Did I tell you I was participating in this swap??Well, I am! Here is my 1st set - I may make another set of 3, so that I'll have 6 ornaments to trade in total. Sometimes I receive a gift of an extra swap piece from participants, but I don't expect it, so . . . this work ensures I get some art that I covet all for my own. Devilish, don't you agree?? I also seem to NEED deadlines and assignments to MAKE me get in the studio & create. I am the type of artist that does not plan out all the details first; just the opposite of my husband and his intricate drawings - we often talk about this. Instead I almost always only have a spark of an idea, a theme, a image i want to use. When I have procrastinated long enough, I make myself go to my studio space and "gather" what I might use in relation to my theme or idea. Then the project is usually accomplished by a series of "what if's"; what if I did this and what IF I did that . . . and that's what happened here!
I wanted to use images from the new Alpha Stamps Tallulah's sheets Leslie Elledge had added to her website recently and I chose a couple from the Modern Romance sheet. The ornament above is a paper image (quite thick - fine for sewing through) from that sheet and then I added a transparency from an earlier alpha stamps tallulah's sheet, Kisses. The ribbon is from AS too - I think it was packed in my ribbon sachet kit. There is a bit of batting under the paper image/checked fabric, before I sewed that to the heart fabric & felt! To finish it I sewed an old button I had on hand to the top of the piece. Here are 2 more ornaments I created yesterday afternoon:
This one is made from red & white striped ticking I got also from Alpha Stamps, here in the fabric section of Leslie's site (scroll to the bottom when you get there). The image is paper and the Valentine Kids collage sheet and is quite large, overall about 6"x6" at the widest points. If you click on the scan for a larger image, you'll see I glued a little wishbone charm onto the paper image (source unklnown). The ribbon is from AS too -1/4" Sheer Iridescent Ribbon!
Lastly, one of my favorites -
This image is from Art Deco Valentines and a little un-traditional for a valentine perhaps? Click on it for a closer view! I also used a stamp from the Set of Heart Icons and one of my own stamps, a saying by Albert Einstein: In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity. I love it! I hope you do too. This one is about 4" wide and 5 1/2" long. Looking forward to seeing your ornaments fly in - Kate from England let me know she sent hers off on their journey yesterday, thanks!
