Math and MaryAnne

I have a dressform I've named MarryAnne. She is most often used as my coat and scarf rack but when it comes to making patterns, she is very helpful.

There are two common forms of making a garment pattern:

Flat -- you start with a beginning basic pattern, work on a flat surface and use varied tools along with math. 

Draping -- you use a dressform to shape a pattern with large sheets of pattern paper (I use tissue paper), pins and scissors.

Since I have so much regard for math but also enjoy working three-dimensionally, I make patterns using both pattern-making forms... "Math and MarryAnne"

For my Christmas card picture this year I wanted to make a jacket. This gave me the chance to take a few pictures of the pattern process.

I didn't have the time to fully produce my pattern with lining and so I made a jacket out of wool felt. When you buy a wool blended felt and then wash it in hot water, it creates a fun marbled texture. (If you plan to wash your garments after you make it, it is very important to wash the fabric before you cut the pattern pieces =) Felt fabrics don't fray, thus leaving cuts crisp and no need to secure with sewing. That also allowed me to creatively put several seams facing outward. Luckily for me, wool felt is warm since it was 34 degrees out when we took my pictures!

I'm saving the Christmas card picture for a later post =).

How to make your own glass magnets

ONE - The most creative way to gather words for phrases is to cut up a magazine. I find though that it takes quite a bit of time to do this, so I print them out in fun fonts. However it is very important that if you print on an ink jet printer, you must copy the words off on a copier (or the words will bleed once glue is applied). Cut out the words and glue them onto small pieces of colorful paper or magazine clippings. Just make sure the pieces of paper are slightly bigger than the glass you will be using. Don't worry about being sloppy with the glue.

TWO - I use large floral glass marbles which are shaped like a disc (not a sphere). There is one side of the glass that is smoother than the other. On the less smooth side, apply a generous amount of crafters glue. I like this glue because it is thicker than average glue. Spread the glue to the edges with your finger.

THREE - Place the glue side down on the piece of paper over words. Glently press down to get out air bubbles. It is okay if glue squeezes out the sides. Be sure that you are on a flat surface or the glass will begin to slide off the paper. Wait 5-10 minutes and double check for any more air bubbles. If there are any, pick it up and try to press them out to the sides by pressing on the paper side. This is also a time to double check the placement of, or make any adjustments to the glass. Then turn all the pieces up-side down so that the glass is down. This will allow the glue to dry through the paper. At this point it will take a while for the glue to dry. I let them dry over night.

FOUR - Take a pair of scissors and cut away the extra paper. Hold the scissors at an angle and cut as you turn the glass the full circle. You will likely be cutting through the excess dried glue as you go. 

FIVE - If you've used magazine clippings or lightweight paper for the background,  glue on an extra piece of paper before super gluing the magnet to ensure the super glue will not show through.

SIX - Apply super glue to the paper and affix a magnet. I use 3/4" ceramic magnets. They will dry within 15 - 20 minutes and you’re all done!

PHOTO Substitutions - The trick to using photos is to first make a color copy of the picture. Photo paper will not allow the glue to dry. Secondly, check to see and make note where the glass will need to be placed on the faces before going on to the glue stage. If a face ends up too close to the edge, it looks oddly distorted.

Cute photos don't really NEED fun frames

There are a lot of great photographers taking artistic photos. I even happen to know some. Artistic photos can be so inspiring and when I know the person pictured, I can't help but love them all the more. These photos could be in just a simple black frame a still overflow with joy, but since they are so inspiring, I can't help but let the creativity continue with fun frames.

I've been recovering frames for several years. Here are just a couple examples.

Another Random Request

There is such a category on Etsy called "alchemy". I think this is a very strange word, but who am I to judge a word or even it's use as a category! I'm the kind of person who finds many words to be strange, their use in the English language humorous and my own usage of words... well, I'm getting better. Of course I looked up the word in the dictionary. It seems to be a mythical achievement, such as turning base metals into gold. However odd of a category title, this is a place on Etsy where people who want something specific made with a general price range can post it.

One day as I quickly glanced at the postings I found a request for someone to design and make silk envelopes for invitations. Considering I am a seamstress and I make wedding invitations, I obviously was more than just a little intrigued. And thus my creative little challenge began, the kind of challenge that uses both sides of my brain, and which I wish burned calories.

Satin fabric, fusible interfacing, math skills and a little time later, I had finished another completely random project. Random projects are not rare in my life but telling people about them can be which made it a nice little blog post. I wish I had remembered to take pictures along the way. Hopefully I will get better with pictures.

The prototype went in the mail and the gal was very pleased and now offers them as a part of her invitation business, making me her supplier if she gets orders. Which means I got some great networking out of the project as well. So maybe, just maybe, in it's own way, a little alchemy was achieved after all.

The Life of an Image

There are a lot of great images on stock photography websites these days. They are no longer just the kitschy, stale image selections they once were. This can sometimes mean spending too much time looking through hundreds, if not thousands of images! Other times, no matter how hard I look, I know my ideas are just too specific to find the perfect image. I've learned to pick a few that stand out to me and envision the potential to take them where I want to go, as it is with this photo. This is when I get to play around in photoshop. (These images will then become backgrounds for postcards, brochures, etc).

I find the key to combining images is all in the lighting (intensity, direction and shadows). In the photo to the left, the flowers may feel a little bright, but in this case they were meant add a playfulness and so I didn't mind. With an artistic eye, I don't think there is an absolute moment that two photos perfectly fuse together. I don't want to get caught up in fine-tuning it to death. Nature itself isn't concerned with composition and yet it's very successful at visually communicating.

This combination of photos is not about convincing the viewer that the fish are at that location, so the difference in lighting wasn't an issue. The image instead is more about creatively conveying a concept. The fun part is how one image can convey several ideas. In this case the image was used in a message series titled INSPIRED.

Mostly, as I look through the images I've worked on, it's the creative and fun aspects, much more than the believability, that I enjoy most. Here is an image that I got to add a VW bus and make look like an old photo.

Here I Am

When it comes to social networking sites I don't often write out my thoughts, divulge my emotions or interject my opinions much. While I do embrace that I in fact have some fun thoughts, big emotions and insightful opinions, these are more likely to come out when interacting with friends and family. I do however hope my life projects in authentic ways through my creativity, even on the world wide web.

This blog will often just be a glimpse of how my weeks are spent. When people ask me what I do, my mind spins with aspects that range from crazy to simple, from exciting to mundane... but I would love to be able to capture a little bit of everything here to share.

I began sewing when I was seven years old. In college I received a bachelor's degree in fashion, interiors, graphics and business... even my degree I was creative with! Yet, my creativity started long before I began sewing and reaches wider than my schooling. God put something inside me that I can't help but to let live out in my life. Now I am living and loving the self-employed life of creatively making ends meet.

Just as much as I love creativity, I love warm and sunny days. When I get the chance to take a bike ride on the path that parallels the river, I can't help but thank God for His love for me and to soak in the creativity of His creation. I also love to hang out with people and value the divine nature of living in community. If every day could be filled with creativity and sunshine and every evening filled with friends, Italian food and music....... ahhh, that could be my heaven!

So this is my introduction. More often posts will have fewer words. I hope to capture my life more through visual means than through words, but even words can be beautiful.

Love to you,
Andria Higgins