Book Review

The ladies at Scrap Friends posted reviews of our book "Exploring the Latest Trends in Mixed Media Arts". Go check it out here!

Skinny Book, Fat Book

I just finished pages for two swaps--the first is a Skinny Book Swap with the theme Winter. The pages measure 4 x 7 inches. These are being swapped out on the Art Techniques group.

This next one is a technique swap on Mixed Media Art Friends. These are Fat Book Pages, measuring 4 x 4 inches. This one is the bleach discharge.

And this one is the Dip-n-Dye method of dyeing paper towels. Two of my favorite techniques!

More Valentine Postcards

I finished up a few more of my Valentine fabric postcards. After 10 years of having the same sewing machine, I finally sat down and figured out how to program some words to stitch, and stitched out "Be Mine" on some of the Valentines! A small step I know, but I am really not a tekkie, so I was proud of myself! I printed the backs onto salmon cardstock to compliment the cards, and found a cute heart font to write "Postcard" and "from my heart to yours" on the back of the card. Am I getting too sappy? Maybe, but I think they are cute. Gotta love that pink eyelash yarn on the edge too!

Valentine's Fabric Postcard

I made a batch of Valentine fabric postcards, using a variety of bright pink and orange fabrics. This is another projects where I cut the pieces into wavy strips--I am hooked on that I guess. I then appliqued each piece down using different stitches and variegated threads. I added the red accent fabric and heart. I sent a couple out already to my family, but I have a few extras, so I listed this one on my Etsy Store. I haven't been doing the fabric postcards lately, so it was fun to get back into it!

UFO--Colores de Flores

This is another one of my UFOs, and another one of my original quilt pattern designs. The original quilt was a Southwest Style quilt called "Colores". Click here to see the original quilt. I started this other sample for a workshop sample, and I had wanted to use more vibrant colors and larger scale floral prints, so I am dubbing this one "Colores de Flores". I have it all cut out, there are 20 different fabrics. I have pieced 6 out of 20 blocks, so I'm about 1/3 done. Here are the two blocks that I pieced last night. I am really looking forward to seeing this one completed!

UFO--Polka Dot Polka

Remember for my New Year's Resolution I said that I wanted to finish some UFO's? Well here is a baby quilt top that I finished today. I had had most of the blocks done, and I have been working on setting them together and adding the borders for the past week or so. This is one of my original patterns. It is completely pieced, no templates, even though it looks like the dots were appliqued or cut with templates. I love the bright colors for babies. This one was just a teaching sample, but if I can get it quilted soon, I think that I will give it to my step-brother and his wife who are expecting Baby #2 this summer.

Soy Wax Batik

A few friends and I got together for an art play day and experimented with Soy Wax Batik. The nice thing about the soy wax is that it is water soluble, so it is easier to remove the wax than having to iron it out as with regular batik. We melted it in small electric griddles, and used a number of different things to stamp with: wooden stamps, metal items, foam stamps, egg beater, thread spools, whatever we could get our hands on. We also drew free form designs with an eyedropper or traditional tjanting. After you do the wax design, you paint the cloth with thickened dye. The dye has to be thickened since the soy wax is water soluble.

Here are some pictures of what I did. These are about 36 x 45 inches, and there are a few detail shots. I have only done one layer of batik and dye, and I am trying to decide whether or not I will leave them as is, do more layers of batik, or perhaps enhance with paint.