Weekend Project: Jewelry Hanger

Last weekend I finally made something I've wanted to make for a while. I looked everywhere for the perfect shadow box frame, and since I don't have access to a circular saw anymore I couldn't make my own. Then, two weekends ago while I was crashing yard sales with my friend, I finally found it... the perfect shadow box, untreated wood and everything. So here's what I did with it.

1): I took the back panel apart. Then I spray painted the back panel and the frame:

2): I glued foam to about 1/4 of the back panel. Then I covered the entire panel with linen using a staple gun.

3) I put the back panel and frame together using wood glue.

4) I drilled holes into the back panel and screwed in mismatched door knobs I found at Hobby Lobby. Then I hung my jewelry. Voila! Finally have all my jewelry hanging in one place.

Adventures with Jacquard, Part 2

After a few more hours the next day (I got a lot faster with time), I finished the damask piece. Tomorrow it will be cut off the loom.

Adventures with Jacquard, Part 1

I thought it would be awesome to learn how to use the Jacquard loom before graduating and since I only have one woven piece in my portfolio it wouldn't hurt to weave something else. So I took my damask design and prepared it to be woven with the help of Deborah First, one of my awesome professors.

It is 12:20am on Friday March 11. I'm taking a much deserved break to tell you about today's adventure....

 

Meet Jacquard. My friend (or enemy) for the next two days. I started at about 10:30am on thursday.

I took a lunch break and then maybe around 2pm I realized that the whole time I had started with the wrong color so my background was brown and the design was gold, when I had designed it the other way around. Just totally missed it! So... I decided to start all over... So here you see the real design coming along above my mistake.

Eventually, around 12:10 am the next morning (I took a couple of breaks) I hit the 1000 pick mark! only 820 more to go. So it took about 6 hours to get to the halfway point... I think... I kinda lost track of time.

 

Close up detail.

So that was day one of my adventures with Jacquard. I am tired and my shoulders hurt. I am daydreaming of a massage, but unfortunately that is not an option. I must get back to work.

Shibori

I'm learning about dyeing fabric in my Images on Fabric course. I'm going to work on my Transitional Collection and the course assignments simultaneously. The collection will be inspired by Nicaragua and its foliage and scenery. I will photograph and document the process of those pieces when I get to them.
For now I'm experimenting with Shibori and other resist dyeing techniques with acid, resist, and reactive dyes.

Here are a few samples I did last night:

These are both different types of silk. For the sample on the left, I started tying from the center of the square cut piece of fabric and kept going in different intervals, hoping to get varying circles when it was done. For the sample on the right, I pleated the fabric in one direction and then folded and pleated in the other direction. Then I clamped it diagonally across.

With the tied up piece I played around with the way I dipped it in the dye.
The clamped piece just chilled inside the dye bath for a while.

The finished pieces. The one on the left is the clamped piece and the one on the right was the tied one.

Screen printing Newbie

               I am taking a screen printing course this quarter. Finally! In the last few days I finished my first yardage in repeat. I chose one of my designs that is repeated very tightly and I decided to use 3 colors. A little difficult for my first time, but sometimes I like to dive in head first when I do something new. I arrived at the screen printing lab in Pepe Hall at 11am on Saturday. After preparing everything, mixing colors, and having to re-burn a screen that presented problems, I finally began printing around 2pm. I left the building for a very short dinner break and then got back to work. I unfortunately had to leave the building at midnight (closing time) with the fabric almost finished. So, I was finally able to finish the project today in class. Not too shabby for my first time :)

Colors ready to go

Ready to start Part 1: Gray

In process of covering the fabric with the Gray layer

Part 1 finished

Part 2: Blue. Finished.

Ready to start Part 3: Mustard Yellow

All three colors done!

Close up

 All finished on the drying line!

Website Launch!

My website has finally launched!! I hope for it to be a place where everyone and future employers can take a look at my work. I'm very excited, check it out!

                                   www.aguilardesign.com

Coming soon to Etsy...

I've been working on a few products I would like to sell in my (soon to be) Etsy shop. I'm going to stick to small fashion accessories and dining decor to start out. I still have two busy quarters left at SCAD and I can't compromise my school work with too much side work. I'm planning to make new products during winter break to add to the shop. For now I want to give you a preview of the headbands and hairclips I've been working on and will soon be for sale. All of them are made out of my original prints on cotton fabric. I would love to hear your comments and/or suggestions before they go on sale.

Hope you'll buy your original Brenda Aguilar hair accessory soon!

1) Adjustable bow headband. You can move and adjust the bow to wherever you want it to lay on your hair.

2) Rosa hairclip. Made out of my Roses print on cotton sateen fabric. Will be available in three sizes: small, medium, and large. This is a sample of the large.

3) These will be limited edition Rosa hairclips made out of batik fabric I designed and sampled during my time in Ghana. I will have the pattern printed on cotton sateen when the limited batik fabric is finished. These are samples of the small and medium sizes.