One of the new committments that I have taken on for this year is a Fabric Book Page Swap with a group from Stitching Fingers. There are 12 of us in the swap and we each make a page for one other person based on a specific theme, once a month. For this month the page theme was "Doors". THis is the page that I created. The first thing that came to mind when I saw the theme was the hidden door to the Secret Garden.
I created the door from heavy Duty Interfacing and painted it with acrylics and then added free motion embroidery to add details. The hinges are made of leather as is the door handle. The door opens to reveal a fabric/paper collage.
I needle felted the surrounding forest with wool fleece and then added embroidery and beading details.
I kept the back very simple using a printed fabric and adding a small pocket for a tag that holds swap info.
I had promised myself that I was going to cut back on the number of swaps as I was always creating really good work that was being sent away, never to be seen again. I was getting some great work in return but I knew that I needed to focus on refining my style and creating a business plan for my work. This project with such a wonderfully talented bunch of gals was too good to pass up. I have already started work on the Page for February which will be done all in WHITE, one of my favorite challenges- especially considering the bright and bold path I have been following lately.
