Tuesday, July 31, 2007

My World

no, they can't even act natural for a second when i'm trying to capture a beautiful daddy-daughter storytime moment. i'm the luckiest lady in the world.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Altered Book & UTEE Embellishes

Tin dragonfly encased in UTEE.


Use caution when playing with the UTEE because when it's hot it may drip on your hand. It gets so hot. It then hardens on your flesh immediately and when you go to rip it off, the top layer of skin goes with it. It really hurts and doesn't make a cute embellishment for your altered book.

Cute tin things seconds from being drowned in hot utte. This experiment didn't work out too well since the foil candy wrappers do not release the UTTE. Only the dragonfly made it out okay. My hand was saved by alovera and ice.



So I made UTEE girl-faced embellishments. I'm using many of these pieces in the altered book I'm making for a swap with Emmy . This book should have been completed last month. I will be very proud to send it once it's done though and I think she will like it.

A Big thank you to everyone who commented on my first utee's! Mary will be getting antique utee keys delivered since she's right around the corner and Karoda's will be sent along with a few fun charms.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

OMG I bought a Melting Pot

if i were a criminal, i'd bumb off Texas Art Supply and go straight for the UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel). like i needed another obsession over a medium and a very expensive one at that. not that fabric ,embellishments and all that that entails are cheap. oh no. just don't buy the ultra thick embossing enamel thinking it's your moma's powder. get ready to break out that mastercard. i'm sure crack is cheaper and not as addictive. my problem began with the desire to make those painted washers you may have seen in cloth paper scissors with the glass paints and sprinkles of metallic UTEE. I made 30 of them and just found them where i suspected. My child had them hidden in her room as they make glorious play monies.

then i sprung for this contraption:that is not blood or an illicit drug, it's the UTEE. those old keys are not keys at all, they're UTEE that i poured into the "mouldy pour" and they look just like the real old keys i bought at art and soul. if you'd like some of these old keys, email me and i'll send you some. i have a plenty of utee in several colors. i rounded down the cost of everything you need for your melting utee adventure because my accountant reads this. btw i used a 40% off michaels coupon for the melting pot itself. everything else was just necessary...

$ melting pot 35 bucks but hey 40% off!
$ clear utee <-the big jar 11
$ flex 11 <--something i didn't know i needed until i bought...
$ the suze weinberg melt art video 18
$ bronze utee 7.99
$ pearl utee 7.99
$ black utee <--can make faux dicronic glass with it 7.99
$ gold utee 7.99
$ to dye for colorants 7.99
$ moldy pour mold compound 9ish
$ the plastic tools that won't melt like the ones i melted, 5.99
$ craft sheet - had it!
$ perfect pearls - 11ish
$ bees wax - 7.99 <---cool project on the video
$ memory glass 4.99
$ rubber art doll face mold 5.99
$ project pan for melting the beeswax 6.99
oh i'm sure there's more. why didn't i marry tim holtz? then i could have a direct link to ranger. and that suze weinberg is a genious and must be a brazilionaire. pretty awesome stuff! pay no attention to the time stamp of this post. it's the utee and i need help.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Fibre Cards Finally Finished

I'm really happy with the way my Greek ocean fantasy vacation fiber postcards came out. Above is the fantasy villa my husband and I are staying in for the month while we're on Holiday in Greece. We'll have a fully loaded bar and Bernina in the dressing room - i wish. I included pressed wood ferns from my backyard and hope they'll hold up.

These cards are extremely tardy and heading overnight to a couple of very talented fiber artists in the UK. I wanted something special for them since I'm so late with the June Birthday swap and even July is now over....according to my boss. SO, I'm including some of my dyed silk, little Utee faces, nuno felt, and maybe some nice dyed silk velvet in my FAF swap birthday friend's envelopes to make up for my slacker swaptality.
I call this one Sea Garden because it looks like my scuba diving adventures in the Caribbean. The fern looks just like kelp. Apparently in the UK, it has been raining and hailing for something like 80 days and they've had absolutely no summer. In fact, it's been pretty cold there! We've had rains daily in Texas for over 40 days but at least it's hot and we can pretend it's summer and really going on a "holiday"
And the newest addition to our family "Buddy"!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Belated Blog Birthday

Stitchtherapy turned 1 on July 2 so I'm wishing it a belated birthday blog! and many more...on channel 4: My first Post:



My first post is born!
Creativity IS my recovery and my joy.
Recovering from what you ask?
Laundry List of stuff I'm Recovering From:
The daily grind, wretched grief, past traumas.
I began sewing a few months after the death of our infant son Weston in April 2003. An urge to sew things compelled me. I saved up and bought a computerized sewing machine. I made a few dresses for my then 3-year-old and made myself a few blouses. Once I innocently attended Houston Quilt Festival in 2003....I went completely insane....but in a good way. I've always been creative but never committed to it on a regular basis until I realized the healing I gain and the joy it brings me. I've since converted my son's nursery into my art studio where I now spend glorious hours creating.
I believe the creative act fills a missing/damaged piece of me and helps get the pain out and into something positive and beautiful....exept for those "dark" works which are beautiful but in a scary way!OK...What I like to make so far: quilts, collage, and the latest...artdolls.
*NOTE: I did not make the butterfly. Walt Whitman did.
On with the show....

Monday, July 09, 2007

Dark clouds go away

It's been one week tonight since the last tragedy and I seriously considered never mentioning it here. It's just so horrible and i like my people to be happy. Do not read on if you want happy news.....

Well the new kitten, Muffin, met a quick but tragic death last Monday night. My darling husband stepped on her accidentally while carrying his computer and killed her. I feel for the poor guy, the husband I mean. I was hard on him. We all took it hard..myself being the most hysterical.

We adopted a new kitten from the shelter named "Lucky" well, that's what i wanted to name the new little guy. He has been named "Buddy" by my daughter however.

I am finishing up my altered book for Emmy but I'm late with it because I get so carried away....and it's my first altered book. Tonight I used Ultra Thick Embossing Powders and glass paint on several new washers I bought at the hardware store. They are very shiny but I'm not sure how to incorporate them. I will finish this book box and It will be wonderful.