Potholder Needlebook Trial WIP

WORK IN PROGRESS:  While going through my mom's things a while back, I found this never used Christmasy quilted potholder. I had been looking at needlebooks on Pinterest and thinking about making one, and it seemed like a good idea to use the potholder for a cover, or at least a base for one. So that's what I'm doing at odd times, and between stitch meditation pieces. It's actually a little bigger and bulkier than I wanted, but it's a trial and I'm learning on it. 😀

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The front with a button sewn on for the hanging loop to hold it closed. Not fond of the Christmas look of the poinsettias, so I plan to cover that later with maybe a doily or something.

The back cover also shows the row of embroidery thread stitches holding the pages in.

The pages, stitched down the middle, using felt leftover from another project, which I'm not crazy about. The first page has a pocket, which I stitched a flap over, as well as, divisions for a seam ripper, small scissors, and my thimble. I know it looks messy now, but I'm not done!

The pages opened up. It has six pages in all, and the last page also has a pocket. Here, I have them pinned to the potholder so I can stitch the back pages down better, but I'm having second thoughts about that now. I'm thinking I may add some other little places to hold things as I go along, and ideas for embellishing are coming to me, both on the pages and the covers, so we'll see how it goes.

The cover opened flat. Quite a few possibilities to add to it, and ideas brewing, but, for now, this is how it looks. As I said, I'm not really happy with the felt pages, but, hey, all I have to do is take the one line of hand stitching that's holding them in down out, and I can easily replace them if I find something better!

Anyway, one more WIP project that I have added to my collection of wips! This one is usable now, but I want to do some embellishing on it at some point. I'll show you when I do!

Blessed to be creative and to have so many interesting things that I love to do! I may get a bit overwhelmed sometimes, but I'm never bored. Even if I can't create physically, my mind is whirring away, coming up with new projects or figuring out things on projects already in progress. Doesn't matter if I'm good at it or not. It's my happy place! 😊

Stay tuned to see what happens with the potholder needlebook!

Playing with Gelli Prints

Still practicing with 5" x 7" gelli plate prints and open acrylics on different papers and having a blast!

This is the first pull on an altered book page, only one layer of paint...

and this is the 2nd/ghost pull on the facing page.

Torn out book page with a couple of layers printed on it. Hated it!

Printed over it in a different session!

Second/ghost print from the page above with a couple of layers added. Hated it too! Total mess!

Same page printed over in a different session! I will use these pages in a collage or something.

This is the first print on a mixed media page in my journal, one layer. I like it, but it needs something.

Same print, but I was using an old cd for a palette, and the paint was smooshed around on it at the end of a different session, so I stamped the cd on it. I like it better!

The second/ghost pull of the same print as above, still in the mm journal. I can add details or another layer , or I can collage with it.

The third/ghost pull from the print above. I can see all sorts of possibilities for this one!

The fourth/ghost print from the one above , with a roll of the paint left on my roller applied vertically. I like the print before the vertical stripe better, but it has possibilities.

This is a sheet of plain paper that I cleaned my roller off on. I like it a lot! Hubby says it looks like a man drinking from a bottle of wine, wearing a suit, with a duck in his sleeve, and you know what? It does! With a little imagination! 😊

Imagination is a powerful tool! Use it often!

Feather Journal Pages (altered book)-Keep Looking Up

I did another spread in my altered book journal trying to get back into painting and working on my classes.

I love these eyes that I found in a magazine, so I tore them out and adhered them to the gessoed pages in my book and let dry.

I used indigo to paint the whole background, and before it was dry, I spritzed it with water, causing it to run and removing some of the paint. I was experimenting, and was going to add some other paint and marks, but I liked this, so I left it.

The writing and white dots were added with a Posca white paint marker. Not happy with the writing, but it is what it is. There was a natural diagonal line across the eye on the right side, so I added a black line with a Posca marker, which I hated, so I covered it with starry indigo washi tape, which I liked much better. There is also a vague number 3, which is my favorite number, next to the diagonal.

After it dried, I put a light coat of cold wax on it, let it dry, then buffed it to keep the pages from sticking together.

Keep looking up, despite the chaos and darkness that may be going on around you!

Altered Feather Book Journal pages-Scars Quote

A new spread in my altered book, which I call my Feather Journal, because I painted feathers on the cover. It has no certain theme, as it's a first attempt at an altered book, and I work in it sporadically. The original title of the book is "Never Good Enough", which accounts for the text that shows through the sketches and paintings. I didn't think about a theme to go with my art at the time. The book and the art are just random projects.

Beginning pages for this spread (after a coat of clear gesso): Left is a coat of open acrylic shimmering gold and right is a  photo copied from magazine and transferred with gel medium to the book page, and left to dry.

This is after I rubbed most of the transfer paper, and part of the ink (because my printer is an ink jet) off the back of the photo.

I rubbed more of the paper, and ink, off the photo,  drew guide lines and wrote quote in charcoal, then  wrote over with a red Posca paint pen and added marks with gold leaf paint pen. I also collaged a circle from an original gel print, collaged a printed off owl, and extended the line with charcoal, then painted nails and eyelids gold leaf pen. I sprayed fixative over all, then added gloss med over right page face and a layer of cold wax over both pages. The dry wax was then buffed.

The original photo had much more of the reds in it, which is why I loved it so much. I wish the ink hadn't rubbed off as much and that the photo was better, but I'm still okay with it. Who knows? I may use her in another project! :)

Keep creating whatever you love! Don't give up! :)

Altered Book Pages in Feather Journal

I finally finished these two pages in my altered book journal that I started last year!

                                                                                             

The face was sketched off with only simple lines, then I started collaging over it with whatever scrap papers I could find around my work space, and I painted in the background with acrylic paint, I think. The figure was sketched in using a bamboo sketch tool, and the page was done in mixed media following the techniques of a teacher, but I'm sorry, I can't remember which one. It stayed like this for a while.

Then I added white gesso with a palette knife and some collage to the figure page, and left it almost a year.

I came back to it the other day, and added more collage papers to the face and hair, but didn't like the way it was looking. I also cut out the pink circles with a paper punch and collaged them onto the figure page to add interest.

 

Added acrylic paint and acrylic ink over the collaged face and some details and called her done. Her eyebrows say "Beautifully Imperfect".  I added some detail work with a black gel pen,  a stabilo pencil, and the pink circles to the figure page and also called it done. 

They look much better in reality. Sorry about the photography! I like them!

Also, sorry about the underlining! I've had a heck of a time writing this post. Everytime I capitalized a letter the whole post, pictures and all, would disappear, then it happened every time I even started typing. I shut my blog down and re-opened it, which helped that part, but then it wouldn't stop underlining and the text kept changing color on me. I'm guessing that all those updates Windows 10 downloaded onto my laptop yesterday evening had something to do with it. :/

Anyway, maybe it will be straightened out when I write the next post. See you then! Keep creating! :)

Altered Book Pages-Bird Sketches

Just on a whim, I sketched in a bird from memory, using India ink with a bamboo sketch tool on a page in my altered book.

I used white acrylic paint, black gel pen, charcoal, and ink until I got him to look like...

this, at which point, I added a red string and called him done!

I used a figurine as a reference for this sketch, also in the altered book with charcoal and pastel pencils. It could be much better, but ok for a sketch!

Playing with Ink and String

I saw a video on Facebook where the woman was dipping a string in ink, laying it between book pages, and pulling it out to make exquisite calla lily looking shapes. You lay the inked string in a squiggly pattern on a paper (she did it in a book) or page, close the book, or lay another paper with a book on top of it, press down on the top book/paper, and pull the string out the bottom to leave the image.

I need practice, but I tried it with different strings just to experiment, and got some unusual shapes! Fun!

I dipped a piece of yarn in India ink and squiggled and looped it onto a page in my altered book. The yarn was too saturated, which left blobby looking shapes at first (the darkest ones), but I pulled it through four times without re-inking and got better prints (the lightest ones). Interesting!

Then I tried a yoyo string, because it was handy, dipped in different colors of acrylic ink and made this image, also in my altered book. Nothing like the video, but still interesting shapes!

Lastly, I tried some acrylic inks with sewing thread, which left a more delicate image, and some interesting shapes, but next time I want to squiggle the thread, because you can see where I looped it in these. Still an enticing background for ephemera!

I won't say practice makes "perfect" (if there is such a thing), but it will definitely make you better!

Keep learning and practicing, and I will too!

Today's Sketches

I haven't done any art in a few days, until yesterday, I managed to get in some quick sketches in my altered book (The Feather Journal). Believe it, or not, I used the same reference photo (original) for all three sketches, and none of them look like the actual person. :/

I did the one on the right first with a black stabilo pencil and a water pen, plus a bit of white stabilo pencil, then the one on the left with a black charcoal pencil and a bit of water, plus a bit of white stabilo pencil. Made a mess of both! Drawing and shading are not my strong points! :/

I painted over the third sketch with white gesso, right, then sketched with a conte pastel pencil. I also added a bit of acrylic color, and a couple of lines, to the sketch on the left, which I had done previously.

Not the best job, but it was fun to sketch to my favorite music and get my mind off things for a while. I LOVE art and music!

Do some of what makes you happy every day! You'll be better for it! :)