Fat Vision Board Book

I signed up for a fat book swap on DCI which is based on a vision book and has to have lots of embellishments both on the page and dangling from the sides which means it will not close completely when bound. Each person was assigned a specific theme.

I have a lot to do in July and thought I would get a head start on this, although to be honest not sure about it as the only vision board examples I could find are just a bunch of pictures collaged on a strata.

I have done a mock up of what I think it should be for this swap, without the embellishments dangling off the side as I still have to buy some for my theme, which is Travel.

When I think about travelling, I think of the scenery first, the sky, sea, mountains, lakes and sunsets, so I started by colouring my page in colours that remind me of those things. I then stamped a bunch of pieces that represent different modes of travel, a postcard, and a travel type image. I also stamped some film strips and printed off tiny pictures of various scenic areas, and of course a camera, since when travelling pictures are a "must" to preserve all the memories. Found some stamp embellishments in my stash so added one of those,  stamped a small image on to card stock then on to a small chipboard piece. Also smashed some bottle caps, stamped a postage franque (frank) on card stock coloured with Vivid inks, punched it out and placed it in the bottle cap. These few items have added some dimension to the page. The little lighthouse is stamped, cut out, then covered with Glossy Accents, however, I may do it in a different colour as it blends in to the background too much.

So far nothing is glued to the page, just taped on since I am still playing with the whole layout and might change or add some things-- still not sure if I am on the right track with this!! Any constructive criticism, ideas or thoughts would be appreciated.

Fabric Charms

Another swap on the Stitches Coven group; we are to make 5 similar charms constructed out of our handmade fabric which consists of layering fabric and other materials together using Misty Fuse or in my case Heat and Bond.

I started off with a hot pink organza as the base, added some different colours of moon paper. The next layer was some glittery gauze type paper from Magenta Style along with some Mulberry paper. The next layer was some fancy threads and red netting.

After constructing this I cut out two strips and added Pellon to the back, then cut two strips and sewed the long edges with my tiny serger. I then cut these two pieces into different sizes and sewed the other edges with my Tiny Serger. I decided to use different colours of eyelets, and punched the holes with my Japanese Screw Punch then attached the eyelets with my eyelet setter.

Will be sending these off to the hostess in the next week.

Fabric Paper Postcard

The second swap in Stitches Coven is to make a postcard using homemade fabric or fabric paper. I chose to use the fabric paper. The paper was made by using a Jaycloth as the bottom layer, then placed pieces of gift wrap over it with watered down white school glue. Then I added some tissue paper that I had previously coloured over the top. Normally the tissue is plain white and the colours added afterwards.

I cut the paper to 4"X6" for the postcard size then cut additional strips, and punched out three circles.I attached paper flowers and beads to the circles with invisible thread. I took the two strips and stamped them with some Mica Magic inkpads to add a wee bit of contrast.

I added some batting to the 4"X6" piece and stitched it in squares on my sewing machine. I then took the two strips and attached some ribbon behind and sewed the pieces to the ribbon. I attached the strips to the postcard with some Wonder-Under making sure the ends were tucked in well. I then sewed the little circle flowers to the postcard.

I cut a piece of fabric the same size as the postcard and attached it to the back with Wonder-Under and then sewed around the whole piece with my tiny serger.

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Heart Swap

I signed up for a swap on Art-Ventures where we are required to make a decorated heart. I started with the heart I had done for the Julia Andrus Book Study - Corrosive Effects. I wanted to brighten it up a bit and added some Siren Smooch Ink over the surface.

I had some little heart pieces with beads on wire, that I had not used and decided to do the faux sea glass ( Julia Andrus-Paper Transformed) on the hearts. I used pigment inks on each one then added clear embossing powder. I rubbed them with perfect medium and applied Pearlex powders, then clear embossing powder, heated them and sprayed with water to pit the surface. I wound this around the heart.

I dug out some little flower shaped beads and added a "gem" to each one and glued them on the heart. I took a picture of a little girl (sorry can't credit the site as this image is from my computer which is in the shop for repair) and cut it down to fit under the heart. I coated it with Judikins MicroGlaze which protects the image from water.

I attached some dangly beads to the bottom, then cut out a piece of cardstock in the heart shape and adhered it to the back.

Fabric Postcard

I recently joined a new group that is doing different things with fabric and are currently running a fabric postcard swap.

I have not sewn in years and just got my sewing machine repaired. To be honest, I think I need to relearn how to use all the fancy stitches and bells and whistles!! I also don't have a great variety of fabrics at the moment so I had to use what I had on hand.

I started by sewing a few different pieces of fabric together than added a glittery organza type fabric over the top and stitched some fibres over this.  I took some pieces of fancy lace items and coloured them with fabric paint and sewed them on. I then attached some little roses on by hand. The edge looked a bit raggedy so I attached some trim around it. Still not 100% pleased with it.

Took time today to figure out how to thread my Singer Tiny Serger; bit frustrating but finally figured it out thanks to the step by step pictures in the booklet that came with it. As I was not happy with the edging on the piece I took my tiny serger and went around the edges and think it looks a lot better now. At least I am much happier with the look of it.

Mini Memory for Chris

The final recipient for the Mini Memory swap on DCI is Chris. Her theme was Wings, and colours were shades of purple & silver/gold.

I had bought some items at the art supply store, one being a box type item that I thought would work perfectly.

I started by creating a background paper piece with Brilliance inks in shades of purple, gold and silver with a swirly stamp, cut it to size and glued it inside the box. I painted the box edge with gold acrylic paint and added some corner pieces which have butterflies on them that I coloured with Alcohol ink.

I printed off an image of a little baby girl with some books, and made it 3-d to stand out, and added some glossy accents to the book pieces. On the first attempt I had coloured a peice of a clear ruler, a domino and a little flower piece and attached them to the bottom. Added the word Wings at the top and then placed a butterfly behind the little girl. This was what it originally looked like.

Well, I was not completely happy with it so added some golden acrylic gold mica flakes around the edges and being impatient used my heat gun to dry it. Bad mistake!! I melted the ruler in the process, and as a result had to come up with something else.

I removed all the embellishments at the bottom. I stamped some flowers in Pearlescent Lavendar Brilliance several times and made some small roses, touched them up with some silver and some glitter and placed them on the bottom underneath the little girl. I also added more glitter to the butterfly wings. The mistake turned out to be a good thing as I am much happier with the final outcome.