10 Gifts to Make using Fabric Paint

I love fabric paint.  After making my first freezer paper stenciled shirt a few years ago I fell in love.  Before that I didn't know that there was an easy way to personalize shirts, pillows, shoes, and more.  I thought silk screening was the only option and that seemed very complicated. 

So, if you're still searching for the right gift for someone on your list, here are 10 gift ideas that you can make yourself with a little fabric paint.

1) Graffiti Shoes.  I could do these with a superhero theme for my boys and they'd be a hit.

2) A Dress or Pullover.....if you're up for some sewing.

3) Confetti Sprinkled Napkins.  You could make the napkins yourself or purchase them.  Then dress them up with some fabric paint.

4) Monogrammed Blanket.  For this gift I purchased a regular blanket and then monogrammed it to personalize it.

5) Hand-printed Fabric.  This one doubles as wrapping and a gift in and of itself.  I love this idea.

6) Children's Art T-shirt.  You could try this on a pillow as well.  This one is a fun gift for grandparents.

7) Painted Bag.  I love this simplicity of this bag and the clever way it's done.

8) Stenciled Pillows.  Add a name, a picture, or a monogram.

9) Monogrammed Luggage Tags.  Here's a simple gift for your traveling friends.

10) A Shirt Featuring Anything They Are "Into."  I love making t-shirts for my boys when they have a particular interest.  Here's one from when my little guy was in a viking phase.

Or make a silly t-shirt for the funny guy in the family.  I made this one for my brother-in-law.

So whip out your fabric paint.  The options are endless.

A Painted Pocket Square Poem!

How does one transition creatively from March (National Craft Month, woo-hoo!) into April (National Poetry Month)? Here's one idea: To celebrate Poetry Month, the Academy of American Poets is sponsoring National Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 14, 2011. Basically, you carry a poem around in your pocket, and take it out and share it throughout your day with friends, colleagues, and family. The poem can be an old classic, a modern ode, long, short, silly, or serious -- Anne Sexton or Dr. Seuss, Will Shakespeare or Shel Silverstein, Emily Dickinson or e.e. cummings... And if you can't find a poem you'd like to share, write your own! But my point is, why limit the printed word to paper (or digital smart phone)?

Perhaps I'm taking this pocket thing too literally, but I do like to play with words and type -- experimenting with the way the letters themselves can create fascinating visual patterns (even before we get anywhere near discussions of assonance, alliteration, and onomatopoeia!). A pocket square (or a hanky -- just pop it in your purse!) is a more permanent way to commit to that poem. And, bonus: If you forget to take the poem out of your pocket before laundry day, you won't end up with a pocket full of disintegrated, dried paper pulp.

Materials:

-white or light-colored T-shirt

-rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat (or ruler, marker, and scissors)

-masking tape

-letter stencils

-fabric paint (variety of colors)

-paint tray (optional)

-sponge brushes

-needle and thread (in a color to match the T-shirt)

Make It:

1. Cut a 17" x 17" square (or smaller, depending on your preference) from one layer of the T-shirt. Tape the edges of the square to your painting surface with masking tape. (This will allow for a margin as well as keep the fabric straight while you're painting it.) Choose a poem or stanza and arrange the letter stencils on the T-shirt square. And don't forget to save room to credit your poet! Note: The paint will bleed through (as evidenced in the following photos!) -- use a paint surface that you don't mind making permanently colorful!

2. Select your paint colors. I chose to use a different color for each line of the poem to highlight the original line breaks. (P.S. Can you guess the poem, Wheel of Fortune-style, based on the letters placed above?)

3. Use the sponge brush to dab the paint over the stencil one letter at a time. Note: Some of the letters will need to be moved as you go, to ensure even spacing and to account for repeated letters.

4. Continue painting, changing colors as needed, until the square is filled and/or your stanza or poem is complete. (P.S. Yes, it's Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky.")

5. Remove all the letters and peel off the masking tape to release the T-shirt square. Let the paint dry completely. (Don't forget to wash your fingers if you, like me, inadvertently gave yourself a rather colorful but clumpy-looking manicure!)

6. Thread the needle, knot the end and carefully turn the edges under twice. Use a slip stitch to sew the edges in place around the perimeter of the T-shirt square.

7. Tie off the ends, snip your threads, and look online to....

8. ...learn to fold (and unfold and fold and unfold--and read--and fold again) your poetic pocket square! So, is that a poem in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Variations:

-Use fabric markers in lieu of paint and stencils to fit more text (and/or more stanzas) on the square.

-If poetry's not your thing, paint or print a quotation that inspires you!

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Designer of the Month - Nora Karen

Here at iLoveToCreate, we are always in amazement at the cool things people make with our products. When we stumbled upon Nora Karen's Flickr stream, it was apparent that not only did she love to create, but she loved to create with our Tulip® Fabric Paints! Her shoes and apparel creations are fabulous (and also we must mention...very droolworthy). They can be purchased in her Etsy shop! We wanted to find out more about her and what inspires her to create her one-of-a-kind creations and we share this with you below. Enjoy!

1. What do you love to create?
I love to paint anything in the apparel world... from shoes, to clothing and accessories. I also love to create canvas and paper goods.

2. What is your favorite iLoveToCreate product?
I use these all the time: Tulip® Fabric paint and markers and fancy Glam-it-Up crystals.

3. Do you have a favorite piece that you have created?
Altough all my pieces are very dear to me, I enjoy so much everytime I paint a peacock. There is something about it, maybe the royalty in its posse.



4. How long have you been a fashion artist? Do you remember the first piece you created?
I've been a painter since I was a young girl seated on the porch of my house. I started on 2001 seriously working for a fashion designer and my first best seller was a pair of jeans made to commemorate September 11th.



5. You are a 3-dimensional paint master! Do you have any painting tips that you can offer to others who use it?
My technique is freehand painting so it is hard to measure and add rules to it, but one of the most important things is to be careful because fabric paint can't be removed without leaving a mark.



6. The main focus of a lot of your pieces are peacocks. What is it about these beautiful birds that inspires you so much?
Well, like I said before, I'm attracted to its royalty. They are like the kings of birds. In Spanish we call them "pavo real", something like "royal turkey". There is a very popular saying about the peacocks being proud and that must be true. About 2 weeks ago, I had the chance to visit Anna Maria Island on a business trip and the owner of one store told me there were peacocks strutting around in the area. I found them at the back of a barn and took pictures like crazy, but they were moving fast from my sight. I guess they are "all that" for an ordinary voyeur!



7. Are there any artists old or new that you look to for inspiration?
At young age I was motivated by Salvador Dali and his surrealism.
Now as a Floridian, I have visited the St. Petersburg Dali Museum and it was so spectacular.

8. Are there any current fashion trends that you are obsessed with?
I'm always looking at the Designs of Roberto Cavalli, John Gallianno, Emmanuelle Ungaro and Christian Lacroix. They all love color and prints just like me!



9. What is the craziest custom creation that someone has asked you to make?
About a year ago, I found a pair of vintage shoes at one of the vintage shops that I love very much (I also own a vintage shop too, there are so many great treasures there as well). The shoes were peacock blue, kind of a rare greenish color and they had a watermark. I tried to clean them, but the cleaner I was using had alcohol and removed the dye of the dyeable shoes. I was mad at my mistake, but I'm tough, and I wasn't going to throw them away! I was going to paint a peacock there! The shoes ended up looking gorgeous! From that moment I had many orders with peacocks on dyeable shoes and I consider that a success coming from a mistake.



10. How long does it take for you to create a custom garment? What about a pair of shoes?
Custom orders take hours. A garment like a denim dress takes about 6-7 hours, a pair of shoes about 4 hours. They have to be finished in many steps, since every color needs to dry before going to the next one. I work in the morning light and sometimes one order takes me 3 mornings or more.



11. You are from Buenos Aires and now live in the U.S. What is different about arts and crafts and fashion there as opposed to the U.S.?
Buenos Aires is very European and also very expensive. So clothing is classic, something you can wear many seasons or years. The government had been military for ages, so people still tend to wear dark colors, simple and elegant, but not flashy. I was flashy anyways. In the U.S., clothing is much more affordable ,colorful, and available for all sizes and heights. It shows the free spirit of this nation. I couldn't be happier! Living here is such a blessing!



12. What is the secret to your success with your Etsy shop? Do you have any tips for other fashion artists getting started on
Etsy?
I don't consider myself successful yet. I believe that when my art becomes full time career and my only source of income, I will be, but thanks for saying that.

My tips are for selling on Etsy are:
– Promote like crazy. It doesn't need to be paid; there are many ways for free promoting without it being spam.

– Be a perfectionist, be communicative, and ask many questions before starting any project.

– Don't expect everybody to be happy with what you do, but try your best and as hard as you can.

– Your shipping has to be as neat as your art. People look at the outside. God looks at the inside.

– Joining Etsy teams are very helpful. One of the ones I joined is "oneadaychallenge" and it is always pushing me for more. I have to create one item a day. It's exciting!

– If you have enough time and guts visit local stores to sell and to learn. Try what is best for you. Check your sales. What do you sell more? Get a Google Analytics account and see where people and views are coming from...There is so much you can learn!!



Thanks Nora for sharing your creations with us! We absolutely love to see what you create!

Tulip® Fabric Spray Painting with the Stars!

You may have noticed our tweets last Friday about the Teen Choice gift boutique we were attending! Well, it was a great opportunity for iLoveToCreate (that's Allee and Mandy - two awesome team members above representing th e booth) to meet up with a lot of talented, young Hollywood celebs and give them the chance to test out our Tulip® Fabric Spray Paint!

All of the kid celebs were so sweet and polite and they really had a blast while spray painting their shirts! We heard so many great compliments and saw so many smiling faces. They also said they were going to have to go right away to the craft store to get some to try at home! They couldn't believe it was so easy!


Debbie Ryan says she tie dyes everything and practically begged for us to give her our Tulip Fabric Spray!


"I wasn't expecting it to turn out so cool!" - Sterling Knight from Sonny with a Chance, about his finished
shirt.

The pop group The Social Girls had so much fun. They wanted Allee (our supestar designer helping at the event) to go home with them to tag their stuff!


The little girls of Desperate Housewives made shirts. They were so happy with the results! Not a drop on their dresses!

Sterling Beaumon [he played young Ben Linus on Lost] was so excited by his results...says he can't wait to get more!


Tyler James Williams of Everybody Hates Chris said we brought out creativity at our booth! He didn't think he had it!

Leo Howard of GI Joe: Rise of Cobra using Tulip Fabric Spray and Tulip sticky stencils. He said, "this is so cool!"

And now for a little behind the scenes goodies...

Isabelle Fuhrman, the little girl from the "Orphan" isn't as scary in person as she seems in that creepy trailer for the movie.

–The child stars were very polite and well-behaved. I guess being a brat does get you a bad rep in Hollywood, huh?

– There were a few adults there too....we spotted Scott Baio, Candace Cameron, Fred Willard, Andy Dick, Alfonso Ribeiro (and no, he didn't do the "Carlton Dance"). Are booth was pretty hectic, so there unfortunately wasn't always an open spot at all times, so some passed by. :(


– Ariel Winter (she stars with Ed O'Neil in the upcoming "Modern Family" on ABC Family seemed like a mini pro twisting and dying her shirt. Look how cute it turned out!


So (forewarning you...this is cheesy), you may not be a celebrity, but you can be a big star! All you have to have is Tulip Fabric Spray Paint! Get it at your local craft store!