How to make a reusable fabric gift bag
Step by step guide – How to make a reusable fabric gift bag
Making Gum Leaves from silk threads
Free motion embroidery on water soluble film I recently experimented with water soluble stabiliser, a film that is used in the machine embroidery process. I came across it on an internet wander, and I suddenly realised that I could use it with some Mulberry silk strands I bought nearly 2 years ago at a Halls Gap craft fair, from a … Read More
Frame free watercolour mount method
A fresh, modern way to mount and protect watercolour paintings It’s quite a simple process: glue a painting to a wooden board or panel and give it a protective coating. I have used a cradled wooden panel as my mount and protected the painting at various stages of the process with varnish and wax, to create the look of a … Read More
Sticky masking fluid – solution
I had a problem recently with masking fluid that wouldn’t come off my paper. I’ve been producing a series of Jacobean flower inspired paintings. Part of my process is to mask off certain parts of the painting to help keep the images light. We’ve had some extremely hot days so far in our summer down here in Oz, and I … Read More
Making pictures from paint splodges!
I’ve always been a fan of painting and drawing exercises to loosen up my work. This is a technique I’ve hit upon to look at some colours other than my usual palette (greens & blues if you hadn’t noticed!) and also improve my pen and ink line work. I used my (very old) Rotring ArtPen – which has a lovely … Read More
using Inktense pencils with an airbrush
I have been experimenting with my Derwent Inktense water-soluble colour pencils again. I’m obsessed with their luminosity and intensity, but must admit am finding it hard to maintain those attributes across a large area of work without things getting diluted on every stroke of my watercolour brush. Inktense pencils are easy to use, but I find when activating the … Read More
knitting in the winter
On my morning walk today I felt the first chill of winter, so I came straight home and dug my bag of knitting out of the cupboard. I only knit in the winter, I think its something to do with creating cosiness, and also doing something creative in the dark evenings when I don’t have natural daylight to help me paint or draw.
How to sew a felt ornament
This tutorial includes a materials list and easy to follow instructions so you can make a padded felt sun ornament. The finished sun measures 9cm in diameter, and is approx 1.5cm thick, and hangs by a length of embroidery thread / floss. If you have bought one of my Happy Sun Sewing Kits, then you will already have all the … Read More
Gum Doodle tablet cover
I used one of my own fabric designs – Gum Doodle Teal, in a lightweight cotton fabric to make a simple tablet cover. I selected cotton wadding for the padding and white cotton fabric for the lining, then I simply laid out the layers of fabric in order on a flat surface, placed the tablet on top, drew around it … Read More
Half drop pattern repeat design
I’ve added a new design to my Gum shadows range of fabrics. For this pattern I used a half drop pattern repeat. This is a really useful pattern repeat technique if your initial design appears too regimented in a regular linear design repeat format. This particular design is based upon gum tree leaf silhouettes. I began the design process with … Read More