I come from a long line of sign writers and am happiest with a brush and some paint! Add
paint to fabric and I get really excited!!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Stamping out those urges to clean!

I feel like my house is falling in ruins around me. I have piles of my “stuff”, my creative play tools and materials, everywhere. I have to be careful when I let this happen because eventually it eats at me and then I run in circles tidying and not accomplishing anything creative at all. I purposely refused to schedule any more paying work this week, just to let myself have some creative time. This is also the time when popcorn can be an entree.....

Although I am biting at the bit to finish a quilt on my longarm, I have been doing anything but. I have managed to fill my hallway with piles and piles and tubs and tubs of fabric, all in a feeble attempt to organize, or perhaps integrate the new fabric purchases. I like to mix my fabrics up. That way the newer is not playing so much on my conscience if I don’t see a stack of new stuff shining bright as a new penny (remember those? I loved pennies!). Maybe that is why I always rush to pre-wash my new pieces. Makes me feel like they have been here longer. For whatever reasons, I am organizing. Well, sort of. It should be organized when I am done. I hope.

I have sewn some bindings on so that I have some handwork, if I should happen to remember how to turn my TV on. Don’t ask. I am not technically savvy.

I also started some blocks that I have been wanting to try since my Mom gave me a lovely quilt book last summer. I have some 30’s prints and I love 30’s designs, so it seems I should get myself in gear. My biggest problem is that I am not so great at making repeat blocks. Case in point? I made one and stopped. BUT, I am planning on making more. Just not today.

I have also been sketching. I am a summer sketcher. Maybe it is the light. Maybe it is easier to sketch when you aren’t wearing 3 sweaters and gloves. Anyway, I am doing some of that. And when I was cruisin’ through my moleskin, I apparently was “drawn” to a little flower sketch I did two summers ago. Without really thinking about the process, I replicated it on a piece of Soft Kut and made a stamp. All of a sudden the morning had passed and I have a nice little stack of stamped bits and pieces.























I refined the stamp as I made prints until I was happy with my design. I decided to not carve the centre but will pop some little stamens in with paint later on. I know I drew this from a flower on my deck but it has a Hawaiian feel  to it to me. 
I also decided to try some other stamps that I had been carving in spare minutes. Good thing I did because sometimes I have a tendency to over carve my design and I had been considering taking the knife to them again. I learned I am happy with them just as they are. Well, for now at least.





Reminds me of a cartwheel. Must have been all that Americana influence on the weekend. And the one on the left is blurry because I overprinted it. The gold I used first was too light so I mixed some Green in and printed again. 





















I really like using metallic fabric paints for stamping, especially on my hand dyed fabric. I tend to use two colors on each stamp although the ones above are just one. I used two with the odd star design.
























I almost didn’t try this stamp, dismissing it as too simple. Ah, sometimes I need to step back and remind myself of that great creative advice: Simplify, Exaggerate, Repeat.....

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6 comments:

  1. Great work Jennifer! Love reorganizing and finding things I had forgotten! Must do it more often! These are lovely stamps and the last one is my favorite!

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  2. What wonderful block printing you have done. And I'm sure you will feel better, be more creative, when you have your stuff all back in place. Good work.

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  3. Jennifer, we would have such fun together! We seem to be very similar in our creative pursuits.
    I have trouble repeating quilt blocks too so I pack it up and save it for UFO and retreat.

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  4. Ha ha! I ended up staying up till after 1 am because I couldn’t stand the clutter in the hallway any longer!! I am so predictable! And thanks! I like the last one even more too now that I played with it a bit and can see the potential! A lesson there, I am sure!

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  5. Thanks so much, Ilene! And yes, after staying up last night until the wee hours to get things back in some order, when I walked into my sewing area this morning, I felt energized.! It was nice to re-visit some misplaced tools and put some things back in order after the last creative frenzy! Hopefully now I can move on and get to more fun pursuits!

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  6. Well, Holly, we should try to get some play time in together! I also have a hard time seeing a design through to fruition - once I finish the design and work out how it will go together, I lose interest and move onto the next idea. Am trying very hard to follow through more these days.....And I LOVE designs with repeated blocks - I just have such a hard time sewing them allllll.......lol......

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