Journal
Random Musings on Art and LIfe
When I returned from Chapala a year ago, I wrote a post about my Studio Essentials. Having just completed six months with exactly those supplies and nothing more, I can tell you that “Less Stuff More Art” really works! I spent the season in Chapala with a Silhouette machine, a small selection of fabric, a set…
I’ve been working on the next piece in my StarFlower series, and I was looking for a new and different way to create a heavy band along the edge of a shape. After some trial and error, I settled on a Whipped Chainstitch Band. Before we start, here’s a peek at the center of…
As part of my “timeout” from the business here at Cedar Canyon, I’ve spent a good deal of time on my Star Flower project. It’s the first of my Paint, Stitch & Bead adventures that will be a completed piece of art instead of a learning tool. I created the design using the Silhouette Studio…
When I gave myself permission to take a break this fall, I had no idea how much I needed that break. And having taken a bit of a breather, it’s clear that I need to slow down to the speed of life. It’s not that the past couple of months have been quiet. Far…
For the past few weeks, I’ve been adding beads to my current Paint+Stitch+Bead project. This project has turned into a bit of a stitch sampler and a test for my beaded embroidery stitches. Here’s the current update along with links to some of my previous posts. Beads fit nicely into Palestrina Knots, so long…
There’s nothing like teaching to set a person’s mind to learning something properly. With my classes at the All Things Silhouette conference coming up, I’ve been doing a lot of playing with a concept I call Kaleido-Designs. I’m having tons of fun with this. When I designed the Kaleidoscope Rubbing Plates, I did the doodles…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Jack and I have visited our friends at their ranch for 20 years. With each visit, I logged a lot of hours – and miles – in my hiking boots enjoying the sights and sounds of the ranch. I capped off our visit this year with a long “20-year hike” to one of my…
The more I play with PSB, the more I like it. (And in case I threw you for a loop, PSB is right here in the Shelly Dictionary. It stands for Paint, Stitch & Bead.) Today, I want to show you a little experiment adding beads to one of my favorite stitches. I call it…
You may remember that I’ve been working on a way to rescue a project with a Very Busy Background. I experimented with a computer-simulated overlay, then took the plunge and applied a Paintstik overlay to one section of the piece. Today, I’m happy to report that the Sheer Paintstik Overlay really works! In case…
After three months in Chapala with (very) limited supplies, I found my home studio more than a bit overwhelming. With several decades worth of art supplies on hand, it’s a miracle I get anything done! It’s time to remove the distractions and get down to a smaller set of Studio Essentials. Rather than just “thinking”…
When I add hand stitching to my painted fabric, I want the stitching to stand out. Today, I want to show you my latest stitch combination experiment. I call it Pekinese Stem Stitch. [Tweet “Bored with Stem Stitch? Dress it up with a Pekinese-style wrap!”] In traditional embroidery, Pekinese Stitch begins with a Back…
Over the past few weeks, I started digging into the treasure trove of Talavera designs on the dishes in my kitchen. The sheer volume of possibilities was a bit daunting, so I picked a single design motif for a Talavera Flourish experiment. [Tweet “A single motif is a great place to begin a design experiment.”]…