Fabric painted Calico bags with Felicity

Hello! Felicity here today.

In my studio I have been experimenting with simple ways to use fabric paint. I wanted to create something that was cute and that didn't involve a lot of supplies or a lot of time.
Now having 3 little children to take care of and no spotlight or lincraft in town, I wanted to create something I had stashed away that was collecting dust.

I used 3 supplies
Calico bags
Fabric paint
Stencils.

I decorated, very simple and quickly a few calico bags. I use these bags a lot. There great for when my son wants to give a little 'something' to his mates for a birthday or his school teacher to simple say 'thank you'.

1.First all I did was lay a dottie stencil on the bag.
2.Then I put a small amount of fabric paint on a baby wipe.
3.Then I simply wiped over the stencil with the baby wipe.

I did at first try to use a paint brush and dab it on, but it didn't give me the even layer of paint or affect I wanted as you can see, compared to the other 3 bags.

I think the baby wipe allows the paint to move smoothly because of the little moisture that comes from the baby wipe.

Something so simple, yet effective. Even better the kids can do it too!

Products used: Fabric paint - Oriental blue, Light green, Butter cup

Felicity XO

Rejuvenating old tired jewellery with Pebeo Prisme Fantasy paints

Hello my crafty crusader peeps! I have the perfect project for girls for the school holidays, a way to simply and cheaply. I fell in love with these beautiful paints at a craft fair some time ago and now I get the opportunity to play with them and show you all how amazing they are!

Let me make this clear. These are NOT water based paints! They are enamel paints that need turpentine to clean up so do NOT use brushes, use only disposable toothpicks and implements and scrap paper to apply these paints. The honeycomb effects gradually appear as the paint cures but are not present at the time of application.

To learn how to make wonderful jewellery here's my snapguide tutorial.

Check out How to Rejunvenate Your Jewellery by Crafty Crusaders on Snapguide.

Watercolour Plates and Bowls - Using pebeo Porcelain 150 paints.

The watercolour trend is everywhere and it's making its way off the papers and into our home decor, including our crockery. Today I'm going to show you a really simple way of getting a swirly watercolour design onto your plates and bowls. It's a very chimp proof way, even the hubby had a go with me!

Supplies are Simple :-
White Plate or Bowls
Bowl of Water
Pebeo Porcelain Paint in your choice of colours.
Paintbrush
and optional heat gun (to manipulate the paint)

First of all I mixed two colours together to get the wine coloured purple for our big square plate and small bowl,

As you can see I used the bright red and dark blue paints and mixed till I was happy with the shade of purple.
I then got the big square plate and dabbed a dollop of paint into the corner of the paint with a paint brush.

I then loaded up my brush with a heap of water and started dripping it into the corner of the paint to let it start running down into the blank surface.

then as it runs, you start to slightly tilt the plate to let the watered down paint move around, only tip slightly as you don't want it to just run everywhere that ruins the look (we may have done this a few times before I was happy)

We used a tea towel to prop to dish on its side so that the watered down paint could run back into itself, we then left it to dry a little, then re tilted it, to give depths in the shades of purple so that some swirls were lighter and some dark, then I decided to manipulate the paint with a heat gun to get a more marbled look in some parts.

By using the heat gun I was able to manipulate when and how the layers dried, moving them around to dry in fascinating patterns. I feel this game the best splat like effect overall and continued to do this method with each of the other bowls and platters I had.

 The Result, its beautiful bright and unpredictable watercolour platters and bowls, they are truly stunning in real life, and I can see these being favourited by me when it comes time to serve things. The dark blue bowl will be my daily cereal bowl I can see it already.

I hope you decide to have a go at this really easy tutorial, the results will vary depending on how adventurous you feel! but I can assure you each one will be stunning and each will be uniquely your own creation!

Next month I'm going to create some watercolour inspired napkins, I am a little watercolour obsessed!

Until next time, keep creating!
x Courtney

GDT- Karen Hawkins "Smoosh Painting"

Fabric 'Smoosh' Painting with Setacolor

Hi all!

  Karen@WhimsiKa here!

Today I have a simple tutorial on how to make sweet little fabric squares using Pebeo Setacolor Fabric paints and, what I call, the 'smoosh' technique.

  The fabric for this project needs to be a fairly lightweight and at least 50% natural fibre OR use good old baby wipes. The brand I mention at the start of the video is lovely and thick and allows for plenty of 'smooshing'. 

My washing line has never looked so pretty!

  I love that we can use this technique to make duplicate prints while a piece is still wet...just add a little spray of water, overlay with another piece of fabric and 'smoosh' the paint in with a brayer (you could also use a rolling pin, a baron or any other rounded object). Just remember, the more prints you take from one piece, the paler the colours will become


  The resulting pretty fabrics can be used in a fabric collage, or sewn into bags or cut up and turned into embellishments...so many uses (see the video for other ideas)

NB. One point I'd like to make...the stain you see on my fingers is NOT from the Setacolor paints, but from a previous project. The Setacolor paint washes off the skin quite easily!

You could also quilt on it.

Fabric flowers is one option for your hand
painted fabric

Hope you have fun getting messy with this technique. I sure love the surprise thst each piece gives me!

Hugs Karen!

Little Tiles Of Inspiration With Pebeo Porcelaine 150

These days everybody needs a little daily dose of inspiration, and this a cute and decorative way to get yours, or give some to a friend.

To make a Tile of Inspiration you will need:

• Ceramic Tiles -  approximately 9cm square (I bought mine at Spotlight in the craft section))

• Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Black Fine Liner Marker
• Your choice of colours - Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Porcelaine Paints and Markers,
• Flat and small round Princeton Brushes
• Diggers Isopropyl Alcohol
• A little mini easel to display (You can often buy these at craft stores, usually with a little mini stretched canvas)

I started by taking three different tiles and painting the upper two thirds with a mix of Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Ivory and Lapis Blue to make a sky colour. I used a soft, flat Princeton brush. I then took a small round Princeton brush an and experimented with brush strokes to create grass on the bottom third. The grass colour is Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Olivine Green.

On the above tile I went back in after the sky had dried with Isopropyl Alcohol and a cotton wool ball to remove some of the paint and create a cloud effect.

To draw my flowers I used Pebeo Porcelaine 150 in Parma Violet and dabbed the paint with a round brush.  Then I added the dots with a Pebeo Porcelaine 150 marker in Marseille Yellow. Make sure you let the paint dry between the layers.

For my Poppies tile I used the Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Marker in Scarlet Red to draw random poppy shapes, then the Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Black Fine Line Marker for the middle and the stems.

Again in the above tile I used the Black Fine Liner to mark in my flower outline. then I coloured in using Pebeo Porcelain 150 Marker in Amazonite Green for the leaves and a mix of Marseille Yellow and Agate Orange markers for the petals.

All the text was written with the Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Black Fine Liner. The options for colours, patterns, and quotes is endless, have fun exploring and creating something to inspire you every day.

Lets Get Graphic! - Pebeo Porcelain 150 Black Marker Magic.

Let's be honest, I'm not a fan of white anything, especially when it comes to plates bowls all types of crockery, being an artist I like visual stimulation, and white plates and platters just don't do it for me!
So today I am going to funk them up a little using a single item.

1 Black Pebeo 150 Porcelain Marker (if you want thicker, just use the Pot of Black Pebeo Porcelain Paint and a paintbrush of your choice).

What I first did was head into my Sketchbook and started making patterns and sketching out ideas you could also do this on a piece of paper but I like to collect my thoughts inside my sketchbook.
Once I had a general idea I used a dark 8b pencil to get some form of straight line ( I can never get straight even with a ruler, its been this way all my life!)

I wanted to create visual interest with minimal effort! something that was simple enough that anyone could do this to their own plates and platters. Once you are happy with your design you simply get your Pebeo Porcelain marker and away you go!

 (Tip) I pump the pen off on a paint palette to get the paint flowing nicely.

I am a person who likes the look of imperfect handmade items. I like my stuff to look a little left of center, which is why these bold patterns really make me smile, I know they aren't straight, I know this, and I embrace it and love it!

It's amazing how simple lines, can make such an impact to the white surface. Some of the designs I just free formed, when I made a mistake I got a Q-Tip with some Methylated Spirits on it, and erased what I didn't like. 

Creating patterns on only half of your dish is also a great way to add interest, simple dot pattern made my little plate quite adorable!

I loved how my plates and bowls turned out, I'm going to be using them to put my jewellery on.

 The result of a few lines and a black porcelain pen is some unique and bold statement pieces for your collection! I added a wash of watered down turquoise porcelain paint on the little flower ring bowl to try something a little different, and I love that look as well!

Once you are happy with your designs, let them set for 24 hours then pop them in the oven for 35 minutes at 150 degrees and they are good to go!

In my next post, we are going to be attacking white items again, but creating beautiful watercolour effects on our plates and bowls. Stay tuned for that one!
Enjoy
Courtney Diaz

Cut It Out

Desk Decor with Canson and Schmincke. 

School Holiday design activities

Supply List

Aero-color in: Primary Blue Cyan, Primary Yellow, Brown Brazil, SUPRA-opaque White.

Canson Watercolour 'Montval' 185gam A3

Individual Spray bottles

Water spray bottle

Craft mat

Cutting mat

Scissors or craft knife 

Stencil/ or freehand design

Masking tape

Rock salt

A fairly simple project to start the school holidays or spruce up a desk. Suitable for children around 10+.

PLEASE note that using a craft knife is only needed if your design is more intricate. Parental guidance or assistance is HIGLY recommended. 

Take your sheet of #Canson 185gsm watercolour paper and fold into this concertina four fold. 

Mark out a line around 10cm from the bottom. This will be your guide for placing your stencil or drawing. 

Here I chose a stencil that slightly overhangs each side of the card fold. This is important as the pieces connect due to this. A little piece of masking tape helps keep the stencil in place. 

Heres how your drawing should look.

Begin cutting out with a craft knife or scissors.
AGAIN….parental help is advised. 

Here's how your cut out appears before the Aero-color is added.

Spray cut out with water and begin spraying with Aero-color that has been dropped into a small spritzer 

I began with the Brown Brazil , then a touch of Primary Yellow. Let it run and move around. This adds to the natural patterns. 

Follow this with a spritz of Primary Cyan Blue and spray lightly with water to get the colours to intermix. Try adding some rock salt for special effects. It leaves a really cool mark as it soaks up some of the colour. 

Here's what I used.
Aero-color in Primary Yellow,  Primary Blue Cyan, Brazil Brown and as  an extra 'snow'I spritzed a little Supra-White Opaque.
If unsure. Play on some leftover card before applying to the cut-out.

A you can see, I added some extra snowflake like pattern with a stencil and the opaque white in a spritzer, plus with an ink pad I added a forest design with a stencil,  ink pad and antique gold embossing powder which when heated melt to create a wonderful embossed design. (kids love this)

This is completely optional. I just happened  to have these things on hand. If you also like this look and have a stash of goodies, by all means, go for it. It's all a personal process. 

I hope that the idea inspires the young ones and parents to spend a little time together and create a little piece  of magic for your personal space.

So enjoy some time together and  create something you'll  have to look back fondly on. 

Why not take photos of yourselves together during the project and put them together in a special memory journal. 

Most importantly…

HAVE FUN

xox

Kerry Sinigaglia

Guest Designer- Marta Tesoro

Meet Marta.....

I'm a freelance/contract illustrator and animator and have been in the industry for 11 years. I've worked in Childrens TV animated shows ("The Day my Butt went Psycho" was the last one I worked on) I recently did the character animation for a bank commercial. I am currently working on a couple of illustration contracts from home, after recent back to back studio work. I either work from home or different studios all over Melbourne. I have a boyfriend, live in the city area but may be moving to the country before the year is out, we shall see how things go. I've been creative ever since I was a kid and when I got older, I went and did Visual Arts at Monash University (majoring in painting) and got my Master of Animation and Interactive Media at RMIT. I have a daily blog : www.rabbittownanimator.com and I post pretty much everyday. My main weapons of choice (traditionally) are markers, fineliners, inks, brush pens, water colours and acrylics. Lately, I've been doing more ink and marker pieces. Check out the blog! I've been drawing cats lately.

So here is my Project today.  Using Mepxy Markers!

The materials and the suject matter.

Light colour first.  I used a "pale yellow".

Afterwards, I started doing some shades with a "lemon yellow".

A darker yellow with the "citrus" mepxy for the shadow.

For the spots, I used a "natural" coloured mepxy. 

A "light chocolate" colour was put on the top of the "natural" colour.

I finished defining the texture with a "chocolate" colour.

I finished off with some extra shading using the "natural" coloured mepxy.

Then tada!  Bananas!

A couple of nights ago, I wanted to just draw something for myself and something that I find relaxing.  For me, drawing still life is fun and relaxing so I drew these bananas.  It was good fun and I enjoy drawing organic things.  It got very positive feedback on facebook.  Maybe I should draw fruit more often!

Marta :-)