Valentine's Day

This little box contains messages for my special Valentine. The box is made of silk stitched to felt and edged with trim. Buttons, beads and ribbon embellishments were added after completion.

Top view

Small cards cut out of card stock - painted, stamped embellished with found objects.
Holes punched into each corner of the cards and strung with hand made trim. The cards stack into the box.

Shhhhhsh - don't tell - it's a surprise!

Surface Design Journal

I've always enjoyed making books. Each page in this journal is a different surface design technique. The pages here show different image transfer techniques; use of dimensional pastes, Crayola "Model Magic", found objects, water colors - just to name a few.

The journal serves as a reminder to myself of the many surface design techniques and plethora of supplies in my closet that I can incorporate into my work!

Sweet Bustier

I had quite a bit of fun designing the latest bustier for my dress form. All the candy and bubble gum wrappers saved from Halloween finally found a purpose! The necklace is made from balloons. Whistles from the party store make up the skirt. I know I have bells stashed somewhere in the studio. Once found, these will be added to the ensemble - you know all the bells and whistles!

A Little of This - A Little of That

I like making dolls and especially like using what I have on hand to do so. I often start out making an armature of aluminum foil scrunched into a shape. (The end result is always a surprise!)Once I'm satisfied with the shape, I cover it entirely with small bits of masking tape. This enables me to apply either paper clay or wrapped batting with ease.
In this case I used paper clay. The supply I had on hand was almost completely dried out. It was necessary to put the clay into a plastic bag with some water and knead it until it was pliable again. The clay was then rolled out (sandwiched between plastic sheets to keep it from sticking) then applied in small bits to the armature and allowed to dry. (Here the arms are clay wrapped drinking straws.)
These dolls were enhanced with acrylic paints, colored pencils and water colors. The crowns are made of metallic-like paper decorated with puff paints and beads.

The hair is coiled paper strips which I think turned out really well and adds even more whimsy to these little ladies.

Monoprints

Monoprints made with acrylic paint printed onto fabric is a quick and easy surface design technique. It's important to use a paint that is fairly thick (I like to use fluid acrylics). I dab, smear, drop, paint onto an acrylic or glass sheet - using my fingers, pencil eraser, or any tool that is handy I create a design. Print onto fabric - let it dry - iron to set - that's all there is to it.

An example of a monoprint enhanced with free motion machine quilting.