Gift Wrapping: Christmas 2015

I've been really busy at the store the last couple months.  I bought the yarn portion of a yarn and fabric store that was closing, so I spent much of October moving furniture, assembling displays, and unpacking boxes.  More on that in the next post!  In this post I want to talk about gift wrapping.

Many people don't know that all the gorgeous paper that I use for bookbinding can also be used as wrapping papers.  In fact, that is how these papers are marketed by the manufacturers.  This Christmas I decided to explore all the ways I could combine different papers and ribbons to have THE BEST wrapped gifts under the family Christmas tree.  (I am also giving fewer gifts this year, so I want to make them look extra special.)

 I started with some of the Christmas-specific papers.  My absolute favorite is the Fa-la-la Llama paper my paper source.  (It has puns and llamas, two of my favorite things!)  I paired it with a sheer red ribbon that looks darker any place it overlaps itself.  This is a fairly standard gift wrapping technique with a plain bow, but the silly paper and sheer ribbon really makes it stand out.  I wrapped another package in a red and white lokta paper from Paper Connection International.  This is another one where the patterned paper makes it stand out.  I could see using several papers in coordinating colors to to create a cohesive "look" under the tree.  And finally, a gift bag from Paper Source because sometimes you need a nice looking gift and don't have the time to wrap it.  Add some green tissue paper and you're done!

My next set of wrapped gifts used paper that is not specifically "Christmas wrap" for some interesting gifts that could be for Christmas, or any other gift giving occasion.  The red, green, and yellow paper is a 100% cotton paper from Black Ink.  I used a thin yellow ribbon and wrapped it around the corners to show off more of the paper's pattern, and tied a layered bow.  The package on the right is wrapped with an Italian paper that has script writing.  This one is all about the ribbon- a lovely hand dyed silk, with an oversized decorative key ornament tied into the bow.

For the last few gifts, I used Paper Source's plain rolls of red and green wrapping paper.  The plain paper is great because it is thicker than your average rolled wrapping paper, and it is solid colored on both sides, not just the front.  To make these gifts simple yet elegant, I tied them with contrasting silk dupioni ribbon from Midori.  The ribbon is two inches wide, and SO gorgeous.  Even a plain bow is just stunning!

I have so many gift wrapping ideas with this one.  I could see wrapping all the gifts in the same roll of plain wrapping paper, and tying a large bow around just one or two of the packages.  It would make your Christmas tree look like something out of a magazine!

Halloween Inspiration

In the last few weeks I have been doing some experimenting with new materials and was inspired to make some Halloween tags and backgrounds.  I have access to a photocopier again, so the first thing I did was blender pen image transfers!  The three images I used are cabinet cards from the store.  The transfer process is really easy:

1. Photocopy the image . I usually make multiple copies while I'm at the machine.
2. Cut out the image- this step is not necessary if the background of the image is white with no toner.
3. Place paper image side down on tag (or whatever you are transferring to.)
4. Color the paper with a blender pen that contains xylene to saturate the paper.  Do this in a well ventilated area.
5. Rub with a bone folder or other tool to make sure the entire image transfers.

I love using this technique for image transfers because it can be imperfect and unpredictable which lends an element of spooky-ness that is perfect for Halloween tags.  The old clothing and imperfect transfer brings to mind ghosts and haunted houses.  After doing the image transfers, I added color with Dylusions ink spray and Faber Castell Gelatos.  The Gelatos are still new to me, so this was a great chance to experiment with different techniques.  I mixed the gelatos with water in mini spray bottles to create my own color sprays, drew directly on the tags and blended the colors with a foam blending tool, used the gelatos with a waterbrush like paint...

Afterwards, I added washi tape and other embellishments.  The keys are tag board cut-outs from Coffee Break Design, and the "Boo" banners are my own creations.  Then I added some of my favorite ribbon in coordinating colors.

My other Halloween experiments used alcohol inks, stencils, and Golden Soft Gel in gloss.  I was inspired by the Tim Holtz tag tutorial for September.  I tried his method of dribbling different colors of alcohol inks and blender solution onto a craft mat and "swiping" the cardstock over the surface of the craft mat to get a unique background.  Then I applied the Golden gel over a spider web stencil to create a glossy raised image.  The Golden gel took a long time to dry, so I worked on these backgrounds over several days.  Later I added distress ink to darken the background, leaving the areas under the dried gel the original background color.

I tried this technique with Gelato backgrounds too and it worked great.  For the purple spider web in the upper right hand corner of the photo, I tinted some of the gel with a few drops of acrylic paint for a completely different look.  Overall, I had a lot of fun experimenting and got a few cute Halloween decorations out of it!

Dyeing Yarn with Goldenrod

This is a blog post I started last year, when I was in a yarn dyeing frenzy.  It sat as a draft with pictures for months and months... But last week I dyed with Goldenrod again (but forgot to take pictures) so I thought this would be a fitting post.  I have talked about yarn dyeing a few times on the blog, including this post with a more detailed description of the process.

Goldenrod is a wildflower (or weed, depending on who you ask) that grows in empty lots, along highways, and pretty much everywhere in Ohio in the late summer and early fall.  Last year a coworker filled a trashbag for me with the Goldenrod plants growing in his backyard.  This year I was able to scavenge some from an empty lot down by the railroad tracks.  Last year I used the flower, stems, and leaves to make the dye bath, but you can also get nearly the same color from just the flower heads.

I simmered the plant for about an hour before straining out the plant material.  I bought a big mesh ladle thing from the Chinese grocery store and it works great for this!  Meanwhile, I prepared my yarn by mordanting it in a solution of alum.  The yarn came out a beautiful, bright yellow.

I made a TON of dye that day, so I also dyed two additional skeins of yarn and treated them with an iron afterbath.  To get the iron solution I soaked a bunch of rusty nails and other metal bits in a jar with water and vinegar. Then I put the solution in a pot and heated it to almost a boil.  One skein I dipped from the dye bath into the iron bath for about 20-30 seconds (the color changes right before your eyes, it is amazing.)  That one came out a lovely light green.  The next skein I put into the iron bath for longer, probably 1-2 minutes, and it came out a dark forest green.

Fun With Gelli Plates

A couple weeks ago I decided to experiment and play with using a Gelli Plate.  The Gelli Plate is a brand of reusable, non perishable gelatin printing plate.  It allows you to do monoprinting at home without needing a printing press.  (Remember when I did monoprinting during my printing class in college?)

I used colorful craft acrylic paint, a brayer to apply paint, and a variety of stencils to create patterns.  The process is similar to the monoprinting I had done before, but using a variety of colors instead of only black ink makes a huge difference.  Using the gelli plate was a lot more experimental.  I would often mix colors using the brayer, and print multiple times on the same piece of paper to create depth.

I used one of my favorite prints to cover a small paper mache box from the craft store.  I traced the top of the box and cut a circle of paper for the lid, and cut two paper strips the same height as the side of the box.  Before covering the box with paper, I painted part of the lid blue to coordinate with the print.  I brushed Glue N Seal onto the back of the paper and pressed it onto the box to smooth out any bubbles.  Once all the paper was on, I brushed on another coat of Glue N Seal to protect it.

Every month at my store, I have a group of ladies from a local senior living center come on an art "field trip."  This was their third time out, and I wanted to do something a little different.  So I showed them how to use the gelli plates, and then they covered boxes with their prints.  The ladies had a great time and the boxes turned out just darling.  They are going to use the boxes to hold their "bingo money."  How cute!  I want to go play bingo with those ladies, they are a ton of fun.

Collage Greeting Cards

 

It has been a busy few months getting the store set up, planning classes and workshops for the spring, and hosting a Grand Re-Opening Party.  I have fallen behind on several things like laundry, art projects, and blogging.  While I can't make any promises about the laundry, this week I have been getting back to the art and blogging parts

I am working on making collage greeting cards for my Kickstarter supporters.  The campaign I started to help fund Small Studio ended in December, and now I need to get my creativity flowing and make the rewards!  This is the start of the 140 cards I will be working on.

 

Sometimes collage is like a puzzle.  Start by gathering interesting papers, cutting out images, then piecing things together.  And when all else fails, I remember the wisdom of Portlandia and "put a bird on it."

2014 Challenge Wrap-up and Other Updates

Hello readers!  If you have been following along on my 14 Art Books in 2014 challenge you will notice that I do not have posts for all 14 books I had hoped to make.  That is because I got busy, and distracted, and lazy, and even more busy!  To recap, these are the 5 art books I completed last year, and my original "challenge proposal."

Out of the five books, three were for exhibitions, one was a benefit donation, and one was made to try out a new book structure.  (I will also add that one of the books made for an exhibition sold!)  With that being said, I have three partially completed art books that did not count towards the challenge because they are unfinished.

Instead of making excuses for myself about why I didn't finish the books, or why the challenge was too hard, I am going to do a quick "year in review" post as it relates to my artwork and artistic career.  Things have changed tremendously from Jan. 2014 when I created the challenge.

Last year in art:
- Participated in an invitational exhibition at Heights Arts
- Had one piece of artwork accepted to (and purchased from) the Morgan Conservatory's juried exhibition
- Taught two bookbinding classes in Midland, MI
- Taught a short bookbinding workshop for Art Books Cleveland
- Attended 4 amazing book and paper arts workshops at the Morgan Conservatory
- Participated in 8 art/craft festivals (12 days total)
- Had an artist bio published in the local newspaper
- Participated in Art Books Cleveland's exhibition at the Ingalls Library in the CMA
- Made the decision to quit my job and buy an art/paper store

YES, friends, you read that last line correctly.  I now own a store for paper, art supplies, and vintage goods, with a huge classroom space.  If I am going to blame any particular life event for getting in the way of my challenge, it would be this one.  I got the idea over Labor Day Weekend while taking a book arts workshop with the former owner of the store.  She had planned on closing the store and retiring at the end of 2014.  Several people had expressed interest in purchasing the business, but they all fell through.  The former owner always joked that I would be taking over the store someday when she retired... And I thought, "Why can't I?"

I talked to several close friends and family members about the idea, and did some research before making the decision in mid-September.  The last few months of the year were a whirlwind of meetings with the bank, accountants, a lawyer, the lease company, the former owner... TONS of phone calls, pieces of paperwork, and negotiations later, I finally secured a loan for the business in late November.  (Talk about cutting things close!)  The loan was much smaller than I needed, so I funded the rest of the project through Kickstarter with the help of many friends, relatives, and complete strangers.  I got the keys and officially took over the store on December 31st, 2014.  I am proud to say that I am now a business owner and my own boss.

I'm sure you will see a lot of posts about the store, and new products I will have the pleasure of testing.

Fiber Rituals - Art Book 5/14

I finished this book in late September for an Art Books Cleveland exhibition.  The exhibition just ended, and I was finally able to take photos of the book.  The theme of the exhibition was rituals.  I thought about it for months, came up with several ideas, but never actually started anything... I kept getting distracted by spinning wool and dyeing yarn.  That is when I realized that my book should be about the rituals involved with fiber- the things I had become obsessed about this summer!

I came up with seven different rituals associated with wool, and illustrated each one of them.  Scouring, mordanting, dyeing, carding, spinning, plying, and knitting.  The whole book is only about 4 inches tall.

To make the cover, I dyed strips of kozo paper with leftover plant dyes.  Then I spun the paper into thread using a drop spindle, and knit it into a rectangle.  It was my first time spinning paper and using it for a book.  It is a little tricky to get a nice thread without breaking or tearing the paper.  Compared to spinning wool, it is almost easier because you don't need to worry about drafting the fibers, you just need to give the paper twist.

I know I am way behind on my 14 Art Books for 2014.  It has been an interesting year to say the least, with several big changes in my life.  I have two unfinished art books sitting in my studio, and the ideas/materials for at least three more...  Time to get back in my studio and do this!

Dyeing Yarn with Queen Anne's Lace

 

Another one of my natural dye experiments this summer was with Queen Anne's Lace.  In the summertime Queen Anne's Lace is a wildflower that flourishes in empty lots, along highways, and any other green space that does not get mowed.  These flowers remind me of spending summer "up north" at my grandparent's cottage as a kid.  They grew everywhere and where my favorite flowers to pick.  Now that I am making natural dyes, I knew I had to use Queen Anne's Lace somehow.

 

 

I started by going down to the railroad tracks one August day and cutting giant handfuls of Queen Anne's Lace like I was making a bouquet.  I needed at least 4 oz. of flowers to dye one skein of yarn.  Then I went through the cooking process, strained off the flowers, and dyed 3.5 oz. of wool mordanted in alum.  (You can read more about the dyeing process on my these previous posts.)

 

So far this has been my favorite dye as far as aroma.  Since Queen Anne's Lace is in the carrot family, it has a kind of spicy carrot scent while cooking.  The final product ended up being a light, bright yellow.  Stay tuned for more posts about ecodyeing!  I've dyed about 30 skeins of yarn this summer and fall, and now that the weather is cooler I'm catching up on my blogging.

 

Kozo Book- Art Book 4/14

 

At the beginning of the year I set a challenge for myself to make 14 Art Books in 2014.  I got a little sidetracked by my job and other projects, but I am still plugging away at the 14.  I finished three art books for events and exhibitions in the month of October.  Here is the first of the books I made for October.

 

Art Book 4/14 is called the Kozo Book.  I made it for the Morgan Conservatory's annual benefit and silent auction.  The organization gives sheets of handmade paper to artists, and asks them to make a piece out of the paper to donate for the benefit.  This year the papers were handmade kozo paper with chiri, and a kozo/gampi blend.

I decided to continue my theme of books with stick bindings, and used kozo branches for the binding.  The pages ended up being too flexible for the book to stand up on its own, so I created a stand for it out of book board.  Finally, I added kozo leaves cut from some of my naturally dyed papers.

 

Dyeing Yarn with Blueberries

Another one of my natural dye experiments was dyeing yarn with blueberries.  I started with a skein of 100% wool yarn and pre-mordanted the fiber in Alum.  Mordant helps the yarn to accept color better, and Alum tends to provide the brightest and clearest colors, compared to using copper or iron as mordants.

 

I made the dye bath using a 1:1 ratio of berries to fiber.  In this case, the blueberries had been left behind in the fridge at work and had started to get wrinkly and soft.  Instead of throwing them in the compost, I took them home for dyeing.  To get the maximum amount of color from the berries, I added a small amount of water to the pot and crushed the berries with a potato masher.  (I did this without the water at first and ended up squirting berry juice everywhere...)

 

 

After keeping just below a simmer for an hour, I strained out the berry pieces and added the wet fiber.  The dye bath looked like a gorgeous pink/purple, and I was really hoping that would transfer to the fibers.  When the fiber was rinsed and dryed, it ended up looking more like a blue-ish lavender.  It is still a lovely color, but definitely shows how unpredictable natural dyeing can be.

 

Dyeing Yarn with Zinnias

As I mentioned in a previous post, my interest in natural dyeing has been renewed.  I have kind of gone crazy with dyeing yarn (which you will see in my next five... or ten... blog posts) starting with zinnia flowers from the garden.

I started out by weighing the flowers and getting a 2:1 ratio of flowers to fiber.  My skeins are 3.5 oz, and I also dyed a small amount of wool for spinning, so I used about 8 oz of zinnias.  Then  I simmered the flowers in my dye pot for about an hour to extract the color, and strained out the flower pieces so it doesn't tangle with the yarn.

 

The yarn is 100% wool, pre-mordanted in alum so it will accept the color better and be more light-fast.  Before adding the wool to the dye bath, I soaked it in water so it will dye more evenly.  After an hour or so in the hot dye bath, I removed the yarn, let it cool, and rinsed out the remaining dye.  The zinnia dye turned out to be a gorgeous buttery yellow, much more subdued than the turmeric.

Processing Raw Wool

Most of my friends and blog readers know that I am an avid crafter and artist.  (If you haven't figured that out by now, you really haven't been paying attention...)  I have been crocheting and knitting for many years, and last year my friend Mary taught me how to spin yarn.  Spinning is something that got put on the back burner with all the other things going on in my life, but recently I've had a renewed interest in spinning and natural dyeing.

Part of what fueled my renewed excitement for spinning is this large trash bag full of raw wool!  I made friends with a woman named Diane that had come to Cleveland to take workshops at the Morgan Conservatory where I work.  She has a flock of sheep and three herding dogs.  (I have not seen any of her sheep but I met her dogs, they are adorable and very well behaved.)  On her second visit to Cleveland, she brought me a bag of raw wool from her Leicester sheep, half white wool and half black.  Now that I have the raw materials there is no excuse not to spin!

Before I could start spinning, I had to learn about processing raw wool.  Raw wool has a combination of dirt, grass, and lanolin embedded in the fibers.  Lanolin is a waxy substance secreted by sheep to help protect their skin.  Lanolin helps make the wool waterproof, but it also feels oily and is more difficult to work with than clean wool.  To clean the wool I filled a bucket with very hot water, added several squirts of dawn dish soap, and let a bunch of wool sink into the water.  It is necessary to use very hot water so the lanolin can melt out of the wool and get absorbed by the dish soap.  Once the wool is in the water, don't touch it.  Heat and agitation together will felt the wool into a blob.  After 15-20 minutes, remove the wool from the bucket, pour out the dirty water, and start again.  I soaked the wool 2-3 times in hot soapy water and 2-3 times in clean hot water to remove the soap.

Once the wool is clean, use a towel to gently squeeze out excess water.  Don't wring out the wool or it will turn into a blob.  I spread my clean wool out on a folding drying rack with a mesh top so air can get above and below, and help it dry faster.  If that is not available, a towel on the floor will work fine.  After the wool is dry, there are still a few pieces of grass and dirt tangled in the fibers, and a little bit of lanolin holding the ends of each lock together.  To help clean and detangle the fiber I purchased a set of hand carders.  The hand carders basically brush the wool and loosen the fibers so the remaining dirt particles can fall out.  After carding, I remove the wool and roll it into a cylindrical thing called a rolag.  These rolags can be used to draft the fibers for spinning.

So there you go!  That is how I got from a bag of raw wool to being ready to spin.  I have cleaned 3-4 buckets of white fiber, 2 of black fiber, and I have only made a dent in the amount of fiber left to clean.  Needless to say, this will keep me spinning through the whole fall and winter.  I have enjoyed using the clean wool in my natural dye experiments.  Pretty soon I will have my own hand dyed and hand spun yarn.

Dyeing Yarn with Turmeric

So I actually dyed this yarn almost a year ago.  I had been putting off taking photos of the yarn and finishing the blog post... But now that I am getting back into natural dyeing and will be posting more of my experiments with natural dyes, I figured it was time to actually post this.

I participated in a local CSA program (community supported agriculture) which gives members a bag of fresh vegetables every week.  One week the bag included fresh Turmeric grown in the hoop house.  The turmeric root is bright yellow and usually used in curry and other similar dishes.  I already had a container of good ground turmeric in my spice rack, so I decided to use the fresh stuff to dye yarn.

 

I started by cleaning the roots and chopping them into small pieces.  The more surface area that is exposed, the easier it is to extract all the color available into the dye bath.  I added the chopped pieces to a pot of water and simmered for an hour or so to extract the dye.  (Note: I have a special pot set aside for dyeing, that is not used for food.)  I noticed that the dye wasn't very strong, so I supplemented the chopped roots with a teaspoon of ground turmeric from the pantry.

Luckily turmeric does not require a separate mordant to dye effectively.  Mordants prepare the fiber for dyeing so it can accept color from the dye bath.  Certain natural dye stuffs have a natural mordanting agent, so the fiber does not need any pre-treatment.  I took my ball of Paton's Classic Wool and wound it into a large loop so it could move freely in the dye bath.  After securing the loop, I soaked it in cool water in the sink to remove any bubbles or air pockets from the fiber (this helps the yarn dye more evenly.)

I turned the stove down and added my fiber to the dye pot so it could simmer for an hour or more.  I also added some wool roving to the dye pot, so I could use it for spinning later.  As an experiment I dipped one section of roving into an acidic solution (vinegar) after the dyeing process, and one section in an alkaline solution (baking soda and water.)  Treating dyes fibers in different pH solutions will change the color.  One section of roving turned brighter yellow and the other turned a little redder, and shifted towards orange.

Apparently I fail at documenting my process in photos... Because this is all I've got.  Don't worry, I've done a lot more dyeing since then and I (sort of) got better about taking photos.  Stay tuned for more posts about natural dyeing!

Workshop: Secret Belgian Binding with Rhonda Miller

In the end of May I took a bookbinding workshop with Rhonda Miller of My Handbound Books from Nova Scotia.  She taught a class called The Secret Belgian Binding at the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland.  The class was very interesting, and it was fun learning a new book structure.

I learned that the "secret Belgian" binding is Belgian, but not actually a secret.  The creator of the structure prefers to call it the Criss-Cross Binding... But in America, the other name stuck.  The book uses three pieces of book board and is sewn in two parts.

We started the class by folding signatures, and sewing together the textblock.  Then we covered the boards with decorative paper.  While the boards were drying, we sewed a practice card for the second part of the binding.

I am so glad we practiced the second sewing before attaching the textblock!  It was pretty tricky to keep all the parts of the book in the right place during the sewing process.  The "criss-cross" part comes from sewing back and forth over the spine piece at each set of holes along the spine.  I really enjoyed the class and I'm definitely going to make more books like this in the future!