Thursday, July 22, 2010

June BJP Finished!

This was a fun one! My words for the month of June made me think of my totem animal, rabbit.

stuffed rabbit, component for June BJP by Robin Atkins,detail
So this is how it all started. I had a package of bunnies pre-cut out of different batik fabrics and selected one that appealed to me. A black bunny with square spirals... What could be more cute than that?

I decided to make a slightly stuffed (dimensional) bunny, by cutting out a back piece, inserting some quilt batting and beading around the edge with picot edge stitch.

stuffed rabbit, component for June BJP by Robin Atkins
Here's how the back looks.

stuffed rabbit, component for June BJP by Robin Atkins
And here's the front.

Now what? Well, doesn't a bunny just love to leap and frolic across little hills and fields of flowers? And wouldn't pink be just the right color... my favorite color as a child to go with my childhood favorite animal?

decorative paper painted with acrylics by Robin Atkins
I painted the above paper some years ago (acrylic paints on heavy drawing paper... stenciling, stamping, glazes, textures, layers). The white spiral design is purchased rayon lace paper left over from a bookmaking project.

Next I needed some pink felt for the hills and my words. This time I decided to try stitching my words with embroidery floss. I used a double strand of variegated silk floss and the stem stitch. For the first two words breathe and believe), I "just did it." But I could see that my size and spacing weren't very good that way. So for the other four words, I stitched guidelines on the the felt, which you can see in two of the words below.

embroidered words, components for June BJP by Robin Atkins
Next I stitched the hills together using various embroidery stitches. Then came the beads and embellishments! The most fun part! I stitched the flower and leaf beads in place and then embroidered around them. It is so sweeeeeet to embroider on felt.... I love the feel of it!

bead and thread embroidery by Robin Atkins, bead journal project, Believe
Here's how it looks finished. Since my primary word for June is "believe," that's the title of this piece... Believe! (Click picture to enlarge.)

I believe in
  • asking for what I need and want
  • writing, writing, and more writing
  • surrendering rather than fighting
  • breathing deeply and mindfully
  • laughing as much as possible
So there you have it! I believe my dear totem animal guide, rabbit, is enjoying a leap into the stars... definitely in the pink!

31 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:21 AM

    I love it! Gorgeous:)


    Ann Flowers
    flowerscrazyq@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Robin, this is my favourite one so far for lots of reasons. First there is that gorgous bunny, he definitely is the cutest. I especially like how a part spiral is making him smile. The back ground and the flowery hills are just beautiful. But my favourite thing is how joyful this piece is.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my dear Robin, what does it mean...that you finish June *in the pink* and I am working with pink in a way that I have never done before...?

    Why have we BOTH been working with spirals when neither one of us knew what the other was doing?

    Sometimes this online world has me spinning...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, this is absolutely wonderful, fun, lovely, inspiring.

    What is the size of it?

    This piece makes me feel happy.

    FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous4:07 AM

    Really charming, and I love all the elements. The lace paper is unique and lovely. It adds a delicate touch. You certainly got some practice in embroidering with this one. Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love it Robin! It makes me smile and shows that you're in a very happy place this month. The embroidery reminds me of your crazy quilting days. Thank you for this lovely gift!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a lovely joyful piece! "Believe" might be your word of the month, but "Joyful Abandonment" is what I see in your bunny's attitude :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. He's perfect! I love seeing the process for making him as well!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh, I just LOVE this and you've incorporated Crazy quilting! Yay! It's lovely! Such warm fuzzies! (hee hee)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Robin, this is breathtaking! I dont know how your mind works, I wish I had one tenth of your creativity and talent! I love the color combination of black and pink. You really made your bunny take center stage. The added words, beads and embroidery are just the perfect touch. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  11. He's just perfectly you...and I love the combination of words with hills.
    Hope it's as beautiful up there as it's been down here...summer at last!

    ReplyDelete
  12. this is my favorite so far. it just speaks loudly and happily, "robin!" it's so carefree and spirit-lifting. i really love your use of embroidery with the beads on this one. your work never ceases to amaze me. i love it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. such a lovely, happy and believable bunny, these are your 'best' words yet. the whole piece is something to inspire joy in the future...k.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a bunnyluscious creation you have made! It makes me smile and feel cheerful!

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a lovely piece... I love the bunny!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is gorgeous. It made me smile and yes, I think it made me believe!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Leaping into the unknown! I love this piece. The "stuffing" to create dimension was so clever. Really inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The rabbit turned out wonderful. Love the whole piece.
    Nicole/Beadwright

    ReplyDelete
  19. I see a playful bunny. Cheerful. I hope he is an inner image of what you are feeling. I really don't think you could make such a happy bunny if you didn't "believe". He is a wonderful totem.

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is glorious, and full of good energy!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great article thanks for sharing. I really enjoy your blog

    I bought this popular beading book awhile back. You can only get it online too for some reason but here's the link to this excellent beading guide if you are interested.

    I am very satisfied with this bead guide and I highly recommend this complete bead Ebook to all my beading friends.

    Complete Bead Guide:

    I posted the link in my name..enjoy everyone

    ReplyDelete
  22. This is just plain FUN!!! It portrays your word(s) perfectly.

    ReplyDelete
  23. That is very artistic design. I never thought that bunny is good design for that kind of stuff. Thank you for sharing this amazing art piece.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Beautiful job Robin. And thank you for taking us through the development process, it really helps those unfamiliar with BJP gather our thoughts as to where to begin. I didn't realize you started out with painted paper, thinking the pages were made from felt or other material. Thanks again. I just love your bunny and messages.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Just so charming and wonderful, Robin!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh Robin, it's SO CUTE!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous6:54 PM

    It's lovely Robin - a delight!x

    ReplyDelete
  28. wow! this is gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I adore this piece! Really wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  30. That is absolutely gorgeous....I love it so much :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks you for joining the discussion on this post today!