I have saved a number of my mother’s dresses, some dating back to her early marriage days (she and Father were married in 1934).  I recall her wearing two of them when I was a youngster.  Others are more recent, dresses worn before she was struck with Alzheimer’s.
The dresses carry memories of her and the occasions when she wore them.  I even have photos of Mother in several of them.
What should I do with them? I don’t have a place to display them, so have them stored away.

Have some preserved?  I did have this done with her wedding dress, but …read more

I’ve seen some beautiful fabric that’s been printed using inks or paint and shaving cream. The shaving cream stabilizes the inks and allows you to make soft, marbled prints without a lot of mess.
The basic technique is to spray an even coating of unscented shaving cream into a work surface (I’d recommend working on a plastic sheet or cookie tray) and then dripping the paint or into into the surface. You can then use brushes, sticks or even combs to manipulate the colors. Just lay your fabric into the shaving cream and lightly press into the surface. …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