Hope you all enjoyed your weekend! I worked on several backgrounds this weekend in various stages of drying at present so will share these later in the week. Don't you love suprises! Over the last several weeks I received two gifts. The first photo shows several crocheted pieces and some vintage buttons received from my mother-in-law. The buttons are from various clothing items she has collected through the years. The white ones are from her wedding suit - will need to do something very special with these! Thanks Jean - I just love them! The second photo are several special linens and hankies with decorative trim from my very talented quilting friend Pat. Pat dropped by for a studio visit last week to get some hints for organization - I can hardly wait to see her studio re-organization! Thank you Pat - such a nice surprise. Am off to the studio shortly. Enjoy your day.

Corsets

I mentioned in an earlier post this week that I've been working on some corsets for a swap with the AAO yahoo group! All are a combination of fabric and paper with trims, metal and even some plastic thrown in. I created a back for my corsets digitally using my blog design and various vector layers then printed the design up on cardstock. Backs were then sewn to the corsets. Finally, they were all packaged up! Had a ton of fun with these. This is my first swap but certainly not my last!

Purchased a few more digital kits yesterday so will be playing a bit this am with those. Since the weather is good, will do more fabric painting today also. As the summer comes to a close, enjoy your weekend whatever you choose to do. Chat again on Monday.......

"THRIFTY THURSDAYS"

Welcome to "Thrifty Thursdays". Have decided to make Thursdays my thrift day. At least once a week I visit the local Sally Ann and St. Mary's which is a thrift store run by the local hospital auxillary. Some days I bring home all kinds of treasures and other days not much, you just never know. So, thought I would start to share what I find. Am also showing today how I use it. I am in the process of redecorating the studio and wanted a decorative sort of container for my vintage buttons. I found this on one of my trips and am so pleased with it. I'd love for you to join me and post your finds on Thursdays - anyone interested? It is amazing what you can find.... The Sally Ann is having a 50% off sale today so am heading down there when they open this am. Fall is in the air - cool, crisp mornings! I plan to spend some time on the computer doing digital stuff and then studio time today. Chat tomorrow....

During my vacation time I worked on a number of ATC's. Several years ago I did these for trades at one of the events I attended but hadn't done them since. I forgot how much fun they are to make. I worked on various transfer techniques for the images. This one is printed on bubble jet treated muslin. I don't feel the image is as clear as those printed on pre-treated transfer sheets so will likely use these instead in the future. Various fabrics,and paper were used. The second photo shows images I purchased from Lisa's Altered Art. Wonderful selection. If any of my blog visitors are interested in ATC trading, e-me!

I worked on the computer yesterday, managed a thrift store visit, mailed off my completed swap and experimented dyeing various synthetic laces. Am getting hooked again on America's Got Talent - amazing the talent that is out there!

Am off to play - enjoy your day!

TEXTILE TUESDAY

As most of you are likely aware by now, I have really varied art interests. I find I get bored working in only one medium so frequently combine several either in one piece or move from one to the other. In light of this, I have decided to have some fun and title some of my blog posts. Tuesdays will now be "Textile Tuesday" where I'll share textile related products or projects.

While I was off I purchased some laces and dyes shown in the second photo(specifically for lace dyeing). The top photo shows laces I had here, mostly thrift store finds in both white and ecru. I love the resulting soft pastel colours - these will come in quite handy for future projects. I also picked up a few dyes for synthetic laces which is the pink and blue sample in the top left.

Sun painting/printing kept me occupied a good portion of yesterday. Finished up my swap goodies to mail off today. Also did a little digital work. As you see, a variety! Today is overcast with a forecast of showers so will do some experimenting indoors.

Thank you all for your "welcome backs" yesterday. Enjoy your day..... Have added a slideshow for your enjoyment.

I'M BACK

Hi everyone, I'm back! Had a great vacation. I put together a mosaic of bits of images to give you an idea of what I did. I'll be posting in greater length with full photos in future posts. So, lounged by the pool, coffee/tea stained papers and fabrics, recieved some lovely goodies from friends and family, made ATC's, picked blackberries (and ate lots too), managed trips to the thrift store with some great finds, revamped the studio, worked on various backgrounds and dyed some lace and trims! And that's not everything! Usually the summer is my slow creative time but not this year so am taking advantage of this creative spurt!
The weather was fabulous for the most part with record breaking temperatures the first week. The floor in the studio went in on one of the hottest days of the year - sweaty work to say the least! Looks fabulous though and yes, I'll be posting photos shortly. I painted and repurposed a dresser into a sideboard which now houses more supplies. Am really happy with this project. I have also been playing on the computer off and on experimenting with some digital work - really having fun with this - it is quite addictive! It was fun to spend some time finding and visiting new blogs - you will start to see my "inspiration" list growing. Have joined a new art group and am just completing my first swap - I'll get some photos today. Lots of fun..... This fall is shaping up to be pretty busy. I have several online workshops I'm either enrolled in or plan to take - all finds from my blog travels - more to share later.... That's it for now . I see I have four new followers - welcome and I hope you enjoy what you find here! I post daily Monday to Friday. Comments are always welcome. So, go get creative today! Until tomorrow....