HI THERE! Every month I am enjoying changing my space to reflect the season…Here in Ashland, OR everything is popping up green.Bulbs and trees are flowering and the warm weather feels like it is almost here to stay. The dressform  displays a revamped piece that I have added more fabrics to, changed the buttons, added  some pleats in the back for more fit  and enhanced the design on the front with stenciling. the pants are one of my favorite variations on my Capitola Pant Pattern #115 with extra width pleated and held with white embroidery thread stitching lines. I like the way the white stitching will carry this black pant into my summer wardrobe of arty white linen and cotton tops. The Gardening Vest and Journal  cover are from my Creative Companion pattern #110. I stenciled all my favorite plant stencils in various green  fabric paints (Jacquard) on the long front, canvas panels. It is a great design and fun to make:  The long fronts get pleated up to create pockets -easy, easy! Then The you can stitch the dividers for the pockets based on what you will use them for. I drilled GIANT Rubber bugs and sewed them on ‘buttons’( with snaps inside)and used recycled corduroy jeans for the back and included one of the original pockets. The outfit is complete with some oversized spring green pants ( a major find at the thrift store!) and some suspenders. I had fun collaging the suspenders with fabrics, stencils rubber stamps and found buttons and other metal bits. Wall Pieces in Progress- Techniques are the tools of our creativity-for me, Stenciling is one of my favorites.  On my design boards (here on the right),are several small pieces I am working on. I am combining brush painted images with stenciled images. Sometimes I’ll use them for texture or background in a piece. For the brush painting I am usually thinning my fabric paint with water- (although there are products to thin the pigment and keep the viscosity of the paint). I also use permanent ink pens, ( including Jacquards Tee Juice pens) for some of the drawing. If the fabric I make is for clothing…anything I use  has to be permanent. I carry small travel or starter sets of the Jacquard paints on my website. I  like to get my creativity going by having 3-5 pieces of fabric laid out at a time and working back and forth on all of them at once…it takes a bit of the pressure off and keeps the process more fun. Once these pieces are complete, look for these images available as cards and prints on my website. To Create a Design Board: Start with an image you are drawn to ( in this case-it is a lovely botanical illustration). Look at your image through the ‘lense’ of your favorite materials and techniques. In other words- what does it remind you of or suggest? On the right-I have created a wrinkled fabric sample that I have lightly brushed with paint that reminds me of the plant stem in the image. I have also added materials, covered cording, buttons and bits of drawing influenced by some of the other shapes in the illustration. Try not to edit here…just get excited and keep it going…beading would also be beautiful here. The point of the exercise is to take what you love about the image and start to translate the information into other materials and designs. This is  excellent for developing your design eye. The Design board itself is a fabric covered piece of foam core- and attractive to me on my studio wall as is. Saving the best for  last! This little ‘garden plot’ (in the photo to the left) is one of my most joyful creative moment this month! It was an early morning gift that passed through my brain in one of those pre-dawn movies that gently pull me into awake with a smile. I couldn’t wait to get to my paper stash with tea in hand to find the dirt. After folding the brown paper into rows…I poked bits of green fabrics up into the creases…kind of like making a hooked rug…..and before I knew it, I had sprouts everywhere! Today someone visiting my studio pointed out the ‘green onions’ …the good stuff is magic for sure. I hope you are finding the magic in your studio today, Diane