Completed Book Cover

This is for "The Book Of Days" project re:last post,enjoyed myself today slapping paint about again,I layered up using Gesso first after sanding the shine off my book,using Acrylic paint next, after that I applied strips and pieces of paper using Mod Podge to fix,the Butterfly was a problem,I used Effy Wilds method,stamping on tissue then tearing and sticking down,I didnt like the effect as the colours changed,used a Sharpie pen to try and alter it,still wasnt happy,so painted over the top with Gesso then the paint,lo and behold the thing came through,I loved it ! happy mistake's happen.........The book Plate is a Tim Holtz,they are really nice,now i,ll be kept busy HOPEING to fill the pages lol,I also used crackle glaze to fix. Happy New Year to all ! xxx Inside Pages !

4day Spread

Book of Days

This is something new for me !I have just joined Effy Wilds "Book of Days" here

This is the second stage of my book cover, am just waiting for it to dry,(dont you just hate drying time ! ) I am really wanting to get back into painting and paper craft,(keep loosing my mojo)a friend suggested I try this program with Effy Wild,she is a mixed media artist,we can work along with her each week by vidio to create a book of days,we each choose a word for our book that reflects each one of us,my word is HOPE,as i,m hoping to fulfil all my artistic projects in the coming year,and HOPE to at least spend an hour a day creating something even if its just a mess lol.In this book (like a journal)I hope to portray or doodle something about my day,I found a small (handbag size) sketch book,years old,forgot i had it,now to give it a new lease of life ! You can find Effy on Facebook under "Book of Days" Hopefully this week i will finish my cover and start on the inside page.

Leather Notebook

Yes Leather ! a friend of mine bought me round some leather offcuts,I was telling her my new Tim Holtz Vagabond machine cuts leather,I couldnt wait to try it out,first i wanted to colour it as the offcuts are a very pale beige,I tried everything to change the colour,it was the metalic Rub on's that worked,it wasnt untill i finished this little notepad that i found the best thing for dyeing leather is Alcohol Inks !! they work wonderfully ! Anyway am quite pleased with this first tryout it will make a nice little Xmas prezzie for her,I am soooo pleased with my Vagabond,thankyou Tim for this great machine,there is no end to what i can do with this !

A bit more leather work for a friend a credit card holder,this one is also dyed with alcohol inks

Happy Christmas ! XXX

Vintage book completed !

At last its finished ! I think i have learnt the best way to bind my books together now,well this way works for me using the "Bind it all" machine.
Thankyou everyone for all the comments on my last post,its lovely to get feedback x

So Far so Good

So Far so good,my little white vintage ladies book is coming along,this back page is something different,I was reading that you can use pressed flowers in Fabric Art,its so easy,just trapping the flower between a layer of cotton material then covering it over with fine netting then sewing down ,which i have done here,I am lucky that a friend pressed loads of flowers for me a couple of years ago,i put them away in a folder and forgot about them till reading this,had to try ! really looks lovely,just hope they hold up with the passages of time.

I have already bound my book ,now to just fill in the gaps and back pages with stamping and quotes.its a long job.........

Pure Vintage

Pure Vintage because these 4x4 pages are the start of my Vintage all white fabric book,The images here are much better in real life but not as good as my normal ones,now i know why the cotton fabric i used was not a close weave,thats a lesson learnt,but they are ok for this little book.I have such a lot of lace,hopefully this will use some of it up,have to say i miss the dyeing of fabrics and colours,it is a challenge though :))It sure makes you appreciate colour ! always exciting starting something new,I can't wait to create the cover,needs a lot of thought !

Autumn Colours

Fabric Postcard for a swap in my group,my favorite thing to do making fabric postcards.........this one is Batik fabric background layered onto felt,painted in gold fabric paint (leaves)and beaded,I know they used to make these in Victorian times,I,m off to google them see what comes up,I would love to collect them,proberly out my price range lol.

Mixed Media cards

A card made this morning for a friend whos in hospital.

Just 4"X4" felt square layered up with Organza so the colour of the felt showed through,then machined stitched across to make a pattern,the butterfly was cut out of a beercan using my Cuttlebug Machine,little silk flower and a bead,......"with love" tape ,I coloured with promarkers.Image is fabric,transfered by ironing onto freezer paper through my printer.
Hope she likes it !

And another

And another,thats all my cards done for this month !

Credit /Business cards or ATC holder.

These are simple !
Credit /Business cards or ATC holder.

I just measured 2 credit cards side by side to get the size,cutting out a longer length(think you can see what i mean by the pic) layered the front fabric onto felt then the lining underneath ,so three layers to machine all round,make an envelope sew down the middle and sides all done! then comes the good bit, embellishing.

The turquoise one at the back in the picture,I am using daily fits in my bag lovely,that was Batik fabric painted over with gold fabric paint,my favorite bead,and press stud to fasten.
The pale blue one(hand dye'd) hasnt been embellished yet ,I,m going to do a few of these for Christmas tree prezzies,well thats the plan lol.Maybe i will put some tiny flowers along the flap with buttons for the centers,have to go through my stash and match up..........

New Toys !

This is different ! for me anyway.
I have never seen or heard of these before,so was quite suprised when i had a package in the post from a friend with a few of these silk carrier rods to try ,those were in their raw state not dyed,so the square piece you see here is my practice piece to just see what i could create with them,i dye'd them with Cosmic Shimmer sprays striped and ironed them flat ,then machine sewed onto felt,loved experimenting with these so much and the lovely textured feel,just had to buy some more from Ebay,these in the bag i received this morning are dye'd already,beautiful colours and that silky feel !not at all expensive.

Now to think of something useful to make with them ! thankyou Annie for something different to spend my days playing with lol...........

Fabric Spectacle Case

Spectacle Case

This is for a Swap to create a fabric case for our partner,we had a choice of Spec/mobile/Kindle etc .so we chose Specs..........

I dye'd some white cotton fabric then rubber stamped over it with gold fabric paint (flowers)and layered onto felt, then made an air dried clay embellishment for the corner,painted with Luminere paints to match...the inside is fully lined ,using press studs for fastenings.

Really strange as there is so many ways to tackle this creating wise,I could have beaded or made fabric flowers for the flap,but for me it just evolves as i go along,starting with the fabric background and the colours i use.......I think i am spoilt for choice with a huge stash ! trying to match colours,I like to use mixed media makes it more enjoyable than just sewing jewellery on ! Yesterday was so depressing weather wise,cold and rainy,so this little project made the day go really quickly,and so enjoyable.

My Handmade Book Collection !

NO Fabric in sight !
Just for the record lol,I have actually put them on show,they are all blogged on here somewhere.........lovely to look back on,cant believe i made all these.

The Never Ending Story

This Fabric Book may take forever so i,m blogging as far as i have got with it, 6"x6" in size,I,m using Batik fabric as a base onto felt,lots of beading!this photo is the true colours,the others look a bit blue,dont know why !

The back cover i have used toilet paper,yep really lol,its called paper casting,I first got 9 sheets of toilet paper and my "Daisy" rubber stamp then using a water spray bottle, i sprayed each layer onto the stamp,using a stencil brush to push in while wet,then leave to dry,gently peel off,then paint ! so simple.

The first inside pages

This a layered page after the style of Beryl Taylor,my favorite Mixed Media Artist!I have used moulding paste with a stencil for the little flowers then painted.

The open book,I have used 140LB watercolour paper for the pages and sewn in the centres,leaving the silks hanging to bead at a later date.So hopefully i can design each page in fabric layering up onto felt etc, then glueing each onto the watercolour pages.
Here,s hopeing its all going to work out :))

Fabric Postcard Holder

I treated myself last week to some pretty Batik fabrics from Ebay,just had to create something ! I am collecting fabric postcards,through my swap groups, so thought i would make a holder for them,this is it !it only holds about six as they are quite bulky especially if they have embellishments like beads etc,so i might have to make another lol,anyway enjoyed myself :))

Back to Fabric !

I love to do Fabric Postcards,this one is completely from scratch,using a white pillowcase cut up and dye'd with Brusho Paints,then stamping into it with gold fabric paint....fabric transfered image and handmade bead,
The flowers are cut from a discarded slip a friend gave me,so recycled lol.

My Art Journal

My Art Journal Cover

I 'm really getting into this art journal thIng lately,it makes a nice change filling in a hour or so when I just need to just sit and relax,playing around with pens and paint,not having to try very hard,just what comes to mind at the time.
I had an old A5 ring binder,decided to alter it for my journal pages covering it with 140LB watercolour paper then painting it with the wet in wet technique,the lettering is done with my cuttlebug die's.so that was VERY easy lol.
I,m not showing all my pages,bit to personal !

Spent the morning cleaning my art room,sorting out the huge cupboard i have in here,throwing loads of paper and books out,it just got to the scary stage,just could'nt stand looking at the mess! at least i found bits that had been missing for ages,nice suprises lol......Next week is a round of Drs and hospital appointments,also a day out to Hastings,love it there,just love the Antique shops and the oldy worldly atmosphere.Hopefully i will find some nice bits to add to my stash!

Have'nt got a clue what my next creation will be,just hope i,m not losing my mojo,Me thinks i need inspiring !

Journal Pages

Another addiction,I think this ones healthy lol,I started some journal pages a few weeks back as i have to do one for a swap,in the style of Teesha Moore,now i cant flippin stop making them !(to fellow swappers,your ones not here lol)T Moore link here
The cat is a pencil drawing,i have used everything i can lay my hands on
Sharpies
Acyrlic paints,
Paper collage
Gel pens
Inks
white paint marker
etc etc

Envelope or pocket book

Envelope or pocket book

Just something different, what i will use it for i dont know yet,maybe to hold buttons,sewing needles etc ,its just an idea i had in my head and had to try it out,I used plain white Vilene to stiffen and an old white pillow case cut up and all dye'd with Brusho Paints,the buttons are the old vintage cloth ones i dye'd too.........is it finished i ask myself,maybe i could decorate or embellish it more than i have ,really its just an experiment and hopefully be useful.I get these ideas in my head and have to carry them out whatever the outcome :)) hope you enjoy looking and maybe inspire you to make it too !

Fabric Arch Book Completed !

At Last! really enjoyable though,certainly makes the time go quick,this is the front cover as you proberly have guessed lol,background is fabric paper,the organza side showing,loveee making this,i never know how it will turn out,i used napkins layered onto organza,then tissue paper and of course PVA glue in between each layer,then painted with Brusho paints,takes overnight to dry.
The image is a transfered fabric one,the jewellery broken pieces from my stash.
Below is a couple of pages,the lace in the middle holds the book together with two hinged rings,I have covered with ribbons and beads,so its not so open now as it looks here.

BACK COVER

INSIDE PAGES

All bound up and beaded !

Different Stages

Fabric Arch Book

Different stages of my Arch Book,such a miserable day raining and cold,an ideal day for crafting,some of these pages are sort of half finished,the darker backgrounds are my own fabric paper i spent a day just making it....I over did it a bit with the paints and inks,hence darker but most will be covered up,and i am loving it better than just plain dyed,its more mixed media and arty lol.

I have to think about a cover next and how to bind it all together ......ummm and all the backs have to be made and embellished,a long job !

Gothic Arch Book (Fabric)

I have made a start,page No 1,I know i,m calling it a gothic arch book but has it got to be all gloom and doom gothy type stuff? well mines not i have to do pretty,or try to,I really need to think about this i dont really want another vintage ladies book,it needs a new twist,I knowwww,i have started with vintage again!! its becoming a habit i have to break,so maybe I will do some flowers pages,or sort of journaling..........I will se where it takes me.
I have used really strong vilene to stiffen the pages,much better results,I also want to try a new way of binding with this one,each one i create is a learning curve,it makes it more fun trying out new ways to do things,experimenting is a joy......when it goes right lol

ATC Holder (Fabric)

ATC Holder
I was inspired by Annie from my group to create this,she made me one,I treasure it,she actually printed her own fabric for it too !

I was interested in the way she bound it up,stitching all the pages inside the main wrap around cover,so was wanting to try it myself,anyway this is my version,I started from scratch by dyeing all my fabrics,except a couple of inside pages,another friend gave me a discarded top to cut up and as the colours matched i used that :))
The side edging lace is also from an old slip of hers lol,waste not want not ! loved the dropped beads,it matched nicely with my image ........

The tiny silk flowers i dyed,and the larger flower underneath were cut with my flower punch and painted.,the ribbons are also dyed to match in,god knows what i would do without my Cosmic Shimmer spray dyes lol and Luminere paints,they go such a long way too !
Now i am toying with the idea of creating a fabric envelope book,or maybe a fabric arch book.......ummm.........but i have my Great grandaughters birthday card to make for next month,maybe that had better be first on the list !