The Printed Fabric Bee Giveaway: Insects!

July's Queen Bee was Jane Davila and she requested that we Worker Bees create fabrics that incorporated insect designs.

I was inspired by my recent trip to Cape Cod. We stayed in a house in the woods...which also happened to have a wonderful ocean view (the best of both worlds). What surprised me the most was the constant fluttering that was going on in that woods...not butterflies...but moths! I'd always thought of moths as being nocturnal creatures...not so, in this case!

My moth design was based on a paper cut design I'd done a number of years ago. I reduced it down and modified it a bit. I made a tracing of the design and then transferred it to a Speedball Speedy Carve block to carve.

For the background, I found some dyed fabric in my stash. I decided to add some more texture with a hot glue block which I slipped under the fabric and then rolled over with two different paint colors. To me, the texture of the rubbings represented the pines and scrub oak.

I slipped a hot glue block under my fabric for brayer rubbings.

I then over-printed with the carved block in three different colors (see fabric at top of post). A fluttering forest design!

Here is my 6" square that is part of the monthly fabric giveaway.

And here are some of the other fabrics you can win.

To be eligible to win, visit Jane Davila's blog or The Printed Fabric Bee blog and leave a comment. Jane will be announcing a winner on August 15. Good luck!

Be sure to stop by the blogs of the other Bee members to find out how they created their fabrics.
Lynn Krawczyk
Judy Gula
Jane Davila
Lynda Heines
Deborah Boschert
Lisa Chin
Gerrie Congdon
Susan Purney Mark
Carol R. Eaton
Jackie Lams
Leslie TuckerJenison

Day #4: Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour

Welcome to Day #4 of the Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour! Jane Davila is hosting the Tour today. When I read her bio I was very impressed by the depth and diversity of her art experience...

Jane Davila

Jane Davila is a fiber and mixed-media artist who began her professional art career as a printmaker, specializing in etchings and intaglios. Her prints can be found in many private and corporate collections around the world. She switched to fiber, mixed media, and art quilting in the 1990s but still incorporates many printmaking techniques, such as screen printing, block printing, gyotaku, and thermofax printing, in her work. The experience of living in Peru in the 1980s has had a lasting impact on her appreciation for the diversity of cultural expression and iconography, which as a theme frequently shows up in her work. Repeating motifs of fish, birds, and insects reflect her ongoing fascination with nature, the environment, and human impact on both. www.janedavila.com   www.janedavila.blogspot.com

Be sure to stop by Jane's blog today for a chance to win a copy of Fabric Printing at Home.

Sweet Silk Gift Bags 

These sweet little silk gift bags are quick and easy to make using liquid dishwashing soap as a fabric resist.
You'll need some small silk bags (I got mine from Dharma Trading Company), a few Valentine's transparent fabric paint colors (I used Pebeo Setacolor), paint containers, plastic spoons, water, 1" foam brushes, a small plastic squeeze bottle (I used a Detailer Writer from Dick Blick), liquid dishwashing soap, a work surface covered with plastic and a piece of cotton or muslin fabric to absorb excess paint, an iron and ironing board or pad, a pressing cloth and a water source (for rinsing out the soap).

1. Set up your work area. I used a portable work surface (I describe how to make one in Fabric Printing at Home) but any flat surface covered with plastic and a piece of cotton or muslin fabric is fine.

2. Place a silk gift bag and the bag tie on top of the cotton/muslin fabric. Mix up 3 to 4 paint colors (add a little bit of water to the paint.).

3. Fill the small plastic squeeze bottle with liquid dishwashing soap. If you use the Detailer Writer, snip the tip so the soap can flow out.

4. Use the squeeze bottle to draw Valentine's designs on the silk bag. When the liquid dishwashing soap soaks into the thin silk, the designs will spread a bit. The liquid soap will act as a resist (resisting the paint).

5. Paint over the designs on the bag and also paint the silk bag tie. Set aside to dry.

6. Read the directions for heat setting the fabric paint. I used an iron and a pressing cloth.

7. Rinse the liquid soap out and dry the silk bag. You can stop at this point or go back and add another layer of dishwashing liquid resist and more paint (which is what I did).

Here are the bags after a second layer of dishwashing liquid resist and paint.

Here are the bags stuffed with goodies and tied up ready for Valentine's Day!

Learn other techniques for applying liquid resists and pastes from kitchen materials in Chapter 6: Irresistible! from Fabric Printing at Home.

Today's giveaway is two plastic Detailer Writers. Use them to apply liquid resists or paint to fabric. Leave a comment for a chance to win. I will choose a winner at 11:00 PM Eastern USA time. Check tomorrow's post to see if you are the winner. Your comment also enters you in the final drawing on February 15 for a free copy of Fabric Printing at Home: Quick and Easy Fabric Design Using Fresh Produce and Found Objects. 

And now for the winner of yesterday's giveaway (an X-acto knife and package of #11 blades)....congratulations to Cathy in gorgeous Sonoma County! Please email me with your contact information (threadborn@cox.net) so I can send off your prize.

Tomorrow, the Tour stops at Carol R. Eaton's blog. Her hand-dyed fabrics are inspiring!!
 
Be sure to visit all the stops on the Tour:
February 2: Lisa Chin
February 3: Lynn Krawczyk

February 4: Jane Davila

February 5: Carol R. Eaton

February 6: Judy Gula

February 7: Susan Purney Mark

February 8: Teri Lucas

February 9: Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

February 10: Deborah Boschert

February 11: Lynda Heines

February 12: Cheryl Sleboda

February 13: Terri Stegmiller

February 14: Jackie Lams