From Fabric to Metal !

I know .......I just felt like a change and as i was awake at 6am this morning,having thought of this idea, as i,m at a loss of what to create lately,also my memory was jogged that i had a Cuttlebug lol,so out came the embossing folders, beer cans and all those scraps of watercolour paper left over's,some alcohol inks,that havent seen the light of day for ages,this is the outcome ! not a wasted morning after all :)will make a nice gift for someone in the future.
Ohhh and a broken chain with a silver metal heart on which i coloured with inks to match !

Art Quilt and Abstract ATC's

An 8x8" quilt square for a swap with my UKArtSwap group Once again a fabric quilt made from scratch all fabrics dye'd with cosmic shimmer sprays,images are transfered onto fabric with freezer paper technique through my printer.
The large flowers are made using Crafty Notions Fusible Film,then diecut.
On the left the squares are fabric paper with paper flowers and beaded.
cloth buttons dyed.All backed onto strong Vilene

The Abstract ATC's are for another swap with the same group but using different patterned fabrics,and gems.

Awards

Thankyou for this award Jinny !

here

Now that I have it I have to tell you 8 things about myself and then pass this award on to 8 others. So here we go.............

1.
I only started crafting about 9 years ago after my hubby passed away,thank God for it,helped me through a difficult time,before that i was a published Artist,painting and drawing was my life after leaving Art College,in later years my claim to fame was being commissioned by Royal Doulton to design a set of mugs and landscapes for their plates,a great honour.

2.
I,m 72 years old,5ft.3" tall.and blonde lol(at the moment haha)
3.
I have 2 sons,2 grand children,and 1 great granddaughter ,they all live in my town..
4.
I read a lot mainly when i go to bed,love Saga's,Modern and crime,favorite author Susan Lewis.
5.
I live on my own with Pippa my cat we have a love hate relationship lol,she trys to rule me........
6.
I have travelled a lot since Bills been gone with my friend Joan,met some of my internet friends in the US ,been to Venice,Portugal,Paris,Italy,Poland,Malta,etc.
7.
As you see by my blog Fabric Art has taken over my life,I love the work of Beryl Taylor,mixed media artist.
8.
Like Jinny I also love the work of Tim Holtz,brilliant artist *bow's down lol.


Now i'm going to give this award to 8 other fellow bloggers and all you have to do is the same as I have.

So my awards go too.....

Adrienne
here/
Annie
here
Sam
here
Deb(Aka Rustycage
here
Jan
here
Sherry
here
Maureen
here
Annie
here

Lace Book Completed

Cover
Finished at last,I am quite happy with it but struggled with putting it together,its quite large 8x8",I didnt want to use my Bind it all machine,thought it would spoil the look,the first attempt did'nt work out so i had to remake the edging ughhh,it ended up like this which i thought after was a bit over the top,but will have to do.
I get to a stage where enoughs enough lol.Sewing not perfect but achieved the look i wanted :)its all a learning curve.

Below are all the pages,front and backs.

Project in Progress !

Lace Book
Just a preview of my new project,a lace fabric book,i have such a lot of lace stashed, thought this would be a good way of using it up and keep me busy,really enjoying myself,if i can do at least one page a day i will be happy !

Back soon with the finished item i hope :))..........

Art Journal 2011

Art Journal 2011
I promised myself to start an art journal this year,to put down something each day inside, no matter what, be it a doodle ,a writeup of something crafty i have bought and maybe a sample try out of a product,or just a little poem or quote i come across.............just about anything really that i have done that day.

This book i bought in Covent Garden a couple of years ago,it caught my eye,just a plain blank notebook, but all the pages are like brown paper,dont ask why i bought it lol,i just thought that will come in handy one day,and now it has ! I love anything a bit different.

Of course i had to cover it with fabric,but this time i thought i would try the bleach technique with cotton material,wish i never bothered :) but after embellishing it and making pen pockets i quite liked ,I used Cosmic Shimmer sprays to dye it in peacock blues and greens.The lettering i embossed using mica powders.

I have started a new regime of Physio with a nice young man,who has scrapped all my shoulder exercises,for a new lot,I,m in more pain but thats the idea,Pain before gain i guess lol,back to see the surgeon early Febuary,I have a feeling i am going to end up on the operating table anyway *sighs............

Happy New Year to all and Happy crafting,bet you all have lots of new goodies to play with,i did get a couple for Christmas,but have been Ebaying,bought a couple of Tim Holtz masks,Mica powders and dyes,so all stocked up.... oh and some of his Mini Misters,love them,they dont clog up !

The winner is .........Jacques Junque !

A little painting i did years ago for a Cancer charity,....just to make my blog Christmassy lol

And
The winner is .........Jacques Junque ! for my blog Givaway......
Her blog is here
(Have commented on your blog Jacqui for your contact addy :))


Thankyou all for your lovely comments
Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year !

Christmas Giveaway and Sewing Kit project !

Christmas Giveaway and Sewing Kit project !
The sewing kit is not the giveaway though,I need more practice.........

I was very inspired by the sewing project in the Dec issue of Craft Stamper,so ordered Tim Holtz Alterations Movers and Shapers(Label) which i can use in my Cuttlebug Machine.........it came today so i couldnt wait to start on my version of the sewing kit.I,m sort of happy with the finished piece,i,m calling it my practice piece lol,a lot of work involved !

I cutout all the pieces and dye;d my fabric's .
I used
Felt for padding
The above Tim Holtz diecut
My Crop O Dile and gromets.
A Transfered image
and a little cheap sewing kit out of Hobby Craft.
Lace (Antique)
Foam Flowers painted.
and stamped some scrolls on the backgrounds with Tim Holtz distress ink pads onto my fabric.
Also a keyring for holding pages

This new diecut has really inspired me it measures roughley 3.1/2 x6" and such a lovely shape.

To thank everyone for supporting me and the lovely comments throughout the year,I,m giving away a Fabric purse below,totally made from scratch..........a sample of my fabric work this year.




Everyone who leaves a comment by the 17th of this month,one name will be drawn out of the hat by my friend,please leave me your email address's so i can contact you :) or email me privately.

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year x

Variation on a Theme

Altered Notebook and Pencil

Using Fabric Paper ....rubber gloves had a leak now have green fingers lol,I,m not into gardening !!

Fabric Paper Notepad

Not another i hear you say LOL.......these little projects are keeping me occupied at the moment.

The cover of this little notepad is created with Fabric Paper,how to make FP is hereI used Brusho paints,think i over did it a bit,but quite liked the effect and the texture,the background is the paper side of the FB and the hearts are the fabric side,padded out with cotton wool,i used white Organza material,which i love for this as the Brusho colours show through merged and misty......the tissue i used was a paper napkin stripped down to one ply.and of course some machine stitching(optional)

Getting Grungy !

Grunge Sticky Notepad holder

Finding it a bit difficult to use my sewing machine at the moment with this painful shoulder,had the MRI results,its fractured and part of the bone is lodged in my ligaments ! have to wait now for the surgeon to come back off his hols,another 2 weeks to go ..............

Thought i would try a piece of Tim Holtz Grunge paper to make a sticky notepad holder.
I used a thick layer of "Liquitex Gloss Gel brilliant" onto the grunge and let that dry then painted over with Acrylic metalic gold and bronze,(made a nice textured finish)I then glued onto some leather type card for the inside.

In Poundland i found a couple of packs of foam flowers and butterflies all different shapes and sizes,these i painted up for embellishing the front then found a couple of beads for the butterfly,used some brads to attach the flowers on.
Then i glued the sticky notepad inside another Poundland find lol a nice large oblong one,never seen that size before.A Tim Holtz hinge came in handy for the fastening,with a piece of gold cord burnt ends to pull through.
Didnt take long and kept me from going mad with boredom lol.......Just added a pink one done with my bind it all machine.

Painted and Stitched

Painted and stitched

This purse measures 6x6" made from scratch,think i,m losing my mojo as this wasnt easy,the creative ideas are not flowing at the moment,got there in the end though lol,and quite happy with it............i got to use my embellish machine too,I cut out the flower from a template and punched out the center smaller ones.The inside is lined with soft Vilene.
Spray dye'd the viola fabric with cosmic shimmers,I love these and must invest in more different colours,I find the spray bottles get blocked up,so i bought a few Tim Holtz Mini Misters,then transfered the dye into these,much better !

For my next project i,m inspired by some purses and book covers in "Embellish,Stitch,Felt" by Sheila Smith,i need more practice with my embellish machine to gain my confidence,so scared of breaking needles lol.

I,m also thinking of doing another Giveaway this Christmas ,dont quite know what yet,all the stuff i have made this year is stashed away I need to go through it all then decide.I,m still amazed how i got into this Fabric Art !