Growing Cotton: From the Garden to My Creative Projects

 

Have you ever looked around your garden and wondered what you could bring into your creative practice?

In this episode of Material Musings, I’m sharing my homegrown Barbadian Sea Island cotton, and some of the other natural fibers I’ve been exploring, and the ways these materials find their way into my artwork.

I grow cotton on a very small scale - a couple of plants, but even these produce more than I can process! There is something so rewarding about watching a plant grow, and eventually holding a piece of yarn that I’ve spun myself.

I also share some of my sculptural looms, made using wood I’ve grown and harvested. The wooden frame stays as part of the finished artwork, alongside woven threads, beads, recycled elements, and small amounts of my cotton.

You don’t need much of a special fibre to make an impact. Sometimes a small section woven among other yarns gives a piece its character.

Looking at the garden differently

Cotton is just one of the materials that I have made use of from the garden.  There are other fibers that can be used, the pieces of wood can become mark-making tools, and dried plant materials offer possibilities for weaving.

I share some of the marks made with my homemade brushes in the video. A simple mark might not seem like much at first, but add layers, color, and other textures, and it becomes the beginning of something interesting.

It makes me ask: what is already around me that I could explore a little further?

Start with what you have

You don’t need to grow cotton to explore these ideas. Some leftover yarn, scraps of fabric, or a piece of cardboard can be enough to begin a small weaving. Those little experiments can become additions to journals, stitched pieces, or other mixed media projects.

Watch the video for a closer look at the cotton, my spinning tools, sculptural looms, and the other fibers I’ve been exploring.

Watch the Material Musings video here 

Then come over to Patreon, where I’m sharing four creative ideas from this episode for you to try, from a small weaving to making your own mark-making brush.

Explore the ideas on Patreon 

What material in your garden or creative stash could you look at with fresh eyes?

More Fabric Inspiration Activities - Material Musings

In yesterday’s Material Musings post, - You can check it out here

 

I shared some of the fabric and textile art projects that I have been spending time doing in the studio. Sometimes you have to take a pause and take a look around.  I wanted to get an overall look to see which of the projects were calling the loudest - (there are more things sitting in bins crying out for attention) but we will try and focus on a few smaller projects first. 

As I look at them there are many that I felt drawn to pick up again, I thought of the enjoyment that I got from making them, and identified some that I was willing to let go of - if only for a season, and then see where they want to take me over time.

Check out the Activities

I thought it would be useful to share 4 small activities that could get you thinking about how you can move some of your projects forward.  They are small actions that you can apply to the fabric projects that you have, spend time seeing how it feels and if you are inspired to work on those pieces that need your sparkle!

Join us For FREE on Patreon to access

You can Join us on my Free Tier on Patreon to check out the suggestions that I share to help you take your textile projects further - you won't have to go out and purchase any new supplies - just use what you have, experiment and play a while!

Rediscovering the Possibilities in Your Projects - Material Musings

 

Welcome to this week’s Material Musings!  

I am spending time looking through a few of my fabric projects, unfinished pieces to see if I can find fresh inspiration with some of the materials or if I can develop them or take them in a new direction. 

In the video, I share slow-stitched samples, handmade pouches, fabric and card birds - I have been doing the Fodder Challenge 6 and will be sharing more of the projects that I have made over the next couple of weeks.  You can see some of the project so far on my Instagram HERE.

  

I also played around with some felt embellishments bringing out my felting supplies, it is so good to be surrounded by so much color.  I also have my unfinished kawandi project that I am working on.  I also share some textile artworks returning from an exhibition, some of the pieces feature cotton that I have grown in my garden, spun and woven - so much fun.

We finish with a selection of trinket tags, combining fabric scraps, beads and broken jewelry. These little creations can decorate journals, become ornaments or add a personal touch to a gift.

One of the things I’m reminded of is that a project can change direction. A stitched piece can become a pouch, smaller pieces could join together as a wall hanging, and some mark-making might provide the finishing touches when you no longer feel like stitching.

Take out one unfinished piece this week and ask: What would make me excited to work on this again?

Before You Go

I have a course coming up called Stitching Joy from Your Fabric Scraps, which you can check out, it is currently on preorder at the early bird price of $67

Learn more information HERE

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!

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.

Batik Inspired Fabric Using Wax, Ink and Dyes

 

Batik Inspired Fabric

I have been experimenting with a simple batik-inspired wax-resist technique to create patterned fabric for my mixed-media and textile projects.

What you will need:

• Tealight and candle wax or bees wax
• Recycled fabric - tea towel, old bedsheet
• Inks and dyes, shimmer misters
• paint brush (keep one just for this activity)

I began with pieces of cotton fabric and applied melted candle wax and beeswax in loose, random patterns across the fabric. 

I then added a mixture of shimmer sprays, leftover inks and orange fabric dye. Some of the bottles were almost empty, so this was also a great opportunity to use older supplies rather than allowing them to sit forgotten in the studio.

After adding the color, I placed the fabric inside a plastic bag and gently scrunched it together. This helped the colors blend and move into some of the uncolored spaces.

As the fabric dried, the colors softened and the wax-resist patterns became more visible. I especially loved the areas where the wax had cracked and allowed fine lines of color to bleed through.

Those unexpected marks inspire the next stage of the project and I see where intuitively I want to go. This is one of the things I enjoy most about experimenting with fabric. The first technique does not have to produce a finished piece. It can become the starting point for collage, stitching, art journaling, a wall hanging or another mixed-media project.

In the full Patreon post, I share more about the process, the materials I used and three creative activities you can try with your own wax-resist fabric, including creating a sampler, using up leftover color supplies and responding to the patterns with hand stitching.

Visit my Patreon page to read the complete post - HERE, see the finished fabric and explore the creative takeaways.

You may also spot a special appearance from Cole, my helpful studio assistant! 

Before You Go

As artists, most of us have been collecting supplies for many years, this is a great time to look at what you currently have before you consider going out to purchase something new.  I had some printer ink left over that I had brought at lease 20 years ago and it just sat there gathering dust as I didn't have the printer anymore.  I experimented and found it stains fabric, and you can get some interesting effects.  So take a look and you might surprise yourself.

You can find additional videos I created showing different wax resist experiments below and access my Full Material Musings playlist HERE

Behind the Scenes

If you want to check out behind the scenes and early release content then join us on my Patreon.  You will find over 1000 videos and digital art resources for you to use in your creative projects.  You can access my Patreon HERE

Download this months Sampler Edition Digital Art Papers for Free - You currently have 11 days left to access these papers for free!

If you want to take your learning further you can start in the Artist Resource Hub on my Course platform, this is also Free and there are many other courses that you can take a look at when you are ready.  

For now, stay blessed and be a blessing!!

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.

Material Musings - Leather Projects - Wearable Art

Creating Wearable Leather Art

Come and join us in this week's Material Musings where we look at mark making on leather to create some gorgeous wearable art.

I share with you how you can make multiple uses from your tools to get different effects.

If you have leather scraps, don't throw them away!!  These pieces can also be used in miniature projects and there is no stopping you once you have identified some projects to use them for.

I have also used them in stitched projects and as miniature journals for my growing miniature interior collection.

Before You Go!

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Material Musings - Leather and Textile Crafts for Inspiration

There are times when you need to inspire and motivate yourself and going through past work always helps me and gets me going.

I get out some of the old projects and take a look through them seeing what needs to be finished and what can actually be called done.

Come and spend some time and check out some of the projects that lit a creative spark

Material Musings - Nurture and Self Care

 

Join us in the studio for creative reflection and self-care for Material Musings.

Before You Go:

Check out the papers on Patreon

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:

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

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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.

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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 - Finishing Projects

What creative projects do you have left to complete in your creative space, we think about some of the fabric projects that are crying out to be completed or taken a bit further in their journey.

I share with you some of the things that I am currently working on, and some of the ideas that still need some tender care before they can go out into the world.

For the rest of the month, we shall be focusing on moving the projects on and see where we are at the other end - no pressure!!

Before you go

The FREE papers are now available on my Patreon, You can use them in your art journals and creative projects, along with the digital art papers for the other tiers, check them out HERE

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:

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