Adopted Practice Piece

A couple of days ago my neighbor brought a visitor to my studio to look at some of the things I've been working on.  During the course of their looking around and talking with me about processes, the visitor's eye fell on a small practice quilt sandwich that lay beside my sewing machine.  She couldn't stop talking about it so I thought if she liked it that much, she could have it.  After all, I'd just been practicing some ideas for free motion quilting.  I'd even tried using bobbin thread in one area and it didn't work, so I used that opportunity to free motion scribble words around it to remind me not to try this on the large work that was in progress.  She said she didn't sew and asked me if I could put a backing on it so that she could use it as a small pillow cover.  The next morning I made a backing with buttonholes and buttons and, ta-da, here it is.

It never fails to astonish me when something like this makes such a hit.  What a great reminder it is to step back sometimes to gain perspective.

More Sticky Backed Craft Foam Stamps

It would seem that there are limitless possibilities when it comes to creating stamps from sticky backed craft foam.  Here are a few more that I've made recently.  I can visualize them being used as background images and also images to punctuate a theme.  Often I will stick two layers of uncut foam together to make a thicker stamp and then cut through the two layers. If any ink or paint finds its way to the mounting surface, it will be less apt to print when pressure is applied during the stamping process.

Here is an experiment with making a hand shaped stamp.

Here is yet another stamp.  This one was made with the kind of foam that can be heated and pressed into (or onto) another form.  The great part of using this foam is that it can be reheated to lose the image and reused for another image.  This particular stamp was made by pressing the heated foam into a copper food mold.

The ouside of the copper mold was used in this image.

This stamp came from pressing the heated foam into the inside of the copper mold.

Craft Foam Stamps

A few days ago I was cutting some random shapes from sticky back art foam to create an overall design for use in background printing on fabric and came up with this stamp.

Oooo, I liked it and couldn't leave well enough alone so I sorted through my original silk screens and found this bird that I thought might look good superimposed on a print with these wavy lines.

I merely wanted to see what my idea would look like so I set about pulling out of my stash the first piece of pre-cut fabric hat I laid my hands on.  Since red Speedball screen printing ink lay on the worktable, I used it to make the first print of the wavy lines. 

Ooops!  I got a smudge of the red ink below the lines.  Time to get creative.  A couple of pieces of cardstock were right at hand and I covered the smudges with stenciled red lines and then echoed those lines at the top. 

 Mmmm.  I did like the way it looked and had a hard time waiting for the print to completely dry.  After it was dry and heat set, I laid the embroidery hooped screen on top of the wavy lines and pulled white Speedball printing ink across it.  Yes!  I liked that, too. 

Still, I couldn't leave well enough alone.  Dharma Trading Company had just delivered a bottle of Setacolor Silver Glitter Finish.  After the white Speedball ink was dry and heat set, the bird form received a coating with the paintbrush of the glitter finish. 

Then came the completely spontaneous act of quilting of the top design atop batting and another fabric that heretofore had not found a proper use. This was good but the design needed to be set off somehow.  Out came the glass beads and the handwork began, bead by bead and, hoorah!  A 15" x 15" finished piece.

Here is a closeup of the quilting, the stamping and the beading.

...and the backing...

A few more stamps were created that day, but they will be posted at a later date.  Until then, I must get this listed on Etsy.

Hoorah! My "Health" Mojo Doll Is in an Etsy Treasury

It's another fun day for me.  I received an e-mail communication that the Etsy Shop, MamaLovePerfume, listed my "Health" pocket mojo doll in a wellness and well being Etsy Treasury.

Here is a link to the full Treasury:
www.etsy.com/treasury/NjAyNzA1NXw5MzU2MTY2OTM/wellness-and-well-being

and
here is a link to my full listing.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/67696277/health-mojo-pocket-doll

and...Ta-da!  Here is my "Health" mojo pocket doll.

Over time I have made several different mojo pocket dolls from treasured fabric remnants for the bodies, Sculpey Clay for the faces, embossed aluminum for plaques and tidbits of beads and other ephemera for the embellishments.  Each little doll has its own stitched and hand painted felt carrying purse and each is finished with buttonholes and metallic buttons.  It always makes me happy when someone enjoys one of these diminutive works.

My Pink Boa Is In An Etsy Treasury

It was fun to learn that MirroredSkyCreations featured my pink boa in her Etsy Treasury today.  You might want to check out some of the other items in this treasure at: 

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQ3NjM5ODR8ODkxNzM1OTIw/the-girly-in-all-of-us

A Peek into Journal Pages

Although I currently have several journals in progress this video provides a peek into some thoughts that have actually developed beyond the journal into art quilts, wearable art, and even short stories.  Some of you may have seen the needle felted and quilted "Henry" quilt and the "Gates" quilt that was submitted as a Quilts on the Wall challenge.

Roxio is having trouble with their program tonight but when it is cleared up, perhaps I will be able to post the slide show without your having to click on this link:  http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Ty6Zm5du


I'll revisit this entry tomorrow and if the link fails, I'll just post the journal pictures.

Using Gel Medium to Block In a Silk Screen

Just found this little tutorial in the on-line Art Trader Magazine about using gel medium to block in a silk screen.  I believe the author called it Guerilla Screen Printing.  http://www.arttradermag.com/how-to/guerrilla-screen-printing/  I'll write a follow-up on how well this works once I have tried it.  Would like to include pictures here, but don't want to infringe on a copyright.

Flight - A New Art Quilt on Etsy

Flight

If you follow my blog you will notice that this piece started a few weeks ago with the background.  The next stepo was the silk screening of the bird figure.  After I discovered that I could apply handwriting without "bleeding" on the fabric, this work developed.    It can also be found on Etsy at:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/81239864/flight-art-quilt-wall-hanging.

Close-up of Silk Screened Bird and Apple Stamped Circles

 Full View of Front

 Close-up of Stylized Sky Elements

Close-up of Handwriting 

Full View of Reverse 

Close-up; of Reverse 



Tea Bags, Checkerboards and Birds - The Final

The blue jay is finally finished.  Because the bird became somewhat lost on the busy background of squares, I drafted a circle around it and then filled it in with Jacquard luminescent textile paints to provide a contrast that would make the bird stand out.  Satin stitching around both the circle and the tea bag was done to provide a unified focal image.  The borders and reverse are made from a hand dyed fabric.  Since there was only a little of the hand dyed fabric left after the borders and backing were done, the hanging sleeve needed to be pieced.

Now, it's on to working on a piece with some writing on it...

Finished Tea Bags, Checkerboards and Birds

Close-up of Bird and Circle

 

 Reverse

Label

Reverse - Close-up of Quilting

Sleeve

Close-up of Stitching around the Jay

Writing on Fabric

Writing on Fabric with Plaid's Tip-Pen Essentials

Finished writing

I have been experimenting with various methods of adding the written word to fabrics, but until now, the results have been sketchy to say the least.  Recently a friend let me use a product that she had not yet tried and I believe it is going to offer some reasonable results.

As a trial, I stretched a scrap swatch of nylon voile into an embroidery hoop and elevated the hoop a bit to keep the paint from seeping through the fabric and smearing.  I then squeezed some plain acrylic craft paint into one of the smaller bottles, screwed on the plastic applicator tip and then screwed on one of the metal tips.   I then began writing--something...anything.  Before me was a partial dictionary definition of the word, "art", so that is the reason behind this.

This is the Tip-Pen Essentials product by Plaid that I used.

 Here is everything that is included with the product.

There were 3 plastic bottles with plastic applicator ends and caps

and several different sized, metal applicator tips.

Close-up of applicator tips

Voile swatch stretched in embroidery hoop.

The ease of application and the results are now leading me to search on-line for this product so that I can return the applicator to my friend.  Presently I have a silk screened piece hanging to dry and am planning on adding writing to it.  I'll put it on the blog for your review whether or not the results are successful.

Repeating Pattern - Screen and Screen Again

Repeating Pattern – Screen and Screen Again

Recently I’ve been designing patterns to use as repeats. This entry follows the creation and execution of one freehand design that can be used as a repeat.

Step 1: Fold a piece of paper in half to establish a mid line. Draw a free form design. This initial drawing was done with graphite pencil so that adjustments could be made.

 Step 2:  Make marks at the top of the pattern to delineate where the pattern ends and where the repeat begins.

 Step 3:  Repeat Step 2 at the bottom of the pattern.

Step 4:  Tape the pattern to the back of a silk screen with the pattern facing the front of the screen. 

 Step 5:  Tape all four sides of the pattern to the silk screen frame on the reverse side.

 

 Step 6:  Turn the silk screen over and place it on a light box so that the pencil drawn pattern is clearly visible.  Start tracing the pattern onto the silk screen.

Close-up 

Step 7:  Use Speedball Screen Drawing Fluid to block in the pattern shapes.

Step 8:  Put some of the Speedball Screen Drawing fluid into a small dispenser bottle with a small metal applicator tip. 

Step 9:  Turn the silk screen over and start filling in the shapes with the Speedball Screen Drawing Fluid from the back side.  Place the screen over a piece of paper to catch any fluid that may drip through the screen. 

Close-up:  Application of screen drawing fluid. 

Completed fill of the design with drawing fluid. 

Step 10:  Let the drawing fluid dry completely.  Drying time will depend upon ambient temperature and humidity, but the fluid is usually dry within 2 to 3 hours.  On warm and dry days, drying time is significantly reduced.

Step 11:  Apply Speedball Screen Filler with a paint brush over the entire screen and covering the dry drawing fluid. 

Screen covered with Speedball Screen Filler. 

Step 12:  After the screen filler is completely dry, rinse off the underlying screen drawing fluid.  The drawing fluid dissolves quickly while the screen filler remains embedded onto the screen.  (Note:  When there is a need to change the image, the screen filler can be removed from the screen with soap and water.  I prefer to use Krud Kutter because it removes the screen filler rapidly and can also be used for myriad cleaning jobs around the home and studio.)

Here is what the screen looked like after screening with gold screen printing ink.  The gold only adhered to the screen filler, not to the pattern (even though it looks as if the pattern is obscured in this picture.)

In the present example I used a swath of fabic onto which I had previously screened a series of three circular lock with keyhole designs onto white fabric. The freeform repeating pattern was initially screened in black over the keyhole design.

To further embellish the fabric two of the keyholes were pained on the reverse with lavender fabric dyes. They were painted from the reverse so that the freeform black design would not be obscured but the thinned dye would come through to the front. The design was further deepened by applying thinned down green Grumbacher fabric dye around the lock/keyhole designs with a sponge brush. After the green background was dry, the freeform screen was used again. Onto the green layer, gold Speedball fabric printing ink was used with the freeform screen. To further enhance the visual impact birds were screened onto the background and overpapped the kehole and freeform designs. The lock/keyhole and bird screens follow this picture.

Close-up of one part of the printed fabric.

Another printed section of the fabric. 

Pictures of the two additional screens used

Lock and keyhole screen in which an embroidery hoop was used for the screen frame.

Bird screen:  The bird form was cut from a sheet of overlapping masking tape strips and adhered to the screen in an embroidery hoop frame. 

Now I am playing with the idea of cutting a stencil or printing on Bubble Jet Set prepared fabric or finding a Thermofax service so...

Here is another rendition of the repeating pattern.