Whole Lotta Sewin' Goin' On!

I've found the most luscious silks to work with-- french silk, chinese silk-- deep saturated glorious colors and sumptious textures. It's been a pillow making fest at my place for the last few days. In addition to the silk pillowtop some have black velvet backs and yummy real pearls, carved stone or lampwork glass bead embellishments. The peacock pillow has a real feather at the centerpoint and the dupioni silk colors are breathtaking.
I'm in the process of creating a bunch of pieced cotton pillows too-- a little more lighthearted and fun.
All the pillows I'm making are based on the idea of pieced quilt squares. One of my favorite blocks is called Log Cabin and many of the tops I've doing have my own take on it. The other inspiration is Crazy Quilting, though these don't quite go crazy, just a little quirky. ;)

Marie - Swarovski, how I Love Thee...

I am absolutely in love is Swarovski! I learned a new technique of laying out the crystals on a bed of seed beads.

Take a look!

These bracelets are made up of two rows of 6mm crystals.

These next two beauties are stitched together with five rows of 4mm crystals. I used three colors in each bracelet for a graduating color effect.

The back of the bracelets are almost as pretty as the front.

Hi, I'm Debbie and I create paintings and collage and turn many of the smaller works into cards. This is a beginning post for me so I will post a photo that Charr took as a test. Look for images soon! I'm excited to be working with all of you and look forward to networking with you via this blog!

Marie

I have been an avid crafter for years flitting from one obsession to another. Knitting caught my attention for several years, but most recently I followed the siren's call into beading.

Fresh water pearls and Swarovski crystals seem to be my beads of choice lately. Here are a few samples:

The Burning Hands are here!

We are a crafty group of artisans and all year long endeavor to express our creative selves in myriad ways, delighting all who appreciate art, beauty, skill and the tangible expression of our artistic souls.

Stay tuned as we post and share what we are crafting.

Love,
The Burning Hands

Monique St. John, Handbags

Have Faith Denim Bag
Originally uploaded by msjcouture.

Welcome to MSJ Couture. I'm Monique St. John and I create personalized, one of a kind handbags and clutches. Many of my purses are created using vintage denim, one of my favorite materials. I chose denim because I'm a vegetarian and want to offer high-end fashionable purses for women who want something unique and environmentally responsible. I also love adding other luxurious fabrics like silks and velvets. Many of them are also finished off with hand-beading. You will find semi-precious and glass beads as well as Swarovski crystals, bringing a little sparkle to each beautiful design.



I call this handbag Have Faith and originally designed it with Faith Hill in mind. She is one of my favorite singers. I had the honor of meeting her recently and was delighted to find her so very down to earth and beautiful. Seeing her live is a wonderful experience.

Charr Crail, Silk Artist

I'm Charr and one of my specialties is hand-painted silk scarves. I create original artworks on silk using two different techniques. The first is the Serti technique. I draw an outline with a resist substance onto the silk fabric and paint with silk dyes to put vibrant color into my drawings. Each scarf is carefully steamed to render the artwork on silk permanent and washable. These luscious and colorful scarves become one of a kind original wearable pieces of art, even suitable for framing.
The second technique I use is called Marbling, an ancient art form more closely related to a printing process and quite techniqually challenging.
I work with Silk Satin, Charmeuse, China silk and Chiffons. They each have such different personalities their own beautiful drape and soft flow... *and no, that's not me in the photo. :)


I have also started a new line of decorative pillows. Over the 2006 holidays I created quite a few pillows as gifts and remembered how fun and satisfying they were to make. They really dress up home decor too. Recently I found the most luxurious dupioni silks in gorgeous colors and made this pillow yesterday, embellishing the center with a sweet little carved stone bead.