I solved a problem in a unique, creative way!

[Annette R.]

I retired in December, so money is pretty tight. I have promised my husband that I will ask him before I buy ANYTHING, and that's fair.

Yesterday I designed a wall art quilt and need a fabric to tie it together, so I found the perfect one on eQuilter.com. It is white with black keys (as in door keys) all over it. I asked my husband if I could buy three yards, and he said OK, but wait a couple of days.

Then I began to think. Another hobby of mine is soft-block carving, so I found some copyright-free images of antique keys (skeleton keys and the like), and carved five stamps.

I buy Kona solids by the bolt when they're on sale, so I already have the white fabric, and I'll use a black Brilliance re-inker to stamp the images. My husband was impressed with my frugality and ingenuity.

I've used my carved stamps in other quilt projects. It's pretty cool to be able to combine hobbies!

Now I need to tell him I need to buy a #57 foot for my Bernina -- no way can I carve that out of a block! LOL!

'thann

[Annette R.]

wow that's really creative! I admire your ingenuity.

[Annette R.]

sometimes necessity and frugality are the mother of invention and, than, you seemed to have used both well. Rubber stamps from your stamping and scrapbooking supplies also make good additions to fabric when you cannot find the right thing. Last February when I was making the memory quilt for my girlfriend I wanted to add schoolbuses to the quilt as her husband had owned a school bus company for years and theprop quilt was in memory of him and to honor our "um hum many" year friendship. But none of the fabrics commercially made had school buses the right size and I remembered that I had a motor home rubber stamp that I had used for Christmas cards one year. Well with a little careful inking of the stamp and adding a few lines with a permanent fine line marker, I had some perfect school buses with their school bus company name on them. (no commercial fabric would have had that) She was surprised and pleased when she saw them and I was glad I had remembered the stamp because it really was the best solution.

Ann

[Annette R.]

I wish I'd thought of this a month ago! I've been searching for a year for any fabrics with hair dresser items for a quilt for my son's girlfriend's HS graduation. She's studying 1/2 the day to be a hair dresser and I've never found material with hair driers, combs, brushes, etc. like I thought I would. I ended up making a quilt for her of all batiks and although it turned out great, I could have done something with stamps!

Maybe I still will. I used the turning 20 pattern which leaves lots of space for quilting designs and maybe some stamps.

Thanks! Nancy in NY

[Annette R.]

I think we should continue this thread and post what creative ideas we all use to solve problem, them maybe someone else on this fourm will be able to use the ideas.

This might be one thread we need to keep alive, not out of pride but to help other poster/ quilters.

[Annette R.]

My question is... will the ink prints hold up over time? Did you need to heat set the ink as part of the process. Can you give us more details of your process so maybe some of us can try it out? I am not familiar with the process of INK PRINTS so I would need a little more guidance to do what you have done.

I have a whole set of tsuko inks but have not had the courage to try any of the processes.

[Annette R.]

Nancy if you want to make hairdresser fabric, try this. Lay the items, combs, brushes, perm rods, whatever on a scanner and cover them with a solid color piece of fabric. Scan them into your computer and then print out the fabric. One of my teachers once told me to think of the scanner as a specialized camera. That thought made me look at the scanner in a new light. Be very careful not to scratch the scanner surface. I put down a clear transparency sheet before any other objects. Have fun. Former Hairdresser Betty Ann In Sunny Florida.

[Eileen K.]

Betty Ann,
Every time I look at your picture I want to see the fabric you're dyeing!!!
Do you do multis or mottled solids? The colors in your tray look delicious!!

I've never tried inking anything. I don't even own any ink or stamps-it just never did anything for me. I may have to take another look.

I'd like to keep this thread going too. I'm always looking for ways to not spend too much.

eileenkny 8)

[Eileen K.]

Eileenkny, That picture was taken in the second floor dye studio at Ricky's La Veta Gallery. Right above where the shows are recorded. I was taking a dye class with Justin and Ricky. That tray is an example of the multi colored caveman type dyeing. You can see them on Ricky's website. Both my "friends" were making fun of my extreme gloves so Ricky took photos and this one with my camera. If you get a chance go to a LaVeta Retreat and sign up for the pre-retreat dye session. (I think they are still doing the dye session) I went home with 20 yards of Whoo Hoo fabric. Betty Ann

[Eileen K.]

I put my name in the lottery, I'll just have to wait it out and keep my fingers crossed. I'd love to take a dyeing workshop!!!!
Have you used or saved your 20 yards of WooHoo????
eileenkny

[Eileen K.]

I used some of it with in hours at the next weeks retreat. I made a small work with a green to blue green gradation I had dyed. It was a close-up of a leaf with a lady bug on it. Most of it I must admit is still in "pet mode" I just look at it and go"OOOOOOOO" Betty Ann

[Eileen K.]

LadyRags, I'll document how I did this process tomorrow, including photos, and post a link to my Web site.

I can't speak for the longevity of stamped fabric, but I do have some ribbon I stamped 10 years ago or so, and it still looks good.

I'm using this process on an art quilt that won't be washed, but there are certainly rubber stamp inks that are made for fabrics, and you can use Lumiere paints or other fabric paints. You just need to make sure the consistency is sort of thick so that the ink stays wet on the rubber until you're ready to stamp it. Also, I paint the ink/paint on with a brush rather than using a stamp pad. That way I can control the amount of ink and make sure all of the image is covered.

As I said, I carved my own stamps, but there are gazillions of ready-made rubber stamps out there, so the sky's the limit!

Ruthann

[Eileen K.]

Ruthann

"You can make your own stamps,this is great"!
I enjoy widdle-ing pieces of long walking sticks from the woods that I pick up while hiking through the wooded areas. I have one piece that looks like a cane and it kept it natural color when it dried out. I'm sure there are oils made to preserve these woods. I didn't use any and I have kept this piece now over five years. You could cut these up in three inch pieces or better and draw design onto the piece of wood then carve out the designs.

"Another great item to use for stamps is children Blocks with the ABC's on them". You could find them in a thrift store cheap in the childrens toys area.
Thanks for sharing
That is a great saving tip! :P
Kathy

[Eileen K.]

OK, I just made a tutorial on how I stamp on fabric, including photos. Here is the Web page: Stamping on Fabric.

Have fun!

Ruthann

[Eileen K.]

Katzzz, you need to give carving your own stamps a try! It sounds like you're a natural!

Ruthann