Button Fairy

I made this button fairy for a trade on FAT (Fiber Art Traders).  I haven't participated in one of their trades for quite awhile.  This one sounded like fun.   Today I made her wings using my Janome 11000 and a butterfly wing design.  The thread is Holoshimmer by Sulky.  It can be difficult to do machine embroidery using metallic threads.  I didn't have any trouble because I sat and pretended to be a thread guide for the entire time.  It really helps to have a great distance between the machine thread guides and the spool.  It helps to keep the kinks (I guess that what they are called) from reaching the needle. 

Her face is cut from an Old Maid card and the buttons and bead are from my stash.  A fun little project for this afternoon. 

Mini Scrap Book from Noelene in Tasmania

These are Noelene's photos of the Mini Scrap Book she sent me.  FAT (Fiber Art Traders) hosted the trade.  I just love the little mini scrapbook with the paper dolls.  Noelene left a few pages blank at the back for me to add journaling or more pictures.  You can see my mini scrap book here.   Thanks Noelene for this great little book.

Crocheted Charms

These are six charms that I made for the "A Charming Summer" trade on Fiber Art Traders (FAT).  I made the little flowers from a pattern I found on the internet.  I then embellished with buttons and beads.  The only requirement was that they be 2" or less and have a jump ring attached.  Fun trade.  I'm anxious to see the charms I get in return.

LIFE'S A STITCH

A Fabric Accordian Book

I made this little fabric book for the Mini Scrap Book Trade on FAT (Fiber Art Traders).  Wanda the hostess posted a link to Teesha Moore's website where she demonstrated these stitched covers.  The instructions for the trade were that we could fill the entire scrap book or leave some space for our partner to embellish.  I decided to leave a few spaces for my partner.  After studying various mini-books, I decided to make an accordian book with fabric pages. I used Pel-Tex as a base for the pages.  The title "Life's a Stitch" is stamped on the first page.  Since it is a "scrap" book, I used scraps from my studio to embellish the pages.  The fabrics are actually leftover quilt bindings that are stitches to the pages.  The stamps are from the Sew Special collection by Clear Art Stamps.  I made the butterfly on the front cover a few years ago with my embroidery machine.  A button and silk flower complete the fabric book.   This trade enabled me to again "use my stash".  One of my goals for the year.  Thanks to Wanda for a great trade. 

Buntings are Waving in my Studio

We recently completed a Seaside Bunting trade on Fiber Art Traders. These lovely buntings have arrived and are waving in my studio. They are international buntings. The taffy bunting is from Canada, the oriental bunting from the United Kingdom, and sea themed bunting from California. You can see my bikini bunting here.

Seaside Bunting

This is for a trade on Fiber Art Traders (FAT). Heather from Scotland is the hostess of this trade. Evidently these little flags are called Buntings in Scotland. We are making a set of 3 for the trade.

I found this "lovely" crocheted bikini in an old crochet magazine and thought it was perfect for my buntings. I added some color with pencils.

Trashy Fiber Clutch Part I

Fiber Art Traders yahoo group is having a Trashy Fiber Clutch trade. The base is made of fused plastic bags. I fused my bags together this morning. I placed the plastic bags between a brown bag from Mystic Paper and ironed them until they melted together. I then painted with Lumiere Metallic Arcylic in Super Copper and Pearl Turquoise purchased at Mystic Paper. I think I will now couch some fibers onto the fused plastic. Fibers seem appropriate since this is a fiber group. I think I will make another and experiment with stamping onto the fused plastic.

Last step is to add a fabric lining and sew into a tote. FAT has many interesting trades. I don't participate in all of them but I do try to do a few each month. Many members of the group are published artists.