Madrid - Day 1

Yesterday was a very long travel day.  We are so happy and excited to have arrived safely in Madrid.    The weather is sunny and crisp.  Even though we are exhausted, we wanted to get a look around the area near our hotel.  (I need to get a map to find out the names of things/places I'm taking pictures of!)  A threat of rain for tomorrow - couldn't find the umbrella I was sure I had packed - we found a shop specializing in umbrellas and bought one.

Catalonia Gran Vin - where we are staying

boulevard leading to park

fountain at Plaza de Cibeles

I think this is City Hall - across from the fountain

Puerto de Alcala

Central Park - plenty of flowers in bloom

lake in the park - lots of boaters out

Buenas noches!

What's in a name...

You may remember a while back I experimented with mashed potatoes as a resist for acrylic paint on fabric.  It is a relatively small piece of fabric.  I liked the colors and decided to make doll out of it.

created fabric

A pattern drawn to allow insertion of a 3/8" wooden dowel as armature for body.  Head made out of a styrofoam egg, covered with masking tape and then applied paper clay.  Arms made of created fabric, hands made of t-shirt fabric.  Face painted with acrylic paints.  Legs are vintage loom dowels painted, inserted into scrap wood and embellished; feet vintage castors adhered with E6000.  The doll breasts made of bottle caps; hair is painted cheesecloth.

I like to name my dolls, but haven't come up with an appropriate one for her.  I'd love your suggestions.

Visit Pink Saturday for more inspiration!

Behind the Blue Door

This week's Texture Tuesday challenge is to combine two of Kim Klassen's textures with any photo.  I used Kim's textures: warm grunge and ugglove sepia.  I took the picture while on vacation in Europe a few years ago.  I wonder what is behind that blue door...

Mouse over photo to see original

Donation quilts....

Small donation quilts made for a worthy cause.  Each measures 8x10.

Fern and a Flower

Materials:  Silk, book pages, felt, tissue paper, embroidery floss, acrylic paint

Methods: Painted, appliqued, machine stitched, hand stitched, zapped felt

Prelude to the Dance

Materials: Silk, thread

Methods:  Machine pieced, free motion quilted

Visit Pink Saturday for more inspiration.

Beauty is as Beauty does...

While cleaning out my closet, I found a Chico's jumper that I love but haven't worn in ages.  I hated to give/throw it away - so I decided to use the fabric and make something new out of it.

Since I'm going to Spain and Portugal at the end of the month, I decided to make myself a new tote bag to coordinate with the clothes I'll pack for the trip.

I drew a pattern then cut the jumper apart.  Applied gesso to the bag front; continued painting until I was happy with the face.  Finally, constructed the bag.  It's lined with a beautiful painted fabric which you cannot see here.   A magnetized snap was added for security - voila a new tote bag for my trip!

This week's Texture Tuesday challenge is to combine two of Kim Klassen's textures with any photo.  I used Kim's textures: extreme grunge and beauty.

Two Girls

Making small quilts is always a challenge for me.  I've been asked to donate some artwork for several different worthy causes.  Over the next three weeks, II'll show you what I've made.  Each quilt measures 8x10.

Materials: Cotton, silk, acrylic ink
Method:  Machine pieced, image transfer, ink jet printed, appliqued, stamped, machine quilted

Two Girls and a Flower

Visit Pink Saturday for more inspiration.

Seeing Red...

This week's Texture Tuesday challenge is to use one of Kim Klassen's textures on a photo containing red.  The theme is "Red," of course!

This darling clock sits on a small chest in my living room.  I bought it at an art fair a number of years ago and just love it!

Divas at Sea

I am traveling a lot this year.  As soon as I arrive home from Spain/Portugal, I'll join my dear friend, Tanya, on a Caribbean cruise.  (I'll have just enough time to do laundry!)  This is a maiden voyage for both of us and, of course, we're both excited and raring to go.

It is impossible for me to travel without a journal.  I made one for myself and one for Tanya as a surprise for her birthday which is coming up soon.

I had a few odd sized books from the Dollar Store and decided to use these as the substrate for the journal.  Pages were separated from the books, sanded, gesso applied.

 

Each page was painted with water color paints, water color pencils, and/or water soluble crayons. I made pairs out of assorted sized pages and painted them to match; script rubber stamped with acrylic paint. Dates were inkjet printed and adhered to pages with gel medium.

I made a simple stencil out of card stock and stenciled the palm tree on a couple of pages using stamp pads.  The book is held together with rattail ties - the ends of which were dotted with Smooch accent ink.  (Holes punched with Cinch machine.)  I drew/painted a cruise ship on the front cover and added our names.  (Both journals are virtually the same.)

I had no real plan for these journals when I started out.  I considered using a pastel palette, but I'm so not a pastel girl!  I just worked intuitively and let it "happen".  I'm very pleased with the result.

Go to Pink Saturday for more inspiration!

Gratitude

This week the Texture Tuesday challenge is to use any two of Kim's textures on a photo.  The theme is gratitude.

I pondered this theme for a while.  It was difficult to focus on one thing.  I'm grateful that my parents found each other.  Like all married couples, they had their ups and downs.  They worked hard together to provide for the family.  We never had much money, but as a kid, I never knew that.  I'm sure I never said "thank you" enough.  My parents are now deceased.  I think of them often and hope they knew I loved them and am grateful for all they did for me.

Here they are on their honeymoon in 1942.