Spreading Some Creative Cheer

Detail of a scarf printed with carrots and turnips.

I'm gearing up for a big end of the week! I have three events planned and if you happen to live in the Washington DC area, I hope you'll stop by and join me for one (or more) of them!

On Thursday, I'll be at teaching some mini-workshops at Stifel & Capra in Falls Church, Virginia. Sign up for a session of Kitchen Couture: Print Your Own Scarf. This is a great opportunity to take a printing workshop with me and walk away with a beautiful hand-printed scarf for only $10!!! I'll also be signing copies of Fabric Printing at Home. Pair the book with an additional scarf blank and you have a great gift for a crafty friend or family member!

I spent yesterday printing scarves in my studio. I'm going to have some veggies "blocks" available for participants, as well as hot glue, foam and carved blocks. I'll be demoing some printing "how-to's" and then you'll get a chance to play!

Here are some of the scarves I made.

Sign up for a time slot to save your spot.

On Friday night from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, I'll be demoing fabric printing at Artfete--The Art League School's annual Open House (Alexandria, Virginia). This is always a happenin' event...art exhibitions, demos, live music, food, jewelry and ceramic sales and even a runway show! Stop by my table and try your hand at printing. I'll have a number of copies of Fabric Printing at Home on hand and am happy to personally sign one for you!

Saturday, I head to the Artistic Artifacts Open House and Pop Up Holiday Market (Alexandria, Virginia). The event goes from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, I'll be there from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. I'll  be demoing veggie printing and other techniques from my book. Judy Gula will have copies of Fabric Printing at Home on hand...which I will, of course, sign! This should be great fun and I'm looking forward to seeing all the wonderful art and craft work for sale at the Holiday Market.

Hope to see you at one of these events!

Lots of Print-A-Bag and Book Signing Fun at The Muse in Frederick

I had such fun yesterday afternoon at the wonderful art and fine craft shop, The Muse, in Frederick, Maryland. Along with signing copies of Fabric Printing at Home, I had a make and take printed canvas goodie/book bag project. First, I demoed how to carve and print with a variety of veggies. Many people were surprised to see how turnips, radishes, and carrots could be turned into print blocks. And rolled corn prints are always a big hit! I also had some carved Speedy Carve blocks on hand and a few hot glue blocks too.

Fortunately, many people were not shy about getting a little paint on their hands! I was delighted that some younger folks also joined in. Here are some of the results...

 

The Muse will be carrying Fabric Printing at Home through the holiday season...in case you missed out on yesterday's fun. The book makes a great holiday gift for the craftsy people (including young ones) on your list!

Thanks again Whitney for being such a wonderful host!

Meet Me at The Muse...Book Signing, Demos and Print-A-Bag Fun!

Here are some samples of the "make and take" book/goodie bag project I'll be offering this Saturday at The Muse.

I spent yesterday in the studio prepping for this Saturday's event at The Muse in Frederick, Maryland. I had fun carving and printing with veggies, designing some Day of the Dead freezer paper stencils and creating a series of festive goodie bags!

Day of the Dead bag design #1: Skull is created with freezer paper stencils. Flowers are carved from turnip slices.

Day of the Dead bag design #2: Pink skull created with a freezer paper stencil. Details on skull printed with carved carrots.

Mola Cat bag design: Masking tape mask to create the blue background then textured with a carved carrot. Cat carved out of Speedball Speedy Carve.

I used masking tape to divide up the printing areas, then painted the exposed areas and printed with hot glue on cardboard blocks.

A quick and easy design using a carved cross-section of a carrot.

I'll be at The Muse signing copies of my book, Fabric Printing at Home, demoing a number of printing techniques and offering the opportunity for the first twenty guests to create their own make and take Halloween goodie/book bag (which coincidentally is the perfect size in which to carry a copy of my book!)

A perfect fit!

If you happen to live nearby...I hope you'll stop by and say "Hi" and maybe have a go at printing up your own bag!

Saturday, October 24  1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
The Muse
19 North Market Street
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 663-3632

Thanks!

Thanks friends and family for coming from near and far for my book signing at Artistic Artifacts tonight. It was great to see all of you and to have a few minutes to sit and chat.

I know that I wouldn't be where I am today without all your love and support! How lucky I am to have you all in my life!

Book Signing at Artistic Artifacts Tonight!

My Sharpie and I are heading to Artistic Artifacts tonight! 6:30-9:00 PM. It should be a fun time and I'm looking forward to seeing old and new friends and even some relatives! Thanks for hosting me, Judy Gula.

Tomorrow and Sunday, I have my 2-day workshop, Fabric Printing at Home: A Kitchen Sampler, also at Artistic Artifacts. This weekend's class is full...but I'll be teaching it again there on April 18 and 19.

It's going to be a fun weekend...I'll have my camera so look for photos soon!

Reminders...reminders! Roy and Fabric Printing at Home

December 15th is the day that Fabric Printing at Home makes its way out into the world!

Here are just a couple of reminders....

I was sorting fabrics this weekend and came upon some colorful scraps. They are just calling to me...collaging, appliqueing and stitching!

We are on the search for Mr. Roy G Biv again this week! It's our final installment for 2014 and it's a blogger's choice. Post up to 5 photos of a color of your choice on Thursday, December 18 and leave a comment here or on Jennifer Coyne Qudeen's blog. We'll link to your post for another colorful blog hop! Jennifer and I are now working out the schedule for Search #4 for 2015. Hope you'll continue to join in (and encourage others to take part).

And....(drum roll please!)...tomorrow my book, Fabric Printing at Home, is officially available for purchase!!! Thanks to those of you who pre-ordered and a to those of you planning to order (just click here to get to Quarry's bookstore. From there you can click on the icon for your favorite online bookseller or support a great local business and order from Artistic Artifacts.). If you'd like to read some reviews please feel free to click on the reviews under Book Reviews in the right-hand column of this blog. I'm really excited to share this book with you...full of techniques using items from your kitchen. I had so much fun experimenting and "what iffing" to come up with the projects. It's really a very family-friendly book. I have a number of pre-school teacher friends looking forward to trying some of the techniques in their classes. It also has a lot of great information for those of you already experienced in surface design on fabric techniques. For those of you who live locally to me, be sure to make a note of my upcoming book signing events.

All I can say is YIPPEE!!!