Thursday, February 9, 2012

LOVE: a Challenge!


Ahh, February, the month of Amore!

"There are as many ways of loving as there are people in the world." 
~Mary Calderone
(more about this card at the end of this post)
Throughout the world, many symbols are used to express love.  Here, I concern myself with one, the most recognizable, the heart.

The symbol has long been used to express the core of a human--physically or emotionally, spiritually, and morally.  Even farther back in time, the was used to express the intellectual core of a person, the seat of the human mind.  Today, in our culture, we associate the with love.  

So without further ado, I introduce you to my favorite etsy team's February Challenge:
"In February we celebrate Valentine's Day.  My challenge to you: Create a love-themed item.  You can write a creative love letter, make a valentine, make a love-themed home decor item, etc.  Be Creative and Have Fun!"
This Challenge was presented by Edi of Memories for Life in honor of the Month of Love

I was inspired to get my fabric dyes out and create some heart shapes on clothing.
THIS
and THIS


 
became THIS
became THIS

and
THIS


















I recently purchased cotton wash cloths and had already tie dyed some.  I wanted to create painted ones, too.  So I started the process of dyeing 4 cloths:
1.  tie 3 circles on each of 2 cloths
2.  soak all 4 in solution; wring out
3.  dye the circles and background color
4.  cure for 24 hours
5.  untie and wash
6.  soak all 4 in solution; wring out
7.  let dry
8.  paint
9.  let cure for 24 hours
10. wash and dry
That is the process in brief!

To paint, I laid out my towels (lovely, aren't they?!) and set up my supplies.
I mixed powdered dye with thickener and water and began to paint!  (You can faintly make out the 3 circles--soon to be flowers--in the photo above.)
the flowers start to take shape
and more hearts

hearts
 At this point the cloths are still thick with the dye paint.  After curing and washing, they look like this:
All the above can be found in my etsy shop, Splendid Little Stars
(In answer to a question in the comments below:  No, my dyed items do NOT bleed!  I use professional dye and have perfected my processes over a number of years!) 

To see what other teammates have created for this challenge, check out our team BLOG at the end of February.

LINKS: 
2013a Blogging Business Artisans monthly Challenges
2013a Blogging Business Artisans February Challenge
 
more about the team and monthly challenges:
A new etsy team--Blogging Business Artisans--was launched last October. This team was formed to support and help its members grow artistically and professionally.  It's been a great joy to be a member of this team!
The idea was conceived of holding monthly challenges to help us grow and stretch our imaginations.  Team members must complete 6 of the 12 challenges within a year.
The first challenge, "
New Techniques," was presented by Deb of storybeader  See my entry "New Mittens, Old Sweater!  a Challenge!" HERE. 


I'm linking up with my favorite teacher, Ms Jenny Matlock!  See others' completed homework assignments HERE. Come join in!  This week our letter is "L."





more about the card:
I put this card together at my friend Ginny Lee's house last night.  She made the wonderful heart with the flower.  The glittery red felt heart has a front and back hand stitched together.  The white heart is hand stitched to the red heart.  The flower (She made it!) and pearl are glued on.  The heart along with its attached paper clip is a bookmark that can be removed!  A lot of work and love went into this!  Thanks, Ginny Lee!
photos by me © 2012 all rights reserved

20 comments:

  1. Great stuff! I especially love the tie dye!

    =)

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  2. love the painted towels. And they don't bleed! I hope! {:-D

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  3. Deb--absolutely not! They don't bleed! I use the professional stuff!

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  4. I love your heart items Margaret! They all turned out beautfully!

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  5. Tie dye has amazed me since the 60s when it was a very big deal!! I just can't imagine how you get the heart formed so perfectly! And I love your washcloths -- what a fantastic idea!

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  6. Wow, very skilled tye dying there! I love those shirts and the hand painted towels. Great job!!

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  7. You outdid yourself...let me count the ways! I am so amazed at how you were able to control the bleeding of the paint in doing tie-dye with hearts on the front of those shirts. The card and towels are lovely, too.

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  8. Wow...I found myself fascinated with your process! Whenever I see tie dyed shapes I am really impressed- how the heck do you do it so perfectly? (that's a rhetorical q- please don't tell me-lol). I really like the way those roses came out too.

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  9. Great post! I love your new washcloths. Thanks for the insight about your creative process.

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  10. You make the cutest things! So fun!! Wish I had even one crafty bone in my body...but alas.... :)

    And thanks for stopping by!

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  11. Love the shirts and wash clothes :) How cool that the sleeves match up with the pattern too!
    And that card is sweet :)
    Great challenge pieces!

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  12. Delightful items! They all look so cute.

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  13. If it's tie dye..it's a keeper for sure! Great ideas for the upcoming heart day!

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  14. All your projects look like so much fun! My husband has threatened me, though, to stick to what I do best, and not fill my studio with more projects!!

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  15. Very fun! Having hand painted things are so warm and friendly!

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  16. I Love hand-made cards.... They are so much more special than store bought...

    My kids used to Love making tie dye shirts but I don't remember them turning out quite as Lovely as yours...

    Great post for the Letter "L"...

    Thanks for Linking.

    A+

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  17. Those towels are wonderful! Great to read the history behind the heart symbol.

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Your comments make my day! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!