Pouches and Paintings

One thing about a poor Internet connection, is it gives me a lot more time to do crafts if I just walk away from the computer. The bad part is its hard to make daily blog posts if I can't get on line. So right now I'm at the library playing catch up.

I'm right in the middle of making 8 or so crazy quilt style pouches. I've got the pretty part done with the patchwork and the embroidery. I still have to figure out how to line them and assemble the straps. This is where I always get bogged down.

And the painting bug has bitten me again so I've been busy doing paintings in goauche of girls. I liked the first one where a girl is standing under some grapes. But the one I did last night of a girl holding flowers needs some work. And I need to start using watercolor paper, because I'm using more water than I planned and my paper is curling up. But I'm out of Bristol, so a trip to an art supply store is on my list, when we get into town again and I have money again. I hate running out of supplies. It really bogs down my creativity.

Paper Valentines Cards

I spent today designing Valentine's Day cards for a tutorial. Hopefully I'll get it written and posted tomorrow because I'm running out of time. Some of them are simple enough to do with your children. Others are a bit more sophisticated, but surely there is something for everyone.

My Grandson

Puppy Love

Making Journals

I want to pursue the idea of making some journals. So I bought a bone folder at Art Supply Warehouse.  I'm sure I have many papers sitting around here I can use. I sometimes buy up reams of colored paper and card stock when they are on clearance at Kinko's or Staples or similar places. It's not that hard to make your own 'blender' paper, but it does take a lot of counter space to dry it all. It is fun to use up junk mail that way. Making paper is a messy project but lots of fun.

I don't want to go the 'tradtional' book making route which is very exacting.  I just want to make simple art books. Youtube has a ton of tutorials on the topic.

Of course decorating the covers is a lot of fun too. Its a great way to use your mixed media skills.

Hand Dyed Paper

Today I got some of the greeting cards finished and added photos to the previous post. And now I have a good supply of hand-dyed papers for other projects. I can use it for mixed-media, scrapbooking, art journals, collages, and so on. I got to use some of the inchie art I made for a tutorial a while back.

It got dark out before I finished the 8 cards I was working on. Hopefully I'll get the rest done tomorrow.

Making Charms For Greeting Cards Plus Hand Dyed Paper

I'm getting ready to make a series of greeting cards. So today I'm dyeing papertowels out on the patio. After they dry I'm going to spray them with some gold webbing spray. I keep running across projects that require 'chipboard'. That's the stuff cereal boxes are made out of. So I need to start collecting some of those. Then I will glue the dyed paper over the chipboard shapes and glue that all down onto the card.

I have in mind to make a boxful of cards for everything from birthdays to sympathy cards. I think as an artist, it says more when I make the card rather than just buying one at the store. I've believed this for years but can't ever seem to find the time and table space to sit down and make the cards. So I'm glad I've finally getting my act together. I have all kinds of cool things I've made to dangle from the cards like woodburned gourd pieces, all that inchie art I'm always talking about, beads, buttons, hand dyed yarn and so on. I can't wait to see it all come together.

Making German Bells

I know I used to make German bells long ago in high school, but forgot how. I don't know why I suddenly thought of them today, but I found a tutorial I think if you are a rubber stamper you could decorate your paper, maybe vellum, and emboss it before folding. And adding beads is a nice touch.

Making Paper Beads

Today I'm working on a necklace made from paper bead triangles. This is truly the poor man's craft. All you need is leftover giftwrap or magazine pages, a glue stick or glue, and some kind of protective finish like Modpodge or white glue thinned with water or acrylic glazing medium or clear acrylic spray. I use a bamboo skewer to roll mine, but you can also do it with just your fingers. If you already do crafts like scrapbooking you probably have all those on hand anyway. Homeschoolers, this would be a good craft for your kids too, ages 7 and up maybe.

I know one artist on Etsy that even makes purses with these. To add variety you can add other round beads between each rolled bead. Here's your chance to incorporate those polymer or bread dough or rose beads you've made.

Collage Tutorial

I had to split my collage tutorial into 2 parts so I could upload it to youtube. So it took me most of the day. My computer keeps running out of memory (ruh roh) so I'm guessing I'm going to have to start saving my videos to disks instead of leaving each and every snippet on my hard drive.

Working on a collage tutorial

This part had to dry. Will continue on tomorrow I hope.

First Silkscreen Printed T-shirts

The prep took a long time but it was worth it because the printing was so much fun.
I got the kit to do silkscreening back in Feb. but it called for Freezer paper. I couldn't find any so the project just got put on a back burner. Then I was watching a Threadbanger episode yesterday about using contact paper applied to the screen and I knew immediately it was the solution to my problem. And then I remembered I had a roll of it in my closet. It wasn't clear like they suggested. It was black with marbling. But I didn't see why that would make any difference.
So yay, I am finally off top dead center.

Silkscreen

In Feb. I opened an Etsy shop for silkscreen printing and bought the Speedball kit and then the project came to a standstill because the instructions called for 'Freezer Paper' and even though that was once a common item I couldn't find it anywhere. And then I got a mental block about the whole project so the box has been sitting in my living room since Feb. Then today in a Threadbanger video they showed how to make the stencil using contact paper. And all this time I've had a roll of marbled contact paper squirreled away in my coat closet. I can't believe I remembered that. So I immediately got it out and cut a stencil and put the wooden frame together for the kit. I was all ready to go when it got dark and I realized I had lots of other things to do in the next hour before my bf got home. So I put everything away and I hope I get to use the screen tomorrow.

Threadbanger called for clear contact paper but I just used what I had. So tomorrow we will see if it comes out the way I envisioned it.

Mixed Media Collage

Tonight I put the finishing touches on this collage.