Starter Art Journal Pages

I haven't posted in a long while, as I've been VERY busy with several different projects - one HUGE one which I'm extremely excited about - and several other smaller ones.
It's about time for me to post something new!!

Here are a few things I've done over the past couple of weeks:

First, I created a "Starter Art Journal" for a friend on etsy. She had previously purchased one of my silk sari ribbon album covers, and wanted an "artsy" inside for it as well : ) So - I tore, layered, stitched, ripped, assembled, and even pre-painted a few pages - adding edgings here and there, hidden pockets here and there - it was a pretty fun project, and made me miss my art journaling - I'm inspired to get going on that again for myself now! : )

Here are a few of my favorite pages - I ended up making three separate "books" which were about 10 pages each. I included all sorts of different papers - ephemera, graph paper, maps, brown paper bags, and of course all the specialty papers I can't resist - mulberry, lace paper, handmade papers, textured vellum, transparencies, botanical inclusion paper, etc.

Lots of texture, ripped edges, layered pages, and a "variety pack" of cool papers!

Most of the pages were stitched by machine to create "blocks" - pre-prepared for art journaling - just add paint, stamps, writing, photos, ephemera, calligraphy, embellishments....when do you STOP, really??!

Some of the silk sari ribbon projects I've done lately - pillows, journal covers, and wall pieces - end up with nice little edges that get trimmed off. I love to recycle these onto journal pages - it looks as if I spent hours creating a special border for this page! Really, it's just a "trimming" from a previous project - it's great to NOT waste anything!!

Mmmmmm, handpainted papers - botanical papers...combined with brown craft paper, bits of black, and a sponged edge - ink through sequin waste ribbon creates the dots...woudln't this be a fun journal to begin working in? WAY better than starting with a blank page! : )

Sew around three sides of a commercially printed transparency, and you have an instant "pocket" for photos or other little goodies like love notes, ticket stubs, etc.

Aside from these little "starter journals" I also made a few more sheets of "Confetti Fabric" - Purple, Red, and Aqua this time. The red piece actually includes pieces of red holiday tinsel - the kind sold in the big packages to use as gift basket fillers. I really liked the festive effect it gave - and I'm considering some Christmas cards next year using more pieces like this! Very sparkly and shiny : ) Maybe even Valentine's Day cards!! Then I'd get to use them much sooner...

(One of my earlier posts shows a step-by-step TUTORIAL on how to make this!)

My last little project to report for today - I finished up a quilted & embellished art journal/calendar cover. This one was to be "Light Blues" - but somehow evolved into an "Ocean" theme - mainly because I bought these adorable fish beads and *needed* to use them on something!! : )  The fish looked a little lonely though - and sort of out of place - so then I gave them a habitat. What was fresh on my mind, but confetti fabric! I've found a new use for it - tear a chunk off and place it at the bottom of a journal cover. Instant glorious underwater scene! I'm really happy with how this turned out! This was a piece of confetti fabric I made a few months ago, featuring aqua, teal, and yellow. I did quite a bit of overstitiching to add more greens and blues to it - to help it blend in with the fabric colors. I've never featured a piece of my own original textile art on the front of one of my journals before - but I think this might end up being a new trend of mine now!

I probably won't be posting much over the next couple of weeks, becuase I'm working on a HUGE 60" wide by 33" tall art quilt, featuring a gorgeous garden in Colorado. I'm just THRILLED about this project - however I will need to focus almost all of my creative energy on it for awhile -

I'll post photos of that project soon!

Tutorial - Confetti Fabric

CONFETTI FABRIC TUTORIAL by Heathers3stars

 

Lately I have been getting several questions on how I make my "Confetti Fabric." This is fabric I make from a little bit of everything, and it makes a very unique and original piece of fiber art that can be framed as is (embellished or not) or cut up and used as applique pieces for special projects - there are so many uses for this, and it is so beautiful and fun that I just have to share my own technique for making it. I realize there are probably many other ways to go about making this - so experiment and have fun!!


The first step is to gather all the required materials, which is the most time-consuming part of this project, unless you already have your "Confetti" organized in drawers as I do. So clear off a table and a workspace, and start gathering!!

Materials Required:

A little note about materials: One of the BEST ways I have found to organize my studio and not waste *anything* is to have a big set of plastic drawers (shoe boxes would even work, with the ends cut off, anything where you can quickly "stuff" things) - where each drawer is designated to a color or set of colors. For example, my set is organized by Reds & Pinks, Blues & Aquas, Yellows & Oranges, Blacks & Grays, Whites and Purples. I only have 5 drawers, so I sort of divide my piles within the drawers as well. In each of these drawers I have thread snippets, little pieces of fabric from when I cut appliques, remnants of ribbons, loose beads, sequins, cut off pieces of fabric trims, trimmed edges off of other finished quilts...you get the idea. If I make a practice of saving these little bits, it makes me not ever waste these pieces - as soon as the drawer gets filled up, I simply make a piece of confetti fabric and begin stashing again!!

• I like to use Super Solvy Water Soluble Stabilizer, the kind that comes on a roll. Weight: Medium Color: Transparent Size: 7-7/8" x 9 yards (Item No. 405-08) (I like the transparent because it allows me to see the confetti underneath as I'm stitching.)
• Scissors
• Pins
• Choice of threads for Machine Stitching (you might prefer clear monofilament thread for a certain project, or I like to use Variegated threads, and several different shades, to highlight the areas of lights and darks in the confetti layer.)
• Sewing Machine with regular 90/14 needle (I like to use free motion type embroidery, so a free motion foot is optional - you can do this with straight lines as well.)
• Large kitchen sink that has a sprayer nozzle (or pouring from a cup would work fine)
• Large flat container at least the width of your piece (in my case, using the 7-7/8" wide Solvy, a 9" wide by 13" long glass dish worked very well)
• "Confetti" For this I use any combination of the following items - and get creative!!
• Recycled bits of fabric - from old finished projects trimmed edges, extra edges from cutting appliques, Unfinished objects, even ugly fabric that you hate the print of but has a good color can be cut up and used successfully in this project. Note - I sometimes find that ripped or intentionally frayed edges work better for a more cohesive final piece.
• Thread trash - as you are sewing and you snip threads from projects, don't throw them away! Keep a container by your machine to later take to your "Color Stash" drawers and sort out. This makes one of the BEST materials for the confetti fabric!!
• Cut up bits of Tulle
• Cut up bits of dyed or colored Cheesecloth
• Fabric Trims, especially Sequin Trims, add a huge burst of texture and color
• Yarns - any and all types!! Fuzzy Eyelash works well, and I especially love Boucle yarn in this project.
• Ribbons - Silk Ribbon, Satin, Jacquard - any will do - remnants, gift package bows, you name it!
• Vintage or new Seam Binding Tape
• Organza - cut up in pieces, or a long skinny length laid down in a curving, trailing like fashion
• Scrim - used the same as the organza
• Dyed Lace Pieces - can be especially effective
• Easter Grass!! (I used it in this green piece - it worked wonderfully!!)
• Silk flower petals, or other flower petals that won't dissolve in water
• Angelina Fibers - laid sparsely on top, adds a sparkliness to your project that is just amazing.

• Last but not least - ROVING - silk roving or wool roving, any kind of roving that will wet felt.

Materials I used:

Instructions:

1. Decide what the color scheme of your piece will be. Do you want to make a piece of Confetti Fabric that is all one color? Will you make a piece that is half red and half pink? Will you make a piece that goes from light blue to medium blue to dark blue? Now is a good time to test out the color wheel! When I make my pieces, I try to include areas of lights and darks, no matter what my color scheme is, for example in this green piece I made I included some highlights of yellow and of dark blue. I think this makes the finished piece appear less "flat" and if you cut it up later for applique use, it makes the applique pieces come alive - (think about it as using a flat dyed piece of fabric vs. using a piece of overdyed batik!!)
2. Gather your materials, set up your workspace, and set up your sewing machine.
3. Cut two pieces of Solvy in a length you are comfortable working with - for me, any more than 16" was too long, because I don't have an extension table for my machine - and I just prefer to make this size at a time. I would recommend for your first attempt, make a piece that is 12" in length or smaller, just to get used to how the "confetti" might move around or how much you need to pin it, etc.

Lay the first piece of solvy down on a hard work surface (here I used black fabric for photos only - normally I would use a large self-healing mat, for ease of pinning in later steps). We will be making a "Sandwich" with two layers of Solvy, with the Confetti layers between them.

4.  Before you go crazy with the fun part, the Confetti, this "Roving step" is very important - gently pull apart some roving, and lay it down onto the first piece of Solvy. You can make it as thick or as thin as you'd like, but the bottom layer MUST consist of the roving. For my techinque, where everything gets "felted" together, this step is very important. I laid my roving down so that the lengths of roving went in opposide directions - from side-to-side AND up-and-down. (I suppose you could say so that the lengths go both vertically and horizontally, but that would be way too simple! ; )

5.  Confetti Time!! In this step, you have my permission to get crazy!! Cut up things, shred them with your fingers, cut them with special edged scissors or decorative rotary blades, curve long pieces of yarn all around, have fun unravelling lengths of thread to just bunch up and smoosh down...this is the fun part!! Experiment with different textures and sizes of raw materials - see how a cut up piece of satin or velvet looks next to some shiny sequin trim...that's what makes your piece beautiful! I generally save the Angelina Fibers for the very last layer, for the sparkliness. A little goes a long way - just a few strands here and there add a lot of sparkle - I use it very sparingly. Also I generally don't put Angelina over the entire piece - only in sections, that way if I need a piece of the confetti fabric later and I don't want the sparkle, I have no problem. You can lay confetti down all the way out to the edges of the solvy, but I don't let anything hang off the edges because it will cause problems later with the stitching - you want all of your confetti to fit within the edges of the solvy. You can make this confetti very dense, or very sparse and "lace like" depending on what effect you want to end up with - you can even create shaped areas such as leaves or hearts or other shapes. As I am making a piece in this example for use as appliques later, I create mine pretty thick - I laid down the roving, sprinkled on bits of chopped up fabric, twirled around yarn pieces in meandering lines around the edges and in the center, chopped up more ribbon pieces and sprinkled them on, used some angelina, then added more yarn, threads, metallic sparkly threads, cheesecloth, silk ribbon...I just built up the layers so that I couldn't see any open gaps, but not so thick that it would be difficult to stitch later.

My finished "Confetti Layer"

6.  Once you are pleased with your confetti layer, place the other cut piece of solvy on top of your confetti layer. This completes the "sandwich," so you have a bottom layer of solvy, a middle layer of confetti, and a top layer of solvy.

Here I am making the "Sandwich" - adding second layer of Solvy on top of confetti:

 

7.  Pin the layers together. I pinned around the outside edges, to help hold everything in, and then randomly in the center. You might wish to pin yours all in one direction for ease of removing pins as you stitch.

Pinning the layers together:

8.  Stitch the layers together. In my example, I used free motion embroidery. If you are not comfortable with free motion, you could simply sew in straight lines around the edges and back and forth across the middle, or make zig-zag lines, or a grid. I chose to use several different shades of variegated thread to stitch my layers together, however you might opt for clear monofilament thread or simply black - just remember, the stitching will add effect to the final piece. I stitch mine very densely, with lots and lots of tiny circles and swirling lines, because I use very small pieces of confetti, and I want them to all be connected together with my stitching so my piece doesn't fall apart once I remove the Solvy. In my example I used a brighter green to highlight brighter areas, and darker greens for darker areas of confetti. The rest I filled in with a medium green. Be creative! Try sparkly or metallic threads, even try contrasting color threads - they all create different effects.

Here I begin my free-motion stitching:

Here is my "sandwich" with all of the stitching completed:

 

9.  Once the stitching is completed, take your piece to the kitchen sink. This is the exciting part!! I've propped up a large glass baking dish on the edges of the sink so I can easily fill and empty it repeatedly. A sprayer nozzle is especially handy - but if you don't have one you could also use a large plastic cup to gently pour water over the piece.

Fill dish with lukewarm water:

Here is how I like to rinse mine, in a way that helps the felting take place. I fill the dish with lukewarm water, and gently set my piece into the dish, squishing it down into the water so it is submerged.

Smoosh the sandwich into the water:

After it soaks for a couple of minutes, I use the sprayer nozzle and spray over the top surface of the piece, NOT on full blast - with medium to light water pressure. You'll see some bubbles as the solvy dissolves and mixes with the water - this is OK!

Lightly spraying the piece:

Then I empty the pan into the sink, and fill with lukewarm water again. Then, I swish the piece back and forth side to side in the pan, which makes sure that the roving sort of moves against itself in the water, which creates the felting. I just repeat this process, on both sides of the piece, until I feel the Solvy is completely washed out. This part is the most fun, because you get to see what your finished piece looks like!! : ) If there are any loose sequins or fibers or anything left in the dish, just throw them back into your color stash drawers for the next time : )

10.  To dry, simply empty the dish of the water and let the piece dry right there - or if you're more impatient like me, you can roll it up in a thick towel and gently press the water out.

Rolling finished, washed out piece:

Often the back side of your piece will turn out just as interesting as the front! Because I begin mine with layers of roving, the back side of the piece has a very felted look with bits of the confetti poking through - I like this look as well and will at times use the backside instead of the front!

Photos of my finished "Confetti Fabric!" (Note - the sparklies from the sequins and Angelina fibers didn't show up as well in these photos - much more effective in person!!)

A closer view:

I'd love to see photos of "Confetti Fabric" or similar Solvy projects! : )

Enjoy the tutorial, and please let me know if you have any questions or if anything is unclear. Thank you!

 

 

Art Quilt Finished! Hail vintage jewelry!!!

This is the art quilt I was working on  in an earlier post, where I explained how to make "confetti fabric."
I topped it off with some vintage jewelry pieces, layered burned-edge tulle, and added some more hand-stitching and a sleeve for hanging.
Vintage jewelry makes EVERYTHING better...it's the perfect final touch that makes the piece sparkle - I just have to make sure I don't choose pieces that overpower the rest of the design. Well, unless I want that look. You know, a LOT of "bling."  My daughter says "bling, bling on everything!!" as she decorates her digital camera with rhinestone stickers. Vintage jewelry pieces are just "big girl" rhinestone stickers. ; )

Voila! C'est fini.

Now, as for showing the BACK side of the quilt....that feels to me a lot like being walked in on in the dressing room. BUT - I did do a lot of wonderful quilting that I ended up just covering up, so I guess that would be the only place to see it now!! (I'll just close my eyes and hit "upload" and it will all be over!)

I *am* however, going to make the image smaller. That would be like being walked in on in the dressing room, except you haven't actually started changing yet. !!

Confetti Fabric

Last night I had some fun in my art room, creating what I like to call "confetti fabric."
So, I'll give instructions in a tutorial later, but for now here's how I created the fabric and petal pieces in this quilt. I chopped up little pieces of fabric, yarn, string, thread, ribbons, fibers, angelina fibers, skeleton leaves, organza flowers, dyed silk roving, and dyed wool roving. I gathered all of these items in different little piles (like a palette) and got out two pieces of "SUPER SOLVY" - water soluble stabilizer. I put one on my work surface (anything will do), then began laying down roving pieces and snippets of thread, sequin trim, angelina fibers for some bling, and then string, fibers, and yarns. I made sure to cover almost the entire base with a super fine layer of roving. Then I sprinkled everything else on, creating areas of lights and darks. I made two of these pieces, one in a pink color scheme and one in a green/blue color scheme. I raided my scrap bin, where I throw all my threads while sewing, extra fabric scraps that I trim away from various projects, etc - ANYTHING will work as long as it is cut down into little pieces. I layered areas with sheer organza ribbon snippets, silk ribbon, dyed cheesecloth, faux flower petals, etc. Then I added another piece of Solvy on top, to make a "confetti sandwich" and pinned it all together with several pins. Then I free-motion stitched all around in loops, swirls, zig-zags, right on top of the water soluble stabilizer. I made sure to alternate thread colors often, and highlight areas with yellow thread. I laid my stitched confetti sandwich in a baking dish in the sink, turned the water onto luke warm, then sprayed with the spray nozzle over the top of the sandwich very gently. The Solvy disappeared, leaving all my beautiful texture and color from all of the different materials I used to make the confetti. Then I turned over the piece, and sprayed the other side. I swished the piece around in the water, then dumped it out of the dish regularly, spraying with new water until it filled again, then dumping it out, and repeating. This process also FELTED the roving I used for a base, which adds a great bottom layer to be able to stitch it down to other fabrics. I laid my piece out to dry on some thick towels, then ironed it between pressing cloths on a warm setting. Voila!! Confetti Fabric.

(flower and leaves in this photo)

I had been working on a base for an art quilt for an upcoming Lakeshore Fiber Artists Show, (LFAW is the group I belong to). I wanted to do something non-traditional, with free sheer edges, so made a base with different shades of dyed organza. The center is a turquoise raw silk with batting behind it, and the "frame" is made with a very cool new fabric which is black with white text all over it - words about music. So I was very happy with the beginning, because it combined everything I love - text, black and white mixed with color, sheer layers, silk and organza...but I didn't quite know where to go from there. I tried doing some traditional quilting designs on the square, to add the background texture - I did this with black thread to juxtopose the traditional design with the rest of the quilt, which is everything BUT traditional. It looked neat, but I didn't feel there was enough to it yet. So, I grabbed up my confetti fabric and started loosely cutting out shapes (I did NOT want to cut into it!!) that the colors suggested...leaves from the greens and large flowers from the pink. I used the lighter areas of the confetti fabric (the highlights of yellow and orange thread) as the centers. I arranged these on the quilt and machine-appliqued with black thread to add some definition to the edges, and to match the black and white text fabric frame. I'm still not finished with it yet - I think it needs some hand-stitching, some beads, something different for the centers of the flowers...maybe vintage jewelry?

A work in progress.....