Fabric dyeing with silk paints

My friend and I had another fabric dyeing workshop this week. This time we were experimenting with silk paints. The colours we produced were very pleasing. We used plastic trays for dye baths.

Plastic trays make good dye baths

Salt resist gives a beautiful effect

Drying off

Washing line of dyed fabric

Snowdrop Time

It's snowdrop time again here. I had to go and

visit St Botolph's church at Swyncombe to see the

snowdrops and winter aconites in the churchyard.

This year's display was beautiful, snowdrops wherever

the eye could see, and on closer inspection there were

aconites too.

Colour Me Positive- Week 7

Colour Me Positive has been running for seven weeks now.

It doesn't feel like it! I still feel like a beginner. I have

been using art journalling methods in my tag for Tag Tuesday, it is

very different working on a small piece of work, to working in

a journal with  a two page spread. It is a great idea to challenge

yourself with different size pages. I find that my tags are more considered,

and that as soon as I see the theme for the week I know more or less

what I want to do. However with the art journalling, the pages just evolve.

This week's prompt "Wherever you go, go with all your heart" is by Confucius

I used masking tape and pastel for the background, and then collaged

and stamped the rest. 

Fabric Dyeing with Procion

I had an experimental fabric dyeing day with my friend . We used Procion dyes and the jam jar method.

You can find a good tutorial here

Colour Me Positive- Week 6

Art Journal pages

On Colour Me Positive it is already week 6! The words for this week's theme of kindness are by the Dalai Lama. I started with an acrylic background, applying with a credit card for texture, and using 3 colours in layers. For the text, I experimented with fonts and printed off the results. Lace stamps provided the frames. The stencil bird on the left hand page was done with a few different pens in layers, and I stamped a little flower border to frame it. On the right hand page I collaged a bird, and added my favourite red cardinal stamp. 

Visit to Village Fabrics

I had a very pleasant trip to Wallingford last Friday, which is market day. 

Of course, I spent a long time in Village Fabrics, browsing the

fabulous selection of material. Everything is so beautifully displayed,

it is easy to see, and also difficult to resist!

Sewing themed bundle

Sewing themed fabrics and clothes pegs

Boxes of fat quarters

Colour Me Positive Week 5

Here is my art journalling page for Colour Me Positive.

 I took a long time to do the background as it has several layers. First I put tissue paper for texture, then a layer of gesso, then watercolour. I was going to put another layer of gesso and only leave a few patches showing, but decided to follow the prompt for bright colours. I used stencils for the letters. The hearts are stamped and coloured with markers, one is stitched in kantha stitch. The one in the top right hand corner was made with layers of fabric and paper collage, with top stitch.

Vintage papers

I thought you would like to see the contents of my

surprise birthday present package that came from

my sister-in-law last week. 

I think these papers and "ephemera" will be very useful

for mixed media work. Keep a look out for them in my

tags and art journalling pages!

They are from  vintagepaperroom.etsy.com

 and vintagecuriosityshop.etsy.com  and from  the fruitpixie.etsy.com .