Princess Bubbles Creates

 This piece I started with the thought of it working for the Radical Botanical challenge.  I decided that it wasn't going to work for that challenge but I am still interested in finishing it.  It seemed like it might be close to the right size to cover a journal or altered book so I went hunting for one of those.  I have an altered book for which it will work.  I have added some big loose quilting stitches to attach it to some felt and make it a bit more sturdy.   I didn't want this to turn into a big project but I think it is going to.  That seems like a bit of a waste to me as the altered book needs to sit open.  Always.  Therefore the cover will rarely be seen.  I will have to ponder all of this.  It seems more economical to keep the cover simple.  But what about the enjoyment of creating a luscious garden?  I think the economy of time is winning out at the moment because of all the things I need to get done before...

  I love going through my journal of one hundred mandalas.  Some of the mandalas just make me smile to look at them.  Not all of them.  Some just aren't beautiful and I won't bother posting those.  Still, making them was a complete meditation and pleasure. I am okay with some being less than others.  I suppose I could always revisit them and try to make them better.  But really I just want to move on.  I am pondering starting another journal of just mandalas.  But for right now I will just use a journal for whatever strikes my fancy and no doubt some mandalas will make their way in.   This mandala makes me smile with all its sparkling goodness!  I hope it makes you smile as well.

 I made progress on my radical botanical piece.  I have been recycling for this one.  On the left, you can see some purple plastic lids.  I was inspired by  Jessica Grady  to do more with recycling.  I think they make interesting flowers.  Next to those 'flowers' are some flowers I created with the netting from a bag fruit came in.  In the centre, there are some flowers that were made using crinkled paper strips.  I forget where they came from, packaging of some sort I think.   The main flowers are in and now I think I will just embroider some smaller ones to fill in the gaps.  It is a rainy day here so it seems like a lovely way to spend my afternoon.  It worked best for the family to all come for my hubby's fantastic barbecued hamburgers yesterday for dinner.  So it will be a quiet day of stitching for me.   It is quite possible that I will finish this piece today.  The challenge isn't due until ...

  I am so grateful to LeeAnna  for inviting me to play along with a great group of women who post about what they like on Thursday every week.   The prompt for this week is: "Do you speak more than one language? What was is like to learn it? Is there a language you'd like to learn, please tell us why. are there words in other languages that sound fun to you, or even English words that you like and make you happy? " I do not speak another language.  My mother was French but she did not speak it much and I only ever learned a few words.  Since French is the second language in Canada we were taught it in school but I didn't care for it.  Honestly, sometimes even English feels like a second language to me.  I think my art speaks more clearly! There are some words that I love the sounds.  I think they are just made-up words but they make me smile every time I hear them. skadoosh from Kung Fu Panda baffo from White Christmas narf from Pinky and the Brai...

 Yes, still playing with my funky book pages.  They are a mixed-media approach to slow stitching.  They are all about playing and using up bits and pieces.  The one on the right needs some more blue added to it to make it fit with the rest.  I am sure I can figure out a way to make it work.  That one in particular has a lot of mixed media in it.  Painting, foil, transfer foil, and paper experiments that I cut into smaller pieces and stitched together.  The mixed media can be a bit difficult to stitch through but I will persevere.

 There were so many steps in creating this mandala.  A stitched piece of artwork was created and then photographed.  The photograph was manipulated with Kaleidoscope Kreator and printed on good-quality paper.  I then started adding repeating marks with sparkle gel pens, metallic markers, glitter and more.  It was a joyful experience all along the way.   This mandala lives in one of my art journals.  It feels too good to be hidden away there.  At least more people can enjoy it now that I have it here.  

  For many stitchers, slow stitching is also about embracing imperfection and celebrating the unique qualities of handmade items. Rather than striving for perfection or uniformity, slow stitching encourages a more organic and intuitive approach to stitch, allowing the fabric and thread to guide the stitcher's hand. This can result in pieces that are imperfect in the best possible way, with a character and charm that simply cannot be replicated by a machine. That first paragraph was written by ChatGPT. It accurately represents my ideas about slow stitching. AI is absolutely amazing. Yesterday I had it write an exhibit inquiry for me. I would have struggled with that for way too much time. AI did it in seconds and I only needed to make a couple of minor changes. Wow. More time for stitching! These small collages that I am calling floofy book pages are an absolute delight for me to stitch. I have started adding some beads which I typically leave until the very end. I think th...