Bead-a-licious...

These 20 beads are handmade ones I made for another of Lenna Andrews' Creative Swaps. Lenna comes up with some great ideas, good how-tos and instruction, plus resources to share on the chosen topic. And then the swap participants go to work, this time creating embellishment beads from paper and fabrics. I even used some of the fabric paper I made way back here. Clockwise above: the green beads are sheer nylon ribbon; the next ones are shaving-foam printed fabric and wrapped with red metallic thread; the pink/orange ones are fabric paper and wrapped with neon-color sewing thread; the grayish ones are another section of the shaving foam fabric and wrapped with gold metallic; and the last ones are black printed fabric rolled in gold glitter.

Of course there's no such thing as making just one kind of bead. These are the "also-rans". They didn't make the cut for swapping, but still, they're interesting. The canape skewer gives you a sense of the size of these beads, about 1/2" to 1". Skewers were useful to hold the beads until they were dry after forming them. I put some notes below on how I cut the pieces for my beads, just in case you were wondering. Also, Lenna asked us to share notes if we could, and we'd have a chance to win some of her own handmade beads.

The materials shown at the left are just two that I used in making beads. The pink is an ad for cereal cut from a magazine. The multi-color print is the shaving-foam printed fabric. It was given to me by a quilting friend who made it, but wasn't fond of it. The fabric been waiting for just the right project.

At right you can see three of the shaving-foam printed fabric pieces once they were cut into triangles for bead making. Next is a text-printed fabric, a colorful hand-dyed piece, and the magazine photo from which I made even more beads. Beads from each of these materials are in the 2nd photo above.

These are the fabric paper triangles ready to roll around a wide chop stick or skewer (about the diameter of an orange stick). Below are some of the how-tos, if you'd like to look them over. Hope you can follow... just ask if you have a question in case the instructions aren't clear. And this is just Part One of the swap... once we get our swapped beads, the next challenge will be to make something using them. So I'll be back with a "something"!

Cutting notes:

I used the marks on the cutting mat, an acrylic ruler, and a rotary cutter to make the long, skinny triangles of fabric which could then be rolled up around a chopstick to form each bead. Lay a rectangle of fabric on the mat so that adjacent edges are lined up vertically and horizontally with marked 1” lines on the mat. Place the ruler at the corner closest to you, align the ruler at a slight angle to intersect with the mid-point between two marked lines on the mat at the other end of the fabric rectangle. Cut along the edge of the ruler with the rotary cutter. Leaving the ruler in place to anchor the fabric, remove the trimmed bit and discard it. Pick up the ruler carefully to avoid moving the fabric and place it at the next marked line, extending the ruler at a slight angle to the same halfway point as before. Again, cut along the edge of the ruler. This creates the first triangle. Carefully remove the ruler, pick up and set aside the triangle of fabric. Without moving the fabric, cut the next triangle by working from the far end of the fabric. One side of the second triangle is already cut at the proper angle from cutting the first triangle. Simply position the ruler at a point halfway between the next two marked lines and extending to the point where you started the last cut. Cut along the ruler edge. This forms the next long, skinny triangle. Continue, alternating the ends of the fabric from which you cut to form as many triangles as you can from the fabric. Discard the last trimmed bit.

More Little Books...

I've plodded along, making my little books for our swap at Lenna's Creative Swaps site. You can see some little treasures she's already received at that site, some as small as 1" square! At last I'm calling my books done and preparing to mail the three of them in plenty of time for our mid-June deadline. "The Book of Birds" was already shown here. And there's one more I'll post in a few days. This has been such a pleasure, and I've learned a lot. For one thing, I've learned how much fun it is to sew paper! It's inexplicable why I like it so much... and yet I find it absorbing, relaxing, and creative. And for another, I know I'm a book lover, but had no idea how much enjoyment there is in actually making books like these.

The book shown here is titled "In The Pink", and I made it by piecing fabric-paper scraps into a portfolio-style cover. The pages inside are made from watercolor background papers I painted, stamped, spritzed... all manner of color applications. It measures 4" x 5" and has a few images and trims inside, along with space for its new owner to do some journaling. There isn't a whole lot of room along the spine, but just enough to add some sassy fabric scraps, below.

Star-Spangled Weekend... Part 2

How cute is this little guy in his sporty Corvette? Looks like he's driving, doesn't it? He was part of the 4th of July Parade in honor of our nations' birthday in Micanopy, FL. Here are some additional photos of the festivities.


Every year a group of Cracker Cowboys ride in the parade. They got their name from the long whips they snap in the air to keep cattle moving. You can see that two of them are cracking their whips in the photo. Jack had just commented to me that it would be a good idea for them to keep a bit more space between their horses. Seconds later, one cracked his whip and took the hat right off the other cowboy!


The Florida Cracker Horse is a registered breed. They are lean and smooth-gaited, and known for stamina and endurance. And they are generally solid colors.


People bring all sorts of dogs to the parade, many sporting bandanas and other patriotic regalia. But this is the first time I've seen people with wild birds. It was hard to see, but I think these are owls.


Oh yes, and Smokey the Bear was there driving this heavy equipment. Can you see him up there in the cab?


Floats and marching groups galore.


And I'll close with the fabric-paper Faded Denim Star I made for the Scrap Paper Pack Challenge at The Creative Place a week or so ago.

Star-Spangled Weekend... Part 1

Stitched these patriotic fabric-paper birds in time for the 4th of July, Independence Day. They look cute hung in a window.


And Saturday we went to the quaint village of Micanopy near Gainesville, FL, for their annual 4th of July Parade. It's the best small town parade... great fun. The event includes all sorts of groups and displays.

Micanopy is a beautiful village where the movie Doc Hollywood was filmed, and it's also the home of the historic Herlong Mansion B&B shown here. Interesting shops and antiques dealers line the streets under the shady oaks. And the place comes alive with families,friends, and patriotic displays every year on the 4th.

There were lots of vintage cars in the parade, many in red, white and blue. I love these old cars. And there were bikers, too. Plus much more to show you, including the popular "Cracker Cowboys", coming soon in Part 2! It was a fine day.

Small things.. ATCs

I'm a member of Mixed Mania, a book study group on Yahoo. It's a stretch for me, as sewing and quilting are my comfort zone, and mixed media is outside it. I'm intrigued by mixed media though. I have a toe in the water so to speak, and am trying out various projects as we go.

One swap I've joined is that of exchanging Artist Trading Cards, or ATCs as they're called. These little bits of art (they're 2 1/2" x 3 1/2") can be made from lots of different materials such as fabric, paper, or a combination. Mine are fabric, of course... remember, just a toe in the water so far. They're made on a base of Peltex which is a firm fusible interfacing. They're pieced from fabric strips and then surface stitched with a variety of machine stitches. Once that base was completed, I added different elements to each of them using fabric paints, stamps, small appliques, fabric paper pieces, buttons, and beads. The edges of some are finished with stitched on texture yarn, and others with twisted embroidery floss.

We're making these in sets of five, and can make up to five sets. "Toe in the water" dictates that I'm making just one set for now. But I enjoyed working in the small area, and eventually I'll make more.

Where the wild things are...

This owl is the tamest thing you'll see in this post. It's one of two fabric paper ones I made this weekend. And it's the owner of the pair of eyes seen in a previous post.

Manatee are wild things I enjoy seeing, and the cold winter weather brings them into warmer waters of the Florida springs. In fact, the cold stresses them and the springs stay at a constant temperature winter and summer. Manatee like that. So one cold Sunday we went to Manatee Springs State Park in Chiefland to see if the mammals were there. Yup... there were seven or eight of them lazing in the springs. But the water was high, and tea-colored from the tannins. Because manatee stay submerged, and come up to breathe only occasionally, they were not easily seen. It didn't stop me from trying to get a picture. Can you see anything? They're in there. The large male was outfitted with a tracking device. Since they did not show up well, I took this photo of the manatee model. It shows the characteristic gray color, snout, flippers, and paddle-tail.


Other Florida wild things are the alligators that reside in Paynes Prairie near Gainesville. Relax, this one isn't live...it's a taxidermy model displayed by Friends of Paynes Prairie on the LaChua Trail. The Trail takes you along bodies of water where large alligators sun themselves, like these, below, seen on the banks. Now these are real! The largest must be at least 15' long. They are prehistoric-looking, scary, and fascinating all at the same time. And they are plentiful. Caution signs offer helpful tips, like don't walk between a gator and the water, else the gator feel threatened and attack. I didn't plan to get close enough to one to make a decision as to which end to walk around. But it could happen if you came upon one on the path.

Feed? Approach? Don't worry, I wasn't going to!











And, look! Another pair of eyes. Stop back in a few days to meet the owner.

Fabric Paper Trades

As our Stitch Alchemy book study group winds down, a number of the swaps have been completed. This means colorful, exciting mail. Here's what I've recieved in just the past couple of days.

First, there are these strands of Good Fortune Birds. Each participant made three strands of five birds each, sent them to our hostess with a return mailer, and got back three strands made by other group members.

Mine were made by Peggy Wilkinson, from Illinois; Denise Funfsinn, also from Illinois; and Catherine van der Hoeff, from Holland. The birds have glitter, glitz, stitching, stamping, and more surface decoration. They were fun to make, and even more fun to recieve!



Then, Claudia Vedder, of Hamburg, Germany, was my swap partner for the Love Doll trade. Here is the doll I recieved from Claudia. In the package, she also sent some pages from a German book, shown behind the doll, so I can make more fabric paper using it. There is a lot to look at on the doll. She is thoroughly embellished with buttons, charms, sequins, beads, coins, my initial, embroidery, a felt heart, and even a tiny tear drop. I'm sure it's a tear of joy!



Thanks to all who took part in these exchanges. I learned a lot and I'm so very pleased with the results.

And, PS, my swap partner Claudia, has a blog you might be interested in. She has wide-ranging interest and ability in mixed media.

Good mail!

Just before I left for the Honeybee Retreat in Jacksonville, FL, last week, this colorful package arrived in the mail. Inside were the four bookmarks, shown above. They were made by participants in the swap conducted in the Stitch Alchemy book study group I belong to on Yahoo. Each was made using fabric paper, also called stitch paper. I learned to make and embellish the fabric paper along with the other members of the group. Author Kelli Nina Perkins hostessed the swap, and it's her artwork on the envelope and on the two enclosures shown here.

It was fun to see the variation in style and construction. What a great way to make use of all those yarns, threads, and trims! I'll enjoy using these bookmarks, and showing them off.

While taking classes at the retreat, I was joined by my friend Joanne from Pennsylvania. Happily, she got out of town just ahead of the winter storm there over the weekend. In addition to learning lots in the quilting classroom, I also brought some items needed to make stitch paper so Joanne could give it a try. Here are the results. She had to make do with limited materials, so she creatively incorporated bits of napkins and the paper label from a club soda bottle in her pieces.



The fabric paper isn't necessarily done in the state you see it in the photo. There are colors to add, stamping to be done, and surface stitching which is my favorite part. It's a chance to try out the many decorative stitches on the sewing machine. The piece in the photo below, right, has been stitched and is now ready to use in a project of some kind. Like the doll from my January 17 post.

When I returned home, my husband Jack had this card waiting for me. It was for our 45th anniversary. I love the sentiment, and hey, it kind of looks like fabric paper to me!

A Whole Lotta Swapping Going On...

I'm participating in yet another online stitch paper swap for the Yahoo book study group. This one is for a "Love Doll". My swap partner is from Germany, so this doll will be well-traveled. Here's the book... I took it to Staples to have a spiral lay-flat binding added. They did it for less than a couple of dollars and my choice of spiral color.



Kelli, the author of our book Stitch Alchemy, noted to be careful while adding stuffing to the dolls. They are not quite as flexible as a cloth doll would be. I learned the hard way that she was right. Over-zealous stuffing ripped a hole in the seat of the doll's britches. Her back is made of craft felt. What to do? I patched her up with a heart.




This doll turned into "Love Doll meets Project Runway." She's stylishly dressed with her tee-shirt and beret. She's carrying a Bahamaian penny in one hand. It will be difficult to part with her when the time comes. I like her. Husband Jack won't be sorry to see her go... he thinks she's scary. What do you think? She could use a name, too. Any thoughts on that?