Paper Petals

For our last lesson in Jane LaFazio's class "Mixed Media with Paper and Cloth", we tore paper napkins into strips and adhered them to a piece of fabric with matte medium.

I wasn't sure how I wanted to use these two collages but after seeing so many spring flowers starting to bloom, I got my inspiration.

I cut 5" petals from the collage and sewed them on to solid fabric.  I am in the process of adding beads, sequins and handstitching to my paper flower.  It's amazing what you can create with everyday items.

Always a Student

I love it when talented people share their knowledge on their websites or blogs.  It is fun to learn new ideas and to try their easy instructions.

BumbleBeans Inc. always has great tips on their 15minutesplay site.  I followed the tutorial for curved flying geese and this is what I made.

On the back, you can see that the curved flying geese are paper pieced on newspaper.  This was so much easier than I throught, I'm ready to try this in a quilt.

Young At Heart

A photo taken last Christmas becomes a whimsical page in my journal.  Life is a party, enjoy it every day.

Baby Quilt

My friend Diana is going to be a grandma for the first time and I wanted to make a baby quilt for the shower.

The nursery theme is classic Winnie the Pooh, soft yellows and soft greens.  I ended up finding the Pooh material on ebay, most fabric stores only carry the newer Pooh in primary colors.

I had to fussy cut the fabric so Winnie the Pooh would be centered correctly in each block.

Sweet dreams, baby boy.

Garden Greens

To Market, To Market

I always try to make some gifts for the holidays.  For Chirstmas 2009, I made 19 market bags.  I used a pattern called Jane Market Bag I purchased from rosylittlethings.typepad.com 

Each bag used 4 different fabrics - the sides, pockets, straps and lining.  Choosing the fabric is always my favorite step.

I even had labels made, part of the fun in giving my market bags to family and friends.

My Big Book

Last year in Jane LaFazio's mixed media class, we made Big Books.  After cutting a large piece of rosin paper, we collaged the entire piece.  It was then folded into a book form and each page was used as a surface for design.  I missed the first class and instructions, so I cut my book apart.  I ended up binding the pages and finishing the edges with thread and beads.

My front cover has squares of cloth/paper that I hand stitched on.  I drew an image of a flower and stenciled on "imagine" in the corner.

On this page, I used Mexican candy wrappers, drew vines and glued on cording as a stem.  The bright colored leaves are cut from collage paper I made earlier.

I visited Quebec City in October 2010.  I wanted to remember the sights and excitement of Quartier Petit Champlain with it's wrought iron dancing figures that swayed over our heads.

On the back of the book, I cut out houses in tissue paper, made a branch with cardboard and sewed on a charm.

The book measures 9" x 11" and what's really fun is that I can keep adding to my pages - it's always a work in progress.

Shrimp On The Barbie

Sunday was the first day of spring and we have been having such beautiful weather that I decided it was time to BBQ. We were going to have shrimp and veggies cooked on the barbie.  I had all of the food ready to grill but by the time my husband got home from a day of golf, it was starting to rain.

So, our BBQ stayed covered and neglected out in the wet, cold weather.

 The prosciutto wrapped shrimp was cooked in my grill pan and the vegtables were roasted in the oven.

GRILLED SHRIMP
     2 T olive oil
     1 T finely minced garlic
     2 t crushed dryed rosemary
     1/2 t ground black pepper
     1/4 t cayenne pepper
     1/4 t salt
Marinate shrimp for 1 hour in this mixture.  Wrap the shrimp in prosciutto and thread onto water soaked bamboo skewers.  Cook about 4 minutes on each side.  Before serving, squeeze fresh lime on shrimp.

I know that spring showers bring May flowers, but living in San Diego we are not used to this - we were bombarded with hail this morning at 5:00!  Our green lawn is covered with white sparkle, it's as close to snow as we can get.  HAPPY SPRING!

Log Cabin Quilt

My favorite quilt pattern is the Log Cabin.  I have probably made about 10 quilts using this pattern.

I finished this quilt about 10 years ago.  I wanted to make something soft and sweet looking, so I chose pale pink, pale green and cream fabrics.  Don't you just want to curl up in it and read a good book?

When I first started quilting, I would machine piece the blocks then hand quilt the tops.  Hand quilting is so rewarding, it really shows the love you have put into your quilt.  Now, I don't seem to have the time and I machine stitch the tops or have had them done professionally.  I really like working on small art quilts, I can hand stitch to my heart's content.

Paper Mache Box

 

I wanted to make something old looking using the photograph of the two German children that I had covered in resin.  I purchased a paper mache box at Michael's and covered it with pages torn from an old German book. 

I added the photo with matte medium just on the back of it, and glued on the buttons.  For the German "nur die zwei von ihnen" (just the two of them) lettering, I traced the words on artist tissue paper and adhered it with matte medium.

These buttons once belonged to my husband's great grandmother and this is a perfect spot for them.  I glued on the hooks and eyes because they reminded me of something old. Because of the resin, you can see the printing through the photograph.

'ohana

My husband is very proud of his Hawaiian heritage.  My younger daughter has spent a lot of time researching the family ('ohana) history.  It's a great excuse to visit the islands whenever possible.

William, Emile, the baby Julius (my husband's grandfather), Emily and Anna Na'alii'ilihune.  Emile was born in Belgium and settled in Hawaii.  He married Anna, a full blooded Hawaiian.

This is Anna's 'ohana.  The baby is my husband's grandfather.

In this collage, I used maps of Hawaii, copies of a grave stone rubbing and a photo.  I added memories of our island visits and used colored pencil to draw a wahine.  Aloha!

Art Class - Week 8

Monday morning was the last class for Mixed Media with Paper and Cloth taught by Jane LaFazio.  The 8 weeks we spent together creating, laughing and bonding went by way too fast. 

I renewed friendships and met some new very creative ladies.  It was hard to say good by.

Jane shared with us her beautiful quilt "Industrial Aged".  She has entered it in an invitational juried exhibition.  I wish her the best of luck in being chosen, she is so talented.

Today, our lesson was paper on cloth.  Everyone brought paper napkins to share.  We tore them in strips and adhered them to cotton using matte medium. I will share it when finished.

I'm in the Garden

After rain, cold spells and tsunami warnings, this weekend was sunny and warmer.  Blossoms are opening, birds are chirping and I spent my weekend in the garden.

Purple flower clusters are hanging in the Texas Mountain Laurel tree (although my sister who lives in Texas, says she has never seen this tree before in her state).

The first flower has opened on the freesia bulbs that rebloom every year.

This terra cotta snail planter must be almost 40 years old, but he sure looks happy with impatients and sweet alyssum spilling from his back.

A Is For Apple

After covering this ornate "a" with resin, I was reminded of children's alphabet books.  The first one is always "A Is For Apple".  I made a collage background using an apple pattern cut from freezer paper for a resist.  To attach the "a", I cut a square from the collage and hammered it on with grommets in the corners.

To frame the piece, I wrote apple sayings all around the edges.  When held to the light, you can see through the resin "a".

Jane

Here is the finished journal page that is a salute to my mom.  One of the ladies in my art class donated a big bag of cocktail umbrellas to use in our collages.  Everyone in the class found a way to use one, mine ended up as a beach umbrella. Cheers to you, Mom!

Small Art Quilts

I took my first class with Jane LaFazio during the summer of 2007.  The class was for 6 weeks and we worked on small art quilts.

Our first lesson was making a scenic quilt.  I used batik fabrics, hand stitching, buttons and beads.  The quilt measures 11" x 9".

The colorful background on this quilt is actually dyed paper towels.  After dipping the towels in liquid watercolors, I tore them into small pieces and machine stitched them onto a wool backing.  The bird is handstitched on.  This quilt is 8" x 11".

We learned how to photo transfer using acryic medium gel.  I used a print of plumerias and added my daughter's boarding pass in the corner.  The edges are blanket stitched with beads.  The size is 7" x 7".

This little quilt is only 6" x 7".  It is a copy of a quilt by Judith Reilly.  I transfered it with transparency gel directly onto muslin.  Embellishments include tiny, tiny buttons, hand dyed silk ribbons and cording.

This class was my first experience in art quilting and now I'm hooked.  I've already signed up for more lessons from Jane this coming spring.

Art Class - Week 7

It was pouring rain but most of the students were able to attend class this morning.  We brought in our recycled circles to share and photograph.  Aren't they great!

This week, our project was using resin.  Wearing gloves and aprons, we spread a resin product on both sides of different papers and cloth.  The items need to dry for 24 hours, so mine are currently laying on the floor in our garage.

I haven't decided what to make yet, but I really like the two photographs and the pages from an old, old German book.  These items once belonged to my late brother-in-law whose family emigrated from Germany to Texas.

Aren't these sweet?  I made copies of the originals to resin and hope to create something with an antique feeling. 

UPDATE -

I just collected my goodies from the garage.  WOW!  The resin has made the paper transparent.  It is so cool, I can't wait to get started.