What's that saying: When the cat's away the mice will play? My husband's been out of town for the past week, and while he was gone, play I did…
A few things have been on my mind lately: my beautiful hometown of San Francisco, the Grateful Dead (who have a new CD set out), and of course Halloween so I had a lot fun combining imagery inspired by all three to create ATCs for the upcoming trade in Houston at Make It University!™.
ATCs with Freezer Paper Motifs
Freezer paper stencils have of course been around for a while, but I was truly captivated by Melanie Testa's snowflake freezer paper stencils in Quilting Arts. (In case you missed it, her article will also appear in the upcoming Quilting Arts Book, and Melanie will also have her own book published with us next spring!) I am a huge fan of Melanie Testa's work and ever since she shared her freezer paper process, I have been addicted to making motifs for stenciling and resists. Below I modified slightly to suit my Halloween ATC needs.
Materials
• Iron
•Freezer paper
•Scissors
•Marking pen
•Masking tape
•Fabric
•Fabric paint, thickened dyes, or coloring agent of choice
•Foam brush, sponge or dauber to apply paint
1. Draw or print a motif you'd like to stencil. You could choose simple geometric patterns such as circles, dots, squares, etc., or a motif like a spider or jack-o-lantern. Cut the stenc/ motifout. (I chose to use the freezer paper motif as a resist.)
2. Secure freezer paper to your work surface with masking tape. Make sure the wax side is facing down and the paper side is up.
3. Trace the motif onto freezer paper. Cut the motif out.
4. Place the fabric you want to stencil onto your work surface.
5. Place your freezer paper motif or stencil on top of your fabric and iron with the wax side down. Be careful ironing; you want to secure the stencil to the fabric with enough heat, while being careful not to scorch your fabric.
Motifs made of freezer paper. The reason they are colored is that I have used them as resists a few times already.
6. Now the fun begins--time to paint your fabric! I used fabric paints, Shiva Paintstiks, and thickened dyes. Be sure to paint right over your motifs, while being careful not to oversaturate the fabric. (You don't want the paint or dye to accidentally seep underneath the freezer paper.)
7. Allow the fabric to dry, then gently peel the freezer paper motifs off and save them for later to use again.
Voila: You have some beautiful fabric that you can layer with more imagery and use for quilts, totes, home dec, fabric postcards, or ATCs.
Make It University!™ in Houston
It's hard to believe Make It University!™ is just three short weeks away! I am really looking forward to seeing everyone again and we have a very exciting line up of artists who will be joining us in Open Studios. For more information on the International Quilt Festival/Houston, click here.