cut, paste, sketch & stitch

re-purposed magazines, silk ribbon & embroidery thread on paper

pen, watercolor, oil pastels & re-purposed enveloped on paper

re-purposed magazines & photographs on paper

Enjoying creative playtime,

exploring the interaction of stitch and found imagery 

cut, paste & easy foam stamps

Like so many of us, I enjoy magazines. I enjoy the first read, then re-read and then eventually giving them away, keeping them or ripping them up and re-purposing the content into a collage, notebook covers etc. I used a handful of these collected pages into a couple of cards I made earlier this week. As well as the re-purposed pages, I also incorporated stamped patterns. 

The stamps were made using "Foamstastic" a self-adhesive craft foam that is easily cut with scissors. It can also be cut with an e-xacto knife for more delicate work. The craft foam is very easy to work with. Once the shapes are cut, peel the paper off at the back and stick shapes onto a piece of cardboard (I used scraps of matting board). Once you have your stamp assembled, use an ink pad to apply colour to your stamp and stamp away. Remember to re-apply ink between each stamping.

Related Posts:
A carry bag using off-cuts and fabric inspired by nature
5 Simple Ways to Enjoy Simple Pleasures
Food for thought

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in between...

In between working on a couple of background changes to my blog which I'll launch later this month, renovating our kitchen and most importantly completing my pieces for the open studio (only 10 nights of sleep) I've been enjoying timeout moments with a little bit of knitting making dishcloths. Using knitting needles inherited from my Gran and 100% cotton knitting yarn, I now have a growing collection of dishcloths - they work a treat in the new kitchen. I've also been re-reading "The Golden Hands" collection. A series of books released in the seventies full of projects and helpful hints for needlecraft, knitters & dressmakers. I do enjoy re-reading these books, while fashion and colours may change technique is constant - an enjoyable timeout and many fond memories.

Give me a museum and I'll fill it

- Pablo Picasso- 

Related Posts:

Make a Simple Sketchers Go Bag

New Fabrics Inspired by Crushed Paper 

Re-purposed doily and a potholder  

just because...

 it draws us in to play and discover

 surround us everywhere, everyday

has many layers

 intrigues us to explore the unknown / the forbidden

inspires us to keep on going even when it hasn't yet worked - to keep discovering

currently enjoying exploring, altering & layering various images from my image library

expanding on a stories / making new stories

inspiration everywhere, everyday

coffee & cake

creative time is extending to the kitchen

whipping up coffee & pecan cupcakes

with butter icing and soft toffee on top

a moment of culinary indulgence.
Here's the link to the Coffee and Walnut Cupcake recipe I used.

creative playtime & card making

 A few of our family and friends Birthdays are celebrated throughout the month of July, so I've been enjoying some card making. Packing tape, old / discarded magazines, scissors, glue stick, a spoon and card stock (card used 190gsm)

is what I've used to create these cards

 spread the tape over the magazine page, use the back of the spoon to burnish the tape down and rip away

 If it all works perfectly you lift the top layer of the paper away and end up with strips similar to the above

Cut these strips into lengths the same size as the card front your using. Mix n match the pieces until you have a combination you like. Use the glue stick to adhere the pieces in place. I also put a layer of packing tape over the top and folded the excess tape to the back which helped to seal everything including the edges. Before adding the final layer of tape you could also finger rub metallic paint over the lumps and bumps that often occurs when working with packing tape.

I've used this packing tape technique to create the decorative covers on the
Ginger & Mandarin Marmalade

from the sketchbook - ginger study part 2

Beautiful and sunny over the weekend perfect for further creative playtime with our gingers. I started with a light rubbing using an oil stick onto fabric and some sketching.

Then I started to wonder what the inside of the flower looks like.

 I carefully cut from the top straight down to discover the inside.

 Inside has a beautiful texture and some parts are slightly raised enabling me to roll paint across the surface and use the flower like a stamp to firstly print onto paper and then onto fabric.

I call these exploration sessions creative playtime 
- the early stages of starting a new project/series -

a good time to explore ideas, products and techniques

Related Post:

From the Sketchbook - Ginger Study Part One

adding a few words

The images are gathered and either printed or glue transferred onto cotton fabrics and now I'm wanting to incorporate a few words into my current work in progress. Normally my approach to adding text to my textile pieces would be through stitch or running the stabilized fabric through my ink jet printer both methods work well and both reliable. For this project I'm working towards having the words with different vibrancy thus adding depth to the final piece.

So I've been playing with various pens, pencils, paints etc and sampling how they mark fabric. When I'm sampling, experimenting, seeing how things work I work quickly and onto materials that I'm not precious about this enables my mind to work freely. As I'm working I make notes documenting my thoughts, findings and any side ideas that spring to mind.

 For my current work in progress I'm leaning towards using pencil to add the text, I'm liking the color density of the pencil on the fabric.

back in the studio

Well with the festive season over and me almost being baked out (only almost, I do actually enjoy a bit of baking etc just the washing up one creates can be somewhat tiresome) anyway I've been enjoying my return to the studio with a little bit of playtime. A while ago I purchased a box of water-soluble wax pastels (Neocolor II by Caran d'Ache) and have really enjoyed using them in my sketchbooks. So it was time to have a bit of a play onto fabric. I started with a piece of leftover upholstery fabric and added some color to the rose pattern that was already printed on the fabric. I then moved onto a  couple of leftover pieces I had from when I was practicing using the gel medium method to transfer digital images onto fabrics. While the images hadn't transferred the way I was envisaging at the time, I liked the texture and shading the imperfect image transfer had created so I had popped the pieces aside for one day. And this week is my one day week. The above images are the progress thus far. I'm really enjoying working with the crayons, being soft they don't pull the fabric as much and I also really like their vibrant colors.

decorating little books

I spotted these little notebooks in our local stationary store the other week and grabbed one pack of each color. Each book has 60 lined pages with a sewn binding. Since purchasing them I've been having a wonderful time making up collage pieces to attach to the front of each little book.

finished - enjoyed making a pencil case

Like so many of us - I often end up with small pieces of fabrics, papers etc and what to do with these. I also had been wanting to make up a bag/case to pop a few of my pens and small sketchbook into. I tend to keep my ink jet printed pieces together in a folder, so I started with these and laid several pieces onto a piece of steam a seam then fused this to a piece of fabric and finally ironed

a piece of 'iron on vinyl' over the top. I now had a front and back piece. Cut two pieces for lining, cut the zip to size and sewed the case together.

signage: instructing/directing/informing/telling a story

Wonderful husband recently rebuilt my computer and installed Photoshop Elements so I've been enjoying a bit of creative playtime figuring out what one can and can't do. I've been playing around with a few of the sign photographs I've taken over the years. From time to time signs and written word grabs my eye. I'm drawn to the shape, color, message, the deterioration, the location and/or the frequency of placement. 

creative playtime - altering envelopes

The work in progress at the moment is what I refer to as creative playtime. I so enjoy doing little challenges and/or small projects were I feel totally comfortable pottering with technique, mixing products, painting over it if it doesn't work or just simply starting again. And at the moment I'm enjoying altering envelopes. Once I've finished pottering with this piece I'll be posting it into Tricia's collaborative 

AIR-Mail project