Rust Dyeing : Another Go-Round

I pulled out the rust-dyed items I did last summer. At the time, I was really disappointed with them. Now--with the perspective of 1 year later, I have a different point of view. They are (for the most part) subtle, but ok.

I decided I would give it one more try before I totally give up on this. I really want to get results similar to Lynda's gorgeous pieces at Purple Missus.

I bought the Rust-Tex CD-Rom from Lois Jarvis, along with some rust dust, and rust flakes. Although--armed with the CD, I now also have the knowledge to make my own. I also bought some ferrous sulphate from a natural dye supplier in Missouri--so I will try the Purple Missus recipe again, as well. Part of my problem last summer may have been not having the correct form of iron sulphate fertilizer.

I also purchased some cast iron trivets and garden decs at an excellent sale at Hobby Lobby last spring. I'm hoping (once I rough them up and they begin rusting) that these will offer some nice image transfers.



Preliminary results look promising.
* Rust-Tex Trees with steel wool
I'll leave this to "develop" for a few more days. It looks good so far!

My husband is wondering why I continue to pursue this. Why can't I just chalk it up to a failed experiment and go on to techniques that work better for me ... Because this should be fool-prrof! I am determined to have some success with rusting technique.

Stay tuned ...

Paper Clay Medallions

I spent an evening last week, pressing paper clay balls into intersting textures (shoe bottoms, picture frames, foam stamps, texture plates, etc.) I prefer the BLACK paper clay over the white for the depth of color once painted.

I would LOVE to get permission to walk around Hobby Lobby sometime with an open package (purchased) of paper clay, pulling impressions from all the neat home-dec stuff they stock. Something tells me they would not appreciate that--although, they are artsy people, so they might be okay with it ... I should just ask.

On Sunday, I pulled out the paints and made the white paper clay come alive with Golden Fluid Acrylics. It really is the paint, not my poor painting talents.

What do I plan to do with these?
Decorating a new round of journal covers.

Allie's in Stitches came up with an ingenious way of attaching pebbles to her textile pieces with a pre-strung button in which the button was glued to the pebble. I will try a variation of that.

Although the paper clay is soft enough to sew through, it is not durable. After a while, the thread wears through the paper clay, and breaks it. Glue was stronger and stuck to the journal cover, but the paper clay tore off anyway. There's got to be a more delicate balance. I'm hoping the button approach will be the answer.

New Journals - Leather

Wondering what I did with that leather I bought a few weeks ago?
I used them for journal covers.


This one came out kind of interesting ... The scrap of leather was too small to make a regular sized one, so I folded it down on itself and made a 1/2-size journal.


As usual, the signatures are sewn in.


2 run-of-the-mill journals with leather covers.


This one has a wrap-around cover.
I used a polymer clay bead (purple and gold) I made a while back.

4-Patch Posey Quilt Top

I finished the 4-patch posey quilt top I've been working on for eons.

This was supposed to be a quilt for my mother-in-law. She'd been living with cancer for the past few years. This was intended to keep her cozy and warm during chemo-treatments (if that's possible). However, she died in May of this year--never telling any of us how sick she really was.

Any ideas on how to quilt it?