Alma Stoller

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Alma Stoller

May 6, 2011 8:32:00 AM

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How to Make Fabric Beads

Supplies

knitting needles (any size will work...I like to use a metal needle in size 13,
fabric ( any kind will work...I like to work with sheers/glitzy fabrics)
an assortment of seed beads in all sizes
a good quality thread (or beading thread...I use a Nymo size D),
glitzy/funky fibers,
a needle, pins and basic sewing supplies.

Cut a strip of fabric about 45 inches long.

Wrap it tightly (about 5 times) around the knitting needle....

then twist and wrap the fabric to create gentle folds.

pin in place

Determine what kind of fiber you think would work best with your fabric choice.

Here I am using this confetti look-alike fiber.

Wrap it and pin in place.

I could finish here....but I want to add a little more color to it, so

I use this other fiber around it.

Wrap and pin in place.

I like to place the seed beads on a piece of felt so they don't bounce and roll off my table.

Thread your needle, double strand, hide the knot inside the fabric, and randomly stitch the beads on your fabric bead.

While you are stitching the beads, make sure that you go through all the layers.

This will anchor the fabric, the fibers and the beads all at the same time.

When you are done, pull the bead off the knitting needle and

it will look something like this.

When you get the hang of it, you may want to make a whole bunch in stages....

It saves time if you do all the wrapping at the same time...

then the beading and so forth.

Here are a few that I have finished.

Enjoy!

Jul 3, 2010 12:43:27 AM

How to Make Paper Flowers

supplies needed:

pages from a book or magazine, acrylic paint, gel medium, scissors, pen.

Draw a simple flower shape, outline it twice.

Paint the paper with one coat of acrylic paint and let it dry.

When the paint dries, coat each flower with gel medium....it can be glossy or matte.

Here I am using a thick layer of Golden Regular Gel (gloss)

Smear it on as thick or as thin as you want...when it dries, you will be able

to see and feel the texture you created.

Let it dry and cut around the design.

Add to your art work.

These can be made into any shape, style and design.

Play it up with gel pens, different colors of pens,

paints, and different types of paper.

Make a whole bunch all at one time and keep it

on your worktable for easy access.

enjoy!

Jun 22, 2010 4:24:59 PM

How to Recycle a Magazine

I wrote about this technique in the May/June 2007 issue of Cloth Paper Scissor Magazine.

Here is a quick recap.

Supplies:

Magazine pages and cut-outs, double-sided tape,

sewing machine, gesso, gel medium and acrylic paint.

Pull out seven pages from a magazine. This makes a sturdy canvas.

Stack them up and use double-sided tape to adhere one page to the other.

Machine stitch the entire stack.

Use gel medium ( I use Golden Regular Gel Matte) to adhere other images.

Cover up any logos or identifiable images.

Let it dry.

Gesso over the paper canvas.

Blot out some of the gesso here and there.

The idea is to blur and muddy up the image and text.

Let it completely dry, then paint it with an acrylic paint.

Here I've painted most in white, one in pink and one in yellow.

Now the canvas is ready for you to paint your original art.

RECYCLE, REUSE, REINVENT

GIVEAWAY:
This package of SIX can be yours.

Leave your name to sign up to win.

The random selector will pick out a winner on Thursday.

Enjoy!

Jun 19, 2010 7:29:47 AM

Janome Sew Mini Tutorial

I am thrilled to have my Bernina back from the repair shop.

When TSA wrecked it in Seattle last year, I promised that I would NEVER travel with this beauty again. I decided I needed to purchase an inexpensive travel machine. The Janome Sew Mini sewing machine is a sweet deal.

Here she is,

my Sew Mini is sooooo cute. This little beauty weighs 5 pounds and costs anywhere between 40 to 60 dollars. I got mine from Hancock Fabrics. It is a pretty basic machine. It only does straight and zig zag stitching.

It isn’t designed to do any freemotion sewing but you can certainly alter the machine to achieve that. In this tutorial, I would like to show you how to alter your machine so that you can do freemotion sewing like this....

this....

or this

This is what you do:

First, some boring but important safety info:

While you are setting up the machine.....it is best to keep it unplugged. Plugging this machine means that the setting is ON and while working so close to the needle, you could cause an unintended accident. ouch!

To start, purchase this foot or something like it for a Janome.

This one was about 12.00 dollars. It is a freemotion foot designed for Janome machines.

Make sure that you place it correctly on the machine....if you don’t, this could happen.

Trust me....I speak/write from experience. I was so eager to get the machine working that I wasn't paying much attention to what I was doing. It helps to read the instructions on the back of the package.

Moving along....

You also need to cover the feed dogs....The feed dogs are those little teeth-like thingies that grab the fabric as you sew. So get a piece of chipboard or cardstock.

Pierce a small hole through the center of it. Use masking tape to adhere it to the machine. Making sure to cover the feed dogs and throat plate area.

Put the freemotion foot on, plug the machine and you are now ready to do all sorts of freemotion sewing.

For me, the best part is that I can travel with it and I can demonstrate my techniques when I teach. In no way does it replace the power, durability and comfort of a better quality machine....whatever that means to you. But I think it is a better option than traveling with an expensive and often heavy machine.

Enjoy!

May 27, 2009 3:05:25 PM