Stamp Carving

I just realized I hadn't shown these, yet. These are three stamps I carved to use in my art this year. This is the second year that I've made a signature stamp with the year on it to use on my art and art journal. I also want to experiment with tea bag art this year and I think the world could always use a little more kindness. So I hope to get a lot of use out of these stamps. Hopefully more than I have been getting. I haven't been doing much art work recently. It's just been too busy.

Heart Map for Crafters

One of the activities I use with my writing students is the heart map activity. You draw a heart on a sheet of paper and section it off as you write or draw in things that interest you and this "list" gives them ideas of things to write about.

This could also be a great idea for crafters. Think of it as a way to visualize things to include in embroidery or on a quilt. It could be used as a starting point for things to sketch or paint. You could use it to make a collage or to make different pieces of jewelry.

A heart map could even be used on its own as a piece of art. Sketch it out on a piece of muslin, then embroider it and frame it or make it into a small art quilt.

Use individual simple sketches to create your own rubber stamps or stencils.

Add things you like such as coffee or tea. Add tools of your crafty trade.

#craftyheartmap

Define Your Color Palette

If you don't have a good selection of DMC or other floss at home, go to a craft store where there are plenty of colors. Choose 12 colors that are your colors. You might choose a rainbow of colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink), a selection of neutrals (black, white, gray, brown), a monochrome palette (baby blue to deep navy), or just an assortment of colors.

Keep these colors together and work with them. Is there a color you always avoid? (This yellow doesn't go with my other colors!) Switch it out. Maybe a color that you simply must include got left out.

Embroider a project using only these colors. Does one stick out and drive you crazy? Are there any you didn't use? Did you need a color you didn't choose in the beginning? (I love to stitch flowers and I have 6 greens, but no flower colors!) Adapt and change.

Go a step further and narrow these colors to 5. Work from only these colors for a few days. What works? What doesn't? What changes need to be made?

What other crafts you do? Can you find these 12 colors in yarn? In paint? In markers or colored pencils?

Knowing your favorite or most used colors can save you money since you can buy only those colors and know you will use them. Ever bought fabric that you got home with and the color just wouldn't work for anything? Wouldn't it be great to buy a supply and know that color will be used?

You might want to expand the colors to 20 if you need more colors to work with or, perhaps, you decide your just right grouping of colors is 8. Adjust and refine to make it work for you.