Changing my mind lol

They do say its a woman's prerogative to change her mind, and as you know I do that quite a lot lol 

So now im amping this blog back up again and deleting the other new one as I wasn't really happy with it.   I know I should go over to wordpress I have so much trouble logging in its  very frustrating so I've decided to get this old one back up and running for now.  sorry to keep chopping and changing but I like to stay with the familiar lol 

So this will have another and final name change and my other new one will be deleted,   I wont be changing again after this is back up and running, so no more running a muck from me  haha 

Thanks everyone for your patients and i'll be uploading pics of my mosaic adventures shortly

Happy Days !!!!!!

Closing this Blog

Unfortunately i'll be closing this blog shortly,  we've had a bad year health wise, my Hubby was diagnosed with a lung disease early in the year but  i'm happy to say he's doing really well now, I on the other hand kind of fell in a heap, crashed and burned big time. Im finally coming out of it and realised that what I was always searching for was a different kind of art form that felt and fibre related.  Thankyou so much Ruth , Ann and Zed for all your patient and understanding, I wont go into to much more here as I've sent you all a letter xoxo

So now I've gone back to an old Love,  and that's mosaics,  in my dark times my very close friend suggested we play around a bit, and as I hadn't done any of this for about 10 years I thought id give it a go mainly to make my friend happy lol .  Sure enough I felt the passion kicking back in and I now realise that this is what im meant to be doing

Thankyou so much to my followers on here, I really appreciate you all and please feel free to join me on my new blog lol   I'll re-follow you all over there,  i'll be here at   http://karensmosaicing.blogspot.com.au/  if you'd like to see what I've been doing and keep in touch. 

 

I'll leave you a pic of one of my latest and I really hope to see you at my new blog

                                                  She's all glass with beading on her eyes and lips and I love her xoxo

 

Thanks so much and see you soon xoxoxoxo

3rd Quarter challenge in the Studio

Ive just put the 3rd quarter challenge up over at the studio site

http://feltingandfiberstudio.com/

 

but a run down of it is a mixed media piece and I've kicked it off with my latest project which is on canvas and includes, felt, wire, fabric, silk,  paints, paverpol, gesso and modelling paste.  Im really happy with the way it turned out, If you'd like to be involved in our challenges then please feel free to come along and join in by clicking the above link.

 

Hope to see you there and have fun with whatever it is that your creating :)

Ann's nuno challenge

Ive been a bit lax in this blog lately,  sick hubby but he's chugging along ok for now :)

Ive just made something for Ann's challenge over on the studio site, in the nick of time to as it ends in a couple of days

http://feltingandfiberstudio.com/

every quarter we take it in turns to put up a challenge, mostly felting and fibre related and they are a lot of fun, if anyone would like to join in then just follow the link above, we also discuss lots of info on our forum so please feel free to check us out there to
http://feltandfiberstudio.proboards.com/


So anyway I got my nuno piece done, not very good and i'll have to practise more but it was fun , this is the material I started with, (unknown) and a bugger to work with lol 

 

I really wanted to try some trilobal nylon but that was not to be !!!  after about an hour of rubbing and rolling it didn't take much at all, so I had to give up on that and move on

 

I just used some blue merino and it worked much better, I know the colors not crash hot but I still have lots packed away in boxes and this blue was the handiest,  it did turn out nice and soft and quite strong to

 

as I said I need a lot more practise to get this right but I will be trying again

 

Hope your all enjoying whatever it is that your creating xoxoxo

 

Paverpol Week :)

Paverpollies

I really  felt like playing with paverpol this week so I created another paverpolly lol

Although this time I decided to see how one of them went making it strictly with wood glue and not paverpol,  It basically worked the same although it was better not to water the wood glue down by very much at all,  I think its as strong as paverpol and way less expensive but I will still use the paverpol anyway, I just wanted to see if the wood glue would be as good and I am happy with it.

 

So this is the girl I made,  also made her book out of left over silk paper and her bag from card stock that I covered in black gesso then my shiva sticks,  I was thinking she needed something else so decided to make her an umbrella, since she sitting reading, supposedly outside lol

 

I haven’t decided if I should paint the umbrella yet or what color if I did.  Its just made from wire and material dipped in the wood glue and left to dry

 

I thought id show you my paverpolly shelf to,

 

My favourite is still the green girl which was the very first one I made.

I enjoyed this making this new one and in the mood for another, so happy days everyone and I hope your enjoying whatever it is your creating xo

 

 

 

 

Please Help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah what a day lol  and pleeeease if any of you lovely mixed media artist's could find it in your heart to help i would be eternally grateful xoxo 

Ive been working on this canvas all day today and i think i've ruined it
heres the story lol

I found the picture of this lady and i really liked her face, i CANNOT draw so i thought i would try to do a mixed media canvas with her as the focal point
Wellllllllllll
I wish i had have taken more step by step photo's but ive been totally engrossed and then stressed and then calm and then stressed again, lol
This is the background i started with, using acrylic paints in Burnt Umber, Orange Yellow, Yellow Ochre and Titanium White,  i used a credit card to apply the paint and after playing around with it for a while i was quite liking it, i've never used the card before and i did enjoy that.

 

 

So anyway then i went all day with playing around and ended up with this, but before this,  i cut her face out , without her headdress, as i just liked her face, then i layed some netting over it and dry brushed her hair on through the netting, i was still liking it at that stage lol  Then i started added words and writing and thats when it went haywire, so i ripped them all off and started again,  also as i was already making some silk paper i thought for texture i would add that at the bottom while it was still wet and play around a bit, I got stressed again i almost painted right over her face but thought better of it so scrapped some of it off, i kinda like whats there now bit but i really dont know what to do with the rest,  not sure i like the silk paper on there and i'm basically stuck,  up on the right hand side it looks like some sort of lizard or worm ready to strike lol and yet its only paper !!  

should i just forget about this and start a whole new one or does anyone think this is salvageable ????

 

Its night time here and i'm not good with night pics sorry

 

So i sat it on my knee to try to take the gleam out

I was really going for texture mainly and i'm dissapointed that i think i might have to toss it. Being a learner in mixed media is quite frustrating as everything i try to learn is on-line due to , work, family,location.   I would really appreciate any help i can get and if i do have to let it go then i'll miss her face lol

 

  

 

My First Little Tag

This is my first little tag , not really sure what there used for but i think there pretty cool anyway . I started with some thick card and covered in gesso, different papers, paints, bits and bobs and mechanicals , more gesso and then shiva sticks in copper and gold over the whole thing. I used a sari silk ribbon for the tie. Im pretty happy with the way it turned out and really enjoyed making it. 

 

Off to make some more :)  Happy Days xo

Charlie Girl

Hi Everyone,  I've just finished a new mixed media piece and its with a pic of my Very Gorgeous Granddaughter Charlie,

I started out with a board and added tissue paper, paints, modelling pasted, gesso, more paints, lots of flowers and bits and pieces, jigsaw bits, coins,, buttons, netting, foam letters ect,   i'm still working with what I have lol 
I was going for the kind of vintage look and not sure I got there but Im really happy with the way she turned out. My daughter in-law loves it and its now hanging in Charlies room, after lots of kisses from the little girl herself who just loves  seeing her picture anywhere lol  

 

Happy Days !!!!!!!!!! 

Finished Gift for Bonny

And i'm loving it !!! 
 this is the first one of these I've attempted and I do love it,  I used lots of bits and bobs of what I had, found, scrounged and I even made the paper flower,  I wanted a couple little flourishes so cut them from card, ( cant you tell) lol  and i'm still waiting for the postman with my orders !!   

So this is a gift for our friends daughter who is turning 21 this weekend and I know she loves handmade anything so I wanted to really give this a go.  I cut up the invitation which is a picture of her when she was about 8 , she is such a gorgeous girl and I really wanted to make her something with meaning that she could keep.   I've had so much fun in making this although I did get a bit scared to actually start glueing things down, then thought, oh just get on with it  and see how it turns out, so I did and cant wait to get into the next one !!!

What to do ! What to do !!

 

Some more mixed media journals and now i'm not really sure where i'm going with these so no more for a while, they need something else and i'm not sure what, the background doesnt help either lol

 

 

 

 

So now i decided that i really wanted to make a piece for our friends daughter who is turning 21, i started out with some crinkled up tissue paper , netting from a garlic bag, modelling paste,  im only working with what i have lol , acrylic paints and i cut her picture from the invitation , i'm just playing with placement.

 

I didnt have many flowers so i cut a couple from card stock, but there way to thick.,  nothing is held down as yet and i keep moving things around,  i'll play with some more paper flower making today and see if i can make nicer ones , its all looking a bit to green right now but i will add color,  i've ordered some very cool stuff from ebay and just waiting for them, hurry up mr postman lol 

 

In the meantime i started another one of my gorgeous little granddaughter Charlie, using basically the same things,  that postman really better get a move on lol 

 

 

 

Any help from you wonderful artists out there would be very much appreciated as i think i get a little scared to just get stuck in and go for it lol 

 

 

 

Finish Dream Time Journal !

Well i finally got to finish off my friend Mary's Dream Journal and i've passed it on to her, she loves it so just thought i'd show you. Its made using a large blank paged journal, foil, foam, sand paper,a key, beads, a bit of cellophane, paint, bitumen and spirits. I love it when its all covered in the bitumen and then once dry you take it back with the spirits to reveal whats underneath but also creating a cool  aged effect. the foil crinkles nicely but i was really surprised that the cellophane really really really crinkles. 

 

To show you what i mean, this is one i've just added the bitumen to but it has lots of the cellophane, and the effect is awesome, cant wait till its dry and i can rub it back, if you click on the pic to make it larger i think you'll see what i mean, the bitumen stays off all the really raised crinkly bits of cellophane so when i rub it back it should really pop lol

I've made a few more to and now to work out what the heck i'm gunna do with them all :) 

 

 

The Finished Journal

Well I finally finished Rainy's Art Journal for her and I hope she likes it, I also hope that it will inspire her to pick up those pencils and paints and get moving on her Art Work. I probably fiddled around with this way to long but i'm pretty happy with the finished book.  I know you cant see in the pic but there's lots of the foil poking through that in person, does look pretty cool.  I'm hoping to pass this on to her this weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next I worked on another mixed media piece and remember that i'm only just practising right now but I am getting quite eager to do one that has some meaning next.  I like the colors in this one and I guess it doesn't matter which way is up lol

 

 

This is another Journal cover for my friend Mary who needs something to record her dreams in. this one has to be nice and bright cause Mary Definitely is  lol  Im looking forward to seeing how this one comes together

 

 

I hope your all having a great week and getting lots of exciting things done  xoxo

 

Mixed Media Foil Art

I've been playing again with the kitchen foil lol

This is a journal that im making for a friend in the hope of inspiring her to pick up her paint brushes and pencils and get stuck into some art.

Its about the size of  A4 and has nice strong art paper inside,  I've attached lots of bits and pieces to it, rolled up foil to spell her name Rainy, some dried flowers and beads and i cut a strip off a twine place matt to run accross the centre. Covered the whole front and back with foil attaching with paverpol and some pva glue, Now i'll paint, rub and sand and coat it in an aging medium then rub back until i get the effect i'm after.  Really liking it so far.

 

I just hope it turns out nicely and that she likes it enough to get stuck in to do some art work !!!

 

I've been following along with Gary Reefs site as he has some great ideas and projects to do

http://lovingmixedmedia.com/

 

Thanks heaps for all the inspiration Gary :)

Foil Art

I've been wanting to try some foil art lately and i've been watching this guy at Loving Mixed Media
http://lovingmixedmedia.com/forum/topics/foil-art-technique,  i like a lot of what he does and with this foil art he uses Ashphelt /tar or Shoe Polish,  i opted for the shoe polish because i couldnt find any tar,  basically you create a piece with lots of mixed media in it, cover it with the foil and then paint with different colors. Then you give it a coat of the tar/ shoe polish and wipe off, So heres what i've done so far
These are the pieces just covered in paint, i actually forgot to take a pic before that when they were completely covered in kitchen foil, so anyway i was just using random colors so i could see what it would do and where i was going and in no particular pattern or anything

 

Once the paint was dry then i brushed on quiet a heavy coat of shoe polish and let dry a bit, then wiped off with a dry cloth. They've both got 2 coats.   When he used the tar you wipe off with white spirits and also you can spritz the spirits on to leave a very cool effect, as i didnt use that its ended up like this. I've used rolled up pieces of foil, netting from a garlic bag, hand spun yarn, bottles tops and a key.

 

This one is mainly rolled up foil with flat pieces of foil, yarn and very small shells.

 

Not sure i really like them much and at the moment there not sealed with a varnish. I might give it another go and maybe even just use burnt umber paint to age it.  Shoe polish is very messy but it was fun to make anyway

Back in my Blog !!!

Well after so long of fighting with blogger and given in to make a new blog i'm finally back in here. The new one i cannot get into now so i'm deleting that and staying put here, what a nightmare this all was and i apologise for all the messing around but i'm actually glad to be back in this one so i've re-newed and re-vamped and hopefully i'll have no more problems !!!!!

The weather here has been so hot for so long its taking its toll, i never say this but now that its supposed to be Autumn can we please have some Autumn weather and get away from all this heat lol
Its been hard to get into much with it being so hot but i have been working on some mixed media with foil and i'll put some pics up shortly
I really just wanted to say that i'm back in here and so far so good, i've been able to catch up and move forward !!!

 

Happy Days xo

Brand New E-Book

 Zed from http://feltbyzed.blogspot.com.au/ has created a brilliant new e-book called Beyond Nuno, this book is beautiful and packed full of infomation, she is having a give away and i apologise for not giving you more notice but i couldnt access my blog till now  !

 

But anyway if you'd like a chance to win this awesome book then scoot on over to here at

http://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2013/02/24/giveaway-beyond-nuno-pdf-e-book/  and leave a comment,  I havent given you much time now and i do apologise for that.  If you'd like to purchase this book then go to zed's blog and all the info is there. It really is beautifully done

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Felting

Something New ! Again !!

I seem to be moving in all different directions lately and exploring new things.  I'm having a fantastic time learning and developing new appreciations :) 

Here's another Altered Book i finished, i wanted to put some aussie flavour on this one , i do think there kinda strange but i'm enjoying playing around. 

 

Then i was looking around the web for more uses for Gesso and well, one thing let to another and i was hooked on abstract painting,  i really want to have a play around with that but in the mean time i found an excellent tutorial on painting so of course i had to have a go. One of the artist's that i was watching is Skye Taylor, he does some awesome work but also has lots of video's, with tips and ideas',  one of the main things he said ( that i heard) was  Dont be afraid !  so i wasnt and i jumped in lol

This is my first Ever painting and i'm very happy, i followed an online tutorial from Amy Pearson (herartintheattic.blogspot.com ) and i had so much fun ,  i'm looking forward to learning more and getting into some abstract work ( my favorite) so far    

 another favorite is Pete Dranitsin and i might even do his online art lessons,  i've painted another small one using one of his free online lessons but its not quite finished , i'm so loving it

so anyway, its onwards and upwards, things change, people change and i'm in the throws of trying to find whats best for me and having a lot of fun along the way.

New Year, New Work !!!

OOOO its been so long since i've posted, life, family, Christmas, Holidays did get in the way !!!

 

I've been working on something different these last couple of weeks and it all started with Ruths Challenge on our studio site on a daily dose of fiber, 

 http://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2013/01/01/a-daily-dose-of-fiber-challenge/

 

Ruth wanted us to join in on this challenge for the first quarter and at first i laughed and thought , No Way can i do that lol   but it did get me thinking a lot and i knew i needed a change of pace. So i decided to play with some books, i've NEVER  been much into Altered Books but playing with these has changed my mind :)   I"m still playing with lots of fibre, as there made with, silk, silk paper, beads, threads, sari silks and ribbons, paint , paverpol, shima sticks, felt and other light weight materials. Basically anything i can get my hands on :)

 

I made a full post over on our studio site, which is here

http://feltingandfiberstudio.com/

 

 

So here are a few that i've made, i will only improve as i go along but i'm thoroughly enjoying the fact that i can have a few on the go at once, there all done in different stages so there's lots of drying time in between to work on another one so they do take a couple of days all up. 

 I'm having a Ball

 

 

 

this one is using, felt, light weight material, beads, shiva sticks, and lots of threads

 

This one is using paint and Tyvek, i wanted  to see how it melted down around the pages, i might have overdone it here but i think the tyvek will make great lace work or even cobwebs !

This one is using, paints,silk,  tyvek, threads, felt, angelina and light weight material

 



This one is paint, beads, silk and silk threads and shiva sticks

 

I used silk paper on the back of a couple and should have saved it for the front, i love the effect

 

So thats what i've been working on and i have to say thanks Ruth for the challenge, i'll be keeping this going all year, not just for the quarter  !!!!!! 

New Covers

 

New Journal covers and making them inside out !!!!

I blogged about this over on the www.feltingandfiberstudio.com  and all the silly mistakes i made, getting confused with the inside outside and right way round

 

First layout of hand spun yarn and silk threads

 

I did put white on top instead of on the inside and this green was supposed to be on the outside under the threads

 

then this was supposed to be the inside of the cover as you opened it up

 

 

but silly me got really confused and ended up with the white on the outside, and now of course you cant see the other colors at all !!!!

 

I couldnt believe how i did that but i kind of like it anyway so its not all lost lol

 

Next one with silk threads and sari ribbon

 

i cheated this time and used the same fiber all over, thinking i was clever :)

 

Then i forgot which side to cut and almost cut the wrong side, its quite hard to remember where your thread side is once its all covered in other fiber

 

But i guess they turned out ok, although a little wonky but   I'm on a mission now to get this journal cover making down patt, if its the last thing i do lol

 

I did have fun though so Happy Felting to You :)