Blue Mono Printing and the Midnight Garden

A bit of a printing fest going on this week, and it's all a bit blue!  I've continued with the mono printing from last week but changed the colours to suit my midnight garden theme - I seem to come round to that each summer as I really do love the muted colours and beautiful shapes of my garden as it goes from dusk into night.    

The bright sunshine we've been having has meant I can get some more cyanotype printing done - topping up my stash for card making and collages - always a favourite activity!

 

  I've also been running low on notecards so I have printed off another run of them using some of these photos of old and new cyanotype prints. I need to trim them all up - about 30 in total - a job I don't enjoy so we'll see if it gets done by next week - I'm betting it doesn't!!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

Velvet Moth Creations!

It's been a busy week!

 I have set up a new blog called velvetmothcreations.blogspot.com which will show some of my creations currently for sale. 

I have also set up a new Velvet Moth Facebook page as I have had problems accessing my old one for a very long time - the new page is at  https://www.facebook.com/velvetmothcreations   so please pop along and say hello! (see blog buttons on the right).

Some of the cards currently over on the new blog...

 

Cyanotype printing

 I have been busy collecting the last of the summer blooms and foliage from the garden, and preserving them for cyanotype printing by pressing them.  In contrast to my husband who is head vegetable gardener I am particularly thrilled with the leaves that have been half eaten by pests or struck with disease - the little holes and nibbled and curled bits add so much more to the print in my opinion!

These prints show Brambles, Raspberry leaves, weeds and Tamarisk, and the last two photos show the Tamarisk print before and after rinsing out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making the Most of the Sunshine

 I have been meaning to get some Cyanotype printing done all summer to

replenish my stocks for collage and card making.  Yesterday it suddenly dawned on me as we head towards autumn that I ought to get on with it - the results are better when the sun is at it's highest and strongest, ideally the middle of a summer's day. 

My desk yesterday afternoon was the garden bench and the kitchen sink - I just remembered in time to take some photos!

Out in the sun 'cooking'!

  Foliage removed and ready to rinse

Just starting to turn blue in the bowl of water - the stripes are the shadows of the sun coming through the kitchen blinds!

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.

My Mobile Desk!

 My studio has been too hot to work in over the last couple of weeks so I transferred some embroidery bits into a tin lid and that has been my mobile desk!  It's accompanied me around the house and garden letting me settle wherever I want to and although the weather has cooled down a bit, it is currently on the table next to my armchair so I can watch the Olympics!  

In the lid is a jumble of everything I need - embroidery threads in the colours I'm currently obsessed with, some rust printed cotton and cyanotype printed silk that I have torn into squares, plus needlebook and scissors - all set for making card toppers!

I assembled a few cards yesterday with some of the squares but still have quite a few to do. These are in my favourite summer theme of the garden at night. 

I'm linking up with Julia over at WOYWW this week.