Hubby gets an A

Hubby went to the dermatologist today to get zapped...you know all those strange little growths that start appearing all over your body as you get older....and because he loves me...he brought me two pieces of fabric as a surprise...he stopped by WalMart and picked them out....thought I could use them on some of the postcards I am making...they were both fish fabrics....the man knows I love fish. He also got me a box of Kentucky Fried Popcorn Chicken (one of my favorite treats)....after almost 40 years...these little surprises are much more valuable to me than any big old diamond ....it shows that I am deep in his heart and in his thoughts. Sometimes men can really surprise you!

Stencils, Shiva, and the Nude

Did my title get your attention?

A week and a half ago ...if you mention stenciling to me I would have told you that you paid a professional to come into your house and do that on your walls. (And you would have to drop a little money in the process.) My friend Pam and a handful of Shiva oil sticks changed that in a hurry. If you haven't tried these sticks out, then you are missing a wonderful art tool. There is a video that you can view online that gives you a quick overview of them, using rubbing plates:

http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/tvt049.asp

They are also great to use with stencils. My friend, Pam, who must have stenciled every room in her old house if you were to judge by her big collection of stencils, showed me how to do it on cloth using the Shiva sticks. I went home and was able to cut out a stencil...needed to make it a three part stencil...so I could make a fat nude dancing woman to go on one of my postcard swaps. ( Aren't my fellow swappers going to be in for a surprise with this theme?) I used a stencil burner and after a little practice not only cut the stencil out but used the Shiva sticks to get the color and shading just right. Having a very talented friend right down the street who shares her talents and skills with me is wonderful. We all should be so blessed.

Here is my dancing nude woman:

No Bunnies or Eggs at the Beach

There were no grand kids to hunt eggs and fill baskets with Peeps and Chocolate Bunnies this Easter...it was just the hubby and me. So how did I spend my day?

I made another one of those postcards! They are very habit forming...today's efforts were a octopus from a child's drawing that I came across in my files.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

SHUTTERS & A MERMAID

Having hurricane shutters installed this week..so have been hiding in my sewing room trying to stay out of the way...as there are young men and one older man scurrying all around my house. Anyway thought I would try to incorporate a clay head (thinned down) onto my mermaid body...I just wasn't feeling the creative urge to try to paint a face....and since this was a practice postcard...thought if it didn't work out...only thing lost was my time and a few beads and sequins....

Here is a head photo ( hope you don't scare easy):




Here is her body...the sea gods were very good to her and blessed her twice...

Freezer Paper Does Make a Difference

In my last post was going to check to see if freezer paper kept colors brighter when painting...here is card 3. I used dark greens and browns...but the colors did stay brighter and didn't run as much as they do without the paper. Next time you are painting on fabric give it a try. Notice the small circles (scales) on his legs...that was done with a colored pencil...not sure if you can click on picture and get a closer look...but I was pleased with the way the legs came out. Now on to the mermaid and this postcard swap will be done! Then I will wait in anticipation for my cards to come in.

A Back- Stepping Blogger

Said I was done with postcards. Was disappointed, discouraged and unhappy with many that I had received. But then.......

I heard about another postcard swap...where the swappers followed rules, and made and sent only postcards that they would like to receive. The swaps are limited to 3-5 people....you have over a month...sometimes two to complete the swap...the goal is to create a unique card...a small piece of art...not a mass produced bunch of cards. I am having a hard time limiting myself...the themes are unique and interesting and each and everyone is pulling on my typing hand saying sign-up Ann. So far I have been good...only participating in two...have completed the following two cards...I decided to go into all hand-made mode...hand painted fabric, drawings, painting, etc. My Embellisher which makes card making easy is on vacation for a while...there will be no pounding of yarns, ribbons or trims on these cards...I am going to do them the old fashion way...

Card 1

The second card has not had the edges stitched and it also hasn't had beads other than the eye sewn on...it also is missing the glitter medium like card 1 has. But you can see that the colors are brighter ...card 1 had a grainer texture where card 2 the threads are smoother. Another thing that I did differently with card 2... I ironed my fabric on freezer paper before drawing and painting the fish...not sure if that has anything to do with the difference in the colors...on card number 3 I will know for sure if the freezer paper makes the difference or not. I do like the brightness of card number 2 over card number 1. I also might not go so heavy on the glitter glaze medium on card 2.

Card 2

LIPSTICKING THE PIG

Well I have now completed my Susan Sorrell online class that was on Joggles.com. It was all sewn by hand and covered a six week period...a lesson a week. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Many time I was tempted to sit down at the sewing machine and turn it on. But truthfully I believe using a sewing machine might take way from the folk charm of the piece. I also discovered that you use up a lot of embroidery floss doing a small piece like this (7 X7) because you are using three and sometimes 6 strands of thread. I wish that I had learned to use a thimble before in my sewing life, because your "pushing finger" really takes a beating from the end of the needle. Would I make another one? Probably yes, with a few changes...would incorporate the use of a sewing machine and also use a very thin batting, I mean very thin...as there is a lot of thread built up on the back of the piece. In fact the piece becomes very thick and almost "cardboard-ee".

The jest of the lesson was to take a saying or a quote and turn it into a little piece of art. My saying was "putting lipstick on the pig." (It means taking a situation or something that you aren't really happy or pleased with, and putting on a good "face" about it.