Recycled cardboard and flowers

While grabbing some supplies on my front porch,

I noticed two

colorful visitors.

This one even stared at me awhile.

I just loved the feathers and markings.  And I don't have to remind you how much I love this camera, either!  EDIT: My friend Valerie asked the name of these birds and they are red-breasted American robins.  Since these robins are indigenous to North America, it's no wonder Valerie, who lives in Europe, has never seen one.

But it was time to get back on task.  I was on my front porch to retrieve a piece or two of corrugated cardboard that I had used all winter to help insulate and shelter my garden hose, as well as a large box of magazines I was given several months ago that was too heavy to move inside because of my still sore wrist.

After I cut the cardboard,

I got completely distracted and decided to pound some irises, since I realized this was the most efficient way to transfer the color to the fabric.

I picked several fabric pieces I had already dyed, including those I had dyed using black beans and grape juice.

I had already pounded irises on one of the black bean dyed fabrics.  I thought it "overdyed" quite nicely.  Then the wind picked up and blew my fabric onto the ground.

Since it was too windy outside to continue pounding irises, I adjourned to my craft room where I cut a heart out of the cardboard, stripped the top layer, and painted it white.

Then I continued pounding inside.  I was having one of those days when my art was as scattered as my thoughts!

I decided I had "sacrificed" enough old iris blooms

and was ready to move on.
 
I used a tiny piece of one of the "overdyed" flower pounded fabrics in this assemblage.  As I was uploading this, I saw the Moo-Mania and More challenge about floral, and decided this entire post could be considered floral.  But the heart was most assuredly floral in nature.

The crocheted floral piece was made by my grandmother and it was one of three crocheted squares I had removed from an old pillowcase years ago.  It looks like I got some of the iris "juice" on the square, too.

My grandmother was a genuine angel, so I will dedicate this heart to her.

I included some cheese cloth

that I dyed using green tea.

I used green coated copper wire to match the green in the crocheted leaves.  My mind is still racing with all kinds of ways to make and decorate these hearts, because I see this as a series that I want to pursue sometime in May.

This is Day 20 and I recycled corrugated cardboard and pounded some dead iris blooms to create a heart assemblage dedicated to my Grandmother who, along with my Grandfather, raised me from birth.

And because the crocheted flower is floral, and the flower pounded fabric is floral, I decided to add this to Moo-Mania and More's FLORAL challenge.  Thanks for visiting because your support of my projects means the world to me.  And don't forget to drop by Moo-Mania and More possibly with your own floral entry.

Days 2, 3, and 4 of taking fabric in a new direction

To catch you up to speed, if you haven't seen Day 1, it can be seen here.  I have a plan and a vague idea where I'm going with this fabric now that I've had a night to think about it.  Unfortunately, it's raining and I have NO room in my craft room for drying more than two pieces at a time.

Supplies are simple: fabric from Day 1 that was misted and some cheap (the cheaper the better) black craft paint.

Originally I planned to squirt this paint out of the bottle, but I couldn't get the plastic seal off, so decided to remove the cap and use a paint brush to spread the paint.

Here it is finished and drying on my craft table.

 After it was dry, I scanned it.  The colors are much truer in the scan.

I also colored the pastel piece I demoed on Day 1, allowed it to dry, and scanned it, too.  And yes, that's all I finished on this day.  More tomorrow, if it isn't raining.

"Tomorrow" turned into two days before I could get outside to play due to the rain.  On my outdoor desk are various craft paints.  The two on the right are metallic.  I also have an old faux credit card to spread the paint around, since I am brayer challenged.

I began with bright yellow, but when I started to squirt out a dollop of paint on the piece I demoed on Day 1, apparently I had already thinned it down with water.  That meant I couldn't move it until it had dried.  And because it was so muggy and humid, it didn't dry for hours and hours and hours and hours and (OK, you get the idea).  That translated to even more hours of waiting.

For the monochromatic pink fabric, I added a touch of red and bronze metallic paint, and spread them with my plastic card.

The yellow paint was still not dry when I placed it, along with the other fabric, on my porch rail.  I ran out of yellow paint before I got to the end of the fabric, that's why it is missing some as shown.  I'm still liking the direction this fabric is taking.

Here I've scanned a small portion of the originally monochromatic fabric.

You can see that the wet paint bled into the color mists, giving the edges a perceived shadow. The paint made the hand* of the fabric stiff, but since I'm turning these into art pieces, not fabric for clothing, that doesn't worry me.

*Hand is the way the fabric feels, usually against your skin or to your touch.  It's especially important if the fabric is to be turned into clothing.  And of course, if I was going to turn this fabric into a pillow, it would have a very rough hand in spots where the paint is heavy.

Although this fabric is intended for either an art quilt or a scrappy book cover, not clothing or pillows, I'm really liking where this fabric is heading.  And it all started with an old white bed sheet I got at the thrift store for less than $2.00.  If you want to see other pieces I've made with this same bed sheet, go here, here, here, here, here, and possibly my favorite here.  And it's obvious, I still have more of that same bed sheet.

The next day I decided to try an experiment I saw on my friend Patty's blog.  Patty had pounded some leaves into fabric.  Now I confess, I have pounded flowers before, but never leaves, and never on fabric.  So I was looking forward to this.

However, I was making a mess of these leaves because of the hammer.  I switched to the handle, which made the leaves veins a bit more noticeable,

but not much.  I was not at all pleased with the direction this was taking, so I stopped.  I felt I either needed different leaves, a different hammer, or maybe flowers to pound into this fabric.

This is the scan showing the leaves I managed to pound into the fabric.  Not sure what my next move will be, but as soon as the weather improves, I'll be back to play with more fabric, probably this very piece.  Any suggestions are always welcome.

Pound that flower

I've been asked to explain about flower pounding. I have done flower pounding in the past, but never created a tutorial for it, or explained what it is. Basically you dye fabric or paper by hammering or pounding the flower onto the fabric or paper. When the pulverized flower is removed, the color or colors remain on the paper or in the fabric. All flowers need to have their calyxes, pistils and/or stamens removed. White flowers like the peonies in my vase don’t work as they have no pigment to transfer onto the paper.


Materials:
You will need a rubber or rawhide mallet. Either will work, but the rubber mallet has more surface, so you won't have to pound as long. You can also use a metal hammer, but you have to be careful and tap gently.

You will need at least two sheets of card stock (preferred) or copier paper (some say this type of paper doesn't absorb the dye well).

Alternately, you can use 100% cotton or linen fabric that has been prepared for dyeing (PFD) or is vintage and has been washed many times.

And of course, you will need some flowers. Younger flowers will have less color, older ones' colors will be more intense. Pick flowers early in the day after the dew has left the flowers.


Although I've pounded other flowers, I wanted to see if an iris was really as juicy as I thought it would be. I've had irises drop dead onto tablecloths or doilies before, leaving a horrible stain, so I felt they would be great candidates for this project.


I began by gently tapping the flower. I really wanted to test the flower to see how much pounding would be required and how much "juice" I could expect. I suggest you test any and every flower type you plan to pound. It never hurts to be thorough.


It looked like this iris would be a good candidate for flower pounding. Now it was time to take it apart and demonstrate the technique of flower pounding.


I began by placing individual petals on one sheet of the card stock. This is not like pressing flowers, where you can leave the flower whole (intact). The secret to good flower pounding is separating each petal and gently laying it in a pleasing arrangement.

As with flower painting or stamping, most of us know the back side of leaves will produce a better image. Position your flowers or leaves so the back side is the important side of your image and decide which sheet of paper will get the important side. You can see in the above photo, I placed some of the petals facing one direction and some facing the other, giving each sheet of card stock the opportunity to take advantage of the back side of certain petals.


When you have the arrangement you want, place the second sheet of card stock in place. Begin by gently tapping the flower into place. Some authorities believe you should tape the pages or fabric in place, but I've never done it that way.

After the flower is "seated" on the paper, begin pounding until you see the image through the back. That way, the flower won't "walk" on you and create shadows. Of course, this might be the look you are going for.


You will know when you have your desired impression, because it will show through on the back side of your card stock. I prefer to pound my flower, then add my leaves and stem. If you have a particularly "juicy" flower, you may need to occasionally wipe your hammer to remove some of the juice and keep it from spreading.


Gently lift or remove the top piece. Remove the now pulverized flower and/or leaves. If any pieces flake off,


or stick to the paper, DO NOT REMOVE THEM until they are dry. Wait until the pulp has dried, then gently remove it with a soft brush or your fingernail. And DO as I say, not as I did!! I got a bit too eager, so that's why there are "empty" spots on the left page.



Hopefully, the other two irises will be easier, now that I remember how to do this technique.

Ruminations and tips:

I found pounding the iris on card stock worked best. The card stock absorbed less moisture, while the copy/printer paper absorbed a lot of moisture from the iris and left both papers wet a long time after the pounding.

If you have trouble getting the flowers pounded, place your papers-and-flower sandwich on a hard board, such as a cutting board. Be sure to pound all of the flower or the area you miss will be obvious and show on the paper.

Pound one flower at a time, allowing it to dry completely before adding another flower to your design. That holds true for flowers that are the same variety and color, as well as different flower varieties.

Don't try to pound two different variety flowers at once. The "juice" from one flower will stain and contaminate the other flower.

Although similar, flower pounding on fabric is a bit different and has various characteristics and drawbacks. I hope to put together a tutorial on pounding flowers on fabric soon.

Don't forget to admire your art, and please let me know if you try this.

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WOYWW 152: Pounding frustration away

I'm getting ready to pound away some of my frustration. OK, maybe not, but it sounded good. I was asked by several people to explain flower pounding, so I'm going to create a tutorial that will be ready tomorrow (Thursday, May 3). You know my tutorials can get too long winded for a WOYWW post and I always want to stay on Julia, our awesome hostess's good side.


Also on my table are a couple of large sheets from Day Planner packaging. My neighbor Sally gave it to me, and I anticipate it will have lots of paint on it before I remove it from my table.

I still haven't dealt with that wooden rocking horse, and WOYWWendy was hiding in the tool container until I found her in our favorite "hide and seek" game.


But the most wonderful thing on my desk is a lovely silver rocking horse I got in the mail on Monday. The package was damaged in the mail service, had been re-packaged by USPS (our postal service), and came with a note saying every precaution had been taken to ensure this got to me unharmed, but blah, blah, blah and here it is!! The package was SO damaged, they were only able to make out the majority of my address, but not my name, and none of the sender's name or address, except it came from the UK.


I immediately thought of Jude, who sent me a gift last Christmas. We both assumed it was lost and gone forever. I have left her a message on her blog and am eagerly awaiting an answer. I sure hope this came from her, and if it did, I will gladly update this post with that information. Regardless, I will love and enjoy it, my newest baby and addition to my "family."

Thank you beyond words, Jude, because I'm sure this beauty came from you!

____________________

Flower pounding fun and backlinks

Before I show any art today, I wanted to update everyone on what Blogger calls "back links." After reading Blogger's "help" on Links, I realized that links are those that we highlight in order to send someone to another site. I use "Links" everyday when I highlight a blog of the day. I also use the same link setup on my "Daily Links" page.
So, in true Blogger fashion, I was sent to the wrong spot and this was not what I wanted.


What I actually wanted was information about backlinks. They are intended to link other pages to your post. If you click on the above screen capture, you will see what they are intended for. And yes, it's exactly what I thought it should be: to link something of relevance between the two blog posts.

However, some enterprising folks, especially (as I found with backlinks on my blog) those whose blogs are set up to advertise their wares on E-bay or esty, have found a way to get free exposure from other, art related (or whatever medium) blogs. So, check the back links on your blog. If you don't find the post relevant, or if you find, as I did, that backlinks are soliciting people to the linked blog for some type of exposure, just remember that you have the option to not allow them. Just thought I would clear that up, although I'm not sure Blogger helped me understand the meaning or motivation behind backlinks. Again, Blogger has caused me to ask more questions than receive answers. But I guess this will have to do. I hope I've helped a few people look at their backlinks and decide if they want to keep the "allow" option or not.

Now back to my regularly scheduled post.

My online art group, ABC Altered Book Club, had a flower themed challenge for May in which members were asked to create something with a floral theme. There were some incredible entries, some of which are posted on my art friends blogs. I created mine the last day of the event, because I was waiting for flowers, any flower, to bloom in my yard. Tired of waiting, and running out of time to submit something, I bought a live plant with some lovely flowers. I'm not sure what they are, because the tag is missing. I do know, however, they were juicy and perfect for flower pounding.

I started this project without ever thinking about documenting the process. Then I realized why I have this blog: to show my projects and processes, whether they are good, bad, or indifferent.

Supplies I used: card stock, flower petals, iris leaf, rubber mallet, newspapers for padding.

I began by placing individual petals on a piece of cardstock. This is not like pressing flowers, where you can leave the flower whole. The secret to good flower pounding is separating each petal and gently laying it in a pleasing arrangement.

When you have the arrangement you want, fold the card stock in half, or place a separate piece over the bottom piece, as I did in the one you see in the first photo at the back. Place on newspapers or a phone book. Pound away. Once you have your desired impression, you will know, because it will show through on the back side of your card stock. I prefer to pound my flower, then add my leaves and stem.

Gently lift or remove the top piece. Remove the now pulverized flower and/or leaves. If any pieces flake off, or stick to the paper, DO NOT REMOVE THEM until they are dry. That's what happened on the left side of this piece and that's why there are trails of dark lavender on the page. Wait until the pulp has dried, then gently remove it with a soft brush.

Admire your handiwork. These can be cut and used in projects or used as is. If you want multiple flowers, do them one at a time.


Don't expect your finished flower to look anything like the one you started with. They will always be darker, as you can see from this comparison of an original petal and the finished piece.

Here is the finished project when I scanned it. For once, I think I like the photo better than the scan.

More tips I learned along the way: begin by gently tapping the flower into place. When you have it "seated" on the paper, begin pounding until you see the image through the back. That way, the flower won't "walk" on you and create shadows. Of course, this is something you may want, though.

As with flower painting or stamping, the back side of the leaves will produce a better image. Position your leaves so the back side is the important side of your image.

The front side of the flower petals produce a better finished image.

And finally, don't pound flowers on any card stock that has been sprayed with color mists. The color mists reactivate and bleed around the wet flower petals and leaves. That's what happened to my first piece I made, which can be seen in the first photo above.

I hope you find time to do a little flower pounding this summer. It's lots of fun and can relieve frustration.

I have no idea where today's blog came from, but it was one of those that started with a click here and a click there and ended on a blog called Ms Artist Sew Crafty. Ms Artist Sew Crafty is Theresa Huse, who lives in California in the US. Her blog banner says it all: "Crafts, sewing, scrapbook, paper crafts, recipes, fashion, color inspiration, photography." And to top it all off, she's one of co-founder Martha's (Martha's Favorites, my blog choice for January 24) Tea Cup Tuesday participants. "Sew" hop on over to Theresa's blog and see what all she's up to.