If, like me, you're not familiar with the work of artist Rex Ray then here's a brief intro via the wonders of YouTube.
Why am I showing you this? Because, if you stopped by yesterday's post you'll have seen info about Abstractuary. The arty prompt for 2nd February was Rex Ray, and I took inspiration from his collages and tried making my own.
Hmmm ... me and collages don't get along. I tried cutting out painted papers and glueing 'em down, then switched to colouring pencils and tried that. But I always end up with stuff that looks like a primary school kid made it. So instead I took up needle and thread.
It's not finished yet, but it's a fabric postcard-sized bit of stitching, and is meant to represent one of his paper collages. I think I'll eventually make a fabric book based on this Abstractuary challenge, and this will form one of the pages.
Today's prompt is 'print' and as I haven't hauled out the gell plate for ages I got stuck in with that. I didn't make a huge number of prints, but had fun making the ones I did. They'll form journal pages, and I'll also print more on fabric so I can construct a fabric book page from one of those.
In addition to this craftiness, and in between a speedy bit of hoovering and washing dishes - sadly, household chores still need to be done - I continued with sewing my Ann Wood 100 days stitchbook.
I added another scrap of material, this time it's a tiny piece of machine embroidery from an Accessorize handbag I'd chopped up. There's a use for everything when you're upcycling!
Apart from the calico, which was bought from Leeds market, all the scraps are from upcycled charity shop clothing. All bought at bargain prices.
Talking of bargain prices, I snapped up crafty goodies off Facebook marketplace yesterday. A lady was selling two bags full at only a tenner. There was a very generous bundle of blank cards and envelopes, which would've cost far more than ten pounds when they were bought new.
In addition, there were several rolls of florist ribbon, the sort you get tied around a bouquet.
There were also these artificial flowers.
I don't know that I'll keep these as they're a little too sweetly cute for my taste. If I can't think of a use to put them to I'll donate to the charity shop.
These are more bits 'n' pieces, some appeal to me and others might get donated.
I'm certain I'll find a use for these pretties. The purple 'jewels' on wire will look good wrapped around my boho style beads.
I absolutely loved these colourful butterflies. I'm thinking of either fixing them to a mobile, so they can flutter in a breeze, or a wall-hanging of some kind.
Finally, there were more butterflies, all on thin wire stems. Despite trying not to buy more craft supplies this year, and aiming to use up what I've got, I couldn't resist a bargain and that's exactly what I got, don't you think? Are you a Facebook marketplace browser too? If so, what's your best buy?
I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day. It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice. Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle. Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it? I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning. I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point. Time will tell. This is a link to the listing, if you're interested. This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs. It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday. I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax. The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....
I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes. I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made. It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer. (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern. For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.) WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER: Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures. Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns. You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're ...
Goodbye January, the month that feels like it's stretched out to be extra-long, the month we have to plough through to get to February and real signs of Spring. You may know, if you've wandered by this blog before, that I'm beavering away at Ann Wood's 100 day stitchbook challenge. That's still going strong. Three pages done and I've started page four. But I've also stumbled across another monthly challenge, and this one originated with Tori Chatfield, a.k.a. Kool Kooky Kreatures. You can find her on YouTube and Facebook, and she runs something called Abstractuary. Tori's produced a list of prompts for each day in February, and the idea is that you produce something arty or crafty based on those prompts. You can stitch or paint or collage or use whatever kind of materials you want. I won't commit to following these prompts every single day of Feb, but I'm certainly going to use several of them. Tori's also produced a Pinterest...
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