Finding Inspiration

I'm counting the days until I can unpack my boxes and really dig into the creative projects on my "To Do" list. Right now, I'm holding my own with a limited supply of fabric and materials (and space!). I absolutely cannot bring one more additional scrap into the space we're living in.

Well... maybe one more thing... or three...

Ballard Designs, oh, how you taunt me. Your catalogs are filled with furniture, fabric, and pretties that I want, want, want! And you know I can't shop right now.

Seriously... do you get this catalog? I find every page of each issue so inspirational.

This week was no exception. I turned the page and came across this.

I'm dreaming daily of my future sewing room and thought that a similar project would be perfect for my space, with a personal spin.

I gathered my supplies.

3 - 12" x 12" art canvases
My old book (purchased for projects like this)
X-Acto knife
Ruler
Scrap fabric
Mod Podge
Any ol' craft brush I could find in my son's art supplies
Glue gun

You can see that Ballard's artwork is fashioned out of newsprint. I planned to utilize fabric layered over book pages. And, rather than fashion images, I wanted to depict dress-making icons. I found some images that I was able to convert into silhouettes. I used Adobe Illustrator to create my templates.

I estimated that I'd need 8 pages to cover each canvas. I used the ruler and X-Acto knife to remove a total of 24 pages from my old book. I wanted the pages to have straight edges, rather than torn.

I applied a thin coat of Mod Podge to the back of each page and applied in alternate directions until the canvas was covered.

**Lesson Learned** Because the pages are layering on top of each other, it is important to apply the Mod Podge in a thin coat. The thicker the coat, the longer it takes to dry. You can see from the photo below, my pages wrinkled in the spots where the Mod Podge was too thick.

I used my templates to cut out the shapes and affixed the fabric to the canvas with Mod Podge.

By the way, I apologize for the quality of these photos. I was working on this late last night so natural light was absent!

And, just because I can't leave well enough alone, I fashioned small rosettes out of fabric and paper to embellish the dress. There are many wonderful tutorials online for creating these flowers out of fabric spirals and a glue gun. Here's one example.

I love the way this first canvas turned out. It will really make an impact once all three canvases are complete and hung together. I'll be sure to post photos when I complete the dress form and scissors.

As a trio, the Ballard art would have cost more than $200. I'll have less than $20 invested in all three of my pieces. What a steal!!

Thanks for stopping by this weekend! I'm always excited to read your comments and hear about what you are working on (or what you wish you had time to create!). I hope that I inspire you as much as you inspire me!