tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61964052024-03-07T13:21:27.474-05:00rhyaLife of a maker, illustrator and textile artist.Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.comBlogger263125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-46452105338494862352016-09-25T15:26:00.002-04:002016-09-25T16:47:09.287-04:00Makeful Challenge - The Apron<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few weeks ago I received a lovely package in the mail from Makeful. Inside, a blank apron for me to craft upon and enter into another awesome Makeful Challenge.<br />
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I knew exactly what I wanted to do for this challenge: A mash up potato stamp and painting repeat pattern of me, Kyle and Nomi’s faces!<br />
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To start I did a mock up of the pattern idea in Adobe sketch on my phone. Great little program for playing around with ideas. I highly recommend the download. Takes some getting used to, but very satisfying results once you get the hang of it.<br />
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With my pattern designed the next step was to gather my materials.<br />
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Materials<br />
1. Potatoes (three different sizes)<br />
2. Paints (fabric if you are intending on washing these guys, I actually used acrylic because I was <br />
3. Paint Brushes <br />
4. Jar of water<br />
5. Newspaper to cover you work surface for easy clean up.<br />
6. Felt (optional). To use as a stamping surface under your apron. Helps with unevenly cut potatoes, so you can press down and get a more even print.<br />
7. Apron<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST37O8Hacv8qkWknSQC4GE3_SNjlFFlR5jneSUwpt0hx10EGcdaHzWw1ZFywwmT-lAGetQcTgL3-LBc-5w3h38muBNp_N933eKspXt0kkk34DqJzJAXkaDjLdanxBi0U_jiyE/s1600/IMG_0457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST37O8Hacv8qkWknSQC4GE3_SNjlFFlR5jneSUwpt0hx10EGcdaHzWw1ZFywwmT-lAGetQcTgL3-LBc-5w3h38muBNp_N933eKspXt0kkk34DqJzJAXkaDjLdanxBi0U_jiyE/s640/IMG_0457.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
Next step was a quick test on a piece of muslin. I wanted to test my colors and see how painting on the fabric would work. Once I was satisfied with the test results, I just dove in and started making the print. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcxDErBtUrP7ukZjXk9N1kWzVC0BXMheBEcy8nE2x7Vbe3d4ro0T8Q1egx6HGfFbMXRwuM4TC4j7nirGwzhsunlYsf8hYLB_nnmItfFZn7O0Qog-e-SBGQlbd2jVcoV2AZFLQ/s1600/IMG_0462.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcxDErBtUrP7ukZjXk9N1kWzVC0BXMheBEcy8nE2x7Vbe3d4ro0T8Q1egx6HGfFbMXRwuM4TC4j7nirGwzhsunlYsf8hYLB_nnmItfFZn7O0Qog-e-SBGQlbd2jVcoV2AZFLQ/s640/IMG_0462.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
I used my adobe sketch drawing as a guide, and laid down all the potato stamps faces and painted flowers first. <br />
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Once the base of the pattern was set and dry, I then began painting on the face and flower details. Final step was painting on the hair.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsjwjw19U9LqU7TGmti1G3ydexX6nQQkU4_xBBaTuadtzQ58b9hA8HT37dBHDKgjQdWVZk1zEjpcd0Yf1pXN8tDl8np_ZY4D6SdxWZUSMfKLgGQQj6fn1FEE7_WqrMHIaabbk/s1600/IMG_0473.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsjwjw19U9LqU7TGmti1G3ydexX6nQQkU4_xBBaTuadtzQ58b9hA8HT37dBHDKgjQdWVZk1zEjpcd0Yf1pXN8tDl8np_ZY4D6SdxWZUSMfKLgGQQj6fn1FEE7_WqrMHIaabbk/s640/IMG_0473.JPG" width="480" /></a> <br />
After that I let the apron dry and voila, my repeat pattern was complete.<br />
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I am absolutely thrilled with the results of my repeat pattern, something that doesn’t always happen. I think taking the time to sketch first and then do a test really helped. In fact I kind of love my test piece and want to do something with it! <br />
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I’ve decided to name the pattern Happy Home, because when I showed it to my daughter that’s what she said after seeing it. It seems fitting.<br />
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Here is a little insta story I made as well of the process:<br />
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This was a super simple and fun craft, and now my husband and I have a sweet little apron to dawn while cooking our traditional Saturday morning pancake breakfast! Mmm…<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpgRGHCQZnOrc8lob2xhf0Eps6NWBH6RHfxke99cvDqbFCvkjXl9bzt9s4lgOA8pZhUFjR9hp1qYrTU95Y83fuLrmm1XLLABnv_MDNuPyMsxOexC3v7jeVcvs4EkesBf6lnwJ/s1600/IMG_0483.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpgRGHCQZnOrc8lob2xhf0Eps6NWBH6RHfxke99cvDqbFCvkjXl9bzt9s4lgOA8pZhUFjR9hp1qYrTU95Y83fuLrmm1XLLABnv_MDNuPyMsxOexC3v7jeVcvs4EkesBf6lnwJ/s640/IMG_0483.JPG" width="640" /></a>Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-49322784443264183022016-07-10T23:42:00.001-04:002016-07-22T13:19:34.242-04:00Modern-Day Quilt LoreTelling stories through textiles. It seemed like the logical next step on my creative adventure. I've fallen head over heels for quilt block design. So much to learn and so many stitches to sew.<br />
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<span id="goog_1547169445"></span><span id="goog_1547169446"></span><br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-84321003198126123122016-07-10T22:47:00.000-04:002016-07-10T23:06:46.685-04:00A Quilt Cover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I’ve been obsessed with quilting lately, like can’t stop dreaming up geometric stories to tell through textiles obsessed! So when I received my blank canvas cell phone case for one of the Makeful challenges, I knew I had to try quilting up a cover! <br /><br />To start I measured the case and got the dimensions and drew them out on graph paper.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhus7v9QMO2SL2b2WIP6FyxQW-efUZBovMP-cZDDHxw-WMe7u2v1_sQI5Nokwi0IeK4GmAEk0pL-4z2rpUZwLVloUVDV0Rzlgt15BRlESn87Y9Xx3FLJ7F-Ra0HCp-Vp9Pd5l6m/s1600/quilt-4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhus7v9QMO2SL2b2WIP6FyxQW-efUZBovMP-cZDDHxw-WMe7u2v1_sQI5Nokwi0IeK4GmAEk0pL-4z2rpUZwLVloUVDV0Rzlgt15BRlESn87Y9Xx3FLJ7F-Ra0HCp-Vp9Pd5l6m/s640/quilt-4.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />My patterning process for quilting so far has been to sketch out my designs on the paper and then move to illustrator and trace out the pattern pieces and add on a quarter inch seam allowance. After, I print out the pattern pieces, and cut them out, and from there I’m ready to move to the fabrics and sewing.<br /><br />I love using illustrator because it allows me to play with colors and easily fiddle around with the shapes and layout.<br /><br />But for my quilted case, I wanted to just try free handing straight from the drawing, something I probably won’t try again. It was super fun to just sit down with my fabrics and start experimenting in front of the machine – almost like sketching with textiles – but I think I ultimately enjoy more having the direction of a printed pattern. The quilted stripes in my design are not a uniform width apart, which I was going for, but if I made this again I would keep a more consistently spaced distance. But one cool thing about free styling was that initially I didn’t have a nose on my design, something I felt I needed to add after I sewed it all up, so I just added it in.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWFDbuhpCSrFEY5yeMuu603T8aV1TW5TK-poRQ9d6SuSvIbDyKOlxwISVV3z1s0bZojwzKD8MFPsZdrOGl6HyUseS5D_-mWgNhExl4jWP2uui1QrhptD_KK8H4xMVlP7Oqd2X/s1600/quilt-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWFDbuhpCSrFEY5yeMuu603T8aV1TW5TK-poRQ9d6SuSvIbDyKOlxwISVV3z1s0bZojwzKD8MFPsZdrOGl6HyUseS5D_-mWgNhExl4jWP2uui1QrhptD_KK8H4xMVlP7Oqd2X/s640/quilt-3.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />I’m not 100% sure my quilted case was entirely successful either… even with some intense pressing, it was still a little too thick for the case, I mean it fit, but it was just not as flush as a piece of paper would have been. Regardless, I love the way the fabric and seams looks all pressed out under the case. Kind of a magical texture.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0LzTpsAT4XM553th_oeoCNLZwwzQLYa5oKWTgszdNvV4W_aZPOGsjSOfOEv5MD9fA0CzXPQReOZHq2ORr88F6E1xA2_jd60CKVUwYi_fA57sD3GBk7EtSa_gKkTdFiZ-45pd/s1600/quilt-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0LzTpsAT4XM553th_oeoCNLZwwzQLYa5oKWTgszdNvV4W_aZPOGsjSOfOEv5MD9fA0CzXPQReOZHq2ORr88F6E1xA2_jd60CKVUwYi_fA57sD3GBk7EtSa_gKkTdFiZ-45pd/s640/quilt-2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />I feel like this project may have been a bit of a happy fail for me. I considered redoing the case again, and perfecting it for the challenge because I most certainly made mistakes. But for me it’s through mistakes that I learn. It’s through all these experiments, and mix ups and mess ups and through making a charming and funny quilted cell phone case that I discover exciting new adventures on my crafting journey! So please enjoy!<br />#makefulchallenge #bemakeful<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-54187332043488909262016-04-03T16:29:00.001-04:002016-07-10T23:08:14.206-04:00A Life In Flowers - A Pressed Memory Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aoh3LJVPMQmcyk7otFTHWcEmC5eHEyj8YwZLYZGht0WsIr-UuUXYIFSW9sSlW-FlHQShmQxs677spTV5VxYeLs9ZaloiJvGgBrca4jyvaM7dI7gxYuAU26YIOJqxOtJ8CiHc/s1600/A-life-in-flowers-10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aoh3LJVPMQmcyk7otFTHWcEmC5eHEyj8YwZLYZGht0WsIr-UuUXYIFSW9sSlW-FlHQShmQxs677spTV5VxYeLs9ZaloiJvGgBrca4jyvaM7dI7gxYuAU26YIOJqxOtJ8CiHc/s640/A-life-in-flowers-10.png" width="640" /></a></div>
Flowers are a wonderful thing, and I don’t think I could properly capture their beauty in words. They’ve always somewhat seemed like real life magical creatures to me, and that is cool because, I’ll probably never see a unicorn, but I can always find a hot pink rose to add a little flash to my day. I’ve known many people who are blessed with the power to grow these wondrous beings, or piece them together into stunning arrangements that can steal your breath and leave you in tears. I am not a member of this talented pool of folks. But I do still have a strong passion for all things floral. I suppose I am more of a flower hunter and gatherer.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxWgPDOcZxgzmNAqOgfkg5ip6M-aumsMQERIoAYy9OVgBJk8Xsjzh-iuFhm2gFeYZIHSOX6tmoW86Zx_RGEBw4Kx0I4Ec5t8FhrM4cb0zvWhmeakNxQ1FURPkkVLb8bIqW2fU/s1600/A-life-in-flowers-6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxWgPDOcZxgzmNAqOgfkg5ip6M-aumsMQERIoAYy9OVgBJk8Xsjzh-iuFhm2gFeYZIHSOX6tmoW86Zx_RGEBw4Kx0I4Ec5t8FhrM4cb0zvWhmeakNxQ1FURPkkVLb8bIqW2fU/s640/A-life-in-flowers-6.png" width="640" /></a> <br />
I enjoy the wildflowers I find on nature hikes or come across while strolling through the park. Floral motifs also play a large part in my illustration, they may be my ultimate muse, next to mythical creatures.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0USh9ixEqaqx26V3pb00Kj0g4w4JrCmOgceXtvdY-hHaFwtkH-s403ff_RxRNWTyRBN5qutYVkzo308cluI9h66coSwNQP6pSvPln25vh3E-7T2Pzf11foRrCOyBHTLl53jEr/s1600/A-life-in-flowers-3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0USh9ixEqaqx26V3pb00Kj0g4w4JrCmOgceXtvdY-hHaFwtkH-s403ff_RxRNWTyRBN5qutYVkzo308cluI9h66coSwNQP6pSvPln25vh3E-7T2Pzf11foRrCOyBHTLl53jEr/s640/A-life-in-flowers-3.png" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJTDW91ZQaJgjHCdqSXWWku46gZRiePF9odtxzV0GLyYXCRDVMi6wROe63i0Eppu4pJ9FpXiYD-2oKqxBvCOR-eGyt06S5T3j_PweEx8dJ7ljC-5ooFalAE_ZbsJ2OasOhO4C/s1600/A-life-in-flowers-4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJTDW91ZQaJgjHCdqSXWWku46gZRiePF9odtxzV0GLyYXCRDVMi6wROe63i0Eppu4pJ9FpXiYD-2oKqxBvCOR-eGyt06S5T3j_PweEx8dJ7ljC-5ooFalAE_ZbsJ2OasOhO4C/s640/A-life-in-flowers-4.png" width="640" /></a><br />
The project I’m sharing today is my pressed flower book. I began it the summer after my daughter was born. I wanted to create a tangible way for me to capture some of the fleeting memories of my time with my child. So my “Life In Flowers” was started. I found an old hand bound book I’d made years ago, that was full of beautiful scraps, and I deemed it’s pages the perfect place for me to mark up with petals. Once I had the book chosen, essentially I’ve just been making sure to snag a floral memento whenever I can. I bring it home, press it away between the book pages, and make a note of something special that happened that day. It’s simple and yet so effective. There is something so powerful about flipping through the book and seeing the dried and delicate beauty spread across the pages, with stories fluttering softly, in and out of the spine. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsBmDhFeVATeFPGv_1nW0luA8htgsZr6_H-_y8QWWKmLXGKq5AHJCgYMJQ5SUPQRvb-vKjZjc1RAOaxOAlF-Iviu2m0OwZAplHdhXlYc5DQArNjL2cafs_xwNo3pSyPJJHo2o/s1600/A-life-in-flowers-5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsBmDhFeVATeFPGv_1nW0luA8htgsZr6_H-_y8QWWKmLXGKq5AHJCgYMJQ5SUPQRvb-vKjZjc1RAOaxOAlF-Iviu2m0OwZAplHdhXlYc5DQArNjL2cafs_xwNo3pSyPJJHo2o/s640/A-life-in-flowers-5.png" width="424" /></a></div>
I’ve kept the book for over two years, and now with spring here, it will be time to start pressing our moments away again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgyPLwfcj3KapYluUKG3VBCsjNW0K-PVQkVG39XNtDT-EsuGB4KcvwvZcde6ftDLQaEXSHyh_-SU5fk91t9xQML9qVhOksNUX1_xKQ5J4IxdCiayzlFqrafTJ6vKHIzePklFu/s1600/A-life-in-flowers-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgyPLwfcj3KapYluUKG3VBCsjNW0K-PVQkVG39XNtDT-EsuGB4KcvwvZcde6ftDLQaEXSHyh_-SU5fk91t9xQML9qVhOksNUX1_xKQ5J4IxdCiayzlFqrafTJ6vKHIzePklFu/s640/A-life-in-flowers-2.png" width="424" /></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKMrGm9a5Ghvt97eOrGtTWh4FirAoYZAs_dDvfycHnIAG1wpHUUiJLRP1ZHozKihBZVUc3e7sLEELLBK0m1Ci8or1dTpzZvLTM-aPaf-hpIa-8Ib3vMId3oa1ERFDowZAuFeF/s1600/A-life-in-flowers-8.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKMrGm9a5Ghvt97eOrGtTWh4FirAoYZAs_dDvfycHnIAG1wpHUUiJLRP1ZHozKihBZVUc3e7sLEELLBK0m1Ci8or1dTpzZvLTM-aPaf-hpIa-8Ib3vMId3oa1ERFDowZAuFeF/s640/A-life-in-flowers-8.png" width="424" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEics01PMjtKIMq3m6-hiKPI2_Efqlq1W2LR9XrLQiRokSzH4LfeLKSP8iDQ_y2WpUXrdLdtCEmVOZ5Art75qMA4RFyKlbnPZ4UgOmqzsKkvY4nKOYYTwlZbok9wvQtSzcwajs7Z/s1600/A-life-in-flowers-7.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEics01PMjtKIMq3m6-hiKPI2_Efqlq1W2LR9XrLQiRokSzH4LfeLKSP8iDQ_y2WpUXrdLdtCEmVOZ5Art75qMA4RFyKlbnPZ4UgOmqzsKkvY4nKOYYTwlZbok9wvQtSzcwajs7Z/s640/A-life-in-flowers-7.png" width="640" /></a></div>
Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-16688889638450147202016-03-20T22:19:00.000-04:002016-07-10T23:07:39.998-04:00Marguciai - Lithuanian Easter Eggs<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjQiSyeg4-xnbifF2d3bWzyBrZXA6_qPYBQdoA0y49XK2KiSesVJw0iuwL0A_jSBwiQJqyCLn81qS-qZ5iw62PZsMyBfKV1_yWbwwrB1FSArE66pLCNYidCmm8jH29bm_vQso/s1600/IMG_4990.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjQiSyeg4-xnbifF2d3bWzyBrZXA6_qPYBQdoA0y49XK2KiSesVJw0iuwL0A_jSBwiQJqyCLn81qS-qZ5iw62PZsMyBfKV1_yWbwwrB1FSArE66pLCNYidCmm8jH29bm_vQso/s640/IMG_4990.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div>
Easter, means easter eggs in our house. I was taught by my dad as a kid how to blow out eggs, dye them in an onion skin bath and then etch designs into their shells using a knife.<br />
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This year instead of onion skins I decided to try a different natural dye… red cabbage! I shredded up the cabbage, brought it to a boil in a pot of 4 cups of water and then simmered it for twenty minutes. When that was done, I strained out the left over cabbage, let it cool and then added a tablespoon of vinegar and a pinch of baking soda.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cL3eFlWRl3Vr8hI7xxkel5PCCpJg6u4wbSPYF8SqUpVrnZ-nxt6qIHMdT6xqb-9Apt7_pcTzSFrdSc-35u3NF8IMnvMqtHh7nd1y5Ulqnxbmdr2jhs1IrstIKTfKuApaZG49/s1600/IMG_4921.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cL3eFlWRl3Vr8hI7xxkel5PCCpJg6u4wbSPYF8SqUpVrnZ-nxt6qIHMdT6xqb-9Apt7_pcTzSFrdSc-35u3NF8IMnvMqtHh7nd1y5Ulqnxbmdr2jhs1IrstIKTfKuApaZG49/s640/IMG_4921.JPG" width="640" /></a> <br />
I plopped my blown out eggs into my jars of dye and let them sit over night. In the morning I removed some beautifully naturally colored eggs!<br />
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Oh I forgot to mention I added a little turmeric to one of the dye baths and the results came out green!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8iuowsR928ftt9Y7IG_zUsU-tr_uHfrssSe2Hjlsfehyphenhyphenvh9Rib2L4HeALymMG5AnW324SgsI7krQhWME1f6ZHkWOPoYYHn3fjfGC8ARswAzbjPNBtDqEDmhra2-giAidMHay/s1600/IMG_4914.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8iuowsR928ftt9Y7IG_zUsU-tr_uHfrssSe2Hjlsfehyphenhyphenvh9Rib2L4HeALymMG5AnW324SgsI7krQhWME1f6ZHkWOPoYYHn3fjfGC8ARswAzbjPNBtDqEDmhra2-giAidMHay/s640/IMG_4914.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKEIQntbBlbf8OsKcX7DyxKQaZi65OxTkRdJQqTxSNwVznYshXTUSuZxUftPpW_qms6EZNuEY1JM725N2IaxGFUZUc6jG4qHfRDueF-gCNsbbk5i4Dbmnk5GJSIeoR53_4PhF/s1600/IMG_4955.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKEIQntbBlbf8OsKcX7DyxKQaZi65OxTkRdJQqTxSNwVznYshXTUSuZxUftPpW_qms6EZNuEY1JM725N2IaxGFUZUc6jG4qHfRDueF-gCNsbbk5i4Dbmnk5GJSIeoR53_4PhF/s640/IMG_4955.JPG" width="512" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxQ3HFq-fhIDlS9HJ1qAY89vHwaeqvI8ZbX6iHpfS7O2u8hyphenhyphen-U1A4E6D5vlWI1btJvgZRgf7dFEVYISI4jGPR77eYv_MC646Bw7FryorQ_P9ZeTM9d7b4TLIJ9hgoMzXtd9vW/s1600/IMG_4954.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxQ3HFq-fhIDlS9HJ1qAY89vHwaeqvI8ZbX6iHpfS7O2u8hyphenhyphen-U1A4E6D5vlWI1btJvgZRgf7dFEVYISI4jGPR77eYv_MC646Bw7FryorQ_P9ZeTM9d7b4TLIJ9hgoMzXtd9vW/s640/IMG_4954.JPG" width="512" /></a> </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihBrT5lUn8qIoBONbJJZh82Wg2w_dQi258t3s6G_zONS0DPp-ENwWdMS_feS_qQzUTNBtPCjl6kMK2rF9sEBkZzZfqm8CxI0KuCiqIE4wEOKhft4eU3G4CMCV8ZBdA8TZJtCC1/s1600/IMG_4957.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihBrT5lUn8qIoBONbJJZh82Wg2w_dQi258t3s6G_zONS0DPp-ENwWdMS_feS_qQzUTNBtPCjl6kMK2rF9sEBkZzZfqm8CxI0KuCiqIE4wEOKhft4eU3G4CMCV8ZBdA8TZJtCC1/s640/IMG_4957.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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After they dried, I penciled on my designs and then scratched them out using an exacto knife. And the final touch is to shine them up with some oil. I just use vegetable oil. It really brings out the designs. <span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span><br />
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It’s a long process that requires patience, but it’s very meditative and
the results are thrilling. One of my favorite craft times of the year!</div>
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<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-42447767403829620342016-03-06T22:10:00.002-05:002016-07-10T23:07:01.376-04:00A Little Macaroni Charm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaRRrNQ0SbfDmmePbbfNeO-Yqjia7nnzAIOvDMvtnAbboe32Y4_7tFi10kF3E3UZ70BzlFHG95SohLCB10vAKSL24kXP96ybLovyKUrqsqBCxEoAlfDHJRSCubDRKfmcnBp4P/s1600/macaroni-necklace-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaRRrNQ0SbfDmmePbbfNeO-Yqjia7nnzAIOvDMvtnAbboe32Y4_7tFi10kF3E3UZ70BzlFHG95SohLCB10vAKSL24kXP96ybLovyKUrqsqBCxEoAlfDHJRSCubDRKfmcnBp4P/s640/macaroni-necklace-2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I’ve been making a lot of macaroni jewelry these days. My kid loves necklaces and pasta seems to be a great way to adorn her in something that is not an expensive heirloom and or a cheap-o special from the dollar store that will inevitably get destroyed at daycare… and bonus… we can also make dinner with the left overs materials.<br />
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But the plain old pasta necklaces, though classic, do get a little tired after awhile. So this week I thought I would surprise her with some painted pasta “beads” and jazz up our jewelry game a wee bit. <br />
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And of course, it wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t add a little crafty character to the final piece.<br />
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I’m calling this craft the "Macaroni Charm"<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzb6riuPmPLVhrQvP6PySxYVgJ3i-jjbhb6ePKd4VBXP0ixj0m0Aqv6m6LkrBHGM2HI7tDzD9XHOSBUc6X3Y93eBkA-ZmF8rcBYB2r-8925nvB248u3xvkPAgywah_TSeyQha/s1600/macaroni-necklace.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzb6riuPmPLVhrQvP6PySxYVgJ3i-jjbhb6ePKd4VBXP0ixj0m0Aqv6m6LkrBHGM2HI7tDzD9XHOSBUc6X3Y93eBkA-ZmF8rcBYB2r-8925nvB248u3xvkPAgywah_TSeyQha/s640/macaroni-necklace.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<u>Materials </u><br />
1. Tubular pasta - Rigatoni<br />
2. Acrylic paint<br />
3. String<br />
4. Paint brush<br />
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<u>Instructions</u><br />
I love how with just a simple coat of paint you can turn an everyday object, like pasta into a whole new piece de resistance! This is a super simple craft.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pMw6BrNh9-ljF6p2ehcjT_5cp1K04ZPgMHICjq1YXBQMA9EcXfez2J2VLodytYKSep-nGt1-Vs7fdyJgxTQG-4kHQezmCMEIPrq3bXxTkfiMMdtcWHIeQyFWGm6jXiP6XXLG/s1600/macaroni-necklace-6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pMw6BrNh9-ljF6p2ehcjT_5cp1K04ZPgMHICjq1YXBQMA9EcXfez2J2VLodytYKSep-nGt1-Vs7fdyJgxTQG-4kHQezmCMEIPrq3bXxTkfiMMdtcWHIeQyFWGm6jXiP6XXLG/s640/macaroni-necklace-6.jpg" width="480" /></a> <br />
Essentially it is about choosing a color palette, creating a pattern and painting pasta! I wanted to make a minimal necklace with only a few pieces. I chose the color green thanks to a weekly <a href="http://bemakeful.com/" target="_blank">Makeful </a>challenge that had its sights set on this shade, and then I decided on a face design, which I practiced prior to starting on some stray pasta shells.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTg5KHrJnCpgjTOQIp0jQRX0EDh00N7DbdvM4_MUFQuv3dkRDDrQNsdD5NlHaWO-YhH7mcNsVrMg5qwDCaJq2G20gYe1ut20p2KUnUwbc9CcHjCYgvNOtpXUe5bw_UbsBwIWUY/s1600/macaroni-necklace-5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTg5KHrJnCpgjTOQIp0jQRX0EDh00N7DbdvM4_MUFQuv3dkRDDrQNsdD5NlHaWO-YhH7mcNsVrMg5qwDCaJq2G20gYe1ut20p2KUnUwbc9CcHjCYgvNOtpXUe5bw_UbsBwIWUY/s640/macaroni-necklace-5.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
Once I had my design and colors set, it was very straightforward:<br />
-paint macaroni<br />
-let dry<br />
-paint face on macaroni <br />
-let dry<br />
-string macaroni onto string<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WB_bfpfaz7m2czkrTStNUbaAILLbZDuh8oel5_xGQ7cxBBH7i8cNTYHzn77K_yevuhYl9jsq-bwqNIQASKuGYyocTzmtrMa5V7EuzCT1ul27vAxGtSGSRr3zW_rNwaZ_SRXA/s1600/macaroni-necklace-4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WB_bfpfaz7m2czkrTStNUbaAILLbZDuh8oel5_xGQ7cxBBH7i8cNTYHzn77K_yevuhYl9jsq-bwqNIQASKuGYyocTzmtrMa5V7EuzCT1ul27vAxGtSGSRr3zW_rNwaZ_SRXA/s640/macaroni-necklace-4.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
Here I chose to create a braided necklace out of simple cotton strands. I used six strands of cotton to give it a bit more of a robust structure and visual presence.<br />
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The result was an adorable new piece of loveliness for my daughter to sport! Oh and you can also fashion a pretty cute bracelet.<br />
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A final note, there is a lot of room for creativity here. You could paint patterns, use a ton of different colors and if you choose to create faces, they can be happy, sad, silly, serious… well whatever you want! Sky is the limit!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRRbkjEWMg7UQW90Z-Li4FhUnb6r8NrAh8GgyNq758JvV3qQnt3wS3zCfbnmV5T_a8YGxkno1ryghIBR-bTpzrW1tJysRsgDRprn-c8yKjN8cOM87sm008E7zEo9pt3WXuupg/s1600/macaroni-necklace-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRRbkjEWMg7UQW90Z-Li4FhUnb6r8NrAh8GgyNq758JvV3qQnt3wS3zCfbnmV5T_a8YGxkno1ryghIBR-bTpzrW1tJysRsgDRprn-c8yKjN8cOM87sm008E7zEo9pt3WXuupg/s640/macaroni-necklace-1.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
Have fun! <br />
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<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-39962848080611915762016-02-28T23:06:00.002-05:002016-07-10T23:06:46.668-04:00The Tote-ally Makeful Tote Challenge.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_HujzeizN2VyZIzwHu3K_Aa8YrVJJit4fr6hgc2wK1Ki-VHof6GpgSdgzWoV4aW7Z7UPXqnRhSA4x2iYyEUlYMs2qRjGG5RVVabLhBmlTG3S6AO3pZEfFkzF0vskLaW-_Ro-/s1600/bento-tote-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_HujzeizN2VyZIzwHu3K_Aa8YrVJJit4fr6hgc2wK1Ki-VHof6GpgSdgzWoV4aW7Z7UPXqnRhSA4x2iYyEUlYMs2qRjGG5RVVabLhBmlTG3S6AO3pZEfFkzF0vskLaW-_Ro-/s640/bento-tote-2.jpg" width="482" /></a></div>
For the past few months I’ve been having a great time contributing to the <a href="http://bemakeful.com/" target="_blank">Makeful community</a>, by participating in their weekly craft challenges when I can. This week they proposed a “Tote” challenge, and wanted to see how one would transform a plain tote.<br />
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I thought I would use this challenge as incentive for me to finally dive in and do something I’ve been meaning to try for a MILLION years… my own textile design!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJzJXFVNj5eVBrNMfxJqSfZNuJQo0hLMiEAxjOmzxf3hqrZv6H0wV-LvMHCtXGhoYLdKuXtBW-IEe9ZNf8jF3KejtwnnOyJANsDO8t-XmcZiD0DE1yn_VyUWwap6ZMu7XFMap/s1600/bento-tote.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJzJXFVNj5eVBrNMfxJqSfZNuJQo0hLMiEAxjOmzxf3hqrZv6H0wV-LvMHCtXGhoYLdKuXtBW-IEe9ZNf8jF3KejtwnnOyJANsDO8t-XmcZiD0DE1yn_VyUWwap6ZMu7XFMap/s640/bento-tote.jpg" width="482" /></a></div>
Now I missed the deadline to have one of the branded Makeful totes sent to me, so i needed to make my own. I went in a bit of a different direction here and planed to craft a simple “bento” tote. There are tons of Bento patterns flying around online, but I’ve found <a href="http://veryshannon.com/blog/2014/05/sewing-origami-bento-bag-tutorial.html" target="_blank">this one</a> to be one of my favourites!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguQqHm8DOEXOwwJJcWLFHblxXT-ohhYU26v-iIP75R8-AdqCAMO9EYg5ST6-Ico3BNZphyphenhyphenDqpSTnYyOaWZP6FCim9sb_d8AvgK3jyag4FK-Gr6R0sQK1wPtvHkK7slRdhwehW/s1600/bento-fold.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguQqHm8DOEXOwwJJcWLFHblxXT-ohhYU26v-iIP75R8-AdqCAMO9EYg5ST6-Ico3BNZphyphenhyphenDqpSTnYyOaWZP6FCim9sb_d8AvgK3jyag4FK-Gr6R0sQK1wPtvHkK7slRdhwehW/s640/bento-fold.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcEyKsIPmo5To-sFo9_54cUGw_lZHAYZrs6i8nbuz61GvJy7nAvpicy9nPcc68HBwaYwLPCL98uXIf4OJQhi09oy0cUrO0cbsrOtLMtW6BzBorp82ZQpzcRKW8HchLu61n3c5/s1600/bento-pinned.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcEyKsIPmo5To-sFo9_54cUGw_lZHAYZrs6i8nbuz61GvJy7nAvpicy9nPcc68HBwaYwLPCL98uXIf4OJQhi09oy0cUrO0cbsrOtLMtW6BzBorp82ZQpzcRKW8HchLu61n3c5/s640/bento-pinned.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
They are so simple to make, but the main rule of thumb is the formula for your base rectangle to construct the bag from: Height x 3 = Width. So for my bentos, the sizes were 17” x 51” and 15” x 45”, plus seam allowance on both.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagPDsMC8TMmQjsMkJxCFFwTDzVBnvt2NEyY08lr4jN-pEF8szJ00lpq6Wg2oCCD518iXMF8gDmaOxREOEQtHPH5ioxIoGgl1Hc6zOd77uUxBvsc6zVFdBwVqNB7JR-_iQwAA4/s1600/bento-corner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagPDsMC8TMmQjsMkJxCFFwTDzVBnvt2NEyY08lr4jN-pEF8szJ00lpq6Wg2oCCD518iXMF8gDmaOxREOEQtHPH5ioxIoGgl1Hc6zOd77uUxBvsc6zVFdBwVqNB7JR-_iQwAA4/s640/bento-corner.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
I also do a final step on my bento bags and square of the corners so they have a base. I just measure 3” up from either side of the one bottom corner (repeat on the other side after), and then sew a straight line across from those marked points (it will create a triangle) and then I press them out.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckMgSdL8k0xlq6BOVwvUzyvppj56V5XxVQ5bUH5a9EBBDYqVVJLaQILo-pSuhIL5N8nIJhJuxaaelSNxR4Fa9acoPCUO-wzgfV_zwXye2Soy4gYCq_vYFC0_3tiUVvLfDdvBt/s1600/bento-fun-with-fruit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckMgSdL8k0xlq6BOVwvUzyvppj56V5XxVQ5bUH5a9EBBDYqVVJLaQILo-pSuhIL5N8nIJhJuxaaelSNxR4Fa9acoPCUO-wzgfV_zwXye2Soy4gYCq_vYFC0_3tiUVvLfDdvBt/s640/bento-fun-with-fruit.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
But really this challenge was more about creating a textile! Since this was my first time trying my own design, I treated it like a rough sketch. I chose to work in muslin, which is kind of like the sketch paper of the textile world.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXwMrQAjnWBy0yYA3-fHhrjN5knTI7ctaSH6_YbB9imFeEOkjz7TQWV4xJy8XWVZC5ncDNl-DTRHdSv7ImYS115xpo1MWG1WVKpL8VNxqTcSmuz85qlmBC9uXuKj9iWYBk0i9/s1600/bento-pototatoes-nostamp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXwMrQAjnWBy0yYA3-fHhrjN5knTI7ctaSH6_YbB9imFeEOkjz7TQWV4xJy8XWVZC5ncDNl-DTRHdSv7ImYS115xpo1MWG1WVKpL8VNxqTcSmuz85qlmBC9uXuKj9iWYBk0i9/s640/bento-pototatoes-nostamp.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
I also decided to keep the print simple… so what better time than now to use a potato stamp! A go to fave of mine! <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MkbY8PwFwS2CnyrNcPCYEhVKXC6kWQNBJFdPIOZ43eeOV3Bqo3jWv5ANjrWG3H6tsU9vpq4QdhY-MqDsooz90cscajhwS_AY16CO7QfzomHegkLIjoLlGVNP5ZhDkskbLh96/s1600/bento-potatoes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MkbY8PwFwS2CnyrNcPCYEhVKXC6kWQNBJFdPIOZ43eeOV3Bqo3jWv5ANjrWG3H6tsU9vpq4QdhY-MqDsooz90cscajhwS_AY16CO7QfzomHegkLIjoLlGVNP5ZhDkskbLh96/s640/bento-potatoes.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
I came up with two really simple designs, a triangle based pineapple, and circular apple, each with a green stem embellishment. I traced and cut the shapes out of my potatoes and decided to use a simple fabric paint for my print. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DgRNW8ShAn7ztUiD_nd4DP5ThyBKs5DnLhHnfWWWwRZ_iGLFQSdt4hi_OpNuCtg880bsi1e9i7Z228HKhitkmPN4JfPad8nSKtXh6d3_6mhqFGR23jbnobeGtes58N06EvQ_/s1600/bento-paint.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DgRNW8ShAn7ztUiD_nd4DP5ThyBKs5DnLhHnfWWWwRZ_iGLFQSdt4hi_OpNuCtg880bsi1e9i7Z228HKhitkmPN4JfPad8nSKtXh6d3_6mhqFGR23jbnobeGtes58N06EvQ_/s640/bento-paint.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
I used a simple fabric paint to make the print. I wanted my pattern to feel loose and free, with not too much strict repetition. So I laid out my pre-cut fabric for my bags, which I cut to the sizes marked above, with a little extra on all sides for room to breath, and so I could really bleed the pattern out to the outer edges. And then I just went for it! Again, potato stamps are just the best when you want to make something feel organic and easy going.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtJkZCe6RvR2n_lTIfQ0C8hnnK7S2MQeR3w1qYE9ZuTA7-4y0-PTqo2YnZ14Fv6sx-h2oZtcajdxFBNTd-LUREL9n4sq5FbmO6r_MYiZeIJ2RpRkd1SRAmCm4Cb8MKJf_wqHb/s1600/bento-apple.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtJkZCe6RvR2n_lTIfQ0C8hnnK7S2MQeR3w1qYE9ZuTA7-4y0-PTqo2YnZ14Fv6sx-h2oZtcajdxFBNTd-LUREL9n4sq5FbmO6r_MYiZeIJ2RpRkd1SRAmCm4Cb8MKJf_wqHb/s640/bento-apple.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinx3q2RIoPEDNKV7he8o6t6jLvSRjZmwzuOKmanF1TbBQwLJ3HVJrYHSt9ENcSsejPoY73UzJ6jlu1jPbFlBbWaQNyv8czAZF2zXOjDunVm_N5Pvr5H271aiwH-zl3LKqaOU6j/s1600/bento-pineapple.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinx3q2RIoPEDNKV7he8o6t6jLvSRjZmwzuOKmanF1TbBQwLJ3HVJrYHSt9ENcSsejPoY73UzJ6jlu1jPbFlBbWaQNyv8czAZF2zXOjDunVm_N5Pvr5H271aiwH-zl3LKqaOU6j/s640/bento-pineapple.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
The variety that is created in the lightness and darkness of the print from stamp to stamp is so cool. And I love that feeling of never really knowing for sure what will turn out. You are completely living on the edge, as Aerosmith would say.<br />
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So I covered my fabric with my circles and triangles, added the green steams and leaves, let it dry and then stood back and took a look a the results. I know it’s a fairly straightforward pattern, but I’m really happy with it! It’s playful and sweet, which is exactly what I was hoping to achieve. After the textile was created I then cut and sewed my totes!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-U3EGaanI6_Me8qPJgqXV8GqV-zyxpK7rTWj74uvTErhoAA2MCbagDOcIoSQkRiSi9GLwlYtZUFodlh-GE9P5YuVKX-Gg2vrBsy0fi3P5w9SecIOoNmMmOALsl6sMv9sF0N1/s1600/bento-sewed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-U3EGaanI6_Me8qPJgqXV8GqV-zyxpK7rTWj74uvTErhoAA2MCbagDOcIoSQkRiSi9GLwlYtZUFodlh-GE9P5YuVKX-Gg2vrBsy0fi3P5w9SecIOoNmMmOALsl6sMv9sF0N1/s640/bento-sewed.jpg" width="482" /></a> </div>
I made two, and they both which came well. I chose to leave the Bento tote handles free and not sew them together, so I could tie them up or leave them loose... it’s nice to have the option.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6mDS0diovbohDlPleX65I9rHFOKSFkEMgw4WsvNHh2g-nDye41AJo-NhiAeJjSJrKUS9M4J-1gBOA3X_IVJkwUAB4OVfI6lf0AQxhfVQeUaglYT-s6N7Cu9f6r3pWXHC1tG6/s1600/bento-tied-handles.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6mDS0diovbohDlPleX65I9rHFOKSFkEMgw4WsvNHh2g-nDye41AJo-NhiAeJjSJrKUS9M4J-1gBOA3X_IVJkwUAB4OVfI6lf0AQxhfVQeUaglYT-s6N7Cu9f6r3pWXHC1tG6/s640/bento-tied-handles.jpg" width="482" /></a></div>
So there it is, a simple and fun “tote-ally” Makeful tote. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FLKdrsdB1XxobII21PGA7sCDnyVMtnUibMIO6hNA_75FZGggb_VC0GXJRhBXTeh5aEHeBWm6qm4ZAuT0dMXMO_WsL12g3oNgmYNeadaDLZEhY55vOxwiYWa3_6AfH8qn9Kg5/s1600/Bento.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FLKdrsdB1XxobII21PGA7sCDnyVMtnUibMIO6hNA_75FZGggb_VC0GXJRhBXTeh5aEHeBWm6qm4ZAuT0dMXMO_WsL12g3oNgmYNeadaDLZEhY55vOxwiYWa3_6AfH8qn9Kg5/s640/Bento.png" width="640" /></a><br />
And last note, I can’t wait to try more patterns! Next up, I will definitely be researching natural dyes and working up to more complex patterns!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8SvCMFTg4Xbsw1-eGaacBFc4ot6w-4kjPdrxE6krL4oQw0fRtbY3AZH3qlAU55ZLkT3SifoCITJ4o2ze_Ah2FbOGjzhVYP8CXLJgRgf0gIJ23sCPuuVXY3pCxpc88qBPlzFS/s1600/bento-tote-cu-out-handles.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8SvCMFTg4Xbsw1-eGaacBFc4ot6w-4kjPdrxE6krL4oQw0fRtbY3AZH3qlAU55ZLkT3SifoCITJ4o2ze_Ah2FbOGjzhVYP8CXLJgRgf0gIJ23sCPuuVXY3pCxpc88qBPlzFS/s640/bento-tote-cu-out-handles.jpg" width="482" /></a></div>
Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-85231431114105024682016-02-21T22:47:00.002-05:002016-07-10T23:06:46.689-04:00Washi World<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WMFRnE81gH0KfqqrIOKAD8H-c3L273kUzJxiBI4AQyf6a1pKj8BMOTsCOuiq6ICopTa9dAFyc7s8G3kNOWMNDTW4j4RTTTQ7kySPEG4A_q4gNuTWweRnOkt5VQZcTUVJ2LiX/s1600/Washi-World-Washi2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WMFRnE81gH0KfqqrIOKAD8H-c3L273kUzJxiBI4AQyf6a1pKj8BMOTsCOuiq6ICopTa9dAFyc7s8G3kNOWMNDTW4j4RTTTQ7kySPEG4A_q4gNuTWweRnOkt5VQZcTUVJ2LiX/s640/Washi-World-Washi2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
How to Make a World out of Washi!<br />
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So what to do with Washi is the question? I mean what can’t you do with Washi? It’s plastered around my studio, holding up photographs, drawings and jammed in-between the pages of my sketch books, either holding dried flowers in place, or simply becoming part of my illustrations. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1HlqfCWD_wOPZ0u69JXuoOMrJlVe7gBYD2ll406riB1c_zz0d5zNBUasSbugdEW0-cHRJ2mOMNVMpRnHtoWM_V_KbonLLkEfcXsUAgMPjJEKYCx7gd94PXfLpFJlwJAwrQdv/s1600/IMG_4440.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1HlqfCWD_wOPZ0u69JXuoOMrJlVe7gBYD2ll406riB1c_zz0d5zNBUasSbugdEW0-cHRJ2mOMNVMpRnHtoWM_V_KbonLLkEfcXsUAgMPjJEKYCx7gd94PXfLpFJlwJAwrQdv/s640/IMG_4440.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I’ve also used this versatile tape to create tiny paper flags with toothpicks to decorate drinks, and made mini bunting to dress up an everyday adventure that might be hiding in a corner of my home at any given moment.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWMJv5vDZuIb2g-3ab_1w5cJ9d84GV3uJxTDULMj2vM4Y4GcfseE1qtFmLWbktEPirZ2Z762b4h7nZ-vUCC5K4xJj0ZqOlVPjFEN30UGOdMe9HJqpCaCGR5Bmzk4QskDjzI6Q/s1600/Washi-World-CampFire2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWMJv5vDZuIb2g-3ab_1w5cJ9d84GV3uJxTDULMj2vM4Y4GcfseE1qtFmLWbktEPirZ2Z762b4h7nZ-vUCC5K4xJj0ZqOlVPjFEN30UGOdMe9HJqpCaCGR5Bmzk4QskDjzI6Q/s640/Washi-World-CampFire2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
But today I wanted to go a little further and make a tiny world using Washi tape as my inspiration… it was time to break out a diorama! I also gave myself the added challenge of only using supplies I currently have stocked on my studio shelves. So after running around the house and gathering up my materials, I had a stack of stuff, that I knew once covered with Washi, would combine and make a sweet and wonderful world!<br />
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I love dioramas! There is something so fun about crafting a tiny space, where anything is possible. Where some simple corks can be transformed into a posse of friends, warming their spirits by a colorful camp fire.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HE4svCj312mD4tZRgdoCSyNmAu0squWRfKzDkD1O1GQwqUgKfO9Y1JvUCI8QXH0ckzgUyVGOZWoddO3346NcD0nfQ9nZcqINRtUp5R-ZIKlgS0DJiUQKuRung2UYU4mg370j/s1600/Washi-World-CampFire.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HE4svCj312mD4tZRgdoCSyNmAu0squWRfKzDkD1O1GQwqUgKfO9Y1JvUCI8QXH0ckzgUyVGOZWoddO3346NcD0nfQ9nZcqINRtUp5R-ZIKlgS0DJiUQKuRung2UYU4mg370j/s640/Washi-World-CampFire.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
To make my Washi World, I decided on a theme. I wanted it to be a bright and happy winter woodland camping trip… mostly because my family and I have been wanting to go on one of these, but the schedule has not permitted it this year, and well, it really hasn’t been all that wintery.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UQXHJ68gHj9zOrObyhRFZlWmd38xH4Hvr_IJ4PsqDYbAgfuMvTVZGrHC9STP4wfcZNhyoSzvQSYrD0pwdgnQyHcoyqunaoo_Tzv58hwfLKrWlSLw_Aoa5iHbjE4IFvlkWkQ-/s1600/Washi-World-Materials3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UQXHJ68gHj9zOrObyhRFZlWmd38xH4Hvr_IJ4PsqDYbAgfuMvTVZGrHC9STP4wfcZNhyoSzvQSYrD0pwdgnQyHcoyqunaoo_Tzv58hwfLKrWlSLw_Aoa5iHbjE4IFvlkWkQ-/s640/Washi-World-Materials3.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
I chose about four different shades of Washi tape from my collection that meshed and felt somewhat wintry. I found a suitable sized box, cut in half, cut off the top and then painted it white using acrylics. I made some trees by covering paper with my Washi tape in strips and then cutting out simple triangle shapes that had a small flat that could fold under them to keep them upright.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-c1v0IZu5TgAkGU_3ZLYeHyeO4M2NWHVHR6QaeHl8dZixFW-pJNEOLjiH1NPRp_d7SBSfyQLV1AAoTF8-9Id36lDluD7Y6Kirtr66XF4COg82qsui1iB1EtFLa7-T4lgolaR/s1600/Washi-World-StareInDistance2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-c1v0IZu5TgAkGU_3ZLYeHyeO4M2NWHVHR6QaeHl8dZixFW-pJNEOLjiH1NPRp_d7SBSfyQLV1AAoTF8-9Id36lDluD7Y6Kirtr66XF4COg82qsui1iB1EtFLa7-T4lgolaR/s640/Washi-World-StareInDistance2.jpg" width="424" /></a><br />
The “flower blocks”, which aren’t wintry, but more for displaying a Washi pattern I love (come on this is make believe, I’m just going to say they are winter flowers), well these floral pieces are just tiny wooden craft blocks covered in tape! So simple. And the camp fire sticks, tooth picks also covered in Washi… I think you can see the theme emerging here— Just cover it in WASHI! <br />
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The bunting, if you haven’t guessed it already, just a piece of Washi folded over a string and cut into a triangle shape!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jDJuiCM2cXLXBNWLxkNLEQ-0pzEkIFYKgV2zKx8-53R3euifaYVda3O4wYl-MvpHkDBBA4I63UYYZtRPyJz_0bk5dTE8CriGYO6kX-xku68r6w608AzBxnd44iAv_Ts64-Y5/s1600/Washi-World-FunInSun.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jDJuiCM2cXLXBNWLxkNLEQ-0pzEkIFYKgV2zKx8-53R3euifaYVda3O4wYl-MvpHkDBBA4I63UYYZtRPyJz_0bk5dTE8CriGYO6kX-xku68r6w608AzBxnd44iAv_Ts64-Y5/s640/Washi-World-FunInSun.jpg" width="424" /></a><br />
To create my tiny spirits, I used some small corks I found in a dollar store, and then painted them different colors and added some faces. To give them a bit more interest and tie them into the scene, I created a pattern on each one of them using pre-cut Washi shapes. I placed a strip, sticky side down, on my cutting board and cut into it with an exacto knife and then pulled the shapes up one by one and placed them on the spirits. It worked out pretty well! <br />
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The only thing I didn’t cover in Washi was the sun, because I didn’t have any yellow! But it is taped up with Washi, so that must count for something! Ha!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs3X4Wjl6VZ4VwV0v_dGlj-xoi-kK0531bMp9u2FqSZOAJdIOe9gPFV-uBI8Z7x8Rh9IZXXrckhJESMiGsMkIK0g7GG1QjQ3uKqKFA8FqtyMb_sg6fRFrSGlpDQS6QE0lpMHwh/s1600/Washi-World-WashiCU.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs3X4Wjl6VZ4VwV0v_dGlj-xoi-kK0531bMp9u2FqSZOAJdIOe9gPFV-uBI8Z7x8Rh9IZXXrckhJESMiGsMkIK0g7GG1QjQ3uKqKFA8FqtyMb_sg6fRFrSGlpDQS6QE0lpMHwh/s640/Washi-World-WashiCU.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Once I had all my pieces, I put this little scene together! And I’m pretty thrilled with how it turned out. What fun! It’s like I have my own little winter world to keep me company everyday! <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gXbXR9bgr3ax7Zfg8Urb8mSsESaBm_RiM3FJvvD_aKCzTF4WFHcaMEp6vBhinQfOG9yYBpDg53UFxLv1jIdDYDyiiR8iGShyF_MZuPKBPZ-9xVH969ORRxBCiVEP2YgicPV4/s1600/Washi-World-CampFire2%255D3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gXbXR9bgr3ax7Zfg8Urb8mSsESaBm_RiM3FJvvD_aKCzTF4WFHcaMEp6vBhinQfOG9yYBpDg53UFxLv1jIdDYDyiiR8iGShyF_MZuPKBPZ-9xVH969ORRxBCiVEP2YgicPV4/s640/Washi-World-CampFire2%255D3.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
This is a fairly opened ended craft. Anyone can make a Washi World… all it takes is some imagination, some key materials and a whole lot of WASHI! I wonder what your world will be?<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggw-SCBo4OyC-HsKONT-mAE7mvzWarjYXh7a4THWudz2KOGpH1wbSp9Zwq6o9POyUd2aLRyxvBrtb4pzTUm8OsOhBx808sLlDdEDD8SefFK1aKztOBrorCkZqeUVeBiuaZn3zs/s1600/Washi-World-Materials.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggw-SCBo4OyC-HsKONT-mAE7mvzWarjYXh7a4THWudz2KOGpH1wbSp9Zwq6o9POyUd2aLRyxvBrtb4pzTUm8OsOhBx808sLlDdEDD8SefFK1aKztOBrorCkZqeUVeBiuaZn3zs/s640/Washi-World-Materials.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<b>Materials:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Box - size of your choosing</li>
<li>White craft paper - For painted sun and Washi covered trees</li>
<li>Washi, Washi and more Washi!</li>
<li>Wooden blocks</li>
<li>Corks</li>
<li>Toothpicks</li>
<li>Acrylic paint</li>
<li>Scissors</li>
<li>Exacto knife</li>
<li>Cutting board</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3niEfazAVBTKNhMFKHQP6Ex09hYg0A6EmX3WT16Gmk-0dA3OutdT3gv1MTqEO53-raR4DLiAWjal-Su2EstW4H7s9O4QXddR59hv60AH2_D-NKHw9DBY-2eFaB7jhvE1DuG-/s1600/Washi-World-Materials2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3niEfazAVBTKNhMFKHQP6Ex09hYg0A6EmX3WT16Gmk-0dA3OutdT3gv1MTqEO53-raR4DLiAWjal-Su2EstW4H7s9O4QXddR59hv60AH2_D-NKHw9DBY-2eFaB7jhvE1DuG-/s640/Washi-World-Materials2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Oh and of course a little magic and imagination!Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-6791713076294500802016-02-07T23:03:00.001-05:002016-07-10T23:06:46.681-04:00Valentine - The Love Bird<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I’ve been thinking about what to make for Valentine’s Day for a while now. Though I’m still planning on doing my <a href="http://rhya.blogspot.ca/2012/02/valentine-diorama.html" target="_blank">classic hand drawn valentines</a>, I also wanted to create a little extra special something for my daughter this year. And since she is obsessed with all things owl, it made sense to use a bird of prey like creature as a starting point… and that is how my “Love Birds” began!<br />
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<b>How To:</b><br />
The 'Love Bird' craft is basically an added twist on the <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=paper%20poofs&rs=typed&0=paper|typed&1=poofs|typed" target="_blank">traditional paper poof decorations</a>, which I am well versed in making, ever since I made the somewhat <a href="http://rhya.blogspot.ca/2012/05/lost-in-tissue-paper-and-tulle.html" target="_blank">INSANE decision </a>to decorate my entire wedding with them, and then the even more ridiculous decision to make them myself...thank god for friends!<br />
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But I digress… back to the craft!<br />
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Okay, so essentially the Love Bird body is a basic 5 1/2“ paper poof with rounded edges! The poof is a little more finicky to make than usual at this smaller size, but with a little patience it’s no problem. Once you have your poof all puffed up, then you can start adding on the parts, which I like to assemble and have ready before hand:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWKJ-1w6V7A3ab6t7DKz6SB8f-r84abk43hhrX9TTTeXHp9ricBMfA89yp6M8KbIojmaBvnFNR11OGakH6XnVp3hEah3HWgMUGsNp0ujiChcPX-9hQwUBS5hTos9dRAFjL-o3/s1600/LoveBirds-d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWKJ-1w6V7A3ab6t7DKz6SB8f-r84abk43hhrX9TTTeXHp9ricBMfA89yp6M8KbIojmaBvnFNR11OGakH6XnVp3hEah3HWgMUGsNp0ujiChcPX-9hQwUBS5hTos9dRAFjL-o3/s640/LoveBirds-d.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<b>Parts:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Eyes - I like to make my own eyes, I trace and then hand cut the eye circles and use paper punched dots for the pupils. I just like the organic feel. But you could totally use googly eyes no problem.</li>
<li>Beak-A triangle cut from orange construction paper.</li>
<li>Arms - For the arms, I cut a strip of paper that was 7“ long by .4“ wide. Then I cut three little fingers at the end of each side of the strip. I used construction paper that was the same color as the tissue paper, but that is just me… you can pretty much do what ever you want! There are no rules in this house!</li>
<li>Love Letter - I made my love letter from scratch. It’s just a square of white construction paper, with hand drawn lines in blue and red to make it look like lined paper. And then I wrote I love you on it. I think you have the option here to really do whatever you want. You could just make it a heart, or a cloud, or even a tiny envelope with a message inside. Again, sky is the limit! Let your heart guide you!</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8ixq-lLtwh7OE_WKpJGeFihpsD3kC6I-ejdsunfVhyqI3nu1r-4-X0k3VJat6TX10RCBLiGb-O3CRtzsin42CXXpb6pApwxAfRx5xytJJPe9XF22iU3HaqJEjArEQq5Iobsh/s1600/LoveBirds-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8ixq-lLtwh7OE_WKpJGeFihpsD3kC6I-ejdsunfVhyqI3nu1r-4-X0k3VJat6TX10RCBLiGb-O3CRtzsin42CXXpb6pApwxAfRx5xytJJPe9XF22iU3HaqJEjArEQq5Iobsh/s640/LoveBirds-a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Assembling your Love Bird! Okay, this is fairly straight forward, the only part that takes a little fussing is inserting the arm strip. You are going to want to reach into your poof, towards it’s center tie, and move the “paper petals” so half your poof is puffing up and puffing down between your thumb and finger (see image).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeV3uw-vPkF085KAxnU13y6Ya-p3vNao-MKPMMKwzFV8OFeeiApqRBXgI_gyqxluqZOqJj-dauHkMy6XXj4PGvbgHqJsInGUCR8CR1_Q2UBOgkLKkilHJnqbw4anfPfnUA6jH/s1600/Hold-Tight.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeV3uw-vPkF085KAxnU13y6Ya-p3vNao-MKPMMKwzFV8OFeeiApqRBXgI_gyqxluqZOqJj-dauHkMy6XXj4PGvbgHqJsInGUCR8CR1_Q2UBOgkLKkilHJnqbw4anfPfnUA6jH/s640/Hold-Tight.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Now you can wrap your arm strip around the center of the poof, bringing the hands so they are both facing out. Then you can re-fluff your poof so it covers up the center and engulfs and hides and holds the arms in place all at once (see image).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlxTh3kE1dygunAROEijhZOHinNFESfvsyqAfsp_XDx0L-YFvekEYNlKAFQp9yYAXDQYFoR6LtPYXKbKWPkumfcRNWjnZfGW8pDPd6YOI990B_jvoWepnA-Gy6s6AZO-to3LU/s1600/arms-out.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlxTh3kE1dygunAROEijhZOHinNFESfvsyqAfsp_XDx0L-YFvekEYNlKAFQp9yYAXDQYFoR6LtPYXKbKWPkumfcRNWjnZfGW8pDPd6YOI990B_jvoWepnA-Gy6s6AZO-to3LU/s640/arms-out.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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You could add some glue in there, but I found the petals held my arms in place very well.<br />
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After your arms are set, it’s time to clear a little spot for your eyes and beak! I just flattened out some of the paper petals where I wanted to see the eyes go, and same for the beak and just glued them right in! Easy- peasy! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVMNhOjOmeC1fe1HKp3gNRaHg_9Xx5nubbP_Gwfdg8VTQ-kwMCMezDiWoyJgd7gvzagOH19pUK6F8QXNvlu0hI4Yq-KzRm86jKcXNWLk6tJ0VtR_rIgsEAhyrSRugohLjLpDl/s1600/LoveBirds-c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVMNhOjOmeC1fe1HKp3gNRaHg_9Xx5nubbP_Gwfdg8VTQ-kwMCMezDiWoyJgd7gvzagOH19pUK6F8QXNvlu0hI4Yq-KzRm86jKcXNWLk6tJ0VtR_rIgsEAhyrSRugohLjLpDl/s640/LoveBirds-c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Last step is gluing on the letter. Again, just a matter of adding some glue to the hands and holding them in place to the letter…and BAM… your done! <br />
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I did some final shaping at the very end, just to give my Love Birds so extra fluff here or there. I think they came out pretty adorable… for birds of prey! I hope my little hoot owl likes them as much as I do! And I hope they inspire you to make your own Love Birds to give to the someone special in your life! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5oLUDSAS41CXwhmpruk98HhjK_VLIsQ-nnX-LE4e5Kh7gg0fUI8vX6Mrn6eTCNi-9k9pIJBC7ZxzYFusldRNEyvy4mTrzgS5Uju4JoTgvmRqjLTr0JXp0GW6tuIexEX6KEKy/s1600/LoveBirds-6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5oLUDSAS41CXwhmpruk98HhjK_VLIsQ-nnX-LE4e5Kh7gg0fUI8vX6Mrn6eTCNi-9k9pIJBC7ZxzYFusldRNEyvy4mTrzgS5Uju4JoTgvmRqjLTr0JXp0GW6tuIexEX6KEKy/s640/LoveBirds-6.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<b>Materials:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Tissue Paper</li>
<li>String</li>
<li>Construction Paper</li>
<li>Googly Eyes</li>
<li>Glue</li>
<li>Pens</li>
<li>Lined Paper (optional)</li>
</ul>
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<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-7204454393545589142016-01-24T22:23:00.003-05:002016-01-24T22:28:37.110-05:00Envelope Diorama Tutorial - The Love Note Valentine Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nq6eYnamX8CC6o8P9MrJE19JDtByHnZ4BIlAq4RryaX9hp_-VDx28gFgBw0LkDT3a5PQn4yvX0HKYyopuhgplvXSfFG5vm16qYmJHzWIsNKfpfixRmSQRTAUFE-0ThPqdXsL/s1600/envelope-diorama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="549" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nq6eYnamX8CC6o8P9MrJE19JDtByHnZ4BIlAq4RryaX9hp_-VDx28gFgBw0LkDT3a5PQn4yvX0HKYyopuhgplvXSfFG5vm16qYmJHzWIsNKfpfixRmSQRTAUFE-0ThPqdXsL/s640/envelope-diorama.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I’m throwing back today to a creative paper craft concept I developed a few years ago: <a href="http://rhya.blogspot.ca/search/label/envelope%20dioramas" target="_blank">The Envelope Diorama</a>. Essentially, an envelope diorama is exactly how it sounds, it’s an envelope containing a little visual story or a snap shot of life, except that due to the envelope shape, it’s contents are more 2D than 3. The other difference, is that the contents of my diorama are yours to move about however you like! Come to think about it, it’s almost like a diorama/paper doll smash up!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiyngPM7y7d0quBI3B22lUocKcpvjQiz-7MPpbA3WEgZMrhQZCz4aByRvhpn9vuZO_IPBR3pF2bCl41NNNTEX7fprIQ_9QUAvI8hoLH-v_OoZqfQWpnkrg_CSLupT8gyY1Vxz/s1600/snap-shot-of-life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiyngPM7y7d0quBI3B22lUocKcpvjQiz-7MPpbA3WEgZMrhQZCz4aByRvhpn9vuZO_IPBR3pF2bCl41NNNTEX7fprIQ_9QUAvI8hoLH-v_OoZqfQWpnkrg_CSLupT8gyY1Vxz/s640/snap-shot-of-life.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_2141073613"></span><span id="goog_2141073614"></span><br />
I created these little story crafts during a period of time where I was obsessed with snail mail! I wanted a way to send a letter that was more of an experience, that allowed my letter receiver the opportunity to interact and play with the mail I sent them. So I began creating these little envelopes that were full of my illustrated characters and things from their worlds! The idea was that you would open your envelope and a little piece of life would tumble out, like a picnic, a dance party, or maybe a trip to the zoo! <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTPN3R1oJd0xRtUTMownfAqBHSw96r7MVsU6pREvFanGtO1q4xSvOejTHPUu4zWBNH-MCrZpXzY6vkYTjU_ydkAnGVKjGS2LucTv9gKAW7s8cJHU-9mSjdn6ZJRyhnxTufAvF/s1600/folded-heart.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTPN3R1oJd0xRtUTMownfAqBHSw96r7MVsU6pREvFanGtO1q4xSvOejTHPUu4zWBNH-MCrZpXzY6vkYTjU_ydkAnGVKjGS2LucTv9gKAW7s8cJHU-9mSjdn6ZJRyhnxTufAvF/s640/folded-heart.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
One of my favorite ones I ever created was the Love Note diorama and Valentine! One, because it was an envelope filled with a love story, and two, because the envelope itself was made from a heart shape! I had been seeing these great tutorials that showed you how to fold a heart into an envelope and just had to try it out. It worked like a charm! <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX8YYzorVWhBL1OIW1K60gOkYDvtzLjq3uyOj3aNP8CkHE1v6yMIehe6Lqz9fCVm67gvIeD6HzS29FGggc-swx0W8_aS5A9FVuc1XL94skQlTieL8cHFW6KCR7J5IfyH0m7CZ/s1600/romantic-stroll.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX8YYzorVWhBL1OIW1K60gOkYDvtzLjq3uyOj3aNP8CkHE1v6yMIehe6Lqz9fCVm67gvIeD6HzS29FGggc-swx0W8_aS5A9FVuc1XL94skQlTieL8cHFW6KCR7J5IfyH0m7CZ/s640/romantic-stroll.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
So how do you make your own envelope diorama Valentine, well it’s super simple. First, think of what you would like your diorama snap shot to be about. Now try to think of how you would show that story in a simple and fun way. For example, I had the idea of a romantic stroll under fluffy pink clouds, with soft mountains bobbing on the horizon. So I created some romantic looking characters cut from watercolor paper, illustrated with pen and ink and watercolor pencils. Then I cut out some mountains, clouds and some hearts from some scraps of Japanese paper I had lying around. For the envelope, you could just use regular old envelope, but making one from a heart is SUPER simple and SUPER fun. <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/269660/folding-envelope-hearts" target="_blank">Here is a quick tutorial</a>! I wrote a little “love note” on mine.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpiUz4UTVfamwIhQ6NfEdI7WhR05fjV0bThyphenhyphen48CcYnFpsQmUBso7dk82cY7F1R6_JgDKVZJ5prmTV7dGCJRovNexPINKJbAFHpFgTP_Abh44lCcnYixjcCXPB_M4gjXMr0gji/s1600/A-love-story.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpiUz4UTVfamwIhQ6NfEdI7WhR05fjV0bThyphenhyphen48CcYnFpsQmUBso7dk82cY7F1R6_JgDKVZJ5prmTV7dGCJRovNexPINKJbAFHpFgTP_Abh44lCcnYixjcCXPB_M4gjXMr0gji/s640/A-love-story.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Last step is to fill your envelope, close it up and then give it to your Valentine! I guarantee a love filled reaction, lots of smiles, and a whole lot of love story!Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-18130116008237373312015-11-29T22:54:00.000-05:002015-11-30T09:21:24.600-05:00Festive Forest Friends - A Tutorial<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJWY64_c9eKXHEQkdOktcSLOwVVUmYtjlr5vY495Gfa9HwrjF7CTqCg5-aonVCdhDBGaYjF9_aGS2_PYMQShlldUgVAj7DPLsRwzYzcudkrzzguytUrMYnrOG7Kbru96fwBp1/s1600/A-Festive-Forest-Friend-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJWY64_c9eKXHEQkdOktcSLOwVVUmYtjlr5vY495Gfa9HwrjF7CTqCg5-aonVCdhDBGaYjF9_aGS2_PYMQShlldUgVAj7DPLsRwzYzcudkrzzguytUrMYnrOG7Kbru96fwBp1/s640/A-Festive-Forest-Friend-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>How To Make A Festive Forest Friend!</b><br />
As the holiday’s approach, Christmas trees are popping up everywhere I turn! <br />
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So here is my crafty take on the iconic holiday tree! I call them Festive Forest Friends! They are simple and sweet and probably full of eggnog soaked dreams and hearts in the shape of candy canes.<br />
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I used the following list of materials to create my very own Festive Forest Friends,… but you could easily swap out the hand stamped muslin for another print of choice.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM6sqV8g_bRnsholtJfGxvu1ELMHjpzur54VtLJmPSI8mj_IhggA-lNpBljwEWDqhn71-_ldS3TwC2OivcLnbB3_8e3SNbansXDTcZyFmJuIoGVTosHckRaLUqtAkJNw9mOY6P/s1600/A-Festive-Forest-Friend-materials.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM6sqV8g_bRnsholtJfGxvu1ELMHjpzur54VtLJmPSI8mj_IhggA-lNpBljwEWDqhn71-_ldS3TwC2OivcLnbB3_8e3SNbansXDTcZyFmJuIoGVTosHckRaLUqtAkJNw9mOY6P/s640/A-Festive-Forest-Friend-materials.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<b>Materials:</b><br />
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1. Fabric - I chose plain muslin for this craft<br />
2. Sewing machine<br />
3. Thread to match your fabric<br />
4. Scissors<br />
5. Eraser or stamp of choice<br />
6. Acrylic paint and paint brush<br />
7. Embroidery floss, pink for mouth, brown for eyes<br />
8. Embroidery ring<br />
9. Embroidery needle<br />
10. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byy6wciF1T1ZRFhSU3JRWjdyZlE/view?usp=sharing">The Festive Forest Friend pattern print out</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrS4bZTupX6RWWdl6SqW69fWJtgijpAOqMHIKXSyXGSQMPzwlNCttX0IodDWmGVTjzNuORO_19h4tbRcqqeHHyGG8aOdpMkPXz5MaR5ugO47VocdzmK5IdXwA6-ZlP19XV0P2C/s1600/A-Festive-Forest-Friend-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrS4bZTupX6RWWdl6SqW69fWJtgijpAOqMHIKXSyXGSQMPzwlNCttX0IodDWmGVTjzNuORO_19h4tbRcqqeHHyGG8aOdpMkPXz5MaR5ugO47VocdzmK5IdXwA6-ZlP19XV0P2C/s640/A-Festive-Forest-Friend-2.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
<b>How to:</b><br />
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Step one print out the pattern <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byy6wciF1T1ZRFhSU3JRWjdyZlE/view?usp=sharing">here</a>!<br />
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Then Trace pattern onto a piece of muslin. I’m using blank muslin because it’s sturdy, and yet somehow still airy. You can really use any robust fabric for this, as long as it seems like it will hold it’s cone shape without any stuffing… a chiffon silk is probably NOT what you want here! <br />
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Note: Do not cut out yet! <br />
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Next step is to create your ‘print’ on the blank muslin. For my two trees I used two very simple stamps. One, a triangle that I cut from an eraser! And the circle was the end of my paint brush! I love finding existing things to use as stamps! Lots of great shapes out there to create beautiful surface design with!<br />
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Since my Festive Friends are for only for decorative use I decided to use acrylic paint to stamp them. If you intend to wash them, you probably want to use something more permanent like a fabric paint, fabric ink, or fabric marker.<br />
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Next, mix your color of choice out of the paints in a shallow plate. Then begin stamping your pattern in the traced out Festive Friend body shape and base. Remember to do your stamping on a piece of cardboard because the paint will seep through the fabric and mark whatever is underneath. Feel free to got outside of the pattern lines! I also stamped my star. But you could use an alternate fabric here, like a yellow felt. Sky is the limit.<br />
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Let the paint dry! <br />
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Next step, embroidering the face! This could be done before painting… but I’m a klutz and I would worry I would somehow mess up my embroidery in the stamping process! So it’s really up to you!<br />
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To start you will need to mark your face outline onto the muslin, lightly with a pencil. <br />
Next you will embroider on the eyes with the brown embroidery floss and the mouth using the pink embroidery floss. I personally like to have my fabric mounted in an embroidery ring while doing this, which is why you do not cut out the piece first. You want to have enough fabric to fit it into the size of ring you have! <br />
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For the embroidery itself, I do a simple satin stitch to create a filled in circle for the eyes and either again a satin stitch to create a half circle or a simple outline stitch to create a half circle line for the mouth. Here is where you can really play around with expression! You can make your tree happy or sad, or have eyebrows or tiny tears. It’s up to you! The face on the pattern is just a general guideline.<br />
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Once the face is embroidered on, you can now start to cut! Cut out the body, base and star piece.<br />
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Now it’s time to machine sew! Start with the the body piece. Just a straight stitch down the back to the first opening notch marks, back stitch, lift up sewing machine foot, pull fabric through to next notch mark, start sewing again, starting with a quick back stitch to the end of the line. You will use that space between the notches for flipping you Festive Friend inside out! Then sew on the circular base to the bottom of your cone shaped tree.<br />
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Once you are done with that, you can carefully flip your Festive Friend right side out! <br />
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You will need to hand stitch up that hole you left open. I use a simple whip or chain stitch for this part in a thread color to match fabric. <br />
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You could also stuff this little Festive Friend up if you like. I just prefer the light and airy feel of the none stuffed tree friend, and since mine are just for decoration, I’m not too worried about them getting squashed.<br />
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Now it’s time to attach the star. I just did a couple quick stitches in a thread color that was close to the muslin to attache the star to the tip of the Festive Friend.<br />
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And voila! Finis! Your very own Festive Friend, and if you make more than one, well then you’ve got yourself one real Festive Forest!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6QpX5MVTf13gVnGHdk27hBKxZLiKYXnU2b7osKtw0L_K0ISun_ZvqFb7BxkxzSVNyTjEStcvEb2oNbKAmm1WoBRfMj0cEYGkImkhmB6yUHkW8haLsJdW0_H782-TD2ID-jVq/s1600/A-Festive-Forest-Friend-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6QpX5MVTf13gVnGHdk27hBKxZLiKYXnU2b7osKtw0L_K0ISun_ZvqFb7BxkxzSVNyTjEStcvEb2oNbKAmm1WoBRfMj0cEYGkImkhmB6yUHkW8haLsJdW0_H782-TD2ID-jVq/s640/A-Festive-Forest-Friend-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Have fun and make it awesome.Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-89056146294823793132015-10-10T00:33:00.001-04:002015-10-16T10:33:14.826-04:00Thanksgiving Table Spirits Tutorial!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtR8XvnG79IoqgZTwqu5JhC9vGVolaTf45S05J6K-6bke_JLdhBai96AElD1P90AJgQeCxCYuMH8ExTzHL2f6P-XxdYg4R8vXuVX5ve3KDzMj9R1zyiG4AGkhIsyNOkro3jAgk/s1600/thanksgivingtablespirits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtR8XvnG79IoqgZTwqu5JhC9vGVolaTf45S05J6K-6bke_JLdhBai96AElD1P90AJgQeCxCYuMH8ExTzHL2f6P-XxdYg4R8vXuVX5ve3KDzMj9R1zyiG4AGkhIsyNOkro3jAgk/s640/thanksgivingtablespirits.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I've been really into foraging for pine cones this fall! And I've now amassed a huge pile, that is just sitting in the middle of my kitchen table... calling to me every morning... "Come and craft with us Rhya!"<br />
<br />
So I came up with this quick and easy project to decorate my Thanksgiving table this weekend... and it turned out pretty cute, so I thought I would share.<br />
<br />
I'm calling these <b>"Thanksgiving Table Spirits"</b>. They are meant to live on the table, next to your plate, and every time you touch one, you need to first reflect and then say out loud, one thing you are grateful for this holiday!<br />
<br />
Alright onward to the tutorial!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTICYMf95EhpG2Em0oUJ06xP85-YumCOH5h5GXcMoepMyhxe6cGbVPpsMlOK7CWX-oOdtwBsB0LmWJklC2eDUmJ3upy6uziD2ietfpbin4smgFGOeudeDuLjWV6jZc2zYHGfcU/s1600/IMG_0781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTICYMf95EhpG2Em0oUJ06xP85-YumCOH5h5GXcMoepMyhxe6cGbVPpsMlOK7CWX-oOdtwBsB0LmWJklC2eDUmJ3upy6uziD2ietfpbin4smgFGOeudeDuLjWV6jZc2zYHGfcU/s640/IMG_0781.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b>Materials:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Pine Cones! Get as many as you will need to give all your guests one at dinner, plus a couple more for just general fun! Foraging for the pine cones is the most fun part! Nothing like getting outside and enjoying the day while rummaging through nature!</li>
<li>Acrylic paint, in any colour you would like. Note, you also don't need to paint your Table Spirits, they will look just as good in their natural colour.</li>
<li>Construction paper in any colour you want. I chose mine to match the colour of the paint I was using on my Table Spirits, and also made sure to have a piece of white and brown paper to construct the flag.</li>
<li>Medium sized paint brush.</li>
<li>Craft glue or glue gun.</li>
<li>Fine tipped permanent black marker.</li>
<li>Googly eyes or you can do what I did and construct them from scratch using an air dry modeling clay ( I used the <a href="http://reviews.michaels.com/9022/M10228275/polyform-polyform-model-air-air-dry-modeling-clay-reviews/reviews.htm">Polyform brand, picked it up from Michaels</a>). I sculpted the eyes and then painted on the pupils when the clay had dried. I bet <a href="http://canada.michaels.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-MichaelsCanada-Site/default/Product-Show?pid=C_gc2790">sculpey</a> would work great too! </li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3w23DdVlpFQxwiZCS0biUbcHnqBlXe2lWLNJA8j2jJ7q6p_w7NdvieqQN-VN1dryUPnUaP12HeAR9eVJKLAIor7onlgAGaG8fd23QuoqQGZQdzQVW6dYgTvqSld1CAQpcEocI/s1600/IMG_0794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3w23DdVlpFQxwiZCS0biUbcHnqBlXe2lWLNJA8j2jJ7q6p_w7NdvieqQN-VN1dryUPnUaP12HeAR9eVJKLAIor7onlgAGaG8fd23QuoqQGZQdzQVW6dYgTvqSld1CAQpcEocI/s640/IMG_0794.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b>How to:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Step one, paint your pine cones... and there are no rules here, paint them any colour you want! Or multiple colours at once. Or as I mentioned above, leave the pine cones bare! It's up to you.</li>
<li>Step two, eyes! Now again, as I indicated previously, you can just use regular old googly eyes, or you can go the crafting route of creating your own eyes from scratch, using a sculpy or air drying clay, and then painting in the pupils. This is what I did, mostly because I like the effect it has, and it allows you to give your pine cones a little more character. Once you have your eyes ready, play around with their placement on the pine cone, till you find just the right position for them. Then glue them on! I used an clear drying craft glue, but I think a glue gun would have been even better! It would set quicker!</li>
<li>Step three, the paper bits! In the photo above you can see the pieces that I cut out to make my arms and thank you flag! Again, you can copy those designs or just go rogue and do your own version! Essentially, I cut out two arms, a flag pole, and flag with the word "Thank You" hand written on using a fine tipped black marker. I glues the flag together and then glued it into one of the hands, and then surprise, surprise, I glued the arms and flag onto the pine cone body! As you can see, it's all about the glue! </li>
</ul>
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And that's it! The last step! Voila! You should now be staring into
the eyes of your very own Thanksgiving Tree Spirit... and if you are
like me... you are also probably covered in paste! So go wash up and
then get your gratitude on!<br />
<br />
Thank you for checking out the tutorial! Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-71775038784045357352015-08-24T10:51:00.001-04:002015-08-25T20:25:18.826-04:00Potato Stamp City! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tUiNkIqkFafHO2ZOzScflf-YxDW3OsNplGuIHXFavCmZk64iU4LTQ9B222vHNtMloieBP_bsq6twrdI4VxwdFiZT58rrrvn-1dypLtQ3EcEvCcmCt2K1UH19gpU4mtxXtk6e/s1600/IMG_9009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tUiNkIqkFafHO2ZOzScflf-YxDW3OsNplGuIHXFavCmZk64iU4LTQ9B222vHNtMloieBP_bsq6twrdI4VxwdFiZT58rrrvn-1dypLtQ3EcEvCcmCt2K1UH19gpU4mtxXtk6e/s640/IMG_9009.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The potato stamp is wonderful thing! Am I right?</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
I love the organic and graphic shapes that you can create by simply carving into a solid spud. </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7O4426KYGFYChpKOwGGq3WRmblDiJ24kmI6jMAXAgatJs8KNkjMFS6Vmc-lyAqTEG7q9FdoYeFekM80YSUBm9b1R4stPBtTjROqcYSo4fhhDLxhdIuYSBvjsmHjTzmW1snkt/s1600/IMG_9011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7O4426KYGFYChpKOwGGq3WRmblDiJ24kmI6jMAXAgatJs8KNkjMFS6Vmc-lyAqTEG7q9FdoYeFekM80YSUBm9b1R4stPBtTjROqcYSo4fhhDLxhdIuYSBvjsmHjTzmW1snkt/s640/IMG_9011.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
And they are great on fabric too! And there is something so wonderful about the lack of control with this material. It's impossible to guarantee the same result each time. I'm doing a whole series of fruit right now, and loving experimenting with using two shapes to create one image. Next up... Apples!Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-3297328089103522692015-08-17T00:09:00.000-04:002015-08-17T00:22:49.448-04:00All The Fuzzy Feels!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThF4gXcuIHq5yB8LTXNSSDwED-2fSQkqNWyCxHQ1C4x2QAgzUZ023aCuQMc1jW8fmBd85IEJwpw9WYbsOhi6YhqBXI3qcjUA772FoETiWvnCV7KEbyd_BMYm6DlVvLMnROfov/s1600/blog-back-fuzzy-feels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThF4gXcuIHq5yB8LTXNSSDwED-2fSQkqNWyCxHQ1C4x2QAgzUZ023aCuQMc1jW8fmBd85IEJwpw9WYbsOhi6YhqBXI3qcjUA772FoETiWvnCV7KEbyd_BMYm6DlVvLMnROfov/s640/blog-back-fuzzy-feels.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
How to begin again after so much change... just dive in right! How about I lay down some goals for what remains of this hot and wonderful summer and the coming fall and winter! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Goals </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
1. In general make more!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2. Craft the heck out of everything!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
3. Surface Design... it's time to dive in... oh it's overtime!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
4. Poems. Write them! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
5. Collect Inspiration! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
6. Blog. I miss this process. I just do.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This seems like a good start. <br />
Hello old friends! Are you all still out there?</div>
<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-77621872626978773612012-07-19T00:30:00.000-04:002012-07-19T00:30:00.405-04:00Finding My Footing...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJLLN-oHqZcFJbPf5xuhoVpC-GeuHwSrxNfe2_ifLis1QpDnn94ZOhMqQYulWBstTrFQdS8ZREvwZFd5zEfPx-AB44A8VG6xTYhqc5xMNml4Yr9mHZROxPIkkegy5hsglBnK-I/s1600/summer-run.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJLLN-oHqZcFJbPf5xuhoVpC-GeuHwSrxNfe2_ifLis1QpDnn94ZOhMqQYulWBstTrFQdS8ZREvwZFd5zEfPx-AB44A8VG6xTYhqc5xMNml4Yr9mHZROxPIkkegy5hsglBnK-I/s640/summer-run.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer Run.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="goog_307296086"></span><span id="goog_307296087"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I've been after my dreams again...patterns and one day what I hope will be a line of textiles. Due to my wedding sabbatical I fell a little out of practice...but now I'm back...wobbly and uncertain, but I'm finding my footing and it feels awesome. Been searching out inspiration where ever I go, and really trying to just get my ideas onto paper. I hit the computer tonight...more to just play around with some techniques and see what works best...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32CHr2P_1J_jiifp-d6igp_ogPrn-TFlBotlEIyZzKwuz1KRejnGnbfYGvLwqIAYe7dnDIbi-ZS5wGThv06vlzbWvvHS6krRAJxqQ2KscatqFGjSc0-qSPR6WWgd0bVrWVUQv/s1600/hollyhock-tea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32CHr2P_1J_jiifp-d6igp_ogPrn-TFlBotlEIyZzKwuz1KRejnGnbfYGvLwqIAYe7dnDIbi-ZS5wGThv06vlzbWvvHS6krRAJxqQ2KscatqFGjSc0-qSPR6WWgd0bVrWVUQv/s640/hollyhock-tea.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hollyhock Tea Time.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of my biggest challenges has always been combining colours. It's funny because colours are one of my most favourite things about life...the spectrum, the combo...the beauty...what's not to love when a sunset steals your breath away. I find that it's actually out in the wild that I see the most inspiring mix of palettes...which got me to thinking...that I should start using my <a href="http://www.colorschemer.com/">Colorschemer app</a> more and start creating colour palettes from the photos that I've taken of day to day life. So this is what I tried with these 'Hollyhock Tea Time' patterns. I've also posted the original photo that I pulled my colours from. I am really excited about the possibilities of working this way...can't wait to see where it leads...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafGXmQF-kXnKq_Zc6aaywnSRGKqj9ERZW1ffiPpfuK3DPdw5VJn_4GiPw7Ushdq06rHCb-ogt3_rVlA7SJCNVBlYWl-9dn_icynA6bH54W2zCyRuD3zr4io2ZvwdQlOW3q2iq/s1600/hollyhock-tea-greyafternoon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafGXmQF-kXnKq_Zc6aaywnSRGKqj9ERZW1ffiPpfuK3DPdw5VJn_4GiPw7Ushdq06rHCb-ogt3_rVlA7SJCNVBlYWl-9dn_icynA6bH54W2zCyRuD3zr4io2ZvwdQlOW3q2iq/s640/hollyhock-tea-greyafternoon.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Again, on a Grey Day</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YdJFzhQyAeq1H-Rw-Ldcnyelf6KhN825b8_D8OEVFshwtzaRA_fIixuGYMCbDigUf5s1hB5Mch-8sSwFlKpuN4yNoxpwegolRltKMYKQtrf0oWPazWYpazZO5qj0UA2H9mE4/s1600/hollyhock-inspiration.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YdJFzhQyAeq1H-Rw-Ldcnyelf6KhN825b8_D8OEVFshwtzaRA_fIixuGYMCbDigUf5s1hB5Mch-8sSwFlKpuN4yNoxpwegolRltKMYKQtrf0oWPazWYpazZO5qj0UA2H9mE4/s640/hollyhock-inspiration.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original Inspiration.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-10731206866851876042012-07-17T10:25:00.003-04:002012-07-18T13:43:01.653-04:00Summer Soundtrack<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNA4ItfIgqAI5W_EUr9o02Lj8gURmasw-EtLcgsz9uPLIvm0DZu1EQd6gIKtjC15_sV-8kCVKy_3q1i3oajLWNnPbZ67E8aei9O3nnfXeOTwLiw1qvk8kb7Z0FCgQ4HOGLuZk/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNA4ItfIgqAI5W_EUr9o02Lj8gURmasw-EtLcgsz9uPLIvm0DZu1EQd6gIKtjC15_sV-8kCVKy_3q1i3oajLWNnPbZ67E8aei9O3nnfXeOTwLiw1qvk8kb7Z0FCgQ4HOGLuZk/s640/photo.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bear-ry Day Card...envelope diorama the birthday edition.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh man I love summer. I've been living in pools and watching the blue skies float amongst the water surface. Bright bike rides and flapping skirts in light breezes which carry the colours of lavender and hot pink roses around our ankles. Who could ask for anything more.<br />
<br />
I've also been obsessed with creating a soundtrack to commemorate this lovely season...so far I've got three tracks:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNFmPmciSQc">White Sea - Overdrawn</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LJtMrhb558">Austra - Lose It</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://vimeo.com/45563669">Justice - New Lands</a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
I am open to more suggestions...</div>Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-70000103956088312032012-07-10T08:22:00.001-04:002012-07-10T08:32:41.752-04:00Berry Time<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BJ7PiVF3mwu6AuXGd47FdPXiFDrO7yMi6p5g-bdjwVtT9oVlVwjJMXarLV8P2B5uu1EiwJLi4dz5tT0smUPpULfQpm9Xn6Sin__mDFzaaK9A4Z1BVyztFPO2Q4Ots5LpcRHu/s1600/bear-berries-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BJ7PiVF3mwu6AuXGd47FdPXiFDrO7yMi6p5g-bdjwVtT9oVlVwjJMXarLV8P2B5uu1EiwJLi4dz5tT0smUPpULfQpm9Xn6Sin__mDFzaaK9A4Z1BVyztFPO2Q4Ots5LpcRHu/s640/bear-berries-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer Day Dioramas, piled and ready for post.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Toronto summers are certainly a lovely sight, hot hot heat, blooming city gardens, and wildlife signing along with the city scape and car songs. We've been taking it easy in my neck of the woods and that has been a welcome break from what seemed like a whirlwind spring. With the wedding and some major work projects I let myself get caught up in a whirlwind of fun and deadlines. But those projects are all cleaned up and closed off, and I am feeling focused again! The next goals are to really focus back on pattern and textile design. I have so much to learn and try that at times it feels overwhelming, like there is no way I can figure it out...and not to mention there are so many talented artists out there it can be rather intimidating, yet at the same time so inspiring. And speaking of awe inducing designers, I am totally in love with <a href="http://www.elizabetholwen.com/">Elizabeth Olwen's work</a>! Make sure to check out her site! It's fabulous and her blog is a wonderful read!<br />
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Doing textiles is a dream I've had for so long, I just need to go and do it and not let my fears stop me...it's all about the making right? <br />
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I've also really missed making beautiful mail...so to stretch out my fingers and imagination I thought I would start with making a small run of envelope dioramas...it has been so long! This one is about bears (a favourite of mine) and berries...I've been eating so many blackberries I seriously think I may be turning into a some sort of woodland creature.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincUET0QtmtiHZPw0Gp_Wbf4zdtGo9TpzXJ4UtJU7zieerlWmqm030azR2XPO00b5YdnfcZsy48AG6SX2fBLl9kKFsUPlJ-twTLMUmUEWU74-Rp_EgQ4BW-xyALfa0qQX_PHws/s1600/bear-berries-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincUET0QtmtiHZPw0Gp_Wbf4zdtGo9TpzXJ4UtJU7zieerlWmqm030azR2XPO00b5YdnfcZsy48AG6SX2fBLl9kKFsUPlJ-twTLMUmUEWU74-Rp_EgQ4BW-xyALfa0qQX_PHws/s640/bear-berries-8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unfold and find a hungry bear, a berry for snaking, a tiny meadow and a mini forest friend for company.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFC2L6PlqIg7cVG6z-P-JysRRdNTk3b5p-esV-C4ykkqKHQCdaBN_Z3vWuCwXOjFnp4b05oj4KdaznL07Uf4niI0fEWbQgKeds4uAOtuhMKrTAQLyPy0nTMMfWeKJWEClvcp_4/s1600/bear-berries-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFC2L6PlqIg7cVG6z-P-JysRRdNTk3b5p-esV-C4ykkqKHQCdaBN_Z3vWuCwXOjFnp4b05oj4KdaznL07Uf4niI0fEWbQgKeds4uAOtuhMKrTAQLyPy0nTMMfWeKJWEClvcp_4/s640/bear-berries-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stuffed into their warm wood-like envelope.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujiC4CzxMQiH1GQeD-Lnt1F_xLoFQ6BzQgN0sy4a2Q_twa5K6Ev7UWFL9Hi34-23yUY8zlTKRYjZcuiacV0pbwsI0JSmU9qU5ZFydkPZzissmeuRAlcIucRnvbw0SeQRSX_J_/s1600/bear-berries-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujiC4CzxMQiH1GQeD-Lnt1F_xLoFQ6BzQgN0sy4a2Q_twa5K6Ev7UWFL9Hi34-23yUY8zlTKRYjZcuiacV0pbwsI0JSmU9qU5ZFydkPZzissmeuRAlcIucRnvbw0SeQRSX_J_/s640/bear-berries-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family on the run.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FTjn49anVwvyAQMZpdurPZ80fndaOBdEGTamnwdkSRa7SYlluPnnqbohCOIUXe5D2lSTQ-ipAnWKB9j1DirnvAFW7Y-08yAKx-Z755oKSSyGV_gKxE-iNhm0l7HfpFYwTmQ8/s1600/bear-berries-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FTjn49anVwvyAQMZpdurPZ80fndaOBdEGTamnwdkSRa7SYlluPnnqbohCOIUXe5D2lSTQ-ipAnWKB9j1DirnvAFW7Y-08yAKx-Z755oKSSyGV_gKxE-iNhm0l7HfpFYwTmQ8/s640/bear-berries-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berry dreams.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpbZ0q8vBa3C7ogFaSMGqhaQ-v9YNqfD8C534FHGT4j0dyeQO8On2Qxpv7k79KoxDc0US9fj2_WulfVb-rbBtDt-lVhw29V8DrGeWwKVPbzypI8TSihBmgA4lp46ptBO-zQFW/s1600/bear-berries-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpbZ0q8vBa3C7ogFaSMGqhaQ-v9YNqfD8C534FHGT4j0dyeQO8On2Qxpv7k79KoxDc0US9fj2_WulfVb-rbBtDt-lVhw29V8DrGeWwKVPbzypI8TSihBmgA4lp46ptBO-zQFW/s640/bear-berries-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet leafy spirits.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xk9vveM9wWUDsxx9gUAvMsQjQJ3pU6jc-NpzGVUczi40FmvEof4Cu9usrEvPqMWOgMaTtOFODB_iM52QWdpDJNeSrdD38CrmrPq5dRoyT7v2gojzoHTuzY_RJTRrXiunZWmy/s1600/bear-berries-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xk9vveM9wWUDsxx9gUAvMsQjQJ3pU6jc-NpzGVUczi40FmvEof4Cu9usrEvPqMWOgMaTtOFODB_iM52QWdpDJNeSrdD38CrmrPq5dRoyT7v2gojzoHTuzY_RJTRrXiunZWmy/s640/bear-berries-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Following the storm.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGqUOZJyunkua3gzRveFLrd7S4am2gIeTKi3ZtLE5xj7Q_fmtXchfhyFIRXov-K3vAOTUiC2Cn-X0N9nyfgXuVMqitK6AsgBV5SgcyqHzfRcG-DjHH7FtFehLYSjRWxoHFbek/s1600/bear-berries-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGqUOZJyunkua3gzRveFLrd7S4am2gIeTKi3ZtLE5xj7Q_fmtXchfhyFIRXov-K3vAOTUiC2Cn-X0N9nyfgXuVMqitK6AsgBV5SgcyqHzfRcG-DjHH7FtFehLYSjRWxoHFbek/s640/bear-berries-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharing</td></tr>
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<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-73079039636612167482012-06-14T13:24:00.000-04:002012-07-18T13:44:57.135-04:00Knot Tied.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7rX8MC6CXtasQcC2k7xCRqLERZvg6j6dKPl5Zk7hV54XyvfdVwbMsGJVJDJfbzhj7C_eLnvftgF3b0XPu1TVt8NvQCXI4sou4e0FrPjk0Gwk-aROtuy2kBgPCOKA2BvePP5d4/s640/Rhy-10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Jen Arron (This was our serious face photo)</td></tr>
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After ten years of excellent adventures, Kyle and I finally tied the knot on June 2nd at the <a href="http://www.highparkclub.com/">High Park Curling Club</a>. It was a magical day filled with good family and friends, excellent food (delicious BBQ from <a href="http://barque.ca/">Barque</a>), dancing, laughing and many many robots and monsters. Thank you to my amazing friend <a href="http://www.jenarron.com/">Jen Arron </a>for capturing the memories. You can see a lovely post all about the day <a href="http://www.jenarron.com/blog/?p=505">here on her blog</a>.<br />
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And another major thanks goes out to my good friend and business partner Bliss, who made the dress of my dreams from scratch.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctopoGRJ4sVkyVQ0FcZvgDSU8QJhrWqpDiAwg154Wlkc8wxfbEHdXpJAa19G6v4yXDOcQF3MNT_aUWRSHm9sFuoEmHrssHelC1gJkEbST8sWekszilKgtqWwagnQIuswj1jSZ/s1600/rhya&kyle-19.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctopoGRJ4sVkyVQ0FcZvgDSU8QJhrWqpDiAwg154Wlkc8wxfbEHdXpJAa19G6v4yXDOcQF3MNT_aUWRSHm9sFuoEmHrssHelC1gJkEbST8sWekszilKgtqWwagnQIuswj1jSZ/s640/rhya&kyle-19.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Amee King</td></tr>
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Now it's back to the basics....finding my pencil crayons and dusting off my journal and getting ready to get back at it.Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-24641815006962390962012-05-15T09:05:00.001-04:002012-05-15T09:08:57.260-04:00Lost in Tissue Paper and Tulle<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnw8YkwwtpSLSbR8-2cIm23qiQNul8uf_SwP5a0BiTuo3CVZATXJMSez8R2D4kfRL8XtT1UdITwqoWhH9wDma-Biawo69MpXrdSgPwe5iw2WWn6xQyY55PfgEHJ7_uV49NzUKE/s1600/dress.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnw8YkwwtpSLSbR8-2cIm23qiQNul8uf_SwP5a0BiTuo3CVZATXJMSez8R2D4kfRL8XtT1UdITwqoWhH9wDma-Biawo69MpXrdSgPwe5iw2WWn6xQyY55PfgEHJ7_uV49NzUKE/s640/dress.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bliss making adjustments to the proto-dress. </td></tr>
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Kyle and I are a few short weeks away from our wedding...though my blog is mostly for my process work and the stuff that fall out of my imagination, but I had to share some of the things we have been creating for our big day of fun and love.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1D78qnqzhbv-UaK9Gn_Pc6o0e_p7Ng3Udw2DvGGXmSA2CR5WpR3zpaqKtLa7siYWQd9ATNNwcJwygWnO4sX6wYKfmpeor86CwtNJg0e9AYijOYOjdzYXU2p7ZX6L1HzTeSh1T/s1600/koshi-photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1D78qnqzhbv-UaK9Gn_Pc6o0e_p7Ng3Udw2DvGGXmSA2CR5WpR3zpaqKtLa7siYWQd9ATNNwcJwygWnO4sX6wYKfmpeor86CwtNJg0e9AYijOYOjdzYXU2p7ZX6L1HzTeSh1T/s640/koshi-photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tissue paper flowers are easy to make and turn out so pretty. Unfortunately cats don't like them.</td></tr>
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We've taken a very DIY approach to our wedding party and both Kye and I are happy about it. It has allowed us to spend lots of nights together planing and fabricating things out of paper, wood and LEDs. And I think we saved a few dollars along the way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1jcD8G7OwM0sfS1iaPEayYsS-Q457LId0M3YlziLnNZtwD98P3mxnRWi6oU5wU6tVQGhl7NOOkXqA_2yb6r_zG8sYUeGS809X7el9b7lHsu9Gz-beiWpbxWOQQdCBku4XTzD/s1600/koshipap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1jcD8G7OwM0sfS1iaPEayYsS-Q457LId0M3YlziLnNZtwD98P3mxnRWi6oU5wU6tVQGhl7NOOkXqA_2yb6r_zG8sYUeGS809X7el9b7lHsu9Gz-beiWpbxWOQQdCBku4XTzD/s640/koshipap.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bunting in progress. </td></tr>
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Making things makes me happy. It's a simple philosophy, but it works for me...and if I could swim and craft at the same time, well then I would really be onto something. Koshi on the other hand finds happiness in sitting on things. To each their own.Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-75161440069769866732012-04-30T10:19:00.000-04:002012-07-18T13:42:45.679-04:00Sparkle Day.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XMcTG2UYttmiJ6Z-9gWXiRQSaObV7OwTLcrHBQzjLE3o-nScB8Ot16Gf_bGX6sjg8wxKn04Ff8kDJuKGlRCzCj3aFckW4FqKfp2nF_T8l2cdYSkDZNErpM0XbtH2FVEwWpcI/s1600/wedphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XMcTG2UYttmiJ6Z-9gWXiRQSaObV7OwTLcrHBQzjLE3o-nScB8Ot16Gf_bGX6sjg8wxKn04Ff8kDJuKGlRCzCj3aFckW4FqKfp2nF_T8l2cdYSkDZNErpM0XbtH2FVEwWpcI/s640/wedphoto.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I didn't think it would happen, but part of my brain has morphed into a frilly bundle of wedding related mess. It's very puffy and full of crafts. I knew that once the planning started that required any kind of paper craft it would be over for me. Kye has been trying to reel me in...but the above is my plan for our little wedding favours...though it's been suggested to me that twine might be a good addition. Admittedly this wedding business has been awesome fun...but I also feel that it's been a tad distracting from my textile pursuits...which I've more than missed my deadline on....but once this wedding is all up, I will be back on track.Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-88473136155903624832012-04-24T00:20:00.003-04:002012-04-24T00:20:33.556-04:00A Bunny Blizzard.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-vcxXTl5-FL0TJWvfnMdpiPFW7cP4Termywn68OyE9TyGXTUAAVHfQvyc7X_JHtOjJ0AK6HTJTKsR1aXdQmpMTH2OU7WNtJ9YkgGGyeTKIoTby4diUDhIlzwwOOmosWS_OMC/s1600/bunnies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-vcxXTl5-FL0TJWvfnMdpiPFW7cP4Termywn68OyE9TyGXTUAAVHfQvyc7X_JHtOjJ0AK6HTJTKsR1aXdQmpMTH2OU7WNtJ9YkgGGyeTKIoTby4diUDhIlzwwOOmosWS_OMC/s640/bunnies.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sugar Mouth.</td></tr>
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Life is slowly being wound up with wedding plans. I am left with only tiny moments to wonder...that is alright. For some time I wondered about ornamented bunnies hoping around the woods, chasing hearts and being caught in a quiet storm of love. The following is documentation of said wildlife.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMBmg7tYKsqYJPnL1puqmG_qG3Z7km5B-RfoMKk9NZMmvAewMaG2Pes_eoTs8Nf-8Z95rssRgB3aVzDBQhoCvvj7SSj6uzwlLIpC7_OTH7Vw4BBpwvEZ8QK11fFYRRPBhJH9Kc/s1600/bunnies2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMBmg7tYKsqYJPnL1puqmG_qG3Z7km5B-RfoMKk9NZMmvAewMaG2Pes_eoTs8Nf-8Z95rssRgB3aVzDBQhoCvvj7SSj6uzwlLIpC7_OTH7Vw4BBpwvEZ8QK11fFYRRPBhJH9Kc/s640/bunnies2.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain Heart Break.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoD0hDcvL_9k8zRkRJXMkXPk13hfcgRNtgCT8CMuXBSk9PSHoLcBbS5UzTxXpbr8Px4GaPzNPzBbrURpb1rhJGgful8b4iUuNEDO8K2jI8evTPWtMDs4HfHC3QU3LJe5j5lf8y/s1600/bunnies3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoD0hDcvL_9k8zRkRJXMkXPk13hfcgRNtgCT8CMuXBSk9PSHoLcBbS5UzTxXpbr8Px4GaPzNPzBbrURpb1rhJGgful8b4iUuNEDO8K2jI8evTPWtMDs4HfHC3QU3LJe5j5lf8y/s640/bunnies3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet Joe.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heart Storm.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quiet Benjamin.</td></tr>
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<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-21392822148260487912012-04-13T10:46:00.002-04:002012-04-13T10:46:43.123-04:00Branch Magazine.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0V_s_aajTCWLcTGQe-YFfZpGkZWMj3Ed3XIb43hu3xNlvVQ9uK2JPeBU2YWxph9ngWY3YNH2-lGkhjxpWtk23dHiK87aBf5QjnbCOFTvUvEpuesrataqUO45nRR4-B42yuxI0/s1600/branch-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0V_s_aajTCWLcTGQe-YFfZpGkZWMj3Ed3XIb43hu3xNlvVQ9uK2JPeBU2YWxph9ngWY3YNH2-lGkhjxpWtk23dHiK87aBf5QjnbCOFTvUvEpuesrataqUO45nRR4-B42yuxI0/s640/branch-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Exciting news, my good friend and writer <a href="http://lindsayziervogel.com/">Lindsay Zier Vogel</a> and I, recently collaborated on some written and illustrated work and it was accepted into the newest issue of <a href="http://branchmagazine.com/">Branch Magazine</a>!<br />
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This issue focuses on the theme 'Make Believe'...a perfect place for mine and Lindsay's imagination to marry.<br />
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Check it out! There is a ton of other incredible work to see and read.</div>Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-66265739163797234462012-04-05T00:36:00.001-04:002012-04-05T00:36:32.562-04:00Spring time.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXhgye0UMc6NfAuc3neDqmp_s3bp003nNLdojHF6MvbBdArEaBb0YDiPmTehC0nCGDhu3YzNVHVjrjdk3nRtI7tFfnOUTHSdsB_7YytvS40SR_annD2mL3aHk14-5gnxDrF4y/s1600/big-skies-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXhgye0UMc6NfAuc3neDqmp_s3bp003nNLdojHF6MvbBdArEaBb0YDiPmTehC0nCGDhu3YzNVHVjrjdk3nRtI7tFfnOUTHSdsB_7YytvS40SR_annD2mL3aHk14-5gnxDrF4y/s640/big-skies-4.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sky stories.</td></tr>
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It's warmer now. I can cycle, I can run, I can wander the city streets without frost bite. It's spring!<br />
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The other night I took to the track and was witness to a very big performance of sky stories. It was moody, it was bright, there was rain and sun and all the colours that make your heart burst with exhilaration. It was magnificent. I ran with my eyes glued to that sky...I suppose it inspired these stories...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_1fnkSnmtV0D9lrIz1m6or3p7Co8Nb2vQ5vAhNZ4aNqf3VwFp0p2T6ZWq21dQBrcJ0r1rEmT4XcCTJN31GtE03XkE8Z6bARnxLCcHRu9wX2QQqcyu4cDShtTVt5x_IBPIh3n/s1600/big-skies-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_1fnkSnmtV0D9lrIz1m6or3p7Co8Nb2vQ5vAhNZ4aNqf3VwFp0p2T6ZWq21dQBrcJ0r1rEmT4XcCTJN31GtE03XkE8Z6bARnxLCcHRu9wX2QQqcyu4cDShtTVt5x_IBPIh3n/s640/big-skies-1.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I tie myself to a handmade cloud. Sewn out of cotton candy and dandelion fluff.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBO0q7Sneob5-k0AcGobUmQ6KTZ1Sx_qnC1LLgMHA4wksPHJfFpfjaHi0ZYr3JWChyhMuW1XtsvUJK3Gx6sHTFameYADLyAlfs8dynubSlR3rtOeoJJFMacP3xG0VEkfZZlrXp/s1600/big-skies-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBO0q7Sneob5-k0AcGobUmQ6KTZ1Sx_qnC1LLgMHA4wksPHJfFpfjaHi0ZYr3JWChyhMuW1XtsvUJK3Gx6sHTFameYADLyAlfs8dynubSlR3rtOeoJJFMacP3xG0VEkfZZlrXp/s640/big-skies-2.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i lose myself in a spring storm.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizr6izaB5ZltoOPoYOonUyDfXpgvfzrhahnfKpd5kgKNFgArFwV0XvIiBrQwOjJ_9Ak7o3_yiBb9Hi5efhDMhBcFYeHA9UjwJmbSITv1tdycBJv7Wy3rVX__B2_jkvYKNJUJTp/s1600/big-skies-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizr6izaB5ZltoOPoYOonUyDfXpgvfzrhahnfKpd5kgKNFgArFwV0XvIiBrQwOjJ_9Ak7o3_yiBb9Hi5efhDMhBcFYeHA9UjwJmbSITv1tdycBJv7Wy3rVX__B2_jkvYKNJUJTp/s640/big-skies-3.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lost in sunset now...and ready for sleep.</td></tr>
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<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-65337325765093133622012-03-29T01:03:00.001-04:002012-07-18T13:40:58.038-04:00Secrets in the night.It's so quiet tonight. Only a fan and the humm of the city sky. In the midst of the spring one of a kind show here in Toronto, it steals time. But I am squirreling away moments to jot down ideas. Projects percolating! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKvsheJBYfSX5fFFvkkJuHBt59trugpY0jb5IzYh-qRbbAaJlNqVCD7zv0gwXzYVUzRdqKsRnJ-cPsdrTquK7o_QHrKUCZndmfA1LDyDdFVbYmclmZY5eF1h9SX7kPGJkTDuW/s640/blogger-image--6065739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKvsheJBYfSX5fFFvkkJuHBt59trugpY0jb5IzYh-qRbbAaJlNqVCD7zv0gwXzYVUzRdqKsRnJ-cPsdrTquK7o_QHrKUCZndmfA1LDyDdFVbYmclmZY5eF1h9SX7kPGJkTDuW/s640/blogger-image--6065739.jpg" /></a></div>Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196405.post-23747624958479886542012-03-20T23:35:00.000-04:002012-03-20T23:41:43.443-04:00Mountain of Mail...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOmfPWBEJKShWaxMnAT7QtglRd0WZAxoXzjb46jtrGm-EE06v4-iQSeyZM3Ibacq9QWsg0nM-qpeZ0Kb2m8RbBj6eiA-PU_1LlMOMCAbJbmp5_wJuLGHs-U5BOVbkBg9QZifH/s1600/blog-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOmfPWBEJKShWaxMnAT7QtglRd0WZAxoXzjb46jtrGm-EE06v4-iQSeyZM3Ibacq9QWsg0nM-qpeZ0Kb2m8RbBj6eiA-PU_1LlMOMCAbJbmp5_wJuLGHs-U5BOVbkBg9QZifH/s640/blog-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
So, over the last few months things have been busy, and the beautiful stack of mail beside my desk has been piling up. Actually it has become more of a mountain of wonderful words, and images and paper secrets. My penpals are so wonderful, and I apologize to them all while I am so behind in my own correspondence back. As mentioned in an earlier post today, Kyle and I finally finished our wedding invites and most of the organizational details which were occupying much of our free time outside of work. But now I am back on my game.<br />
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So to start I have a HUGE backlog of mail art goodness to mention, beginning with a wonderful zine that came to me from <a href="http://www.mapsandfragments.com/">Sewon</a> who keeps up the most beautiful Maps and Fragments blog. Her zine is full of her photographs, which I just adore. Somehow she manages to capture so many stories in a single frame...and now I have pages of stories all wrapped up in one lovely book!<br />
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The envelope was also so cool. There was a hand painted speech bubble for the address...and i can't lie, it totally inspired our invite envelopes!<br />
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I received a little bit of spring in an envelope from <a href="http://sendmoremail.blogspot.ca/">Jaime!</a> And it was a welcome treat!</div>
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This stationery blew my mind! Love it so much.</div>
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I just love the tiny bits of flare that J adds to all her letters! This washi tape is like a tiny whisper of spring hanging on to the edges of my eyelids.<br />
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From <a href="http://thepostmistress.tumblr.com/">Phillipa</a>, I received two beautiful cards...that both look hand printed. One was of the type writer above, which just makes me long for the click clacking of keys...<br />
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...and the other was of a friendly panda bear, who came wrapped in the most delicate envelope I have ever seen. It was transparent...and I could see the bear looking up at me when I peeked into my mail box.<br />
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<a href="http://www.aisforanika.com/b/">Anika </a>sent me an incredible package. It was FULL of beautiful things. Including a piece of her art, which I find so interesting. Her experiments with patterns and shapes are facinating to me. I made a collage of a few of the things that stumbled out of the envelope she sent me. For some reason the collection of colours and textures reminds me of the beach at sunset...running in sand as the landscape changes in big sweeping gestures right before our eyes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfvwmsoHAEcnVTfBdr9oDTBAygmrwMFr7gNIdphvynqSdRAiqCz75Ln3iiEd-LSN-6omwR_X-FjQmzOujcGxE4MihI57JOlRnBy9Wsc-Dvrl0zo6jGGCjuQOULb4VPInLduhE/s1600/blog-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfvwmsoHAEcnVTfBdr9oDTBAygmrwMFr7gNIdphvynqSdRAiqCz75Ln3iiEd-LSN-6omwR_X-FjQmzOujcGxE4MihI57JOlRnBy9Wsc-Dvrl0zo6jGGCjuQOULb4VPInLduhE/s640/blog-14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="http://saylor-made.blogspot.ca/">Jeannine</a> from Saylor Made also sent me a beautiful package, full of other little packages. It always feels like her mail takes me on a tiny journey, through images and textures. These round circles came tumbling out of a brightly coloured orange envelope. They looked like ideas caught in the wind to me...so I tried to illustrate that concept above.<br />
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I also found this older print work she made stunning! Made me want to try some creatures using this technique.<br />
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My lovely <a href="http://lindsayziervogel.com/site/wp/archives/category/news">Lindsay</a> sent me these paper snowflakes...I love them! I want a room full of them. I want to dance through streams of paper snow flakes with playing a loud love anthem! I'm pretty sure Linsday could make that happen! <br />
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Valentines also came and went while I was in the wedding storm. I received so many lovely heart filled cards! <a href="http://snapandtumble.blogspot.ca/">Tanya's</a> simple yet sophisticated Valentine was just so perfect....i think i may need to frame it! And <a href="http://sendmoremail.blogspot.ca/">Jaime's</a> embroidered heart made me swoon!<br />
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A week ago I came home to this wild work of art...and thought it had to be from <a href="http://naturesmyfriend.wordpress.com/">Jessica</a>! I love the collage and altered postcard. But I especially love the 'oh hey'. Don't you? There is something so humourous about that statement with this image. It keeps me chuckling.<br />
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And last but certainly not least, <a href="http://whimsicalbeast.com/">Kye</a> sent me an entire TUBE of papers...incluing vintage wallpaper...which I don't even know how to start using...so many ideas. She also sent me on old map which I couldn't resist using on a little character. Thank you so much Kye, your generosity is out of this world.<br />
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Well that sums it up for now...next it's my turn...I think Jaime's spring letter has stirred an idea in my brain for a new envelope diorama...and possibly a zine...Happy Spring to all!<br />
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<br />Rhyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03108875868263852513noreply@blogger.com5