Running Errands: Surface Design Ideas

My errand list

I was running some errands today, picking up some supplies for upcoming surface design workshops. I'm always looking down the aisles of stores and gathering ideas for using products in new ways. Today, I brought my camera along...

At Staples, after making photocopies for my Changing the Face of Fabric Challenge workshop, I wandered down the aisle with the packing supplies.

I needed some bubble wrap...for packing but also for printing.

I spied these green packing products as well. I bet they'd make for some interesting printing effects especially the Greenwrap.

Cardboard boxes are great for portable printing surfaces and for making print blocks.

Tape and glue are always on my surface design list. I'll be using the packing tape, doubled over for stencils.

Later on at Michael's Arts and Crafts, I immediately went to one of my favorite aisles, the one with all the Creatology Fun Foam. I needed to pick up a number of the 1/4"  x 9 x 12 sheets for the weekend workshop. I love this aisle...look at all the choices of adhesive Fun Foam shapes!

As I presently have a student, Keith, who designs and teaches the creation of spectacular cakes (each an amazing art piece); I decided to wander over to the cake decorating aisle.

I was surprised to find foam print blocks for printing designs on cakes!

There were also texture plates and mats for rolling textures onto fondant.

Outside Michael's and I couldn't resist taking a picture of the flip-flops. Heat these up with a heat gun or embossing tool and you can impress textures on them for printing.

A few things I picked up today: Restickable mounting shapes and dots (from Staples) and adhesive felt shapes and FunFusion perle beads (from Michael's).  I plan to stick the mounting shapes onto fabric as masks and pick them up and reposition them. The felt shapes can be applied to cardboard to make print blocks. The FunFusion might be fun to stick under fabric for a brayer rubbing or to press into a heated moldable foam block (or a heated flip-flop) for a texture block.

Oh the possibilities!

Surface Design Brought to You by Michael's

I finally had the opportunity today to try out some of the finds from Michael's.

I wrapped rubber bands and stuck adhesive craft foam designs to two to the mini rolling pins.

I cut some flower shapes from the adhesive felt and stuck them on corrugated cardboard.

I also decided to cut a piece of 3" x 4" adhesive felt to stick it to a piece of corrugated cardboard. I then cut some stripes of the adhesive felt and adhered those.

It turns out that the textured felt piece did not have an adhesive backing. So I decided to use it under the piece of fabric I was printing and do a rubbing using a foam brayer.

Here are the results.

I think the adhesive felt has potential. Two interested things I noticed with the striped piece. I first used orange paint and then switched to a muted blue. While printing with the blue, I noticed that some of the orange was coming through. The felt had soaked up the original color and was still releasing it subtly. The other thing I noticed was the soft effect of the felt in some places...with some "furry" flecks.

A Trip to Michael's

So...I was just going to Michael's Arts and Crafts to pick up one of those fabric marking pens that washes out. I'm about to start a new project for my group, F.I.N.E. (Fiber In Nearly Everything). Michael's is a surface designer's dream. I can't help walking down one of my favorite aisles...the one with all the craft foam. In case you didn't know it, I am in love with craft foam!

Craft foam (Creatology refers to it as Fun Foam) is a wonderful product to use in surface design. I especially love the adhesive craft foam. I like to cut shapes out of the foam, peel off the backing and stick them to either corrugated cardboard or thicker craft foam to create print blocks. I usually buy the package that has the  6" x 9" sheets that come in a rainbow assortment of colors.

I'm always on the look out for new products having to do with craft foam. Today I found a few interesting items. I found a color assortment of single 9" x 12" sheets of adhesive craft foam which will be great if I want to work on some larger designs. I also found something new...adhesive backed craft felt (also by Creatology). The adhesive felt came in a variety of colors but also in some textures.  I might not only be able to print with the textured version, but it might make a nice rubbing plate.

As I was heading toward the cashier, I came across a mish-mash of toy items on sale. And...there I spotted them...Lil' Gourmet toy rolling pins. Oooo...the possibilities I can imagine. I could wrap rubber bands around them or stick craft foam or craft felt shapes on them. I can add fabric paint and roll them across my fabric. Can't wait to give all these goodies a try.

I just got an email notification that an artists' site I bought a page on has just gone live. I have my cloth figures (made with my hand printed fabrics) featured there. I hope you will check it out: www.jccnv.org/artists/united-states/julie-b.-booth/?back=artists