Cloth Paper Scissors Issue 23

Do you have your latest copy of CPS? Issue 23?
Well, run and get it!
I was reading through my copy
(it's one of the three magazines that I read every word of)
and got to the "popping the question" section on page 12.
I had forgotten all about responding to this question a while back
and was very surprised to see my answer on page 13!



Cool!

I have just written an article about using Kimwipes
in the Fibre&Stitch online magazine.
I use them in a lot of my mixed media pieces.
(and on our lettuce leaves in the spring!)
I sell them in my etsy shop, very reasonable price
for a very versatile product.

This is another great magazine (one of the ones that I read every word of!).
I was so sad to read that Sue & Terri (Two Creative Studios)will not be offering the zine
after the next issue.
It's so understandable, since they are both so incredibly busy
with a ton of other creative endeavors.
But I sure will miss it!
You could run over to the web site and purchase the issue though.
It is packed with all kinds of great articles
by a host of creative people.

Emerging...

I am slowly beginning to emerge from the fog of my mom's passing.
The past two weeks seem to have surrounded me,
enveloped me and drew me away from the rest of the world.
I have been hanging out with my husband and son...
reading some...
journaling and drawing some.

You know, when I first tried to journal about my mom,
I couldn't find the words.
I suppose that I was just overwhelmed with grief at the time.
So instead of writing, I just drew in my journal.
I doodled and made marks.
Healing Marks.

I'm feeling better now but that
grief is still clinging to my skin...
and I suppose that it will be my constant companion for a while yet.

Thank you to all of my wonderful friends that
sent me condolences, virtual hugs
and said a prayer for my family.
There are no words worthy of the thanks that I feel in my heart.
So I just say a simple

"Thank you so much for being there for me"

I've been away for a few days...

Haven't taken the time to blog
or really felt like it.
My mom was taken to the hospital last Tuesday,
unconscious and near death.
She had emphysema and COPD.
She had just recently caught a cold or virus or
something like that...
and within 4 days she was
in the ICU, so very ill.
Her lung health was so poor
the past year that she just couldn't
fight one more illness
and I am so sad to say,
that after 6 days in the ICU,
she passed away on Monday.
What a sad day for my family...

Her memorial service was today.
My mom kept a journal, off and on.
At the service today, the pastor
read excerpts from it.
I'll post them in a few days when I get it back from my sister.
What an awesome legacy the journal left to us!
To actually read about the faith, the firmness of belief that
your loved one had...
we knew this, that my mom was a faith filled woman
but to have it in her own words to share with others...
what a measure of grace for us.

So, please join me in raising a toast
to my precious mom...

ArtFire

Did you know that ArtFire plants a tree for every new community member?
Isn't that so cool?
Check it out today.
No fee's.
Buy Hand Made.
Here's your link.

Silly Floppy Headed Heart For A Nose Bear

I've been playing with the new camera here at home.
These are "candid shots" of one of our house mates.
This silly old bear came to live with my family
several years ago, after being created by loving hands
at my old sewing machine.
I had a stack of fluffy brown fabric
that I "inherited" from my grandmother
that was constantly bugging me
to take shape...
this silly bear is the shape it took.
Gotta love a silly old bear with the floppy head...
and a heart for a nose...

Her Awakening

Well, I can finally post a few pictures of "Her Awakening",

my latest mixed media fiber art.

I used a lot of rust media that my husband and I rust dyed.

All of our pieces have this wonderful depth of color, don't they?

My husband is the one that does the good job there...

I'm much too, ummm, well,

let's just say that he is much more organized and methodical for that job.

Be sure to check out my Etsy shop for some great

fabrics.

I'll be adding Rust Media packs soon...just keep checking.

Or, better still, email me and ask about them!

Lots of yummy rust fibers such as vintage lace, kimwipes,

tyvek, drawer liners, fabric, sheers...

lots of really cool items that we have rusted.

And at a very economical price!

Here she is, with some close ups.

I drew the face on rust dyed Kimwipes,

which are low lint wipes used in industry.

They are so durable and strong...

we dyed them (in a wet environment), machine washed

and dried them in a lingerie bag. You can see that

it has a few areas that washed out

but is still intact and quite vibrant.

I use these wipes for so many different things in my studio...

anything from general clean up to

the main element of a mixed media fiber piece!

This is a close up of the hand dyed cheese cloth on the left hand side.

I don't usually do hand stitching but this piece insisted on it.

I found that I really liked it too...

kinda like a kitty "making bread", the stitching is a calming, stress free activity for me.

I'm sure I'll be adding more to my work.

Here is the small mixed media heart on the lower right hand side.

It is gilded with a gold pen.

Behind it is a piece of the paper fabric that I made

with the word "believe" adhered to it.

The fabric behind that was sent to me

from Pokey Bolten.

I won a blog give away and have

been hoarding the fabric

for just the right project.

This happened to be one of the

"perfect projects".

Thanks Pokey!

This is a vintage doily that we rusted and I

did some hand beading on.

And yes, I sewed a bead at each little

intersection of the doily.

From a distance, it looks like there is

just some type of shimmer...

but when you get closer,

you are rewarded with

a slew of teeny tiny seed beads!

Random Arts Journal Page

Random Arts is hosting another "Journal Page" challenge

in order to make a book that will raise money

for a local charity, "Arts For Life".
The last one that Jane did raised $500.00 for the local Senior Center!
Wow, what an awesome effort from everyone!
I took my page up to the shop yesterday and forgot to take pictures
(even though I have a NEW CAMERA!!!)
(I am SO excited about that!)
so I snagged pictures from Jane's blog.

I had begun a collage that was inspired by DJ Pettitt's work.

I was trying to learn the technique that she uses for her fused collages

but didn't have exactly what I needed...

and didn't have the time to wait until I had the correct supplies...

so, being the kind of artist that i am,

I just proceeded with what was on hand.

I had small pieces of canvas (cotton duck canvas or fabric)

that I had painted with gesso a while back

(actually in prep for a Katie Kendrick class!).

I had tried a couple of techniques

from Kelly Rae Roberts book on it

before going to a larger, more stable canvas

after I felt comfortable with the techniques.

I keep these little pieces of canvas

to use for collage or other mixed media work.

I was at Jane's on a Friday "Unfinished For Free" day

and wanted to show "the girls" what you could do with a piece of "scrap canvas".

I added a few torn pieces of tissue paper,

cut out the flower shapes & stems.

I used gel medium to collage each piece on (under and over the tissue).

Then I added the "sketchy sewing".

This was the part that I had got so much inspiration from DJ on...

her work is filled with this awesome sketchy sewing,

it looks so random yet it

"fits" each piece so perfectly!

I began sewing when I was a young girl

then taught myself to quilt...

needless to say my sewing was usually fairly even, followed the lines and all that.

But THIS sewing...I'm lovin' it!

It made such a difference in the small piece after adding the black thread outlines.

Jane suggested adding the black paper,

a couple of inspirational words...

and wa-la

my journal page was born!

I used a scrap of college canvas from another experiment

to make the other side.

I added Random Arts address label (that was in the journal page packet)

and printed out my address label,

then added the line

"Sending some LOVE your way" in a nice script font

to complete the "postcard journal page".

When I lined up the pieces of canvas,

I made sure that the stitching lines would sew both pieces of college down.

I really enjoyed making it

and am so glad to be able to participate in raising money

for such a worthy cause.

And I'm really loving the sketchy sewing...

it keeps coming up in my work now.

Love, love DJ Pettitt's art work...

you should go and see it!

Fiber Art Alliance

Regular readers know that I belong

to a great fiber group in Asheville NC.

We meet on the first Tuesday of each month.

I've said it before, I'll say it again...

what a talented group of women!

Julie Simpson and Elaine Zinn led the program this month.

Wow, what an impressive resumes they shared!

They are both quite talented and so very nice...

The program was on Fabric Beads.

No pictures, since our new camera hasn't arrived yet (can't wait!)

but suffice it to say

that the place was packed

and everyone really enjoyed playing

with fabric, glue, straws, yarn and yummy fiber.

Thanks ladies, for a wonderful class!

My friend and fellow member, Anita Heady

brought some of her lucious hand dyed fabrics.

Check out her blog & web site for pictures.

I'm sure that you can contact her and purchase some!