Last Day for Making Zen

Well it is finally here, the last day of Making Zen, and if you haven't yet got your VIP pass, you can still get it now for a great price! it is great to see all of the variations of my Trinket Tag project - love them! you can share with me on my IG @realityarts.

I have had so much fun learning from the other artists, here are some of the things I made:

It doesn't have to end today, if you still want to continue creating get yourself the VIP pass and continue to enjoy the sessions you missed or want to watch again and continue making, and feast on all of the resources that come with the VIP

Get your VIP Ticket HERE

Time To Create - Material Musings

 

In this week's Material Musings, I share some of the creative pieces that I have made, it has been a lot of fun working through some of the sessions. Check out one of them below.

Inspired by Lisa Goddard

I really enjoyed creating the landscape and adding stitches that I wouldn't normally use.  I would like to create more of them.

Making Zen ends tomorrow and you can still access the VIP Pass which gives you lifetime access to the 30 pre-recorded workshops, as well as a special gift from each of the presenting artists. There are other resources included too, like the Making Zen ebook and access to some special workshops from the archives of past retreats.  Check out the VIP Pass HERE

Looking forward to having you join us!

Making Zen Starts Tomorrow! - 28th Sept!!

 

We are on the final day before Making Zen Online Retreat starts.

We will be bringing the first set of workshops tomorrow Monday 28th September and it is going to be an amazing start to the retreat.

There will be six presentations available each day and you will be able to view them for 24 hours, as long as you are registered for the retreat.

My workshop Introduction to Trinket Tags will be airing on Thursday 1st October, and I am excited to see what you create.  Make sure to check out the other days for all the other fascinating topics too!

Imagine if you could take off the whole week to focus on your learning, creating and spending time with the creative community, that would be great, then you could watch all 30 presentations and make, laugh and just feel joyful.  But for many it is not a possibility, but there is a solution.

So, If you find that 24 hours of access is not enough, there’s also an option to purchase the VIP Pass, which gives you lifetime access to the 30 pre-recorded workshops, as well as a special gift from each of the presenting artists. There are other resources included too, like the Making Zen ebook and access to some special workshops from the archives of past retreats. 

If that’s something you’re interested in, it’s a good idea to get that now - it’s currently on sale for the Early Bird price of $97, but once the retreat starts tomorrow, it goes back up to the regular price of $147 USD!

Come and join in on the fun, you can get all the details for the free ticket and for the VIP Pass HERE

I hope you join us and have a fun and creative week, if you have any questions about my Trinket Tags you can send me a DM on Instagram @realityarts.

Material Musings: Small Scraps, Lovely Possibilities - Fabric and Felt Fiesta

 

What could you create with those little pieces of fabric you’ve been saving?

In this week’s Material Musings, I’m bringing together fabric scraps, rediscovering my felt supplies and giving some much-loved clothing a little more attention. There’s so much to explore with materials we already have!

 

I’ve been making small fabric clusters, layering leftover pieces onto hand-dyed fabric and adding stitches. These little clusters can become embellishments for journals, bags or larger textile projects, whatever I decide. They’re also lovely to keep nearby for those moments when you want to create but aren’t quite sure where to begin.

A little creative detour led me back to felt, and I remembered how much I enjoy working with it. Adding stitches and French knots gave additional texture to the surface. Sometimes seeing a familiar material in a different way is enough to get us excited again.

I also shared a comfortable top that I’ve been patching as holes appear. I love the thought that, over time, it might become covered in fabric and stitching—a piece that changes with me. Even an upcycling experiment that didn’t turn out as planned offered something useful: sections of crochet that I can use in my trinket tags.

Before You Go

Something for you to try: Make one small fabric cluster

Choose three scraps and layer them onto a small piece of soft backing fabric. Attach them with a few simple running stitches, then add a button or a little contrasting thread if you wish.

Keep it small enough to enjoy without feeling you have another big project to finish. You can decide what to do with it later!

Join me over on Patreon for more creative reflections and three activities to help you explore your scraps, stitching and forgotten supplies. 

Textile Practice and Play - Material Musings

 

Fabric Play: Use What You Have and See What Happens

Creativity is not always about starting something new.  You can very easily start pulling out fabrics, threads and your scraps and give yourself permission to play - right where you are.

I have been working a lot with stitched projects - I am one of the teachers in the upcoming - Making Zen - Find out more HERE.  I have been experimenting with the hand dyed fabrics and wax resist, and my favorite beads and other embellishments, and I am having so much fun.  

One of my biggest reminders is to not 'save' everything for that perfect project that never materializes.  I have so many fabrics that I became (or still am) too precious about, and this is something I have also done with art supplies - then when I go to use them, they are dried up and you have to throw them away.  

Sometimes you don't know exactly what you want to do with that 'special' piece of fabric, you don't want to cut it, but eventually I reminded myself that I could always create more eco dyed and wax resist fabric, but if I never used them then I would not discover what the pieces might become. 

Creative play is also one of the ways we learn.

We discover how our threads behave, which colors work together, how stitching changes a fabric and what happens when we combine things we may not normally put together.  Here is something you can try:

Make a Mini Fabric Cluster

• Gather five small fabric scraps from your supplies.
• Choose different colors, patterns or textures and arrange them into a small layered cluster.
• Add a few stitches to hold everything together.
• If you have them, add a bead, button or small piece of ribbon.
• Don’t plan too much. Give yourself 10-15 minutes to experiment.

Your little cluster could eventually become part of a journal cover, fabric book, textile collage, tag or larger stitched project.  With the scraps I had above I made a couple of snippet rolls that I will use in some of my projects.

Most importantly, allow yourself to play, there are no mistakes only opportunities to learn a little more about your supplies and your own creative style.  Use what you have! experiment, stitch, and see where your session takes you

Before You Go

I am teaching in Making Zen Online Retreat that is free to join.  We will be creating mini trinket tags, we will be gathering our fabrics, slow stitching and adding our embellishments, so if you like you can join us and practice some more with what you have.

Sign up to Making Zen HERE

If you sign up for the VIP Pass you will also get access to my course showing you how to make additional embellishments for your Trinket Tags or creative projects.

Learn More about Making Zen 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.

Creating Mixed Media Art Dolls - Material Musings

 

Creating Mixed Media Art Dolls

Welcome to today's Material Musings, in this video we will be taking a look at a variety of different ways to create art dolls and a bit about the technique.  Have you made mixed media art dolls yourself?  They are really fun to create, and practically all of my supplies are recycled or repurposed.

Where to Start?

You start with the armature, which can be made out of a range of materials - wire, foil, wood, clay, paper clay, foam, plastic and once you have the base you can decide the other materials that you want to finish your mixed media art doll with.

In the examples that I share in the video we have ones made from foil, foam - (fiber) and plastic.  I then cover them with fabric, paper clay and even wrap some with scrap fabrics and yarn and embellish with beading.

I hope that you see how fun and straight forward they can be to create and I hope that it inspires you to make your own - you probably have all the resources around your home already.  You can check out the previous art doll video below:

If you are interested in making your own, I will be creating a mini course to take you through the steps.  You can join my course platform and will be alerted when the Mixed Media Art Doll course becomes available.  

Join the course platform Here

In the meantime, why not check out some of the other slow stitched and fabric course available on the platform.

Stitched Folk - Online Class

On a tight budget? Come and join me on YouTube and see all of the textile and fabric art videos I share as part of Material Musings, my weekly textile and fabric art adventure.  You can find my full Textile Art Playlist on YouTube Here

Want a Behind the Scenes and exclusive access? Then my Patreon Tiers would be great for you!

If you want a behind-the-scenes look at my work and practice, you can join us on Patreon Here and while you are there you can check out the FREE Digital Art Sampler Edition in the paper Collection for July.

Whatever you do, take time out each day to do something creative, experiment and step out of your comfort zone.  What are you waiting for???

Wax Resist Projects - Material Musings

 

Mark Making on Fabric

Working with natural fibers

Come and join us in Material Musings today!

Material Musings - Beads and Wearable Art

Welcome to today's Material Musings, where check out several different projects - including fabric jewelry, beads and art journal bags.

Here is an example of the crochet necklace and the beaded wrist cuff - I think more accessories might be to come.

Making Zen is Back! 4th - 8th May 2026

 

 

Great News Making Zen Online Retreat will be back again from 4th - 8th May!!

Once again it will be a lot of stitched and creative fun! It is hosted by Kate at Zen Stitching and if you have participated before you know that there are lots of fantastic lessons that will inspire you during the retreat.

Examples of my textile arts

If you are not familiar with Making Zen, it is a textile-arts-focused retreat gathering approx. 35-40 artists to host one workshop each over the course of five days, and those workshops are totally free for anyone to watch for a limited time. It is an opportunity to get inspired, connect with new friends and artists, and improve your craft!

Some of the topics on the retreat will cover topics like:

🧵Using your art journaling as a tool for reflection

🧵 Making marks on fabric

🧵 Creating low waste projects

There is so much more for you to take in, and you walk away with new techniques that you can apply to your own practice. I have been blessed to be on both sides of the coin - as a teacher in several retreats and a student. I aways come away feeling inspired and thoroughly enjoy the retreat - While I am not teaching this time, I will definitely be doing the sessions, and I will be sharing some of the things that I have created during this and previous retreats over the next few weeks.

You can register for free HERE

Mark your calendar - It all happens from 4-8 May - which is just round the corner. Once you register you will find lots of information available - FAQs and a full list of the speakers presenting during the retreat.

This retreat is going to be a lot of fun, and a great way to improve your craft or learn a new one. I hope to see you there!

Sculptural Loom Art - Material Musings

 

Come and join us on Material Musings where we look at a selection of Sculptural Looms and woven projects.

We also look at some alternative ways to create the structures with recycled materials, different yarn and ways that I have been able to embellish with jewelry and beading.

We will also look at a variety of projects, and DIY looms for beginners to get started.  Do let me know how you get on this week.

Before You to check out the free resources on:

Adding More Jewelry to Fabric - Material Musings

Today we look at some of the jewelry and beaded pieces and how we are going to attach them to fabric.

These are pieces that you can do ahead of time, look through your supplies and see what pieces can go together. The more time you spend in you supplies and materials, you will begin to get more and more familiar with what you have and which pieces might work together.

Do not worry about changing your mind either if you don't like where you have placed an item, you can take stitching out and reposition the beads or change the colors it is up to you!

That is experimenting is about an you have to give yourself space and time to do so.

Enjoy!

Attaching Jewelry and Beading - Material Musings

Join us in this weeks Material Musings where we look at the beads and the scrap jewelry that we may have that we can add to our projects. 

In the video I share some of the projects that I have added jewelry and beading to and how I have attached them to projects.  We also include some handmade elements that you can make out of recycled materials and some practical tips for attaching them as well.

 

We end the video with lots of eye candy that will be included in future projects.

Come and join us and let us see what you are creating.

Using your Fabric to Uplift - Material Musings

 

In Material Musings I look at some of the ways that I use my fabrics and projects both finished and unfinished to lift my spirits or encourage myself.  We know that art heals and encourages and enables you to express yourself when you do not have the words.  I find that even if you are not able to do a creative project then even sitting with your supplies can help.

What are the things that you do when you need to give yourself a lift?

What about those Fabric Scraps? Material Musings

 

Welcome to Material Musings, in this episode we are talking about the scraps we often amass in our fabric or paper stash.

I also touch on the broader issues of fast fashion and waste management and the impact on developing countries that deal with the fabric waste of so called 'developed countries' and what impact can we make on a local level.

I share a lot of the projects that used a lot of these scraps and I am looking at many of the ways in which I can make the most of the supplies I currently have. There are time stamps in the description of the video for reference.

Before You Go

Creative Vision Retreat Summit

Art Journals for your Visions and Goals

My lesson airs today for 24 hours

Sign Up HERE

Shopping in your Stash - Material Musings and Creative Retreats

 

Time to go shopping but this time in your own supplies for Material Musings and look at the projects that you have made that might spark your interest again.

Before You Go

The Creative Vision Summit Starts on Tuesday 20th January and is Free to sign up

We have quite a packed 3 days of sessions.  If you can't make it to all of them and would like to go through each of the sessions at a slower calmer pace then consider buying the VIP All Access Pass and you will have all of the summit sessions and bonus resources by each Speaker

Here is a selection of the VIP All Access Pass resources

My VIP Resource is my new course Creative Self Care Kit which is a full course valued at $67 and has over 30 lessons.  It is also a standalone course currently available at the Early Bird Price of $47!

Buy purchasing the VIP Pass you will receive my course and other Speaker resources and additional resources valued at over $1,000 so come and join us and shape 2026 the way you want.

Click her to Register for the Summit for FREE

If you Want to keep the workshops forever? After you register, check out the VIP All-Access Pass — lifetime replays + $688+ in creative bonuses. Use code CREATIVE for 30% off

Material Musings - Cardboard projects and slow stitching

In today's video we explore the use of cardboard in mixed media art.  In one of my pieces, I combine fabric, cardboard and clay.

Let me know if you use cardboard in your creative projects

If you would like to see some additional ways you can join us on Patreon for behind the scenes and early release content.

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

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