A week or so ago, one of the team members at Jo-Ann's listened as I was talking about wanting a felting machine. She had recently purchased quite a few sewing machines from a local dealer, so he threw in a Babylock Embellisher machine for free. She already had one, so she gave it to me to use as long as I would like. Wow...Since I've been ill, it's been difficult to go into the studio and work on anything, let alone play with a new toy...
The knitting that I finished has been done on the sofa, or in bed.
Yesterday, I felt a change in my mood...this is due in no small way to the encouragement that I have received from friends, both close by and far away.
Since I haven't worked with one of these machines since IQF-Chicago '07 during my Make It U! gig, I decided to start by playing with a few fabrics and fibers just to see what felts and looks interesting. It was then time for a project. This notebook is attached to a small legal pad, and if you're interested in how to make it, check out Marilyn Scott-Waters' page of downloadable instructions: GIFTS TO MAKE!
Her site also has so many fun paper toys to make -
Since the pattern is for paper, you'll need to think in terms of FABRIC...I started with this beautiful brocade, added some wool felt from the wrong side, and embellished some silk threads and a strip of copper silk on the right side. Did some beading and embroidery, then came the face that I made from a mold and Fimo clay.
Here's what it looks like inside. Since I didn't want the back side of the brocade to show, I just fused some cotton on it and painted some dots on with copper Lumiere. To finish, I added a strip of the brocade inside the back cover on the cardboard and on the opposite end of the strip, added a small piece of velcro so I could close it up. Since the back is just the cardboard from the legal pad, it's so boring, so I'll probably fuse another piece of the brocade on it...
5 comments:
ya did good! I've not tried the embellisher but until recently what I've seen made with them had not impressed me, but I'm getting tempted because I so love texture.
This is just beautiful!
This is lovely!
Responding to your question on my blog about achieving depth on the polymer clay faces - I applied acrylic paint with a brush, but used a soft cloth to wipe away the excess until I had the desired effect. I tried doing several at once, but discovered the paint dried very quickly and it is best to do them individually. I also found they looked best if I did them in rapid succession without spending too much time "primping" - for a more natural appearance. Sometimes, too much paint was removed and I had to repeat the process. A brush is best for application so all the shadows and lines can be filled with the paint, which is wiped away on the higher smoother surfaces like cheeks, etc.
I hope your medical tests give you the answers you need regarding your health. I hope it is good news. Cynthia St Charles
I love this journal cover, my embellisher has sat on my table for a month and I still haven't had a god play with it, you have inspired me to get going to try things out
Hi Julaine,
Love your blog! You surely can put a link to mine. I'll put you on mine too.
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