OK I Think I am Back on Earth Again!

Tissue Paper Study by Michelle Bonds

Well it seems banishing the computer helps me get other stuff done! I think my other motivation was that there wasn't much point taking a day's leave (today) so that I would have more time to do stuff if I then wasted the weekend and had to cram three days worth of stuff into today!

Anyway the house is spick and span (first time for a while that it has had a really dedicated effort!!) and I have finished off a fibre ATC and postcard that I have been working on. Both are substantially made on the embellisher machine and then beaded. The "E" ATC is a trade for Eva in Sweden and the postcard is for Jaslyn in Perth because she was a big part of why I ended up buying an embellisher in the first place. The postcard was my first attempt on the embellisher and it is far from perfect but I have learnt a lot. Seeing the picture here also makes me realize I should have added some more hot pink wool fibres along the bottom but it is too late now!

Yesterday I also did a whole pile of experimenting with Shiva Oil Paint sticks and I had a lot of fun. The main purpose was to try and come up with a nice pattern for a set of fabric postcards I have to finish for an Australian exchange by the end of the month. I really like the various effects and I am just hoping that the suede like fabric I used does not have any treatment on it that will stop the paint from setting. It has a lovely feel to it and the paint was easy to use on the surface so hopefully it will be ok.

I also used a brush to try stencilling with the Shiva sticks and that worked well. I learnt a lot from having a prolonged play - the difference between the stencilling on the black and the blue for example - the black one is very messy as I used the stick straight on top of the large sequin waste whereas using the brush on the blue fabric was much neater! I have the book "Paintstiks on Fabric" by Shelly Stokes - it is a very thin but useful and informative book. If I had read the book properly first I would of course have known about the need to use a brush with the stencil.

As pictured at the top of this post, today's mail included the second of the Tissue Paper Studies from the Surface Design group exchange I have mentioned previously. This stunning piece of art was created by the very talented Michelle Bonds. She has posted information about the techniques she used on her blog (which is well worth visiting!) I love this piece Michelle - thank you!

This afternoon I am going to continue working on my giant jigsaw pieces which also need to be posted at the end of the week. They are fiddly - especially trying to get neat edges on all those curved shapes. Lesson learnt - not something I would do again as an exchange. Working on one or two pieces for fun would be OK but doing 16 pieces on particular themes is hard especially as the images need to be small. I have spent ages looking for appropriate small ones!! I'll post the results when I am finished if they look alright.