Scepter of Healing Vibes - reposted 2019

 

Scepter of Healing Vibes

by lshoupupdated on June 3, 20192 Commentson Scepter of Healing Vibes

I need healing. Don’t know about you, but I suspect that you feel this too. There are so many reasons to need healing. Bodily healing, relationship healing, social healing, emotional healing, and spiritual healing are just a few needs that come to mind. I don’t believe we are meant to bear our burdens alone, but also begin to understand how difficult it is to accept help. So I wanted to make a tangible object that would stand as a reminder of the power of community to heal. A scepter of healing vibes was born as an idea.

Along came the new products from Emerald Creek by Gwen Lafleur: Boho Blends embossing powder and Boho Bits embellishments! I knew I had found my materials.

Materials used in this project:

Boho Blends – Embossing Powder from Gwen Lafleur & Emerald Creek

Burmese Jade and Turkish Bronze were used in this project.

Boho Bits – Embellishments from Gwen Lafleur & Emerald Creek

Mexican Fire Opals, Apatite Geode Chips and African Amethyst were used in this project.

Irresistible India – Embellished Sari Scraps

Gwen’s Essentials – Sari Ribbon from Darn Good Yarn

Gwen’s StencilGirl Stencils – Decorative Collection

Gwen’s StencilGirl Stencils – Ornamental Collection

wooden dowel

variety of wooden shapes

gel medium

Tacky glue

a variety of acrylic paint

sequins

glass beads

1 decorative headpin

gel pens

The journey:

It’s kind of embarrassing to admit that I have a stash of wooden pieces since you rarely see me use them. It came in handy for this project. With the exception of the dowel, the pieces were all painted with a variety of colors of acrylic paint before a top coat of gold paint to pull them together and make them look a bit more regal. The dowel served as my notepad. A heartfelt wish for the healing of anyone who holds this scepter was penned on with a sharpie fine point pen. Recently I have been adding secret messages into all of my work. This note was not meant to be read by anyone, but serve as a permanent mark of my sincere hope for spreading healing.

The sari piece that I selected for this project has a rather large section of mesh. The mesh was used as translucent screen for the writing. It adds some mystery to what is written. Before attaching it Gwen Lafleur’s stencil (shown in picture) was used to add a couple of flowers to the mesh. Gel medium applied through the stencil was then sprinkled with Burmese Jade embossing powder and heated.

Embossing powder was added to the edge of the wheel and the detail of the base. The wooden pieces were attached using tacky glue. This photo shows a variety of Gwen’s Boho Bits by Emerald Creek.

More of stencils applied to mesh, sprinkled with Burmese Jade embossing powder and heated created this piece. It was affixed with gel medium.

To get a clear image of the stencil on the surface of the wooden ball is tricky. I applied gel medium through the stencil onto my gelli plate, laid some netting from the sari fabric on top and pressed down with waxed paper. After peeling it off carefully, the embossing powder was tossed over, the excess shaken off and heat applied. Take care not to get it too hot or the mesh will melt

The stencil has been added to the mesh and embossing powder sprinkled over the top.

This mesh is much easier to apply to the wooden ball. Brush gel medium onto the ball and press the mesh down smoothing the edges as you go. More gel medium and tinkering may be needed to get the edges to lay flat.

Here on the finished product you can see how I attached this motif to the wooden ball. There is one on the front and one on the back. The ribbon kind of hides it, but it’s also rather magical to know that it is hiding back there.

A wooden egg was covered with bits of the sari piece carefully trimmed into small pieces and applied with gel medium. Embossing powder was added to some of the areas between floral motifs.

A small spangle was painted black and sprinkled with Turkish Bronze embossing powder. When heated the edges curled inward, a surprise that added to the piece. A larger spangle was treated with the Burmese Jade before adding a layer of glue and beads A decorative head pin from my jewelry stash pulled the spangles together. All were glued to the top of the egg.

Another view of the egg.

Next Boho Bits were glued to the egg in the spaces between motifs. This part was tricky because of the shape of the egg. The bits had to be applied a section at a time and let to dry before moving on to another section. When this was not followed, bits fell over the side and the process had to be repeated.

The wooden pieces were glued together using tacky glue. There is a secret – a random sampling of glass beads were added to the hollow center before sealing making it a noisemaking object as well.

The largest African amethyst bit was perfect for the end of the scepter. As it was a little bigger than the size of the dowel, a link of a chain from my jewelry making collection was glued down first and the amethyst bit applied to that. It was a perfect fit.

A detail from the dowel wrapped in sari scrap lace.

Sari scrap ribbon was tied into a Chinese knot and secured between several of the wooden elements.

Plenty of details and repeating color scheme makes my heart soar.

The colors of the ribbon complement the bits. Gel pen was used to ad some definition to the embossed pieces.

I’m already feeling the healing vibes.
The process of making this scepter was a healing experience. Playing with beautiful materials, both old and especially new, brings energy and peace to me. Seems like there will be more embossing projects in the offing.

From Fabric to Paper Cardholder - reposted 2018

 

From Fabric to Paper Cardholder

by lshoupupdated on September 17, 2018

https://arnoldgrummerpapermaking.blogspot.com/2018/08/from-fabric-to-paper-card-holder.html

 

Paper Card Holder

Today on the Arnold Grummer Papermaking blog are my directions for making a card holder to coordinate with a bag I created for Gwen Lafleur’s Artist Tribe. After adding leftover fabric and thread into the hand made paper, it was turned into a business card holder so I’d be ready when people asked me where I got my bag! 

EditFrom Fabric to Paper Cardholder

Stenciled Boho Clutch - reposted 2018

 

color, fiberart, layers, mixed media, stencils, stitching

Stenciled Boho Clutch

by lshoupupdated on September 17, 2016 Commentson Stenciled Boho Clutch

Stenciling on fabric! 

If you have been following my Instagram feed you will know about the piece of fabric that my sister and I have been passing back and forth between us for decades. This fabric was bought at a dollar a yard shop when I was in college. Back then, if it was cotton I bought it. 

The problem with using up this fabric is that 1.) I did not have any project in mind when I bought it. When I don’t what I am going to use a piece of fabric for I tend to buy a lot. 2.) The pattern is not the easiest to use in just any project. 3.) The pattern is not centered to grain. If you make a project using the grain, the pattern ends up at a weird angle. It would be great if it ended up looking like a design choice. Too bad it never does. 

So when this fabric made it back into my hands recently I had planned to turn it into paper. Before I could carry out this plan paint happened. All over the fabric. Then stencils and more stencils. (Gwen’s stencil – Art Deco Border Stencil) I loved the way it looked! 

Painting over the fabric was good. Stenciling over it was awesome. With a couple of layers of paint the fabric gained the weight of canvas. This is good. Having lined the stencil up with the pattern rather than the grain, the stiff quality helped when I sewed it together off grain. 

Making the Bag

When I started this project I had no idea I would be making a bag. The fabric was simply torn into manageable sizes and painted. Stencils were likewise applied as the mood struck. After a piece sized for the body of the bag is chosen, look for other elements to add. The pocket fabric was a favorite, but quite a bit had to be trimmed to make it work with the background. 

Before the pocket would be added I looked for embellishment for the other side. This piece of stenciling would be perfect for the piece. 

The stencil was trimmed around the edges. Before sewing it down, a piece of lace I have used for gelli printing was pinned down, the stencil arranged and applied to the fabric with cross stitches. This kept it funky and not very serious. It also made for a pocket within a pocket on that side of the bag. Perfect, really, for carrying your sewing scissors. 

The front pocket was sewn wrong sides together with the seam at the middle of the fabric. It was then folded up and an edge folded over. The paint makes the fabric firm enough that I did not worry about finishing the edge in a rolled hem. A zipper from the 1960s sewn across the top edge and the side seams sewn together (with the bag inside out. Take a peek in the front pocket. There’s the rest of the stencil. 

The addition of beads makes it all the more funky. 

Sari Ribbon Zipper Pull

Zipper pulls are a great way to finish off a small bag. Sari ribbon is always a show stealer. The length of sari ribbon was cut into 4 thinner strips, made into a tassel and then trimmed again. The tassel was sewn to the zipper pull to make it more secure. 

Other great possibilities for finishing off zipper pulls in Gwen’s shop are to be found in her beads, buttons and jewelry components.

This little bag with other bags made for the Artist Tribe. 

I can say it is safe to say that I will be making more of these painted and stenciled bags. However, having caught sight of the sari scraps in Gwen’s shop I feel some silky bags coming on.

Japanese Paper Arts Explained - Part Three - Chigiri E - reposted 2018

 

Japanese Paper Arts Explained – Part Three – Chigiri E

by lshoupon July 30, 2018

 

Chigiri E = ちぎり絵 Chigiri means to rip or tear + E meaning picture

Chigiri E is a picture made out of pieces of torn washi paper. They are iconic illustrations of the Japanese traditional lifestyle, seasonal touchstones and people wearing traditional clothing. These days there are modern themes as well.

Traditional Japanese paper comes in a variety of textures, thicknesses and sizes. Chigiri E uses the textures of the paper to create details in the pictures. Variegated paper allows for shading in the picture. Long strands of the fiber in mulberry paper are excellent for creating lines in the image. Transparent and translucent papers allow for layering.

Instructions for chigiri e often show the first step to be tracing the design onto the paper. Then the pattern is used to trace the pattern on the paper desired for a piece. The edges are traced again with either a pencil or an embossing tool. The paper is then ripped gently to yield the desired shape.

Another technique is applying a wet cloth to delicate paper to break it down and allow for the long fibers to be extracted. These will be used to create the lines in the illustration.

Once the pieces are created, the pieces will be pasted down with glue. Tweezers with long prongs are used to place the paper in the correct spot. The paper will then be patted down to ensure adhesion.

Note to papermakers:

If you are interested in making paper for chigiri e make sure you make pieces of a variety of color variations, thickness and texture. Be sure to create some with long fibers. A fairly thin sheet is ideal for ripping, but a variety of weights makes for a successful illustration.

You can check out my tutorial for making Chigiri-e on the Arnold Grummer’s Papermaking Design Team Blog at https://arnoldgrummerpapermaking.blogspot.com/2018/07/chigiri-e-japanese-torn-paper-collage.htmlhttps://arnoldgrummerpapermaking.blogspot.com/2018/07/chigiri-e-japanese-torn-paper-collage.html

Traditional vs. Bohemian Reversible Pin Cushion - reposted 2018

 

Traditional vs. Bohemian Reversible Pincushion

by lshoupupdated on July 18, 2016 Commentson Traditional vs. Bohemian Reversible Pincushion

When Gwen came out with her new line of stencils I immediately fell in love with the Boho Circle Collection. I chose the Boho Star Circle Stencil. I immediately thought of making a pincushion. The pattern lent itself to the project and I discovered I needed a new pincushion. As they say, “necessity is the mother of invention.”

While the intention was to use different colors, the blue against the white was so classic it overcame.

The pincushion is made from a white piece of fabric. The stencil was transferred to the cloth using DecoArt SoSoft Fabric Paint in Neon Blue. The paint left on the palette after the initial stencil was applied to the leftover fabric. Parts of the stencil were randomly overlapped.

The fabric was popped into an embroidery hoop and the entire design was stitched using embroidery floss (3 strands of DMC). The design took two skeins to complete. The stitches were padded satin stitch, backstitch, Colonial knot, and blanket stitch.

 

 

Once the stitching was complete, the embroidered piece was cut for size and placed against the randomly stenciled piece. The goal was to find the most pleasing circle within that pattern. The two sides were stitched together with right sides facing leaving a hole for turning right side out and adding the filling. Sand was added to the pincushion. When stuffing a pincushion with sand don’t be tempted to collect some. Sanitized playground sand can be bought at a hardware store. Stitch the hole together and, viola, you have a pincushion.

The traditional side will have all white headed pins. The bohemian side will have a variety of colors of pins and little flags of scraps from Irresistible India embellished sari scraps that I love.

It will be fun to choose which side to use depending on the project that is being worked upon. You could also make two. A velvet bottom would also look good….

Somehow I see more pincushions in my future. I’d love to know if you make your own pincushions and what they look like.

EditTraditional vs. Bohemian Reversible Pincushion

Japanese Paper Arts Explained - Kirigami - Reposted 2018

 

Japanese Paper Arts Explained – Part Two – Kirigami

by lshoupupdated on July 16, 20182 Commentson Japanese Paper Arts Explained – Part Two – Kirigami

If you have taken to origami you may be interested in learning about kirigami. Kirigami is a word that is accredited to Florence Temko in her 1962 book Kirigami, The Creative Art of Papercutting.           

Kirigami 切り紙 is a mixture of Kiri + Gami. Kiri is a form of the verb Kiru 切る= to cut. If you remember from last post, Gami is a form of the word Kami 紙= paper. So kirigami is paper cutting. It’s not just cutting paper, however. Paper is folded and then cut. The result is symmetrical. Japan isn’t the only country that has a tradition of folding paper and then cutting to reveal beautiful symmetrical patterns. Mexico has Papel Picado which uses many of the same principles. Many countries have paper cutting traditions, but not all of them focus on symmetrical pieces.

Nevertheless, Kirigami is an established art form in Japan. Kirigami papers can be used in collage, as ornamentation, as doilies, framed, in gift wrapping and more.

You have probably made a kirigami form at some point if you live somewhere there is snow. The act of folding paper into 6ths and making paper snowflakes can be considered kirigami. The art does not restrict itself to snow themed works, nor does it require one to always divide into 6 sections. Kirigami books sometimes separate out the patterns introduced by how many folds must be made.

 

The folding patterns for kirigami can revolve around a center point and spiral from there, can be either left/right or up/down, and even fan folded.

Want to try kirigami that goes beyond snowflakes? Snowflakes require a paper folded into 6 parts. Try four parts or eight. Try cutting out different shapes and seeing how they unfold. Make adjustments. Or get a kirigami book which has templates and copy them. Once you have the basic concept of how the shapes are fun you can have endless fun trying new shapes.

For the papermaker:

Kirigami, like origami, requires a paper that is quite thin. Not only are you going to fold the paper (likely multiple times), but also you are going to cut it. Papers that have thin areas or even holes are great for using as long as the cutting can be done around these areas.

For more information see my post on the Arnold Grummer Papermaking Design Team blog where I give some tips for embedding kirigami into handmade paper.

Bohemian Cell Phone Case - Reposted 2018

 

Bohemian Cell Phone Case

by lshoupupdated on June 9, 2016 Commentson Bohemian Cell Phone Case

Most of the clothes I own are devoid of pockets. This means that juggling a cell phone is an adventure. Finally, there seemed to be no other choice but than to make an over the shoulder bag to cart it about wherever life might lead. Well, if you are going to make a bag, why not make it awesome? If you’re making something awesome, Gwen has the goods that will get you started.

I decided to use some paper from Gwen’s shop to make some paper fabric to then construct the bag using that material.

Materials Used:

piece of cotton fabric (I used muslin)

painter’s tape (well, I used masking tape)

board to tape the fabric on

gel medium

papers from Gwen’s shop

raffia (embroidery thread will also work)

beads

embroidery floss (about one skein)

sewing thread

needle

Turkmen jewelry parts

sari ribbon

scrap of fuzzy yarn

Instructions:

1. Constructing the paper fabric. Cut 2 pieces of your fabric into the size for your bag leaving a seam allowance on all sides. Using the masking tape, secure the fabric tightly to the board. Notice there are plenty of wrinkles in the fabric. I do my best to smooth the material, but it will be smoothed again so I am not picky about it. Apply gel medium to the whole surface. Then smooth and flatten.

 

Add your paper to the fabric and more gel medium on top. Three pieces of paper were used in the picture below. Japanese chiyogami on the sides, Gwen’s handprinted paper in the middle and a block printed paper with a hamsa in the middle.

 

This piece uses the same background and adds a figure from Gwen’s printables.

 

Make sure to add a layer of gel medium over the whole. This will make it stronger.

When completely dry, remove from the board.

2. Next, a zipper was sewn to the top edge of both front and back. This zipper was in my stash from my mother’s sewing box. Notice that it cost only $0.40 back in the day. It was handstitched using regular sewing thread. It could just as easily have been stitched on the machine, but I did not want to wake anyone up so I forged ahead with handstitching.

3. Trim. This is a fun part. So many possibilities. I had some raffia left over from my first post for the Artist Tribe as well as this fun eyelash yarn. There was also a substantial load of beads. 

While still debating about how to put it together, I had the occasion to try out making these bracelets from a popular trend. I had seen them on Pinterest and wanted to try my hand at one. I got chance. The next day I realized that using this technique to make a line of beads would be great, so I made them for each side of the hand. The raffia and the beads were used for this.

The other side was trimmed by chaining a length of the eyelash yarn, pairing it with sari ribbon and sewing it along the line where the papers met.

4. Sewing the bottom and sides. I still had napping going on nearby, so I handstitched the bottom and came up one side. The zipper was too long, so the thread was used to secure the new end. Insert needle at desired spot, wrap the thread around the zipper and repeat three or four times. Tie off and trim off the excess. Then sew up the other side.

 

5. Securing sides with sari ribbon. Colorful pieces of sari ribbon were chosen. They were folded over the top of the seams around the perimeter of the bag and sewn down using rough stitches. The embroidery floss was a contrasting color. The sari ribbon continued around creating the strap.

   

6. Final decoration. Using some Turkmen jewelry parts finished it off. One piece was sewn beneath the portrait of the woman. Beads were strung and applied to the bottom edges of the bag. Turkmen jewelry parts were hung calculating how the beads would swing in order to get the most pleasant chiming. Sewn-on the bag was finished!