May 17th, 2008
1000 Journals Project
Links to the amazing 1000 Journals Project, in case you’ve missed it so far.
How Will the Orphan Works Bill Affect Ownership of Your Art & Written Work?
Mary Emma at Quilting and Patchwork wonders what you think of the proposed Orphan Works Bill in the US Congress and how it will affect artists, writers, and artisans.
Layers Upon Layers
The incredibly talented Judy Coates Perez has done an artist profile for Layers Upon Layers!
Make Embellishments From Aluminum Cans
If you have a die cut machine and some pretty cans, you can make your own embellishments. Just don’t cut yourself to ribbons while you’re making them!
Organizing and storage of a yarn stash
Noreen Crone-Findlay has posted pics of some of the ways that she organizes and figures out storage solutions for her yarn stash. Here’s the link….
Preserve Your Precious Photos
If you save precious photos on your computer, you <b>need</b> to know about Carbonite online backup subscription service.
The completed memorial textiles
Chloe, from Tangled Thread had finished the memorial textiles created in honor of her grandmother.
Vacation Scrapbook Planter from Sour Cream Container
Reuse a sour cream container as a planter and scrapbook all in one.
image source: Stock.Xchg
Tags: art-blogs, artsy bloggers roundup, craft-blogs, linksShare This
By Chloe -- 0 comments
May 16th, 2008
I’ve decided that I want to mount the canvas onto a piece of cotton, before it’s stretched onto stretcher bars (or cheat, and just use a pre-stretched canvas from an art store) But what color to use for the background?
I quite like the way it looks on black - it’s clean, simple and doesn’t add any extra clutter:
But how about red? I pulled out my trusty photo editing software and started playing.
I think the red is a little too much - it’s overwhelming everything else… green perhaps?
I’m still not thrilled with it - but there’s purple in the flowers & stripes, how about a really dark eggplant?
I think it’s a tie between the purple and the black. By playing around with different colors, you can see what’s going to work best. It will also show you how different colors affect the piece - there’s such a dramatic change with every change of the background.
all images: C Findlay-Harder
Tags: Embroidery, hand-sewing, how to of the day, making silk paper, sewing, silk fusionShare This
By Chloe -- 1 comment
May 15th, 2008
I thought I should share with you what I’ve been working on for the past several weeks… As you know, I’ve been working with my mom, Noreen, to create a set of memorial textiles (antependia - or sacred textiles) for my grandmother’s church.
It’s been exactly a year ago today that my beloved Nana passed away and it’s been deeply moving process to create a tribute to my grandmother, together with my mother. The sense of repeating the same actions that women have been doing since to dawn of time (weaving and hand-sewing) has been a lovely way to honor my Nana.
I used rayon velvet for the tops and 100% cotton sheeting for the lining. The embroidered motifs were part of the church’s last set of runners & banners. I carefully removed them from the old runners and then stitched them to the new ones. I think that this is the third time the embroideries have been re-stitched to something new, judging from the layers of thread on the back!
Noreen wove strips of brocade on her inkle loom and I hand-sewed everything together - I’ve been hand-sewing daily for weeks now!
The altar cloth:
Embroidered detail from the altar cloth:
A runner for under another memorial:
It was important to have the textiles labeled, so I created a computer-printed label using pre-treated silk sheets. It’s archival and a great way to permanently label any kind of fabric artwork.
The pulpit banner:
And last, but not least, a matching pair of table runners:
I found the whole process was deeply moving and am so grateful that I was able to create the textiles!
Tags: , about me, memorial projectsShare This
By Chloe -- 12 comments
May 14th, 2008
Christine, our resident scrapbook guru at the Mad Cropper is holding a “Random Acts of Kindness” contest to win one of these fabulous Kodak Easyshare 5300 all-in-one printers:
The catch? You’re not entering to win something for yourself - you’re nominating someone that you feel deserves to win!
Go spread the love and enter :-)
image source: Kodak
Tags: b5media, contests, lifestyles channel, linksShare This
By Chloe -- 0 comments
May 13th, 2008
Is the glue completely dried (if not, don’t try to sew it - you’ll end up with a big, gummy mess)? If it is, you can start to embroider!
I want a loose, free line of embroidery, so I’m not marking anything onto the surface of the silk paper. I do know where I want to embroider though - using a graphic design program can be a great way to help you plan out where you want to stitch.
I’m using plain black sewing machine thread for this piece, with a free-motion foot and dropped feed dogs:
I’m essentially making the same black lines as the first sample, just with thread, not paint. I’m not trying to outline the flowers, but to show their sense of movement and enhance the composition.
I still haven’t decided whether or not I’m going to touch up the embroidery with a little bit of black paint… stay tuned, I’ll share my decision with you tomorrow :-)
Tags: Embroidery, hand-sewing, how to of the day, making silk paper, sewing, silk fusionShare This
By Chloe -- 0 comments
May 13th, 2008
Do you still like the way your canvas background looks? I like how this one works with the painted silk paper:
I’m going to baste the silk paper onto the canvas using some good quality fabric glue (I’m a big fan of The Ultimate) You don’t have to glue the silk down, but I find it’s easier to have it mounted on the canvas before I start embroidering it.
Make sure to only put glue on the thicker parts of the paper - like this:
If you put glue on the thinner layers of the silk, it will do funny things as it dries - like leaving clear polka-dots! If the underside of the paper is completely opaque, it should be safe to glue.
Let it dry on a flat surface for a couple of hours, or until it’s completely dry.
image source: C Findlay-Harder
Tags: Embroidery, hand-sewing, how to of the day, making silk paper, sewing, silk fusionShare This
By Chloe -- 0 comments
May 12th, 2008
Hello my lovely Tangled Thread readers - I hope you had a wonderful weekend & Mother’s Day :-)
Ah, back to the silk paper… In my last post, I showed you how I was using wax crayons and fabric paint to color a background to mount the paper on. I’ve now embroidered on the canvas using two colors of variegated rayon machine embroidery thread:
I’ve used different floral motifs and the red thread to enhance the red & pink stripes. I used a simple zig-zag stitch and yellow thread to enhance the thinner yellow stripes.
Now, you could sew the paper onto the canvas at this point, but I’m a firm believer in letting artwork sit over night in between major steps. It allows you to come back into your studio, with fresh eyes in the morning and be a little more objective.
So let’s meet back here tomorrow and keep on creating!
image source: C Findlay-Harder
Tags: Embroidery, hand-sewing, how to of the day, making silk paper, sewing, silk fusionShare This
By Chloe -- 0 comments
May 11th, 2008
A quick and easy market bag to crochet for ‘WOW MOM’s!
Noreen Crone-Findlay designed a quick and fun market bag in honor of all the Wow Moms out there. And it’s good for dear old mother earth, too!
Decoupage a Byzantine Cross Pendant
Eileen shares instructions for a decoupage Byzantine cross pendant made from cardboard - of all things!
Digital Photomontage Demonstration
Links to a simple photomontage tutorial.
Glorious Gourd Decorating
A quick review on a great resource for gourd decorating.
Layers Upon Layers
Take one cheap piece of felt and transform it into “leather”!
Gadget Wish List for Quilters
Mary Emma at Quilting and Patchwork wonders what you have on your dream list of quilting gadgets
Spring-time felt flowers
Inspire kids to start sewing with this easy felt flower from Tangled Thread
Wooden craft boxes as wedding favors
Chloe from the Creative Bride suggests painting charming & inexpensive wooden boxes to give as wedding favors
image source: Stock.Xchg
Tags: art-blogs, artsy bloggers roundup, craft-blogs, linksShare This
By Chloe -- 0 comments
May 9th, 2008
Time to work on the background!
I’m using standard artist’s canvas as the foundation layer for the background. You can also use cotton fabric & quilt batting, or even work directly onto a stretched canvas. Play around and see what you like best.
I show you the sketch I’m using to create the background in my last post. Here’s how I’m translating my sketch into the finished piece:
I’ve started off by marking out the edges of the background. I’d recommend using chalk or erasable fabric markers if the edge will be visible. I then used standard wax crayons to draw soft stripes onto the canvas.
Wax crayons are a lot of fun to use on fabric - just make sure to use a pressing cloth if you’re going to iron it. They’re not particularly color-fast, so don’t use it on garments that are going to be washed (they will stain still!)
The crayons aren’t quite as strong as I want, so I’m using a combination of Dye-Na-Flo and Jacquard textile paint to add more color and stronger lines.
It still needed a little bit more color, so I dry-brushed more red Dye-Na-Flo (the same color I used to paint the flowers on the silk) onto small patches of the canvas.
The paint needs to dry throughly - and then I’m going to stitch it :-)
all images: C Findlay-Harder
Tags: Embroidery, hand-sewing, how to of the day, making silk paper, sewing, silk fusionShare This
By Chloe -- 0 comments
May 8th, 2008
Don’t worry - the rest of the silk paper tutorial is coming soon :-) I’ve got an easy kids craft, perfect for getting kids interested in sewing:
Cut two basic flower shapes from felt and sandwich a pipe-cleaner (folded in half and twisted together) between the two. Cut a small circle from a contrasting piece of felt (the one I’ve used is approximately an inch and a half across). Use one strand of embroidery floss (doubled-over and knotted at the end so the child can’t pull the needle through the hole) and make short running stitches through all three layers of felt.
Presto! An easy spring-time flower - and quick enough so you can make an entire bouquet :-)
image: C Findlay-Harder
Tags: easy craft projects, hand-sewing, How To, kids craftsShare This
By Chloe -- 14 comments
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