• Art - Blog - Creativity

    A Stitch in Time

    June 1, 2020 - By 

    If this is your first visit to my blog, WELCOME! I’m Halle and I’m so glad you stopped by! Fun facts about my name: it’s pronounced Holly, it’s Norwegian, actually is spelled Hålle, with an accent mark…just because my parents wanted me to correct every person I ever came into contact with. 

    I am honored to be hosting for the second time on Art Journal Journey …thankfully in June again. I work with middle school children with special needs by day and am wife, mom, artist, and blogger by night. I am addicted to paper, fabric, and collage.  

    I have chosen A Stitch in Time for the theme this month. For this theme, you can choose whether you want to include an element of stitching, of time, or get crazy and include both! I hope you enjoy this theme as much as I will.

    This type of art journal page is one of my favorite kinds to create. A loose-leaf page that will end up adhered to a page in a binder. Working with loose sheets gives so much flexibility. The edges don’t need to be even, you can punch holes, set brads or eyelets, or stitch anywhere you want.

    Originally this stack of fabric, book text, tissue paper, and gold sheer ribbon was only glued under the found text. It just needed a little something more. Had this not been a loose-leaf page it would have been impossible for me to machine stitch at this point.  The stitching added the little touch that was needed.

    Since this page was quickly becoming very vintage-y (yes, I’m making up words now… it’s my blog, so I can do that). Ok, where was I…ah yes, the vintage feel needed an old clock face. I’ve had a small stack vellum industrial gauges and clock faces in my stash for a long time. I’ve always struggled to use them. This piece was small enough to run through my small Xyron to make it into a sticker. Problem solved.

    There are so many elements and textures going on with this page. I love how it turned out. This almost feels like a kitchen sink page…you know…I threw everything at it but the kitchen sink. I think that works sometimes as long as the elements make sense together.

    So be free…make pages with uneven edges, add swirls of baling wire, cut up old slides. Stamp, paint, glue, fabric, thread, lace, stickers…use whatever inspires you at the moment.

    Won’t you join me for A Stitch in Time on Art Journal Journey?

    Art Journal Journey
  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    Butterflies everywhere

    May 17, 2020 - By 

    I’ve been sending so many more cards and little care packages since the stay-at-home order began. I had to order more stamps and really needed to make some new cards to replenish my stash.

    These are my favorite type of cards. Little bits of scraps, snippets from magazines and whatever else finds its way into my scrap bin.

    In 2015, I wrote an article for Sew Somerset describing my process for mini-collages such as these. I now see them all over YouTube in the junk journal community. They call them clusters.

    Without even realizing it, most of my recent creations featured butterflies.

    collage postcard collection

    Even most of these collage postcards I made for my MIL.

    One even found its way onto one of the tags I made from the off cuts of the postcards.

    Maybe I just have mom on my mind. She was nuts about butterflies. They always make me think of her.

  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    T Tuesday: bits and pieces edition

    April 20, 2020 - By 

    Hello! We’re still here…all still here…always…

    Have you settled into a routine within our new normal? I feel as if we have. It’s slightly less structured than the beginning of this new normal. Workspaces have shifted. Schedules have adjusted…Marvin is still not pleased but such is the life of a cat.

    In my free time, I’ve continued to put scrap paper to use making serendipity collages. These are so fun and can be made without much thought. Very therapeutic.

    I was able to cut 3 postcards, 2 tags, a bookmark, and a tiny tag. These are not finished of course but a good start.

    I have a bunch of seedlings started in my plant cart. Tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers so far. I have some flower seeds in the purple pots but they are kind of old so I’m not holding my breath on those. I also started a few cold-weather crops outside…I’ve never tried it this early so we’ll see what happens.sewing masks

    sewing masks

    I got back to sewing more masks as well. My fabric selection is dwindling as well as my elastic supply. Thankfully I had a spool I bought last year when I was making scrunchies from Mini-me. Otherwise, I’d have never been able to make as many masks as I have.

    Distance learning continues for Mini-me and I.  J has two weeks of class left of his sophomore year of college. Final exams will be taken from his bedroom…so strange.

    I’m staying hydrated while getting this post written with some ice water…please excuse the messy desk.

     

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?