Image: sxc.hu

This also falls into today’s recycling world of using older items to make new.  (Something the pioneers and those who lived through the Great Depression did as a matter of course.)

Clock and watch parts make likely items for unique art.  Save your old, unworkable ones.  Look for them at yard sales and auctions.  If that’s not enough, you even can find them at some collage and scrapbooking supply stores.

Among the watch findings are: screws, spokes, faces, springs, hands, bezels, etc.  Most mixed media artists prefer the older ones, but if you’re into space age art, you might use the digital parts.

Use these items alone or mix and match with others.

Post from: Blisstree

Clock Face & Findings for Art

Image: sxc.hu

By scrounging family attics, second hand stores, auctions and recycling facilities, you’ll find many items you can upscale into art.

For instance:

• keys
• broken jewelry
• old or distressed wood scraps
• metal boxes
• hinges
• nails and screws
• hardware cloth
• wire
• kitchen utensils
• stones – colorful and dark
• metal tags
• cancelled stamps
• belt buckles
• buttons
• many more
• old paper and newspaper clippings
• old photos

If these items don’t look old enough or fit into your theme, distress them or add dabs of rust colored paint.  You may want to spray rusted objects with a sealer to prevent further deterioration.

How have you utilized rust and relics in your mixed media art? 

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Crafting with Rust & Relics

Image: sxc.hu

There are so many ways you can go with this…create something childlike, make a collage using a number of techniques, or simply arrange the items hit-and-miss on paper or fabric.

That’s just what Roben-Marie Smith  has been doing and making Remnant Journals, along with her other lovely art pieces she displays and sells on her web site.  I saw my daughter looking at them this morning, after discovering  Roben-Marie  in an Artful Blogging magazine (Spring 2008 issue).  Roben-Marie even has a video explaining what they are and how she makes them.

(The above picture isn’t Roben-Marie’s art, but an example to give you inspiration to create something of your own out of remnants.)

Post from: Blisstree

Remnant Journals & Art by Roben-Marie Smith

Image: sxc.hu

 Patti also utilizes the colors of nature with browns, bronzes, beige, cream and white with some green.  Her work is calming and relaxing, yet, to me, eye-catching.  Most of those on display used bird images, then found items in nature…leaves, sticks, pebbles and more.

This artist doesn’t have a web site, but if you see her name on the Internet as participating in a show or have an opportunity to take a class or view her art, take advantage of it.  My daughter has been to her NH studio and taken a class from her in a different type of art.

I did find one announcement about Patti’s exhibit at the local Gilford, New Hampshire library, but no pictures.  (Scroll down the blog to the August exhibit news.)

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Utilizing Nature’s Supplies in Art

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside has tutorials on how to make two punk rock scarves one with yarn and one with fabric, info on participating in the Good Mail Day Challenge, One Person’s Oddity and a Polaroid Postcard design, a bunch of mixed element jewelry and tips on laying a pattern out on plaid fabric.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy talks about booth set ups for art shows as well as trade shows.

Cross Stitch at About.com
One of Connie’s friends is really big into Egyptian history and culture, so she has some pattern ideas for gifts. If you like Egyptian-themed decor, you will love these charts!

Mixed Media Artist
Have you ever used an online publisher to create your own artist book?

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen shows how to transform old lace curtains and a cheap wooden embroidery hoop into a one of a kind earring holder.

The Artful Crafter
Eileen just took her new Zutter Bind-it-All out of the box. Woohoo! Look at what a bona fide binding newbie can create with the Bind-it-All.

The Impatient Crafter
Check out this Haute Couture inspired felt, ribbon and glass bib necklace Madge made for I Love to Create teens!

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love
Get a signed bookplate for your copy of Vickie’s book, Pop Goes Crochet!

About Family Crafts
Who are your favorite popular characters? Are they included in this collection of free coloring book pages?

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Artsy blogging round-up!

Psalm 63: 6-8
On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

Step by step instructions

Materials and Tools
Heavy watercolor paper
Silicone-based spray wax
Acrylic paints
Mulberry paper
Verse or poem
Polymer medium or white glue
Plastic straws
Assorted yarns
Heavy card stock, black

X-acto knife
Paint brushes or sponges
Scissors
Tapestry needle

Post from: Blisstree

Peeled paper technique

The new calendar will feature the theme “Flavor of the Month” and they want you to use fiber art to express your creative take on the theme.

Think about the different “flavors” you could incorporate into your art quilt or mixed media artwork.  How would you express the crispness of snow?  What about the feel of autumn – apples, falling leaves – I can think of lots of flavors that could be used!  How would  summer taste – would you go for the salty tang of the beach or the smell of ripe fruit from an orchard?

There are very specific rules you must follow to be eligible – but the winner for each month’s image will win a $200 prize pack!

• You must create an artwork that is exactly 12″ X 12″ (they photograph it at real size for the magazine).
• Quilting Arts requires three 8″ X 10″ photos of the quilt (one full page, and two detail shots).
• There can’t be any kind of copyright infringements and it must be your own original work.
• It is for an art quilting magazine – so don’t forget it must be embellished, quilted or use mixed media techniques.

image: Quilting Arts

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Share Your “Flavor of the Month”

You can save 15% on everything in the shops by entering the code “MM0709 “, but it’s only on until July 30th – so you’d better hurry if you want some cool fiber art goodies.

What kind of yummy supplies can you get?  How about…

100% Alpaca fiber roving pillows (in three different colorways).

Charming yo-yo pincushion patterns by Indygo Junction.

Or how about a 16 piece Shiva Paintsticks sampler?

Yummy yummy yummy…

images: Interweave Press

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Stock Up On Mixed Media & Quilting Goodies!

This article for Threads magazine, by Lois Ericson, shares many great tips, the materials lists, step by step instructions, and photos so that you’ll know exactly what you’re doing and so you’ll take all the proper safety precautions.  Please, be careful when working with bleach!

Image: Threads/David Coffin

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Dyeing fabric with bleach

For my page in the Altered Book group anniversary book, I decided to do a found poem.  I’ve got an old novel called My Lady of the Fog (Ralph H Barbour, 1908) and another Russian text called Selected Stories (Daniil Kharms, 1919).  Very different from each other in feel, I decided to use one of the illustrations from Kharms’s book and do a found poem using a page from Barbour’s.

Really, I couldn’t do it the other way around: I can’t read Russian!

Here’s the instructions that I wrote two years ago for using tissue paper as a guide when creating found poems.  The step by step instructions for this new project are also available.

Post from: Blisstree

Found poem page for anniversary book