Monday, August 29, 2011

Cream with my coffee..

Hi there peeps hope this post finds you all well.
A big thank you to all that responded to my last post, i so appreciate your input and lovely comments.
Today i am posting a collage in coffee dyed colors and cream, hence the "cream with my coffee" lol.



The button as showed in the picture below, was a regular plastic button. Since i dont have any real vintage buttons and cannot effort any. I had to get creative and modpodge paper to these. I think they came out pretty good?!


The picture is stitched to a creamy Jute( has some coffee on it don't ask why, was accidental is all i can say ;) ) Then the whole thing was put on corrugated cardboard which was edged with some lace. The big thingy under her pic is an old belt buckle. Have not figured out yet how to attach it on there, same with the cardboard. But they are going to be attached on there without no doubt, soon as i know how lol.



The whole base of the hanging is canvas, that i found in a yard sale. Its kinda thick but this way is a good base for the heavier stuff to be attached.



The colored stripes on the background are from an old silk blouse, i thought it would break it all up a bit. The flowers are made as in my lace paper flower tutorial. This time all is stained with coffee. When you look really close you can see some coffee grinds on them lol. I restained them when they were drying with the modpodge not thinking that the grinds would be unremoveable afterwards hahaha. But it seemed it added some texture to them so i don't mind it.
Well that my post for now folks. Hope you all stay well and safe and have a wonderful creative day!
Big Hug,
Andrea.


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Coffee and blue..

Hi there peeps hope this post finds you all well.
I know some of you had a pretty good scare this week with the earthquake. My heart goes out to you .
I want to thank all that responded to my previous post(s), your kind comments make my day.
Thank you!!

For today's post its coffee dyed lace and fabrics and an old blue mans flannel shirt. I also incorporated one of my flowers in the right hand top. If your new visitor here go a couple posts back you will find a small tutorial on how to make these.


Now my dilemma with this project is, should i add more or leave it almost as is at the moment.

I kinda like the simple look but would like to hear from you guys. What would you do?

Maybe little bit more around the left hand side of the picture? I will just hang it up in the studio and look at it time to time and see what happens.
Tho no harm done in a couple of extra eyes and opinions right?( hint hint..lol)
I also want to add some words to it. Just haven't found them yet but i am sure i will at some point. This is the first time i tried a collage like this, think i like doing them. Might make more at some point. Plus i really like the smell of the coffee dyed fabric lol.
Well peeps have a wonderful creative day, stay safe, take care...
Big Hug,
Andrea.




Monday, August 22, 2011

Simple and short..

Hi there peeps, hope this post finds you all well.
Today a very short post and a simple made tag. Tried the less is good to thingy lol.
The weekend has been slow but i finally have my sewing machine back. Yayyyy!!
Also trying to catch up with some housework and yard work this week. might be i am not posting to much this week to get things done. For me personally when all is done i am more at ease in my studio.
Friday is going to be fun day at a dental specialist for an abscess in my jaw...soooooo looking forward to that..NOT!
Thursday is counseling to help me battle a depression i don't seem to be able to get rid off. Not complaining folks, just letting you know that this week is going to be messed up lol. I really want to try to spent as much time as i can in my studio tho. Its one of the things that makes me feel better, so off i go..;)
Anyways hope everyone has a wonderful creative day!
Big Hug,
Andrea.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Something i am working on..

Hello there peeps, hope this post finds you all well.
This day i am posting something i am working on. This dragon was drawn, then his outline stitched and the segments filled in.



Some of the segments i filled in with paint. The rest is all done with thread, and a free motion zig zag stitch. All thread used is metallic thread in different colors.



I am waiting for my sewing machine and hope to finish him then. Plus one more patch needs paint, do you see it where? I think he will be stretched over a frame and then put behind glass. People told me that metallic thread dont hold up that well against the elements.
Well that's it for today folks, short post.
I hope everyone has a wonderful creative and save day,
Big Hug,
Andrea.










Monday, August 15, 2011

Egg.......shell....



Hi there peeps i hope this post finds you all well.
Did everyone have a decent weekend?! I sure hope so..
OK...so today i want to show you how simple things can be used to create a not so bad effect lol. ( notice the humbleness? lol) As tastes and budgets have to come together in creating new ideas, i am trying to do my part.

The eggshell in a nutshell....ehm thought that sounded good, makes no sense tho but ok on with the post.
One takes a rinsed eggshell, or part of it. Color it with some very thin acrylic paint if you want some color or distress. i used a black paint very thinned and wiped of with paper towels on the second tag.
The tag below , the eggshell has been put on as is. I tried to keep it simple, this is really just for show and tell. I used modpodge to glue the eggshell onto the tag. it will need sealing in some way later on, try about 2 thin layers.


Then i got an idea, how about something in the Halloween spirit?
The end result was the tag below.





The pic below was taken with lights on in the house since it was getting very cloudy and dark here. But i really wanted to show the black little roses.
They eyes in the skull were dark red beads which i kinda colored black on the top.

So my dear friends, imagine what you could do with eggshell. I am sure it can find its way on a canvas to or thicker paper.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. hope you enjoyed it.
Let me know if you made something great with eggshell??
Have a wonderful creative day my friends,
Andrea.






Saturday, August 13, 2011

The fabric flowers....




Hi there peeps hope this post finds you all well. Thanks to all that visited and joined, hope you like the ride. Thank you for your lovely comments they make my day!

For the fabric flowers that i posted, here is the how to. Easy as pie...really.

Get your hot glue gun if you have one, so much faster with these.
As templates i used 2 little jar lids, the smallest one is cut from felt( if you want thick cardboard will work too). Take a stack of fabric that you want to use for these flower, a layer of about 5 will cut easily with some good scissors. Just don't forget to pin them in the middle. Its not a biggy if they are not that perfectly round really, neither does that count for the felt/cardboard you gonna glue them on.
Ones the circles are cut fold them in half ones and then ones again. As you can see in the picture below.



When i fold them the second time i put a little dab of glue about right there on the inside where the little clamp is on the pic. I find the flowers/petals will hold their shape better this way ones they get glued on the base.



Then stack them like this on the felt/cardboard till you filled up the circle. For an nice even flower make sure you watch that the outside edges of the "petals" are lined up. Ones you completed the first round, the second round will need maybe 4 more "petals" and 2 more for the middle. it depends a little on the size of base used and the size of the petals. When you completed all rounds stick something pretty on the middle and voila your done.

The one on the foreground here was fluffed up bit more and i added some extra " petals" so it did not need something in the middle.
That's it really, like i said easy as pie. The combinations are infinite as you can use your own made fabric too with stamps and or paints.
Well folks that's it for today, cya all back on Monday i hope. Have something special coming up then. A little hint? Ok fine then lol.......eggs......that is the hint hahahaa ok have a great weekend!
Stay safe, take care,
Hug,
Andrea.



Friday, August 12, 2011

Some flower help.....?!






















Hello there peeps hope this post finds you all well.
There were a lot of reactions on my flower post which made me decide to explain a bit how they were made. I know a lot of you already know how, but some might not . Anyways i figgered i might not hurt lol.

Lets start with these little puppies.

Some old book pages were used and stained with ranger inks. The airondack inks are not water proof, so if you make you paper wet they can be nicely spread and even blended. Since you will be modpodging the page in later stage its no worry that they are not "waterproof". Tho i recommend not to take the flowers for a swim when you made them lol.



For the lace part( ones pages are dry, you can iron them to speed up that process) i used an old lace curtain that i found in my stash. really no clue how i got it by the way.
The template is and 6 petal flower. Now that kinda important so keep that in mind, 6 petals.
Ok, when the pages are dry you modpodge the lace/curtain or whatever your using to the page.
Now the fun par is you can stain the pages or not , whatever you fancy or aiming for in result. The lace/curtain can be dyed or colored after wards. I did mine after wards as i will explain in a bit.
When everything is modpodged and dry( hairdryer does wonders ), you used your template to draw the flower on the back. You will need 3 flowers for one finished flower. When done cut them out.
As you might see #3 is little bit smaller, i cut that one a bit more inside the lines.This will be the last flower added of all 3.


Here all 3 are from the front, now i am going to add some color with a permanent marker. Why not an inkpad you ask? well let me show you.
When you rub a marker on its side over the lace you will get more to see of the texture of the lace. That was the result i was aiming for.Do the edges to it will define your flower more.


Then you fold your flowers in half 2 times across to find the middle, mark it with with a pencil. I did with my marker so it was easier to see on the pic. Then you cut flower1 to the middle, as the line shows. Flower 2 will need to loose a petal. Flower3 looses 2 petals, do NOT throw those away. In the next pic i have glued them together, to make them stick i use these clamp thingies( whatever those are called, but are very handy).


When they are dry you use the chopstick to roll the petals of the flowers to the outside a bit. The little " leftover 2 and 1 petals you cut out will be rolled inside themselves. As you see in this pic.
Now i do not pretend that making a flower like this is my idea, by all means its NOT.
I just added a little twist to the materials used that's all.
To finish the flower cut the bottom of the #2 and 3 far enough so they all fit nicely into each other. The leftover petals will need some cutting too.
Use generous glue that will dry clear when you stick them together and your done.
Wow that was a long post for my doing lol. For the other flowers i will make a new post. Hope you enjoyed this flower trip and that it helped some of you. Pretty flowers simple and without to many expensive materials, but endless possibilities. try different colors or and stamping on the paper before adding the lace.
Have a creative wonderful day everyone,
Andrea.
P.s if i have time i will post for the other flowers today, otherwise it will be tomorrow.























Thursday, August 11, 2011

Grrr...blogger wont let me download pictures.

Hi there peeps blogger will not let me download pics have to try later I suppose.
Andrea.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Out of my comfort zone....

Hi there peeps, hope this post finds you all well. Want to thank everyone that commented on my last post. A warm welcome to the new followers, glad to have you aboard!
Today's first post( yes there is going to be a second later on today) is about going out of my comfort zone. Using colors i normally dont use on a canvas and not allowing myself to add anything but paint and pens and charcoal to a brackground that has a little paper on it from an old dictionary.


Oh and stamps, i used 2 foam stamps. It was fun actually, forcing myself not to just stare at the canvas but actually attack it without any plan of what i was going to make. Then see it develop into something that's actually recognizable lol.
Ok this is going to be a short post, i am off now to visit with you peeps posts and work on my second post for today. No i did not forget i would share the making of the little flowers in the previous post. So stay tuned i will be back later today.
Take care BIG HUG to all,
Andrea.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Flower parade.....

Hi there peeps hope this post finds you all well.
Here is some flowers for all of you who need a little pick me upper for this weekend.
Ehm yes i did go overboard bit with this many pictures, but they all came out pretty well . Which you all know my photographic skill are not really that well.
Soooo... when they do come out bit better then usual i should show them off right? hahahaa..
If you have any questions about any of these flowers let me know in the comments.
I can tell you tho they were awesome fun to make.

So i hope you enjoy this post, it will have to last till Monday ...lol.
Ok your at the end hahahaa..thanks for hanging in there.
Love you all and thanks for all the comments on my posts, really appreciate them!
Big Hug,
Andrea.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Some work in progress.







Hi there peeps, hope this post finds you all well.
Today some pictures of some work in progress. As always the pictures not showing the colors as they are in real grrr, except for the black that is. It seems it can do black lol. Which someone told me is not a color. Does this mean my camera can do "none" color pics best?! Never mind not going into that hahahaa. To me black and white are colors, cause i can see them. Makes sense right?
If not i have never made sense in my whole life soo dont be surprised. (snicker).
Ok back to the post. What your looking at is a bracelet in the making of recycled materials. Well most of the materials.


The black pieces (with no color at all) are pieces of old vinyl records. Think these are parts of a Perry Como record . As you see the pieces are bend and not flat, it would be possible to flatten them. ( ones reheated) But where is the fun in that right?.


The black/colored pieces are paper mounted on chipboard and sealed with my favorite acrylic sealer. The beads are "strung" on bailing wire that has been hardened and aged. Naturally aged i have to say. Which is not hard to do with this wire. Then some good wiping and slight sanding and its ready to go.

As you can see some of the record pieces have holes in the bottom, they need some finishing there. Then this piece is done.
That's it for today folks. I want to thank all that commented on my previous post, you guys rock and keep me rocking. ( did that sound right?)
Hope you all have a wonderful creative day.
Big Hug,
Andrea.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Trial canvas.

Hi there peeps. Hope this post finds you all well.
It seems lately that my mind wonders of into trying new things. This canvas is one of the first just like the tags i posted before. Papers, paint , inks and a piece of dyed scrim.


Some stamping to create interest. Let me know if it did create interest in your eyes? As always i so much appreciate your input peeps.
I want to thank you for the comments on my previous post. If i could only express how much they mean to me. Thanks for being there folks, love you all.
Big Hug,
Andrea.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Tags? First try ever....

Hi there peeps hope this post finds you all well.
I want to thank everyone that commented on my posts the last couple of days. While browsing the internet for inspiration i found some wonderful artists with very beautiful and inspirational blogs. (might wanna check out my "blogs i joined list".)
On another matter my sewing machine is having a spa treatment at the dealer , which means i am on my own for a little bit hahaha.
But...nothing better then paper, inks and such to keep the mojo going right?
So i tried making artsy tags, the first i ever made and i am posting them. Hoping to get input from you guys where i went wrong or what i could do differently?!
I have to admit that i had to make them in a make do manner, at the moment not really fortunate enough to buy new supplies. Sooooooo...here goes...the very first 1...

Then i got little bit more courageous and made this one.....

Which totally made me go for it my way on this third one....

Yes i know, the background kinda sucks, they are try outs only anyways so was not worried about it.
Did my best to get the pictures kinda close to what they look originally. So guys throw it at me let me know what you think i can take it..really i can :).
Anyways hope you all have a wonderful creative day,
Hugs,
Andrea.