Wool yarn and felting

This week I bought from two different shops beautiful wool and wool felting.
Both the fabric and felting had been hand dyed.
There was so many different colors that I had a hard time choosing which one’s I wanted to buy.
I finally decided on a few basic colors to start with.
One shop had every kind of wool from animals that I did not even know wool was used from them.
Some of the wool was so soft that I just wanted to dive into the basket and lie on it.
I used to knit and almost got tempted to start knitting again.
The new fabrics that are out for knitting are a lot different than the old dime store yarns that I used to use.
I keep telling myself I don‘t have time to start a new craft.

Now I just need to decide what I want to make with all this beautiful wool.

Mixed media art quilt. Girl with leaves

I love this vintage picture. I wanted to use it on a small quilt and I could not find just the right fabrics to use with it.
I wanted the quilt to have an old vintage look to it.
I had just made a lap quilt with plaids and had a scrap laying on my cutting table.
I had at last found the perfect fabric to use!
I put some new and vintage buttons on top , beads and hand and machine embroidery.
This is beautiful framed.

Lavender sachet

The wind is blowing as she runs through a field of flowers.

Holding onto her scarf to keep it from blowing off her head.

I am a big fan of Pre-Raphaelite art. The women are absolutely beautiful in the art works.

I decided to use this picture in a lavender sachet.

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I like to add bead work to some of my designs. This is another Pre-Raphalelite picture. Original designs.

Fabric collage quilts

I have been making small art quilts in the past few days.
It has been some time since I have made any of these as I have been working on larger quilts.
To take a break from a large quilt, I feel the need to go smaller.
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I love these small pieces framed. They can be hung in a small area that calls for a small work of art.
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I never know what I am going to make when I start. Sometimes an idea will pop in my head before I get out of bed in the morning.
Morning is the best time for me to think. My mind is refreshed from the worries of the day, at least most times it is.
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I first choose my picture and then I look for fabrics that go with the picture.
I lay everything out on a table and start adding different things to get an idea of what my quilt or art piece is going to look like.
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Sometimes I will leave quilt over night if everything is not coming together right.
At times I have had a quilt to go together perfect the first time and other times yuck!!
If I am not happy with a piece that I am working on , I take it back a part and reuse the fabrics in something else.

Making vintage ACEO'S

I have been playing around with different ways to make ACEO’S this week.
I like making my bright colors ones that I have on Etsy but decided to make an aged looking ACEO.
Even thought the ACEO did not turn out the way I had planned. I still like the effects.

This is my challenge for this month. This is a group of ladies that get together once a month and we are given a challenge to make each month.

You can see their site at http://www.ingoodcohanddyes.com./

We had to use gel or gesso on a picture and bond this to fabric. I decided to use a wood board that I had and then aged the process. I gave it an aged look.
It is called “Memories” of peaceful days.
It is not my favorite way of transferring pictures. Being a little lazy I had rather print my pictures off on my printer.

making an ACEO card

There are many ways to make an ACEO. I am only going to give a brief outline and hope this will help get you started.
An ACEO has to be only 2.5” x 3.5”.
You can put anything on top of card as long as it is not over ¼” thick. **********************************************************

Use any kind of foundation to put design on. Water color paper, mat board, fabric, metal, and wood.
Almost anything goes.
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There are a lot of books out on this subject but it is hard to look at a picture and make an ACEO.

I have found that the ACEO’S I make come from deep within me and my imagination.
When I start making an ACEO I have no idea of what I am going to make. Sometimes even I am surprised at what I made.
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I am showing how I made one card and try to take you through a few steps.
This is my turtle ACEO card.

First I painted a mat board using good paints. Golden paints are my favorites.

I used a rubber stamp in the back ground. Next I selected a picture from a page that I had run off earlier.
Be sure and use copy right free pictures are your own photos if you plan on selling the card.

I used a permanent glue stick to paste my pictures down.
I let these cards dry and then I put a coat of clear varnish on for protection.
Don’t forget to sign and date on back of card. Hope this helped a little.

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Have fun and once you get started it is hard to stop.
Don’t try and copy what others are making, it can get very frustrating. Come up with your own

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This is an ACEO that I made from fabrics. Maybe another lesson?

Collage art

One of my favorite things to make has always been collage work.
I started making collages when there was no word for them. Back in the dark ages.

My sixth grade teacher kept a lot of my collage work, even after she had retired.
She invited me to her house one day and was showing me the things that I had made. I ask her to give me the art work but she wanted to keep them.
I was hoping to get my work after she passed away but never knew what happen to them.

It is still one of my favorite art works to make. I am now adding paints and canvas to my works and starting to sell in gallery’s and shows.

UFO and wall quilts

I take a monthly class where we are given different craft challenges. The challenge is to take the kit that is given to us and make something from it. This is where one’s imagination comes into play.
For this months challenge we was given a jar of paint and a piece of Tyvek and told to make something with it.
This is mine. I call it “It came from space”. With all the UFO’s sightings being reported on the news I thought this would fit in. I painted a canvas board and glued the Tyvek to it.
I also made a small wall quilt with another kit. This one had metallic paint and a scrap of black fabric. I love leaves and used some of my rubber stamps to stamp on fabric with the paint.
The charm I sewed to bottom of quilt is from a seller on etsy, http://www.sweetpeacottage.etsy.com/.

The other quilt I call “Ladybug”. I made a tiny ladybug from fabric and sewed it to quilt.
The ladybug is about ¼” and takes some time to make these as they are so tiny and the fabric is hard to hold.

Jewelry pouch

Just made three pouch's that can be used as a lavender sachet are can be used for jewelry.

These fit perfect inside your purse are suitcase to help keep items organized.

I used a vintage button on each pouch to close with. Fo sell on my etsy site.

Kaleidoscope quilt blocks

I think the Kaleidoscope quilt blocks makes up so pretty. Each block is different even after being cut from the same fabrics.

The first block I am showing is one square, pick the same corner from each square to be in center. Four squares make up a block.

Sew two blocks together and press seams open. Sew two halves together and press seams open.

Picture showing back of block.

This is finished block after all four sqaures have been sewn together.

I put two new quilt kits on my etsy site using the kaleidoscope design. One design is poppy's and the other tropical.

My second Christmas

Ok, so this is my second Christmas with my mistress. She let me help wrap gifts.
First I checked out the bows and paper and they passed my approval.
I did not think wrapping gifts was a lot of fun.
Where’s mine?

I hate to tell her but she is not good at wrapping gifts.
Next year I will get her a gift certificate on how to wrap gifts.

This is the lousy tree she bought for me and it only has lights on it. My mistress says , “It has 250 lights and was on sale”. No balls for me to bat around and not even a tree skirt, what is wrong with her?
My favorite part is being able to lie under the wood box that she has tree setting on. I can hide and it is so warm under here. Heck with the lousy tree! I'm going to take a nap. All this gift wrapping has made me tired.

Angel lavender sachet

Just put this beautiful angel lavender sachet on my etsy site.
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I want to show the cat sachet as I think it turned out cute. The cat sachet is sold.

mixed media art picture

I made this picture today using scrap pieces of mat board that I had painted some time ago.

I did not know what I was going to make with them and today they seemed to just fall in place as I layed them out on my table.

I painted a small canvas board to put pieces on.

I had a copy of a vintage sign about spitting that also went just right on picture.

I am showing picture framed and a close up.

I thought it turned out nice and looks good in a the frame that I put it in.

I also showing another aceo today and still working on making 100. I need to count them and see how many I have already made.

Fireman greeting card

I just made this card and put on my etsy site. It is in honor of the fireman that worked so hard this summer. I usually make cards for women but will be making some different ones for men.

100 aceo and counting

I started some time back making an aceo a day. My goal is to make 100 new ones.
What am I going to do with them? Put most of them on my etsy site and a few in an art show next month.

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I like seeing all the different things that you can put in jars. I am going to see how many things I can put in aceo jar cards.
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A few years ago there was a quilt pattern with bugs in a jar. I never did get one made but have always admired them.

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You can see most of these on my etsy site for sell.