And While the Sewing Machine Was Out.....

I made a junk journal out of a file folder.

Rose brought one of these that she made to the last Vancouver Artist Trading Card Swap.

I sewed old book paper, ledger paper and scrapbook paper to it.

Some people make journaling cards to put in the pockets.

Mine is currently holding bookmarks ready for The Bookmark Project.

Follow the Spark: A New Junk Journal

"Follow the spark", Penelope our Vancouver Artist Trading Card organizer, said.  She credited Nick Bantock for this instruction on chasing down passing inspiration.

"This would make a great book", Rose said.  "See how it folds out?"  Rose brings lots of interesting stuff to put on our "free table" at the swap.  Apparently, this was junk mail with potential!

I couldn't resist, and brought it home.  It didn't sit for long - that spark just wouldn't go away.

I sewed paper on it, including this map from a Paris Brochure,

book paper, scrapbook paper

ledger paper

an architect's plan, music

I'm collecting embellishments that I'll store in this envelope I included.

Where is the spark leading you?

Sewn Artist Trading Cards

I missed Silly Scraps Saturday yesterday because my office/studio is so hot that it is unbearable most of the day.

Ah, that's better.

I had an overwhelming urge to get out my sewing machine last week.  The Vancouver Artist Tradeng Card Group swap was approaching so I cleaned the inchies out of my scrap box and made these.

My next sewing project is another book...

It Pays to Shop Locally

It took so long that you might have thought that I was bluffing when I first mentioned it, but I finally got my canvas pencil case made!

It was made possible by a small, local art supply store, Rath Art Supplies.  I went in to buy a Col-Erase colored pencil for drawing, and in the "free" box there was some lovely canvas just the right size.  It already had a coat of gesso on one side so I was all set.

First, I applied a glazing of acrylic paint:

After it was dry I added the designs:

Some lining and a zipper, and voila!

I got the idea from Alisa Burke, who sells similar pouches in her on-line shop.  Unfortunately, she doesn't ship outside of the US, so I made my own.

Watercolor Brush Holder

Well, the big "reorg" is finished, and I must say, I'm thrilled.  Mostly because I can find everything I want easily, and my office/studio is much less cluttered.  My desk is entirely empty except for my laptop, speakers, printer, and OttLite, leaving me lots of room to create!

The inspiration and methodology for the reorganization was this post on Peony and Parakeet, who recently did her studio by using the Konmari method from this bestselling book.  One of the foundations of the method is to store common things together, and as I was trying to declutter my desk (another foundation of the method), I needed to find a way to store paint brushes inside a drawer.  So I made this cute little roll-up brush holder, which also gave me a fun sewing project to satisfy my creative urges.

Here's a picture of it rolled up:

and one with the pencil case that I made some months ago.

More Crazy Quilts

I've made a few more Crazy Paper Quilt ATC's for the upcoming Vancouver ATC Swap.

I used a few different things for focal points (the starting point for the quilt), like postage stamps and pictures of flowers.

I added embroidery to a few.

And of course, there had to be another bird:

Stamp by Inkadinkado

Silly Scraps Saturday

This week we have artist trading cards for tomorrow's swap.  As we saw last Saturday, I've been playing with crazy paper quilts.  Add a hand carved stamp and some embroidery and you've got an ATC!

Free Motion Stitching...And Beads!

I'm starting to experiment with different kinds of quilting and other sewing arts, but using paper instead of fabric.  (I don't have room to add a fabric stash to my paper stash.)

Getting ready for the Vancouver ATC Swap on Sunday, this Artist Trading Card incorporates serendipity paper, free motion stitching, a hand carved stamp and beads.

Practising Free Motion Stitching

 

I'm reading Joanne Sharpe's most recent book, The Art of Whimsical Stitching.  She recommends that you first practice free motion stitching with a pen and your sketchbook.  Drawing continuous patterns, without lifting your pen, is a good way to "build muscle memory that will kick in when you move to the sewing machine."  This advice worked for me, but I need to do more.  I found that I enjoyed it too - there was something about not lifting the pen that made it more enjoyable than other doodling.

 





Free Motion Stitching

 

Remember when I was adding layers of pencil crayon to gelli prints? Here and here?  And then I made a few Artist Trading Cards and promised free motion stitching.  Well, here it is, in blue.  If you squint you might be able to see it.  Was it worth getting out the sewing machine?

 

I'll keep practising.  Hopefully before I forget again how to set up the machine for it.  It has been two years since I first tried it, as part of the ICAD project, so I had to consult the manual again.



Is It Possible to Have Too Many Pencil Cases?

 

Alisa Burke makes the most beautiful pencil cases from hand-painted canvas.  She doesn't ship outside the USA, however, so I've decided to make my own!  Before I buy some supplies, I rummaged through a suitcase of left-over sewing bits and found a zipper and some upholstery fabric.  The zipper wasn't quite as long as I wanted, but it did for a prototype.

 

Is it possible to have too many pencil cases?  



ICAD #8 & 9 - Experiments with Free Sewing

Lemon

The colour prompt for the Vancouver ATC Group next month is Lemon.  Time to use up some lemon scraps!

Hand Carved stamp

Clip Art by Luna Girls

Artist Trading Cards

Here's the latest batch of Artist Trading Cards for swapping.  I'm enjoying using my sewing machine combined with paper crafting. 

A close-up.