Turquoise and Red

Based on the comments from my last post about yarn, I decided to try a combination of turquoise and red.  (Thanks Fenna!)  I dyed two balls of yarn using red kool-aid, blue kool-aid, and a little bit of lemonade.  It is amazing how the same colors can turn out so different!  For the first ball of yarn I started with two packets of red.  The red is a very strong tinter, and sort of overpowered the batch.  I dyed the remaining white parts with two packets of blue.  It turned out with a primarily red yarn with a few purple bits, and some bright blue bits.

For the second ball of yarn I started with two packets of blue.  The blue ended up much lighter than the first batch but covered more of the yarn.  Then I added one packet of red in an attempt to not overpower the blue.  I ended up with a lot of white space left over.  I added a packet of lemonade, but it still turned out very light (especially in comparison to the first batch.)

In other news, my yarn is now on sale at Crafty Goodness in Lakewood, Ohio!  Stop on by and take a look at all the good stuff available from NE-Ohio artists.  Also, check them out on facebook.

Handmade Cards

I recently got some new decorative paper for making cards.  I got two new 8 inch square paper stacks by DCWV.  The Citrus Stack of paper is primarily orange, red, yellow, and blue with several different floral and paisley patterns.  The Green Stack is made from 70% recycled paper and is themed around nature and various woodland creatures (birds, squirrels, skunks...) in muted blues, red, green, and brown.

In addition to the new paper, I got some new paper crafting tools that have made card making much easier.  One tool I absolutely love is the Xyron sticker maker.  It was between $8 and $10 and turns regular paper into a sticker.  To use the little machine you drop your cut paper in one side, pull the sticker tape on the other side, and rub the paper onto the backing.  It basically coats the back of the paper with double sided adhesive.  On a similar note, I got a roll of "glue tape" that is little strips of the double sided adhesive in a roller similar to white out tape.  The other glue I had been using made the cards wavy and took a long time to dry.  The glue tape bonds instantly and always leaves the paper flat.  It is a must have for any paper crafting project!

I also got two new edge punches.  These things are addicting, I swear.  My first edge punch was a heart shaped border that I used to make Valentines earlier this year.  The new punches I got are Fiskars brand.  One has a braided border, the other is a series of swirls and dots.  I love edge punches because they are so versatile.  You can use them to layer papers, create borders, punch both edges of a paper strip, use the punched out pieces... The options are endless.

BW Senior Art Show

For those of you that might have missed it, here is a recap of the Baldwin-Wallace Senior Art Exhibition.  The show is put together by the graduating seniors of the art department and represents their finest work.  This year there were 11 seniors and the show ran from February 21- March 25 with a reception scheduled for Friday, February 25.  However, a massive snowstorm rolled in the night before the reception, so it was rescheduled for Friday, March 18.  Despite the cancellation, there was a great turnout at the show with many friends, family members, and faculty in attendance.

 My pieces for the show included a series of 5 digital photographs displayed in lace stencilled frames.  I also presented a necklace hanging in a frame painted to match my picture frames.  The necklace was created as a tribute to my good friend Sarah.  She was killed in a car accident last year, and the necklace represents the accident and the process of coping with such an unexpected loss.

New Dyed Yarn

I recently dyed two more skeins of yarn using Kool-Aid.  (See my previous post for information about the dyeing process.)  The first skein started as white 100% wool and was dyed using Strawberry, Orange, Lime, and Lemonade.  The result is a bright, tropical, tutti-frutti kind of color.

The second skein was a gray 100% wool skein dyed with Strawberry, Grape, Ice Blue Raspberry, and Pink Lemonade.  Using gray yarn as a base created a muted color palette for the finished yarn.  My next experiment will be using tan yarn as a base for dyeing.  Any suggestions for color choices?  What has been your favorite Kool-Aid dyed yarn so far?