Beading as meditation

I find beading intricate designs meditative. No music, no TV, just the dog in the background making little sleeping sounds.
Here is the design almost finished. Took me three days.

And the finished bracelet. Now what?

Another fabric sculpture

Yes, I just can’t help myself, I so love making these little books. The cover is made with a victorian cabinet card in the back of an aged mirror, which is aged further with a copper edging.

It is 5 inches thick. It contains an antique baby shoe,

some antique lace, seam bindings, doilies, wedding lace

an old baby sock, some old lace and a millinery flower.

All the ‘pages’ are also pockets and come with tags with a blank side for journaling, or recording favorite quotes. This book is available on my Etsy site.

Take two friends

What happens when two fiber artists get together?

You add a copy of Altered Couture, a large collection of doilies, unsuspecting thrift store sweaters, and voila:

 

The sweater was deconstructed, shortened, and the bottom part used for trimming the next. The rest is doilies, lace, and two lace cuffs scored on Ebay some time back.

Too much fun!

Painting city walls

No, I’m not quite into Graffitis yet, I have been painting city walls, literally.
I take a canvas, and I grunge it up until it starts to look like city walls. Aged, torn papers, water streaks. I love all this texture. They are available for sale on my Etsy site.
 
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Out of character

It’s hard to believe, but I actually made a … paper book.
Well, more like a scrapbook, with tons of pockets and envelopes, and all from scratch.

It all started because I was on Youtube looking for something else, of course. Then I spotted this journal from Anne Mika in Norway, based on my favorite scrapbook paper from Graphic 45, A Ladies’ Diary.

I really didn’t think I could make that book. Or even finish it.

But there you go, I proved myself wrong, and I really enjoyed making this book. It has many more pages and secret compartments, envelopes, etc, but it would be too cumbersome in one blog post.

This beautiful lady in the mirror actually folds out to the right, and reveals more pockets.

It uses up a full 8x8 pad, plus the 12x12 pad, plus the two collage sheets. Noticed? no lace, no fabric.

A lot of ‘fussy cutting’, which was really rewarding. ‘cept for the trail of little bits of paper all through the house. Well worth it though.

Is it a sculpture?

I made a fabric ‘book’ following a class with Joanna Pierotti. I am not sure if it still qualifies as a book, or whether it’s a soft sculpture.

Either way, it’s pretty outrageous. I just love all that lace and fabrics and stuff, sticking out everywhere.

It starts with an altered mirror, created from scratch, with lots of soldering on copper sheeting.

The binding is an interesting adaptation. Most pages are designed as ‘pockets’, but since I don’t have stunning ideas of what to put in the pockets, a lot of them are just displaying lace and baby clothes.

Since pictures are worth a thousand words, here goes. Lots of photos.

Here’s the spine, and the binding method:

Each page is sewn with a ribbon to those little metal hooks off the spine.

Inside ‘pages’

This is a real nest that came with me all the way from Canada:

This beautiful pink purse on the right page was made by my sister. Joanna suggested this way to incorporate it into my book. Now, it’s a pocket in the fold, plus inside the zipper at the top, as its original purpose.

Yes, this is a baby sock on the right page.

And a glove on the left page, with a pair of sweet ice skates for a doll, gifted by my dear friend Liz.

 

The back cover, also based on altering a  mirror.

 

That’s about as outrageous as I’ve ever made a book/sculpture, and I had a ball. I will be making many others, I just love the process. I purchased some antique christening gowns, and lots of antique lace, just for this purpose. Needed an excuse, you know…