As April Arrives........

I spent some time painting with water colours and stencils last week. Onto a piece of watercolour paper, I layered a stencil, added wet watercolour washes in various colours, then added a second piece of watercolour paper on top. As I pressed on the sandwich, a positive (bottom piece) and a negative (top, natch) painting of the stencil design were created.
Once they were thoroughly dry, I added black outlines to the paintings to define the shapes.

both negative paintings

the left is the negative of the painting on the right

the top right is a positive painting

 in the negative paintings, the paint surrounds the design

a very soft positive painting

positive painting on the left

I had such fun creating these stencil paintings!
I'll probably make tags and cards with these.

 Then I decided to paint directly onto watercolour cards...........

I think I prefer the negative paintings for their softer, watercolour-like effects.
I'm sure I'll be making more of these!   ;-)




Our April showers have been pretty snowy so far, but there's a warming trend on the way.  ;-)
On the wrapping cloth, a few additions have been made:

starting to add some pearly beads

a prairie point

lace over wild fabric strip






 and a beaded JK cluster below

did you see the raised centers on the flowers?
such a pretty fabric

how the bottom half of the wrapping cloth piece looks

the 2nd lutradur piece is now finished

with the metallic paint beneath, the threads seem to glow











I hope your week has been filled with fun and creativity!

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

March Wanes

Even though March roared in, it doesn't look as though it'll be creeping out in a lamb-like fashion. The weatherman warned that more snow and an artic vortex is coming our way. !
Aw, c'mon! It's almost April!
My DH shared his cold with me. Sometimes I think he takes that "share and share alike" concept just a little too far!    lol      So that means I've just been doing some simple stitching.
Lots of buttonhole stitch, buttonhole lace, and a few french knots on the wrapping cloth so far.

I laid out the completed wrapping cloth pieces (and 2 awaiting tacking) to guage just how large my wrapping cloth might be when all the pieces were edged and joined together. The measure on the tape is at 48". I suspect the finished cloth will be ~ 3.5' x 4.5' if I don't add more pieces (except to fill in holes)

This piece of lutradur was painted with metallic paints. I then drew a pattern onto the surface with a brown sharpie.
Using 2 of  Lorraine's threads, in variegated green/yellow/blue  I began to backstitch.
(#8 perle cotton colours #28 and #158)

The metallic paint made the surface glow beautifully and the result reminded me of  beautiful verdigris on copper.

 I began to stitch on a second piece of painted lutradur. I used another of Lorraine's variegated threads for the fancy stitched hexagons.
(#8 perle cotton colour #6)

I love how rich this looks.

 I wanted to play with some paints, so I made several background pieces. These will turn into cards, or doodles, or maybe backgrounds for stamping or gelli prints.

 I love the drips and watching them merge to create new colours.

Wanting a bit more play with paints, I made a pile of small doodle-bits. Some may be a bit dark, but I'll have fun experimenting.

a small selection

 Using gel pens, markers, gelatos and paint, the following 3 pieces took shape. I may use them on cards or in a journal, or as a tag. They are fun!

You can see the shimmer of the metallic paint

These doodle-bits could become addictive. ;-)

Will I add stitch to some of these?
Maybe.



That's my week. I hope yours has been a fun and creative week, too.

Hugs from Suz

Spring!

Well, according to the calendar, spring has arrived. Someone ought to have a wee chat with the weather about that because it's still stuck in winter. We had a few snow flurries yesterday with more snow in the forecast over the next few days.........grumble......
I've been stitching a little on the wrapping cloth piece.

3 pretty lace flowers were added to the top of a small pocket with buttonhole stitch.

French knots fill the openings in two of the layered prairie points, their flaps held open with bullion knots.

3 shell sequins are attached and joined with bullion knots.

another pocket edged in buttonhole lace.
The lazy daisy half-flower on the left echoes the flowered fabric

another look

Now that all the edges have been buttonhole stitched, this wrapping cloth piece is now finished.

 This next piece has been tacked and is awaiting embellishment with thread and needle. I love that strip of lace running along the width of  the broderie anglais, repeating the look of open eyes.........
The large piece of wild fabric is a pocket.

Work on the Crewel Piece continues. Flower number 2 shows a little progress. Each little shape is layered satin stitch, so it takes a bit of time to embroider.

a bit of a closer look

I need to use a magnifier and bright light to see clearly enough to stitch such small sections. It's a bit fiddly, but my hope is that it'll all be worth the effort once it's completed.


I hope your week has been a pleasant and creative one.
Happy Spring!

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs from Suz

Ides of March 2016

Yes, it's the middle of March. Already.
There has been a bit of stitching over the past week:

3 more Dorset Buttons were added to the stash

 Although there was a bit more added to flower #2, it's not enough to show. I did, however, add a darker green to the three top leaves in flower #1. I used whip stitch into the back stitch edging, and I think those leaves no longer seem to disappear.

The wrapping cloth piece in progress. Lots of bullion knots, some french knots, and buttonhole stitch has happened. I shaped the tag and buttonhole lace into a cup. 

There's a bit more stitching to add to this piece.

a closer look at some of the bullion knot edging. Although not shown in this photo, the lace on the wild fabric pocket has now been edged with buttonhole stitch.

I did play with my gelli plate and made a series of gift tags. Unfortunately, the irridescent paint doesn't really show up in the photos.

I may add stamping to some of the tags.

The red amaryllis finally bloomed! 4 large blossoms on this stalk. Isn't she a beauty?

It certainly brightens up the living-room on grey spring days.


That's my week. I hope yours has been a creative and blessed one.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz