Scrap Wisdom Collage

Somerset Studio Gallery June 2012

2012-02-11T09:06:00.001-05:00

Yay!! Yahoo!!! Wooohooo! Yes, I'm doing a happy dance today as I was notified yesterday that some of my mini-canvas screen-printed collages would appear in the June 2012 issue of Somerset Studio Gallery!!!!! I am totally excited about this as I hope it will be the beginning of more accepted submissions in the future. This is one of my 2012 goals - to be published in at least one of the many magazines that Stampington publishes.

So today I will be finishing the write-up to get that going and will be back to my big To Do list that is getting longer every day! This is good, though, because nothing makes me happier than taking one more step forward in my long-term goal to live a life filled with art, creativity, teaching, and sharing with others who want the same things from their own lives.

See you tomorrow in the Studio!!!

Margaret

Studio Sunday and New Screens!

2012-02-05T08:49:00.000-05:00

Superbowl Sunday here in New England with the Patriots! Of course, that isn't until much later today leaving lots of time here for creativity in my studio. First, I just added a few new screens to my Etsy shop. A little explanation on them, I was designing to create texture, lots of texture! So the backgrounds are patched, messy and distressed for that reason. I wanted to create a foundation-like print on fabric that could be torn up or re-stitched but yet create a kind of mystery to draw the viewer in. Here is one of them applied digitally in blue. I really love this look!

You can obtain the same effect by using a variety of paints shades when you screen print to fabric. Of course, doing the layering digitally means that I can now print this beauty to fabric and use it like it is (hint hint).

In my digital play, I also designed this image of the three girls (me and my two sisters) from images I cut from a magazine, then layered the image with other digital brushes in my stash. It's a very easy thing to do when you have built up a number of images in your brush library. I made this into a screen but I did not put it up for sale. If anyone is interested in it, please e-mail me.

This is another screen that I made that I also did not add to my Etsy. If you are interested, please e-mail me. I printed this one to one of my journal pages for more development.

The fiber art piece I started last weekend has evolved slightly but I haven't added any more embellishments other than a little paint. Again, this was a digital image layered in Photoshop Elements using one of my newly designed screen images that I printed out on Jacquard Ink Jet Fabric Sheets (cotton) and incorporated into a journal art quilt.

I'm working on lots of stuff...probably too much...here today including my upcoming on-line workshop! Stay tuned! I hope you have a super creative day!

Margaret

Studio Sunday

2012-01-29T09:26:00.002-05:00

YEAH!!! Studio Sunday!!! Lots of time to play....Lots of ideas....and heat and sunlight LOL
In follow-up to yesterday's post, I printed a section of my design out on fabric and incorporated it into a journal art quilt. It is not yet complete, but here is the WIP.

So you can see just how easy it was to go from a paper cut to an interesting piece of fiber art. The manipulations are not advanced. This was done with Photoshop Elements 7, a scanner and a printer.I plan on adding some light stamping on the green section and some hand stitching and beading. Right now I am going around whipstitching the edges with embroidery floss. (I really need to get my serger threaded LOL).

I am happy to say that I am currently working on my first on-line workshop!!!

Creating Personal Imagery

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I expect it to be launched sometime in March. Stay tuned for all the details.

I was thinking this morning that it would be good if I provided a little more of my process around creating personal imagery using paper cut stencils. Below are two examples of two paper cuts and different looks created using simple manipulations in Photoshop Elements.

As you can see, depending how you layer, crop, resize your image, you can create a whole variety of images using just one. The best thing about this process is knowing that each paper cut stencil is completely different from the others. You couldn't possibly replicate one exactly by randomly cutting. And, it is exciting to see what that final open image looks like!

Below is my most recent journal page using paper cut hearts and my Thermofax screens. I've got another idea for using Thermofax screens for art journalling. Stay tuned......

I hope your day is filled with lots of creative activities!

Margaret Applin-Happ

Doodling and Paper Cutting for Design

2012-01-28T14:38:00.000-05:00

It's Saturday and sunny in the studio! That is always good for encouraging fun design play. Remember a couple of posts ago when I was talking about the cool books by Kanako Yaguchi about paper cutting stencils? Well, of course I had to get her second book, The Art of Decorative Paper Stencils 2 (Quarry Books) because I was inspired by her first book and, well, you know how that goes! Find it here.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Decorative-Paper-Stencils-Traveling/dp/1592535380/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1327778253&sr=8-7

The thing that I really like about playing with paper-cut stencils is how it prompts more ideas for developing personal imagery. The digital layout above started this way...

First, I took a piece of paper, folded it once and randomly started cutting leaf-like shapes into it so it looked like this.

When I opened it up, I had a new shape.

From there, I traced a line around one edge of the image, extended the curvy lines, scanned that line into the computer (which could more easily be done if you have a Bamboo tablet to draw from, which I do but was too lazy to find) and that line was duplicated, flipped and joined to the other one. So, in essence, you have a symetrical design. The image was then filled in black, converted to a brush in PE7 and repeatedly stamped across my layout.

When I settled on my new image layout, I then stamped other brushes I created in white to create this distressed version with flowers, doodles, scratchy lines and other marks. This entire layout was transformed to a brush and I used it between some layers on the final image above.

SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!

hmmmmm.....I'm thinking new Thermofax screen????

Quilting Arts TV Series 900

2012-01-23T20:26:00.000-05:00

Guess what I got in the mail today?? The new QA TV 900 series! Woohoooo!!! I was so excited that I had to break open the package and watch my two episodes (902 and 908) at work!! I tell ya, these TV production people are amazing at what they do! It is very hard to watch yourself on video and since this was my very first time, I just keep thinking "silly girl, what the heck did you say that for?" LOL I was super surprised when I opened the case and found that they had applied my cover image to all the CD's as well! I consider myself so darn lucky to have been able to have the opportunity to film for Quilting Arts/Interweave.

I'm going to go jump into my PJs and bed and watch as many episodes as I can tonight to since they are all jam packed and loaded with fabulous artists and projects!

Catch Up

2012-01-22T20:18:00.000-05:00

I think I am over my dry spell. There is something to be said about a large chunk of uninterrupted time and the ability to focus solely on art. Maybe this week I will fire up one of the sewing machines too! Here are the finished journal pages plus a couple more to be filled in with my thoughts.

Have a great week and have fun creating!!! I will be diligently working on my first newsletter, a little later than I had planned on getting it out, to be sent out in January! Stay tuned!

Studio Sunday

2012-01-22T11:10:00.000-05:00

I am here! And I am getting warmed up! It feels good this morning, slowly delving into art play. The sun is shining through the slider, my spaceheater is helping warm things up and color and pattern once again are inspiring me. I'm just playing on paper right now creating a few journal pages. Using my Thermofax screens, I am layering the patterns along with paint to see what I can come up with.

They are not finished yet, but it has been a good use of time getting acclimated to my new studio space and placement of all my tools and supplies. As I reach for things, I realize how the flow of the room set up is working or not working and I can re-position storage to work better for me.

Yesterday, I went in search of a large drapery rod for the slider in the studio and found it and this great little book as well! You know I'm always looking for ways to create personal imagery and this book on how to cut some simple paper stencils is a great resource! The cutting patterns are shown and ways of folding the paper. I think this might be a great RE-starting place for me to come up with some more designs that I can manipulate digitally. Check it out!!! The Art of Decorative Paper Stencils by Kanako Yaguchi.

Well look at that! She has a second book as well. The Art of Decorative Paper Stencils 2. Really, take a look at the Amazon links to see inside both books. Below is an easy stencil I just cut and sprayed with Adirondack Color Wash spray. I see LOTS of potential with these!!!

I hope everyone is spending some part of today being creative! Thanks for standing by while I get back on track!

Welcome to my new studio!

2012-01-21T10:13:00.001-05:00

I'm back, in body but not quite in mind. A week after the move and the boxes are mostly gone, things are mostly in a place, and the worktable is up and open and ready for lots of creative production. As I look around me, I wonder how I had most of this squished into a room that was maybe 12 x 12 feet. So who wouldn't feel like their creativity could explode in all directions as the environment and space exploded to accommodate all that room for new ideas? I have learned more about myself every day through this transition. Some of those things include:

the size of your space doesn't necessarily change the amount of creative ideas that flow
my studio is, and always will be, an organized mess
large periods of separation from my artistic self are detrimental to my creativity
all I really need in life is a bed and my studio
an abundance of light is key to my artistic development
space heaters, fingerless gloves and clogs are absolutely necessary studio tools
I feel like I have taken many steps backwards as an artist and I am totally unconnected from my path

I try to stay as positive as possible when I am sharing and posting on my blog and because of this, I have not been able to post this past week. I feel like I am sitting in a cloud of negativity and wherever I go, it follows. I know that once I feel re-connected to my art and my soul blooms again, that negativity will dissipate. For now, I have to slowly weave the threads of that connection back together.

Enough with the philosophy! Let me tell you about my lost clogs LOL A few months ago, I purchased my first pair of Dansko clogs from the Walking Store. The became a part of my body because they were so dam comfortable, I wore them to work and everywhere else (I have always worn heels and nylons to work )! Well, I packed everything for the move and I remember packing them, as well as my socks, and wouldn't you know I can't find my clogs or socks anywhere! So finally, after wearing nylons and heels again at work for a few days, I gave up and dropped another $125 on a new pair and had to buy new socks too! My first pair were flat black so I purchased a different style this time, in case the other plain ones show up eventually. These have a cool embossed texture all over which you can see here. My lower back pain has significantly minimized since I have been wearing them so I swear by their support!

In desperately looking for my clogs, I came across a couple of boxes with art dolls in them. Some I made and some I purchased and I hope to pull them all out and display them at some point. This one I wanted to show you because I thought how fabulous this design and marketing idea was. Tricia of Art Propensity had been making these art dolls a number of years ago. She had some amazing dolls in Art Doll Quarterly at one point. These dolls she had designed as a set of jewelry. The head is a pin that is sitting on a wire neck, the bracelet is around the doll's waist and the earings hang from the doll's hands. The base is a box that opens for other jewelry storage. How creative is that??!!?? So I have this doll sitting just behind my computer to inspire me. This next pic is of my new fingerless gloves that I have on in my studio and probably will until June when it finally warms up down here. The store these came from is called Little Missmatched and it is adorable! Tons of mis-matched socks and things for kids (or petite adults) LOL!

Here are shots of the studio with most stuff put away. I pinned up a lot of pieces to my design boards to see if I could put myself back on track and I'm looking at it often hoping that something grabs my attention.

I pulled out the watercolors last night for a while.

The tunes are cranking as music is such a necessity to me.

I had been collecting jars and at some point plan on putting beads, buttons and ribbons in them for a functional display.

My space heater is going on high, my gloves and clogs are on and I'm ready. Unfortunately today will be a little crazy and I won't have much studio time until tomorrow. Promise to post!!!

Gaining Ground

2012-01-16T10:56:00.002-05:00

Well, it was and still is quite a move! Honestly, I don't know how I managed to pack up my world and clearly I'm still having problems unpacking it. I've worked myself to death and now I'm sick. My body has been screaming at me to slow down and I didn't listen. I plan to be in my studio creating by next weekend so stay tuned. I need to go lay down and rest and hopefully brainstorm over a few ideas. Here are a few pics of my new studio space at the moment. Ughhhh

Fast, Slow and all Speeds In Between and New Studio

2012-01-07T08:40:00.001-05:00

Here we are, sinking deeper in to January. As I sit here with my second cup of coffee, in my studio, I'm thinking about events this past week that have altered or re-directed my life as I know it. The thing that stands out the most for me right now is the pace of my life. It's funny how the times you want to move faster, move too slow and the times you want to slow, speed up. Kind of like Fridays at work where you just want to get through the day so your weekend will begin, or when a plan of action requires immediate response and there isn't enough time to slow down and think it all through.

Luckily, I am a child of change. I love it. I think that is why I am constantly bouncing from one thing to another in my art - changing things up, mixing and experimenting until I come up with something new and then begin changing everything all over again. This can be both good and bad as new ideas appear through this process, but sometimes I don't give those new ideas time to develop before jumping on to the next.

This week I needed some serious downtime and I took the opportunity to take an on-line class called Doodle Art With Me by Cathy Bluteau offered at Creative Workshops. I love her doodle art work that I first discovered in one of the issues of Art Journalling. Check out her blog (linked to her name here) so you can check out her work. It's totally fun and freeing and colorful! It just plain makes me happy!

Here is my first WIP from last night. I still need to add dimension to this, and shadows and highlights. Don't be surprised if I start another instead. LOL Cathy uses Copic markers and I don't have any so I used my watercolors.

This week will move at a very fast pace as I will be moving somewhat unexpectedly. My husband, his son and I will move to a house a few towns away from where we currently are. At the end of next weekend, I expect I will be situated in my NEW STUDIO with lots of new space to fill with working surfaces and blank walls to adorn and a lot more breathing space!!! I can't wait to get there, re-group, and slow down. In the meantime, there is so much that has to change including my e-mail address and mailing address on absolutely everything!!!! If you need to get in touch with me for any reason, use my Gmail account address: mapplinhapp@gmail.com. I will also post it on the top of my blog as well.

So needless to say, you might not hear from me for a week until I get everything set up. I will be back tomorrow for Studio Sunday so see you then!

Studio Time

2012-01-02T08:54:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday went well and I made some progress on ideas. I'm still working on my birds but I did screen print and begin a should bag that isn't quite finished. The background started as green and white and then I layered background designs and my flower and botanical screens on top. It's ok, not great, but we'll see where today takes us!

Here is a shot of the botanical layering:

I plan on trying this out on paper and painting around all of the flower images kind of in the style of Flora Bowley. I like how what is left is just the flower images themselves and the layers of texture within them.

This new tile Thermofax screen is fabulous! You can line up the prints and create a beautiful overall pattern.

I left this design highly detailed and you can see the really thin lines in the print. It's one of my favorite designs.

And lastly, I had added some French knots to the centers of the flowers here. I painted the flowers with a layer of Lumiere Pink Halo Gold (my most favorite color) and you can see the sheen in the picture. I want to finish this collage off but I am still developing my ideas on this one.

Have a creative day and I will check back later!

Studio Sunday 2012

2012-01-01T09:45:00.001-05:00

Welcome 2012! I still can't believe we are here! I was thinking yesterday of how I had to work on January 1st, 2000 due to the Y2K scare and to think that was 12 years ago already! It is really hard to believe just how fast our lives move and even more important is our need to connect with family, friends, and ourselves each day. In 2012, I resolve to:

show my love more to my family and friends
keep the peace in relationships and let go of regrets
create more harmony and balance in my life
practice good health

Do you have any resolutions? I would love to hear them!!

BIRDS are on my brain right now. Literally! And as I am writing this post, the sun is shining brightly through my studio window and every once in a while a bird will land on the tree just outside and begin chirping. And I stop...and just listen...because this is one of the things in nature that amazes me. These little bodies of life and energy that symbolize simplicity, freedom and peace to me, that fly all around us all the time yet are so easily ignored.

So today in the studio, I will be playing with images of birds. I have a Thermofax screen with a variety of bird images on it and I printed some yesterday to get some ideas going. Before going to bed last night, I painted a large piece of cotton fabric with gesso and the green paint above and I am going to screen-print all over it and see what I can make from it. It might be another shoulder bag or something else, we will see! I was tied up yesterday so didn't get much done but today and tomorrow are all mine!!!!

I expect I will have more to show tonight and tomorrow so stay tuned! If you haven't seen my post from yesterday, don't forget about the FREE SHIPPING coupon for all orders in my Etsy shop! There are brand new screens in the shop and I'm sure you will find something you like! You can find the coupon code on yesterdays post!

Today, as you recover from last night's celebration, think about what 2012 means to you and how you want to live out this new year!

New Thermofax Screens in the Shop and Free Shipping

2011-12-31T11:04:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone is getting very creative today! It's raining here in New England and it's the perfect day to stay inside and make stuff!!! I've been busy this morning adding a whole bunch of new Thermofax screens to my Etsy shop and I wanted to celebrate the New Year by offering all of my readers FREE SHIPPING on all orders from my Etsy shop up through January 8th! So go take a look at the new items!

Use this coupon code in your order - MADSCREEN1 and make sure you enter it exactly as is, in all caps.

Other Uses for Thermofax Screen Prints
Did you know that you can screen print on paper and other surfaces??? Just think of the potential!! You can have just as much fun and create fabulous layouts using Thermofax screens in art journaling and scrapbooking as well! Here is a page created with my Thermofax screens so you can get an idea. Stay tuned for more screen-printing on paper!

Check back tomorrow for my Studio Sunday post! Happy New Year everyone!! Have a fun and safe celebration!

In Between Years

2011-12-27T21:31:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I've been round-trip from Boston to Pittsburgh (1,200 miles) to be with my husband's family at Christmas this year and NO SNOW! I'm grateful that we had the good weather for the drive, but it sure isn't the same as a fresh layer of white snow to really get the full effect of the season! That's ok, I'm sure we will be complaining about too much sometime soon.

So here is what has been going through my mind as we begin our transformation from 2011 to 2012...texture, color, and layers! Lots of layers! I've been experimenting with the new screens I made a couple of weeks ago layering them and adding stitch. Here's a quick glimpse..........

Check back this weekend for Studio Sunday!

Studio Sunday

2011-12-18T09:03:00.000-05:00

Counting down the days until Christmas. Is it really here already??? A week from today??? Wow, how time flies! I started yesterday very productively in the studio and had to take a break to run out to do an errand and ended up at the mall for hours. I think I can safely say that I am done shopping. Ugh

I've been playing around with my Thermofax screens and layering them on fabric collages. I think my main goal is to create the same effects that one would get if creating a painting or collage on paper or canvas with layers. There is so much to experiment with; dark and light backgrounds, high contrast, low contrast, and focal point imagery. This is a challenge for me as I could easily create this look and feel within Photoshop Elements but within that program you can change or undo anything you don't like. I hate to waste materials but it's all a part of the process to be able to get to what you think will work.

This one I used 2 background screens on and then for my focal point, I used two of the mini canvas screens from Garden Party-1. I started with a piece of white cotton fabric and spread Gesso across it randomly with a squeegee (use a credit card instead). While the Gesso was still wet, I went into it with some acrylic craft paint in green that you can see in the background. Then I used dark brown with my Checkerboard screen in brown and then went over that with ecru colored acrylic and one of my newer screens (the ones I printed on paper in an earlier post).

I waited for that to dry before screening the Garden Party minis on top, let that dry and then went in with the watercolor. To finish the collage off, I added hand and machine stitching making sure it didn't overpower the painted minis. I'm really liking it!

I felt the need to spit some words out so I gathered my alphabet stamps and had a go at it. I didn't have a plan in mind as to what I wanted to print so I kind of just let the words come on their own. This is only half of the words I printed and I'm thinking about how I want to use these in a project.

Deep down, I have a lot of thoughts and feelings built up but I'm not sure how I want to express them. So for now, I will just play and let the words just come out without any plan. I could definitely see a fabric collage journal using these. We will see.....

I hope you are all having a super creative weekend or at least setting aside a little creative time for yourself as you get ready for the holidays!

Starting the Weekend with Bloom, Bake & Create!

2011-12-17T10:00:00.001-05:00

Lynda Heines was one of the winners of my Mini Canvas Screen Sets giveaway and she has shared her fiber art play on her blog, Bloom, Bake & Create! Check out her Tulip Trio prints using metallic paints. Thanks for sharing Lynda!!!! I see some cool fiber art developing!

I'm gearing up for some studio time today with some holiday tasks in between. I hope everyone finds some time this weekend to CREATE! Check back tomorrow for my Studio Sunday post.

Quilting Arts TV Series 900 Pre-Order!

2011-12-13T20:56:00.001-05:00

Oh my gosh!!!! I'm so totally excited!!

I just read my daily e-mail from Quilting Daily and realized they have just put the Series 900 on sale for Pre-Order and it will be available January 5th!!!! One of my images is on the front cover and their preview video includes me screenprinting (hands only)!! Check out their page to pre-order this DVD set!

http://www.interweavestore.com/Quilting/DVDs-Videos/Quilting-Arts-TV-Series-900.html?SessionThemeID=16&a=qe111213

Ok, now I have to go finish my happy dance! I hope everyone is having a creative week or at least squeezing in a little creative time here and there! See you this weekend!

Studio Sunday

2011-12-11T08:34:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Sunday! In Massachusetts, it is clear skies, sunny and more seasonably cool today. I had a really fulfilling day yesterday creating fabric collages and screen printing. I finished up what I actually started on Friday night which was taking my 3 Tulip Trio mini canvas screen prints and finishing them into fabric collages for hanging. Here is one showing how I had left them last week:

And this is what they look like now!

I had backed them with a linen blend fabric I had in my stash of dress fabrics and the two-colored weave was great as the blue and green looks great with the reds and oranges. These three are actually glued to a piece of cardboard to keep them flat and I attached white ribbons for them to hang from. Plenty of buttons and a little hand stitching to add details.

This beautiful piece, an ink-jet transfer from paper onto painted cloth, had been laying around in the studio and I began screen printing around the edges and onto a light blue cotton fabric behind it to start building out the initial piece. Well, the paper transfer wasn't the best and I eventually painted over it and started again.

And now it looks completely different as I added a new Thermofax screen image of mine with completely different colors. I may add this piece to a larger size painted canvas and attach it there. Not so sure at the moment.

Every time I begin a collage, I first go to my "dream" box, pull out one of my many fortune cookie fortunes and see if it inspires me. (Yes, I do like Chinese food) LOL. This was a little wood shaker box that I painted and collaged and then drilled holes in so I could pull through the dyed organza ribbon. It's such a cute little thing.

Inside you can see all the fortunes. Also inside is a little bag of these punched paper flowers that were painted and embossed using a stamp and silver embossing powder. I pulled these out to think about using on my light blue collage, but didn't end up using them since a different design took over. So they will return to the box for another time.

Finally, here is a paper collage with one of my Thermofax screens of Queen Anne's Lace and my dots screen as well as another screen that I made from a doodled diamonds. A little fabric was added to the bottom I would like to try to replicate this on fabric directly, but that will be for another day.

I hope you are having a super creative weekend and you are getting all of your holiday preparations ready. Check back later for any updates!

TGIF and Journal Making With a Glue Gun

2011-12-09T20:42:00.001-05:00

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! Yeah! Made it through to another weekend! I have a few projects laid out on my work table and I'm having fun already! First, I wanted to show how I used my glue gun to put together my accordian journals.

I started with Fabriano sheets of 140 lb watercolor paper, cold press. I don't have a reason for using this paper other than I know it is used a lot by art journal artists so I had bought some from Dick Blick to test it out. The 140 lb paper is itself good and strong. The sheets were 9 1/2 x 13 inches and I cut them in half so each page is 9 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches. I used 8 of the 9 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch pages.

Additionally, I cut 2 pieces of the heavy cardboard that comes on the backs of the watercolor paper pads. One for the front and one for the back, each cut slightly larger than the paper size at 6 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches.

Next, I cut 14 strips of fabric, approximately 8 x 1 inches. For my book, I used a variety of greens from sample home dec fabric books and using my pinking edge rotary cutter, I cut the strips.

Start by placing two of your journal pages side-by-side approximately 1/8 inch apart. Place a line of glue approximately 8 inches long near the edge of one page and place one side of your fabric strips over the glue as soon as possible (if using the glue gun). Make sure your other page is still aligned with 1/8 inch gap between and run a line of glue down the other page and press the fabric to it. Since my strips of fabric were 8 inches long, I centered them vertically within the 9 1/2 inches of the paper.

Repeating this step on BOTH sides of the papers, I created these fabric hinges as you can see below, so regardless what side of the pages you are working on, you have the fabric hinges. It's not perfect and the glue can make the fabric a little lumpy but I was fine with that. Next time, I am going to sew the fabric onto the paper to see if I like that. More messy like :)

For the covers, I simply selected my fabric making sure I had at least 1 1/4 inches to wrap to the back side to glue. I also added a piece of batting the same size as the cardboard under the fabric. Using the glue gun, I pulled the fabric taught on one side toward the middle and glued the fabric down from the center outward so I would not create any wrinkles. I repeated this for all four sides then for the corners, I cut away some of the excess fabric so when I glued the rest down it would not be so bulky. The glue gun makes it possible to quickly adhere the fabric as you are pulling and wrapping it around to the back side.

The covers were then glued to the two end pages of the accordian. The one thing you need to be careful about is making sure the cover and back is positioned to open correctly if your cover has an image on it that you want to view a certain way. Before gluing the hinges on the last pages, I first made sure that the hinge was on the correct side so when the journal is opened from the front, you have a double-page spread to start with. The glue gun seals that first page really tight to the back side of the cover and back.

I hope that makes sense. when gluing your pages together try to make sure that you keep the ends aligned as best you can. If you glue the hinges to the papers with a consistent space between you should be able to keep all the top and bottom paper edges even. This is the fastest journal I have ever made and my fingers thanked me for relieving them of needle holes from trying to push waxed linen thread through heavy paper spines!

Digital Art Journal Covers

2011-12-06T20:22:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is getting through their week with a positive and creative attitude! At the very end of my weekend, I started working diligently on a couple of accordian style journals that I wanted to share with you. The shots are of the covers only and I will share more as I become inspired to fill them with content. I thought you might enjoy the imagery. These are two flower photos that I have taken and manipulated in Photoshop Elements 7.0. I transferred them to white cotton using TAP (which also tends to be water-resistent.) They have been hanging on my design wall for a while because I kept on thinking I would make them into beautiful pillows.

Well, I think I am loving their look on the covers of these journals! So glad I didn't get out the pillow forms LOL! I am also really liking the accordian style because you can try out different ways of joining the pages together and my glue gun is a lot easier to handle than waxed linen thread and a big needle.

Oh, did I mention how much faster they are to make with a glue gun?????

I'm going to be making a lot more so stay tuned!

Studio Sunday

2011-12-04T09:19:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Sunday, yet again! If anyone has seen that movie "Groundhog Day", you can relate to how I am feeling right about now. Wasn't I just here posting Studio Sunday? It seems the weeks fly by! Of course, Monday doesn't feel like that at all! LOL

Yesterday, I spent the day screenprinting to paper. Today, I will be screenprinting to fabric. I am totally excited about these new screens as the designs were taken from one little doodle that I had drawn a ways back. This is actually a continuation of the design I posted here and I continued to develop it in Photoshop Elements. The screens came out fabulous as the smallest lines were picked up in the designs I left them in. That detail you cannot get from a stencil or a hand-carved stamp and that's the beauty of Thermofax screens.

First, here is the doodle that started it all!

Here are the designs so far from it:

This last design was created using a photo of flowers and then layered with a few brushes I had already created in PE. The details all around the edges have to be seen up close like the text lying underneath the flowers along the bottom.

I hope you all have a super creative day and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Work in Process and Lesley Riley

2011-12-03T09:01:00.001-05:00

Here I am on Saturday back in my studio!!! I can't wait to get going on my ideas today. I've got my big cup of coffee and I'm raring to go! Now if only I could find my worktable (I know it's under all these piles somewhere LOL). I printed my Tulip Trio in white onto tea-dyed muslin and painted the flowers with watercolors and then sealed with matte medium. Then, I screen-printed on top of my little canvases with one of my screens that has imagery from post cards on it. These are the results and I envision a set of really cute fiber art pieces developing.

For the past 10 weeks, I have been taking Lesley Riley's ASAP program (Artist Success Action Plan) and I wanted to inform you about it. The program is great for anyone who really truly sees themselves as a successful artist. Each week, there is a scheduled call by Lesley who delivers fantastic content and additional tools and resources to help you get organized. The later sessions focus on self-promotion, self-packaging and social media.

I highly recommend the ASAP program and I feel that there is no one better to teach and share their first-hand experiences and insight than Lesley who has proven herself as a successful artist, teacher, coach and mentor. Go here to the overview of her program for more information.

See you tomorrow!

Mini Canvas Giveaway Winners!!!

2011-11-30T05:39:00.001-05:00

Good morning! I am up bright and early this morning before the sun to run the random number generator to pick the WINNERS of the Mini Canvas Screen Sets!!! Congratulations to the three winners! Each one of you can choose which of the mini canvas sets (Garden Party-1, Garden Party-2 or Tulip Trio) you would like, then send me an e-mail at free2design@comcast.net to let me know your choice and your mailing address! Thanks again to everyone who joined!

For updates on future giveaways and monthly updates on project ideas and other good stuff, sign up to receive my new Newsletter beginning on January 1, 2012. Just click on the button at the top of the blog!

AND NOW FOR THE WINNERS!!!!!!!!!

The first free set of screens goes to:

Congratulations Adrian!!!

The second set of screens goes to:

Congratulations Lynda!!!

The third set of screens goes to:

Congratulations Susan!!!

Again, thanks to all who joined the giveaway!!! I hope everyone has a great week and I will see you soon!!!

Studio Sunday - 2012 Newsletter - Ornament Screens

2011-11-27T09:03:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Today as I awaken and move into my studio (natural progression to my day) I wanted to point out how much I love this beginning to my day...

closing my eyes while sipping my fresh cup of coffee
looking at yesterday's remnants with fresh eyes
inspiration all around me
ideas slowly awakening
contemplating the tools and materials I will play with today
just...bliss

Tomorrow ends my 4-day extended weekend in the studio (sniff sniff) but I feel good about what I have gotten done, what I have explored and developed, and clarity of my goals to push forward in developing my creative life. IN THE STUDIO, I wanted to show you one thing I put together. I used old dictionary and poetry book pages to layer across a large piece of paper for the purpose of using this as a texture tool in Photoshop Elements. It may seem like a silly experiment but this one image will be used over and over again in my artwork so the mileage from it could be significant. The first thing I did was print a section of the image to silk fabric through my printer so that I could use this texture as a background or pieces for a collage on fabric.

Just looking at this one piece of fabric, I can already imagine quite a few ways to apply it - fusible applique on a quilt, cut up as collage pieces for a fiber art piece, the base for some funky fabric beads, maybe even dimensional projects such as the base fabric for little stuffed birds to make into tree ornaments for the holidays! I'm really liking that stuffed bird ornaments idea :) hmmmmm

Additionally, I had been thinking a lot about ornamentation. You have probably seen those Dover books at the book store that are filled with ornamentation from old architecture and stonework (not to mention the million other images they provide). Because I am always focused on developing my own personal imagery, I decided to try to create some of my own ornaments to use in my artwork. I'm really liking how this came out! I had taken a doodle of a scrolly vine I had made, cut a section of it and then layered that section three more times in order to build out this design in four parts. I flipped the layers horizontally and vertically until I had four pieces that I could merge together to create my ornament.

I love the way this came out and I have also broken this image into sections that I can use separately.

I will be making Thermofax screens out of this image to play with hopefully this week! In order to maximize this design, I'm thinking of creating two sizes - one for quilting/home dec and a smaller version for art journals. If anyone is interested in a specific size (whole design or sections) leave a comment here and I will order some up right away.

NEW NEWSLETTER

Starting in January, I will be publishing monthly newsletters filled with ideas, free designs, interesting blogs and websites to share and a lot more! Click on the "Sign Up Today" button at the top of the page if you would like to be added to the e-mail list to receive it!

Work in Progress

2011-11-25T08:22:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with great food and family! My sister, Susan, hosted our Thanksgiving dinner at her family's house and the food was awesome as always. Each of us brought something to add to the feast. Most importantly, it was a chance to reconnect and see what everyone was working on. I should probably get going on my holiday shopping today but the thought of getting caught up in tons of traffic and over-crowded stores just doesn't get me excited. So...I am here...in my studio working on a variety of creative ideas.

This is my Garden Party-2 Thermofax screen set printed with white acrylic onto a dark moss colored cotton fabric. The flowers have been painted with watercolor and I decided to play a little with stencilling around the images to blend the mini canvas into the background fabric a little better. Using white and metallic gold acrylic paints, I layered different small designs around the image.

Here I have been experimenting with backgrounds for this set. I dug out a really pretty light tangerine colored fabric that I had in my stash that picked up on the gold paint and the center parts of the flowers. The fabric has a little green threads running through it and ties together well with the dark moss. Now I am experimenting with placement to create a raw-edged collage on a larger canvas. I want to add some hand-stitching to these as well.

Here is the large screen from my Tulip Trio screens. I had printed this screen using ecru acrylic paint onto a tea-dyed muslin. The off-white effect of the paint was interesting when I came in with the watercolors on the flowers as it had a warmer, softer blending effect, different from the bright white I used on most of the prints. Here, I have screen-printed and stenciled the background then attached small pieces using French knots and running stitches. The colors look a lot better than what you see here as I didn't have the right light when I took the photo. It is a warm and inviting piece that would look great on top of some antique lace or in a distressed wood frame.

Here are my original prints of Garden Party-1 on the yellow-green cotton fabric using white acrylic paint. I created a mask and screen-printed stripes with a blend of yellow, orange, pink and white acrylic paints. I love this effect because I slightly mix the colors together before printing with them and I love the blending effects! I stitched each of the four pieces to white fabric and added French knots to the stamens for added texture.

There was a whole lot of creative juice flowing yesterday and my nieces shared a couple of their own journal pages. This is an awesome page by Melanie! I am in love with this page!!

Here, my niece, Erika, drew her rendition of a clay mask that Melanie had previously made. I think she hit it right on!!

Here is one of Erika's journal pages showing contrasts to good and bad girls! Very intuitive!! Obviously the interpretation of Bad Girls being associated with Rock & Roll has not changed. I think we, I mean they, are unfairly judged!!! LOL Great job Erika!!

Studio Sunday Clean-up!

2011-11-20T17:51:00.001-05:00

Regrouping...reorganizing....refreshing...remembering......

The piles on my studio floor and worktables were overcoming me. I had a work surface approximately 15" squared that was not covered with fabric and paints and papers. I needed to get unburied from this physical place and refresh my brain at the same time. I needed to wipe the canvas clean so I could start again. It was so nice out today here in Massachusetts that I should have taken a long walk to clear my head but the messes I've made needed to be picked up in order for me to clear a path for new ideas to be explored. We all have those days.

So I have no new pictures to share of things I have been working on here this weekend. As we get closer to the holidays, I know there will be even less time to play in my studio, but once I get a spark of an idea, I will be off and running with it regardless of the time available to bring it to life. I'm feeling the need to go back and revisit my artwork from one of my articles this year. As fast and furious as ideas have come to me this year, I feel like I need to go back and take a new look with new eyes at techniques I was using in my fiber art. I think there is potential to push these techniques further than I took them so I feel obligated to go back and take another look. So this is my current path.

I'm getting really excited about the Giveaway deadline approaching! It doesn't seem possible that Thanksgiving is this week and then November 30th is just a week away! If you haven't left a comment on the Giveaway post, make sure to post before midnight on November 29th to be included!

Studio Sunday Mini Canvas Play

2011-11-13T10:30:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a good weekend! I am slow getting started this morning as my husband and I were out at a very funny one-man comedy act last night and didn't get home until late. There was lots of music from the 70's and 80's that Jim and I grew up with, some dancing, some wine, and a later-than-usual night for me :( But we had a great time!

Now for the good stuff! Well, I can't say that I have yet made anything with my mini painted canvas screens but I've been doing a whole lot of painting on them. I expect to have a few art cards to share with you this week. Yesterday I spent most of my time working on journal pages using my Thermofax screens. The thing that I find when creating is that no matter what media I may be working in, I will always find something that inspires me to bring it to another media. The whole process of screen printing these little canvases and then painting is very relaxing and really good practice for someone who wants to add their own personal touch. You could print these a million times on different fabric and paint on them using different acrylic, watercolor, pencils, crayons and markers and you would have a different image every time.

One thing I did experiment with was screen-printing with Discharge Paste. This is really fun when you never know for sure what the bleached-out colors will end up being. I started with black cotton quilting fabric and this is what I got using Garden Party-1. I have some earth-tone batiks that I'm thinking on mounting these on and it would tie the colors together well. These images look a little on the white side here but they look warmer in real life.

Here are a few shots from my journal pages that will eventually be tied together in a journal book with a fabric cover. They are not finished yet but I love using the screens because I don't have to draw a thing! My photos were traced or created from my photos and that is enough for me! I wish I could draw like Jane LaFazio or Carol Sloan, but since I am much more of an instant-gratification kinda gal, the screens work out just fine!

I also wanted to share with you a couple of images that LuAnn Kessi sent me! Remember I asked images that show how people have applied my Thermofax screens to their projects? Well LuAnn very kindly sent me pictures of her "work shirts" that she added my screen designs to. Check them out!!! Fabulous!!

Thank you for sharing, LuAnn!! I would love to share more pictures so send them to me at free2design@comcast.net so I can post them!!

Creating Journal Pages with Thermofax Screens

2011-11-08T21:07:00.000-05:00

I've been using my screens on paper to create some journal pages or just art on paper. I have a number of screens to use that I don't have up for sale including a few other experimental mini canvas screens. Just as I have done in screenprinting on fabric, I have brought watercolor paints into the mix and used them to paint the images. This is a great way to practice before taking the screen prints to fabric to get a good idea of how your final fabric image might work in your project.

Also, you can tell that I am not a watercolorist! LOL I'm probably not even using the correct brushes but it is really fun and meditative and I highly recommend it. On the Tulip Trio print above, I also used the Stabilo black pencils that blend with water to outline the images by drawing it into the channel separating the petal pieces.

I think the one below is blending too much with the background. I will probably go back in with yellow or something else. The other thing that I really like about these images is the size. The small 4" x 3.5" blocks are perfect for so many things. The experimental ones that I have are twice the size of the small blocks and even those are a great size. If you go too large and you are using paint, it would be too much paint on your fabric.

I'm thinking extra hard to create a couple of cute holiday fiber art gift ideas for you to use your screens on. Check back to see what I come up with (nothing like putting the pressure on myself LOL).

Studio Sunday and Mini Canvas Screen Prints

2011-11-06T08:24:00.000-05:00

Did you turn your clocks back last night? It feels like I just got an extra jump on today with the change. I love it now but I won't so much at 5:00 pm when it gets completely dark out. Summer seems like it was just yesterday. So in rememberance of summer, I screened and painted last night with Garden Party-2 and Tulip Trio. Let's take a look....

Garden Party-2 I printed with white acrylic (heavy body) paint onto a dark moss colored cotton fabric. From these pictures you can't tell as well but the combination of the white canvas and the bright pink colors against the dark moss looks stunning!

Here is the larger image from Tulip Trio painted in ecru acrylic (heavy body) paint onto tea-dyed muslin. So the background canvas and the fabric are not contrasting as much but the subtle colors are very soothing.

The other smaller screens from Tulip Trio I printed in white on tea-dyed muslin and you can see more contrast against the muslin.

The one thing I need to mention about these new screens is about the fine detailled lines. Garden Party-2 and Tulip Trio have thinner lines separating the open spaces that the paint prints through. Extra care needs to be taken when screening these to fabric and paper. I will include an instruction sheet with these products. The difference in line weight means preventing too much paint from going through. The way to offset is by holding your squeegee straight up, perpendicular to the screen and make one pass only. I you go across it more than once, you will lose the separator line.

When printing these last night, I found that if I do print too much paint, I can still see the lines and once the print was dry, I took a fine line Sharpie to lightly draw in the lines. You could use a pencil or a disappearing pen or nothing at all. Some people might not like the look of the separator line showing the fabric through from behind and this could benefit them by creating a more realistic painting. It's all personal preference and I guarantee you won't be disappointed because these screens are so much fun to play with. (By the way, I have no painting experience whatsoever and watercolors play nicely!) After the watercolor or other paints dry, brush over the print with matte medium to seal it all.

I'm sure tonight I will have more to show you as I incorporate these prints into projects for more ideas!

For those who might be interested, there is a great Reader Challenge on quiltingdaily.com for a 10" x 10" mini art quilt on affirmations. Follow the link below and if you can't get to the page you might have to register on the site.

http://www.quiltingdaily.com/content/Reader_Challenges.aspx

New Mini Canvas Sets and Giveaway!!

2011-11-05T09:47:00.001-04:00

Introducing Mini Canvas Sets!

I am so excited to have added a number of new Thermofax screen images to my Etsy shop for sale!!! Not only are there individual images, but I have listed some new Mini Canvas Sets which I am super excited about!!! Remember this image?

Well, I have included these designs and two others that I designed as Mini Canvas Sets. Garden Party-1 is the set above and Garden Party-2 and Tulip Trio are the others. These images are approximately 4" x 3" each and on Tulip Trio, the larger image is 7" x 4.5".

**************************

The thing that I love about these designs is the versatility of the application. You have the ability to print them fabric as well as paper or other surfaces and then paint them to customize. The black area is where the paint is laid down. On the example above, I have printed in white paint, allowed it to dry and then went back over the flower imagery with watercolor paints and then sealed it when dry.

I can see using watercolor, water-soluable oil pastels, watercolor pencils and crayons and acrylic paints to really build up the image and totally customize it any way you want!

Ways to use the Mini Canvas Sets!

Fiber Art Cards

Center Block Designs on Quilts

Journalling on Paper

Other Mixed Media applications

.....and that is just the beginning!

And NOW the GIVEAWAY!!!

Leave a comment on this blog post by November 29th at midnight and 3 people will be eligible for a free New Mini Canvas Set that I will be giving away!!! On November 30th I will use the Random Number Generator to select 3 winners to receive their choice of Garden Party-1, Garden Party-2 or Tulip Trio.

See you on Studio Sunday!!

NEW Thermofax Screens for Sale

2011-11-03T22:06:00.000-04:00

I'm one of the lucky ones who now has power, heat, cable, internet and light (I missed that the most) in my area. Later in the evening, I am usually tossing things around in my studio, brainstorming or creating art. Since the days are shorter now, the thing I missed the most about the power being out was my lack of light from 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm. I felt cheated that I could not read or draw or review a book or magazine for a large chunk of time each night after the sun had gone down. I really feel badly for those who still do not have their power back on yet as it is truly an unwelcome challenge.

Saturday I will be adding a bunch of NEW Thermofax screen designs in my Etsy shop so stop by to check them out! (Do I sense a new GIVEAWAY coming????)

Here is a little sneak peek!

Have you made something using one of my screen designs???

Do you have a picture you would like to share???? I would love to post some project pictures to share with all the viewers here on the blog. It could be a quilting project or mixed-media project or anything! Send me a link or a photo that I can share here.

No Power, Cable or Internet

2011-10-31T13:09:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Sorry for being quiet over here.

I'm so bummed that I have NO ELECTRICITY, NO HEAT, NO HOTWATER, NO INTERNET AND NO CABLE. Of course everything in the fridge and freezer needs to be thrown out :(

My town doesn't expect to have service back until Friday so it looks like I will be out of communication until the weekend. Promise to post as soon as possible!

Thanks for standing by!

LuAnne Kessi and Permission to Play

2011-10-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

Art touches our lives in so many ways and if there is one thing I love about having art in my life is the connections that I have made to people across the United States and around the globe. How amazing it is to be able to have a conversation with a like-minded soul and make friends through the internet! I have been to some fabulous creative workshops and retreats over the past 10 years. The driving force to attend has always been about stretching myself as an artist and learning new techniques. If you asked me today what I made or learned during those workshops, I would probably have to think a bit to recall exactly what I got out of it. But, if you asked me what the most memorable parts of these events were I could answer you easily - "that's the one where I met Pat" or "that's the one where I met Debbi". It's the people who I have met who share a part of themselves with me and I with them. Those are the moments most remembered and I wouldn't trade them for anything!

In selling my Thermofax screens, I have already met so many new people, created on-line friendships and shared art and life stories. This is what it is all about. LuAnne Kessi is one of my new acquaintences. LuAnne is a very creative and sharing artist who runs a workshop called Permission to Play, which is a free class offerring to cancer diagnosed patients, is hosted by her art journal quilt group by the name of "Living Well with Cancer and Healing Through Quilting." When I found out that the P2P workshop in October was all about Thermofax screen-printing, I donated a handful of my screens to LuAnne to share at her workshops.

LuAnne puts together a slide show after each workshop showing what everyone had made and I urge everyone to check out her blog, May Your Bobbin Always be Full, to learn more about the P2P workshops and LuAnne's own beautiful artwork as well.

I am thrilled to share the link to the P2P workshop post where you can see all the fun they had with screen-printing including a very special Thank You!

http://luannkessi.blogspot.com/2011/10/thermofax-screen-printingp2p-class.html

I'm In Quilt Scene!

2011-10-28T20:21:00.000-04:00

Most of you are probably tired of hearing about me being published (LOL) but here is the LAST one for 2011. I currently do not have any other publications lined up (at this very moment) hehehe

I'm sure you remember seeing this bag. I painted fabric with acrylic paints and then screen-printed with my Doodled Squares and my doodled flowers Thermofax screens. It was a blast and it was such a fast and simple project.

Well, now you can also see it here, (a little worn), on page 114 of the International Quilt Festival Quilt Scene magazine that just hit the newsstands! It's accompanied by my instructions for creating the general bag structure.

No laughing please :))) I'm all for a multi-use project!!!! The fact is, I was laughing when I saw the Table of Contents page on the Quilting Daily site. A fabulous flower pot for sure!!! Seriously, I love the way they presented the bag. I never for a moment thought that it would be included in a full-page photo! And I know I've said it before but I am so grateful to Pokey, Helen, Ellen, Lindsey and Interweave for all of the opportunities they presented to me in 2011. This has been my year for publishing and I can only hope that I have more opportunities in 2012!

Stay tuned for some serious studio time this weekend!!! Oh yes, let's not forget about the big SNOW STORM coming tomorrow night! This is October, right????

Studio Sunday Follow-UP

2011-10-23T18:43:00.001-04:00

I thought I would post this before I jump into Monday! Well, I just need to hem one side of this binding but I like the way it came out. Check back this week as I create another that includes the flower image stitching extended outside the screen print!

I thought this was a more modern looking finish to this little 6 " x 20" art quilt. Have a fabulous week and check back soon!

Studio Sunday and Mini Screens

2011-10-23T09:37:00.000-04:00

Well, the usual is happening here in my Studio this Sunday. I feel like I completely wasted Saturday as I just could not get focused in one direction. Kind of like tossing everything in the air and trying to catch what comes down which then jumbles everthing all up. This is how I feel.....fried

However, I'm simplifying (for the moment) and experimenting with these mini Thermofax screens that I made. I'm finding that I really like screening in white then using watercolor paints to bring the image back into focus. Tell me what you think???? These screen images are approximately 3 1/2" wide. I have played with them using pink watercolors with the white print on a chartreuse background and then I decided to take a step back from the brights and try using a tea-stained muslin as the background.

I'm thinking it might be cool to stitch in the flower lines and extend the stitching outside of the screened area to create more depth. Let me know if you are interested in this set and I will add them to my Etsy. The set would be $15. The flower image was created from tracing one of my flower photos seen here. Of course if anyone is interested in this as an 8 x 10 screen, please contact me as well.

Refueling and Releasing Creativity

2011-10-21T22:18:00.000-04:00

TGIF! Welcome to Friday! What a week it has been for me at my job and I'm glad to be back in my studio, refueling my creative energy getting ready to spend two full days releasing those ideas that have been brewing all week. What I find is really funny is how some of my best creative thinking comes while I am sitting in traffic driving to and from work. Does anyone else have this experience??? I will be sitting in traffic, stop and go, stop and go, and all of a sudden something will come to me. It isn't necessarily a huge spark but even a tiny morsel of an idea will continue to grow while I'm in drive.

Sometimes this happens in the shower as well, but for the most part, I think I am trying to move along quickly to get done and get dressed. It is once I've driven as far as I could at a good speed and then come upon the usual highway backup that I start to settle in.

What time of the day stimulates your most creative thinking time? Do your ideas just come upon you at any time or do you see a pattern? While you are walking, or washing the dishes? I would love to hear from you on this. Really, leave me a comment!

My Giveaway Winner, Gill, has been in touch and I hope to get to work on her design soon! I am hoping to share some of this process with you. I hope to have new ideas to show you on my Studio Sunday posting! Let's get creative!!!

And the Giveaway Winner Is.....

2011-10-16T07:45:00.001-04:00

Woohoo! Here we are on Giveaway Day! I've used the random number generator and the magic number is 8!

CONGRATULATIONS GILL!!!!

Please e-mail me at free2design@comcast.net so that we can get started! This is going to be a fantastic experience for both of us! So get your doodle(s) ready and let's get started!!!

Thank you all for participating! Stay tuned for status updates on Gill's designs!

Happy Autumn everyone!!

TGIF!!

2011-10-14T22:01:00.000-04:00

It has been a week! This time of year, things start to pick up at the office and I'm in the thick of it! So when Friday comes, I feel like I am opening big huge doors and stepping through to Heaven! Just thinking about all the creative time that awaits me makes me giddy!

So here we are one day away from the giveaway deadline and I'm getting super excited! I can't wait to work with the winner on his/her designs! My friend, Claire, who visited me last weekend for an art play date, has generously given me permission to show her doodle and a little glimpse of what we created with it once we made it into a brush in PE7.

Of course, we could have continued pushing the design further and further but we ran out of time. I love the stage that we got to with it and I can see its potential for becoming more and more interesting. This is what I plan to do with the giveaway winner. Take your design and push the limits of what I can do with it to provide a unique design in a digital layout for fabric or paper as well as a Thermofax screen to be able to use on many surfaces!

Sunday morning I will announce the winner!!!! See you then!

Doin' a Happy Dance!

2011-10-12T21:33:00.000-04:00

Yes! I am doing a little Happy Dance! Why, you ask? 2 BIG HUGE REASONS!!! First, we are getting close to the giveaway date! Saturday night at midnight!!! I'm super excited to work with the giveaway winner to design their Thermofax screen and digital layout!!!

And the other reason I'm dancing???? I just received an invitation from Quilting Arts to submit a proposal for a Workshop DVD!!!! Woohoooo!!! Sooooo exciting!!! Of course, I have to come up with a good idea (easier said than done)! On that note, I'm off to brainstorm :)

Check this out - I think this looks like a batik design made using soy wax. What do you think?? I love how Sequana has been finding faces in my designs. Does anyone see a face or animal or something in this design?

This was a quick design layout that I made using this little image. We have some oak trees at work that drop leaves with very interesting shapes so I brought a few home and scanned them.

Just a little more inspiration for the giveaway winner!!!

Studio Sunday

2011-10-09T19:33:00.000-04:00

I'm posting kind of late today because I was really, really busy. Hubby took off early on a motorcycle ride and I got up early and broke out the paints and screens. I painted a lot on paper and I screen printed a lot on paper and fabric but I don't have much to show for it. But, the ideas are flowing which is a good thing!

The countdown begins for the GIVEAWAY!!! Leave your comments before

midnight on Saturday, October 15th to be eligible!!!

I'm so totally excited, I can't wait!!!

Yesterday, I had created two screens to use, once again using the same doodle imagery as in my last post, and I love the way these borders came out! Just another example of creating personal imagery.

I did re-visit some painted fabric that I used on my patchwork placemats that were featured in the 101 Patchwork Projects publication earlier this year. I had photographed the center parts of the placemats with the hand painting and manipulated it in Photoshop Elements 7 and I love the soft and graceful lines of the brushes I made.

And here is a layered image where I have changed the opacity and shades. It makes me think of beautiful bed sheets and big euro-sized throw pillows in white linen with big chunky aqua-colored trim.

This is a different variation of imagery that you can begin with to create from. I think I'm going to have to make a Thermofax screen or two using those brushes. The lines are so choppy and uneven and very painterly like.

While painting today I discovered how well the Adirondack Color Washes work with gesso. Most of the time when I have used them, I have sprayed them directly onto the paper using masks or stencils. On the watercolor paper that I painted today, I sprayed the color washes while I was applying gesso (all with my fingers, by the way) and I found a brand new palette to use. A lot lighter than I have gone in the past but it is a good thing because I've been trying to tone my colors down. Because you are mixing the color washes into the gesso, you have more control over their final shades. When you spray the color washes directly onto paper, as soon as you add paint or water, the inks are re-activated. This works in some cases and in others, it just causes frustration. I used Eggplant and Wild Plum with gesso on this background.

(Oh, is that yet another image created from a doodle?????)

Check back mid-week and you might see even more!!!

Margaret Applin Designs Giveaway!

2011-10-07T22:00:00.000-04:00

WOW!! I am sooooo excited about this giveaway!!! And I am totally THRILLED to see how much interest was generated (with a big huge Thanks to Terri Stegmiller for getting the message out there)! I promise you that the winner will NOT be disappointed and I hope the winner will send pictures so I can share what they make with their imagery and Thermofax screens!!!

I feel like this weekend will be a VERY creative one for me! I'm continuing to explore and push design elements to their limits to create more and more personal imagery and I'm really excited to apply these designs in a variety of ways.

These images are a couple that I have been working with. Remember....everything you see here began with a doodle!!! So get your pencils and pens ready!!!

I love this one with all the layers and soft tones.

And this fun design re-created from a section of a doodle!

Studio Sunday and Margaret Applin Designs Giveaway!!!!

2011-10-02T09:07:00.001-04:00

I'm getting an early start in the studio today. I really want to get the creative juices flowing and pick up from where I was last week. I had a great visit with a good friend of mine, Claire, yesterday as she joined me in my studio for a little personal imagery play!

Which leads me to my Margaret Applin Designs Giveaway!!! This giveaway is 2-part.

The first part is one Thermofax screen of your choice from my Etsy selection. Any one of the currently posted screen designs - it's your choice!

The second part of my giveaway is my personal design service. Margaret Applin Designs will design a layout for a Thermofax screen for you using your own personal imagery. The winner of my giveaway will send me a doodle (or two) of their own personal imagery for me to create their design with. I will order the screen for you and ship it to you at no cost as well as provide the jpg image of that layout for your future use.

And that's not all! In addition to the Thermofax screen I provide to you, created from your own personal imagery, I will also design a full-color layout (provided as a jpg), using the same personal imagery provided above, in an 8 1/2 x 11 (or size A4) format, whichever is preferred, that you can then use to transfer to fabric or paper for your unlimited use!!!!

As an example, if you take a look back at this post, you can see how I combined a couple of doodles of mine to create a digital design I transferred to fabric in a variety of ways and additionally created a number of similar Thermofax screens from.

http://scrapwisdomcollage.blogspot.com/2011/09/thing-about-expectations.html

So this giveaway is all about me designing for you using your personal imagery. Why am I offering this type of giveaway? I believe that I can provide you with a new and exciting way of looking at your own personal imagery and how it can be used or applied in your fiber art or mixed-media. I will work with the winner to ensure you are happy with your Thermofax screen design and full-color layout within reason. There will be a limited amount of design hours provided as this is a free giveaway.

So how can you win??? Leave a comment here between now and midnight October 15th and I will select one winner using a random number generator! It's that easy!!!

[Disclaimer: All personal imagery provided by the giveaway winner will be strictly their own personal imagery and will not be duplicated or used by Margaret Applin Designs in any fashion. Margaret Applin Designs will destroy any files created using the giveaway winner's personal imagery once the digital files are provided to the winner.]

Wicked Wednesday

2011-09-28T20:37:00.000-04:00

The week is dragging and I just want to get back in the studio!! Hubby is home from his PA trip and I will post quick so I can go catch up with him on everything.

Can I point out how ADORABLE Terri Stegmiller's composition book cover is on the 3 Creative Studios Blog! Join the Color Palette Challenge NOW for a chance to win it!!!

The other night I stopped at Barnes & Noble on the way home from work and I checked out these books. The quilts are amazing and I wanted them both but couldn't decide on one so I didn't get either :( I'll have to go back and take another look. Really, check them out if you have a chance!

The Art Quilt Collection: Designs & Inspiration from Around the World by Linda Seward

and

500 Art Quilts: An Inspiring Collection of Contemporary Work (500 Series)

by Ray Hemachandra and Karey Bresenhan

Check back here this weekend as I will be posting my own GIVEAWAY!

Studio Sunday

2011-09-25T19:03:00.000-04:00

It's been a productive weekend for sure; just hate to see it go :) I did finally get into somewhat of a groove today and started making journals. It wasn't exactly the paper component that I was looking to create in my artwork but one step leads to the next. Take a look a one shot of my scarry studio! I'm out growing it as we speak! LOL I have 3 huge tables flanking three walls within my studio. They are all covered! I'm embarassed to say the least, but it definitely is a "working" studio. I'll have to make sure my tax accountant sees this!

So, this morning, I had major screen-printing fest in my livingroom. I printed on watercolor paper and on fabrics. (This is for Terri with her love of orange and pink!)

So I really got into screen printing on my fabric pieces, some previously painted and some not. I'm still using acrylic paint to print with but soon I will be testing the waters with Rit dyes. I'll never convert to fiber-reactive dyes so I have to play with everything else. I know the dyes will open up a completely different element to my fiber art and layering of images.

So, here is a sneak peak at my journals! Shhhhhhh, I feel an article coming on! Stay tuned!

I'm thinking I might make some to sell as they are on the smaller side and would make great gifts! Holly Mclean, one of my followers (Hi Holly!) said that my new screen imagery looks like wheels! What a great interpretation Holly! These images began as doodled flower,s but as I worked with them in Photoshop Elements, they took on a much different look and feel. A couple still resemble flowers but I do love the more Aztec, wheel, and fossil look. It's all about developing personal imagery!

Well, who knows what ideas will develop mid week. I'll be sure to check in with any updates. Have a great week!

Margaret

A Thing About Expectations...

2011-09-24T22:25:00.000-04:00

"It is a common observation that those who dwell continually upon their expectations are apt to become oblivious to the requirements of their actual situation." - Charles Sanders Peirce

I have to laugh at myself. I had a goal this weekend; incorporate paper into my artwork. That's it. Simple. Not at all a tremendous feat. Ok, so I'm only 1/2 way through the weekend, but as Saturday night closes in around me, it always feels like the weekend is over. And this is because I place sooooo much emphasis on my weekend design time. My personal expectations always get in the way. There is also that fear that next year might not be as amazing as this year with the growth of my artwork.

So have I created anything today with paper? A little, nothing huge. Not enough to feel like I am on a path that I want to be headed down. So I play...........and play.........and play...

I play with transparency transfers... (didn't work out as planned but I am happy with the results)

I play with digital design... (layering and layering and blending and blending)

I play with digital designs on art quilts... (all out of Jacquard ink-jet printer sheets)

And then I break down and go make some new screens...

and try and print on everything I can!

And that's how it has gone today. If you could see my studio, you would fall over! Every drawer is open with something hanging out, every flat workable table-top is covered, and I'm overwhelmed with ideas and trying to re-direct them. Tomorrow morning, I will turn on my computer, grab a big cup of coffee and face the day with purpose. There is always tomorrow :)

Published in Quilting Arts Magazine Again!

2011-09-23T15:17:00.000-04:00

I got home this afternoon and had a few packages waiting for me! I love it! It feels like my birthday! The first package was the newest issue of Quilting Arts Magazine with my most recent article in it!!! My article begins on page 56. Check it out when you get it! As usual, it is filled with amazing work by amazing artists!

My second package contained the Quilting Arts TV Series 800!! Woohoo! I can't wait to receive my copy of the Series 900 which will include me, but probably won't surface until next year. Series 800 is also filled with over-the-top eye candy and plenty of great techniques and projects. Terry White and Diane Rusin Doran, who I met when I was in Cleveland taping, are also on the Series 800. I may have to watch the entire series all the way through tonight!

The third package was from Terri Stegmiller from 3 Creative Studios. I won some great stuff participating in the Color Palette Challenge for August. I can't wait to use the Misty Fuse, Transdoodle and Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth. I haven't used any of these before so it will be great! I also won one of Terri's quilted composition book covers in the most beautiful fall tones. Perfect to use right now! (Thanks Terri!)

So as you can see, I am definitely starting the weekend off right! It's going to be rainy most of the weekend here in the northeast but it won't be raining in my studio!!!! Check back on Sunday for my weekend update.

Studio Sunday - Not the Expected

2011-09-18T11:46:00.000-04:00

Here we are at Sunday once again! I have to laugh at myself because I sat in my studio until midnight last night completely blocked after my screen printing session. Yes, I know it happens and it stinks. However, I have learned that you can't stop playing no matter what. Things/ideas will start to come together if you push forward. So here I am still in my p.j.'s and I haven't touched my freshly screen printed fabrics, but instead, pushed a few doodles to their ultimate limit. Using my usual process by layering my images in PE7, I produced this beautiful, rich design in a tile format that makes me want to print it all over 84" curtains that I can make for my bedroom!!! I don't have enough ink-jet printer fabric so that project will have to wait until I order some fabric on Spoonflower! For now, I'm focusing on a smaller project - a shoulder bag :)

Check this out! If you are interested in how I achieve this design, feel free to contact me or post a comment here and I will share my steps. This doodle:

Layered with a frequently used journal page (a variety of steps here) led to this design:

Which led to this design:

So I have printed this twice to TAP and will transfer both to fabric for the bag front and back! I'm loving this! So as long as you continue to push yourself to be creative through a block, you ultimately get somewhere with your art work.

Check back this week for the constructed bag! Who knows - maybe even tonight!
I hope you are having a creative weekend yourself!
Margaret

Scaling Down-New Fabric-New Screens

2011-09-17T18:34:00.000-04:00

Wow how time flies!!! I certainly thought I would post mid-week but that didn't happen. But believe me, the ideas have been flowing! I ran up to Friends Fabric Art this morning to make some new Thermofax screens for some new ideas that I have. Anne is always so accommodating to me and it is always a pleasure to see their studio and check out all the supplies for sale.

So today, I have spent the afternoon duct-taping screens and printing to fabric and paper with them. These new designs are scaled way down. I'm used to pushing the size to the largest limits possible, but my new ideas have me creating some very small patterns. I'm super excited about these new designs (and of course, I could come up with a thousand more)! I really need my own machine :(

So using some of my old gelatin monoprints, I screen printed over them with these new smaller patterns and I think I have successfully revived the monoprints. This one above is an example. The next one was painted fabric that I screened over. It's much more interesting now!

Then I went for my scrap bag! I grabbed a handful of decent sized scraps and laid them all out together and screen printed over a few at a time randomly. Of course, my "random" is slightly conservative at this point. I usually jump right in to "overboard" mode but this time I hung back a little. LESS IS MORE :)

How about a little painted batting?? And lots of strips of hand-dyed fabrics I purchased at a quilt show a few years ago. These adorable little swirls are hand-drawn doodles laid out on an 8 x 10 inch screen. Really cute!

So now is the big test - putting the rest of my ideas in motion. Check back tomorrow for some results (hopefully)!!!

Happy screenprinting!!!

Quilting Arts Gifts Issue and Jackie Cardy Originals

2011-09-10T09:19:00.000-04:00

I'm still cleaning up my studio from my trip to Cleveland but exciting things keep happening here! I got home to find two fabulous Gifts in my mailbox that I wanted to share. First, I am proud to say that I finally own a Jackie Cardy original!!! These pieces are even more amazing to look at in person as I drool over the hand-made felt and cool stitched designs! Thank you, thank you, Jackie! I am brewing ideas for that beautiful heart!!

My second Gift was actually my complimentary issues of Quilting Arts Gifts Magazine - Holiday 2011 - 2012!!!! Check my work out on pages 84-87. The project includes a free doodled flower image for personal use.

There is a lot of cleaning and organizing left to do here this weekend but I intend on jumping into some new artwork! I had an art play date scheduled today with a good friend of mine, Claire, but she had an unexpected death in her family. I'm sending my deepest sympathies to Claire and her family at this time.

Have an artful weekend!

Back From Cleveland and Quilting Arts TV!

2011-09-05T20:20:00.000-04:00

What a trip! I feel like I have sort of been around the world and back again and can I just say, "There is no place like home!" I can't tell you how lucky I feel to have been invited to be on QA TV! Helen Gregory and Pokey Bolton are amazing women and the whole experience of being on QA TV was totally exciting!!!! It was really interesting to see how the entire production of the TV series is put together. I don't know how Pokey makes it through all the taping she does. I can't help but think of her as "Superwoman" when I look at all that she and her team has accomplished from the start of the magazine to where they are now with Interweave. What a journey and what success!!!

I met some wonderful people while I was there. Diane Rusin Doran, who makes beautiful art quilts using digital methods, Terry White, who has written books on Threadpainting, Machine Embroidery, and Machine Beading (which I can't wait to get my hands on), Jo Leichte, who authors the Bernina USA Blog and is a quilter herself, and Jackie Marsal of Havel's Sewing - who provided me with a bag-full of new scissors and cutters! Thanks again Jackie!!! We all had dinner Thursday night at the Bahama Breeze in Beachwood near our hotel - great food and company!!! The laughs never ended!

On Friday, it was my turn to tape my segments with Pokey. I was soooo nervous! I just know I stumbled over my words a couple of times but I hope all comes out well. We didn't have to re-take anything so I guess it was good enough. Sitting behind the camera was an entirely different experience. It's really amazing to see everything that goes into making these segments and the team of people that make it all happen! And it felt so cool to be on the set!! I kept noticing all of the beautiful fabrics and items on the shelves that I always see in the background on the DVDs.

For those readers from the 3 Creative Studios Blog, the TOM Giveaway pillow slipcover was included in the segment I did on using personal imagery for home decor projects! (Just a little additional plug for the giveaway!!) You will have to look for it in the next QA TV series!!!

I spent one more night in my hotel to unwind (NAP) and then on Saturday, I drove to Pittsburgh where my husband and his son picked me up. It was Jim's birthday on 9/2 and I was in Cleveland then but felt bad I was missing his birthday, the first since we have been married. (These "firsts" are really important to me!) But being the super supportive guy that he is, he understood the opportunity I had been given and was behind me 100%. It doesn't get better than that! (I love you, Jim! xoxoxox)

After visiting in Freedom with family and watching Jim's son's football game, we got on the road for our long trip back to Boston trying to get a jump on the Labor Day weekend traffic. We rolled in a little after midnight, left half the stuff in the truck and crawled into bed! So today was filled with unpacking, cleaning, food shopping and generally trying to get things back in order before the work week begins. I need a real vacation!!! The studio needs cleaning and organizing which I will get to this week while I begin formulating some new ideas tugging at the back of my mind.

I'm also getting excited to begin the ASAP Program with Lesley Riley that begins in another week!! I've got to get everything organized before then!!! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend filled with family and friends! I'll check back in a few days!

Margaret

Studio Sunday - Inspired by Irene

2011-08-28T09:14:00.000-04:00

We are hanging in up here but I'm sure we will lose power eventually as I have seen the power surges coming through. In looking at all the charts of Irene's path, I was inspired to portray Irene in a softer sense. LOL She doesn't look so bad now!

I hope everyone in New England stays safe through all of this and that no one takes any chances or risks! Dunkin Donuts is probably NOT open so go back to bed! LOL Hopefully Barbara at Joggles.com in RI is up and running and working on her Sunday newsletter. Good luck Barbara!

Here Comes Irene!

2011-08-27T08:33:00.000-04:00

Well, as you can imagine, everyone here in Massachusetts and southern New England are bracing for Irene as she moves in tomorrow. So I figured I would post today instead of tomorrow not knowing if the power will be affected by the storm.

I was just rumaging through some older files and I decided to pull these two images out for you to see how I have digitally layered my doodled flowers and through a few additional adjustments came up with this layout. I love it!!!

The background was a journal page. On the doodled flower layer, I adjusted specific areas of the flowers removing the green color. This is such a fun layout!!! I'll be working hard again this weekend to complete my materials for next week in Cleveland on QA TV!!! I still can't believe I'm going!

Studio Sunday

2011-08-21T11:38:00.000-04:00

My days are being filled with stitching, screen-printing, and digital design. So much so, I don't remember the last time I watched a TV show. My hubby is being very patient :) As I look around at my studio today, there are piles and more piles and every time I need to do something, I have to move a pile! My studio is the second bedroom of my apartment and it is filled!! Very soon I will have to do a major clean-up. It actually feels good to reorganize everything and put things back in their places.

I've been finishing up some things for 3 Creative Studios and then will need to focus these last two weeks on preparing for QA TV! Here is an image I created by tracing one of my flower photos that I also made into a Thermofax screen for printing. I can't release this one yet for sale yet, but I can still show it. Today, I free-motion stitched over the image onto fabric and the next step is to add a little beading and incorporate it into a pillow I am making.

BTW, I am falling in love with linen. As the summer season moves on out, I'm going to need to purchase some extra before it's gone from the stores. I love the "naturalness" of it. Some of the images I am working with currently are of a beach theme and the linen goes so well with the blues and whites. I'm sure at some point it was considered "the new white". The weight of it varies, but for the most part, it is very easy to sew on. The one drawback is the weave. Sometimes the fabric is too loosely woven and it will stretch and lose it's shape, but the color of it and how well it goes with other colors always win me over.

As if I dont' have enough to focus on right now, I just signed up for Lesley Riley's Artist Success Action Program (ASAP) course. I love the directly that Lesley has taken with her coaching and I think now would be a good time for me to put everything in perspective related to what I want from my art and a creative career. I'm so looking forward to the program!!!

If anyone knows a good source for linen, let me know!

I'm the Guest Artist this month on 3 Creative Studios Blog!!

2011-08-16T08:55:00.002-04:00

http://3creativestudios.com/blog/2011/08/16/meet-our-guest-artist-margaret-applin-happ/

Studio Sunday

2011-08-14T08:37:00.000-04:00

I'm working hard in the studio once again trying to keep up with actual deadlines that I have. It's funny how I never thought I would say that about my artwork. This year has been a very special one and I'm glad I have those deadlines! I continue to push with every free moment that I have to focus and work hard at the artwork I am creating.

TOMORROW begins my Guest Artist appearance on the 3 Creative Studios Blog!!! I'm very excited and hope to get a lot of involvement and feedback from Terri and Vicki's readers!! GO TO 3 Creative Studios Blog this week to enjoy all that their site has to offer!! I promise you will not be disappointed!! And, their current posting is their product review of my Thermofax screens!

I've been working with some new screens that I made and I love this one from the tracing I did of one of my flower photos. Here is the copy before burning and next is the application of the screen to fabric. And, as if you hadn't noticed, I'm still working with all those yummy colored fabrics I posted last week!!

Along with everything else I am doing, I'm also preparing for TV! It's amazing just how much you have to have ready for a 9-minute segment! I can see that I'm going to be down to the last minute practicing my delivery! This is where my Speech and Communications class actually applies. Who knew!

Studio Sunday

2011-08-07T17:50:00.000-04:00

It's studio Sunday once again here in hot and humid New England. I suppose I shouldn't complain because the people in the midwest have been a lot worse off than we have here. I think this is about the time that I start thinking about fall; the colors, apples, smell of raking leaves and cool, crisp air. I know, I know, don't rush it!

I was up in Maine, close to Sebago Lake, all day yesterday for my cousin's wedding and boy was it hot!!! It's the humidity really, but the wedding was outside held on the front lawn of the family's cottage surrounded by tall pines, green grass and beautiful wildflowers. I couldn't help taking pictures of all the different flowers in the table centerpieces and I thought I would share this one with you. I love the whites and greens and look how adorable that little poppy pod is right in the middle!

For anyone who is interested, Joann Fabrics is having a .99 cent sale on their fat quarters!! Woohooo! I tried to control myself and only bought 10! I was there shopping for specific color solid fabrics and came away with boat-load of luscious colored fabrics!!

Aren't these just YUMMY!!!

And guess what I'm going to do with them???

Thermofax screen print!

With what little time left I have this weekend, I'm going to dive into some really colorful screen printing and I can't wait to see how they come out. I'm using the new Thermofax screens that I'm selling on ETSY. I still have a challenge going until August 31st! Check out my posting here for more details. Purchase one of my screens and get to work creating cool fiber art with it and send me your pictures! Happy Creating!

Quilting Arts TV and Guest Artist Appearance!!!

2011-08-03T21:39:00.000-04:00

I have been really neglectful of my blog lately but I have been so, so ,soooo busy lately. I mentioned on my last posting that I had big news to share but I couldn't quite reveal until I had more details. Well.....I HAVE MORE DETAILS!!!! When I was out dropping off my artwork for my next article coming out in Quilting Arts Magazine this October/November issue, Pokey invited ME to be on Quilting Arts TV!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course I was absolutely out of my mind HAPPY and over-the-top excited!!!!!!

But...I had pulled myself together so that I could finish up the last things I needed to do for my wedding and then the wedding took place (an absolutely perfect day) and I feel like I have been running ever since. Actually, I didn't leave my computer all last weekend working hard on my upcoming Guest Artist appearance on 3 Creative Studios Blog! Mark your calendars for AUGUST 15th!!!! If you haven't visited or experienced the 3 Creative Studios website and blog, you need to check it out!! I will provide the Technique of the Month and a month's worth of postings, videos and projects!!! I hope you join me there!!

Back to Quilting Arts TV! I will be jetting out to Cleveland in early September to film two segments with Pokey and I'm already soooo nervous. This will be huge for me and I still have to pinch myself to make sure it is real!!! I can't help but be amazed at how magical 2011 has been and continues to be for me!

So I have a few photos to share with you off my work table. I'm putting together an adorable project for 3 Creative Studios that will probably be included in the 3rd week. Can't share too much on that but here are a couple of snapshots. You will have to wait until Week 3 over at 3 Creative Studios to see the rest. (I know, I'm teasing again!)

Back to reality!

2011-07-27T19:30:00.000-04:00

I'm back! It feels like forever since I last posted. The downtime was absolutely necessary to recover from the wedding plans and preparations. Maine was so beautiful. Thank goodness it had cooled off on the day of the wedding so that I could put my make-up on, roll hot rollers in my hair, and put on layers of polyester and nylon. Of course, there was no A/C at the reception so I melted anyway.

The day was perfect and the food fantastic and the flowers and the pictures. It was made even more special by Charleen Wiseman conducting the ceremony! Charleen, recovering from numerous surgeries due to cancer, pushed herself to be there for me to conduct my ceremony and it couldn't have meant more to me. Charleen is a quilt artist, I had come to find out, and I felt connected to her in more than one way. We shared the love of Castine as well as fiber art. Visit her blog here !! I am still thinking of how to thank her for her gift to me by being there for us.

Here are a couple of photos to share with you.

Just before I left for Maine, I met with Pokey Bolton and Ellen Seeburger of Quilting Arts Magazine to deliver artwork for my article in the upcoming October/November issue. I can't share all the details yet, but I have been invited by them...........

Oh, what a tease I am! As I know more, I will share :) PROMISE!!!

Studio Sunday and Another Giveaway!

2011-07-17T13:47:00.000-04:00

First things first! Can I just say that publishers and editors of Quilting Arts Magazine have been so completely generous with me this year! It is always a pleasure to work with them as they are such great people! I had one other submission with them that they were considering for publication and, on Friday, I found out that they will be placing it in this coming October/November issue! So, to summarize my 2011 artistic accomplishments, I will have had two articles published (April/May and October/November), two projects included in their special publication, 101 Patchwork Projects, and a project included in the upcoming Quilting Arts Gifts issue this fall as well.

Of course, I have to include my upcoming appearance as Guest Artist on 3 Creative Studios Blog beginning August 15th! I can't help but feel so blessed to have been given the opportunities this year that I have and I need to thank all of my family and my new husband for all of their support and understanding when my artwork took priority over a few family events. Without that understanding and support, I would not be able to spend as much of my weekend time in my studio as I do. Finding time to dedicate to your passion is hard when you work a full-time job because after all of the daily tasks, commuting time, and end-of-day fatigue, the weekends are it. So thank you Jim, Mom, Dad, Sue, Dave, Melanie, Erika, Andy, Sarah, Noelle and Bobby!

There has been a lot of artwork preparation this weekend as well as last minute tasks to complete before my wedding ceremony next Saturday. That probably explains my on-going headache :) That said, I have a ton to catch up on still! I have this lovely little artwork piece that I would love to give away!

So on top of my other GIVEAWAY that I announced in my previous post, leave a comment on this posting if you would like it and I will put all names in a paper bag and pull one out on Monday, July 25th! Thanks for standing by while I get back on track in the studio!

Terri's Twelve by Twelve and a NEW GIVEAWAY!

2011-07-13T20:02:00.000-04:00

I need to share how inspired I am by Terri Stegmiller's use of one of my new Thermofax screens in her current art quilt! CHECK THIS OUT!! It is really great for me to see this because it just counter-inspired me. Does that make sense??? My design inspired Terri, and Terri's design has made me look at the design elements I created in a completely different way!

SO.... HERE IS THE GIVEAWAY!!

I welcome everyone who has purchased one of my Thermofax screens to send me a link or picture of how you have incorporated my design into your own artwork. It could be a completed or partially-completed project. I will post all pictures or links here on my blog and add your name to my drawing for one FREE Thermofax screen of YOUR choice. (You can see them in my ETSY shop.) The deadline for sending me your pics is AUGUST 30TH!! I will select the winner on August 31st.

For now - you've got to visit Terri's Blog!

Studio Sunday

2011-07-10T12:41:00.000-04:00

Well, it sure is good to be back to my regular Studio Sunday post! First, I have exciting news!!! My digital artwork is being displayed on Create Mixed Media as THIS WEEK AS ART as Visualized by ME!!! Check it out, it's a week of hearts and it will be up all week!

Next up? I've been really busy working on videos!! Yes, I said videos!! They will be featured on 3 Creative Studios beginning August 15th, so if you are not a member yet, sign up for their Newsletter and jump on board! You can participate monthly in the Color Palette Challenge and Journal Art Quilt Challenge and more. Don't forget about all their free projects!

Here is a sneak peak of one of my samples..

I've got to jump back in it as I still have plenty to do before August. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!! I'm still as pale as a ghost! I'm going to need a fake tan before the 23rd!!!

Anyone got a time machine???

2011-07-08T19:33:00.000-04:00

Does anyone have 24 hours I can borrow? If I had known in January what I know now (how busy the month of July was going to be for me), I would have run! Well, maybe walked fast in another direction :) It wouldn't be so bad if other people didn't need so much from me right now. You know how that goes, I'm sure. I have tonight and Sunday to complete a full-page of tasks in the studio. I apologize for not posting my usual Studio Sunday last week but this is how it's been going. I promise to get back on track soon!

I'm totally excited about my new Thermofax screens on ETSY! I've had a number of sales already. But, what's even more exiciting is to see Terri Stegmiller using one of my originals in her current Twelve by Twelve group color play challenge! I can't wait to see how it turns out!! Check out her posting HERE!

I am working on my June Color Palette Challenge for 3 Creative Studios. Here is a picture of how far I have gotten. I had been painting some fabric and the colors of this one closely match the palette so I decided to work with it. I screen-printed one of my new designs over the top in the darkest tone. But, I have been looking at it for days and it just won't speak back to me. I'm waiting for that little light bulb to go off over my head. Of course, I have been know to start over completely.

Check back later for my Studio Sunday post! Have a great weekend!

ETSY Shop is Up and Running!!!!!

2011-07-02T19:41:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally did it! I have loaded up a huge selection of Thermofax Screens for sale as well as some of my original art work from my Scrap Wisdom Collage article in Quilting Arts Magazine's October/November 2008 Issue. These journal art quilts mean a lot to me because they were the result of my first ever article created from the creative energy and artistic high that I was on after returning from ArtFest in 2008. But, it's time to let them go and make more room for new artwork.

[What I would give to go back to ArtFest again!! If you can only go once, GO!!! There is nothing on this earth like it! Thank you Teesha Moore!!!]

Check out the Thermofax screens if you get a chance! I've been having a lot of fun working with these and you can be sure I will share more on that later!

I'm working hard this long weekend in my studio and I hope everyone is having a wonderful 4th of July weekend with sun and cookouts and swimming. Here is a shot of one of my mini quilts in process!

Studio Sunday

2011-06-26T09:03:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are at Sunday and it's going to be a busy one! I'm working on my series of mini art quilts adding embellishments to the surface and finishing off the edges. My plan is to incorporate all of these into a sizeable hand-made fiber art book. (yes...lots of expectations on this project) Here are a few shots of unfinished pieces.

The images originate from photos, drawings and painted elements. Then they all come together in Photoshop Elements 7 for loads of play! The first piece includes a photo I took of my shadow on a beach. I call this one Introspect. The next two were designs that I worked on simultaneously so they share all the same colors. You can see I used my doodled squares in both as background elements. I just love the doodled squares because it is so versatile!! I hope you enjoy the peek!!!

Hard at work

2011-06-25T11:55:00.000-04:00

It feels good to be back in the studio with a full day ahead of me. I've been playing since 8:00 a.m. and have already done a little fabric painting, and a bunch of hand stitching. While I was working away, I was watching two new Quilting Arts DVDs, DIY Surface Design with Leslie Tucker Jenison and Mixed-Media Collage: Working in Layers with Jenn Mason. Both of these DVDs are fantastic but Jenn's layering with monoprints and collage was my favorite!!! I highly recommend this one! Go to the Quilting Arts site to purchase.

Well, my mini quilt hs been coming along. I added French knots and random stitching in black embroidery floss and then ripped strips of a painted fabric and attached it to the edges using a running stitch and green embroidery floss. I like the texture and the raw edges!

This will be one of 10+ that I will be adding to a handmade book. I'm not sure how much of the book structure will be fabric or paper at this point but as I go along, I'm sure the finished pieces will tell me what to do. I will continue working away here diligently and will catch up tomorrow!

Back to the Studio

2011-06-20T22:55:00.001-04:00

Well, it feels good to be back home after my 10+ hour roadtrip this weekend. I'm happy to say that I acomplished everything that I needed to up in Maine, that is after I replaced the battery in my car!!!! Saturday morning, I got up early as usual and all I wanted was a nice big cup of coffee. My intent was to jump in the car and drive down the road quick to pick up coffee and a bagel. Imagine my surprise when my car was dead! Thank goodness for AAA and Mark's Garage in Stockton Springs. If you ever have car trouble in the Belfast, Searsport, Bucksport or Castine areas of Maine, call Mark!!! Mark's Garage, 578 US Route 1, Stockton Springs, ME 04981, Phone: (207) 567-3964. He makes great coffee too!

I was in flower heaven this weekend because the lupine and so many other flowering plants were in bloom! Here are a number of my favorites. It's so amazing how when you look at a flower up close, just how much detail and texture are revealed. I can't help but look at flowers up close. Enjoy!

Maine in my blood

2011-06-17T16:48:00.000-04:00

Well, I didn't do so well posting additional pictures of my 10 mini quilts that I have been working on. That would be because I haven't had any more time to work on them yet. I thought instead I would share with you my thoughts on Maine, specifically Castine, Maine. I am spriritually connected to this place where my family owned property along with a whole bunch of cousins, and great aunts and uncles. This is where I am going this weekend, to finalize all of the details for my upcoming wedding ceremony in July. I can't wait!!!

I had made a wall hanging from photos of this special place of mine that I am sharing below. Scroll further down and you will read my personal expressions about Where Angels Gather. Enjoy and see you next week!

Where Angels Gather

by Margaret Applin 8/2/2010

There is a place where angels gather to play amongst the tides

Where wild fields of lupine join the endless bright blue sky

Where seagulls flock and herons talk upon the water high

The seaweed breaks still waters as the tide begins to rise

In morning you can hear angels dance along the foggy shores

The ducks will wake and seagulls take to skies where they can soar

Angels leave their footprints in dampened grass as they walk by

Then fade into the morning sun on summer breezes high

There’s a place in my heart where angels gather where hearts no longer run

Where people tied by common threads and blood no longer come

Now nothing’s left but doors on hinge through which they entered here

But the angels stay to watch and pray for those souls to gather near

I wonder if the angels know to watch for me someday

When I can join them on the shores where forever I will stay

To greet the morning sun, hide behind fields of wildflowers

To dance forever amongst the tides on shores that we called ours

From the time I was born until the time I was old enough to work, my summers were spent on the shores of the Penobscot River in mid-coast Maine. As soon as school was out, Dad would pile us in the car and make the long road trip to drop us off until Labor Day weekend when he would come back to pick us up and spend some of his vacation time. My grandmother and her two sisters had summer homes on the same beach where all of their children and their families would come to visit. At times, there would be as many as 35 cousins and second cousins from Tennessee, Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut who all gathered here to celebrate family and summer.

Big bonfires on the beach where we roasted marshmallows, cookouts with fresh lobster and crab, Fourth-of-July parades and festivities, ice cream at The Breeze on the dock in Castine and so many more activities and fun times are forever imbedded in my memories. When I was old enough to skip afternoon naps, I would head down to the beach where I would bask in my alone time. I remember making up songs, writing poetry, and dreaming about what I wanted my life to be like when I grew up. Because of all of those summers I spent on that beach, gathering shells, lifting seaweed to capture small crabs, and climbing on big rocks as the tide came in, I have a connection with this place like none other in my life. This is the most peaceful place I have ever been and will ever be in my life.

As life progressed, part-time jobs and summer fun with friends replaced the summers previously spent in Maine. Families split up and cousins graduated school and started families of their own. We no longer joined each other in that beautiful familiar place to continue making memories and building new experiences there. When I look back now, I see how our priorities changed and the pace of life grew faster and faster until years later when we were looking back at what, in hindsight, we would give back in order to have spent more time there. For some of us, a dull ache existed; a longing for one day, one week, something that would bring us back there to recapture those memories and perhaps make some new ones, but we never were back there together. We talked a little about it, but didn’t end up making any real decisions and life moved on.

Life had gone beyond what we had there. Time passed, family members passed away and a couple of celebrations brought us together on the same shore but only for brief periods of time. The properties were sold and new faces, new families existed where we used to be. They would walk the floors we walked, play in the yard where we played, and sleep in the rooms we used to sleep in. All of a sudden, it seemed, it was someone else’s story.

I’ve been back now, going on four summers, walking the beach here, singing to myself and feeling so at peace with life. I can sit for hours on the beach looking back at the red camp, and the other houses still there, smiling to myself, and lost in endless moments of years past. My spirituality is here on this beach. It’s all around me in the lupine fields, driftwood washed up on the shore, patches of muscle and clam shells, the sound of the waves gently soothing the rocks and sand as the tide creeps forward. I like to believe that my grandparents, and those family members who have passed, still exist here. They gather here waiting for us to return, someday, to continue what they started.

My quilted wall hanging is a visual expression of what I see inside my heart. The background fabric and that of the sand piper birds was painted using Adirondack Color Washes. I transferred the images to fabric, stenciled and screen printed the background cloth around the pictures, and added details using both hand and free-motion machine stitch. I used an authentic piece of driftwood from the beach in Castine to hang the quilted piece from which felt appropriate. The sand pipers are stitched and mounted to another piece of driftwood from the same beach to complete the scene and the memories.

Mini Quilts

2011-06-14T21:13:00.000-04:00

Well, it took me a while but here is the sneak peek I promised yesterday. I'm working on a series of 8 x 8 mini quilts that I'm going to make into a book. This pic is one using a digital background I created in PE printed to fabric along with some free-motion stitching. The appliqued pieces are from my Big Stash Bag of Little Pieces or "BSBLP". (Figured I might as well give the bag a name since it is taking up so much of my studio floorspace.) LOL Yes, I know, I've probably spent a little too much time in the studio lately :)))

Back to the artwork. It needs more, as do the other 10 mini quilts I'm working on at the same time. I'll reveal a little more every day. This project started by submitting my "This Week as Art" images for the Create Mixed Media site. I was invited to participate the weekly posting for the week of July 10th - 16th so be sure to check out my heart-themed digital images. Those designs led me to expand on my digital graffiti images on fabric, of course, to create into a fiber art book. I can't promise miracles but I'm hoping it eventually looks very COOL!

One of my goals this summer is to come up with a couple of really different projects. Not your usual projects. (Fiber art books are not one of them.) I've got to do a little experimenting but have good plans in mind. I'll provide more later. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to my Maine trip this weekend to meet with my florist, officiant, photographer, restaurant owner and possibly a hairdresser to prepare for my beach-side wedding ceremony and reception in July. It's a lot to balance right now, but I am a multi-tasker!! I'll post more this week. Enjoy!

Studio Sunday

2011-06-12T22:34:00.001-04:00

Wow! 10:30 pm here in the northeast and the time I have been the most productive this entire weekend is about now. I had a few things that needed to get done this weekend and it took me away from the studio more than once. Next weekend, I'm off to Maine to finalize all of my wedding details. Hard to believe it its only a month away. It will be wonderful to be back in my favorite place, though. My Bloggie will be coming with me as I try to capture video footage of camp and the things that have drawn me to this place since I was a child.

I will try to give a sneak peak tomorrow of a few of the things I'm working on here. Too late tonight as Monday awaits :) Here is a beautiful floral shot for yours and my enjoyment. I love taking pictures of flox up close!!

The Amazing Jacky Cardy

2011-06-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

Well, as I peruse some of my favorite blogs soaking up inspiration to get my fire started for tomorrow morning in the studio, I have to share with you just how much Jacky Cardy inspires me!!! She has an amazing talent combining hand-felted, hand-dyed pieces with hand-dyed velvets and stitch. The colors and textures move me so much I could just look at all of her work for hours. If you haven't seen Jacky's work before, please jump over to her blog, Dog Daisy Chains, and feast your eyes on the beauty she creates! Here is her latest post.

http://dogdaisychains.blogspot.com/2011/06/two-by-two.html

It's Friday night here in Massachusetts and I can't wait for time in the studio tomorrow. I'm writing down some ideas that I want to focus on so I don't overwhelm myself and panic wasting precious time. There it is, the pressure! I'm already laying it on! Focus, focus, focus............

Perspectives

2011-06-08T22:51:00.001-04:00

My husband bought me the most adorable little flowers yesterday and guess what I did right away??? Take pictures, of course, from every angle I could! Looking at the photos tonight, I think of how amazing this little plant is. From the three perspectives I've provided here, you would almost think they were three entirely different plants.

I love the underneath perspective because the stems are more visible and they create a sense of strength and growth and reaching high like it is in motion.

Looking at the second perspective, they almost look like little tulips. For some reason I keep thinking pumpkins, maybe because they look like those little pumpkin candy corns that you see around Halloween.

Then looking at this wonderful third view, I seen an entirely different flower, different petal shapes that become visible as the flower presses wide open in full glory. This little flower plant fascinates me and I'm not getting tired of looking at all the perspectives.

Studio Sunday

2011-06-05T08:19:00.000-04:00

Here we are at Sunday once again. With the limited time this weekend that I have had to devote to my creativity I haven't created much to show. I spent a little time scanning some new images for brushes in PE that I can use in some new layouts so it will be fun to try those. I used a withering tulip in this layout below. I am definitely not a "red" person but I've used it in this layout because I was feeling a little disappointed in myself (for various reasons) and frustrated with my inability to capture the attention of a few publications I have been trying to submit artwork to. The red and black just felt like an emotional release - and it felt good. The text is unreadable and looks more like texture - but it was necessary to put out there in front of me. This is what people mean when they say art is very theraputic.

The good news is that I was able to get my video equipment working (delayed due to user error) and I will be practicing with some videos to share here in the coming months. And very soon, I will be adding thermofax screens for sale.

Stay tuned as I will be the monthly featured Guest Artist beginning August 15th over at the 3 Creative Studios blog! I can't wait and will be working hard at preparing for it.

Productivity and Satisfaction

2011-05-30T22:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I have to say, the weekend went pretty well! I started to lose creative energy this morning, after waking at 5:00 a.m. because I had too much on my mind. But I got up, made the coffee and took care of some essential, but non-creative, tasks that had been piling up on my desk. Here it is 10:00 p.m. almost and I can truly say that I feel good about the time I had and how I used it. It seems by the time Friday rolls around, I'm reving up my creative juices ready to jump in with both feet on Saturday and Sunday. I don't get a lot done during the week unless I have some super fantastic idea that is pushing me on. I find that it is important for me to feel fulfilled and satisfied with what I have produced over the weekend and feel that I have utilized my hours in the studio effectively or I won't be happy come Monday. Sometimes I expect too much from myself within that timeframe, but I also work better under pressure.

That said, I wrapped up this weekend in the studio by finishing my 3 Creative Studios - May Color Palette Challenge piece. The colors were rich purples and oranges like a sunset and I really enjoyed working with these colors once I got into the flow. I turned this piece into a composition book cover and intend on using it! Here are the finished pictures:

I found a piece of painted Steam-a-Seam that I fused and then hand stitched over in a random pattern. The cone flowers are from actual photos I took transferred to fabric through free-motion embroidery. I've got many more where those came from!

The one thing that I didn't get to do was create a video with my Sony Bloggie. I really wanted to experiment with making videos to post to my blog, but for some reason the computer was not cooperating with the Bloggie and the software that I need to install isn't showing up. Hmmmmm, I'll have to put my technical hat on this week and figure that one out.

One more item before I head off into dreamland. I was reading through Quilting Arts In Stitches Vol. 2 yesterday and decided to visit Jackie Cardy's blog (Dog-Daisy Chains) to check out more of her embroidered cuffs. Well.......I HIGHLY recommend taking at least an HOUR to go through her flicker photos of her work! I love her design elements and the colors she uses! There is a lot of embroidery, a lot of felting, and a ton of inspiration!!! Seriously, if you have a few minutes, you should check it out here!

Studio Sunday

2011-05-29T12:46:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Memorial Day Weekend! It is finally warm here in the northeast. I think in the sun yesterday it was about 90 F. The pool is now open at my apartment complex and my deck overlooks it. I left my iPod at work so I am without music in the studio this weekend but the birds are providing lots of their own music. My favorite time to listen is at dusk when the sun is setting.

Today, I have been busy working on my May 3 Creative Studios Color Palette Challenge. The colors for May are oranges and purples from beautiful summer sunsets. I've got many pictures of those from Maine for sure! I've decided to make a composition book cover with this artwork. I want to do a little beading but may have to go in search of more beads. Here is where I am so far:

I plan on doing a little more fabric painting later on since I have a nice new piece of cotton all primed and ready to go. Green is calling to me today so I may start there. We will see. Check back later for more :))))

I'm getting really excited about my upcoming Guest Artist spot on the 3 Creative Studios in August/September. It will take a lot of preparation but I am totally up for it! I'm gathering my thoughts and developing projects for the month!!!!!

Take a few moments this weekend to remember family and friends who have passed and all the soldiers who have died fighting for our freedom in America. I am thankful every day for having been born in the USA! I am also VERY thankful for the extra time in the studio this weekend!

Check out my new bag!!!!

2011-05-28T10:21:00.002-04:00

So I am off to a very productive long weekend in the studio! Yesterday, I started painting some tightly-woven cotton fabric that turned into this adorable new bucket-type shoulder bag. I've been wanting a new bag and I will tote this one everywhere! My inspiration for this bag comes from the fabulous fabrics that Alisa Burke paints and draws on as well as the adorable bag that Tonia Davenport made and posted on CreateMixedMedia.com. Take a look through my creative process. The thermofax screens are new ones that I made a few weeks ago. I'm really loving my doodled squares and will be selling this one off my blog in the very near future so stay tuned!!! Here is the finished bag - yummy!!

I started this project with a piece of cotton fabric approximately 40" x 17". I laid one coat of Gesso over the entire piece of fabric using a credit card to spread the paint evenly. Then I let it completely dry. From there, I went over the entire piece using basic craft acrylic paint adding areas of blue, green, yellow, and orange that I spread around using a sponge brush with water so the paint would move around and blend gently. After that layer dryed, I went back over the entire piece with the same craft paints in areas, spreading the paint around with my fingers and adding a lot of white heavy body acrylic paint to finger blend with the colors. The two layers were necessary to cover the gesso background and enhance the blending of the paint for a softer look. In some areas, I made texture marks with the edge of the credit card.

After that second layer dryed, I went in with my doodled squares thermofax screen and printed sections randomly across the fabric using white acrylic paint. Again, I waited until this layer dried before the next steps.

Next, using thermofax screens of some of my doodled flowers, I printed a variety randomly across the fabric in hot pink acrylic paint and let that layer dry.

After all layers were dry, I used a black Sharpie marker to outline and add detail to the doodled flower prints to help define them from the background.

The construction of the bag was done freely without any pattern. I simply decided how deep I wanted the bag (12") and how wide I wanted the box bottom (4"). I simply folded the fabric until I had approximately 15" for the front and back connected by the fold at the bottom and cut off any remaining fabric to use for the straps.

For the lining, I cut a piece of coordinating fabric the same size.

Next, I stitched the side seams then pinched each of the bottom corners and stitched a perpendicular line across the corners where the measurement was 4" wide. Reinforce this stitching line by sewing it a few times. I repeated this step with the lining fabric.

For the straps, I made sure that I ended up with at least 26" each. Using four 1 1/2" rings, I created a small strip to connect the ring to the bag that would be stitched into the top stitching between the lining and the bag. I used a coordinating hot pink fabric that matched the doodled flowers and fused strips of the painted fabric to it then stitched through the entire strap. Then I stitched the straps through the rings a few times to reinforce them.

I will be working on lots of good stuff this weekend so check back later!

DJ is back from Italy!

2011-05-24T21:12:00.000-04:00

http://djpettitt.typepad.com/djpettitt/2011/05/home-from-italy-workshop-and-adventures.html

One of my favorite and most inspiring artists is DJ Pettitt. Stay tuned to her blog for more pictures of her workshops from Italy and her amazing photos of the country! I can't wait to see the students' work!!!

Studio Sunday....torn

2011-05-22T10:52:00.000-04:00

Studio Sunday, I wait all week for this! Sometimes the pressure I put on myself to maximize my weekend time renders me frozen. So I find myself torn today; torn as to where I should create. Because the elements I use for most of my artwork are generated on paper and digitally to use on fabric, I find myself drawn back to paper and paint. This is where I will be spending most of my time today. However, I won't be surprised if near the end of my day I find myself driven to create further. As my fingers get busy, sometimes my brain will be moving faster and the ideas will start to flow. I've definitely got project ideas that I really want to dive into but I need a little more stimulation; a little more inspiration to get going.

I'm starting with backgrounds and last night I made a few. The key word here is "white". I need more white! Why, you say? Because it works really well digitally when creating layers and I am continually trying to soften my look. Color really energizes me but I need to find a balance in its use in my artwork. Same with collage; I need to balance my digital collage with creating more collage elements into my experiments on paper and then fabric. Here are a couple of fresh and soothing backgrounds I'm working on. Still a lot more development to go.

Enjoy your Sunday and I may post again later with some great stuff!

How Adorable is This????

2011-05-18T21:39:00.001-04:00

http://www.createmixedmedia.com/uncategorized/sewing-from-a-pattern-if-i-can-do-it-you-can-too

Check out this post on the Create Mixed Media site by Tonia Davenport! This bag that she made using one of Heather Bailey's patterns is simply awesome!! I just want to eat up this little bag in the fabric that Tonia used. Great surface design there!

You have to check out Heather's shop site as well. Total eye candy!!!

http://www.heatherbaileystore.com/default.asp

Studio Sunday and the Free Giveaway Winner Is......

2011-05-15T09:29:00.000-04:00

Yeah! Today I am announcing the winner of my very first giveaway!!! I want to thank those who posted for their interest and comments; all 4 of you! LOL I hope the winner will enjoy the mini art quilt they have won. This little piece makes me smile every time I look at it! So this is how I picked the winner....

First, I wrote each person's name on a piece of paper and folded them up.

Then I put them in a plastic baggie and shook them up really good! My husband, Jim, was the designated "picker" and he reached in and grabbed a name out!

and the winner is.........

Congraulations Silke!!!!

Send me an e-mail with your mailing address and I will send along this happy piece for your collection!

I'm super excited for the new 3 Creative Studios Color Palette Challenge for May! SUMMER SUNSET is the new challenge with wonderful warm hues of orange and purples! I can't wait to dive into this one!

In the studio today, I am working hard to finish my project for inclusion in this year's Quilting Arts Gifts Magazine! I'm really happy with how it is coming out! On another note, new ideas are constantly popping into my head, I made a trip to the local copy center to enlarge a few drawings up to 350%!!! Can you imagine?? I would love to have one of those scanners and printers available to me all the time, expecially with a large roll of fabric to print on!! Anyway, I'm working on some larger format projects and I think you will love them!! I'll keep you updated!

No sunshine here today but I'm in my brightly lit studio with tons of fresh colors all around. I took some great flower photos of flox and violets yesterday and this one is up on my computer destop. Yummy!

A Little Mid Week Pick-Me-Up

2011-05-11T21:35:00.000-04:00

Here is a spring update from New England - it has been damp and dreary here and we all need a little (or a lot) of sunshine! Here is a little sunshine from me - if you haven't figured it out yet, I LOVE flowers!!! And I really love them up close!! So to brighten my day, I went through some recent photos I've taken and decided to pick a few to share with you!

This first one (not flowers) but VERY FUNNY!!!! I can't help but laugh hysterically when I look at this picture of my sister's chickens! She says they are just like dogs; want to be held and patted. I wonder what was going through their little chicken brains when I took this one??? I think the girls were actually posing!

Anyway (LOL) back to the flowers! Here is a shot from the tulips that I bought a week or so ago. I love the way you can see the thin orange edge of the petals. Well, I can when I have it up on the big screen. You know these babies feel like velvet and that shade of yellow is so soft and like a perfect glass of lemonade.

I am always fascinated by the variety of colors that flowers grow in. This is one of the reasons I love nature so much is because of the colors! Color first, shapes second.

Texture! Lots of texture! I could sit and stare at this shot of crocus close up for an hour just to study all the tiny fine purple lines against the white of the petals. Yes, I heart this one!

I will be revisting plenty of my flower photos and will be sharing them throughout my blogging. I hope I spread a little sunshine your way!

Studio Sunday

2011-05-08T11:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!! I've been working hard in my studio this week and I am super excited to say that I have been invited to include artwork in the upcoming issue of Quilting Arts Gifts that will come out later this year! So, of course, I am really inspired to create lots of new things!! I need to focus on format as I have not been designing from a "form follows function" direction lately. It's been more of an outpouring of imagery that I'm impatient to get to fabric and play with. I will be creating interesting ways to use my artwork from a practical perspective. I think it is time to put some of my finshed pieces up for sale! My Shop might be set up sooner than I expected!

I spent some time yesterday making some YUMMY fabrics using the Adirondack Color Washes. All the pieces were hung in the sunshine on my deck yesterday which must have created quite a stir in the community for those trying to figure out why I had a rainbow selection of fabrics blowing around in the breeze. I do admit, I lost a piece of newspaper off the deck and I didn't go chase it. bad girl :( Ooops, you are getting a sneak peak at a piece that I screen printed with one of my new thermofax screens. That one is my "doodled squares" screen. It's fun to use because you can creatively incorporate hand and machine stitching directly on this design. You will be seeing more of that soon!

I can't wait for the new Color Palette Challenge coming up May 15th! My ideas are already brewing!! If you haven't yet, go to this post and add your comment for my free giveaway for the adorable 8" x 10" mini art quilt!

Final 3CS April Color Palette Challenge Art Quilt

2011-05-01T16:05:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is! The final, all stitched up with free-motion embroidery, hand embroidery and a little beading! From DIGITAL to FABRIC. Make sure you leave a comment on the previous post for the FREE GIVEAWAY!

Lots of texture here!!

3CS April Color Palette Challenge and GIVEAWAY!

2011-05-01T11:53:00.000-04:00

Finally - time in the studio. I had hoped for more this weekend, but that's the way things go. I'm taking another shot at a design for the color palette challenge that I am going to add a lot of stitching to. I can see hand embroidery and free-motion on this one and maybe beaded areas as well.

ALSO, can I tell you how much I love this little 8 x 10journal quilt in these bright, cheery colors I made using some of the same images and a thermofax screen print of the flower names. Little beads and French knots adorn this cute piece! And guess what?!!?? I am going to GIVE IT AWAY!!! On Sunday, May 15th, I will choose a random number based on all the comments left on this post! Leave a comment and on May 15th, I will post the name of the winner. Be sure to leave me your blog or email so I can get in touch with you! So get to posting!!!

I made a bunch of new thermofax screens yesterday and I can't wait to play with those. The images from both of these designs are included. The thing I love most about this design is that the images are all from DOODLES!!!

They just make me smile.

New Graffiti Page

2011-04-28T22:05:00.000-04:00

I am having so much fun with my new designs for my digital fiber art! There will be lots more this weekend so stay tuned!

Studio Sunday

2011-04-24T16:29:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter! I have no sense of time today as I have been shut tight in my studio since Friday night. I knew I would have a lot of time to create this weekend so on the way home from work Friday, I stocked up on supplies so there would be no reason to have to go out. I also picked up my favorite Stouffer's dinners to pop in the microwave so I wouldn't have to make any effort to eat. That's how it goes when I've got huge blocks of uninterrupted time. I don't think to eat until my stomach is growling violently. After coffee and cereal first thing in the morning, I won't stop to breath as I'm feeding off of my creative energy.

I'm excited about a new body of work that has come out of this weekend, but I can only show you a peek though :( This is coming off the heels of my digital monoprints that I had been working on last weekend. (They have already been submitted with a brand new article so I will have to wait to show you those images. Here is a tiny sample of this weekend's creativity. Hope you like :))

I had a lot of fun designing my kind of graffiti art! So you can imagine that there are bold colors, abstract images and a lot of BLACK! The images are fantastic, but the biggest challenge I had was deciding how to treat these images on fabric. My rip-n-pik became my right hand. I transferred the images to fabric and then I started to have problems. The images don't really belong on an art quilt, and the supplies I have to use aren't large enough for me to do exactly what I want with them, but I made it work (after the third time of ripping stitches out of all four pieces). UGHHHH! Moving along nicely now, though. :)))

The temperature is nice and warm here today, but I can't open my studio windows because I can't spend what's left of my studio time dusting the darn blinds! I can still hear the birds and I did step out on the deck for a few sunny minutes to take advantage before the rain returns tonight. Now back to the studio!!!

Chaos and Calm - Over the Edge Painting Techniques

2011-04-23T08:25:00.000-04:00

I just joined one of Julie Prichard's and Chris Cozen's on-line workshops found here. I went through all the lessons last night for an overview and have started working at them. Chris and Julie are fantastic at presenting their lessons and I am very excited to follow-up with more of their workshops!

Made this last night as a start using the masking tape technique. My stumbling blocks were not so successful but I'm going to plug away at it. Half my battle here is that I am working with ony a few good Golden Fluid Acrylics and the rest are cheap craft paints which definitely do NOT live up to the level of pigmentation in the Golden paints. I will really need to invest in more Golden colors to go through these lessons. For now, here is my first... still in development.

Tulips Bloomin

2011-04-20T21:36:00.000-04:00

We need a little more sunshine here in New England. I picked up two bunches of tulips that were on sale at the grocery store the other day and today they are opening. I am hypnotized by their simple beauty. The temperatures are still too cool for spring but hopefully we will warm up very soon!

Free Workshops for Life!

2011-04-17T11:34:00.001-04:00

I'm so excited!!! I just visited Julie Prichard's blog and along with Chris Cozen, they are giving away Free Workshops for Life! Check out the video for more information!! Their workshops look amazing and I have had my eye on one inparticular that I plan on signing up for! Check out the workshops here!

Free Workshops for Life!

Studio Sunday

2011-04-17T10:21:00.000-04:00

My creative juices are flowing this morning! I'm working on my April Color Palette Challenge. The image I thought I would use got nixed right away and I moved on to something else - isn't that the way??!! I've tried to capture just about every color within the challenge selection which might not have been the best idea, but there is a whole month of challenge time left to experiment with a more limited palette.

For today, this is what I've done. There is a whole lot of fusion going on in my studio today. Making my own doodles to use in digital collage, digital collage printed to fabric to work on by hand, a little painting for some cool new backgrounds for my images. Can you say OVERWHELMED??? I hope that doesn't freeze up my creative energy today, but I will simplify my tasks so I can get something done! I may check back later on with my status so stay close!