A Few Things...

This month I've been working on some UFOs that have been hanging out in drawers and on worktables in my creative space.  The library has some display space on the second floor and they've asked me and a few other creative staff members to display some work in November and December.  I only need a few pieces, but most things have already been on display there in the FANE shows, so I wanted to choose a few things they haven't seen yet.  The above piece was made for a traveling SAQA exhibit a few years ago and I received it back recently.  It needed a frame or border, so I covered a stiff piece of interfacing with the upholstery fabric you see above.  Now it's suitable for display!

I also (finally!) finished the Thanksgiving-themed piece I created last year, below.  I had done all the embroidery but wasn't sure what to mount it on.  I found the plaid binding among my stash and decided the colors were just right.  Also now suitable for display.

Here's a close-up:

I've also revisited the "Summer Blues" piece I started in the summer.  I wanted to experiment with some other surface-design techniques on a few small (9"x9") pieces of fabric and the results are below.  I used acrylic paint to do some monoprinting, as well as using some stamps and stencils.  I wanted to keep the palate to the blues and white with a touch of yellow and green.  The results were okay, maybe a little busy or messy.

I decided to do a third when I came across this blue tie-dye look fabric in my stash.  Here, I simply stamped circles in a three sizes with white acrylic paint.

While handling the fabrics, I noticed the reverse of the first two were also kind of interesting, maybe even better than the front.

Finally, I cut the fabrics into strips of various widths and wove them together on top of some fusible webbing.  I used all three altered fabrics, plus some strips wrong-side-up of the first two.  This is what it looked like:

I like it much better than the each piece alone!  Some other FANE group members have been using this weaving technique for a years and I've always wanted to try it.  Now that I can see what the appeal is, I'd like to experiment with it some more.  But first I need to figure out what to put on top of this and how (or if) it fits into the larger "summer blues" piece.

Finally, I've been doing other fall things, like baking!  I recently came across a "candy corn cake" design somewhere on the web (maybe Pinterest?) and decided to try it myself.  Here' my version, made with pumpkin spice cake and cream cheese frosting. (See how each piece resembles a candy corn when sliced? Isn't that fun?)  And delicious! Yum!

Where does the time go?

I haven't posted on my blog in about a month!  It's hard to believe that summer is long gone and the  fall weather is here!  So where has the time gone?  We managed to get away for an extended weekend in mid-September (to Utah to visit family), the preschool and elementary programming at the library is in full swing, and the girls are back at school, so I guess all the busyness has made time fly.  Since I finished "Bamboo Grove" last month, my creative projects have been on the back burner, and I am just starting to get back in the groove lately.

Yesterday I created this Halloween door decoration (it's technically not a wreath) out of what I think is a felt placemat, some cute sticky-backed felt spooky shapes, a few laser-cut painted wood phrases, a pipe-cleaner spider, and some sheer orange ribbon.  I got most of the supplies at Michael's yesterday, and I'm pleased with the colorful and fun result!  I try to hang something seasonal on the door every month and I have used, re-used and maybe abused my previous October/November wreath over and over.  It was time for an update.  But I do continue to rehang this felt banner the girls and I created years ago.  We traced cookie cutter shapes onto felt for some of the ghosts, bats, and cats, then cut them out with scissors.  I think it's retained its charm and whimsy (although it certainly could use a pressing!).

A short article in the April-May issue of Quilting Arts magazine titled "Stitch and Discharge" by Mary Ruzich inspired me to try discharging with Softscrub with bleach.  At first, I tried regular bleach out of the bottle, but it's so watery and thin that there is very little control.  I actually painted the Softscrub directly onto this piece of denim with a paintbrush in this design and look at the results! (Now my daughters are getting all kinds of ideas about decorating their jeans!)  In the article, the fabric is layered and quilted first, then she discharges the raised quilted area.  I experimented with stamps, with okay results - not great, but not totally ineffective.  Probably larger, less detailed stamps would work best.  I haven't tried stencils, but I bet they would have great results.

I'll have to play with this technique some more.  It would make a nice addition to my "Summer Blues" WIP which is still hanging out on my design wall.  The other day, I revisited it and actually stitched a few pieces together.  It was originally going to be 18"x36" to fit into the FANE group show currently at The View in Old Forge, NY, but now I can make it any size I like, which is changing my thought process and throwing me off a bit.  Maybe I should just continue to think of the 18"x36" size.

I'm not as motivated to work on this as I was in the summer (seeing as there's now no deadline!) but I'm trying to stick to "showing up at the page" at least a few times a week, if I can't do it daily.  It's so much easier and more relaxing to just crack open a book!

Anyway, that's where the time's gone! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to mail out Thanksgiving cards this year, with the above artwork, but I only just finished the final stitches a few minutes ago so I'll send it out electronically.  I hope this Thanksgiving finds you healthy and safe, together with friends and family, counting your blessings!

Are You Ready?

Spider webs and eerie lights on the railing...

Check!

 Cute little ghost hanging near the front door...

Check!

Bags of candy in a bowl near the door for easy access...

 Check!

Whimsical Halloween banner hanging in the entryway...

Check!

 Fake jack-o-lantern glowing in the front window...

Check!

Miscellaneous horns, ears, tails, wigs and hats just in case...

Check!

Some orange and black cupcakes, just because...

 Check!

Halloween, bring it on!

Autumn Garden Update

I haven't blogged about my garden much this summer, so I thought it might be time to post an update.  Of course, it's autumn now and the leaves are beginning to cover everthing, including the pond pictured above (can you see Cassie's face reflected in the water?  She's looking for frogs to harass. It's her favorite pastime).  The water lily survived a solid freeze last winter and produced many leaves this summer, but no blossoms (heavy sigh - I do love a waterlily flower, but this plant just doesn't get enough direct sunlight).  I already scooped out my one surviving fish and brought him indoors for the winter, and many of the plants have already died back, but the garden is still a peaceful place to be.

When I was cleaning out my creative space the other day, I came across (unearthed, really) these unpainted ceramic mushrooms I bought at Michael's last spring.  I finally took the time to paint them and here's the results:

Ya gotta love a mushroom with a red cap and polka dots, right?  I added little doors and windows to them to make them look like little fairy houses.  On the back of the shorter one, I added a large window and stamped on some little vines.  They still need a coat of some kind of surface protectant, but then they can find a home under the big twin tulip trees.

 I just had to take them down there to see how they look.  They fit right in!

Here's the view of the fairy garden from the stone bench; all the mushrooms look colorful and happy living under there, don't you agree?

I've had plenty of ups and downs in the garden this summer.  I transplanted many things from other parts of the yard, including these hostas, which are doing well.

Unfortunately, many of my other hostas were not so lucky - most of them were given a severe trimming by the many deer that wander through in the mornings.  Hopefully they'll all come back next spring.

The deer only ate the flowers on this Lilyturf I got at a local nursery last year.  It stayed green most of the winter and got large enough for me to divide this fall.  I planted two more near the pond, so I can look forward to them filling in next summer.

The trumpet vines climbed almost all the way over the garden arch, but they are still a little skimpy and I didn't get any flowers.  I think the area just doesn't get enough direct sunlight to support flowers, but I'll keep trying.  I was a little neglectful of the watering and fertilizing this summer.  I hope to be more regular next year, and maybe get bushier growth and possibly some blooms too!

I bought some bareroot plants from a catalog early in the spring, but the results were mixed.  This hardy cyclamen had one flower, which was promptly eaten one night, but the leaves are just coming in now and are lovely.  I bought three of these, but this is the only one that's come up.

I also got three foxgloves, the largest of which you see here in the lower left.  I hope to see flowers on that next summer too.  I also tranplanted two clematis to climb on this iron pyramid.  I'm looking foward to some nice growth (and maybe a flower or two!) there next spring.

 I managed to fix up some structural issues as well.  As you can see, Cassie just loves standing in the curve of the pond, looking for frogs.  She trampled a little painted fern last summer, so this year I left the spot bare, but it got very muddy and ugly looking.  I covered the spot with some of the extra pebbles we used on the pathway.  I decided this might be a good place to keep the smooth beach stones I brought home from Cape Cod.

 Finally, I added some larger rocks to the edging around some of the pathways, so they are more like small retaining walls.  Being the garden is on a hill, all the mulch was continually washing down onto the paths every time it rained.  I'll keep adding rocks as I dig them up here and there around the yard, so eventually, the garden might almost look terraced.

My neighbor told me that gardens take at least five years before they start to really look nice.  There were times this summer that the ratio of green plants to brown mulch was much too low for me and kind of discouraging, but all it takes really is time, and patience, and hope.  So here's to next year's garden!  Something to look forward to!

Frightfully Fun!

Yesterday we celebrated Halloween in style with a howlingly fun teen bash.  We spent most of the day hanging webs, lights, and assorted spookiness all around the garage and downstairs family room.  When the guests arrived after dark, they were greeted by my oldest daughter dressed as a skeleton, with her face painted as above.  She led them past the webbed railing and a large spider decorating the garage door.

From there, guests walked down this dark hallway we created by moving and covering our storage shelving and lit by black lights, which made the words above glow eerily.

The creepiest thing about it was the dark, as well as the sound effects provided by Martha Stewart's Spooky Sounds for Halloween CD.  There were small flashlights and little battery powered candle flames here and there, just enough to light up ghostly scenes like the one below.

Finally, at they end, they were treated to a small scare by my ever energetic, hardworking, imaginative and cooperative husband Mark as he peered out of a coffin wearing his corpse mask and costume!  I don't think he scared too many of the kids (as some of them ran up to him right after, gave him a hug and shouted "Mr. Green!"(not exactly the effect we were going for!) but it all set the mood for a great time.

From there, the kids went into the hallway, which was decorated with webs and spiders.  We replaced the ceiling light with a blue bulb which made it look really eerie.  From there, they passed through the orange and black curtain into the party room.

We covered the central i-beam with more webs (I bought 10 packages just to be sure we'd have enough!) and purple twinkle lights.

The food table was set as you see below.  I pretty much covered everything in my studio area with large black plastic tablecloths from the dollar store, and then used more webs and cheesecloth to cover them.  I made a spooky tree with some branches, from which I hung little paper bats.  The girls drew scary ghost faces on some white helium balloons, so they were floating around the table.  The recycled plastic gallon milk jugs had battery powered candles in them as well, making for a nice display in the dark.

 Thank goodness we were able to borrow so many of the decorations and supplies from friends, neighbors, and my friendly neighborhood library (where I got the CD and a few scary movies).  Today we're already starting to take everything down... although I think I'll leave some of it up through Halloween on Thursday....

What's New Monday

Ta-dah!  This is the latest bracelet I crafted using all the leaf charms I received in the "Falling Leaves" swap through my ArtCharms group.  I happened to have an extra length of copper chain with little leaves all over it, as well as a leaf toggle clasp, so it came together quickly.  The variety of colors and materials made it a real joy to put together.  I'm sure I'll enjoy wearing it too!  Happy Monday, everyone!  What's new with you?

Garden Accessories

I couldn't resist ordering two more aceessories for the garden (which were on sale for the end of the season, and had free shipping of course!  Both came from GrandinRoad.com).  The first is the little mushroom stool you see in the foreground.  I found myself standing next to  the pond, leaning over to see and feed the fish.  Now I can sit there and watch them!  It's particularly nice as the sun is coming up as you can see in the photo.  The sun also lights up the mosaic gazing globe I chose.  It's covered in small pieces of blue and green glass and almost looks like a real globe.  You can gaze at it from either the bench or the stool and contemplate your place in the world (or pray for world peace!).  The bulbs I ordered should be coming next week, and once they're planted, we'll get ready to deal with the leaves (aghhh!).

Thankful Thursday

Is it Thursday again?  Already?  I think I missed a couple of thankful posts - I find myself pretty much being thankful for the same things over and over again.  I guess that's a good thing, right?  Anyway, here's my list for today.

1. Autumn:  These brisk sunny days just make you feel happy to be alive, don't they?  And autumn also means that Mallomars are back!  I'm trying not to eat too many...
2. My job:  I can leave the house at 8:52 and make it to work before nine.  The job is varied, fun, and low-pressure - I get to sing, interact with families, and read great children's books aloud.  And I get paid for it!
3. My husband:  I sure couldn't do this alone!  I'm glad he's here - every day!
4. Creative time:  I feel fortunate that I'm able to work creativity into many areas of my life.  I'm not sure why this is so important to me, but my mind seems to need the stimulation and challenges that are required to be creative.  
5. Relative Wealth:  I haven't recently won the lottery or anything, but relative to the rest of the world, I'm extremely fortunate.  This morning the house was warm, I had a hot shower, and electricity to make breakfast. That's a pretty good start.

What are you feeling thankful for?

Jazzing up a plain tee

I bought this plain emerald green long-sleeved tee last fall with the intention of adding some leaf prints in metallic colors.  Well, I finally got around to it!

Here's what I did:

Find some nicely shaped leaves - I chose maple leaves in a variety of sizes.  Apply a thin layer of acrylic paint to the back of the leaf with a foam brush (using the leaf back gives you more veining detail).  I used basic craft-store paints and premixed them with fabric medium so they don't impart that stiff, plastic feeling onto the shirt.  Take the painted leaf and place it paint-side down on your prewashed 100% cotton shirt.  Cover the leaf with a paper towel and rub it smooth to get a good print.

Carefully peel the leaf off the shirt and voila` - autumn has arrived!  Heat-set the dried, painted shirt with a hot iron (iron on the reverse or cover with a piece of baking parchment) and it should be safe for washing.

Here's my completed shirt.  I'm looking forward to the leaves changing so I can start wearing it.  If you've never tried this printing technique, give it a try!  If you want to start small, a scarf would be an easy and smart seasonal accessory.  I've done leaf prints on table linens as well, which makes a nice accent for a holiday table.  Have fun!

Autumn Inspirations

You may have noticed that I haven't been as creatively productive lately as I usually am.  I guess I've been busy with the garden and trying to make the most of the lazy summer days (in other words, I've been reading!).  But the ArtCharms Yahoo group recently started an Autumn Leaf swap, and it sounded too good to pass up!  I ordered the small copper leaves, shown above, and enhanced them with some color.  They look as though they've been enameled, but I actually used something much more mundane and common - can you guess what it is?  Not acrylic paint...    It's plain old, drug-store variety NAIL POLISH!  My girls have boxes full of nail polish, in many colors, including orange and yellow, so I thought I would take advantage of the supplies at hand.  I'm pretty happy with the results;  I need to make a total of 21 charms, so this should keep me busy for the next week or so.

I also decided to enter another challenge in Cloth Paper Scissors magazine - a mixed-media stitched challenge.  The finished piece had to be 6"x6" and have three different media.  My friend Norma has been posting about her adventures using copper sheeting, and it reminded me that I had some in my stash that I hadn't played with in a while.  I guess my wandering mind combined the thoughts of autumn leaves with the copper and I came up with the idea below.  The backgrounds are fabrics, the tree trunk is paper layered on fabric with gel medium, and the leaves were cut from copper sheeting tinted with alcohol inks.  I decided to turn the square on point to make the tree fit better.  What do you think?