“Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez”

More samples of flour/paste technique below.

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Click photo below for close up view.

My best results were always on bleached or unbleached muslin.  I like the effect on all the fabrics…always different.  I have not had good success working with black fabric.

Here’s the orange fabric with the faces that insisted on existing.  I think I could spend the rest of my life crackling fabric and looking for images that desire to exist.  I am pretty addicted…Help!! I can’t stop…smile    I heavily stippled the background.  It was such a small area I used the built in stipple stitch and feed dogs up.  I tiny satin stitched the outline for more emphasis.  Mock frame is ornamental lace mitered at corners. Click photo for larger view. Thanks—>cj

Here’s more results from the flour/paste crackling technique. Click photo for larger view.

The fabric sample used for the black was a stretchy hemp.  It has the feel of skin you are left with after skinning a catfish,,,,the texture even looks the same….Kewl!

The purple has a wale like courduroy but light to the touch. 

The blue…what can I say….awesome.  The peachy red is really the back side of a red metallic.  The metallic washes completely away taking the flour with it…leaving the original fabric color….Some how the backside received paint..(the other metallic samples did not bleed thru, not sure if this one did..think it may have picked it up from the freezer paper as I lifted and moved to encourage drying) .and this was the result..Again…I won’t wash away the flour from metallics…I’l preserve it with a special spray I purchased from the Crafty PC called preserving memories.  I like the leathery look…I used 5 metallics on the samples. I now have five inch squares in   gold, silver, bronze and red, and antique white….WOO HOO!

Who knew that something a two year old could do would produce results to make me feel like an expert…smile….Just like life…I am learning as I go….and truly enjoying the ride….but please don’t ever confuse me with an expert on anything….I’m just playing one on the world wide web….smile…thespian…

I have been hoping to find time to try painting the flour/water paste onto fabric for the crackling effect.  In light of the untimely passing of Bernie Mack and Issac Hayes…I decided that I must take’ the time to do the things I desire to.  Here’s some observations:

Its a messy job…but somebody has to do it…smile I am working with a Sample pack of various Hemps.  Got the pack form Dharma Trading.  They are only barely 5 inch squares.

I am liking what is going on underneath….possible frame stencils….I’d better file that away…

Metallic paints will not work…but they did produce a cool very authentic looking leather look……However…I will not rinse the flour away…I will use a perservative to keep that leathery look and use the 5 samples I used metallic paint on  for leather look adornments…

I rinsed the flour out of the regular paint samples.  I rotated this orange sample until  faces appeared.

OOP! There it is!..I used a thin marker to define the faces.

The purple sample is screaming to me that it wants to be a forest or something…The metallic gold wants to be buttons..the orange faces insisted on existing…I will stipple the background so the faces can pop out properly…Keep in mind that the little sample is barely a 5 inch square…I am giddy with glee….thinking about what I shall do with it…I love ity-bitys.  The green sample is so interesting.  I am liking the effect flour paste has on different kinds of fabrics…I learned lots…I wish I had kept better track of which fabric sample is what…I have all their name tags…but should have come up with a layout system….I want to reproduce the purple but can’t remember which hemp it was….Valuable lesson learned.

thanks for stopping by

cjEureka

DONE!  I’m liking it! Click for detail photo. thanks—->cj

The lattice look is very nice and allowed me to slip the towel holder in the center…3 on  each side.

I will spend a little time making sure the lattice work is spaced evenly.  I don’t have a clue what i will place behind the lattice work…I folded the batting and 2 other layers as one as I finished each edge.  The white backing fabric will show thru…but I am thinking lace….stay tuned…

I layered fusible fleece, followed by white canvas fabric topped with a dusty pink silk.  I centered the Holy Trinity Print on top. I outlined the design with Madera Glamour.  the color is a blend of copper/gold variations.  I like the look…I knew I was going to incorporate some part of the towel into the design, didn’t have a clue how.  I wanted more than a mitered frame.

I’m liking it!…I want to create a row of lattice…using 1/4 inch wide bias made from the towel fabric to use as one would entredeaux to connect a lower border of backgronnd fabric and somehow incorporate the towel holder….Isn’t it fun to plan as you go…improv creativity….Don’t know quite how yet….But I promise to “Git er’ done”!…Stay tuned…

thanks———>cj

The Holy Trinity of New Orleans cooking are the bell pepper, onion and celery.  If those three are not in the Gumbo, furgitaboutit!

My homegirl Linda Paul captured them in an awesome way.

Linda Paul’s original paintings are created in pure egg tempera made from crushed stone & egg yolk.   Many of the art works are sculptures as well as paintings. She is the only artist in North America with this technique. This medium lasts for centuries.

First Place!! Whoopie

I entered the switching into the Greenwood County Fair, here in Eureka, KS and to my delight It won a Blue Ribbon for 1st Place.  It will be competiting for a $1500 first prize soon.  Due Sept 5th.  I hope to add some florals to the grass…lavender buds…and hopefully find a place to add something on a clothline…maybe the line can peek from behind the house or something.  Here’s a photo of the finished piece. 

Click photo for larger view. Thanks———-cjEureka

I was very tempted to use a specialty thread for outling the clouds, but decided to stick to a thread that matched the background color.

 I found a cloud pattern I liked and got out the old light box.  I like to trace the cloud outline onto water soluable.  It perforates easily, no need for water.   I trace the pattern many times before laying the water soluable onto the sky top. Click photo below for detail.

  I place about four layers of cotton batting underneath.

 I continue in this fashion until I have an eye pleasing amount of cloud outlines, being careful not to get carried away…smile.  I love the definition the batting gives to the clouds. Click photo below for detail.

The next time we meet, I shall start quilting the Shack….I am thinking about window and door treatment…Will probably go with the screen door….may even add a fly or two…smile

Thanks for dropping by————->cj

I am not committed to these farm animals.  Though growing up in the fifties, it was not unusal to see chickens in New Orleans…Horses were in more rural places…so I may not include the horse…I just laid them there as I was felting the grass.  They all have fusible web on the back just in case…

Preparation for the grass

I cound not find my bo-nash at first…so I snipped pieces of stitch witchery down to help hold the yarn in place.

I finally did locate my bo-nash, but discovered i did not need either.  The yarn was clinging to the background fabric.  If I worked in small sections at a time, I would be fine.

I placed the shanty down again so I would know where not to place yarn.

The felting is a breeze.  I tried to work in a circular motion. 

The grass will be complete in no time at all.  As indicated in the next photo, I need to punch the yarn down a lot more to insure it is totally embedded into the background felt.

Click here for a detail shot of the punching

Thanks for stopping by. Check back often.—————cj

Later, I decided that I simply had to spend hours looking for fabrics with obvious direction and stripes…etc…I was fascinated at the potential stripes hold for getting angles on the porch and steps.  I finally snapped out of it and focused my attention on the background. I really wanted to felt the sky using silk roving in shades of blue and white like I did in the flint hills scene.  Click the photo below to view the flint Hills sky technique I used.

I auditioned many skies but decide to go with a overcast sky.  It seemed appropriate for New Orleans.

For the grass I decided on a green background covered with a very cool, textured yarn.  Click the photo below for detail of the yarn.  I will use the felter to free motion….I will definitely use a little bo-nash to fuse it down….

Now the fun begans.  Its Felting time! Stay tuned.

thanks——————cj

The fabric invoked memories of my grandma and I knew immediately it would be a dress for her.  I had this vision of my brother always getting the “switch” for something or the other.  He had to go and get a switch for his on spanking. smile.  He knew not to get the smallest he could find, or grandma would go get the whole tree.  ggggg

I had a graphic from my embroidery design page that I wanted to create in fabric.  It captrued that memory in another medium “embroidery”.  I wanted to re-create the scene in fabric.  I printed the graphic on fabric as well as paper (my pattern) and set out to applique it

click above photo for detail.  I love the primitive look of the zigzag stitching and the raveling of the fabric.  The entire applique will be cut out and placed on a new background I have yet to complete.  In the the following photos I have cut the entire applique out as one piece and am auditioning the applique on different backgrounds.

I love the way the hair turned out.  I found a grahic of braided hair and simply outlined the way braided hair looks with the black marker, directly onto the grey fabric then zig zaged the lines.  Click here for detailed larger view of braids.

I decided something was missing and I knew it was a porch of some kind.

I found the perfect porch graphic and the perfect shanty looking fabric.  In the above phote I am using a black marker to fill in the detail lines I will later quilt.  The background house scene needed more realism so I add fiber net screening.

 I was very pleased with the result.  I still have lots of quilting to do once I decide what the final background will be.  Maybe blue skies…a dog or cat added.  A tree….Yeah…maybe a chinaball tree..My brother was always shooting those chinaballs at us ..Maybe the kid could have a sling shot in his hand.  Maybe that is why he is got that switching..and now is getting some love.  smile…It was a “grandma” rule.  All switching had to be followed by lots of kissing.  I think my brother hated that part most…smile

Please comment and let me know some ideas for the final background….What should I place in the yard?  Chickens?…Please let me know by commenting.

thanks…and please continue to follow this journey.  I plan on finishing this one today.  I shall update this blog tomorrow.

cj