Monday, October 23, 2017

Meditative Wind Chimes with Kuchi patch



Today I am sharing a set of wind chimes I created using many of the fabulous papers and textiles from Gwen Lafleur's Mixed Media online store.


There are many steps here in my post,but rest assured the hardest part of making these chimes was the patience in waiting on the drying paints!

First,here is a list of the items I used,then I will go over my steps with you.

Better grab a cuppa,lots of photos!

Gwen's Ornamental Peacock Feather Stencil
Gwen's Decorative 6 Petal Flower Screen Stencil
Gwen's Art Deco Flower Medallion Stencil
Irresistible India Mini Wood Block Stamps~Leaves
I also used another Wood block stamp not listed in the store- it was a special gift from Gwen upon her return from India,such a treat!Thank you Gwen!
Going Global Small vintage Kuchi Patch
Going Global Hmong Embroidered Star
Gwen's Essential Florentine Paper Sample Pack
Gwen's Essential Marbled Paper Sampler Pack
Gwen's Essentials's Emerald Creeks~Enhanced Gold Pearl Embossing Powder
Gwen's Beautiful Butterflies Collage Download
Gwen's Lovely Lotus Collage Download
Sari Ribbon from Darn Good Yarn
Darn Good Yarn Sample Pack

I had the idea in my head of what I wanted to do,so I assembled a mass of materials to pour through for my inspiration...



Once I had my chosen papers,stamps and stencils,I went to town putting down the color;golds and blues,turquoise and magenta.
 I had so much fun laying down the stencils and stamp marks and that glorious color!

Some I even got a little crazy with,and added embossing  using the wood block stamps and Emerald Creek's Enhanced Gold Pearl.

While waiting for the paint to dry and in between layers,I did my fussy cutting of the Butterfly and Lotus collage papers. I chose these two downloads not only for the beauty of these sheets but also because the Lotus reminds me of serenity and Butterflies of the beauty of change.

Above are some of the background papers I created using Gwen's stencils.

When these papers were dry,using a template I made from a container lid,I cut circles in pairs out of the papers till I felt there was enough.

Below, are my circles....

some of these I painted with an overall wash watered down turquoise and magenta acrylics

Next, using my sewing machine,I stitched two circles together, leaving a small space for stuffing.
Knowing that these circle papers alone would blow too much and possibly tangle,this is where I came up with the idea to stuff them with some paper grass and add glass marble halves for weight 

Once stuffed I finished closing the circle with more machine stitching.
The idea worked brilliantly!The weight was just enough,as I hoped!

Then,I set about to adhering with gloss matte medium some of the Butterflies and Lotus flowers I had cut onto some of the circles and left them to dry overnight.

First thing in the morning,I began stringing together the circles, using the jewel colored yarns from the Darn Good Yarn sample pack.
To do this,I simply used an awl to push through the papers, and then threaded the yarn through.

(A tip here is that I used a tiny bit of strong glue where the knot was tied so that it would not come undone from excessive movement or overtime)


As I strung,I varied the length of the strung yarn pieces as well as what size circle went where and then I also added vintage jingle bells in different sizes between these circles.

Somewhere along the way,I worked on the actual hanger for the strung circles and bells.

What I used are two different size embroidery hoops that I covered in glue and wrapped with gorgeous Sari ribbon,overlapping each wrap of the Sari.

When this was done,again using the Darn Good Yarn,I wrapped and strung together the two hoops,tying knots,adding strong glue at the secure point and made sure to keep sides as even and the yarn as taut as I could.

This was also left to dry overnight.

Once everything was dry and strung it was time to hang each row onto the hoops. At this point I also added more Sari as the main hanger pieces on four sides to give balance.

Hoping you get the idea from the photos as it was hard to string and photograph,and honestly, I was making this up as I went. I suppose a video would be good for this- maybe next time!
 

 finally,I added was my small Kuchi patch,which had been thought of to use on another project,but when I daydreamed these chimes,I just knew the Kuchi belonged here.



So, I added papers to the back of the Kuchi and let that dry.

When dry,I very,very carefully drilled down through the felt on the Kuchi,lengthwise,wide enough to get a darning needle through. And then I darned the needle with some maroon Sari and pulled it through the Kuchi as well as through two vintage Tibetan bells I had found some time ago.
 Once that was done,using strong hold glue,I adhered the Hmong embroidered star of the back of the Kuchi,completing the center hanging.





and now just throwing this out there...
Kuchi's are still on sale over to Gwen's till the end of this month-there's still time to get a great deal on these!





and now for the rest of this post,I am sharing lots of photos as it was truly difficult to the capture the beauty of my wind chime.
my opinion of course to which my husband agrees~lol





































Phew, have you seen enough?heehee

I just wanted you to have a look at all the beautiful color and patterns that make up,my meditative wind chimes.
 The bells I used are soft enough and make the slightest tingling in the gentle breeze-just enough for prayer and meditation.


Thank you so very much for joining me on my artful journey.
 Your thoughts and comments always fill my heart with joy~
Namaste'
Jackie ")





Other supplies used:
Embroidery hoops- 4",10"
E6000Glue
Ranger Glossy Accents
Aleene's Tacky Glue
Embossing Ink
Darling Needle
Awl
Sewing Machine
Vintage Bells-assorted
DecoArt  Media Fluid Acrylics~
Cobalt Turquoise Hue,Primary Cyan,Green Gold,Cobalt Teal Hue,Cerulean Blue,Quinachridone Magenta,Metallic Gold
DecoArt Dazzling Metallics~Rich Espresso



33 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Wow, wow, wow, what a fabulous project. So much beauty and effort in it, it must look amazing in real life. Enjoy watching it and listening to the chimes, may it bring you peace and good vibes. Hugs, Valerie

Janet Ghio said...

WOWIE ZOWIE!!The color!!!

froebelsternchen said...

This project turned out so extremely beautiful - out of this world!
You made it in such a masterly way and it is a fantastic eye catcher -- and each single patch is a beauty on it's own - all together a W*O*W*S*E*R Jackie!
I am totally in awe of it!
Happy new week my dear friend!
oxo
Susi

Karenliz Henderson said...

WOW! You have out done yourself. It's gorgeous so colorful and that patch is perfect. I can hear the chimes from here! Stunning my friend!! 💗

Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith said...

What a fun idea! So abundantly colourful and full of happiness with a bit of tribal feel to it! Wonderfully inspiring!

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Oh Wow Jackie, what a busy lady you've been and so many techniques. I have to say when I saw all those gorgeous circles my brain went into over-ride! They would look great in all kinds of projects. I hope the wind where you are is nice and gentle so that you can enjoy watching the wind chimes and listening to those gorgeous little bells. It's been a bit windy here this weekend though it has settled down again now. It was called Storm Brian HeeHee!
Have a great week, Angela xXx

Darlene K Campbell said...

Dear Miss Jackie Fantastic Mixed-Media Artist...this needs to be in Stampington magazines and/or Cloth Paper Scissors...also keep in mind UPPERCASE magazine. Plus I want to buy one from you so get crackin'! Love and hugs you talented fool...

Electra said...

O.M.G! This is amazing! I don’t even have words!
I bow to you my friend! 🙇

Dorthe said...

Oh Jackie, this is a fabulous project, dear friend. So amazing ,with all the different patches, in jewel colors, and with so much happening on each . Your papers , made even more striking with paints and embossing are little fairy tales each , lovely lady,- and hung together a whole story is told -
So many hours to create , and so many more to enjoy, and be at peace watching you beautiful prayer wind-chime.
Gorgeous art piece, Jackie,
Hugs from Dorthe, xxx

Gwen Lafleur said...

This is absolutely AMAZING Jackie! I totally love it, and it's so fun to see your process! I bet it's so fun to see it moving in the breeze and to hear those Tibetan bells tinkling :) And how fun to see that you already used the woodblock from India - so glad you like it! Thanks for such a gorgeous project!

SandeeNC said...

Wow! I love this you clever girl! I never would have thought about weighing them down, smart idea!!!!!!!!! They are so pretty!

sarascloset said...

PRETTY! What a lot of work and love went into these gorgeous chimes! I bet they sound amazing, because they sure LOOK amazing! Hugs!

ArtyDiva said...

Jackie, my creative girlie...this is simply amazing! I can't wait to see this in person, I am sure the pics don't do it justice! Love, love, love! xoxox

Julie Lee said...

This is so beautiful, Jackie. Our house and garden are full of wind chimes, I love them so much. This one is a delight, so very pretty with all those wonderful, colourful papers and the Kuchi patch. I would love to hear it chime too. xx

Edzellinni aka Linda Edkins Wyatt said...

Jackie, you are amazing! What a creative, outside the box, wonderful idea! I love the pix of it blowing in the wind. Super cool!

Lynda Shoup said...

This is amaaaaazing! I am totally in love with them. You certainly thought through the process. I have a bunch of those glass half beads and this would be just the thing to use them up! So much color! So much pattern! So much beauty! I love these! (Did you guess?) Home run!!

artbyjune said...

So beautifully colourful! I especially love the lotus!

Redanne said...

And it is another big WOW from me too Jackie! I am so glad you took so many photos so that we can all enjoy the beautiful design and glorious colours. Great step by step too - LOVE this!!! Hugs, Anne xx

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Wow Jackie, so many wonderful patterns and designs and what an absolutely fantastic way to use your pieces. Wonderful step,by steps. The colours are so uplifting. Hugs. Tracy x

Renee said...

Wow, Jackie, this is beautiful and amazing. I'm glad you took so many photos, you captured the awesome colors and detail!

VA Beach VA said...

So lovely and what a creative person you are!! I'm a wind chime fanatic and the idea of soft tinkling bells is so dreamy and restive! Thank you for sharing your project with us!!! ~Rachel Bell

Pamellia said...

WOWZERS!! Jackie, this is just incredible!! I've never seen a project like this before, I am so blown away by your creativity! The colours are brilliant, so bold and beautiful! What a great idea to use the glass stones as extra weight so they won't blow away in the wind! The addition of the bells is genius, I bet it sounds just lovely when the breeze catches it! An utterly amazing project from start to finish!!

Our temperatures have been up and down this autumn, but at least the nights are getting cooler and I'm thankful for that. We've had lots of rain and I'm hoping that's a sign that we will get lots of snow this year. Wouldn't that be great!! lol. Hoping all is well, sending hugs :)

aimarii said...

This is the most beautiful wind chimes I have ever seen. I believe their tinglings are so lovely to hear.
Jackie, I think some day I will try to make by myself my own wind chime. Already I have some small bells.

Anonymous said...

Really great project Jackie, love this. xox

Candy C said...

Jackie...this is just so so lovely. The colors...so brilliant and gorgeous against the blue sky. Love your ribbons and yarns as well. Every one of your circles that you have sewn together are so beautiful with all of the stenciling and layers of pattern and color. You should be so proud of this! It's a work of art!

Win Dinn, Artist said...

I always await my Thursday blog feast with anticipation of your wonderful posts, Jackie, and this one is TOTALLY outstanding. I love your wind chimes for the colour and complexity, as well as for the sheer sense of joyousness you've created. Well done, my incredible friend. xo

denthe said...

Geez, Jackie, you are amazing .... I want to sit next to you when you create, I think I could learn so much from you. I love wind chimes, and yours is one of the most beautiful and special I've ever seen. Those colours make me drool .... It's perfect my friend, can't say it any other way ... Keep going, you're on a roll :-) Hugs xxx

Margik said...

What a stunning project, Jackie! I adore wind chimes and this one is absolutely beautiful. Love all the circles designs and bright colors. So creative!!!
Mar :)

Anonymous said...

Hi there. What a delight too see this beautiful project . Love all of the stencils you have, man alive I have to upgrade my stencils. Way to go ... xo. Annette

Gaby Bee said...

WOW, you never cease to amaze me, Jackie! You always have the most creative ideas. What a fantastic project. This wind chime is a real eye catcher and belongs in a magazine!

Gaby xo

Words and Pictures said...

Oh, how fantastic - the colours and the energy and the life of these wonderful mobiles is amazing! I've just been making almost the entire opposite (though you won't see it for a couple of weeks). Glorious inspiration!
Alison x

SewPaperPaint said...

Jackie, this is an incredibly beautiful and creative project! You delight me with your bright ideas and creations. Hope you are well. Hugs, Autumn

AppleApricot Wen said...

such gorgeous details on the chimes! The butterflies and flowers, so beautiful. The bright colours and gorgeous prints you made. And I bet the sounds are amazing too :) Big hugs xx