A TECHNIQUE DRIVEN Blog dedicated to mastery of surface design techniques. First we dye, overdye, paint, stitch, resist, tie, fold, silk screen, stamp, thermofax, batik, bejewel, stretch, shrink, sprinkle, Smooch, fuse, slice, dice, AND then we set it on fire using a variety of heat tools.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Embellishment examples


I have used a number of embellishment techniques over the years in my fiber arts projects, and thought I would share some of them here in keeping with Quilter Beth’s wonderful tutorials for January.

In this example, I used beading to represent the bumps on the cactus, 
and hand stitched the ‘stickers’.



This is an art quilt I did for our annual ‘Recycled Art’ exhibit. It consists of hand
dyed fabric scraps, buttons, couched chenille yarn, bark and vintage beads.



In this piece, I used metallic thread, embroidery and beads as my Embellishments.


Here, I did a lot of embroidery, applique and beading to accent this 'Crazy Quilt' vest.



This is a framed  piece with two fiber  post cards created with various Surface design techniques, including couched eyelash yarn and beading.


And finally, this is a beaded butterfly purse I made several years ago using mostly vintage bugle beads.

What I like about using embellishments in my work is the personality they add.  They can transform a good piece into one with much more visual interest.  My only caution would be to use embellishments as you would icing on a cake.  I try to use them sparingly so they do not overpower the piece.  Thanks to Quilter Beth for her wonderful posts... I'm inspired to take some time to try some of the techniques she shared that I haven't yet tried!

6 comments:

  1. The way you embellish inspires me a lot...

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  2. WOW Such a beautiful cards Thanks for Sharing...
    Print VIP cards

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  3. beautiful work and so different.
    Gives me inspiration.

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  4. I really enjoyed seeing your embellishment examples. Aren't we a diverse group of artists? Your beads and stitching on the cactus are the perfect way to represent the texture of the surface of the cactus.

    Your butterfly is delicate and beautiful. The beads add such a nice sparkle to this piece.

    You are SO right about embellishments, though. I have definitely seen embellishments that overpower the work and do nothing to add to the design.

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  5. I love the way you use embroidery and beading on your work! The white beads as the moon and its rays... the gorgeous butterfly (BTW, if you feel like you kept that purse long enough, my birthday will be coming up soon! Just saying!). I am your newest follower.

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