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

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

Digital Art Papers June - Patrons

 

Here are the selection of papers for June'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

Making Zen has Started!!

Have you signed up Yet?

Just a reminder: the Making Zen Online Retreat, hosted by Kate at Zen Stitching, has started until 30th May 2025 - and it’s going to be a lot of fun 

New to Making Zen?

If you haven’t joined us before, Making Zen is a free, five-day online retreat celebrating slow stitching, mindful making, and creative exploration. Over the course of the retreat, 32 amazing artists will each share a video workshop—free to watch for 24 hours—to spark your creativity and deepen your practice.

We will be diving into themes like:

 Coloring with fabric scraps
 Intuitive art-making
 Zero-waste stitching
 Botanically dyed pouches, stitched landscapes…… and so much more.

You’ll come away with mini projects to stitch, fresh techniques to try, and a deep sense of inspiration and calm. 

Get the VIP PASS and additional Bonus!

If you know that you already want to get the VIP Pass you will be offered a variety of bonuses from each teacher and you get the following:

$3,300.00+ worth of exclusive gifts, guides, extended workshops and resources to help you reignite your creativity!

  

This price is only available for a limited time! Normally $147.00—get it now for $97!

❤️ Early access to all 32 workshops (starting this week!) ❤️ Lifetime access so you can revisit and perfect your skills anytime ❤️ Gifts from our artists to inspire fresh ideas and projects ❤️ Daily live creativity sessions with Kate on Zoom ❤️ Transcripts + the Making Zen eBook to keep your focus sharp and your learning seamless There is an extra Bonus course from me Embellished & Stitched below if you use my link to purchase the VIP Pass (it will be no extra cost to you) !

I will be adding my Course Embellished & Stitched to the Bonus gift bag for all those who purchase the VIP Ticket using my link - you can check out the course (Value - $47) HERE

In the course Embellished & Stitched, I share different ways in which you can transform your stitched words into embellished designs with a variety of techniques and over an hour and a half of video content organized in short segments so you can jump in and out of an activity.  Once your purchase has been confirmed you will get access to the course! 

Looking forward to having you on the creative adventure!!

Before You Go

Have checked out the papers available on my Patreon.  From Free, $3, $10 and $15.  Join us on Patreon for FREE

Here are the papers that are available across the tiers that you can use in your art journals and creative projects.

Free Papers for May 2025

Mixed Media Art Encouraging Tags - Digital Art Downloads

 

 

Here are the papers for Aprils Digital Download on Patreon.  for the $3 Tier.  Below you will find examples of the projects that I created.  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 Trial on the tier so that you can wet your feet and see how you like it.  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

Digital Art Papers - May

My papers for May are now ready to down load in my FREE Patreon Tier.  You can use them in your creative projects.  

You can also see the other papers available on different Tiers.  There are over 700 posts on Patreon - videos, digital posts, exclusive, early release, resources, discounts and more.

Join us on the $25 per month tier and get access to all of the 700+ resources available on all the tiers.  You can also wet your fee with the $3 Tier and get 7 Day FREE access.  

Check out Patreon HERE

Creating Faces - Mixed Media Art, FREE Background papers

Creating a Face: Transforming Free Papers into Unique Art

I had so much fun working on this page! There’s something special about taking existing materials and making them entirely your own.

For this piece, I started with the papers from the FREE Tier and reworked them.

These papers are designed to be versatile -you can use them as they are, or you can completely transform them by layering, painting, or experimenting with mixed media techniques.

Ways to Make These Papers Your Own

If you're looking for ways to customize them, here are some ideas to spark your creativity:

Paint Over It – Add washes of color, bold brushstrokes, or subtle shading to shift the mood and texture of the paper.  You can also do some mark making on the papers as well - or even some stitching.

Working with Background Papers

One of the things I love about working with the background papers is that they serve as a great starting point for your creativity. Whether you follow their existing designs or completely change them, the creative process is all about making it your own.

If you’ve used the free papers in your work, I’d love to see what you’ve created! Let me know in the comments - how do you like to alter and personalize your materials?

Access the papers for FREE on my Patron Page.  

If you would like to see the video process for these papers you can sign up for the 7 Day FREE Trial on my $3 Tier.  While you are there you can check out some of the other posts and digital downloads.

 

Mixed Media Art - Digital Papers Available for February

 

The Free digital art papers for the month has been released and you can access them HERE and use them in your art journals and creative projects.

You can check out what I did with the papers from January below and also get a copy of the original papers for your projects

These are the papers for January if you missed them, join us on the Free tier of Patreon

This was a really fun page to create

Creative art journal Papers - FREE on Realityarts Patreon

Check out some of the creative papers I have created which are available on Patreon.  Some are available on their respective tiers, but do check out the Free Tier and papers available for you to use each month.

You can access the current one for November and also see some behind the scene projects.  

Next month I will be sharing all the papers I have produced for 2024 with some additional visual elements which you can purchase, and you will be able to download them for use in your art journals and creative projects.

Check out the Papers HERE

Material Musings - Slow Stitching and Bargello

 

In today's video I share my most recent Material Musings video, where I look to continue working on the 'Choices' Slow stitched project.  If you want to see what the project looked like before you can check out the previous video below:

It is nice to have a smaller project to work on in-between larger projects as it enables you to take a breather, but still keep your hand in.  I also worked on a new project known as Bargello.  I had all the supplies, but had used them for other things.  I check out Kiala Givehands monthly meetups and saw a presentation by Bonnie Natko and was able to create with it.

This is how the projects eventually turned out which was quite pleasing.  I just have a few other things to do with the stitched project and also decide how I want to use the completed Bargello - who knows maybe try some others.

Before You Go....

Creative Gardener Today

Here is what I share in the garden today.  You can check out the video below.

There has been a lot of other growth in the garden, and I will do a garden tour towards the end of the month.

Gratitude Junk Journal - Early Bird 20% Off

We have an early bird rate (until 31st October) on our Gratitude Junk Journal, which I am teaching in.  If you would like to get 20% off then enter the code AMORE24 at the checkout.

Learn More About Gratitude Journal HERE

Art Resource Hub

Every month in the Art Resource Hub I share a FREE digital Download, for your creative projects, here is the one for October:

Welcome to September and the Free Digital Art Papers

Welcome to September, and we have available in our Arts Resource Hub a set of creative papers that you can use for your craft projects and art journals.

If you are wondering what you can create with them, they can be art background pages, I create a mini art journal with mine.

In the video I share what I did with August papers.

All papers are available, so you can mix and match.  Come and join us on the Arts Resource Hub and get hold of your papers for September.

For further Information Check out the Art Resource Hub HERE

You will find all the papers from previous months available for use as well.