Back in the Studio

It seems like it has been a year since I had some decent studio time.  But the last two weeks have allowed me to grab two full days for the studio, and I've had a very relaxing time.   I'm planning a lot more studio time in the next few weeks, now that I've caught up with all the stuff I postponed while on vacation. 

A friend gave me a gallon zip-lock bag of quilting scraps.  She knows I really enjoy working with scraps, and they are always a challenge for me.  This time, I made 31 strip-pieced postcards first.  This is one of them:

After finishing them, I had some small scraps still leftover, so I made some crazy-patched postcards from those.  Both the strip-pieced and the crazy-patched ones are machine embellished with Superior Threads' Glitter Hologram.  I used a about 1 1/2 spools for these cards.  I love this thread.  Used correctly, it stitches like a dream -- no kinks, no shredding, no breaks.    Here is a picture of one of the crazy-patched cards:

Today, I needed some invitations to a party, so I rubber stamped some watercolor paper and hand-painted the stamped image.  I made 16 of these:

Isn't this just a delightful stamp?  It was a fun way to spend this rainy afternoon, with Tropical Storm Andrea making its way through the region.

Dabbling with Color

Sometimes, I don't feel particularly energetic and enjoy colorizing rubber stamped images.  Here are a few of the ones I've done recently:

Watercolor background with rubber stamp which is then colorized.

Embossed a rubber stamp, then added watercolor.

Intricate stamp, used Inktense Pencils then water.

An autumn-themed  rubber stamp with watercolor.

This bamboo with birds was fun.

Another intricate rubber stamp and the Inktense pencils with water.

I love this little bird stamp.

Of course, I love to fiddle with paper almost as much as scraps, so here are a few paper and paint creations:

Watercolor on Suminagashi

Watercolor on hand-made paper

Watercolor and acrylic

A Quiet Week is Such Fun

When things are quiet around here, I have time to work on projects.  But sometimes it is a long time between the last time I painted/stitched/dyed/doodled and the next time.  To "limber up" my hands, I always do some practice projects first.  This week, I've had some quiet time and I have spent some time doing watercolors.

First, here is the cover I made for my journal.  I prefer a larger format for my journal, so the cover measures 9 x 12 inches.   Since I actually started the journal last fall, I did the cover in autumn colors with drifts of rubber-stamped maple leaves floating across a watercolored rusty palette.

Next up, a more spring-like page.  A pair of watercolor plants in early spring greens, graced by a paper butterfly.

I went back and finished the painting of the stargazer lilies that I posted for Easter, added the ombre band of pink on the right, and the hand-lettered name.

I did this batch of watercolor postcards all in one afternoon.  First, a whimsical splash of colors to celebrate my GD discovering that she likes watercolors.

Next, a watercolor abstract map.

Then, whimsy took over, and I doodled this card, which simply started as a rubber-stamped hydrangea blossom on a twig.

More whimsey and rubber-stamped work, bits of writing, a few circular stains, and some blobs of pale green gesso.

While I had the gesso out, I did this grove of birch trees.

After that afternoon of drawing and painting, I'd better get back to work while it stays quiet.