Kuchi Journal cover Makeover

 Today's post is all about the Kuchi.

 Had you heard of these gorgeous beaded artworks before? I had not till Gwen introduced our Tribe to them.

Shall we begin with a bit of Kuchi 101?

Kuchi's are vintage beaded patches that were made by Afghanistan gypsy people to decorate clothing. These handmade pieces once meant to embellish clothing,come in many shapes and styles.
 Just have a look in Gwen's shop!  
All the visible embroidery or needlework is done by hand and because these are vintage,there may be some missing beads,loose threads,etc. which,in my opinion,only adds to the allure and beauty of these treasures!

What a perfect addition to your mixed media artwork,clothing,or accent to your home decor.

Of course, October is Kuchi patch month for the Artist Tribe so that means that they're also on sale in the shop throughout October. Use the coupon 15OffKuchiPatches to save 15%!

For my Kuchi project, I knew just what I wanted to do...

 I had this journal cover in need of a facelift,so off I went.

 

Started off by covering in white gesso both sides of the cover. 

When the gesso had dried,using heavy gel medium(heavy because of textured journal) I glued down this beautiful sheet of

 Exotic Orient~Chiyogami /Yuzen Paper~Colorful Waves

Next,I mixed gold embossing paste with mica powder and layered a thick coat through the outside ring of

 Gwen's Art Deco Flower Medallion Stencil

 

 Once the paste dried,turns out,I wasn't digging on the copperish looking color. I wanted some POP!

 Out came the gold paint and a quick two coats over the embossing paste.

 When that was dry,again,using heavy gel medium I secured my Kuchi patch into the center of the stencil design.

Now for a bit of Stickles play. 

I  trimmed the outside of the stencil with Black Diamond,along with a few breaks of Gold and a bit more gold in the design.

 Next,continuing with the beading,using Diamond Glaze,I placed those beads one at a time around the Kuchi and the stencil design.

 Did you ever see what a table looks like when auditioning seed beads for color?(and you still haven't put away other product)

 Now,the back page,this was another story all together!

I knew I wanted texture,but just wasn't sure what kind...this went through several stages before I ended up working in flexible modeling paste, trying to recreate some of the wavy pattern from Gwen's paper.

once I was content with my textures,
I added a final layer of polymer gel and allowed it to dry overnight.

In the end, I am pretty happy with the look I achieved. I think I was able to capture the feel of the Chiyogami.

Back to the front,

using Gwen's Essentials~German Dresden Trim~Ornate Border

  I cut 6 pieces apart and made faux hinges for the journal. Again,using Stickles the "hinges" were trimmed up with a bit of black and gold.

And in the center of these faux hinges I attached with E6000 these wonderfully 

Fabulous Florals Czech Glass Beads

Finishing up,I trimmed the edges of the journal with more Black Diamond Stickles.

  And,for my finale I strung a few beads and metal from Going Global Turkmen Jewelry Parts

 onto strips of

 Gwen's Essentials~Sari Ribbon from Darn Good Yarn

and then wove this all through the seam binding  and journal pages.

in  Gwen's words...

"These beautiful handmade vintage Kuchi patches from Afghanistan are unique and versatile and add instant global flair to your projects. "

I do believe Gwen's words spoke of my newly covered journal~Instant Global Flair!

Thanks so much for your visit~ I hope you leave today,feeling inspired! 

If not #Lafleurish

Jackie ")