The Blogging Dilemma

Where do people find time to take gorgeous pics of their work, post them on their blogs, and write blog posts? More and more frequently, I’m faced with a choice: talk about working on my blog, or do some actual work.

Of course, there’s a slight possibility that too much of my time is sucked up by Facebook.
At any rate, I’ve been happily tucked away in my studio painting fabric and paper. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it!

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Guess how much I love my leaves thermofax stencil?

Back to work now!

The Best Soup I’ve Ever Made!

Ok, I don’t usually post recipes on my blog, but I’m so proud of myself. I decided to make soup today, and somehow it turned out to be the best I’ve ever made—and maybe the best soup I’ve ever eaten. So, I thought I would post this for all my friends and cyber friends. Bon appétit!

Sausage, Chard & Bean Soup

2 T. oil (I used oil infused with cayenne pepper for a little bite)
2 small onions, chopped
2-4 carrots, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1-2 links sausage (probably 4-6 oz.) (I used smoked link sausage; the smoky flavor is REALLY nice in this, so if your sausage is not smoked, you might want to add a little liquid smoke)
2 t. dried Italian herbs
1/2 t. fennel seeds
pepper
4 c. stock (I used 2 c. vegetable & 2 c. chicken)
a big bunch of Swiss chard, stems removed and chopped
2 cans of navy beans, drained and rinsed

Saute the onions, carrots, bell pepper, and garlic in olive oil. Add the sausage and spices and continue to sauté until sausage is cooked and vegetables are soft. Add stock, Swiss chard, and beans, and simmer for about 30 minutes until the flavors are blended.

I served mine with cornbread, and we ate it for lunch AND dinner. YUUUMMMMY!

Me and Thou and A Can of Spray Paint

I don’t know why, but for some reason gorgeous Central Texas weather makes me want to haul out the spray paint. I’m almost out of canvas anyway, and since Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, I decided to go with that theme.

Sorry about the pics; the harsh light outside really bleached them out, and I had too much paint on my hands to mess with the camera much :-)



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A cold front is headed our way and it's supposed to be in the 20s in the morning, so it's back to indoor activities! At least I got a little Vitamin D :-)

Oh, and thanks so much for the comments on my poppy-seed heads piece! I'm definitely going to work on darkening those up a little, and maybe adding some shadows.

Opinions Please?

This is a piece that has just sort of come together a little at a time. I think I'm almost finished with it, except now I'm reevaluating whether I like the poppy-seed heads. I like the stitching for the stems, so I'm considering taking the heads off (these are made of wool) and just stitching the outlines of poppy-seed heads in their place. What do you think?

I guess I sort of think the current heads are a little cartoon-like. I would love to have your feedback!

Hey Again, Valentine!

I know it seems like Valentine’s Day is a long way off, but it’s not!
Remember the stencil-painted & stamped fabric from the other day? It’s now a composition notebook cover:




And a couple of business card holders:



Here’s another comp notebook cover for Valentine’s Day:



This one has a strip-pieced heart that I made into a free-standing applique, then stitched to the cover.

I’m trying to become more efficient in how I make these items for my Etsy shop. Right now it’s taking a very long time to create anything, and I think my wage rate works out to about $2/hr.

The good news is, I’m having fun! But now it’s time to get back to work.

Hey, Valentine!

Ok, it may seem a little early to be thinking about Valentine’s Day, but I’m working on a few “sweet” things for the Etsy shop. I thought I would share a tutorial with you on a quick and easy way to make your own sweet fabric.

This is a somewhat messy project, so wear gloves if you don’t like paint on your hands. You may get a few smears and spots and drips on your fabric, but that’s the look I was going for. If you want a cleaner effect, try applying the paint with a stencil brush, or use screenprinting techniques.

You’ll need the following supplies:

1. a stencil (mine is a cheap, store-bought stencil)

2. tacky spray (make sure it’s temporary adhesive, NOT permanent)
3. white paint (I like the heavy-body paint in a tube, since it’s less likely to run under the edges of the stencil)

4. a squeegee or a plastic card (you know, a credit card or that ugly old driver’s license you sanded the numbers off of, or that newfangled, plastic room key you “forgot” to give back when you checked out of the hotel)
5. rubber or foam stamps
6. a foam brush or sponge

To get started, make sure your fabric is smooth; iron if necessary.
Spray the back of the stencil with adhesive and smooth it onto the fabric.

Run a bead of paint along the edge of your card, then scrape it across the stencil.

Reposition the stencil and repeat the previous step until you’re happy with the number of stencil prints on the fabric.

Apply paint to the stamps with a foam brush or sponge, and stamp the fabric randomly or with a pattern of your choice.

Keep going until you’re happy with your fabric.

Embellish your fabric even more with fabric pens, foil, fibers, and thread.

Oh, and don’t forget to use the leftover paint in your art journal.

or on your “serendipity fabric.”

Have fun! I’m off to use my “new” fabric in a project.

Addendum: It occurred to me in the middle of the night that people might wonder whether the heavy-bodied acrylic changes the hand of the fabric. The answer is, absolutely. But I don't really find this to be a problem. Unless I'm making a garment or bed-quilt, it doesn't really matter to me what the hand of the fabric is. I've never had a problem getting a machine needle through painted fabric--and I've stitched paint on canvas. Of course, if you're hand-quilting painted fabric, you'll definitely want to use fabric paints, which will likely be thinner. Just make sure you're stencil is adhered well to the fabric, or go for the "blurry-edged" look!