Friday, June 11, 2010

Now for some Bling!!!

Well, those of you who know me, know I LOVE bling, and I love sunsets and sunrises.  I have been trying to do some textile work, depicting the sun as I see it.  This is one of the most recent sunsets I've photographed [I have lots of them].  I have zoomed into this frame quite a lot, which really alters how the camera sees the colours.  I am also including the piece of fabric that I used as a starting point for my work - a journal cover.  I dyed this fabric quite some time ago, and never liked it.  Prior to stitching, I sprayed some of the colour out with bleach, dried it, then painted over it with some metallic gold Lumiere fabric paint, as well as a brush here and there of Jo Sonja's Opal Dust and Textile medium.

I then needed to have something textured for the sun, so painted a piece of Tyvek with Metallic Bronze Lumiere/Metallic Gold, which when dry, was overlaid with orange organza and stitched lightly, prior to crinkling with a heat gun.  That was magic!!  I had the texture and the colour I was hoping for.  Before laying this on my prepared fabric, I laid on a sheet of Irisé film to give me the colour change and reflection I wanted.   Next came some long wispy pieces of orange mohair/angora wool which were already lovely and curly, and looked just like I imaged solar flares to be.  In order to get this all stitched down I covered it with a yellow chiffon scarf, cutting away the excess after stitching around the 'solar flares'.  I also cut away wisps of the Irisé film to expose the fabric with the dark blotches.  This photograph should show the lines of wavy stitching.


I'm quite pleased with the overall journal cover.  The sun has gone back slightly into the background, but then we only see it as a blur anyway.  I've beaded in some places and really had to stop myself.  I could have beaded for hours, but commonsense had to kick in at some stage, enough already!!  I also painted glue in lots of places and sprinkled fine holographic gold glitter over the whole piece.   I hope these photos will show the texture and the colour changes, as well as the 'bling' I got from the glitter.

I must say I have to admit to an embarrassment of riches with the lining fabric.  I received this piece in a prize package from 3CS a few months ago, and knew it was perfect for the job at hand.  Vicki Welsh dyes some amazing pieces, and I would love to say I could do the same, but alas, I've not come that far yet with my fabric dyeing [you only have to look at the piece at the beginning of the post to see that!!].  Some of Vicki's pieces are available here: 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickiwelsh

So, an end to the story of the Bling Journal Cover.......... now to think up some equally more bright ideas.

13 comments:

Karyn said...

honestly Linda I do not know how you come up with this stuff, but the end results are always fabulous. Simply stunning!!!

DIAN said...

Linda, that is gorgeous. Love the explanation of the various steps required to achieve the wonderful results.

The lining is superb - I am using a piece of Vicki's fabric to line my smocked piece. I too was a lucky recipient of a prize package from 3creative studios.

Iceni UK said...

Linda, when I saw your blog picture of a sunset and your journal cover, I held my breath in wonder at the beautiful cover you have made. Your creativity is at another level. Congratulations my friend it is a superb piece of textile embroidrey art.
Hugs to you

JulietteCherry said...

Wow!!! You certainly had fun with this one. It is outstanding. What imagination.

michelle said...

WOW !!! i absolutely love this ! what an amazing piece of art you have created it is quite exceptional ! I can just imagine how gorgeous this cover is in real life and the sunset picture also breathtaking. Thanks Linda for sharing your wonderful creations !

CJ STITCHING AND BLOOMS said...

Hello Linda, Your sunset journal cover is truly lovely. You are a very talented artist. And I really enjoyed your country photos of your local wildlife. They definitely made me smile. Hugs Judy

Linda said...

Oh my goodness, thanks so much ladies. I feel rather 'exposed' showing this piece. All of these positive comments are so comforting. You are all such a great influence on me. I must thank Dian for sending me some painted Tyvek just recently, giving me a 'push' to finally paint and distort some myself. I've had it for ages, and had never done anything with it. I really don't think I could do all this without such wonderful support, thank you all sincerely.

Jensters said...

Wow Linda you have been busy, what a journal cover...ive been a little slack blogging but lots going on xx

llkdesigns said...

Linda, You are amazing!!!!!! I love the sun that you have created! Can't wait to see what creative thing you will come up with next!!!! You make me want to 'make and make and make'!!!!! Thank you!

Robin Mac said...

This is a really lovely piece Linda, the flowing stitching is gorgeous. I especially love the way you have cut around the irise film. I think I would spend most oftheday just admiring my finished piece if I had made it! Cheers, Robin

Anonymous said...

Hi Linda,
I found your blog link via stitchin fingers.
Your journal cover is gorgeous, I know what you mean by the beading, I find it quite addictive!!!

Julie T said...

That is amazing,Linda.... I don't have any idea about this sort of thing but, gee it makes me want to find out more... great work

Julie T said...

Great work.... still have no idea how this is done but I am sure going to do some research about it. Love it..... definately not counted Lol