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

Material Musings - August Projects

 Welcome to this week's Material Musings

Here are some of the projects that I will be working on over the coming weeks.  I am going to do a larger Kawandi and I will show you my progress in the next episode.  I also have a few creative projects and lessons that I am creating and will share in a few weeks.

I have also stitched more of the encouraging words to go on completed projects, they always come in handy and it is great to be stitching things that will encourage and motivate.

Come and join us next time in Material Musings and bring what you are working on.  I would love to see!

Before you go

Check out the FREE papers for this month in Patreon

Arts and Wellness Cafe - Consistency

 

Welcome to August in the Arts and Wellness Cafe.

It also happens to be my birthday month and I have been leaning into one word 'consistency'. It’s been showing up in how I am viewing my art, my health and the way I show up as a creative.   

Check out the August papers for FREE HERE

I’ve shared new digital art papers on Patreon (free and paid tiers) which are now available on my Patreon, starting at the FREE papers.  I enjoyed the Filling The Creative Well” challenge and I will be adding it to the course platform so you can dip into it when you have a moment and there will be other additions to help support your creative journey.  

My collaboration with Fodder School and Art Foamies brought six beautiful female-figure foam stamps to life, and I popped up on a podcast too!

Beacon - set of 2 ArtFoamies  Check out the Full Sets HERE

        

This weeks nuggets:

• Break big dreams into small daily steps.
• Use free resources and keep growing.
• Look after your body - rest when needed.
• Let your art inspire and support others.

Let me know some of the ways you will be showing up for yourself this week

Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Illustrated Foam Stamps Collaboration - ArtFoamies and Fodder School

  

Introducing My ArtFoamies Collection — Creative Companions for Your Art Practice

I’m thrilled to finally share something very special with you, a selection of my hand-drawn illustrations have been transformed into foam stamps in a beautiful collaboration between Fodder School and ArtFoamies.  Click on the images to purchase.

 

Bantu Knots - Set 1

The collection includes three unique sets, each featuring two illustrated figures — six muses in total and I hope you will get to know and use them in your creative activities. I think of them as creative companions, figures who carry presence, power, and story. They are part of a wider lineage of muses I’ve developed, each one rooted in heritage and embodied creativity.  

 

Nkosi - Set 1  

These designs are inspired by the adornment traditions of African women and the vibrant spiritual memory seen in natural and traditional hairstyles across the African continent, the Caribbean, and the global African diaspora. There is something deeply regal and grounded about each of these figures. They hold stillness, beauty, and grace and I hope you enjoy creating with them.  

Uplift - Set 3  

They are designed to be more than just stamps. Use them on paper, fabric, canvas, or journal pages. Print, paint, embellish, stitch and let them join you on your creative adventures.  Explore them and their variations as you create.  

Vessel - Set 3   

The collection is now available at the ArtFoamies Website. You can check them out HERE

Check out Kae Pea from ArtFoamies and her video using the stamps on acetate on YouTube HERE she shared various ways you could use them with magazines.  

Wrapped -  Set 2

Beacon - Set 2  

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing more about the stories behind these muses, how I use them in my own work, and inspiration to help you make them your own.  Our FREE Tier Patrons get early access, so why not come and join us!

Stay blessed and be a blessing