Tina, lucky number 8, is the winner of the wonderful new book Fabricate!  Tina wrote:
Fabric… it is an addiction and I have the most wonderful ideas when I buy it, I just have trouble actually cutting into it! you would think the world will end if I make a mistake, so I am happy to just have the fabric right now. It is starting to get a little difficult to store it all, time to actually MAKE things with it – hope this book can push me past buying and into creating!
going to check it out now…

Pull out your fabric stash and get ready to rock and roll!
I’ve got a copy of Interweave Press’s new fabric arts book to give away! Fabricate: 17 innovative sewing projects that make fabric the star can be yours just for leaving a comment below. Tell me what the last fabric project you did was, or what you’d like it to be if you’ve never worked with fabric before. Next Tuesday, I’ll randomly choose a winner from the comments list. You can read a review of Fabricate here.
FREE STUFF ALERT***FREE STUFF ALERT!!

I’ve used bleach on stamps to discharge the dye from fabrics before, but for some reason I never got around to thinking about using it in a spray bottle and discharging that way!  This is such a simple idea, and I just love the results.

This article for Threads magazine, by Lois Ericson, shares many great tips, the materials lists, step by step instructions, and photos so that you’ll know exactly what you’re doing and so you’ll take all the proper safety precautions.  Please, be careful when working with bleach!
Image: Threads/David Coffin

Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery:
See how to make a card and card album themed for a rock and roll mom to be that uses cute die cuts in a cool way.

The Artful Crafter
“Panadieres for Zambia” is a neat story and one small example of crafters helping crafters – all around the world. As Eileen likes to say, “Crafters are just the nicest people.”
The Impatient Crafter
Madge shares a technique in this post about embossing on slick surfaces!
About Family Crafts
What are your cleaning tips for crafting with kids? Please take a moment to share your …read more

Just about a year ago, I wrote a review of Susan Stein’s Fabric Art Workshop, and recommended it highly for those who wanted a book to grow with as you learned surface design techniques.   Well, Susan has done it again!

The new book is Fabric Art Projects, and my supposition is that it is an expansion of the last book.  The description says that it teaches techniques and provides projects to use them in.  I’m thinking that perhaps it would be best to take a look at the book first if you’ve already bought the first one, but if not, this …read more

I’m ending our short series on painting fabric surprises with a technique that takes a bit more time.  Although it starts out with unpredictable results, the second half of the process is much more deliberate and controlled.  Double the fun!
For the first two fabric painting techniques, visit these links:
Painting fabric in a bag
Twisted fabric painting

This time, you’ll need the usual ripped or cut piece of plain muslin, acrylic paints, a large soft brush or painting sponge, tape of different widths, and a large stamp or two.
Step by step instructions

Make Art Monday!
Here is another of the fabrics that I painted a few weeks ago (back when I inexplicably had some time on my hands!).  This one is a little more complex than the last two, but it’s not at all difficult.  To prepare for the tutorial tomorrow, gather up some plain muslin, acrylic paints, a stamp or two if you want, and tape: masking tape, electrical tape, graphic arts tape…anything that’s a bit low tack.  Don’t use duct tape for this project!

Last week we looked at how to paint your fabrics in a plastic bag in order to achieve unplanned but beautiful results.  Well, here is another method that will keep you in suspense until it dries and you unroll it!

Again, you’ll need to rip or cut a piece of plain muslin, gather up the acylic paints that you want to use, and find an old bottle (wine bottles are perfect), some paint brushes, and a rubber band.
Step by step instructions

Make Art Monday!
Twisting your fabric up before painting it is a really fun way to create easy background fabrics for other projects.  You never know quite what you’re going to get when you do this.  Tomorrow I’ll show you the steps, so gather up some plain muslin, acrylic paints, painting sponges, a bottle, and a couple of rubber bands!

Over the next couple of weeks, I want to turn our focus to fabric painting. Now that it’s getting warmer, this is a wonderful activity to do, maybe on your picnic table or on a sunny porch table.

Painting your fabric in a plastic bag is a great technique to choose when you want a surprise: you never know what you’re going to end up with when you let everything swirl around together in a bag. So rip off a length of plain muslin and gather up your acrylic paints, small cups, water, and oh yeah…a gallon sized plastic …read more