A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
You have to be
In tune
(and watch for the signs)
Otherwise
Life is too
Confusing…
Some of our authors are taking part in this incredible fundraiser. It’s a great way to support a worthwhile cause through fiber art. Click here for more details and artist interviews.
One Cause – The Fight Against Cancer
One Wednesday – February 16, 2011
One Hundred Collages – Created by this all-star team of artists:
The goal – Raise $8,000 in one day for the American Cancer Society.
Fiberart For A Cause has already donated over $205,000 to the American Cancer Society through the generosity of fiber artists and their patrons.
Painted canvas book cover by Suzi Blu
What a wonderful show this week! We had over 200 people in the room – the chat was on fire! Many new friendships were made between people who share a passion for creativity and all things handmade.
Our special guest, mixed media artist Suzi Blu, joined me to demonstrate some really fun ideas for adding some texture and interest to mixed media projects…if you missed the show, click here to watch the replay link.
Suzi showed off her signature-style art journaling on our Ready-to-Go! Blank Canvas Books, using Liquitex® Paints and Matte Gel Medium, plus Inktense pencils. She is teaching a terrific online mermaid-themed class right now that includes how to create an art journal like this one that combines paint, fabric, stitching, needlefelting, drawing, writing, stamping….layers upon layers of creative expression.
Detail of distressed collage paper by Lisa Fulmer
I shared a technique that I learned from Rebekah Meier, author of Fabric Art Collage, for using TAP® Transfer Artist Paper to create a really cool, distressed collage paper. I scanned* some vintage japanese fabrics and transferred the scanned images to watercolor paper with TAP, then distressed by water-scrunching and inking the paper. Click here to see Scrap Time’s video of Rebekah in our booth at CHA demonstrating this technique!
Lastly, I shared something I learned from Laura Wasilowski, one of our authors who inspired a new product, Silicone Release Paper…making paint skins! Such a brilliant and easy way to blend fibers or glitter into acrylic paints and mediums to create a rich, textural “skin” that can be cut and stitched or glued into your mixed-media work.
And as always – prize time was a blast! When you make a date with us on Wednesday nights, you have a chance to win a fabulous book or product…but you gotta be in the Digital Lounge during the webcast to win! Hope to see you next week!
FUTURE SHOWS – many of your favorite authors and artists are coming soon to Wednesday Night Live – click here for the current guest demonstrator schedule.
The holiday decorations were all put away, the house was clean and the weather man said it was going to be a rainy weekend…seemed like a good chance to spend time in the studio to make myself a little treat. Last Fall I had such a great time making this doll from Terese Cato‘s Make Cloth Dolls book.
I thought maybe I could make just one more… Something different though, and after I reviewed the book once again, the small Emily Ann Companion doll was just what I was looking for! All Terese’s dolls are over the top—she leaves almost no detail undone. Her dolls are, in a word, wonderful as are her directions. While I admire the attention to detail, I wanted something a bit simpler…something with linen and lots of it!
..
True to form, she was a junk to jewel creation, made from various fabrics and notions I found at thrift stores, garage sales and flea markets. The body was made from an old linen shirt I no longer wore. Her clothes were cut from vintage table linens, her hair was made from a spool of linen thread and her hearts were scraps from a previous felted sweater project. A true patchwork craft project.
I had originally planned to add a face but once I sewed on her hair, and started auditioning various button eyes, I found I liked her best without. I hope you enjoy her, as much as I do. Please send us photos of the dolls you create and we’ll try to post them soon.
For full free companion doll project instructions continue reading here.
Painting the table for my slice.
A few weeks ago, I blogged about the group quilt that some of the editors are making for the NAMTA (National Art Materials Trade Association) Foundation. We’re all using different approaches and techniques for our slices. I’m primarily using Liquitex® acrylic paint from our Surface Design Center to create the elements in my slice.
Using the full-size drawing, I traced each shape that I needed to paint onto paper-backed fusible web. To reduce the stiffness, I cut away the inside of each shape so there was only an “edge” of fusible web that was about 1″ wide. I ironed the fusible web onto the fabric I wanted to use, and cut out each shape. I generally used fabric that was approximately the color needed and used paint to add texture, highlights, and shadows. To keep the shapes from moving around while I painted them, I pressed them onto a big sheet of Silicone Release Paper. This allowed me to peel off the painted shape and fuse it to the background of my slice.
The large piece of Silicone Release Paper also allowed me to collage groups of elements together. By placing the the Release Paper on top of the full-size pattern, I could see how to arrange the items and fuse them together, so that I could later fuse the grouped elements to the background of the slice.
Placing the large sheet of Silicone Release Paper over the full-size pattern.
Fusing together the table top items
Grouped elements fused together, ready to place on the background
A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
Residue
Of fun…
A sprinkling
Of beach sand
In the trunk.
Back in September I posted that I was working on my daughter’s going-away-to-college quilt. But since it wasn’t done before she left, I turned it into a welcome-home-it’s-Christmas quilt. Here it is!
Melissa's quilt
I adapted a pattern from 9-Patch Pizzazz by Judy Sisneros. This is the second quilt I’ve made from this book. Both my daughters requested one when they left for college. This is a snapshot of the first one.
Sarah's quilt
Thanks to Judy for her great inspiration and fantastic book.
Lesley Riley’s TAP® Transfer Artist Paper has been selected the winner of the 2011 Winter Innovations Showcase. A panel of celebrity judges including Deborah Norville (Premier Yarn & Inside Edition), Candy Spelling (CHA Craft Ambassador), Craig Nakano (The Los Angeles Times), Terri O (Super Simple With Terri O TV), Julie McGuffee (Scrapbook Memories TV), and Jenny Barnett-Rohrs (CraftTestDummies.com) selected TAP as the “Overall Best Innovation.”
The award was presented last night during the Annual Business Meeting of the 2011 CHA Winter Convention & Trade Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California. C&T’s Lisa Fulmer (right) and Letty Perez (left) were on hand to accept the award.
Letty and Lisa accepting the award
Those are some big smiles! We are all a little “TAP happy” around the office today as the celebration continues.
