Paper Collage - A New Idea

Things are quiet so I decided to make a new paper collage from

some of the photographs I've taken.  To get started I created a grid

of 3 " x 3" squares on my computer and dropped the photos onto the grid.

Each photo was "cropped" to a certain size,  based on the particular

photo,  and placed on the grid on my computer so

I could determine which  photos  should be placed next to each other

based on their color.  I did a small "mock-up" first.

Then I created a "to scale" layout for each category, based upon 

the size... 3" x 3",  3" x 12,  6" x 6" or 3" x 9"

and then printed all the enlarged color photographs.

I found this great device,  a Fiskars Card Making Bypass Paper Trimmer-9"

at the local Michaels store which would allow

me to cut each shape to a precise measurement.

Since some of the photos  needed to be over 6"  in one direction,

 I had to use my 6" wooden ruler in addition to the paper cutter to

get those 9" x 6" sizes.  

I did have some 3" x 12" shapes which meant

I had to cut that photo  in two  3" x 6" pieces and then carefully glue

 them together, as I did with this photo along the lower left edge.

I'll tell a little story about this bridge:

Fort Knox Penobscot Narrows Bridge is located in 
Prospect Maine  I took this photo 9/23/2008. 
This State Historic Site was constructed in the mid-1800’s.
  It is the tallest bridge observatory in the world.  
The elevator takes you up 420’ for a 360 degree view 
of the Penobscot Bay area.

As you might imagine, each photo in this entire collage has it's

own story, but this blog would go on "adnauseam if I told you

all the stories!!! 

Following my original to scale printout, I glued each photo

to a large piece of cream colored matte board, which 

Don then trimmed to fit the actual shape of the 

 collage because, as you can see  it has some irregular shapes 

along the top edge.

To "frame" the piece, I applied some 1/4" Black Crepe Art Tape 

around  the entire 24" x 30" piece.

Then it was time to hang the piece on the wall space 

between the master bathroom door and our walk in closet.   

I used some tape to mark the placement of  the lower corners,

and then attached Command Strips to all the corners as well

as the bottom & top edge.

Once again Don helped my with his level to make sure

it was level.  Mission accomplished. 

 You know the story... for a closer

look click on any photo.

When we lived in AZ I made a similar collage.

However I cut any photo larger than 4" x 4" into separate shapes and

glued them on a  black matte board and left a 1/4" space between

the photo segments,

 

so the black would show around each individual shape.

For example the sunset photo across the top

required that I  print out 12 individual 4" x 4"

squares from my enlarged photo... which I also did on my computer.

It hung on the wall above the pull down murphy bed in

our second bedroom!!!  We left it there when we left AZ...

Maybe it's time for a road trip to take some scenery shots

and get out of this 7 day over 100 degree heat wave.

Hey Don, I have an idea...

Big Bird Update PLUS Colorful Turkeys

My last blog left off with a bald eagle and

a great white pelican (with no eyes).

Well the eyes I ordered from the taxidermy website and

the "Fabric and Craft Gorilla Glue" I ordered,  arrived on the same day

The great thing about this glue is that it dries instantly and you

don't have to hold it in place for 30 minutes.

So what do you think?

I just dabbed the glue on the backing paper on the

wrong side of the eye and pressed it on the fabric for

a few seconds!!!

Last Thanksgiving while walking around the neighborhood,

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this inflatable turkey.

Pretty Colorful...

And as you have noticed we have lots of wild (not so

colorful) turkeys around our community... some gather

for a visit on the park benches and

others strut there stuff in the greenbelt area behind

our home.

Then I saw this cute photo somewhere and snapped

a picture of it.  Colorful don't you think?

It made me think of that colorful fabric packet

that I purchased at a quilt show, 

which I partially used to create my houses banner....

So I stylized and simplified and created my own pattern

for this colorful turkey and laid out the arrangement on

the kitchen counter.  Looking Good!!!

So I went to my thread drawer and selected the right colors

red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple for the feathers

and brown, black and orange for the body of this cute and

colorful turkey.

I stitched each piece onto the background fabric which has a

light grey pattern which made the colors POP.  I used  a "blanket"

stitch around all the outside curves and a straight stitch on

the inside curves.  Sounds complicated but my new machine

can handle all that without me doing anything but stopping

the machine and dialing in the next stitch I want use.

Piece of cake, a little time consuming, but easy.

(Click on any photo for a more detailed look.)

I had also purchased this half yard of fabric at another

quilt show, just because I couldn't resist the wild colors.

I haven't finished adding the batting, binding and backing yet,

but this will give you an idea of what the final piece

will look like.  I think it will make a colorful addition

to our holiday decor.

 

Baby Turkey & Backyard Bling

You were introduced to this baby "wild turkey" in the last post.

Well, the next day I saw him follow his mom up our driveway

as they headed for our backyard.   So

I quickly went around the other side of the garage to

see what might happen next.    Mama arrived

and jumped up on the retaining wall

and baby followed suit.

"You want me to do what" baby asked.

"I could get hurt jumping down into all those big rocks!!"

"WOW, that was fun... Let's go exploring and maybe

we can find something delicious to eat."

After turkey watching Don and I headed to Hobby Lobby

to look for some garden art to decorate the higher portion

of the block retaining wall.  I thought the area needed a

little color!!!

This was my favorite frog, so I placed him at  the  top

of the 3 step tier, close to my patio chair,

and placed the large toadstool close by.  The rest of the critters 

marched along the top of the wall.

(Remember to click on any photo for a larger view.)

Friends included a bee, a mama ladybug with

her baby following close behind, a red cardinal and

another frog.

I'm not sure what kind of a critter this was, but I couldn't

resist buying him because he had "'attitude" and as a 

result was  encouraged to climb the palm tree in the 

retaining wall planting area.

Since we get a nice breeze thru this open area,

near our patio furniture, I thought this colorful windmill

would provide a little extra "bling".  

Mission Accomplished!!!

 

Big Birds Blog

In Jan 2016, while winter RVing  in AZ we purchased a winter home

with a raised patio overlooking the desert.  We also had 3 cabinets

that were lighted inside, so I decided they needed 

some stained glass doors where the light could

 highlight them from within.

Since Id never done stained glass before I headed down to the

"glass" room to see what I could learn.  The first person I met

was Linda and she told me she had 30 years of stained glass experience.

So I decided to think big and make a 44" tall piece featuring

a sandhill crane.  Since I'd been a tapestry weaver for 35+ years, I

thought the design process would be similar, so I  got to work,

with a lot of help from my new found friend Linda Lou...

I've always loved pelicans and who can resist a majestic Bald Eagle.

So these were glass projects 2 and 3.

A few years later we moved into a different home in the

same 55+ park and I had no windows or cabinet doors to

house the pelican and eagle, so we mounted them on the

outside walls above our patio set.  Unfortunately when

we left AZ in Oct 2021 I had to leave them in AZ.   I was 

able to bring the Sandhill Crane with us since a friend had

built a frame for it.

It occupied a wall in our guest bedroom in AZ,

and looked great in our new home in CA next to 5 small format

tapestries I wove many years ago.  So that gave my another idea...

Why not make an appliquéd, quilted wall hanging that

would replicate the look of my stained glass sandhill crane,

and feature these 2 big birds in one 35" x 36" piece.

It's always fun to try the same design in another medium,

as you've seen in some of my other blogs.

As usual, I selected a wild "backing" fabric (that

that wraps around the front),

to create a 1/2" "binding" around the entire edge of the hanging.

And as you walk into our living room, this is what you see.

Remember to click on any photo for a larger view.  If you

do that on this photo, you'll notice that the birds on the

right can't see yet because they have no eyes.  I ordered 

authentic bald eagle and great white pelican "glass eyes" from

a taxidermy site on-line and they won't arrive for 10 days!!!