Friday Face Off April 29, 2022

Welcome to the Friday Face Off for this week.   This is becoming a regular thing for me. I love playing in the clay and paint.  For me, it is just fun and not too mentally taxing.  I think of it as a "no rules" playdate with myself.   

 Nicole at DVArtist and sometimes Barbara at Artistic Living post clay faces on Fridays for the "Friday Face Off."   So, naturally I want to offer you the opportunity to see what they are doing also.  We each have different styles. 

For this week my face is different.  It is different from the ones I have been making but even more it is different than what I "intended" to make.  And yes, I do love it.  Here are a couple of different angles on it. 

You may be able to tell that I used an iridescent paint on this.  To be transparent and honest with you, I first colored parts of it with Sharpie markers. I wasn't totally happy with that so I added a layer of the pearl iridescent paint over it except for the eyes, which I like.  But the iridescent paint muted the colors too much.  So, more paint was added - being careful to use mostly transparent colors (except for the lips.)   I am rather pleased with the outcome.  I hope I can insert a video here so that you can get a better idea about the look of the iridescent paint.  

Here is the collection of faces I have created since starting this challenge. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

The "Forgotten" Runner

Somebody (I won't mention who, but his name is on this blog)  forgot to take a picture of the finished table runner.  That was mostly because the runner has not been washed and blocked yet.  
Oh well!  I took the runner outside and made some quick photos. 

The first set of photos were missing one end - Hey, it is hard to see the screen when the sun is so bright. 

See what I mean????

I went back and took a couple of slightly better photos. 

First the front:

Then with the end flipped so that you can see the backing. 

Meanwhile, I have been working on a face for the Friday Face Off. 

It will be different as I am playing with what I can 

do with the faces just to have fun.  

I can hardly wait to show it to you. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Friday Face Off

Once again I have had some time playing in the clay.  Nicole at DVArtist and sometimes Barbara at Artistic Living post clay faces on Fridays for the "Friday Face Off."   As I had a stash of polymer clay, I decided to join in and make faces too.  I think this is number 6 for me. 

Today's face is more of a tribal mask type face.   I made the face with white clay and I used some polymer beads for the eyes, but then decided to paint over them anyway.  I call that "artist's choice" while working. 

I think this face is fun and whimsical.  I reminds me of some masks that I saw in Mexico in a museum. 

Honestly, I just went wild with the paint and had fun. 
Once I got started my "plans" went out the window.  

I could not resist transforming the photo into black and white.

Ha, now I think I need to go back to Mexico and visit that museum

once again for more inspiration. Or maybe I can find the photos I took 

while I was there previously.  

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Borders Added

My fun braided table-runner now has borders on it.

Choosing the fabric was much easier than I expected. 

The piece I used was already pressed and laying out as if it 

were ready to use just for this project. 

I did consider one other piece of fabric but decided that there 

might not be enough of it.  Lucky me!

This one was perfect.  

There is still a bit of squaring up to do, but I love the 

choice for borders.  Choosing backing and binding may be

more time consuming.  Ha ha

The hand dyed fabric here works delightfully with the batiks

You see, I have decided to use the fabric I love NOW.

I realize that I only have so much time on this earth.

I can use the fabrics I love first and then use the others, 

if I last that long. 

I have a good amount of fabric. 

Plus, I always enjoy shopping for more, 

or winning more. (wink) 

These batiks are from my most recent win. 

Use those fabrics that you love - if you "save them" for 

something special, they may outlast you.

And your family may put them in a yard sale. 

(Horrors, imagine that fabric you loved selling for 

fifty cents a yard!) 
Use it now.  You KNOW you will buy more.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

A Simple Braid Table Runner- tutorial

Those batiks from my squishy envelope were calling to me.  At this point, I didn't want to start a quilt - but I wanted to sew something.  A table runner is easy and fun, so that is what I opted to do.  I chose three fat quarters: a dark, a light and a neutral.  I love using die cuts when they make the work easier.  I had made a braid table runner once before from a kit. So, I remembered the basic method of sewing it. 

Please read all the directions before you attempt to start.  Note that the outer long sides of this portion will be bias cuts. 

I chose to use the Accuquilt Go! Chisel die for this one.  Since I was using batiks, I didn't have to worry about "right hand and left hand" pieces because batiks are reversible. But if you are using a fabric with right and wrong sides, you will need to make half of your chisels right handed and the other half left handed.

I cut eight light and eight dark batik chisel shapes. Along with eight neutral 3 1/2" squares. (The chisel die that I have is 3 1/2" wide.)  Here are a couple of the darks with a square. 

You also need one 6 1/2" of either the neutral or fabric of your choice. 

That piece will be the center of your table runner. 

Take all of your left hand chisels (or right hand chisels, just be consistent or it won't work out) and sew one of the squares to the flat end.

Press the seam to the chisel side. Again consistency is important. 

This will allow seams to nest for nice sharp points. 

Now take the 6 1/2" square and one of the other chisels and sew the longer edge to the square

Press that seam toward the chisel. 

Now the matching chisel/square unit will be added.

If you did all your pressing toward the chisel shapes it will nest together for a nice sharp point. 

I like to use one pin at the intersection.

Then when sewn  you will have the beginning of the braid. 

That point is nice and sharp!

Repeat with the opposite color. Starting with the single chisel 

and then add the chisel/square combo.

Once you have this half sewn,  simply turn it around and start on the opposite side of the 

bigger (center) square. Repeat until all the pieces are used.

 And you will have the braid part of your runner completed. 

It is much simpler than you would think. 

Now it needs borders added.  

I think/hope you can do that already for yourself.  
I am stopping for now. But when I do finish it, I will show the resulting table runner. 

P.S.   I don't get up to press each seam.  Rather I finger press seams until the 

first half is completed, then I take it to the iron to press it neatly.  

Then I do the same for the other half. It saves a lot of time getting up to iron.

If you have a pressing station by your machine, then you can decide which 

you wish to do. (or you can go running to the machine with each seam, 

I am not "the boss of you." Ha ha)

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Quiet here

To be honest,  I have been a bit lazy.  I am reading a book about Grace Metalious, who wrote Peyton Place. The book is fiction based loosely on facts.  
I have another book (prepublication) to read after I finish this one.  So I may be "lazy" for a few more days. 

I did just a little bit of sewing/quilting as I made some quilted potholders for my neighbors.  They wanted oval potholders - like the ones that they have had too long and are quite worn. So, I made these two:

Okay, so it isn't the greatest fabric combination. Sigh!

I think that I finally figured out the circular binding on the very last one. (I made a prototype first, I don't have a picture of it.)  It is much easier to join the binding strips on a quilt with straight edges. 

You may have noticed that I missed "Friday Face Off" - honestly I just forgot to make 

a face and the week rushed past too quickly.  I do plan to have a face for next week. 

I do enjoy working with the clay and not expecting great results, but just playing

much as a child plays. As I have no training in sculpture, it is easier to just 

see what happens and not stress at all about it. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Squishy Mail in My Box

So in Monday's mail, there was this big squishy envelope. 

Oooh weeeee!  What could be inside?

I seriously didn't know what it would be until I opened it.  I did know that I had

entered a giveaway over at InchWorm Fabrics. I received an email from Jeanette 

telling me that I won one of the two prizes, and asking for a mailing address.

I replied very promptly. Ha ha. 

So let's see what joys are in this squishy envelope.

Batiks!!!! You know I love them. And see that dual marking pen?  I can always use

one of those.  Then there is a pattern from Quilt-In-A-Day.

I love the batiks so much, here is a second (gratuitous) photo.

I love Jeanette's business card also. Isn't the inchworm adorable?

Honestly, I almost forgot the neutral fabrics that are not batiks.

I was so excited about the batiks that those got pushed aside. 

Fortunately, I started to "clean up,"  saw them and took one more photo.

 They are cream colored with subtle white prints on them. 

Neutrals are what I always forget to buy. 

(I mean, you KNOW I love color.) 
But they are so useful for making colors really pop. 

Now did you count? That is almost four yards of fabric. Actually it is 3.75 yards.

What a GREAT surprise.  I know it will all get used. 

You should all follow InchWorm Fabrics blog.

And of course, support the cause by ordering from her store. 

Thanks Jeanette.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Friday Face Off - and a Finish

The latest edition of the Friday Face Off is here.   Friday Face Off is a challenge for  Barbara,  DVArtist  and yours truly.  We don't have a prompt, we just make a clay face each week. They are using paper clay while I am using polymer clay because I have it and it needs to be used.  

Today my face does not have a story with it.  Instead I started making a face and let the clay lead me.  I had other plans for it, but here is where it decided to go. 

A friend told me that "It looks a little evil to me." 

But I think it is just different.  I am curious to hear what YOU think. 

Next up is the finished notebook that I made from the painted fabric. 

Front

Back (I kinda wish it was the front)

Inside front cover with pocket and label. 

I have extra pieces of the painted fabric, so I may make some variations on this one. 

But for now I am taking the weekend off to relax. 

As for the weather, it passed by us.  It didn't get nearly as bad as expected here. For that I am truly thankful. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Working on a UFO

In January of this year, I attended an online "Stitch Camp."  In that class, we painted fabric and then cut it apart and sewed parts of it back together.    Today that piece is in the process of becoming a notebook cover. 

Today I finished piecing the top. Then I layered and quilted it in a way that I hope doesn't detract from the original painting.  

This is the cover prior to assembly.  The assembly work will have to wait a bit as I have other things that I must do today. We are expecting severe weather so I need to secure a few outdoor item and "batten down the hatches."  I sincerely hope that all of this is unnecessary.  But it is better to be prepared for the worst. 

If you don't remember the original piece that I showed on my blog, here is that photo.

I thought I had photos of the two original painted pieces, but at this time, I can't locate them.  C'est la vie!

Wait!! I found this one  at least. 

We did one left with lots  of white space and one with more color. 

This is the 'white space' version. You can find part of it in the 

cover fabrics.

Friday,  if all goes well, I will be posting a new Friday Faceoff photo.  This will be a different type of face and I really had fun making it. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Friday Face Off: Da' Fam'ly

My friend, Barbara, got me started making a family of clay faces.  She and Nicole at DVArtist have been doing a Friday Face Off challenge.  My faces are different from theirs.  But that is okay we each express our own artistic bent. 

So today, I have completed my "Family of Thugs" - Da'Fam'ly.   Today "Dad" is the new character. All of my faces are made of polymer clay rather than the paper clay that Barbara and Nicole are using. The main reason being that I already had polymer clay in my crafty stash of fun creative "stuff." 

So here is Dad.   And as an aside, Dad's hair is made of a wool blend that I bought to spin into yarn. 

Dad is a bit of a rough character. He has some scars and a wonky eye. 

The eye happened in an "accident" as Dad would tell it. 

That accident was a bar fight a few years ago. The "accident" part

is that Dad accidentally looked away and the other guy stabbed him in the

eye with a pool cue. Of course, Dad walked out of the bar (before the cops arrived)

and the other guy was carried out in a black bag.  

Dad did a year and half up the river for that escapade. 

Getting caught was the second part of the "accident."

Dad was sure to teach his sons about "deniability" and alibis.

Here is a family portrait, first in color

Then in Black and White

I am going to try a different type of face next. It may be a more artistic/fantasy type

Of course if that doesn't work, there may be another member in this family.  
Haha. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.