Princess Bubbles Creates

 I am still sporadically stitching away on this piece.  It is so cheerful and just what I need at this dreary time of year.  I use up the last bit of thread on a needle to add to this piece.  It can be a bit slow going but I have made some progress since I last posted about this piece.  I like having a piece that is just for doodling.  There is no end date in mind.  Nor is there any kind of goal for it.  Just having some fun.  That is enough. I am linking to http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

I finished these fabric/paper collage journal pages ages ago.  I was pondering how I would put them together.  I finally decided that they would work as a concertina book. By attaching them together end to end they could hang on display.  I guess I am always an optimist that my work could hang in a gallery!  This book seems unlikely to do that but I am glad to have all the pages put together.  I am still considering enclosing them into a book.  So maybe this is still a work in progress.  

 Last week I happened upon a video about Neurographic art.  I jumped right in and gave it a try.  It is very relaxing.  I have yet to try it with a problem in mind that I want to solve but that is an option.  There are a lot of videos on Youtube about how to do it.  Here is a link to a quick video that gives you the basics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKR8SyDR2bs&ab_channel=HamaTimeProductions

 Another mandala finished.  There is quite a lot of beading on this one.  I broke out the good Swarovski crystals and oh, how I love the way they sparkle.  There are lots of other beads sprinkled into this mandala as well.  Wouldn't it be fun to do a mandala with just Swarovski crystals!  Kind of pricey though and maybe it wouldn't be as interesting.  I like the pearls next to the sparkle and all the other texture.   I need to do a reorganization of my beads.  They are in quite the state at this moment.  It will be good to go through everything and reacquaint myself with my pretties.  I know I have some gorgeous handmade beads that are languishing.  I will have to design a special mandala to feature them! I am linking to https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/

 Oh, yes going through my stash of experiments is fun.  I have this piece that has embroidery on it and I wanted to change the colour.  I gessoed and painted it and now I love it.  I am picturing using this piece for my next word journal piece.  I do have to consider that with all the wonderful texture it might be unpleasant or even miserable to stitch through.  I better choose a short word!  The technique I use better be well suited for this fabric as well. I am linking to http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

 Well, my word for January, energy, has been beaded.  The first three letters look like a mess.  I was struggling to get my beads under control.  Maybe I am a little slow but I did eventually figure out how to tame them their beads!  The lessons learned were valuable and I promise to do better with the rest of the words that I do for this year.  

 I am nearing the finish line on this project.  I do love a good finish.  My granddaughter was here for a couple of days this past week and she was looking very closely at this piece.  She told me a couple of things.  She really doesn't like the fabric base.  I wasn't surprised, I don't really love it either.  It is a lovely piece of silk that was gifted to me but not my typical colour choice.  I decided to use it for this project because I knew very little of it would actually be seen.  The tiny bits that are seen aren't a big issue. Secondly, she told me she is keen to learn how to stitch.  I told her when she turns five we can start with a big plastic needle that I have.  She was pretty happy with that.  It will be fun to teach her to stitch.   I am linking to https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/