Create 28 – No. 26 & 27 – Fabric Beach Scene Collages

Hello there lovely Buttoneers! I can’t believe that this time last year in my ’27 Before 27′ blog challenge I would have been all done and dusted! Damn that extra year! Haha! This last part seems to have flown by though; I seriously don’t know how I was so relaxed about it all at the start? How did I ever take time off? As you can imagine, I am truly looking forward to that part! 

This week for my Create 28 blog challenge, I am whizzing back through time and space to waaaaay before this little crafty corner of the blogosphere was imagined up in my crafty little head. Waaaay before brooches and felty goodness that started this here bloggity blog, there were fabric collages. In fact, the super button detectives among you may have noticed that they are actually all over this blog…can you spot it? If you have invested into Eliston Button too in the Eliston Button Etsy Shop, you will may have spotted it too, or even in your pretty packaging? There is a teeny section of an old fabric collage of mine in the top right corner of my branded products, right up above on the Eliston Banner for this blog and on my business cards and packaging stickers!

100 points to Gryffindor for all who spotted it! 

So, I wanted to whiz back to my crafting past and re-create these as they have always been a favourite of mine, and anyone who visits my house or my parents’ house and seen them up on the wall! This time around I upped my game and made the slithers of fabric scraps a lot thinner, more colourful and a lot more detailed. I am pretty darn proud of these, they may need to be prized out of my crafty little hands at the Post Office! 

Without further ado…Here are numbers 26 & 27 in my Create 28 craft blog challenge…

The sea breeze refreshes the balmy suns warmth on your face, the oceans tide crashes against the shore in a relaxing rhythm as the sand cushions your feet with every step along the beach.

You stop and pick up pieces of water worn driftwood and admire the weathered wood that lines a path down to the blue-green hues of the sea that meets the horizon with a shimmering dance of light across its surface…

Breathe in salty air…breathe out your worries…relax…

For this collaged beach scene, each small piece of fabric goodness was lovingly hand-picked and cut to size to create a layered collage effect. The warm beige and creams merge together with oatmeal and sunshine colours to create a wonderfully textured surface. These colours merge with white foam on the oceans edge and then into the blue, green, grey and teal tones of the sea. Shimmery material captures the light on the surface and subtle glittering specks catch your eye as you, move in front of the piece. This in turn is complimented by slithers of wispy woven cotton clouds, denim blue skies and sea foam highlights of the dreamy sky. 

Fabric pieces of driftwood lay across the sands whilst textured and weathered fabric wooden posts rise up from the soft grainy sand to create depth in the foreground and a beach image you can relate with.

This fabric collage art is finished off with two white button clouds in the sky that have been carefully hand-sewn on to the collage.
The creamy and transparent white buttons were hand-picked from hundreds of buttons to make sure they are the right size and proportion for the scene.

Each of my fabric collages are totally unique and due to the hand-cut slithers of fabric and the different textures used, no two will ever be the same. A lot of time and love goes into each piece.

No, imagine the wind in your hair, the sun on your face and the sand between your toes as you stroll along the creamy yellow beach amongst the rocks and driftwood with the seagulls calling out your name. You come across a little row of beautifully painted, stripy beach huts and maybe you stop a while for a cup of tea or a snooze under the shade of the wooden roof…bliss…

The warm beige and creamy yellow sands, like the collage before, have a wonderfully textured surface. This in turn is complimented by slithers of wispy woven cotton clouds, denim blue skies and sea foam highlights of the dreamy sky. Two blue and white striped beach huts with navy blue roofs and doors cuddle up around the a central red and white beach hut, all in a row amongst the soft fabric sand dunes.

This fabric collage art is finished off with two flying fabric seagulls in the sky and two button rock piles that have been carefully hand-sewn onto the beach. Just be careful you don’t stub your toes when searching for sea shells!  

The stony grey button rocks were hand-picked from hundreds of buttons to make sure they are the right size and proportion for the scene. Those fabric seagulls had to be fed a lot of fabric seaside fish and chips to pose for this picture! Just imagine the wonderful relaxing stories those beach huts could tell. 

Fabrics are carefully selected for their colour, structure, texture and weave to ensure a beautifully tactile and visual feast that allows your imagination to take you off to a faraway place for a while. I always find that the more you look into each piece, the more you see…maybe pieces of driftwood in the sand or a trail from an aeroplane jetting away to a faraway city or tropical island. 

The fabric collage itself is approx. 8 x 6 inches and is mounted into a wooden cream coloured frame that is approx. 10 x 8 inches in total. No glass is kept in the frame so that the collages texture and dimension is kept. The frame is made from wood from a sustainable forest to help keep a happy planet and has the option of a free-standing arm or a metal hanging hoop when you come to display it. An Eliston Button ‘button’ logo will be hand-stamped and written onto the back of the frame.

Phew! I am super in love with these pieces. I hope that you like them too as this could mean I could invest more time into making different scenes and collections of fabric collages – they are super time consuming but really rewarding at the end and I thoroughly enjoyed making something totally different. 

What do you think? Can you imagine the sea breeze in your hair? Does it bring happy memories of beach walks with the sun shining on your holidays? Which is your favourite? I would love to hear all about it! 

So…27 down and only 1 more to go! I better get a wiggle on! These fabric beach scene collages will be available to buy in the Eliston Button Etsy Shop as soon as possible after this post. I can’t wait to hear your feedback! 

Ooooh and I will see you next week with (hopefully!) the final instalment of Create 28…oooo and did I mention that it’s my birthday!? Hooray! 

Meet me for a chat with a cup of tea in the comments below. I’ll click the kettle on!