If I Were Half My Age...

Wouldn't it be fun to design and wear a wonderful steampunk creation?

The current challenge for my fibre art group, GOE, is 'steampunk'.  I don't often pull out my sketchpad to design my fibre art pieces (I tend to work more intuitively and let the pieces lead me where they may), but for this piece I started by designing the steampunk dress on paper.  Once I had the drawing of the dress I started gathering my materials and the real fun began.

Thanks to my husband's generosity, I was able to cut into a really old leather jacket that he had finally stopped wearing because of all of the holes he'd worn into it.  Although I was reluctant to cut into it (I loved the old worn look of it) I did realize that he was starting to look like a street person when he wore it. LOL  The brown bodice of the dress as well as the black band across the background both came from that wonderful jacket.  The black part is the cuff, complete with the snap closure.  The zipper that finishes the upper edges was also from that jacket.  I used little scrapbooking eyelets to be able to lace the bodice of the dress.

Because of the weight of all of the leather, gears and other materials, I actually had to reinforce the back of this piece with a 1"x 2" piece of wood across the width so that it would hang without drooping into itself.

The background fabrics in the piece are my own original designs too.  The top piece was photo transferred using a copyright free image and TAP and the bottom piece was created using tissue paper, foil and organza.  This piece was left over from a box I made last year.

Trinket Box

I've been using some of the tin foil embellished fabric I've been experimenting with to make this box.  There are multiple layers of paint, perfect pearls, copper foiling and organza.  The 'feet' are wooden semi spheres that I painted to match.  The nob on top is a wooden 'bead' that I painted and then I stacked some beads on top to add interest.  I embellished it with the copper eyelash yarn, but I'm not sure I like the curved application.  Maybe next time I'll try putting it on straight or leaving it off all together.

Aluminum Foil Postcard and ATCs

I've been playing with aluminum foil lately as I work through an online workshop called Inspired Surfaces on the Fibre in Form website.  Carol McFee and Lynda Monk are the instructors.  It's slow going since I have to read all of the instructions over several times to understand them (due to an acquired brain injury).  Fortunately there are lots of illustrations to help clarify the text!  Anyway, I've made a couple of ATCs and a postcard to showcase what I've managed to do so far.  I love working with new everyday materials that are readily available around the house.

And yes Donna, I put a bird on it!

  

ATCs for this months swaps...

I decided to use some of the ideas from a recycling workshop I attended Saturday for my ATCs this month.  The background is shredded paper with organza layered over it and then stitched.  The centre of the flowers are mylar yogurt cup lids, cut into little circles.