More Explorations with Stamping!

I had another delightful session with my stamps from Art Foamies! This time I used the Seed Pod design. The stamp is a thick foam making it easy to create a sharp crisp print. 

I used Jacquard Textile paint that needed to be thinned just a bit with water. 

I printed on a piece of ice dyed fabric. I wanted to create a meandering design with sections of tightly grouped seed pods that thinned out as it crossed the surface of the fabric.

I took a coffee break while the paint dried.
The fabric was then heat set and ready for a project! 

Art Foamie Stamps - if it doesn't move - stamp it!

What a fabulous mantra... if it doesn't move  - stamp it! I recently discovered this cool creative arts business located in Canada. Art Foamies founder, Emmie Roelofse is a fabric painter herself and the business grew from her desire to create stamps from her own designs! 

Look at this awesome box-o-fun that arrived in the mail! Art Foamies ships anywhere in the US and Emmie is a treat to work with. What I love about this product is the thickness and texture of the stamps. It is sooo easy to work with and allows even a novice stamper (such as myself) to get great results. I've never come across stamps like this before and I encourage you to take a peek at the website! 

I quickly decided to use Color Magic by Jacquard with the stamps. Color Magic is a curious product; when applied to fabric and dyed any area with Color Magic will be super saturated with color creating a secondary pattern. You can stamp, paint, screen or apply in any way your imagination takes you - but that is another post! 

I planned to ice dye the fabric once the Color Magic dried and I was so focused on the stamping layer that I forgot to pretreat the fabric with soda ash and water... duh! Unfortunately the ice dye results were less bright and intense than I had planned.This is NOT the red/orange I was looking for but the bird is very sweet! 

Not to be deterred I plunged forward using Speed Ball fabric paint. I can't stress enough how easy this stamp is to work with. Just look how it sits up high accepting the paint without me having to even hold it!

Press lightly...

Lift...

Repeat!

I've got a whole gaggle of funky little birds racing across the fabric surface! What a fun project! I tried out every stamp in my box-o-fun so check back for more posts this week! 

Stamping with Pine Needles

For anyone who likes to stamp found objects onto fabric I suggest pine needles. They typically hold up well and for me at least they are easy to come by.

Speedball is my favorite printing ink because it's thin enough to leave the fabric soft after stamping. I used two shades of green and some brown applied by sponge brushes. Once the ink dried I painted a wash of color using diluted Pueblo Setacolor paints with some salt tossed on to help the paints wander.

 

I typically purchase my supplies from Dharma Trading Company - they're the best!

Dowel Art?

I cut a dowel this morning to hang a quilt. I had a small piece of dowel left over and rather than tossing it into the kindling box I brought it into the studio... but what to do with it?!

 I can make bubbles...

I could roll it...

What about using this old feather I found... what would happen?

Here is the finished piece that started out with silver bubbles...

This is the piece that started off with rolling the dowel...

This blog post feels like the ranting of imagination gone off the path!

When is a Celery a Rose?

Ah... it feels good to have another piece from my design wall finished! I completed "Celery Rose" last night. In an earlier post I talked about making prints from the base of a celery stalk. The prints looked like a rose which lead to creating a pattern from the print and voila!

The borders are needle felted and deliberately left uneven to
compliment the movement in the design.

Here is the divine inspiration - behold the celery stalk!

 
What other vegetables do you think would make an interesting print?

While chopping celery one day I couldn't help but notice how cool the celery "end piece" looked. It had all the makings of an interesting stamp. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get to the project for a few days and the celery shrank a little but I ventured forth and to my surprise the print reminded me of a rose! What do you think?

It does look a little sad...

I applied some fabric ink to the celery

Apply firm pressure

A rose is a rose...

A garden of celery or a garden of roses?!

Identity!

The Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective is putting together our 3rd show with an "Identity" theme. We're creating small works that relate to our perception of Identity. It's difficult to portray yourself in such a small space... I felt like I was tweeting in fabric! The show will be hosted by the Levi Coe Library in Middlefield, CT for the month of November! I came up with 4 designs... remember they are not a likeness, they are a suggestion!



This piece is tilted "Self Indulgence" and represents my love of

all things coffee and chocolate!

The second piece is titled "Wants vs. Needs". I was feeling rather pouty

because my desire to spend all my waking hours in my studio

was interrupted by my real-life responsibilities!



Here we have "Granola Girl" because I'm happiest when I feel

a connection to nature and all that she offers!

Finally we have "Firmly Planted" which represents the strong family ties

and connections I have with me at all times; my family is amazing!

Please join the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective for a meet the artist reception at the Levi Coe Library on November 3rd. Mary Lachman will be giving a hands on demonstration of quilting from 6:00 - 6:45 followed by the artist reception. I will also be there with hand dyed and hand painted fabrics for sale... it's going to be quite a night! I hope you can stop by!

Stamping Pine Needles and Pine Cones onto Natural Dyed Fabric

This stamping project is part of my "Weekend Walk Series" (see the above hand painted and hand dyed fabrics tab for more creations). This weekend I found myself enjoying a walk in New Hampshire with my mom. This walk has been special since I was a small child... when I daydream of New Hampshire I think of the rugged granite mountains, the pristine lakes and the beautiful pine trees. On this particular morning I collected some interesting pine cones with pretty colored lichen.

I have an ever growing collection of fabrics I've dyed using natural products vs. powdered commercially made products. I love my powdered dyes but wanted to learn how to use items from my yard and gardens. In today's series I used fabrics dyed with Dandelions, Bladderwrack (seaweed) and grape concentrate. The inks are produced by Speedball and I purchased them at www.dharmatrading.com. 

Step one is to apply ink to one side of the pine needles:

 Step 2 is to gently press the pine needles ink side down onto the fabric. I covered the needles with a paper towel and rolled a Brayer over the top for even pressure (you can also use your fingers).

  

Next up I simply pulled the pine needles away from the fabric to reveal the print:

 I wanted to include the pine cones but had to work through the obvious challenges of their lumpy texture! I applied the ink directly to one half of the pine cone surface.

Next I placed my hand underneath the fabric to "cradle" the pine cone as I rolled it gently over the fabric.

I was happy with the end results! I love my "Weekend Walk Series" as it gives me an excuse to collect things when I'm out enjoying my walks... decompressing from the rigors of my work week.

For details and information on purchasing any fabrics from the "Weekend Walk Series" or other creations please visit my Hand Painted and Hand Dyed Fabrics tab at the top of this page.

1) Fabric is hand dyed with Bladderwrack (seaweed)

2) Fabric is hand dyed with Dandelion flowers and leaves

3) Fabric is hand dyed using grape concentrate

If you give stamping a try please let me know and share your results... it's so much fun!

How to leaf stamp!

We are all so busy during the week between work and family that I always try to carve out time on a weekend morning to go for a walk with my long time friend Sharon! We covet our quiet time together to let our guards down from the demands of business to catch up on our families and just be free to enjoy a nice walk in the woods! Last weekend I collected some interesting leaves on our walk to bring back to the studio for some leaf printing. I enjoyed the results and call the series "Weekend Walk". Give it a try yourself or if you like the results I have fabric for sale - just let me know if you're interested and we can talk about the rest!

Please note for the best results choose leaves with raised veins or texture!

 

Begin by painting the underside with a fabric paint or silk screen ink.

Flip the leaf paint side down onto your fabric. Press gently with your fingers or use a Brayer to roll across the back of the leaf. Gently lift up the leaf - this is fun right!

Keep going until you feel you have enough leaves for your design. 

Next I wanted to paint the overall piece with a wash of fabric paint. I use Pueblo fabric paints because they behave like water color.

Once I painted the fabric I tossed on some Kosher salt (large crystals) and left it to dry. Below is the final result.... "Weekend Walk Series" has been born! I can't wait to see what I collect on my next weekend walk!

Have fun and let me know if you give it a try!