Zentangle Challenge #15

This week's challenge is named Love Your Curves, Baby. We were instructed to use only curves in our design. This challenge was much easier for me than last week's challenge when we were to only use straight lines. My design results are not officially Zentangle designs, more like Zentangle inspired.

Guest Blogger

I was recently invited to write a post over at the blog And Then We Set it On Fire.  This blog shares the discoveries and experiments made while exploring surface design techniques.  You can read my post here, which was published today.

I shared some new experiments there, which included these:

My guest post focused on my experiments with FW Acrylic Inks.  I go into more detail about the above projects.  I hope you'll visit the blog and check it out.

Book Reviews: Beading

I was the lucky recipient of two books to review and I must say I'm very excited to share these with you.  Both of the books are published by Lark Crafts and are part of their Jewelry & Beading series.

The first book, Sensational Bead Embroidery by Sherry Serafini, is full of pure jaw-dropping beauty.  I am simply amazed at the pieces of jewelry created in this book and Sherry shows you how you can create them too.

In this hard cover book, Sherry covers the basics, such as tools and materials; as well as the stitches and techniques you'll need to know to create the projects.  The projects range from brooches, earrings, necklaces to pendants, cuffs, and rings.

The projects are created on a base material, usually starting with a larger focal bead or cabochon.  Then remaining beads are stitched around to fill in the design.

The pages are filled with colorful examples and detailed diagrams.  The gallery is filled with lovely examples by other bead artists.  This book has 128 pages of exciting beading information and you won't go wrong if you are considering adding this one to your beading library.

The author has been creating beaded body adornment since 1997, has won numerous awards for her artwork, and has even designed pieces for some well-known celebrities. Sherry teaches and lectures and her work has been published in major industry magazines.

ISBN: 978-1-60059-672-8
Publisher:  Lark Crafts
Hard cover, 128 pages, $24.95
Available online and/or at a craft store near you

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The second book, Creating Glass Beads by Jeri L. Warhaftig, is brilliant as well.  All the gorgeous beads created in this book are total eye candy.

Again, the book covers the basics by going over the tools and materials, and because you are working with a torch fueled by gas, Jeri covers safety, ventiliation and protection.

This is Jeri's second book on creating glass beads and is geared to expand your beginner skills and develop your artistic voice in your own glass beadmaking.

The book covers many styles of beads and shares wonderful step-by-step photos and discussion in creating the project.  

There are several galleries throughout the book that share gorgeous beads from other bead artists.

And one of my favorite parts of the book is the results by the project testers.  Jeri invited a group of intermediate beadmakers to test the projects. Each project in the book shares the results by these testers.  It's fun to see how they interpreted the project in their way.

This hard cover book is 144 pages and is designed for ambitious beginners and those with more experience to move past the basics.

ISBN: 978-1-60059-582-0

Publisher:  Lark Crafts

Hard cover, 144 pages, $24.95

Available online and/or at a craft store near you

Watch the 3 Creative Studios blog and you'll have a chance to win one of these two books.  The give away will be held in April and will be announced on the blog and in the newsletter.  Don't miss it!

Journal Quilt #12

C is for Cat (Journal Quilt #12)

Fused fabric, free-motion quilted, thread sketching, zigzag edge finish

I had no idea this quilt was going to have a kitty on it when I started it. I basically just fused all the fabrics in place and quilted. Once I had finished that step, I looked at it and pondered a while. I've done thread-sketched faces and flowers on my previous journal quilts. I wanted to do something different. And of course, kitties popped into my head. Imagine that!

Check out the other journals quilts over in the 3 Creative Studios Journal Quilt Challenge Flickr album.

Spring Snow

I finally grabbed some time one evening this week and created this little kitty ATC. My little watercolor paintings are starting to pile up. I should do something with them....perhaps make them all into greeting cards, especially since I have some blank greeting cards on hand.

We had a spring snow storm in my area this week. Hubby came home early from work on Tuesday and yesterday he stayed home because most of the area highways/roads were closed to travel. The snow we received totaled around 8 to 10 inches and is very wet and heavy. Today the sun is shining and it is so pretty out there, even though I'm anxious for spring and green things growing.

Oh and I've now got two pairs of hand knit socks completed. I'm working on my third.

Zentangle Challenge #14

Our challenge this week was labeled I Walk the Line. Our Zentangle challenge hostess instructed us to create a tile or Zentangle-inspired piece using ONLY STRAIGHT LINES.

One doesn't think about drawing without freely using straight and curved lines until you are challenged to do so. While this piece did take some thought, I found it fun. As I was creating the design it dawned on me that the basic shape or structure I was creating reminded me of the quilt block known as square in a square.

There are some great Zentangle designs out there that are created using straight lines but give the illusion of curves. You can see the results by other Zentanglers by clicking the link in the first paragraph.

Postcards

I joined in the 3 Creative Studios recent postcard swap and here are the postcards I made to send to my swap partners.

 

These started as fabric-backed paper for the background. I then created paper castings with Sulky Paper Solvy and rubber stamps and brass stencils. I stitched the paper castings to the postcard to secure them in place and then I used metallic paints to gild them. The theme of the postcard swap was Gilded Age.

If you'd like to participate in the 3 Creative Studios challenges...watch the 3CS blog for announcements. We have several that are going and you might find one that interests you. Also on our blog are occasional give aways, product reviews, Tips on Tuesdays, and more.

A Little Birdy Told Me...

A Little Birdy Told Me

12" x 12" Mixed-media art quilt

I finished this little quilt a couple of days ago.  I need to add a hanging sleeve yet and a label, but that's it.  I love this little birdy.  The three horizontal lines you see on the piece are fabric thread junk that you find in newly dyed fabrics that you pull out of the washer and dryer.  I like to save it because it is so lovely and colorful, just like hand dyed fabrics.  I keep a little plastic dish on the shelf above the washer and just toss them in when I do hand dyed fabrics.  You just never know when you might need some thread junk for a project.

Speaking of hand dyed fabrics...the March 3 Creative Studios guest artist, Brenda Gael Smith, is teaching us shibori.  I'm hoping to find some time soon to give this a try.  It looks like fun.

Journal Quilt #11

Button Blooms (Journal Quilt #11)

I didn't think I'd be able to complete this week's journal quilt and have it ready for sharing here until tomorrow.  I guess my day went better than I thought it was going to.  Yay!

So this little quilt started off as usual with batting scraps, fused fabrics, free-motion quilting, and thread sketching. And again this week I added some buttons for embellishment.

I hope you have a fun and creative weekend planned.

One Sock Down

Woo hoo!!! I'm so happy! I've finally got a sock done and I'm happy with the way it fits. Yay!

Of course, now I need to make the other one to have a pair. I don't think I want to walk around like this:

And here's a parting shot of what I'm working on today. It's a 12" x 12" quilt that I'm making to donate to this years SAQA Auction. I've donated a quilt for the past, oh maybe three years, I think. Gosh I have a bad memory. Anyway, there are some quilts already submitted for this event that you can view at the link above. I'll share more of my quilt when I'm finished with it.

I'm in the process of attaching a binding that will be hidden and is referred to as a facing.

I've been busy the last couple of evenings and haven't had time to do any more watercolor painting. I think I'm starting to get a little cranky.

Zentangle Challenge #13

The challenge this week was called Non-Dominatrix. We were challenged to create a tangle using only our non-dominant hand, which for me is my left hand.

Oh boy! Can you say S H A K Y? All in all I'm not unhappy with my results. I'm actually kind of digging those wobbly spirals in the upper left. They sort of remind me of those flowering cabbage (also known as kale) plants. In fact the entire design sort of looks like a flower garden plan with a walkway through the middle.

Sock Update

I had my second sock knitting class on Saturday. I learned how to knit the heel and that pretty much took up the entire class time for me. So I finished the sock on Sunday. Here is where it is at the moment.

I haven't fastened off the yarn for this sock above because I'm not happy with the fit. It's loose and somewhat sloppy on my foot and I don't like socks that fit like that. I realize this wool yarn will perhaps shrink a tiny bit but I don't think I should leave the sock as it is now. I purchased some more yarn, in another great colorway (see next photo), and I started another sock. I'm trying to adjust it so that it is more customized to my foot. We'll see how that goes. If I can get the right numbers/fit/proportions I will then un-knit the first sock and start that one over from scratch.

This pile of fabrics, from my stash, are my possibilities for the next Twelve by Twelve colorplay challenge. Gerrie chose the current color theme of chartreuse. A yummy color indeed!

I've got some other colors of fabrics pulled out to go along with these chartreuse fabrics, but I don't want to share too much with you until the reveal. I've also got a design idea in mind and I'm so hoping I can execute it successfully because I'm really pumped about it.

And elsewhere on the net...
Head on over to the 3 Creative Studios blog and see what's been happening. We are having a book giveaway, Vicki posted a product review the other day, and more.

And on the Twelve by Twelve blog, we are still celebrating our book release party for a few more days. You still have time to leave comments on the appropriate posts to be included in the drawing. You have until midnight, Pacific time, on March 17 to enter. If you comment on all 12 posts that relate to the book release party, you will have 12 chances to win.

Drawing and Painting

Here are some more watercolor paintings I did in recent days. First up is a kitty.

And I attempted another bird, but I like the first one much better (shown here)
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The last item is a Zentangle drawing. This is a mandala style Zentangle.

I had class #2 in sock knitting yesterday and Wow!...that was somewhat of a struggle getting through the heel section. I'm almost finished now with one sock, I'm up to the point of decreasing at the toe section.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved in the devastating events around the world in the past few days.

Journal Quilt #10

Beware of Wild Flowers (Journal Quilt #10)

Hey, look! Orange is back. I feel so much better with that orange in this week's journal quilt.

Don't forget that Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend. I know not all locations around the globe follow this, but just thought I'd remind those of you who weren't aware. And you know what DST means....spring is almost here. YAY!!!

Tomorrow morning I have my second class on sock knitting. I'm anxious for that. Perhaps sometime over the weekend I will have a completed sock to share with you.

Edited
Quilt or Dye asked for some information on my journal quilt creation.  I started with a piece of batting on which I applied a layer of Mistyfuse fusible web.  Next I placed the fabrics, raw edges and all, and moved them around until I had a composition I liked.  I then free-motion quilted the entire surface.  I drew my focal figures on with a disappearing pen.  Free-motion thread sketching was next over the drawn lines.  Finally I trimmed the edges with a wavy rotary blade and stitched a pre-programmed machine stitch around the edges.

I also wanted to add that you can see many more journal quilts from fellow 2011 Journal Quilt participants in the Flickr group here.  Everyone is welcome to play along.

Zentangle Challenge #12

This is my contribution for this week's Zentangle challenge on I Am The Diva's blog. This challenge was called Something Blue.  We were to incorporate the color blue in our tangle, in any way we wanted.  I chose to create my Zentangle on a 4" x 6" piece of watercolor paper and then I colored in the outer background with blue watercolor.  This is the first time, I think, that I added color in some way to my tangle.  Some artists use color regularly in their work.

More Watercoloring

Here are the next two watercolor paintings I've created. This makes five paintings now and I'm beginning to wonder why I waited so long to play like this. But I think there is an internal process and evidently I just wasn't ready yet. You can see the first three paintings I did in this post.

I did this kitty painting a few days ago. Again, these are ATC sized paintings (2.5" x 3.5").

Today I did this little bird. I just love how he turned out.

I made the bird painting into a greeting card. My mother's birthday is coming and I will mail this to her. She is a bird lover.

Hope you are having a terrific week!

Socks

I started a sock knitting class today.  A new friend of mine mentioned that she had signed up for the class about a week or so ago.  I have always wanted to try socks, and even attempted once on my own, but quickly gave up when I ran into some troubles.  So I signed up too, and today was the first day of class.  We started at the ribbing and this is how far I made it by the end of class.

Our homework is to knit the top of the sock to a length we think we'd like, around five to seven inches.  And then next Saturday, our second day of class, we will learn how to do the heel.  So far I'm having great fun.

Journal Quilt #9

Journal Quilt #9

I am just so darned proud of myself this week.  I actually got my journal quilt done for a Friday showing.  Woo hoo!!!  I think this just might be the most colorful journal quilt I've made so far this year.

I'm still using up scraps of pre-fused fabrics for these and I'm also looking through my stash for little tidbits of experimentation type stampings, stencilings, and whatnots for added interest.  I want to use this stuff up baby!

And look!  Buttons!  Oooo Ahhhhh!

I haven't been able to come up with a name for this one.  Any ideas?

My New Hobby

I've always been fascinated with watercolor paintings. Especially those combined with pen and ink. While I've had watercolors in my studio for a few years now, I've never really taken the time to really get to know them. So I decided to change that.

I cut some watercolor paper to a smaller size, 2.5" x 3.5" or artist trading card size. I grabbed my watercolor paint palette and my water brushes and set up in my favorite chair in the TV room. I have been working on these in the evenings while sitting with the hubby.

This flower piece is the first one I did.

Next I tried a face.

And then another face.

I am hoping to continue with these a few nights a week and hopefully I'll continue to improve. As with most things I do, I really believe that the more I practice, the better and more comfortable it will get.

I'm not sure what I'll end up doing with these three ATCs. I may attach them to greeting cards, keep them in a file to compare my progress, or maybe I'll even give them away.

In other news. . .the Twelve by Twelve group is having a book release party. Our new book was offically "released" on March 1. I'm really not sure what it means to be "released", especially since the book became available before this date. Anyway, the party started yesterday (March 2) and will continue for twelve days. You can get in on all the fun, just head on over to the group's blog and leave comments on all the blog posts during the party days. All you have to do is answer the questions posed in each blog post and you will be entered to win. Each day you comment, you will have another chance to win. Yay!

Zentangle Challenge #11

The challenge this week is called Monotangle. Create a tile or Zentangle inspired piece using only ONE tangle!

Funny thing is, I had done the above tile a couple of weeks ago. I was practicing up on the tangle named Bales and I found variations of it as well. I found this design and the variations at this wonderful site.

So I guess I'm going to be lazy this week and use this as my Challenge #11 submission.

Blue/Brown/Sage Color Palette Revealed

Puzzled Palette

12" x 12"

Today is the reveal of the latest color play challenge over on the Twelve by Twelve blog. I hope you will check out the quilts as they appear today. I already spotted a couple that were wonderful.

You can read more about my quilt over on that blog as well.