Watercolor Silk Print

Whenever I find something made from silk that's under $2.00, I buy it. For this piece I cut the back out of a silk blouse and tacked it over the bottom of a shoe box. I gathered up a few colors of Dye-na-Flow (a concentrated liquid color designed for silk painting), a spray bottle filled with water, some cups for color mixing and extra water. 

First I sprayed the fabric with water to dampen it. Then I watered down the Dye-na-Flow a bit and started painting. When I finished the area I was working on I removed the tacks and repositioned the silk so that I had a new blank area for painting. The finished piece is 24" x 24". I'm thinking of using this piece as the front of a boxy top and leaving the back natural silk.  

Free Store Fun

I love exploring the ideas of alternative social and economic systems. (Maybe that's why I Occupy?) When I heard that there was a pop up free store at Occupy Town Square in Fort Green Park this weekend I had to participate. Lots of great clothes and all kinds of useful stuff. There was something really beautiful about the fact that everything was free -- it was a delightful little vacation, a breath of fresh air. I brought some art supplies and got a great haul of vintage postcards (for collage).

Thanks to Calliope for creating this really inspiring banner. You can see more of her work here. 

Valentine's Candy Box Rewind

This outfit is a collaborative project I made with a group of  8-12 year old girls. As soon as I saw the empty Valentine's chocolate box I thought "Bling!" The girls added the acrylic jewels. The dress is made from a coffee sack. I had to make it larger for the mannequin so I poked holes in the sides and added and tied strips of fabric cut from an old plaid shirt. Click here to find out more about my recycled fashion class. 

Recycled Bangle

I used a cardboard tape roll end as the base of this bracelet. To make it smaller & fit I removed a 1.5" wide slice from the cardboard and taped it back together. Then I wrapped it with some bits of yarn from my stash and finished it by using hot glue to line it with a scrap of leather. I think its going to be a big year for bangles! No more cardboard tape rolls are going in my recycling bin. Today's Creative Blog. 

Valentines for Occupy Wall St

Occupy Wall Street has sparked a conversation about all kinds of social and economic issues. I made these embroidered pins (or patches) from felted wool sweaters and embroidered them with OWS to encourage a conversation. What is OWS? What do you think about the Occupy movement? If you'd like one (FREE!) email me with your mailing address. P.S. No personal information will be used for any kind of marketing. 

Sweater Turns into a Potholder

I have fond memories of making those loopy potholders and still have my loom. The sleeve of this felted wool sweater made perfect, colorful loops. This project made me think of Amy Sedaris' (funny!) book "Crafts for Poor People". Very 1930s too. Perfect for taking a budget-friendly casserole out of the oven. 

Painting with Wool

I started with a (rummage sale) fuchsia wool sweater. Great color but otherwise not so cool. I put it in the washer & dryer to "felt" it and cut a piece out of the back. Then I took some colorful fluffy wool roving, laid it out on the sweater and used a felting needle (a large needle with little barbs) to poke the roving into the sweater backing. Quite addictive & comforting, its like painting with wool. You can find all the supplies you need to start your own experimenting on Etsy, as well as items for sale that are alternately beautiful and downright scary.

Free the iPhone Photo!

I take lots of photos on my phone but never do anything with them. Frames are expensive & also somehow too formal. I found some random tiles in my basement, resized and printed photos on cheap copy paper. I used Liquitex Matt Medium for Decoupage. I'm seeing a whole wall of phone photo tiles. They're also fun to prop up around the house, like on a windowsill. 

Bye Bye Holidays!

Ah, the holidays ... a great time of year to make a point about not shopping. (Here's my holiday tree made from an old paperback book.) Occupy Wall Street had a barter & gifting only Holiday Bazaar & skill share this year. Totally love this idea! Hope we won't have to wait until next year to shop without money. "What Would Jesus Buy?", a documentary about Reverend Billy is an inspiring film to watch any time of year.

Parking Lot Penguin

I can't resist picking up flattened cans in parking lots. I think they're just so cool but not so easy to find a new life for. This can told me he'd like to be a penguin so I found him a cigar box in the basement, punched & screwed on the metal parts.