How do you see yourself?

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Linda Matthews

I finally managed to get a little sewing in recently and finally finished a self-portrait challenge for my local fiber art group.

I wanted to do this piece all in fabric but I don’t work much with commercial fabrics any more and after I moved recently I gave away practically all of my stash of commercial fabrics (that’s right – it’s all gone!). So I don’t have a large selection of fabrics anymore and for this piece I really needed something that was a little more traditional than what’s left in my stash. So what’s a girl to do? … Continue reading →

Being creatively inspired

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Linda Matthews

Last week my friend Mary and I took a day trip to check out one of the local art galleries – the Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery – to see their current exhibition of textile art called “Frayed Edges” by a couple of local fiber artists, Midge Baudouin and Allison Stilwell.

It’s always exciting and a great source of creative inspiration to see what other textile artists are doing and I really enjoyed this exhibition; it was fun as well as visually exciting, and included wall art as well as three dimensional art and even furniture.

Frayed Edges

I loved their bird art and there were several similar pieces in this series. Those little black dots you see around the edges of the frame are nails, and the art quilts are in fact nailed to the frame. A creative way to hang a quilt and it sure beats making those fiddly quilt sleeves.

Frayed Edges

A handy reminder for some of us. … Continue reading →

Grow

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Linda Matthews

And the day came
when the risk to remain tight in a bud
was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom.
Anaïs Nin

Each month in The Creative Explorer’s Club, I encourage members to set a vision and select a focus word that will guide them right throughout the month. I also encourage them to work with a process for making a “one word vision card” which is a tool that can be used to help support their vision. My vision card for this month is “Grow”. … Continue reading →

New in the Store: Exploring Handmade Beads – Downloadable Tutorial

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Linda Matthews

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Exploring Handmade Beads

Downloadable Tutorial

Fabric Beads

Handmade beads are one of my favorite embellishments. They are fun and easy to make and a great way to use up all those small scraps of favorite fabric. You can use handmade beads on all your creative projects including wearable art and art quilts, and they are ideal for times when you need a unique embellishment to color coordinate with your projects.

This tutorial is a 16-page pdf document and explores 12 different techniques for making handmade beads including:

Fabric Beads
- perfectly round fabric beads
- soft and semi-rigid fabric beads
- frayed edge beads
- texturized fabric beads (using your needle felting machine)
Machine Needle-lace Beads
Tyvek Beads
- two-color tyvek beads (heat tool required)
- thread wrapped tyvek beads (heat tool required)
- triangular tyvek beads (heat tool required)
- fabric/tyvek beads (heat tool required)
Lutradur Beads
- perfectly round lutradur beads
- lacy lutradur beads (heat tool required)
Angelina Fiber Beads

Download it now!

If handmade beads aren’t your thing, you can also check out my other downloadable tutorials for Photoshop Elements, Fabric Paper and Printing on Fabric!

Visit the store for details.

Did you Know? … Continue reading →

Bag Purse & Tote Tutorials – Link Updates

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Linda Matthews

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I just realized I haven’t posted any Bag/Purse/Tote tutorial link updates here for quite some time so here’s a roundup for the last three months.

Click on the thumbnails below and the links will take you over to my website at Free Purse, Bag & Tote Patterns & Tutorials where you’ll find the links to the tutorials.

There are some really nice tutorials listed so I’m sure you’ll find something to inspire!

March 2012

February 2012

… Continue reading →

Business plan vs business vision

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Linda Matthews

I’m sure by now you know how much I enjoy working with vision cards; it seems I talk about them a lot. I do that mainly because they have made such an impact in my life. I’ve been using them for a while now as a tool to help me achieve my goals and focus on the changes I want to make in my life, and more recently as a way to stay positively focused as I work through several personal issues. I’ve found that using the combination of a single word with visual images creates a very strong focus and is a very powerful way to bring about change and healing.

Vision Card

So as I was preparing to review and update my business plan recently, and knowing how helpful vision cards have been to me on a personal level, I wondered if it was possible to also use them in my business.

Business plans are generally typed or written and are pretty much a left-brain activity (insert great big yawn) so I wondered if adding a little right-brain creativity by including images would have any impact.

I started with my business values and made these two cards so far.

Business Vision Card

This is the backs of the cards. … Continue reading →

Making moments count

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Linda Matthews

So how many different ways are there to print on fabric – or paper – or fabric paper? I haven’t run out of ideas just yet.

This is another page from my Image Transfer Art Journal. This print is made on crumpled tissue paper coated with digital grounds. It was a little tricky painting the tissue because it’s so fragile, but it was worth the effort because the color is just spectacular.

Printing on Tissue Paper

The crumples add a rich and interesting surface texture. … Continue reading →

Reinventing and doing and just having fun

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Linda Matthews

This last week or so things have got a little derailed and I didn’t get to finish showing you some of the Vision Cards from the February Challenge which was held last month at The Creative Explorer’s Club. If you remember, the challenge was for members to create a vision card depicting the reason that they joined The Creative Explorer’s Club.

Reinvent

This Vision Card is by Norma who is newly retired and ready to REINVENT herself through play, discovery and being open to new possibilities. The clock is there to remind her that she has to make some time in her life in order to allow this reinvention to occur.

I think most of us are looking for ways to invite change into our life, but how often do we really honor that desire by allowing ourselves the time and space to explore the possibilities for reinvention and change. Are you guilty of this? I know I am sometimes, but I’m getting better.

I shared this short video with my Creative Explorers a short while ago. This is a super way to begin the make changes in your life that eventually lead to reinvention. (PS – if you’re reading this post in an rss reader or feed you may have to click through to the website to view it) … Continue reading →

This is what happens when textile artists gather

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Linda Matthews

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Last week I was supposed to attend this year’s Focus on Fiber Retreat which is held each year in New Smyrna Beach round this time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen due to life getting in the way. However I did get to visit on Saturday to take in a lecture, as well as check out the talent and see what fun everyone was having.

The lecture was by the irrepressible Teddy Pruett who is a quilt appraiser here in Central Florida, and also makes the most fun quilts. Unfortunately there were too many heads in the way for me to get a good photo of her quilts, however you can visit here website here and check out her work. One of my favorite quilts is titled “Cook is a Four Letter Word!”. You can see the quilt here in her photo gallery.

After the lecture I browsed around for a while poking my nose into everyone’s sewing. I just fell in love with these faces made by Karol Kusmaul. The photos don’t quite capture the texture of the quilts which are all heavily batted so that the facial details are highlighted. You can see some of Karol’s other quilt art here.

Fabric Faces

Pamela Allen’s work is always fun and interesting and I love her art style which is edgy and humorous. This was a work in progress … … Continue reading →

With gratitude and thanks

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Linda Matthews

Remember

If you are a subscriber to my newsletter then you will know that that during the last several weeks I’ve had to deal with the sudden passing of my mother and several other major life changing events that occurred all at the same time and which have knocked the wind out of me a little.

To everyone who emailed me in response to the news I shared in my last newsletter, please accept my deepest gratitude and thanks for the kind thoughts and words you sent to me. They are truly comforting during a difficult time. I was completely overwhelmed (in a good way) with hundreds of emails of support and I want you to know that I’m slowly reading through them all. I wish I could respond to each and every email, and even though it feels slightly inadequate to be thanking you in this way, this is the best I can manage for the moment.

As life takes on a new “normal” I’ll be back on the blog next Monday. Once again thank you for your support; I’m humbled to know that my readers are so thoughtful and caring.

… Continue reading →