Give Yourself Permission to Experiment - Material Musings

This week’s Material Musings has been full of fabric, thread, slow stitching, beads, eco dyeing and plenty of experimenting.

I’ve been working with Seth Apter’s One Layer Away fabrics and Aurifil threads, creating everything from small fabric clusters to a stitched landscape filled with flowers, a little house, prickly pear and wisteria.

I’ve also started another piece using the patterned fabrics to create a face, experimenting with translucent paint over the fabric before adding more stitching, words and beads.

And, of course, there has been more eco and solar dyeing, that I will be using in future creative projects.

 

I used Avocado, neem leaves, annatto seeds and aloe vera, which have all produced their own colors which I am really excited to work with.

We can learn so much about how our fabrics will respond when we take time to play around with them and the rest of our supplies.  We can ask ourselves the question 'What if' and do something totally different to your work, sometimes you will like the results and sometimes not. 

 

What happens when you fray the edges of the fabric, or combine fabrics with beads, stitching or a discarded piece of jewelry? Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone try it to find out. 

Here is something that you can try: Choose three scraps from your fabric collection and spend a few minutes layering them together, don’t think about making a finished piece, and just ask yourself 'What could this become?' and you might be surprised where it will lead. I have shared three creative activities inspired by this episode over on Patreon, including a small fabric storytelling exercise, a fabric cluster activity and a simple 'What If…?' experiment. 

Head over to my Patreon post after watching the video and choose one of the activities to try.  And most importantly give yourself permission to play.

Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Making Zen is Coming Soon!! Register Now

 

Are you Ready to Stitch and Create?

I am so excited to announce that I will be teaching a workshop at this year’s Making Zen retreat, hosted by Zen Stitching!

If you aren’t familiar with Making Zen, it’s a fun and educational five-day online retreat for creative makers. There will be around 30 artists delivering pre-recorded workshops throughout the week that are designed to help you improve your techniques and learn new skills. The best part - besides the community connections and all those useful skills - is that it’s totally free to watch each presentation for 24 hours when it airs during the week of September 28th - October 2nd  2026!

Register HERE for FREE

There are some really talented folks lined up for this retreat, and I can’t wait to take in some of the presentations myself! I’m particularly looking forward to Lauren Webers Landscape Broach, and Lisa Goddards abstract Landscape. My own workshop will be Mixed Media Art Trinket Tags and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Mixed Media Trinket Tags

The Trinket Tags can be used in so many cool art journal or creative projects. and can be embellished as simply or as detailed as you require.

This retreat is going to be a lot of fun, and a great way to improve your craft or learn a new one. If you want to join in, You can Register Here for your FREE Seat

Last Day of the Back To Creativity Summit - Get Your VIP All Access Pass!!

 

The summit wraps tonight and so does access to the free 24-hour sessions.

If there's a session you missed a workshop you want to rewatch, or a project you want to come back to all year long then the VIP Pass keeps every one of the 31 sessions in your library. Forever.

Here's what you get:

• Lifetime access to all 31 sessions — watch anytime, as many times as you like

• 20 exclusive premium bonus resources from our presenters (a $2,181+ value)

• Come back to your favorite projects all year long — and beyond

• Starting at just $47 for lifetime access, these rates close once the summit ends.

Get your VIP All Access Pass

These are all some of my favorite activities - I am Looking forward to seeing what you create - Join us HERE

Check out the Teachers

We have had so much fun so far, all the teachers are offering additional goodies for you to access.  Why not take your time and work through the sessions at your own pace which you can do by upgrading to the pass.

Before you Go

Take a look at my Digital Art Papers that I create on Patreon.  You can see all the papers across the tiers HERE

Art Paper Flip Through: Heritage, Time & Layers of Becoming

 

Art Journal Paper Flip Through: Heritage, Time & Layers of Becoming

This month’s digital art papers are here, and I wanted to give you a closer look at the different designs, layers, colors and creative possibilities within the collection.

The theme for August is Heritage and Time: Layers of Becoming, and throughout the papers you’ll find many of the things I love bringing into my mixed media work -  faces, handmade stamps, doodled marks, textured surfaces, embossed metal, watercolor effects and lots of layered imagery.

August Sampler Edition 

One of the things I enjoy most about creating these papers is combining elements from my physical artwork with digital layers. It means that every page has lots of details that you can discover, cut, cover, paint into or use as inspiration for something completely different.

There are several editions available throughout the different Patreon tiers, beginning with the Sampler Edition on the Free tier - it is available as a free download until the end of the month. The Studio, Collectors and Atelier Edition are also available for separate purchase or join us on the tier.

August - Sampler Edition, Heritage & Time

You don’t have to use the papers exactly as they are, you might cut out one of the many tags, add paint, use one of the faces, make a bookmark, create a mini book or simply allow one of the color combinations to inspire your own artwork.

I especially love the black-and-white pages because they give you the opportunity to completely change the color palette and make the design your own.

Collectors Edition - Island & Nature

Sometimes we can put off creating because we feel we need a large block of time. But even five minutes of creative activity counts. You could spend those five minutes cutting out a few elements ready for another day.  The important thing is to give yourself permission to begin, experiment and especially play!!.

Five-Minute Creative Play

Choose one of your art papers and set a timer for five minutes.

• Cut out three small elements that catch your eye, perhaps the face in the image, a shape, or interesting color combination.

• Place them on a journal page without worrying about whether they traditionally “go together.”

• Move them around until something feels interesting.

• You don’t even have to glue them down.

• The purpose is simply to notice and explore.  

August Papers

You can see the full August paper flip through in the video, where you get a chance to see all the papers for this month.  Join us on Patreon where I share some additional ideas for using the papers.


I hope you find a little time this month to create, experiment and enjoy your papers.

Stay blessed and be a blessing

Art Journal Flip Through

 

Welcome to today's art journal we are doing a flip through of the pages.

You can access the papers by checking out the digital art papers that I have on my Patreon.  August Sampler papers are available for FREE until the end of August

Check out your papers HERE

Hand Dyed Fabric Experiments - Material Musings

 

Welcome to today's Material Musings.

I have been spending time experimenting with hand-dyed fabrics using materials from the garden and kitchen. Some pieces have been colored with turmeric, tea and annatto seeds, while others have been wrapped with bougainvillea, flamboyant leaves and sliced aloe vera.

One of the things I enjoy most about dyeing fabric is the element of surprise when you unroll the fabric and the randomness of the colors.  I have also been experimenting with solar dyeing by placing fabric, plant materials and water into glass jars and leaving them in the warmth of the sun. The fabrics were first soaked in an alum bath, which acts as a mordant and may help the color remain on the fabric.

You won't get a dramatic result from every experiment - it is just the beginning of the process and other things will be created from the fabric if it doesn't look how you imagine. Uneven pieces can be cut into strips, stitched into textile collages, added to a Kawandi inspired project which I have started.  The fabric can also be, stamped, painted, used for wax resist, handmade fabric beads and more.

Aloe Dyed Fabric

Sometimes the unexpected pieces become the most interesting ones.

Here are a few ideas to try out

Tea dyed fabric

Save used tea bags and soak a small piece of cotton fabric in strong tea. Fold, roll or tie the fabric before placing it into the dye to create lines and variations in color.

Experiment with color

Try turmeric for warm yellow tones or annatto seeds for shades of yellow and soft orange. Begin with small pieces of recycled cotton, old sheets or curtain lining.

Make marks with plants

Place sliced aloe vera, leaves or flower petals onto damp fabric. Fold or roll the fabric and allow it to dry before opening it. Notice the shapes, stains and marks left behind.

Transform an imperfect piece

Cut hand dyed fabric into smaller sections. Add stitching, stamping, beads or paint, or combine it with other scraps to create textile clusters or, journal cover.  Here the fabric pieces have had stamps, and other marks using paint

The most important part is to give yourself permission and time to experiment.  Learn to enjoy the process and remember- there are no mistakes, only new possibilities.

Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Before You Go

Have you checked out the Free Digital Art Papers on the Sampler Edition, that will be available for you to download until the end of the month to use in your art journals or creative projects.

Mixed Media Digital Art Series - August Papers

Realityarts Creative Archive - August 2026

The August Digital Art papers that were release for the Realityarts Creative Archive, bought a fresh set of collectable digital art papers, available in four tiers - Sampler, Studio, Collector, and Atelier.

The August 2026 Sampler Edition, titled Heritage & Time.  Each month you can access these papers for FREE for that month and it offers you a chance to try the papers in your art journals and/or creative projects.

  

Heritage & Time - August Papers 2026

Collectors Edition Papers Activity

Papers used in creative activities - 

You can join the FREE Tier on Patreon to access the papers, along with project ideas, behind the scenes video and early release posts, along with other 'member only' content.  Free members can enjoy the monthly papers while spending creative time. You can join us HERE

Additional papers for this month are available for purchase or by joining the respective tier, and also gives you access to over 1000 videos, digital art and exclusive posts:

 

Studio Edition - Women and Memory, August 2026

 

Collectors Edition - Island & Nature - August 2026

 

Atelier Edition - Patterns & Structure - August 2026

On my Patreon platform you get to watch Patron Exclusive posts, see behind the scenes content and get early access to the videos that I create and post on my YouTube Channel.  Each month I use the papers in different projects to give you additional inspiration when using them for yourself.  If you are ready to move your creative journey to the next step then come and join us.

Collectors Edition Papers Activity

As a Patreon Member you will also get a discount off any of the courses I create on my Course Platform - check out the 'Collections tab' to get your appropriate discount. Our courses that are regularly being developed are for those who want to add to their learning and start to develop their own creative voice and style. You can check out some of the courses HERE

I hope you join us and use the digital art papers in your creative projects and art journals and I look forward to seeing how you get on.

Which of the papers this month are speaking to you? Which one is your favorite?