Explore, Stamp and Play - Material Musings

 

Come and dive into the world of mixed media art, and stamping.


Material Musings: Exploring Stamps, Stories, and Surfaces

Welcome to October’s Material Musings! This month, we’re diving into the wonderful world of stamps, from foam and homemade to digital and store-bought. I’ve gathered a whole collection from my studio shelves, many I haven’t used in years, and it feels like rediscovering old creative friends.

I first started experimenting with foam stamps made from a roll of camping mat my son once used for outdoor adventures. That same foam became the base for countless shapes and textures which shows that creativity can come from the most unexpected places!

Throughout October on my channel, I’ll be exploring how to use these different kinds of stamps on fabric and paper, sharing techniques for layering, mark making, and breathing new life into forgotten materials. We’ll also play with office stamps, sentiment stamps, and those mysterious supplies tucked away in drawers — turning them into textured surfaces ready for slow stitching or mixed media projects.

By the end of the month, I’ll gather the fabrics and papers we’ve created and transform them into a final stitched project. So gather your scraps, pull out your stamps, and join me in making something beautifully imperfect — one impression at a time.

Before You go:

Join us on Making Zen - the VIP Pass is now available and will give you access to the courses and bonuses

Sign Up for FREE HERE

Making Zen Teachers

Learn about the Teachers

Making Zen - Get Your FREE Ticket 27th - 31st November 2025

 

 

What to Do with All Those Scraps? Join Me at Making Zen Online Retreat!

Do you have piles of scrap fabric, loose beads, and leftover threads that you just can’t bring yourself to throw away? You’re not alone! The good news is, I’ll be showing you a fun way to recycle them into something truly magical, a gorgeous stitched creature on canvas - An owl to be exact.

And here’s the best part: this project will be part of the Making Zen Online Retreat, happening 27th–31st October 2025.

LEARN MORE

If you’ve never joined before, Making Zen is a textile/arts focused retreat that brings together nearly 30 talented artists, each offering a unique workshop over five creative filled days. The workshops are free to watch for 24 hours, and is plenty of time to dive in, experiment, and connect with other creatives around the world.

If you don't have your ticket yet, don't worry, it is completely free to sign up on the Making Zen website!  My session will be live for 24 hours, and you’ll also have access to a whole lineup workshops. If you’d like extended access, there’s a VIP Pass available too.

While we’re on the topic, here are just a few reasons why textile activities are so beneficial: 

• Boosts mindfulness – Focusing on textures and stitches calms the mind and reduces stress.
• Enhances creativity – Textiles let you play with colors, patterns, and layers in new and exciting ways.
• Improves fine motor skills – Repetitive actions like stitching and weaving strengthen hand-eye coordination.

So gather up those scraps, save the date, and come stitch with me! I can’t wait to share this beautiful process with you at the retreat.

Sign up for you spot for FREE HERE

Digital Art Papers - October - Patreon

 

Here are the papers for October's Digital Download on Patreon for the $3 Tier.   If you join us on the $3 Tier you will have access to all the previously posted content which spans 3 years and includes digital and video resources for your creative project.

We have a Free Tier and a set of papers for you to access for the month and a series of exclusive posts and videos on the tier so that you can wet your feet and see how you like it.   

Free Tier Papers 

The aim for the papers are to encourage you to do something creative with what you have and provide you with beautiful imagery that you can play around with.

 

It is very important to find ways in which you can motivate and encourage yourself, especially in those times where you are feeling off or if you want a low energy project or even only have a short time.

The digital downloads are available on Patreon for you to enjoy, why not come and check it out and have a play with the papers.

Find out more HERE

Free Digital Art Papers on Patreon - Creative September!

Have you got your Digital Art Papers Yet?

When you join on the FREE tier of my Patreon, you get access to a set of monthly Digital Art Papers.  Here is the current one for the month that you can use in your creative project.  We release the October papers on the 1st October. 

Make sure that you sign up to our FREE Patreon to access the next set of papers and to check the September ones out.

You can access your papers HERE!

Join us for Making Zen - Online Creative Retreat

Making Zen is back on 27th - 31st October 2025 and I am one of 30 teachers

It is a FREE, 5-day online retreat to spark creativity, peace, and connection - wherever you are in the world - with:

- 30 textile artists - check them out
- Beginner-friendly workshops
- Welcoming community of makers
- Dates 27–31 October 2025

My lesson is called Stitched Creatures - we will be taking all of our scrap fabrics - the ones you cannot bear to throw away, beads, slow stitching and a canvas and bringing them together

If you are ready to dive deeper, the VIP Pass is available now with early access to the retreat lessons starting 6 October, ongoing workshop access, and exclusive gifts from all the artists.

I would love you to join us on this fantastic creative activity🤩🤩

You can sign up HERE

Stitched Folk, Side Kicks and Solar Dyeing - Material Musings

   

This month in Material Musings, creativity thrived in unexpected ways. I have really been inspired by the students take of my lesson on Fodder School.  Some experimented with turning their 'make fodder' into brooches, journals, and coasters - it was inspiring to see ideas all the ideas take shape. 

I managed to create a fabric cover for my 'Side Kick' journal shared by Wendy from Fodder School - you can check out the projects HERE 

Join us on Material Musings below

As I played around with the solar dyed fabric, I used some of my handmade stamps to enhance the designs.  I had to stay flexible with my unexpected results.

Solar dyeing with flowers produced surprising colors, turning “mistakes” into unique textures. Fabric scraps found new life in stitched clusters, pockets, and homemade stamps featuring birds, abstract shapes, and dandelions. 

I also launched Stitched Folk, exploring stitched figures on canvas, the course is fun and you get to create your own stitched canvas piece. 

 Looking forward to seeing you!

Exciting News: Gratitude Junk Journal 2025 + A Free Spot Giveaway!

I am so excited to share some wonderful news with you, I will be teaching in Gratitude Junk Journal 2025, a beautiful online workshop hosted by the Tiare Smith! This year promises to be better than ever, and I couldn’t be happier to be part of it.

Alongside 12 other inspiring artist instructors, we’ll be guiding you through 30 days of joy, creativity, and gratitude. Together, we’ll open our hearts, celebrate our creative spirits.

But that’s not all…

I’m giving away a FREE spot in Gratitude Junk Journal 2025! 

How to Enter the Giveaway:

Giveaway runs until 30th September!

• Make sure you are a member of my Patreon (You can join here on the FREE tier or higher). 
• Leave a comment on the giveaway post sharing two things you’re grateful for in your creative journey.

You can also grab two additional chances to win [HERE].

What You Can Expect from the Workshop:

Every day, you’ll receive a new creative challenge designed to help you reflect, play, and practice gratitude. Some days it will be a question to ponder, other days a fun activity or art prompt. Each little step will guide you toward discovering more joy and creative flow.

By the end of the workshop, you’ll walk away with: 

• A beautiful altered book transformed into your personal gratitude journal.
• Gorgeous art journal pages filled with meaning.
• A daily practice of gratitude that sparks creativity and helps reduce stress.
• New ways to use what you already have to make amazing art.
• Techniques for backgrounds, layers, and textures you’ll use again and again.
• A JOY-filled heart, more love, and a smile that comes from deep within.

This isn’t just about making art, it’s about connecting with gratitude, finding inspiration in the everyday, and reminding ourselves of the light and joy that lives inside us.  Are you ready to Join Us?

If this sounds like something that speaks to you, don’t miss your chance to enter the giveaway today! Sign up for FREE and Leave your comment on Patreon and you and will be entered into the prize draw.

👉 ENTER TO WIN TODAY!

I am looking forward to seeing you inside Gratitude Junk Journal 2025 and share this creative journey with you.

With many blessings,
Amanda 💖

Reflective Fabric Adventures - Material Musings

 

Come and join me on Material Musings today as we get reflective over the work we have done on the eco dyeing at the moment.

Unraveled: Finding Balance in the Chaos - Arts and Wellness Cafe

 

Life has a way of unraveling just when we think we have everything under our control. Routines fall apart, and the tidy systems we worked so hard to build can suddenly feel like a tangled mess. But what if “unraveling” isn’t a sign of failure, but an invitation for a change of perspective?

Check out the Video

To unravel is to pause, breathe, and look at the pieces with fresh eyes. It is a time where you can reset or reshape old patterns into something new, something that fits your current situation. We can welcome unraveling as part of the creative process.

In my own practice, I’ve learnt that balance doesn’t come from trying to hold everything together perfectly. It comes from knowing when to let go, when to batch record. Some days it looks like sipping a herbal tea made from plants in my garden.  Other days it’s experimenting or letting stitched work return to nature. It is giving myself permission to rest, knowing that my health and wellbeing will fuel my creativity.

Art reminds us that beauty often comes from the imperfect and the unfinished.

Here are four reflections to think about when things feel unraveled:

1. Pause - Instead of rushing to fix, ask what’s really happening. Is this falling apart, or reshaping itself?
2. Rest as Renewal - Sleep and hydration aren’t luxuries; they’re the foundation for creativity and clarity.
3. Work with Nature - Look to cycles in the natural world. What can you learn from leaves, or seasons about letting go?
4. Find the Message - Your art doesn’t have to be perfect. Sometimes the “unraveled” pieces carry the most honest stories.

Before You Go....

LEARN MORE

Owl's Art Journal Adventure - Second Saturday Art

Here is a nice little art journal page that I did as part of my collaboration with Second Saturday art.  I thought I would have a play about in my journal What are you working on? 

I thought I might try making this into a stitched piece as well at some point.  There are so many ways that you can present your work, even as a stuffed piece. I have created a small, stitched piece with beads, so a stuffed or stitched one that uses the same colors might look really cute.

Check it out the Owls story at the end of the video.

Get 'Early Release' videos on my Patreon Channel and some Behind the Scenes content.

Too Good to Use? Exploring Eco Dyed Fabrics & Garden Plants

Have you been sitting on your creative projects?  Maybe you have tools, supplies, or even beautiful pieces you’ve already created, but you’re “saving them for best”? I know that feeling well and am there too!

Recently, I got all excited about starting some solar dyeing (which I am still going to do), but in the process, I almost forgot about the eco dyeing projects I had already worked on and the joy I found in creating them. 

Hand Dyed Fabric 

Do you have fabrics you’ve dyed that feel too good to use because the colors or patterns you created can’t be repeated? That’s exactly where I’m at. I have a box full of fabrics that I hold up and admire now and then, but I never use them in my creative projects… until now.

So in today’s Material Musings, we’ll:

• Explore some of my favorite past eco dyeing projects.
• Take a walk through the garden to identify potential plants for solar dyeing.
• Open up my stash of “saved” fabrics and bring out some stamps to play and experiment. 

It’s all about remembering the joy of creating, exploring what’s possible, and actually using what we make. Will you join me?

Join us on the FREE Tier Patreon for behind the scenes and early release content.

Join us for FREE on Patreon HERE 

Textile Art Adventures - Material Musings

 

Welcome to Material Musings where we look at a range of fabric projects, see what is inspiring us and elements that we can add to enhance our projects each week.

I also share some of the new items that have made their way into the studio - I found a felt kit supplier.  I share in my Amazon Store other felting products which you can check out - get it online HERE

Experimenting with Felt

Here are the artfoamies on fabric, I have created a variety of looks with the foam stamps.  Check out some of my Digital Art downloadable files here

ArtFoamies by Amanda Trought

Every week I share on Material Musings different projects and creations made with fabric, you can get early access for FREE on my Free Tier on Patreon - Check it out HERE

Playing with Fabric - Having Fun!

 Playing with Fabric and Having Fun

Weekly Material Musings

With September moving fast, things are busy and so exciting  - I am in my fabric element! 

In Fodder School, I’m sharing my fabric lesson as the final teacher for Fodder School 4. All through September, you join me for a month of fabric play and creativity.  We have had so many gorgeous examples of how students have worked on their own fabric - it is wonderful to see how we can have the same instruction and create so many varied outcomes.  You can check them out on my Instagram Highlights

In the first part of the month we dive into ways to work with the fabric.  No experience is needed, just bring your curiosity!  If you’re already comfortable with fabric and mixed media, you’ll have plenty of room to add your own spice to the fodder we make together - in fact it is a must!  we focus on making our fabric fodder and seeing how many different ways we can make marks on the surface with the tools that we have.  I’ll guide you through ways I use my own stamps and stencils on fabric and we make a handmade stamp that you can keep using for future projects.

This month is extra special because I’ve collaborated with Fodder School and ArtFoamies to bring out my very own set of ArtFoamies! I share in a bonus lesson how I use my ArtFoamies on Fabric.   You can also explore my digital stamp sets in my Etsy store if you’d like even more creative tools - I have created a whole series of images that you can use in your creative projects.

ArtFoamies Variations

In the second half of September - which is fast approaching, we’ll take all of the fodder we’ve made and turn them into mini wall hangings, which you can hang as is or put in a frame.  They are also perfect for gifting, or simply adorning your creative space. You will have plenty of extra fabric fodder to keep experimenting in your other projects too - Wendy did a bonus video that shows us how to make a 'Side Kick Journal', which is so calling my name to be made from all of the fabric I have in my stash!  Susanna also shows us how she uses the ArtFoamies she designed in her projects on eco dyed fabric and watercolors.  Some great ideas to play around with.

Sunday Reflections & Material Musings

Sunday Reflections

Sundays are the perfect time to reflect on the week ahead, restore, and refresh your batteries. I’d love for you to join me in Material Musings each week, where I’ll share what fabric projects we’re working on next. It’s a gentle creative space to spark ideas, encourage your own practice, and remind you that making is meant to be joyful and part of your everyday activity.

Wherever you are at in your journey, come and join us and let us stitch, stamp, and play with all that delicious fabric we are sitting on!! 

Digital Art Papers September - Patrons

 

Here are the papers for September's Digital Download on Patreon for the $3 Tier.   If you join us on the $3 Tier you will have access to all the previously posted content which spans 3 years and includes digital and video resources for your creative project.

We have a Free Tier and a set of papers for you to access for the month and a series of exclusive posts and videos on the tier so that you can wet your feet and see how you like it.   

Free Tier Papers 

The aim for the papers are to encourage you to do something creative with what you have and provide you with beautiful imagery that you can play around with.

 

It is very important to find ways in which you can motivate and encourage yourself, especially in those times where you are feeling off or if you want a low energy project or even only have a short time.

The digital downloads are available on Patreon for you to enjoy, why not come and check it out and have a play with the papers.

Find out more HERE

ArtFoamies Adventure - Come and Join Us!!

Come and join us on the ArtFoamies Adventure.  The Art foam Stamps that I designed have been released and I will be sharing the stamps over the course of the week so you can see some of the ways in which you can use them.

Check out some of my Digital Art Stamps over in my Etsy Store!

Creating with Fabric in Fodder School 4 - My Lesson Approaches!!

 

What will you be doing in September?  Have you heard of Fodder School, why not come and check it out and I will share what I am doing as a teacher in Septembers Fodder School 4.

As the final teacher for Fodder School 4 you can come and join us for the whole of September watch the lessons and come away with an amazing aray of Fabric embellishments that you can use in your creative projects and we are going to have a fun time in the lessons that will last from the 1st until 30th September.

You will learn a range of different techniques that you can apply to Fabric. No previous experience is necessary but if you do have experience you can include your own spice to the fabric fodder we create.  We will be going through all the different techniques in the first part of the month to create our fodder - which will consist of painting on fabric, stamping & stenciling, doodling, layering, sewing and more - all that good stuff.

I will show you how I use my stamps and stencil on fabric, and we will create a small handmade stamp that you can use in all your future projects. 

I have also just collaborated with Fodder School and ArtFoamies and we have bought out my own set of ArtFoamies and I will be sharing some of the ways that I have used them.  You can check out my sets of Digital stamps on my Etsy Store

In the second part of September in Fodder School we will be taking all the Fodder we have created and use them to create mini wall hangings that you can hang or frame the choice is yours.  You will also have so much created fabric fodder that you will be able to use them on other projects as well.

Join us in Fodder School 4, all the lessons are self-contained and complete in themselves, and you will join a very supportive and encouraging group of creatives!

Before You go:

Check us out on Patreon for FREE

Working with Beads, Felts - Visual Feast

 

Welcome to this weeks Material Musings take out your fabric and beads and lets have some fun on our projects!

I love collecting beads and have done so for many years, so much so that some of the beads would be considered 'Vintage'.  Come and join me and see just a fraction of the collection - a visual feast for the eyes!

Here are some of the collection - all different sizes and colors

I love using the beads on my fabric projects especially the ones with figures.

Before you Go

Making Fodder with Carrie Smith - Fodder School 4

 As one of the teachers on Fodder School 4 we also get to work alongside the lessons and share our take of the teacher for the months lesson.

This month we see Carrie Smith and her delightful embellished circles that will be used for a later 'Use Fodder Project' which I will share in the next post.

For now I have been having fun creating these embellished circles and getting them ready for their next stage.

Here are some of them:

I created a bonus lesson which shows you how to turn your practice or 'wipe off paper' in to lovely circles that you can use in this project.

You can check out Fodder School and Carrie Smiths Art and some of the other designs that I have done on my Instagram - HERE.  Fodder School 5 will be starting in October more information HERE

Before Your Go