I hope you have collected some supplies and ready to start this October Stitch Along. If you missed the details, check it out here: StitchAlong Details. It should be a fun project to make that perhaps you can turn into a Christmas gift when you're done..... I hope you will join me!
I decided to use the Hibiscus flower picture to make a template. Remember you can choose your own or one of the photos I supplied last week.
I also decided to make up a green background for the Hibiscus as seen in the photo. I searched through my stash and selected some Hoffman Fabric watercolors. I choose six shades of green.... more about those to come!
For the flower I selected more Hoffman Fabric watercolors this time in pinks and purples.
However, I'm not 100% satisfied these fabrics are the right colors for my flower so I decided I would play with my Shiva Paintstiks to see if I can come up with a better color scheme.
As you can see the Stiks don't come in the color I want so it will be a matter of blending them together. I'll start with dark red and white, then maybe add a tad of black to darken it.
Hmmmm not quite right, let's try a little navy blue to change the color to a purplish shade instead of reddish color.
Getting better..... I will definitely need to play some more with these Paintstiks but I'm liking where this is going. If you would like to learn how to use Paintstiks in more depth, I strongly suggest reading Daphne Greig's Fun With Paintstiks eBook. This eBook not only tells you how to blend Paintstiks but is also a wealth of information on different ways to create beautiful designs using them.
I have to admit, I am having a lot of fun with these Paintstiks - this can get really addictive! I won't show you all my attempts but I do believe I'm ready to put what I've learned on fabric for my project.
With the green fabrics aside for now (I'll create the background later), I began thinking about the flower some more.... how I should go about creating it and using the Paintstiks to enhance it. Here's what I did:
First, I printed my flower photo on paper (greyscale was fine for this) and placed it on the light-box. I covered the photo with my lightest pink fabric. Note: For applique I usually draw on fusible but I'm going to try something slightly different this time. It is always good to try new things and experiment.
I drew the outline of the flower as a guide directly on the fabric.
With the outline drawn now I used my paintstiks to darken the center. Red, white, and navy were the colors I used and then I used the blender stick to mix them through (something I learned about in Daphne's eBook). Tip: press a piece of Freezer Paper onto the back to stabilize the fabric for drawing.
Once I'd finished with the paints, I ironed the fabric to set the colors using a Teflon sheet (baking paper or parchment paper can also be used) over the top to protect my iron..... then it was time to cut it out!
That's about all I have time to do today as I'm quite eager to get back to Daphne's instructions. There is a lot of interesting things to learn!
Do let me know how you are doing with your creation.... Have you thought about how you will construct the background? the flower or leaf? Maybe you have finished already. Feel free to email me for help, thoughts or send me a photo even. I'd love to see!
