Embroidery Bobbin Challenge Project

I really had fun with this challenge. Did you know that the square space in the center of an embroidery floss bobbin is 1" x 1"? Did anyone say, "INCHIE!?"

For this project I used cardboard embroidery floss bobbins, fiber and images from the Artasia Minis Femmes sheet (http://www.mailboxmuse.com/Femmes-Image-Strip--Minis-40set-of-241_p_216.html). Additional materials and techniques were also used and are detailed below.

For the first side of the first bobbin, "ART," I used some "trash" to decorate the background. Let me explain: When we go to the various conventions we attend we offer a make-and-take in our booth. The last few make-and-takes have utilized ultrafine glitter. It is a wonderful product, but any of you that have ever used it know that it goes everywhere...it has a mind of its own. At the end of the day our black table cloth is covered in glitter. You can't shake it out. You can't wipe it off. What to do? I came up with the perfect solution: packing tape! I use packing tape strips to lift the glitter off of the table cloth. It works beautifully. As with a lot of great art, I discovered, purely by accident, that these waste strips of cleaned-up glitter make great backgrounds!

After cutting the glitter tape to the desired shape, I adhered it to the bobbin with a glue stick. I then cut out the word "Art" from one of the image strips and then cut out and adhered a small image. I edged the bobbin with ink and wrapped the bottom with a piece of fiber.


The bobbin on the left here was embellished with a mini puzzle piece (http://www.mailboxmuse.com/Tiny-Puzzle-Pieces_p_49.html). I inked the puzzle piece with a coordinating color. The bobbin was finished with ink and fiber.

The "Femmes" bobbin was created like the "Art" bobbin with the exception of the glitter background.

The "heart" bobbin was created by inking the bobbin with a few different inks (direct-to-paper), adding a small clay embellishment (using Makin's Clay and the heart Krafty Lady Art Mould: http://www.mailboxmuse.com/Krafty-Lady-Art-Mould--heart_p_200.html). I used a glue stick to add a little adhesive here and there on the bobbin and then sprinkled glitter on top. I finished the bobbin with ink and fiber.

The "Fashion" bobbin on the right was created by adhering the image and word (cut from an image strip). I then used thin double-sided tape at the bottom and applied gold leaf flakes. (http://www.mailboxmuse.com/Gold-Leaf-Flakes-AND-Double-Sided-Tape_p_118.html). I added a little adhesive in other areas with my glue stick and embellished with more gold leaf. I finished the bobbin with inked edges and fiber.



The last bobbin was created in the same way as the rest. Notice that the Makin's clay embellishment (created with a Krafty Lady Art Mould - this design is sold out) can be cut. How cool is that?

That was my response to the challenge. I
showed you mine, now you show me yours. Post your creation to our Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Altered-Arts-magazine/45128553476?ref=ts

To post on our Facebook page: click on "write something" at the top of the page. You should then see the "add photos" option appear. Your added photo will automatically be included in our Fan Photos album.

Let's Get Creating!!

Note: We now have a kit you can use to create your own floss bobbin flip-book like the one you see here: http://www.mailboxmuse.com/Bobbin-Flip-Book-Kit--Femmes_p_337.html

You can also take a class with me and learn not only how to create this fun book, but also learn some other fun techniques, too. I'll be teaching this 1.5 hour class at the StampScrapArtTour in Pittsburgh, PA July 9, 2010 http://www.stampscraparttour.com/infopage.asp?id=13