Category Archives: Embroidery &Mixed Media Art

Project roundup: some things I’ve been working on!

Projects by Suzanne Forbes March to May 20 2020As usual, I have lots of small bricolage and embroidery projects going, so here’s a roundup!

Motto of EG embroidered by Suzanne Forbes WIP May 2020My Beloved Friend-Muse-Patron Eva said something on twitter I thought made good sense, so I embroidered it as a motto.

On bug fabric of course! It was my first time embroidering text, which is harder than you’d think. I tried two new things.

First, I printed the text on regular paper and used my new LED lightbox to project it through the light cotton fabric. Then, when the piece was finished, I sprayed the hell out of both sides of it with craft fixativ.

Motto of EG embroidered by Suzanne Forbes May 2020On the rare occasions when I’ve done a piece this big, I have had problems with the fabric warping or wrinkling. Especially the big cotton octopus. So I am hoping the craft fixativ, which is an acrylic film, will help prevent moisture from making the fabric stretch.

If you would like to see truly excellent embroidering of (often salty) text mottos, visit my SIL Caitlin’s Insta.

Sacred Heart Bricolage by Suzanne Forbes May 2020 Sacred heart embroidery bricolage!

Sacred Heart Bricolage detail by Suzanne Forbes May 2020I used a commercial heart appliqué as the base and sewed it onto velvet, then heavily re-embroidered it all and added crystals, beads and red plastic pearls from a New Orleans bead string with a lobster on it that had been in my materials stash for decades.

I like to make Sacred Hearts every year, because they are such a powerful symbol of faith. I guess I need a lot of faith this year, cause this is the second one I’ve made so far and it’s only May!

 

Dragonfly pillbox hat!dragonfly pillbox hat Suzanne Forbes march 2020

No filter, the colors are actually that bright.

I had had this dragonfly floating around in my crafts supplies for at least ten years, getting bent up and dusty. I rescued it, rehabilitated it, studded it with jewels, and attached it to this bright blue commercial pillbox base. I happened to have ordered some hat veiling with velvet dots and some purple pompom trim that all matched perfectly. It all came together delightfully and I really look forward to wearing it outside at some point, Goddess willing.

More bricolage projects coming soon, with a VERY wild insect dolly and her bird-horse steed, when I go on Make-Cation on May 20 🙂

Ice Queen Crown made of Trash!

Ice Queen Crown on pillows by Suzanne Forbes March 2020Well, not entirely of trash, but there’s some trash in there!

No new materials purchased to make this crown for a fabulous Snow Queen or Winter Witch except the headband base. Yeah, it’s not exactly seasonal, but I had a lot of pretty snow and ice materials around from the Snow Queen projects of years ago. And besides, this is one of the projects I’m gonna raffle or donate for queer community fundraisers when quarantine is over, so maybe it won’t even be out in public for months!

Ice Queen Crown center by Suzanne Forbes March 2020Sometimes another artist’s creative work hits me so hard it haunts me (benevolently) for years.

Such was the case with Nifer’s Gashlycrumb Tinies costume for the Edwardian Ball in 2009. Her genius in creating the costume for Winnie, Embedded in Ice, was so great that I can see it in my mind’s eye like a photograph any time I want. I always wanted to do something icy like that, with transparent and glitter frosted materials. Finally, last month, I did!

Ice Queen Crown detail 2 by Suzanne Forbes March 2020The frontispiece of this headpiece is a piece of flexible plastic from a box or something, cut into curving, wavelike shapes along the top.

Then I used my finger to smear interference paint (the same interference paint, once I get going with a material I keep going!) on the back, and then I dusted lavender-blue micro-glitter over the wet paint.

Ice Queen Crown WIP 2 by Suzanne Forbes March 2020Once the paint on the back was dry, I glued the plastic strip to the wide blue headband I had already built out with plastic icicles and blue glitter vinyl spikes. Then I decorated the curved top edge of the plastic with opalescent and iridescent crystals and beads.

I had saved the plastic bags the PVA for my 3D printing pen came in. They were slightly cloudy and had a rounded shape from holding the coils of PVA filament. I cut them into round tabs, gathered the tabs at their bases with wire, smeared interference paint on them, and dredged them in glitter.

I also did some ombre business with silver and teal microbeads! I love microbeads, which are also easily found under the name “nail art caviar beads”!

Ice Queen Crown fans WIP by Suzanne Forbes March 2020And I made some little curliques of beads on wire, cause why not. And tucked some tufts of that galaxy tulle in the fans as well. You can see a little video of me dredging them in glitter here.

Haven’t you always wanted to be DREDGED IN GLITTER?

Actually, I know you – you have been!

Ice Queen Crown outside by Suzanne Forbes March 2020So I gluegunned the plastic fans on, and added resin snowflakes and a swirl of silver wired ribbon at the front and poufs of a different silver wired ribbon at the back. I am gonna use up this Snow Queen stuff  at some point!Ice Queen Crown on Suzanne Forbes March 2020