Tag Archives: Fabric Paper

Fabric Paper Never Looked So Good

Posted on by Linda Matthews

It’s always a wonderful feeling to be acknowledged for the work you do whether it’s the ordinary day to day stuff that comes from a 9 to 5 job, or the personal work that’s close to your heart and comes from months and often years of honing your creative skills and talents.

So it was a lovely surprise when I was recently notified that my art bag East was nominated as a finalist in the surface design category of the 2011 Niche Awards. Winners will be announced in February 2011 so fingers crossed.

Art Bag

East is made using fabric paper that is hand painted and burnished, then shaped and constructed into an art bag. Handmade cording is used to finish the edges. On the front it has an embellishment of a geisha which is an inkjet print on fabric prepared using digital grounds so the colors are intense and the fine detail on the face is evident although you can’t quite see it in this photo. And of course an embellishment is just not an embellishment unless it has a bead or two attached.

Art Bag

Head over to the Niche Awards website where you can see the bag as well as check out the other finalists; there’s some stunning stuff.

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Printing on Texture

Posted on by Linda Matthews

Last week I finished designing a new clutch purse using fabric beads in unusual ways – for handgrips and purse feet. You can see the finished design it here.

Now the same clutch purse design takes on a whole new persona. Instead of using plain fabric, this one is being designed using using one of my digital art images printed onto textured fabric paper. Before printing, I prepared the fabric paper with digital grounds, and you can see more about my experiments using digital grounds here.

I used the lovely Last of the Summer Roses art design and it printed beautifully with lovely rich color…

Digital Grounds

and beautiful texture …

Digital Grounds

I’m finishing the edges with handmade cording and satin stitch, the same technique I use to finish my art bags. A touch of burgundy red to flush out the reddish undertones used in the image.

Digital Grounds

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Machine Embroidered Fabric Paper

Posted on by Linda Matthews

I’ve just spent the last week playing around with one of my favorite techniques – fabric paper – but with a twist.

I just love the paper fabric technique because you can produce such beautiful surface texture and the piece can be as soft or rigid as you need. This time round I’ve been playing with adding some free motion embroidery and decorative stitches to the fabric paper before painting it.

Some of the results have not been so good which is annoying because it’s such a time consuming process, but I think I’ve finally found a process that works. I just love the results so far on this piece and can’t wait to finish it!

Embroidered Fabric Paper

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Stitch, Cloth, Paper, Paint

Posted on by Linda Matthews

Stitch, Cloth, Paper & Paint

If you follow my blog, you should know by now that I
love
to work with fabric paper.

I print on it

I paint it

and I use it for all sorts of projects.

So if you love using fabric paper also, then you’re sure to love this book I recently stumbled across…

Stitch, Cloth, Paper & Paint: Mixed Media Ideas & Inspiration by Angie Hughes

It’s just filled with tons of inspiration for using fabric paper in all sorts of fascinating ways … it’s great to see someone else who loves to use it as much as I do! You’ll also find a few projects to get you started and of course there’s LOTS of photos to inspire.

So head over to amazon to check it out – it’s a visual feast for the eyes.

Have a creative weekend!

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“Daisy” Revisited

Posted on by Linda Matthews

If you remember my recent post about The Making of “Daisy” The Art Bag, then you’ll recognize the design on this new art bag.

This is “Daisy” Version 2. I just loved the “Daisy” design and wanted to try it out on a different bag shape so I chose the original (and my personal favorite) art bag shape for version 2. This time though, I used my new printer to print on a large piece of “fabric paper” – approx 12″ x 10″ . The printer did a fabulous job printing on the rough texture, and this is the result …

Handmade Handbag

Handmade Handbag

This is the back. I put the bag closure on the back of the bag using a magnetic snap so that when opening the bag you don’t have to disturb the beautiful bead embellishment on the front.

Handmade Handbag

You can see the beautiful texture that the “fabric paper” creates …

Handmade Handbag

and here …

Handmade Handbag

And this time I also fine tuned the inside pockets so now everything is organized and easy to find.

Handmade Handbag

I’m enjoying making my art bags so much that I’ll soon be offering them for sale on my new Etsy website at ArtyZenTextiles so stop by from time to time and check it out.

PS – I print my designs on fabric using digital grounds. You can find out more about digital grounds here.

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Handmade Journals

Posted on by Linda Matthews

Handmade Fabric JournalWhen I began using digital grounds to print the artwork for my art bags, I always began by first printing a smaller print to test the design for color, composition and any apparent design problems. As you may recall, these test prints were just the right size to make journal covers which I’ve been using for gifts, but I’ve also had requests from others for my journals so I’ve decided to add some of my favorite designs to the store.

I love these journals and I now use one myself as an “ideas journal” to capture all those little ideas that seem to come at the oddest times; it’s the perfect size to stuff in my bag and carry with me whenever I go out. And because of the special process used to prepare them the cover is very durable but flexible, almost like fine leather but with beautiful surface texture and of course beautiful imagery, so they can take a lot of wear and tear.

These are the designs that are currently available so if you’d like your very own digital art journal, you can rush right over to the store for details and pricing. If you don’t see anything that you can’t live without I will be adding other designs so check back in a couple of days.

I’m also considering doing custom orders, so if you have your own artwork that you’d like turned into a beautiful journal cover, get in touch for details.

And of course if you have any questions, you know what to do.

Fabric Journal

Fabric Journal

Fabric Journal

Fabric Journal

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Printing on Fabric – Large Scale

Posted on by Linda Matthews

Update Dec 7 2010: This model printer printed fine for about three or four months and then problems began occurring, particularly with paper jam errors. I have had it replaced twice already and now I am holding bits of it in my hand as it literally falls apart.

Update September 2011 After the last replacement I finally seem to have found one that works without any problems and have now been using this machine without any problems since Dec 2010. It works fine, no problems, no jams. I’m happy :)

Printer for printing on fabricI just had my new printer delivered this week – a wide format Epson Workforce 1100. This printer is going to replace two of my printers; an old HP wide format which just doesn’t want to do the job anymore without a lot of trouble, and a more recent Workforce 30 which I’ve been very happy with but only prints up to standard letter size.

Art Journal CoverThis printer uses durabrite inks which are the best type of inks for printing on fabric since they are water and fade resistant. I’ve used durabrite inks for years and have been very happy with the results. This is a wide format printer and can print up to 13″ x 19″ standard size; and 13″ x 44″ maximum … hmmm, can’t wait to try that size out.

I like Epson printers a lot because they never seem to give me any problems when I print on the textural “fabric paper” with digital grounds, that I use for my journal covers and which can get quite thick. I also want to print on “fabric paper” in much larger sizes than the standard letter size for some interesting projects I’ve got coming up. The Epson has little to no problem with this type of surface.

So if you’re thinking about printing large, then I can highly recommend this printer – it’s inexpensive and a great printer for printer for printing on fabric.

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Journal Cover – Poppy

Posted on by Linda Matthews

Using the same technique as I used on this journal cover, this is another of my digital art designs printed on fabric paper treated with digital grounds. I’ve treated the surface with a sealer which gives it a soft gloss finish and helps to protect the fabric paper. The results are a strong, flexible and water resistant surface, with lovely texture, and best of all sewable either by machine or hand.

I really like the colors and the design and I think this design will look great on an art bag.

Art Journal

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Japanese Journal Cover

Posted on by Linda Matthews

This is a journal cover I finished recently. The image is a digital art design printed onto fabric paper using digital grounds. I’ve used this image before, but it’s taken on a whole new persona now that I’ve added other design elements. These journal covers are about 7″ x 5″ and are a great size to test out my digital art designs before printing them in a larger size. I hope to get a few more journals completed shortly.

Art Journal

And the back …

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