I guess I shouldn’t be sharing this with all of you because I want to win it! But being the kind-hearted person that I am, I am sharing this opportunity with you.
Brenda Pinnick has a Friday give-away on her blog EACH Friday. This is her first give-away and is a signed, limited edition giclee print of her latest painting. I just love it and some very lucky person is going to win it. The models for the two kitties Brenda’s very own sweeties Luke and Nugget.
If you don’t win today’s give-away, check back each week because she is having a give-away each Friday.
Its been a few days since I’ve posted, but I’m happy to say that I have been busy working on my next fabric collection for Quilting Treasures. I can’t go into details at this time, but its a fun collection that I think you will just love!
Time flies quickly and Halloween is only a couple of months away (yes, really, it is – I counted the months using 2 fingers). My talented friend Brenda Pinnick has a new Halloween die collection with Sizzix and its simply to “die” for. I saw the collection at the recent trade show for the Craft and Hobby Associataion. The are just adorable – the entire collection of spooky Halloween scary stuff! (I borrowed the photo from Brenda.) They are perfect for the hand made cards, bags and your other Halloween scrapbook projects. Check out Brenda’s blog for additional ideas and because its just a great blog.
In addition to fabric designs, I’m working on some freebies to post here, so check back soon.
Take a tee shirt out of your closet and turn it into a dress with a few simple sewing instructions. I designed this child sized “T-Shirt Flounce Dress” for Sewing Savvy magazine. The pattern and instructions are on their website for free downloading so that you can sew a few before school starts The dress is embellished with ribbon and has a ribbon flower that you can make.
I chose a yellow and orange color combination, but you can come up with your own color combinations based on the tee shirt colors you choose. And why not enlarge the pattern and make one for yourself!! It would make a comfy dress to shop in or even a cute dress for the beach!
New sewing projects on the horizon! I just completed a sewing project that I designed for a publication due out in a few months. I can’t give any details but thought I would give a sneak peak of the fabrics I used. I am a fabric junkie and just love bright colored fabrics. Its inspirational just looking at my fabric stash because of all the colors. This is just a small part of my fabric stash.
I’m leaving Thursday for the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) trade show in Chicago. I just read a comparison somewhere that its like the World Fair of craft shows. I agree and wish I could remember where I saw that, but my brain is in overload right now. I am displaying in the Designer Showcase at the show and am working on last minute preparations. The show is so exciting to attend and check out all the new products available to the crafters of the world
I just love glass and and all the fantastic shapes and colors. Seattle is noted for producing beautiful glass art. Since I had some time to myself in Seattle before my husband, brother and sister-in-law flew in to join me on vacation I didn’t waste any time and headed immediately to the Seattle Glassblowing Studio.
Wow!!! Not only do they have a shop filled with beautiful glass, but thrill of it all, you can stand in the back and watch the artisans at work.
I found it fascinating to watch and could have stood there for hours. Although I may have the technical terms wrong, I will do my best to describe the process.
The studio has furnaces on one side where they insert their glass that is attached to a long rod.
The artisan sits between two bars and roll the rods with the glass to create the uniform design. He adds foil, shapes the end with additional heat and other techniques to form the piece.
While the artisan is rolling the glass and creating the shape, another artisan blows the glass.
More of the shop – it was all eye candy, better than real candy since there are no calories. Of course, I had to buy something and with all the choices, it took me a while to decide. (I will take a picture of it and post tomorrow.)
The Seattle Glassblowing Studio has classes and I would absolutely love to take them. Unfortunately, they are located completely catercorner across the US from where I live. If you are in Seattle, stop by, watch and shop. They are easy to locate and not far from the Space Needle.
This is really going to be fun! I’m working on a design creation to enter for the Fashion Embellishment Challenge sponsored by Expo International Inc. at the Craft and Hobby Show in a couple of week. Yikes, its less than a couple of weeks! As you can see from the pile on my work table, I am just getting started. But, I can tell its going to be fun working with all the wonderful trims – I just love beads! Choosing the trims I wanted to work with from Expo was like walking through a candy store and deciding which piece of chocolate I wanted (all yum!!!).
Well, back to work. As I said in my last post, this is frantic time for the designers attending the CHA show and I’m definitely in that frantic stage!
Craft stores have such a huge assortment of craft supplies available, from supplies for scrapbooking to supplies for painting, needlework, sewing and quilting, floral and gardening, beading and many other types of crafts. The good part is that you don’t have to figure out what to do with these supplies. There are many design projects available in all of these categories in magazines, books and project sheets as well as kits that include both the supplies and instructions.
As someone who has been designing for the crafts industry for many years, 23 to be exact, I thought I would give you a little background on how many designers work in getting their designs there for you.
A lot of craft designers are members of The Craft and Hobby Association (CHA). CHA is hosting their Winter Convention & Trade show in Anaheim, CA in February. This is the premier trade show for anyone involved in the crafts industry and is open only to the trade. Manufacturers present their newest and hottest products to buyers who attend from all over the world. CHA has a Designer Section for the designer members and offers several opportunities for designers to connect with manufacturers, publishers and editors.
Designers can set up a table in the Designer Showcase held one day during the show. Designers/artists create a table display showcasing their designs and portfolios so that editors, publishers and manufacturers can view the designs for use or publication. These are many of the designs that you see and use for creating your craft projects.
Another opportunity for designers is to exhibit in the License and Design Section during the show . The designers have a booth space to show their art and designs that are available for creating new products or in using products.The theme for this year’s show is Fashion Crafting and designers are also showcasing their fashion designs in the Fashion Crafting Display, our version of “Project Runway”.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of the designs created by friends as well as myself. The flower at the top is a Gerber Daisy Fabric Sculpture created by Lynne Farris and shown in her newest book “Fresh Felt Flowers” published by C&T Publishing.
The 2 designs embroidered on jeans are from the DenimBroidery embroidery kits I created for Janlynn, a needlework company.
Joan Elliott painted the Jingle Cats Christmas image, which has been licensed on tee shirts, fabrics for hospital scrubs, mugs and cross stitch kits.
Linda Wyszynski designed the embroidered pillowcase for Create and Decorate magazine, using buttons and embroidery to create a floral design for stitching on the pillowcase edge.
Vicki Schreiner painted the sports images which were used to create a scrapbook kit and stickers sold in stores.
I do have some very talented friends!
All the designers that I know who are attending the show, including myself, are now frantically creating new designs to present. So the next time you are using instructions to create a craft or sewing project, it may have come from one of these designers working to create craft projects just for you!
I have been wanting to post more about Quilt Market, but my plans didn’t work out due to computer problems. I just hate computers when they don’t work right! Unfortunately, they are a necessity. But there is just so much unproductive time when the computer acts up. new hard drive requires hours and hours of time loading software and files. UGH!!!! My husband believes that no one can have as many computer problems as I have.
Anyway, back to Quilt Market. I want to talk to you about my friend Lynne Farris and her new book, Fresh Felt Flowers. Lynne is shown below with a bouquet of
flowers from her book.
Fresh Felt Flowers, published by C&T Publishing,is a new book that showcases techniques created by Lynne to make three-dimensional flowers from wool felt and then detailed using a sewing machine. You don’t need fancy stitches, just a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch. Lynne makes it so easy to create 17 beautiful textured flowers that you don’t have to keep watered and that don’t die.
Lynne is autographing a copy of her book for me. The smile you see on Lynne’s face is a natural for her. I’ve known her for many years and she has the best sense of humor and is just downright funny. She has entertained many of us at various gatherings with her acting talent in humorous skits. But when it comes to designing, Lynne has a very serious talent.
Its that time of year again to pull out your fall and winter clothing. Its still pretty warm here in the south, so I haven’t started sorting through my winter clothing, yet.
If you have sweathers you don’t wear any more but just can’t part with them, or just haven’t gotten around to discarding them, stop! Before you toss, think of ways to give them new life. They can be recycled into really fabulous gems – unique one-of-a-kind items for a decorative touch to your home or for a wardrobe accent.
This is a pillow that I made from a gorgeous brightly colored striped sweather that I just didn’t want to part with. (As you get to know me, you will find that I’m addicted to color!) Just cut a square or rectangle from the front or back of your sweater and use a nice coordinating fabric for the pillow back. If you have a good front and back to your sweather, you can make two pillows for a matching pair, or use one as a gift. This pillow was made from a fisherman’s knit sweather. Add trims, tassels, or other embellishments to put your own personal touch to all the items you create with sweathers.
Here’s a bottle bag I made from another sweather.
You can create all kinds of fun things – decorative gift bags, purses, totes or a lingerie bags. Use the smaller, irregular areas to create small sachet pillows . Use the sleeve to make a storage holder for plastic bags. The list is endless of what you can create. Just use your imagination!
Phyllis Dobbs Art & Design Studio
Thanks for visiting!. My art is licensed for gift, garden and home products. I also design quilt and sewing patterns available in my Etsy store.
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ArtBizJam 2020- Art Business Conference Virtual, Sept 23- 26, 2020
UNIQUE ART BUSINESS CONFERENCE - Learn more to expand your art business and network with other artists. The 8th annual ArtBizJam conference will be held virtually 2020 with live sessions with product developers Sept 23-26 and other sessions available for viewing at your own time on a variety of topics. The live sessions will have a lineup of experienced speakers for product development from top gift and home companies. For more details, please visit the ArtBizJam website and join the
ArtBizJam Facebook Group
