I’ve used it on art quilts …

fabric journals …

and I particularly love using it to finish my Art Bags.

I get asked quite often how I get the ends of the cording to meet up so nicely. It’s a little difficult to explain without pictures, so while I was busy making fabric postcards for the upcoming Arts on Stage event – and don’t they look just delicious -

I took a few photos for you to show you the technique.

First, begin by making a length of cording. If you haven’t made machine wrapped cording before, you’ll find instructions here on the tutorials page.

Then add a dab of fabric glue or fray check to the beginning end of the cording, allow it to dry, then snip the end cleanly with a small pair of sharp scissors. The glue seals the threads together so they don’t fray.

Leave a tail of about an inch before you being attaching the cording to your project, then attach the cording all the way round until about an inch or two from the end, then add another dab of fabric glue or fray check to the end of the cording where it will match up with the beginning.

Nudge the beginning end, and the end tail of the cording up against each other, determine where the end cut should be, and snip the end cleanly.

Butt the ends up against each other so they lie snugly together, and finish attaching the cording.

Once finished stitching, add another drop of glue in between the butted ends and allow the dry.

And that’s it! A perfect finish…

And of course, for other fabulous embellishing techniques, stop by the store and check out my Titivations DVD.

This is a print that really went screwy. It was printed using digital grounds on textured fabric (it’s a real pain in the *** when these prints go wrong because it takes so long to prep the fabric) and the image printed out in a portrait orientation instead of landscape and subsequently the right hand side of the image got chopped off severely.

However even with the chopped of main image, I thought there might be enough of the image left to make an interesting postcard.

Here’s a tip for you …

Using a “viewer” to fussy cut your fabric or images makes things a whole lot easier. A viewer is easy to make – simply determine the size of your project and for a postcard I use 4″ x 6″, then cut a hole out of a piece of cardstock. Position the cutout area over your fabric to determine what looks best for your project and when you’re happy with what you see, mark the area using a fabric marking pen or pencil then cut it out.

This is what was I ended up with for my postcard which looks kind of interesting don’t you think?

And if you’ve never made a fabric postcard before, they can’t get much easier than this. For my image transfer fabric postcards I print out my image (or in this case I salvaged one from an injured print), cut to size some fusible peltex and a piece of cardstock for the back (I like to use a pre-printed backing on my postcards and if you want a copy you can download a copy here then print it out onto cardstock or fabric). And I also sometimes use machine wrapped cording to finish the edges.

PS I’ve been asked a number of time how I join my machine wrapped cording when I use it for edging or couching so check back tomorrow and I’ll show you.

And once everything is fused together and the edging added, here’s my postcard.

Front …

and back …

Fabulous!

Note: This tutorial is for Photoshop Elements 6 but the steps are probably similar in other versions.

1. Download the image
Right click and save to your desktop.

2. Open the image in Photoshop Elements

3. Arrange the image in a half-drop repeat
From the main menu Filter > Other > Offset

The original image is 200px wide by 200px height so to create a half-drop repeat, you will need to offset the image using half of the width and height of the original image.
In the Offset Dialog Box change the settings:
Horizontal: 100
Vertical: 100
Undefined Areas: Wrap Around

Click OK to close the dialog box and you can now see that the image has become offset.

4. Copy the image. From the main menu:
Select > All (shortcut keys Ctrl+A)
Edit > Copy (shortcut keys Ctrl+C)
Select > Deselect (shortcut keys Ctrl+D)

5. Resize the canvas
Make sure the background color is set to white. You can quickly reset it by using the shortcut key D
From the main menu: Image > Resize > Canvas Size

Once the Canvas Size Dialog Box opens, double the size of the canvas.
Width: 400px
Height: 400px
Position the current image in the top left hand corner by clicking the arrow on the top right hand side of the box.
Make sure that the Canvas Extension Color setting is set to Background.

Click OK to close the dialog box and you can see that the image has shifted to the top left of the canvas.

6. Paste copies of the image
From the main menu:
File > New > Image from Clipboard (shortcut keys Ctrl+V)
This drops a copy of the image onto the center of the canvas and also adds a new layer in the Layers Pallete.

This drops a copy of the image onto the center of the canvas and also adds a new layer in the Layers Pallete.

Now drag the image into position alongside the original image. This is easy when you have the Snap To function set. To set it:
View > Snap To > Guides
Now the image snaps into position.

Paste another copy of the image and position it underneath the original image.

And paste a final copy and position it on the bottom right corner.

7. Flatten the image
In the Layers Palette, right click and select Flatten Image. This combines all the layers into one layer.

8. Enlarging the design
You can continue enlarging the design by beginning again at step 4 and copying the image, then step 5 resizing the canvas.

By continuing in this way you can create a very large canvas of pattern.

And of course you can do this with any image that’s suitable for creating a pattern. Easy when you know how right?

Have a creative day!

Head over to the Free Purses Totes & Handbags listings and click on the Alphabetical Section “Added July 2010″ for the links to the tutorials for the following fabulous bags, purses and totes.

Enjoy …

Wear Your Art on Your Arm

Magnolias never looked so fragrant …

Poppies are my flower of the moment – simple and uncomplicated …

… and Daisies, well they’re just bright and cheery.

Each art bag is embellished with a small decorative emblem and bead, attached to the bag handle with a gold chain. And as a bonus each art bag comes with it’s own special “Baggie” to keep it free from dust while it’s being stored – a brilliant idea!

More designs will be added shortly as soon as I catch my breath (it’s been a hugely busy week), but in the meantime visit the store for details, ordering and additional photos.

Travel lightly and have a great day!

If you follow my blog, you should know by now that I
love
to work with fabric paper.

I print on it

I paint it

and I use it for all sorts of projects.

So if you love using fabric paper also, then you’re sure to love this book I recently stumbled across…

Stitch, Cloth, Paper & Paint: Mixed Media Ideas & Inspiration by Angie Hughes

It’s just filled with tons of inspiration for using fabric paper in all sorts of fascinating ways … it’s great to see someone else who loves to use it as much as I do! You’ll also find a few projects to get you started and of course there’s LOTS of photos to inspire.

So head over to amazon to check it out – it’s a visual feast for the eyes.

And if you can’t wait for your book to arrive, you can always start with basics with my downloadable lessons – Making Fabric Paper.

Have a creative weekend!

to be daring …

to be different

Be inspired by Iris Apfel …

Want more?

Enjoy the slideshow

or check out the book …

Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel

Have an eccentric day!

Arts on Stage

Arts on Stage is a two day event being held INDOORS!! (yayyyyy!!!!) in the air conditioned comfort of the lovely Peabody Center where you can browse and shop for local fine arts and crafts and as this is a juried event you know there will be some lovely artwork on display.

As well, you’ll be entertained by some local performing artists and if you get hungry you can grab a bite from some of the local restaurants who’ll have some food for sale. And the best part, no charge to get in! What a fabulous day!

Download a flyer so you don’t forget the dates, and I hope to see you there!

These days I don’t care if you see my mess; in fact I showed the world my chaotic mess the other day …

But from chaos comes order … and isn’t it pretty.

Spread a little harmless chaos today and watch what happens.

This little art quilt was part of my series “In The Garden” and was one of three small embellished art quilts that I completed exploring “soft edges”.

The other two were “Flowers”

and “Leaves”

I really enjoyed the process of working with soft edges using free motion embroidery techniques and water soluble stabilizer and you can see the soft edges better in this closeup.

You can also see where this art quilt series started in these posts:

Hand Dyed Fabric: Playing with Complementary Colors
Hand Dyed Fabric: Still Playing with Complementary Colors
Hand Dyed Fabric: All Done Playing with Complementary Colors

And of course, these techniques are included in my instructions dvds Titivations

and Fabulous Free Motion quilting.

It just may be that I’ll just have play with some art quilts this week.

Have a nostalgic day!