usually use left over paints to colour anything I have laying around !)

I stamped onto different papers and cut out the circles. I added a small black gem to some of them, and arranged on the backgrounds. I used dimensional paint to add the dots at the sides, and gold acrylic to add the dip dots around the circles. Hope my swap partner likes them.

Technorati Tags: Dots,Circles,dimensional paint,Vilene,dip dots

Fabric Paper Birds

2010-11-06T16:14:00.002Z

I have been busy making fabric paper birds for a swap I am in. Great fun, and I am sure I will be making more.
I found a template for a bird, but you could draw your own. The first ones I made were about 6 inches across, but I thought they were too big, so I reduced the size to approximately 4 inches, and I like them I lot better.
I had a stack of fabric paper, so got this out and cut out 5 double sided bodies (making sure I turned the template around for the backs). I then stamped all the bodies randomly, with the first stamps that came out of my stash. I cut out 10 wings and 30 tail feathers (shaped like small wings). I machined stitch all the wings and tail feathers into place, using a variegated thread and a fancy stitch.
I decided that I was going to put some felt in the middle to give the birds a little body.
I choose a ribbon, and leaving enough at the top and bottom, I put the ribbon between the back and front of the bird bodies. To keep it all in place I stuck each bird with some glue.
I then machine stitched using the same variegated thread and a small zig- zag stitch on both sides.
To finish off I added black gems for eyes and used a glitter pen to highlight some of the pattern. I made a loop at the top, decorated with a few seed beads, and added a bell to the bottom of the ribbon.

Technorati Tags: fabric paper,birds,gems,ribbon,seed beads,variegated thread,felt

Friendly Plastic

2010-10-31T11:04:00.001Z

Last weekend I attended a Friendly Plastic Course with Liz Welch, which was run in the beautiful Chepstow Castle.

I don’t have very much experience with Friendly Plastic, but Liz is a wonderful teacher and the week-end was thoroughly enjoyable, meeting up with old friends Adrienne and Liz Gale and hopefully meeting new friends. We shared an evening meal on the Saturday, great fun and good food too!

The object of the course was to teach us how to work with Friendly Plastic in a 3 dimensional way. On the first day Liz took us through lots of techniques, oozing, attaching friendly plastic to itself by using a soldering iron, making right angled sides, moulding and cutting , using metal leaf and colouring Friendly Plastic pellets with alcohol inks.

Small pieces made using the various techniques.

The next day we were already to make our dimensional piece. Adrienne and I found a couple of Acorn squash, different shapes and we decided that this is what we would use for our moulds.

I used the Friendly Plastic pellets , and when these were melted sufficiently , I used lace to try to create a design. This worked very well on the inside, but I had a lot of trouble getting any design onto the outside. I , with Liz’s guidance, tried to rectify this with a heat-gun, and by holding the whole thing in the hot water, but nothing worked, due to my inexperience I must add here lol. Eventually I gave in and reheated the whole thing. I moulded it around the squash, and pressed the outside firmly, folding and smoothing to make some texture. I then coloured it with Alcohol Inks, lettuce, butterscotch and sail boat blue. It isn’t finished yet, but I am thinking about where to go next with it! Any suggestions gratefully received……

Technorati Tags: Friendly Plastic,Liz Welch,Alcohol Inks,Friendly Plastic Pellets,oozing,soldering iron,foiling

Grungepaper 2

2010-10-17T17:40:00.003+01:00

I wasn’t particularly happy with my first effort, so thought I would have another go. I had a ready to go canvas, one which had been covered with various mediums to give texture. It was not quite the colour I wanted , but I changed it by using Starburst stains and Treasure Gold Copper to highlight some of the texture.
I cut out the hearts coloured and then embossed them, using a small Sizzix embossing folder.I stuck the hearts together and used a star sequin and a stick on heart shaped jewel to finish off. I used beaten copper wire and attached the hearts with super glue.
This is going to Adrienne , along with the bookmark when I see her next week. We are off to have a week-end of friendly plastic fun with the amazing Liz Welch.

Grungepaper 1

2010-10-17T17:29:00.003+01:00

I signed up for a swap where I was to use Grungepaper in any way I chose to do so. I’ve had some Grungepaper for ages, but have never got around to using it.
I first of all made a bookmark , using two pieces of Grungepaper stitched together , and coloured using Starburst Stains. I then embossed it, using a Sizzix embossing folder with my Wizard.
I decorated with punched flowers, sequin and a bead and added a brass eyelet to take the fibres. It didn’t look quite finished so I added a Grungeboard letter, coloured in the same way.
I hope Adrienne likes it.

Row Houses

2010-10-03T11:54:00.000+01:00

I'd forgotten how addictive making these little pieces of art can become! Out came my saved pieces of backgrounds, images , stamps and embellishments. Here are the results. I had to make 5 for a swap, but ended up making a few more, and more house shapes ready to be finished off.

Fabric Postcard

2010-10-03T10:47:00.003+01:00

Another fabric postcard for a swap on UK Art. For this I embellished an old scarf around the edges and for the centre I stitched on a piece of black and silver coloured paper that I'd had left over from something. Can't remember what lol. I then used an image that I had already printed onto cotton and attached this with some scribble stitching and a small piece of organza. At this point I left it, no idea where to go.

A couple of days later I was playing around with some organza and found this piece of pink. I made some organza flowers, rough circles cut out and then, using something circular in the middle to hold it down,

gently heating with a heat gun. The edges curl up around the circle, and voila there you have it. I found some black buttons ,stitched them on using a black and silver thread and added small beads to cover the holes. I used the same black and silver thread to satin stitch around the edge. I hope my partner likes it.

Fabric Paper hanging

2010-09-17T13:11:00.000+01:00

I made this fabric heart hanging for another swap on UK. I started off with some fabric paper which was almost white, not very inspiring, so I painted it with Golden Fluid Acrylic, Irridescent Gold. I was a bit heavy handed and didn't like it at all, so applied a thin coat of gesso and then wiped it straight off with a baby wipe. Much better! I added some Treasure Gold , Amethyst to highlight the creases. I then used another piece of fabric paper for the mount, and free-machine stitched with a metallic thread, and satin stiched around the edges with varigated thread. The heart was made from yet another piece of fabric paper and stitched around with metallic thread, and edged with gold Krylon. Tiny flowers were punched from scraps of the papers and attached with a small bead to the corners of the mount, which was stuck onto the background using Golden Regular Gel Medium. I attached the embellishment to the heart, again with small beads.
The darker small tags,with the hearts, were made from scraps of the fabric paper. The lighter coloured tags were made using painted bondaweb, ironed on. The tags were attached using eyelets and ribbon.

Beads

2010-09-17T12:51:00.000+01:00

I had to do a swap incorporating beads. It could be anything at all as long as it used beads.Whilst I was on a short break in Devon I had picked up several of these hanging 'Live' at a car boot sale. Just right for altering!

I first of all removed the wire and painted it with cinnamon Viva metal paint, and when it was dry painted again with Viva olive green metal.When it was dry I stamped it with Versamark using a scroll stamp, and heat embossed using fine detail gold. I did this on both sides. I threaded some gold wire though the holes to make a hanger, and using small beads threaded onto Nymo wove them through the wire. Hope my swap partner likes it.

Paper Bag Books

2010-09-14T15:57:00.003+01:00

I have participated in 2 paper bag book swaps recently. The participants made pages which were sent to the hostess for distribution. All participants were responsible for putting their own book together. The first book was entitled Nature.

My cover and spine. Made with a paper bag coloured using the credit card technique.

End pages, art by Rachel

Our second book was on Leonardo da Vinci

My pages

The completed book. This beautiful etched page was created by Annette.

A Trio of Canvases

2010-09-14T15:44:00.003+01:00

A Canvas, a transferred image, silk paper, a pipe cleaner, some wire and some beads.

I made this canvas for a metal swap. I used moulding paste on the canvas and pressed into it with a texture stamp. When it was dry I coloured it with some spilt inks from when I coloured the metal squares and a little treasure gold to highlight .I used embossing folders on 3 of the metal squares and on the one with the flower I used metal embossing tools. The flower was punched from metal. The squares were all coloured with Spirit Inks (similar to alcohol inks )used for wood staining, and mixed with meths.

Canvas was covered with various mediums and texture stamps used. When dry it was coloured with acrylics and highlighted with treasure gold, well actually pewter I think! The jigsaw pieces were coloured with the same paints and the embellishments were from my stash.

Thank you

2010-09-14T11:32:00.003+01:00

Thank you all for your nice comments, either on here or elsewhere. Blogger seems to have a few hiccups at the moment! I have a few more things I want to blog, and I must say it has been great revisiting earlier work. Some things I had forgotten about. For those of you who asked I will get the Folding book instructions out as soon as I can, possibly at the end of this week.

I have one pressing swap which is giving me a headache lol...I have NO idea what I am going to produce for it. Stand up Margaret lol

l.The view from outside my caravan on our recent trip to Devon.

More ATCs( with a difference.)

2010-09-14T11:16:00.006+01:00

A set of hanging ATCs for a swap. Images are covered with organza to give a softer look.

I needed to produce something using fabric for a swap and (with thanks to Linda Baldock) I made this folding ATC. The 3 pieces are mounted on a piece of organza,

Framed Inches

2010-09-14T11:09:00.002+01:00

I took part in an inchie swap on UKArts in which the colours to use were, soft blues, greens and white with a touch of glitter. I loved all the ones I received and just happened to have a frame which was an ideal size to display them. I used my favourite Heavy Acrylic, Transparent Burnt Umber for the frame and highlighted with a little treasure gold.

Experiments

2010-09-14T10:49:00.006+01:00

Experiments, don't we just luv 'em! Lots of failed ones and sometimes wonderful results that you wonder how on earth you will ever be able to incorporate into your work. Here are a couple I liked a lot, but haven't really used. Have to get my thinking cap on.This piece is made from lutrador. I used a stencil and applied a thin layer of moulding paste. I sprayed with colour whilst the moulding paste was wet, waited for it to dry ( I am usually to impatient to wait, but for this it was important to do so!) I then zapped it with my hotter heat gun, which is a 350w Creative Craft Tool, brilliant for fabric zapping. The result as you see is a lacy effect. I used some treasure gold lightly to highlight.

This was done at a class I attended, Stitching on Metal. It was a fun class and I love the lacy effect that I learnt to do around the edges. I started off with a piece of copper metal and a piece of stabiliser which I stamped with the flower stamp, chosen because of its simplicity lol. The whole lot was placed in an embroidery ring , stabiliser on top, and stitched with the feed dogs down. You need to do this the opposite way to free embroidery i.e slow machine! I then drew a rough scallop pattern on some cold water dissolvable stabiliser, and randomly stitched within the pattern, making sure to catch the edges of the metal and to leave no loose ends.

Meander Books

2010-09-13T14:55:00.008+01:00

This was a great swap organised by Adrienne. Each player made 2 pages for each of the other players to their chosen theme. For the pages we used canvas and pelmet vilene. Once the pages were sent to participants it was up to each individual to make them into the books, and finish the back if desired. My themes were 'Play on Words' and 'Birds'.

Play on Words Front and Backs( backs done by me)

Closed 'Play on Words' meander book.

Front and back of the Birds meander book. Some of the backs done by me.

Closed Birds meander book

M
I did a duplicate of most of my pages and made these into another book.

More ATCs

2010-09-13T14:47:00.002+01:00

A few of the ATCs that I've made fairly recently.

Art Quilt Squares

2010-09-13T14:20:00.004+01:00

A collaborative art quilt swap. Each participant had to make 2 4x4 quilt squares for each swapper, to that swapper's given theme. Here are the squares I made.

Wendy - Vintage

Rosie - Flowers

Pattie - Vintage

Mawgan -Nature

Maggie - Owls

ATCs

2010-09-12T19:24:00.004+01:00

I belong to a group of nine swappers who swap ATCs on a monthly basis. Here are some of my latest ones. Themes are under the ATC

Fabric Paper Steampunk

Dream Destination Contrast

Brocade Notebook

2010-09-12T17:01:00.003+01:00

Not material again! Nope this brocade is very different. It is made from polymer clay. I had a piece of embellished wools that had a couple of contrasting threads embellished on it, and I thought it would be great to use it for a book cover if I could get the brocade right!

It is actually fairly easy to do. You need to get your clay conditioned ' and roll out with a pasta machine or the Wizard will work if you don't have a pasta machine. Paint clay with a metallic paint very thinly. Allow paint to dry and paint again very thinly. Do this 4 or 5 times . Dust your chosen stamp and impress into the clay, roll it once with a rolling pin. Now add another colour or two to the raised image and roll flat. Cook according to directions on the clay packet. A melt pot works brilliantly ;)

My book cover was made using my clay piece and on the back I stamped and embossed the same stamp.

A Folded miracle- Mini Booklet with 5 Compartments

2010-09-12T16:48:00.004+01:00

Well anyone who knows me will know that I have difficulty with cutting straight lines, let alone folding them! So I was really pleased that I was able to actually complete this project.

Books similar to this were used in china to hold embroidery threads.

It consists of five paper compartments, and the folding has to be pretty on the nail, If anyone would like the instructions I can let them have them. I added bits and pieces into the compartments.

The cover was made using embellished fabrics, sari silk and stitching. The closure thread was made with sari silk which I sewed along several times with a zig zag stitch.

I added a hand made bead and a bead from a broken necklace to finish it off.

Lutrador and puff paint

2010-09-12T16:37:00.004+01:00

Two ATCs made using painted lutrador and puff paint. The leaves have been made using a stencil with the paint, which when heated puffs. It's a delicate balance using the correct amount.....it puffs a LOT! I added touches of glitz with transfer foil on the puff paint, but it doesn't show too well in the photos

More Textiles

2010-09-12T15:33:00.010+01:00

A Post-card holder book.

Ages ago I had bought several damaged photo albums, meaning to utilise them for gifts or swaps. Well, that day actually arrived this year. This was made as a birthday gift for a friend. I used a combination of embellishing, fabric and stitching. The ties were made of sari ribbon (the purplish colour) and stitched around the whole book, under the embellishments. The embellishment on the front is made from either polymer clay or air dry clay. The picture of the lady was printed onto printable cotton.

Two needle cases. The blue/purple one was made by embellishing various threads onto pelmet vilene. This was then embellished again using the fabric I used for the lining, picture three. I then couched (see I'm even getting to know the right terms for this stitching lark!) the silver thread on, lined it and stitched around the edges. I added a polymer button from my stash and silver thread to make the closure. The inside 'pages' are made from black felt stitched into place.

The black/white/cream was made using pieces of patterned fabric embellished onto pelmet vilene, and some bits of it were covered and embellished with bits of nylon lace. I then machined stitched the pattern, added the lining as before and satin stitched around the edges. The closure is made from a button from my stash and some black sheer ribbon. The inside 'pages' are again black felt.

This started out as a piece of sateen curtain lining, which was coloured with distress inks. I used a texture plate with a fabric crayon to give me a pattern to follow. Using a backing of felt or pelmet vilene (can't remember which) I stitched over the lines using a heavy cotton thread. I then 'scribbled in the shapes using a heavy gold thread.This was lined with some of the fabric, and satin stitched around the edges. The fastening was made using a polymer button and some of the thick cotton thread. The inside pages were stitched into place and I added a few beads to finish it off.

Fabric, threads and a sewing machine

2010-09-12T14:35:00.005+01:00

No idea how this has happened. Me the absolute sewing phobic has become obsessed with all things fabric. I even went out and bought a sewing machine. Not the all singing dancing one I might have liked to buy, but one that meets my needs at a much lesser price! Whilst I was at it I bagged an embellisher for my Christmas (2009) present from DH, and they have both had plenty of use.

My first fabric postcard swap. Crazy patchwork, with fabric flowers cut from organza using a soldering iron.
This one is layers of organza,stitched with different threads and cut away in places. Centre of the flower is a largish bead surrounded by small ones.

2010-09-12T14:31:00.002+01:00

Oh my, this has changed a lot since I last posted on here! It took me ages to actually get into my blog! I'll need to have a good look around to get familiar with all the changes!

In the meantime I thought I might post some pictures of what I've been up to in the last few months (years!) These wont be in any order, but I will try and give details of what I've done.

Long time

2009-05-10T17:13:00.002+01:00

It's a long time since I posted to my blog, my how time does fly. I do intend to get up to date, or at least post some pics of art I've made.
Actually my new laptop has nudged me to get on here, there is a feature called Live Writer, which means I can write my blog and upload pictures without actually having to go to the blog. The programme then uploads it when you say so. But, when I tried to set it up, it recognized that I didn't have an active blog , so like a good little girl I am doing as I am told and posting so that it now becomes active. LOL

Tyvek Paper

2008-08-18T19:17:00.005+01:00

Adrienne has a swap running, which requires the use of 'fabric paper'. Here are the pieces that I have been playing with over the last few days. The challenge now is to use them for something!

I used Tyvek paper for my base. For the first two I used tissue, and serviettes for the images, the second two were gift wrapping paper. I used very watered metallic acrylics to add the colour.

Tip Ins

2008-08-18T19:09:00.003+01:00

The theme for Sweetpea's tip in swap for July was Time.
Here is my offering. I wanted to get away from 'Clocks', so I hoped this would work.

For Karen's birthday I decided to make her a tip in instead of a birthday card. I think she liked it !

Angel Pages

2008-08-18T18:48:00.005+01:00

Most of the last month was taken up with creating pages for an 'Angelic' book swap. There were 12 people in each group, and there were 6 groups, but I signed up for 3. Some greedy art hogs signed for all six lol! I have got almost all of my 36 pages now, just a couple to come, and with 3 of my own that makes a really chunky book. I am thinking of how to bind them and what to do for covers at the moment. The artwork I have received has been amazing. Here are my pages:

Deco Books

2008-08-18T18:39:00.006+01:00

A few deco- books have come my way in the last month. Here is what I did for them:

For Denise R

For Maggi G

For Sweetpea

Play Day

2008-07-13T13:41:00.008+01:00

Yesterday my friend Karen and I had a play day, using our Wizard and Cuttlebug Embossing Folders. I have recently joined the Wizard Yahoo group and over the last couple of days Jane had been talking about using acetate in the wizard and different methods of colouring it. Here are some of the effects I achieved.

The backs of the acetate were covered with glue, using The Essential Glue Pad by Tsukineko, and then , before colouring I added some bits of metallic leaf onto one. They were then coloured with mica powders. The blue one was highlighted on the front with Luminere gold. I scanned them with gold mirror card on the back, but different backings would give a myriad of effects.

Before colouring I added some glitz to each of the pieces. The green one was coloured using dye inks dotted into Kleer floor polish and the spread out using a paint brush.Once this was done a piece of crumpled tissue was added to the back, and covered with a thin layer of the floor polish. The orange one was done using alcohol inks direct onto the acetate, and then covered with crumpled tissue and floor polish.

These are simply alcohol inks with gold krylon added. They have been mounted on plain white card.

Row Houses

2008-07-13T13:22:00.005+01:00

Trish Bee has a swap going for Row houses. We had to make 26 of them. I really don't know why, but I had a major problem with this one. It took me days to make the first 4, then I did nothing for a while, but eventually I started again, and finished the rest quite quickly. I hope they are what she is looking for! It did turn into fun, using up bits of background, cuttlebug embossing folders, stamps , images and bits and pieces I had stashed away. For some I added words.

Diamond Tip In Page

2008-07-13T13:07:00.005+01:00

I had trouble coming up with an idea for this one. I couldn't get my head away from 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend' and Marilyn Monroe! This was to be about the shape, note the dazzlers. Eventually I came up with this.
The front was painted with a mixture of blue and green Stewart Gill paints and then embossed with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, using the Wizard. I put it through 4 times, it was easy to line the diamonds up. The image was mounted on gold card that I'd stamped and embossed and that was mounted on a torn piece of mulberry paper.
The back was painted with green metallic acrylic. washed over with a very watered down gesso mix, which I wiped off immediately. When it dried I stamped the diamonds and used a piece of metal mesh as a stencil. It was then washed over with the gesso mix , wiped off immediately.
I mounted the image onto blue foil and attached a couple of gems. Words were stamped using a Hampton Art alphabet.