One product and (finally!) one process!

     I completed another sheer fabric applique (but forgot about taking pictures along the way again).  I designed this one for my portapad pattern, and it turned out OK.  Trying hard to remember all of the problems I had with the first attempt, this one was a lot easier altogether.  Still a few tweaks, but on
the whole, I enjoyed the entire process. 

I added small pieces of copper for a little bling, but the narrow strips don't show up very well in the photo .  I also used copper embroidery thread to delineate the center of the flower.

     As for my bragged about process:  step-by-step (well, I left out a few) photos of using teabags to create collaged fabric.

The above photo shows one of my pieces of gelatin printed fabric which I used as background.

These flower photos were all stored in my Photoshop files.  I cropped them, using images that would compliment the background, collaged them onto a blank page, then printed it on teabags taped down to a sheet of printer paper.  (See tutorial by Judy Coates Perez.)

Here the printed flowers are simply laying on top of the background fabric.  I added Misty Fuse to the back of each print, being careful to use parchment paper both front and back as I ironed it on.  Right now there are a couple of missing steps because my photos weren't clear enough to publish:  a printed a sheet of  tags off tea bags, text downloaded from the internet about the history of tea, and some short labels.

This is actually the finished piece.  Steps not shown:  tearing the flowers apart and placing them around the background before ironing them in place; same for the tea tags; then the text.  Finally the labels were scattered strategically across the whole piece.  I added loosly-cut strips of antiqued-lace fabric, then batting and backing, and free-motion stitched in an easy echoed-flower pattern.  I have an idea of how I'm going to use the fabric, but probably won't get anything completed for several days.

Busy not Blogging!!

     It seems like I have too many things going on (all my own doing, of course), so I try to finish something before putting it on the "waves."  I really need to start showing process not just product.  I'll try.

     Some things I have been working on this week:  gelatin printing; drawing class at Desert Museum; on-line sketchbook class with Jane La Fazio; trying a new technique (appliquing sheer fabric); and organizing an idea about setting up an Etsy shop.  Un huh, my daughters agree--adult-onset ADD.  Anyway, here are a couple of the results:  I'm calling them my Easter Egg gelatin prints.  I don't know what I'll be doing with any of them yet, but I'll leave them up on my design wall until inspiration hits.

     These prints were all made using an inexpensive bouquet of flowers purchased at the grocery store.  I actually wanted a few purple aster-like flowers to sketch for a water-color print and not wanting to waste the rest of the flowers, I decided to tackle another round of gelatin printing.  Next time, I am going to show a step-by-step rundown of the process. I also printed the leaves available in the bouquet, but I'm not happy with the results--not enough texture.  This time of year there aren't many usable leaves available in AZ (or in MI, for that matter!!).

     This (journal cover) is my first real attempt  at appliquing sheer fabric using a pattern (my own drawing) sketched onto tracing paper.  I made several major mistakes!!  First of all, there should be more contrast between the sheer fabric design and the background (I ended up adding some Lumiere paint to enhance the final result);  my individual elements (leaves) need to be larger for more impact, AND, most importantly, I have to be more careful when stitching around the pattern twice--removing the tracing paper took FOREVER.  By the way, this technique is beautifully explained by Deborah Boschert in the new Emag, In Stitches from Quilting Arts Magazine.  I will definitely be using this wonderful application again, hopefully learning from my previous attempt.