Paintstik Tutorials

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Linda Matthews

I posted a video the other day demonstrating how to embellish using paintstiks. I’ve also just found some terrific tutorials and projects you can do using paintstiks.

First stop should be Cedar Canyon Textiles – The Paintstik Place where you’ll find all sorts of information about paintstiks. Stop by their Learning Center for lessons, tutorials and videos.

Fembellish also has a few nice tutorials and projects demonstrating how to use paintstiks – Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

And if that isn’t enough, you can find instructions and a project on the Stitch website.

I think by the time you’re done with all this information, you should have a really good idea about all the different ways you can use paintstiks – get creative and have some fun with it!

This post is part of the 30 Days of Titivations; a 30 day blogathon all about embellishing and embellishments.

You can find lots of free embellishment tutorials in the tutorials section of my blog which can be found here, and even more techniques can be found on my Titivations DVD. Please visit the Instructional DVD section of the store for full details.

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Using Paintstiks

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Linda Matthews

Embellishing your fabric with paints and dyes has never been so easy with all the different types of products that are available these days, and I do love for things to be easy.

One of the easiest ways to add color and design to fabric is with paintstiks. Paintstiks are fabric paint in stick form which makes them not only easy to use, but versatile as well and they can produce stunning results. This video from BeSewStylish.com demonstrates a few ways to use paintstiks. Be inspired!

This post is part of the 30 Days of Titivations; a 30 day blogathon all about embellishing and embellishments.

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Creatively Recycled: Buddha Bag

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Linda Matthews

It’s amazing what you can do with a few scraps of fabric and a little imagination! As you know I’ve recently been on a mission to recycle and repurpose some of my fabrics and ufos. Last week I showed you the results of turning an old forgotten applique ufo into a beautiful tote bag. Today say hello to the Buddha Bag.

I love to use overdyed silk kimono fabrics; the fabric is beautiful to look at and to touch and I don’t like to waste even the smallest piece. (PS – You can find scrap bags online at Laura Murray Designs.) And they are particularly perfect for Asian inspired projects such as this Buddha Bag.

This is a small tote bag, the body is about 8.1/2″ wide by 9″ high, and it was made from some leftover scraps of silk kimono fabrics and an old inkjet print on organza of the Buddha. I do a lot of test inkjet prints on fabric which often are unsuitable for the project in mind because of size or other reasons, so I throw them into a drawer to use for other projects later on. This image was quite large so it was perfect for this project. If you’re interested in learning how to print on sheer fabrics, I explain how I print on organza in this post.

The fabric on the front of this bag has lovely metallic thread designs woven through it, as has the fabric underneath the image, so the image sparkles depending on which way you look at it. I really like the way it turned out and I think the Buddha looks very serene surrounded by all that beautiful fabric.

Buddha Tote Bag

The back of the bag is also a piece of overdyed silk kimono fabric. This piece was originally a block in an art quilt that never quite got finished so I pulled the quilt top apart and this piece was just the perfect size for the back of the bag. Don’t you love it when things work out so perfectly? The fabric has a piece of bamboo stenciled onto it using paintstiks, and I also added some gold foil for additional surface design.

Buddha Tote Bag

I’ve just added the Buddha Bag and some other items to my Etsy Store, where you’ll also find additional photos and information.

I love all this recycling and repurposing and I have various other projects in progress, but this week I also hope I can get back to working with my digital grounds; I kind of got sidetracked with this recycling thing, but I’ve got a few project in progress that I hope to show you soon.

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