AMANDA'S BASKETS: Relaxing and Mixed Media Art Quilts

Monday, January 17, 2011

Relaxing and Mixed Media Art Quilts

How was your weekend? Mine was really great. I did something I haven't done in a while...I just relaxed on Saturday, much of it in bed, watching my cooking and gardening shows plus football as well as surfing the WEB. It was so much fun...and relaxing. I even managed to watch the grandkids for a while.

Now, I know that many of you can't take an entire day, especially if you have a family still living at home; but I really hope you found a few minutes for yourself. Remember, if you don't refuel yourself, it will be hard to take care of others. And no, it isn't selfish...it's actually very beneficial to all involved.

I also tried something else. I watched an Interweave Workshop - Mixed Media Art Quilts - hosted by Pokie Bolton with artist Beryl Taylor. It was so fascinating that I decided to give it a try. My design is a bit different that Ms. Taylor's. And I am far from finished, but here it is so far.

First I drew a simple design...

Using a marker, I transferred this design to the top piece of four stacked pieces of fabric...

I then sewed on the design using a small straight stitch. When all four sets were sewn, it was time to try out reverse applique. For those folks not familiar with that technique, you simple cut away layers of fabric to reveal what's underneath. The most important element for this is a small sharp scissors.

Here are the four sets after reverse applique is done...

After completing the reverse applique, I trimmed the fabric sets to the same size AND then I cut them into quarters...

I had fun making four different squares and placing them together...

After deciding on the design, I pinned them to a piece of green fabric...

I varied the workshop suggestions a bit by sewing the squares to the background fabric and then using free motion, quilting the piece with gold thread.

Next, I want to do some hand embellishments. After that I want to introduce some gesso, acrylic paints, stamps, etc. What do you think? Have you ever done mixed media art quilts? I have to tell you that this is a lot of fun.

Stop by tomorrow and check out my next journal page. How are you doing with your journal? I would love to see some pictures...

Thanks for visiting...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?