A Fine Art Mystery Series

 

 A Fine Art Mystery Series

from Award-Winning Author Paula Darnell

 

Artistic License to Kill - Book 1 in A Fine Art Mystery Series

Artist Amanda Trent, accompanied by her beloved golden retriever Laddie and her persnickety calico cat Mona Lisa, is determined to start a new life after her husband divorces her to marry a younger woman, but it isn't easy.

After a disastrous interview at the prestigious Roadrunner Gallery in Lonesome Valley, Arizona, far away from her previous home in Kansas City, Amanda's afraid that she'll fail at her new career. But her prospects begin to improve when she's accepted as the newest member of the cooperative gallery.

Then, on her very first day, she discovers Janice, the stern director, has been murdered right in the art gallery, and the Roadrunner's members, including Amanda herself, become suspects. Which gallery member murdered the unpopular director? Or was the killer an outsider with an ax to grind?

 

Click to Buy Artistic License to Kill at Your Favorite Retailer 

 

Vanished into Plein Air - Book 2 in A Fine Art Mystery Series

Who wouldn't want to make a living from her favorite pastime?

Although sometimes self-doubt creeps in along the way, artist Amanda Trent has been striving to do just that, ever since her ex-husband dumped her for a younger woman and she moved to Lonesome Valley, Arizona, to start a new life. So when her friends from the Roadrunner Gallery urge her to join them and world-renown artist Ulysses Durand in a plein air paint-out, she hesitates, fearing that she might not be able to complete a painting in the four-hour time limit.

But everything goes smoothly at the public open-air event—until Ulysses's wife goes missing and he asks Amanda for her help. Has his past come back to haunt the famous artist? With a little help from her nemesis, cranky Lieutenant Belmont, the support of her friends, and the companionship of her furry feline Mona Lisa and her lovable golden retriever Laddie, Amanda tracks a killer who's determined to strike again unless Amanda can save the day

Click to Buy Vanished into Plein Air at Your Favorite Retailer

 

 

Hemlock for the Holidays - Book 3 in A Fine Arts Mystery Series

As Lonesome Valley kicks off the holiday season with its annual parade, artist Amanda Trent embraces the Christmas spirit, happy that her family will be coming to town to celebrate the season with her and her loyal pets, Laddie, a friendly golden retriever, and Mona Lisa, an independent calico cat.

Amanda has just one nagging concern: her art sales have stalled, so her checking account is starting to look a bit puny. Her financial woes pale, though, in comparison to her concern when several people eat carrot bars laced with hemlock at the high school's arts and crafts fair, resulting in one unlucky man's death. Was the poisoning an accident, or did someone with evil intent deliberately spike the sweet baked goods?

Leads the police follow don't pan out until Amanda puts the puzzle together. But, sometimes, knowledge can be a dangerous thing. . . 

 Click to buy Hemlock for the Holidays at your favorite retailer 

 

Killer Art in the Park - Book 4 in A Fine Art Mystery Series

 

 A sunny summer’s day. . .

An art show in the park. . .

How could something so delightful turn so deadly?

When she hears a bone-chilling scream, artist Amanda Trent leaves her booth and rushes through the park to find a horrifying scene. Her friend Pamela is kneeling beside her husband’s body, her hands covered in blood. Amanda’s fear that the police will immediately peg Pamela as their chief suspect comes true when Pamela is arrested for murdering her own husband. But Amanda knows that Pamela is no killer, and she’s determined to prove it.

Encouraged by the support of her friends and bolstered by the companionship of her adorable golden retriever Laddie and her moody calico cat Mona Lisa, Amanda pursues clue after clue, to no avail. She’s running out of leads, and Pamela’s running out of time. Can Amanda discover who the real killer is before Pamela has to call a prison cell her new home? 

Click to buy Killer Art in the Park at your favorite retailer. 

 

 Halloween Hue-Dunit - Book 5 in A Fine Art Mystery Series

When a flirtatious former member bursts into the Roadrunner during a members’ meeting, Amanda and her friends are startled to learn that the beautiful blonde plans to return to their cooperative art gallery. But Monique’s going to bring more than her artwork with her; she’s also about to bring trouble. On her first night back, she makes eyes at a recently married man who ignores his bride to schmooze the newcomer, and that’s just for starters. With a fight over her billionaire husband’s will, a private eye who’s tracking her, a relative who’s had all just about all she can take of Monique’s outrageous behavior, and an ex-boyfriend waiting in the wings, it’s no wonder that Monique decides to take a break to attend a Halloween costume party.

Although her costume wows the guests, the party comes to an abrupt end when Monique takes a dive from a third floor balcony. Amanda’s sure that the unlucky artist was pushed to her death, and, with a houseful of masked party-goers, it’s no easy task to sort out the suspects. But even though she’s busy painting new artwork for an upcoming show while taking care of her lovable golden retriever Laddie and her finicky calico cat Mona Lisa, Amanda can’t resist doing a little sleuthing on the side. She’ll have to hurry, though, if she’s going to catch the killer before someone else suffers the same fate as Monique.

Click to buy Halloween Hue-Dunit at your favorite retailer.

 

 

 

 

How to Make a Fringed Tweed Choker

Traditionally used for outerwear in Scotland, England, Ireland, and Wales, tweed fabric has been "borrowed" by fashion designers and used to make couture garments for decades. The French couture jacket and skirt, popularized as a suit by Coco Chanel, is probably the most famous designer style.  Modern tweeds are often made up of a complex variety of colors, fibers, and yarns.

My favorite tweeds come from Linton Tweeds, a UK manufacturer that has supplied tweeds to the fashion industry for decades, so I used a Linton tweed to make two fringed tweed chokers. By fringing the warp in one case and the weft in the other, I made two chokers that look entirely different, even though they're from the same tweed fabric. The image below shows the variety of yarns with their colors, including metallics, and their different sizes, that I pulled for the fringes.

I used gold-plated jewelry findings to make my chokers, but any type of metal will do; just match the type of plating and/or metal for all the findings. Note that I made mine about 1.5 to 2 inches wide, but you could make your choker narrower or wider (vary the size of the ribbon crimp ends to fit your project if you do this).

To make a tweed choker, you'll need the following materials and supplies:

• Two 16mm metal ribbon crimp ends
• Two 6mm oval jump rings
• One 10mm x 6mm hook 
• One chain extender
• Two jewelry pliers (I used two bent-nose jewelry pliers)
  
• Tweed fabric 
• Satin ribbon (optional*)
  
• Thread to match satin ribbon (optional*)
  
• Needle (optional*)
  
• Craft glue
• Scissors
• Tape measure
• Straight pins

*You need the satin ribbon, thread, and needle only if you want to line the choker. I did line the chokers I made, as I think it's a nice touch, and it also helps to stabilize the tweed. 

However, if you'd like your choker to be reversible, simply omit the lining, and you can wear it with either side facing out. Although tweed has a "right" side and a "wrong" side, the "wrong" side can often look just as beautiful as the "right" side.

In this case, I recommend securing the ends of the tweed by gluing a tiny piece of felt into the ribbon crimps before closing them. Otherwise, the crimps may pull away from the choker since tweed fabric tends to fray quite a bit.  

The first step in making the fringed tweed choker is to determine the size you'd like before cutting the fabric. Use a tape measure to find your neck circumference. If you want a close fit, subtract one-quarter inch from the measurement to allow for the hook closure, which adds length to the finished choker, so the length would equal neck circumference minus one-quarter inch. 

The width can vary depending on how much fringe you like.

The first choker in the example below is for someone with a small neck size, and it measures 11.75 inches long by 1.5 inches wide. The bottom choker in the example below is for someone with a medium neck size, and it measures 13 inches long by 2 inches wide.

Once you've decided on the size of the choker, consider the pattern of the tweed before cutting the fabric to size. Cutting the tweed crosswise or lengthwise will change the look as shown above. You can pull out a few threads to see what the fringe is going to look like before deciding which way you want to cut. 

Before cutting the fabric and fringing it, place a couple of pins (the width of the ribbon crimp) onto the area where the crimp will go on the finished choker so that you can place it on the pattern the way you like and know where to stop fringing (you will be following the thread next to the pin at this step.)

When you cut out your choker shape, make sure to follow a thread exactly as you cut. Tweed can become distorted very easily, so use scissors, rather than a rotary cutter, and make a precise cut all along the side of a thread, as shown below.

When the choker is cut to size, it's time to start fringing. Using a straight pin, push the thread nearest the long edge away from the fabric, and then pull it all the way out.

You may not need the pin for every thread. Typically, the threads and yarns will vary in diameter so that some of them will be quite thin and others thick.

 Continue pulling the threads out until you're right next to the one you marked with your pin.

 

 

Fringe the other side of the choker in the same manner.

Proceed to the lining (if you're making a reversible choker, you'll skip the lining). On the wrong side of the choker, line up your satin ribbon in the center and pin it in place. 

Thread your needle, and stitch the ribbon in place, close to the edges, with a running stitch. Only tiny stitches should show on the ribbon. The longer running stitches should be buried in the tweed. Do not go all the way through to the tweed face of the fabric when you're hand stitching. The tweed is thick enough that you can run your thread through the back of it so that it will not show on the tweed's outer face.

When you stitch the ends, stabilize them with an overcast stitch. Go through the loop of the overcast stitch to form a knot with each stitch. We're doing this not only to stitch the ribbon to the choker but also to have a stable area for the crimp to attach firmly. 

Once you've completed a stitching all the way around, turn the choker to the front.

Next, assemble the metal jewelry findings.

Holding a jump ring by jewelry pliers, one in each hand, open the jump ring by pushing one end away from you and the other end towards you. (Do not pull apart sidesways.)

Slip the jump ring onto one of the crimp ends.

Slip the hook onto the same jump ring with the crimp end already in place.

 

 

Close the jump ring by bringing the two ends together.

Open the other jump ring and slip the other crimp end and the extender chain onto it. Then, close the jump ring.

Examine the crimp ends. In some cases, the crimps will have a sawtooth edge on both sides. Other crimps, such as the ones I used, have a straight edge on one side and a sawtooth edge on the other side. If this is the case, make sure that the straight edges of the crimps are facing up. Apply a thin coat of craft glue to the inside bottom of one crimp.

Fit the crimp over the center edge of the choker, and let it dry. Although this type of crimp doesn't need to be glued in place, I use the glue to position the crimp so that it doesn't move when I close it later.

Let the glue dry, and then press the crimp closed with jewelry pliers, making sure it's tightly closed. This usually requires pressing it along the edge more than once if you're using bent nose pliers.

Attach the other crimp on the other end in the same manner, and your choker is complete!

Enjoy your fringed tweed choker!
 

How to Make a Fabric Flower into a Hair Clip

Making a fabric flower into a hair clip is quick and easy. 

Here are the materials you'll need to transform your fabric flower into a hair clip:

• felt scrap
• craft glue
• alligator clip

The only tools needed are scissors with a sharp point and a pen or pencil.

Start by making a circle of felt. Set a quarter coin on top on your felt scrap and draw around it with a pen or pencil.

 Cut out the felt circle inside your pen or pencil lines.

Place the alligator clip across the felt circle.

Make two dot marks on each side of the alligator clip (four dots in all) a bit to the left and a bit to the right of center, as shown below. Then, remove the clip.

With the sharp point of your scissors, pierce one of the lower dots and make a cut from the lower dot to the upper dot above it. Repeat for the other two dots so that you have cut two parallel slits in the felt.

When you finish, you'll press open the alligator clip and slip it between the slits as shown below, but, for now, set the clip aside.

Apply glue to the side where the dots show all the way around, being careful not to apply any glue in the area between the slits because the alligator clip will slip in there.

Press the glued side of the circle onto the center back of the fabric flower.

Allow a few minutes for the glue to dry.

Once the glue has dried, press open the alligator clip and slip it between the slits. The curved part of the clip should be facing out since it will be against the head. Note that the alligator clip isn't permanently affixed, which makes it easy to replace it in case of breakage, or you could use a bobby pin instead of the alligator clip, if you prefer. 

 All done!

Now you're ready to wear your fabric flower as a hair clip. 

If you want to turn your fabric flower into a brooch, see my article "How to Make a Fabric Flower into a Brooch." 

If you'd like to learn how to make the wool felt daisy flower pictured above as our example, see my article "How to Make a Wool Felt Daisy with a Needle Felted Center."

How to Make a Wool Felt Daisy with a Needle Felted Center

Daisies are such perky, cheery flowers, and they're among the easiest of fabric flowers to make. Worn as a hair clip or brooch or pinned to a hat, a felt daisy adds a fresh touch of springtime to any outfit.

 

To make this daisy, you'll need the following materials:

• 100% wool white felt (1mm thickness)
  
• tiny amount of yellow wool roving

You'll also need:

• daisy template - download or print the template here
• printer and paper to print the template
• felting needle (any size will work for this design)
• small felting pad
• scissors
• transparent tape or straight pins
   

Instructions

Download and print the daisy template. There are three sizes - small, medium, and large on the template. I used the large size, which will result in a felt daisy that's about four inches in diameter. To begin, you will need to cut two daisies of the same size. Tape the template on top of the wool felt or secure it with straight pins before you cut out the shape. To get the most accurate cut, do one at a time, rather than layering as we might do with fashion fabric, because felt is thicker. Note that the daisy is not symmetrical by design. I hand draw my flower templates so that the shapes will be a bit more like real flowers (no two flower petals will look exactly the same).

The next step may seem a little odd, but the reason we're doing it is that it's easier to shape wool felt when it's damp. Fill a bowl with water, and put both daisy shapes into the bowl.

Weight them down with a spoon to keep them under water. Wool does not absorb water as quickly as other fabrics do, so just leave them in the water for about half an hour.

Remove the two daisy shapes from the water. Keeping them flat, gently press out the water (you could press them between folds of a towel). Now it's time to shape them a little. Shaping will be slightly different for the two. On one of the shapes, firmly finger press a crease in the center of each petal from the top to the bottom of the petal and leave it to air dry. You can repeat the finger pressing again as the petal is drying so that it will hold the shape better. If you want a really crisp crease, you can secure each petal with an alligator clip. I used the finger pressing method because I wanted a softer look.

On the second shape, curl the petal side edges to the front and finger press down. You can run your thumbnail along the creases to help them stay in place. Repeat as the flower is drying to help it hold the shape better. These creases can be pinned in place with straight pins for a crisper look, if you prefer it. Again, I used the finger pressing method for a softer appearance.

After allowing both daisy shapes to dry, layer the shape with the creases on both sides of the petals on top of the other shape so that the petals of the bottom layer show between petals of the top layer.

Needle felt the two layers together in the center.

The center of your daisy will look something like the photo below. Needle felt the center until the two layers are firmly attached together.

Next, add a bit of yellow wool roving to the center.

Needle felt it to form a circle in the center of the daisy. Go a little deeper than usual with your needle (but no more than an inch) because there are two layers of felt on the bottom, rather than one. This should help attach the roving more firmly as well as shape the flower a little bit more.

Build up the circle in the center with more roving and continue needle felting it.

Needle felt the yellow center until you have formed a dome.

Viewed from the side, your daisy should look something like the following picture when you're finished.

Now that you've made a wool felt daisy, you may want to turn it into a brooch. Another option would be to make it into a hair clip as shown below.

Enjoy your felt daisy!

If you'd like to get the materials for the daisy, I have a materials pack/kit available in my Paula D Sewing Patterns Etsy shop. Click here to check out the kit on Etsy.