Atlantic Craft Trade Show 2012

 I've been back from the trade show for a few days now. Unfortunately it was a disappointing show for me, most everyone found it much quieter than previous years. And then to top it off I managed to catch a stomach bug on the second day which lasted through the rest of the show the 5 hour drive home and then 3 more days. Finally back on my feet now so I thought I'd post some photos at least. 

I had this idea to blow up and print these frames , mount them to foam core and then hang a purse in each one. It was a much easier display to transport, quick to put up and pretty effective I thought. They brought a lot of great comments and a teacher asked the favour to take photos for her class in booth design , so that was very nice. :)

Ready Set Go!

Alright, if it's not done yet it's not getting done, time is up! I leave for Halifax in the am to go to the Atlantic Craft Trade Show.

Here a few pics of the finished purses that I'm taking.

Wish me luck. :)

Getting ready for Acts 2012

It's just two weeks to the Atlantic Craft Trade Show and I have to turn this pile of stuff in a new spring line of purses.......panic much??

Base fabric is all hand painted (that is all the messy bunches in the front). Lining fabric all neatly folded off to the side ( neatly folded ha! should be all cut out by now 0_0 ) Purses are designed and prototypes are all standing in the background ( currently thinking they don't look so bad in plain muslin......)  Need to finish the second layer of printing on the fabric (I'll leave that for a surprise...to you and me both! )  and then just put it all together.   Totally doable!  :D



Don't forget the January Giveaway! .  I'm pimping out a journal to one of my followers in thanks for dropping by my blog and checking out what I'm up to. Join up as a follower , post a comment and you'll be in the running for the draw at the end of the month for this journal. :)

                                          Good luck to you all, thanks for dropping by again. :)

Packed the car, time's up!

Time is up and I'm off to my first Christmas market early tomorrow morning.  The NSDCC show starts Friday and runs thru Sunday.  I'm excited about the show because I have a lot of new products and I can't wait to see how they all do. 

Here are some pics of the purses that are new product this season.  They are all from hand painted and hand dyed fabric using disperse dyes. 

These first ones are small evening bags with interior frames that snap open and the chain can drop down inside for a clutch.

These are every day size in a hobo style.

Off to put my feet up for a bit and have a good night sleep.

Wish me luck!

More Colors

Found some more color combinations that I really like using the tranfer disperse dye method.

This started with a layer of turquoise , then a layer of lilac ending with a layer of black.

                    Co-ordinating plain fabric without paper resists, I'll use this for straps.

This one started with a layer of yellow, then a layer of orange  and ending again with black.  Kinda suits this month right?

                                           And again a layer of plain to use for straps.

The luster of the fabric is wonderful from the transparent layers all coming through at once, hard to tell in photos but beautiful in person.

Playing Around

I've been playing around with different techniques using dieperse dyes. Here are some pics of a three layer method with paper resists.

I finally broke down and bought a proper iron for all the work I do.

LOVE IT! :))

The dye is painted on paper then face down ironed to the polyester. This is a first pale layer.

Then I arranged some cut out paper.

Then lay a second color over top and ironed again.

Here are some of the paper resists pulled away and you can see the changing of the colors. Disperse dyes are transparent so you continually create new colors with layering.

I staggered the pieces of paper and then add another layer of color.

Here are the three colors finished. It creates a nice soft effect.

The finished fabric has a wonderful luster from the processing. It almost looks like the glazes you find on old china.

Well that's one of my playtimes, off to try something else.........

What a Surprise!

Hey there, I'm still playing with my new disperse dyes, teaching myself and learning lots!

You can use them in two ways. Direct application or transfer method.

This sample is using the transfer method. I painted  on a piece of kraft paper and let it dry over night. The white fabric beneath is white satin waiting to be dyed.

Then face down on the white satin and using a hot iron I transferred the design and what a surprise! Would you have imagined this result?

This is a sample of direct application on the satin. It dries quite cloudy and dull and then you heat set with an iron and Surprise! You can see here I ironed through half of the design so you can see the difference. The bright pink and orange is the heat set side.

I've got to stop playing soon and get busy painting fabric for the purses I need for the X-mas shows.  Problem is I'm so easily distracted and it's so much more fun to play than work. :))

Messy Fun Work

I've been busy the last couple of days playing with some new dyes. It is such messy work but so much fun too. 

Space is tight but I was able to add a work table by removing the ironing board, I never liked doing ironing anyway. 

I've been playing with disperse dyes which is a first for me. They are ideally suited for polyester fabric and I had in mind to use a heavy peau de soie for my new purses. I love doing purses but I thought I'd try something new other than my blow torch fabric. These samples are made with a transfer method using paper and heat. Next I'm getting the paint brushes out. 

Dollarama vinyl tablecloths make good drop sheets.

Got any empty jars anybody?