Finish Work

Fabric, Buttons, and Art Papers

The finish work is done on my little mixed media project inspired by Folt Bolt's March color scheme. Like many of my projects there are things I would have done differently...but I'm pretty happy with it.

You can see the steps in this project in several previous posts.

I am a big button fan...so added a few more.

I used a thin layer of gel medium to adhere it to the front of the panel. This gave me the opportunity to make sure it was centered and secured before I fused the border which is backed with Wonder Under.

Then I clipped, wrapped, and ironed.  I had barely enough fabric to wrap around to the back....next time I'll make sure I have a little more. 

Because I wanted to make sure that the sides were fused well I used a piece of the release paper as a pressing cloth. I didn't want to risk scorching the fabric while I ironed.

There are a few bumps and lumps and that might have been avoided if I put a thin layer of batting under the front like I did on the last one. There's always next time.

Focal Point

I was just about ready to go back to the drawing board with my project. I was struggling with a focal point against that busy center square but I was determined to make it work. In the end I decided to do a plant pot similar to what I did on the last project.

I started by fusing skinny strips using hand dyed fabric. But I didn't think the first one had enough contrast to the busy background...it blended in too much.

So I picked more of a contrasting muted green and made round two. It think this one shows up a little better....the color looks better in person.

I have been using this leaf fabric I had in my stash. I ironed fusible webbing on the back of and I've been cutting from if for these last projects.  

I added a little joy...and green pinstripe fabric border just like the neutral I used in February.  The final step is fusing it onto the paint panel....but that's for another day. I'm glad I mulled this one over...I'm pretty happy with my little green scheme.

Texture

Today was a snowy blowy stay inside kind of day.  I tried to tackle a few chores...but mostly I played with my current project and worked on my slow moving jig saw puzzle. Becky gave me the little "joy" hanging on the bottle while I was in Wisconsin and this is where it has landed for now. Thanks Becky!

I like the texture that stitching gives a project whether it's paper or fabric. But...

...if I were to do this again I wouldn't do the stitching going both ways on the center square.  This works really well on solid fabric...but not so sure it works as well on this busy mixed media strips. I would really like a pop of color but I'm being loyal to the Folt Bolt March color scheme which is pretty monochromatic. 

I'm auditioning other mixed media elements...but it was time to set it aside for a few days and mull it over. 

"Show Up Anyway"

"Be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyway." Glennon Doyle Melton

Stacks

I came across this photo I took a long time ago of a stack of wool....look familiar? It's Folt Bolt's March color scheme....and matches my paper strip stack.

 

Green Scheme

I made a little progress on my green scheme project. I wanted to experiment using fusible webbing to hold the strips together so I laid the strips onto the glue side of the Wonder Under and pressed on the strips. Usually you put the glue side down and iron on the paper side....so this was a little tricky but it worked. I added a few fused strips of fabric to give it more texture...I like mixing up the media. It's hard to tell the fabric from the paper in the picture.

This is what the back looked like before I peeled off the paper to expose the other side of the glue. Some of the papers were double sided...and I like the fact that there's a little pink hiding underneath.

You can see the fusible webbing once I peeled the paper off. I'll be able to iron it onto the next surface...no glue necessary. The paper I peeled off is the "release paper" and I can use it under and over everything I fuse. When heated fusible webbing sticks to almost everything so I have to be carful. The release paper peels off easily and protects surfaces and my iron.

I'm quite fond of this edge I cut off....I'm sure there will be a use for it at some point.

I started cutting it up and rearranging and fusing it onto stabilizer. The stabilizer will make it easier to add stitching...of course there will be stitching. I do think this is getting too busy so I'm going pause and take a fresh look another day. I may only use part of this...and I'm pretty sure I need to add more solids and certainly a focal point.....stay tuned. I have to mull this one over some more.

Snow Drops

I took these pictures a few days ago at my back door...today the snow drops were covered in a bit of snow. But it is nice to see the signs of spring.












I especially love the little green sprout poking through the brown leaf in the photo below. It's like it burrowed its way through.

March

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade." Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

I've used this quote before...but today was another one of those blustery March days. My windows were rattling in the wind but the sun was warm on my face.

Speaking of March....I've been thinking about the Folt Bolt color scheme for this month. I'm not especially fond of green and yellow together but I going to give it a go and try and come up with another little collage.

This time I'm starting with some of my textured papers....but will incorporate mixed media. The Granny smith apple image is from a magazine...I may or may not use it...but it's certainly part of my inspiration.

Stay tuned!

And...happy birthday to my sister LaVonn....13 months older than me. We were buddies growing up...and we are good friends now.  Her kitchen is a beautiful granny smith apple green.

"An Ordinary Life"

"Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. 

Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself."

William Martin

My sweet nephews, Henry and Charles, were lucky enough to spend these first years of their life growing up on the same farm that I did...doing lots of extraordinary, ordinary things. Soon they'll be off to new adventures finding the wonder in the ordinary at their new home in California.

The three of us took turns playing this Rubik's Race Game for over an hour when I was there. It was a good one.

Farm Block

While I was in Wisconsin I spent a little time with my sister LaVonn and I offered to help her with a project. She was given a quilt block to make for a memory quilt in honor of her brother-in-law who passed away. She knew she wanted to do an image of a farm...but wasn't really sure how she would approach it.

Fusing seemed to be the answer...so I brought it home and spent my afternoon tackling the little project.

I think some hand stitching and/or embroidery would be really nice. There is space in the sky to add some writing...and/or she could add some flowers...or even a little fence.

Also...maybe I need to add a window in white stitching.

I found a simple barn coloring page on line to use as my pattern. The block came with the purple border.

I chose a few greens for the foreground and a blue cloud fabric for the sky. The striped border was in response to an "oops" but I think it gives it a happy frame. My original background ended up being too small and looked silly...so I added the border rather than start over. 

 Everything is fused...but just in case this quilt gets washed I stitched all the edges. I especially like the way the sun turned out...it's the best part. 

Is it a work of art? No 

Are there things I would have done differently? Yes

Will it work? Yes, I think it will....or at least I hope it will. 

Was I happy to help my sister? Absolutely!

Second Life

I don't know anyone who gets as much use out of a Christmas tree than Becky and David...my friends in Wisconsin.

After enjoying their tree in the family room well into January....the tree gets a second life on the deck with just the lights for the rest of the winter....maybe even into early spring. I took this photo while I was there last week at dusk and added the snowflakes digitally.

Nice going Finnerud family!

A Splash of Color!

I made a trip to Maine today to look at a house....no, it's not the right one.  But on my way home I stopped to visit my friend Jane at her beach house just south of Portland.

She has been working on a colorful hand appliquéd tree quilt and there are spaces for little birds. She wants to do them in bright solids so I took some of my variegated hand dyed fabrics for her to choose from. It's always fun sharing fabric from my stash.

She's going to make the bird bodies from the solids...and maybe the little wings in these fun little prints from her stash. I'm also going to check my stash for other wing choices. 

Here's the pattern she working from....and you can see the sweet little birds tucked in the branches. Some day I'm going to have her give me an appliqué lesson...she's amazing! 

Daisy-Like

These beautiful daisy-like seed pods caught my eye on a walk yesterday morning.

How can I not celebrate this little gem from nature!

I'm quite fond of seed pods....read about the last treasures I found here in this post.

 

Bearings

After a trip it often takes me a few days to get my bearings....and that includes getting back into a groove with this blog. So it's a good time to reflect a little more on my trip.

One of the things Becky and I did while I was in Wisconsin was hang a few pictures in her new craft space that we painted last summer.  She has mostly moved in and it's a soothing, pretty, and functional space and it was fun getting some art on the walls. Here's one little vignette we created over her computer table.  

The two small squares at the bottom right are from a set of four calendar pages I mounted on paint panels years ago.  We relocated them and the shelf from her bedroom.  The other two in the set are hanging in another vignette.

Old School

My last few days in Wisconsin have been spent with my childhood friend Becky. We've done a variety of house projects including going through piles of old pictures and artwork...deciding what she would keep and what she should give away. We came across this "old school" country watercolor I did for her WAY back celebrating their new home.  I find it a bit embarrassing and kind of sweet at the same time.

Tomorrow is my travel day...it's time to go home.

Social Media

Kriszta, from Folt Bolt shared my little February creation on her Facebook page as advertising for her Folt Bolt Club. It's kind of fun to see the number of "likes" and the "shares"....social media is a crazy thing.



And....here's the color scheme inspiration for March. hmmmmmm