ART QUILTING WITH FOUND OBJECTS

I'm a treasure hunter. While I love to browse antique shops and flea markets, I also pick up rusty bits of metal that I find on the side of the road. I bring home broken pottery, sea glass, and feathers from the the river, and I am incapable of kayaking without hauling home some driftwood. I even own a metal detector. It's possible I am a girl geek, but most of the coolest rusty stuffy is hiding underground. If you looked in my pockets, you'd think I was a 10 year old boy.
"What will you do with all that rusty stuff?" I hear you saying. Glad you asked.
First, I made a background collage with a base layer of paper, then layered scraps of my own printed fabrics, leftover from other projects. I scraped some acrylic paint over the layers with an old credit card, and because I'm impatient, dried it with a heat gun. Then into the printer and out onto white muslin. This time I used prepared printer fabric in white. I was pleased with the colors and wanted them to print true.

Embellished this new piece of fabric with hand and machine stitching, pearl cotton, and some of my best rusty bits. The little palm trees are horse shoe nails. I don't have to go searching for those. I raid my farrier's used hardware when he comes to trim the horses. He can never figure out why I don't want the shiny new ones.

Planning to add more hand stitching but I'm pretty well pleased with how it turned out.
In other news, we're doing a little re-decorating. I'll post more about that tomorrow!
Keep your peepers open when you're out walking your dogs. There are treasures underfoot. XO