Rucksack heaven!!

Oh, I finished it today, so it's had a bit of a road-test and performed brilliantly!! It's so comfy and fun... I might just put a bit of velcro in the inside pockets though, just to stop stuff falling out if I threw the bag around- well- it will happen at some point!

Here it is finished...

I've really enjoyed making this but I'm not sure if I would be able to justify charging £70/80 for it, even though it's taken 3 whole days to make because of the work involved... we shall see, I might list one on Etsy as a "special order" and see how it goes...

The tutorial is completed over in the how-to's textiles section. Have a go... post me a pic... any questions just email me- I'll go through it with you if you're stuck! 

COTTON AND COLLAGE continued...

Having spent several days creating tiny flowers and butterflies (see post below) I needed to complete my heart for July's Heart project

July's theme is transparency... working within a construct of acetate sheets. I had an idea a long time back at uni that I never found time for and this was a perfect opportunity to revive the idea.

I cut 3 pieces of acetate to match my other hearts... but I wanted a semi-opaque background so dug out some of the paper-fabric I created a while back.

 I sprayed that with clear gloss till it was saturated and semi-transparent then weighted it while it dried to the back layer of acetate. The idea was to ensure that some areas would remain clear and glassy.

The rest was fairly straight forward, I love nigella so painted that up in pearly paint. Once dried they were glued to the base layers. I inked July in the centre with pigment inks.

I also coloured the centres of the flowers and butterflies with my Promarkers. I blended some of them using surgical spirits. These were attached to the middle layer with gel medium, then sequins added in the centres.

I inked Sweet Summer onto this layer too. Next time I will use a darker ink... I wanted subtlety, but in handling these have smudged and all but disappeared. I think I need better inks...

Here it is completed... I gelled the edges together, punched holes in all around and did several rows of crochet to echo the flowers. All in all I'm quite pleased with it, but will be working out the ink issue... If I could redo it I would, but after all that crochet I'm not cutting it open!!

Thankyou Thealie for you prompt- it gave me the chance to revive old ideas and play with new ones at the same time. I've enjoyed this months challenge.

Super fast bookmarks

When I was cutting up the card as the inserts for my rainbow book  I ended up with lots of thin strips left over.... never one to throw away....

There's recycling... and hoarding... I do both... much to hubby's annoyance... but I found a use for the strips...

How simple to make; punch holes, fit eyelet, cut wool then doodle on each one... I now have a supply of bookmarks for RAAKs (Random Acts of Arty Kindness/ Happy Mail)... it's a shame UK postage has just doubled! There's a few birthdays this month...

Promarker storage

I've been looking for a reasonable storage solution for my increasing collection of Promarkers- they're quite chunky so normal pen cases just aren't big enough, and the nice zip up cases only hold 24 or 45 pens...

I don't keep them on my desk as I often work in a variety of places and want them to hand. A rigid stand wasn't appropriate either...

I love recycling fabrics and I happen to have a few books of upholstery fabric samples so I made up a roll to slip the pens into and a bag to keep them together. Perfect!

 8 rainbow sections to keep colours in groups of 10... shame I thought of brown after the fact as I have 9 of those so I've put them in the violet section for the time being... I also coloured a sticker for each pen so I could see them all from above.

Rolled and secured with ribbon. Even like this I can see where each colour is and replace it to keep them orderly.

A zipped bag using the remnants from the rolls. I've made it a bit bigger to allow for more pens, and lined with mountboard for stability. I shall add a small bag for spare lids/fine nibs etc.

Bookmaking Adventure...

Ruth posted a new challenge over on Milliande's The Hinges group, the theme for April is Japanese stab bound books. I've had a look at some and thought it would be perfect for a reference book I want to create. Similar to my Zodiac wallhanging, I want to compile info on colours and their associations- chakras, crystals, healing, moods etc... and rather than keep looking in many books I want it all easy to hand, specific to me.

It's taken 2 days so far, but the book is finished... now I just have to compile the info I want, do some texts and sketches and she's a done deal!

I shall put a tutorial over in the how-to's books  section- I've just edited the pics...

 

The cover is collaged textiles, the inserts are sponged watercolour paper separated with tissue paper. Card is folded, punched, eyeletted and threaded to create info sheets which will stand alone for ease.

I can see me making more like this...