Oooh! Don’t we all love Lotta Jansdotter! She’s only one one of my favorite textile designers! Here are a couple of easy and fun tutorials that I found. Yay!
How to Make Patchwork Coasters w/ Lotta Jansdotter from Rowenta USA on Vimeo.
Iron-On Transfers w/ Lotta Jansdotter from Rowenta USA on Vimeo.
I love when you can use very simple and mundane items to perk up a gift or decorative piece. One item in particular that I can’t get enough of is Japanese Washi Tape, also referenced as deco tape! The little gems are adorned with some of the prettiest colors, patterns, and typography which can add a lot of character to something very simple. I am actually quite surprised to see that there were not more photos of DIY projects using this tape. I know that I have tons of ideas swimming in my mind. Maybe that calls for another tape it pretty inspired post! Nevertheless, here are a few ideas that I love and have collected from around the web. Just click the links below the photos for more info and pics!
Here are two of my favorite shops for deco/japanese tape: Happy Tape and Pretty Tape
The Beat That My Heart Skipped
Lesson Learned: the importance of recycling, color, scent(if you use a fragrance),temperature, time.
This is a great project for those empty cans from your canned food, that would just otherwise in up in the trash. Try preserving them just a bit longer by turning them into soy candles!
Supplies Needed:
Empty Can, washed and dried
Soy Candle Wax, microwavable
Colored string or any other decorative element you would like to use on the outside of your can
Acrylic paint
Modge Podge or any clear drying sealer
Glue Stick, quality
Candle wick
How To Make It: Take your can and paint/decorate the edges and the bottom your can. If using acrylic paints, you will have to do a few coats to obtain a nice rich & even color. Let dry and seal your painted edges and bottom with modge podge. Once your modge podge/sealer has dried. Grab your glue stick & cover a portion of the side of your can with glue. Starting from the top of your can wrap your string around the sides gradually covering the entire can as you work your way down to the bottom. Trim off ends If you are using a different embellishment, simply use your glue and embellishments to decorate your can. Let sit & dry for about 10 minutes.
Place your wick in the center of your can. You can use a small dab from your glue stick or double sided tape to keep it in place. Melt your wax (once melted you can stir in your fragrance oil) as directed and slowly pour the hot wax into your can. Trim your wick & let your wax dry according to directions.
Light and enjoy!
Psst..Here is a good video on making soy and beeswax candles. They do make lovely gifts!
I can totally see myself over indulging in a project such as this. Filled with color and simplicity, these colorful adornments created by quilter and Textile Designer Denyse Schmidt would add character to many different spaces. I can see a bunch of them stacked randomly in a cute dish/bowl. I can also see these as Christmas tree ornaments as well..yes, I am quirky enough to do so! LOL. You can find the how-tos of this project along with a great feature on Denyse in the Summer 2009 issue of Creative Home (psst…i love this issue of Creative Home by the way..it’s filled with lots of color goodness…as usual!)
Psst…Maiwa is hosting a fabulous textile symposium in October, so if you are in the area I would definitely recommend looking more into this, as I know I would love to attend many of their workshops!
I just came across Maiwa, a supplier of natural fabric dyes and textile printing supplies! I heart this site and look forward to trying out their line of natural materials to experiment with. They carry natural materials such as: Black Oak, Henna, Indigo, Marigold, Pomegranate, Safflower, and more; and their prices for the smaller jars start at just $3.95! They also have some great instructions and tips on various textile printing that are free to download as well as a glossary that defines the colors that each of their natural dyes are used for as well as the colors that result from them. So, if you are lucky enough to find yourself in the Vancouver, BC area, then you should most definitely check out their shop Maiwa Handprints!
They have also produced several documentaries. Two of them I would love to own to add to my own textile collection, the first being “In Search of Lost Colour: The Story of Natural Dyes”.
The other film that I would like to own from them is called “Through The Eye of a Needle: Stories from an Indian Desert” (the textiles in the preview below alone are captivating..simply gorgeous!).
The price of these two are about $42 bucks for private use, but I think if you are a serious textile guru or one that just simply loves the art of textiles, then it would be well worth the investment!
So, last night I decided to muster up the courage to go ahead and print one of the fabrics that I will use in the baby blanket for our little girl who is due next month. I really have been putting it off, as I did not want to TOTALLY screw it up as I did not have money in the budget to buy more fabric. Nevertheless, I VERY much consider this a practice run as I am still using the hoop screens and modge podge(which explains the random smudges and pinholes…LOL). I think with my next print I will go ahead and use a true screen, but for this project, I will continue with this print.
I do have one question…How do I prevent my screen from picking up ink if it is laying on top of the print next to it..should I print every other row and let dry and then print in between or do I just wipe after each print..any suggestions?
As I was reading the lovely and might I say very resourceful blog Celestina Carmen, which is a blog about screenprinting, sewing, & crafting; I learned that I should really raise my screen just a bit from direct contact to the fabric to help prevent smudging so I will definitely be experimenting with that soon. Also, I failed to use a fixative in my ink, so I have to be sure to order some to help my color set better. Nevertheless I am pleased with the design and can really see this motif in lots of different things. I call it Berry Ava because our little girls middle name will be Ava!
So, I just wanted to quickly share my progress. I must say that screenprinting while pregnant can be a bit of a challenge!: I will be back some time next week and will post pics of the completed blanket. It really won’t be to complicated…quite simple really. Ok, thanks for listening and I will be back soon! Happy creating!
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