Last week my daughter had a painting day with her fiber artist friends.  They met at one member’s home and made a fun day.  Would you call this a “modern” quilting bee of sorts?
They did their fabric painting using gelatin.  Beth made several pans of colorless gelatin to take with her.
Then they spread paint in various designs and even non-designs over the gelatin and pressed the fabric onto it.  These then dried.  She now has numerous circles of delightful color and design to create with.
At home, she made smaller circles and is doing the same with it, creating numerous colored …read more

I spent my afternoon walking through my local conservatory.  It was such a treat to get away from the city for a couple of hours and just enjoy the tropical flowers and lush plants from all over the world.
Of course, I can’t leave my camera at home and so I’ve got dozens of photos of lovely plants to use as inspiration.  I find that the “macro” image is the one that interests me the most, so I rarely seem to end up with the whole flower or plant in the frame.
One game I like to play is imagining how I …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

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

Make Art Monday!
I got on a fabric kick recently, and took a couple of days to whip up some painted fabrics that I could use as backgrounds for other projects. Part of the fabric piece shown below ended up as a small beaded quilt.   For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing some fabric painting techniques with you.  To get ready, gather up some plain muslin, acrylic paints (they don’t have to be fabric paints), sponges and brushes, and some stencils or stamps.  Tomorrow, we’ll look at how to paint fabric in a plastic bag!

Sharon Fairclough says:
I would use the book for ideals for my end of the year t-shirt for my pre-k class were thinking about tie dye but this book probablly will have more ideals. Thanks for the giveaway

Well, that’s great, Sharon, because YOU’RE THE WINNER!!

***Free Stuff Alert!!!***
Want to dye and paint your own fabrics, but don’t know where to start?  This is the book for you, with all the beginner information you need on different types of dyes and paints that you can choose from, the minimal tools and equipment that you’ll need, and some wonderful techniques to get you started!
The Basic Guide to Dyeing and Painting Fabric
by Cindy Walter & Jennifer Priestley
There are dozens of inspiring photos for you to drool over, step by step instructions for 20 different techniques, and even some full-sized patterns if you’d like to make the exact fabric …read more

Okay, so it’s not really Jell-o, but gelatin makes a really cool surface to create mono-prints on fabric.
I love painting & printing my own fabric for creating fiber art – it’s so much fun to play around with different techniques and come up with something unique.
I’ve done mono-printing with glass sheets before, but gelatin makes an interesting surface too. All you need to do is mix up some extra-strength gelatin (I think the recommended amount is 4 packages of gelatin to 2 cups of water). Pour it into a large tray and let it set for several days …read more