littlest bird

Handmade postcard and other news

2006-10-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

flower postcard
Originally uploaded by petit oiseau.

I've already posted this at embellished-circus.blogspot.com, but I love this postcard so much I thought I should add it to my blog too. Plus, it means a long-overdue update!

I've been getting back into the art thing lately. In fact, I'm participating in a make-an-ATC-every-day challenge this month, and so far I'm almost on track, just a few ATCs behind. I'll post some of the ATCs soon.

Work has been kicking my butt, as usual. Not much more I can say about that, really.

a little bit o' art

2006-03-19T19:56:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post: here's a page in a colours deco (green and gold) that I did earlier this week.

The background is handmade (not by me), hand-dyed (by yours truly) kozo, stitched with metallic thread. The stars were cut out from a scrap of gold card, and sewn on with some more metallic thread. I'm really, really pleased with how this page turned out.

I managed to (finally!) get some paper dying done today, so I'll post a tutorial at some point this week.

2006-03-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful, sunny day, so Zh. and I decided to go for a walk in the neighborhood. We brought the camera along, and pretended to be photographers, shooting everything in sight. Here's my favourite photo:

I've been out a few nights this week, so I haven't had much time to make stuff. I do have one completed piece, for a colour-themed round robin. (Guess what colours the theme was!)

I used many different papers and sewed them together using my sewing machine. It was incredibly time-consuming, but I'm happy with the result.

I didn't manage to get any paper-dying done last weekend, but I'm definitely doing some tomorrow, so I'll post results and instructions in the next few days. I promise!

a new obsession

2006-02-20T16:24:00.000-08:00

A few Sundays ago, after working way too many days in a row, I decided to reward myself with a paper-dying workshop offered through the Japanese Paper Place. I was hoping to learn some new techniques I could use for a hand-decorated paper swap I'm participating in. I did more than learn; I'm found a new addiction.

Here are some of the papers I came home with:

These are hand-made Japanese kozo paper, dyed by folding the paper in various ways, then dipping into dye. When I was a kid, I used to steal paper towels so I could dye them, much like this, only using my tin of watercolour paints instead of dye.

Here's another technique we learned:

These two are heavier-weight machine-made Japanese papers. They were first folded and dyed, like those above, then painted, then dyed again, then painted again, until we were satisfied with the results. I actually don't feel that these two are quite done, but we ran out of time at the class, so I'll have to try this technique at home.

Last night, I used the red dyed paper above to create a simple paper "quilt" for an art journal round robin I'm working in:

I cut the paper into strips, then sewed them together with my sewing machine. I really like how this turned out, and now I want to experiment with all kinds of paper quilts (another obsession!)

And just for fun, here's the other page I did in that art journal:

I call it "Stray".

The most wonderful time of the year...

2006-01-30T18:21:00.000-08:00

I love Valentine's Day. I think it's because valentines are one of my favourite things to make. I glory in the abundance of pink and red and pretties. It could also be because I'm in love. Yeah, gross, I know.

Here's a valentine I made for a secret valentine exchange. I hope my swap partner likes it!

I suck. But not for long.

2006-01-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

I admit it, I'm a crap blogger. But since it's the start of a new year, it seems like the right time to start blogging again. Here's hoping I can actually keep it up.

I think part of the problem is that I've been feeling incredibly uninspired lately. I've managed to get a few things done, though...

Here's a little booklet I made for a hand-carved print round-robin with the theme of Autumn to Winter. It's actually constructed as a portfolio, with loose pages inside. I'm really pleased with the way both my stamp and "booklet" turned out, and I think it'll be home soon! Very exciting. This will be the first round robin to ever make it home to me.

And here's a little watercolour painting I did for a colour-themed round robin. (The theme for this page was blue, purple, and brown.) I need to work on my painting and drawing skills, but I think this worked out pretty well.

OK, off to make stuff! And then I'll blog about it. I promise.

2005-10-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

Playing catch-up here... That's what happens when I don't post for a while, I guess.

First up: a green and red/pink deco.

One of the deco groups I'm in has a Member of the Month theme, where you make a deco for the member of the month in one of her specified themes. The flowers are a hand-carved stamp I made a while ago for an art swap. I printed in block-printing inks in various shades of red and pink onto some kozo paper Zh. and I got at the Japanese Paper Place warehouse sale. The centres of the flowers are chiyogami, and the deco is bound with silk thread.

Next: a leaves deco.

I made the background with various blue tissues glued down to watercolour paper using matte gel medium. I then washed the completed, dried collage with ultramarine watercolours, and when that was dry, sponged on some gold interference paint. The leaves are various papers, hand- and machine-made, stitched down with silk thread.

And, finally: a palm-sized stuffie!

This little guy is stencilled on with red acrylic (I cut the stencil out of acetate), then sewn with come complementary (I hope!) striped cotton fabric. The cage bars are hand-sewn with running stitch using copper thread. I hope my swap partner likes this little bird. (The picture makes him look really big, but he really is just about palm-sized.)

I'm also working on a non-deco, non-yahoo-group project, which I will soon post about. I think I'm in love with it.

True Colours deco spread

2005-09-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a spread I did for a "True Colours" deco round robin. The specified colours for this one were red and blue.

I used a bunch of different machine-made and handmade papers, torn and then adhered using matte gel. The red one especially makes me happy; in fact, you'll see a very similar version pop up again soon.

ready, set, go!

2005-09-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's a new blog! I'd been posting on Greatest Journal (OK, I posted twice) and then Zh. lost her entire gallery. I was terrified that it might happen to me too, so I stopped posting there, and have only now gotten around to starting up a new blog.

Now, the good stuff! Here are a few things I've made recently:

These were for a lemon-lime swap on a yahoo group I belong to. I painted a lemon-lime abstract with acrylics and watercolours on watercolour paper, then used matte medium to collage tissue over the original painting. Then I painted over the collaged tissues. I was trying this technique for the first time, and I'm pleased with how it came out.

Here's a Japanese deco I made for another yahoo group. It's card covered in chiyogami, cut into the shape of a kimono (duh) and held closed with an "obi" made of three layers of paper. The pages inside are pretty small, maybe 2 inches by 4 inches, but I love this deco anyway.