* Happy 2014 * (and giveaways too)

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you had a good New Year's Eve.  I had a great December 31st.  I stayed up late with my boys and danced in the living room to ring in the new year while the little girl slept.  : ) 

A big box of goodies arrived - a present to myself from Meinke Toy:  Art Supplies!  Oh, it's like Christmas all over again.  : )))  I replenished some things I was low on.  I got more hand felting needles.  Mine are getting so dull.  I also got some new supplies they added to their shop that I think are really cool!  One is 'art yarns', and one is fibre batting.  Check it out!

top: art yarn.    under: tea cake batting

I have a new friend who spins.  She was telling me about what she makes, saying there are weird bits in them, and wondering if I might not like that.  *Oh I like that!*  I think these are just what fibre artists want. 

So - the batting.  See it underneath in the last photo?  I chose it, thinking it would be good for winter backgrounds.  This colorway was called 'teacake'.  I think I might pull some of the green out and use the other whisps to work into my scenes.  Or maybe I will spin it?  Really - the possibilities are endless.  I think that's what attracted me to it.  There's even angelina fibres in it.  mmmmm.  Shiny.

And these - sigh.  I just love the mixed threads so much.  These are great for postcards I think.  I also got a separate package from Meinke Toy - BUT IT'S A SECRET.  I am going to make something with it first and then I will show you.  Eleanor said, 'shhhhhh'.  I feel like I'm working in Santa's workshop.  It's kind of awesome.  : )

So.  A new year!  Let's celebrate with a GIVE-AWAY DRAW!  ONE comment per person please.  Everyone will be eligible for Draw # 1.  NEW followers will also be eligible for draw #2.

DRAW #1

I have a TWENTY DOLLAR coupon code up for grabs that can be used toward a purchase from Meinke Toy.  THANK YOU ELEANOR.  Meinke Toy is her online shop and she can ship anywhere (based out of Florida, USA).   Please show your support by liking their facebook page here and/or checking out their shop HERE. There is also their link button posted on my right sidebar.

To be eligible for the draw, simply leave your name and email in the comments below.  One per person please.  Tell me what resolutions you might have made in the way of art or creativity or stitching or happiness in general.  I would love to read those!  : )  Please inspire me!

DRAW # 2

If you are a new follower of my blog or my facebook page, please say so in the comment to get your name in the hat for a little package of goodies from me as well.  : )  Type 'NEW FOLLOWER' in your comment and you can have a chance to win one of three fun packs of random fibre yummies from my studio stash.  This will include decorative yarns, silk ribbon, and fabric... and whatever else I can cram in the envelope.: )

By 'new follower', I mean that you have clicked to follow a few months ago at the most.  I'm not really counting... but something like that.  You get the idea.  Be sure your email is there so I can contact you.  Tell your friends!

I will announce winners on Saturday.  Contest closes Friday night.  Let the resolutions roll in!  : )

Experimenting

A while back I ordered a lot of interesting products from MeinkeToy (MeinkeToy.com).  I haven't used them until now as I was stitching away for the solo show in Winnipeg.  ***I have to tell you how much I LOVE the silk sari ribbon they have!***  (Must order more.  Not shown in this post, sorry!)  It's gorgeous.  Their silk sari ribbon is all hand dyed and torn into strips... really cool stuff.  For now though, I've been trying out some different ways to create SKY.

messy.  had to move to the kitchen for this one!

MeinkeToy has these transfer inks.  I didn't really know what I was doing, so I also ordered some TAP (tranfer artists' papers).  As it turns out, these DecoArt Ink Effects transfer all on their own!  I had no idea.  How cool is that?  I'll show you the TAP paper in a later post.

Here's how the DecoArt Ink Effects work...

paint, iron, peel.

Seriously - all you do is brush the ink onto regular paper.  Once it's dry, you set it face down on your fabric and heat set it with an iron.  Done.  Wow.  So I did a few things....

ink on linen

You can use them over several times.  Polyesters grab the Ink Effects quite easily.  Cottons and linens need some prep if you want the colors deeper.  Depth of color is also controlled by the amount of heat you apply.  Also - the inks have the actual color results on their lids for reference.  It's like easter egg dye tablets.  You know?  There's an orange one that dyes everything pure yellow.  So, when using these inks, pay attention to the color on the lids, not the color of the dyes.  (see below?)

Ink Effect on Lutradur (a synthetic fibre also from Meinke Toy)

I redid the above image in opposite colors with a yellow/orange sky and blue/green brush marks.  Eleanor (the owner at MT) encouraged me to play and sample.  So... bear with me.  Here's my attempt at playing around with abstract stitching.  I always think it looks cartoon-y.  But oh well.

variegated rayon tape (also from Meinke Toy in a texture pack)

I hooped it up and started stitching to embellish the Ink Effects background.  I thought I would try to make some art only with their product for the sake of this post, but my 12 weight Wonderfil cotton threads snuck their way in again! ; )  Can't be helped.

tada!

OH!  I love it!  It's so pretty-pretty.  I can't wait to stitch out the one with the blue sky and orange/yellow paint strokes.  I think they will make an interesting pair.

I had FUN with this!

p.s. If you are wondering, "what's up with the watermark?" it's my way of feeling better about people pinning my work.  So - if it's watermarked, I certainly don't mind.  Pin if you like.  : )

THANK YOU MEINKE TOY for being such an AWESOME SPONSOR.  ; )  You can find their link button on my sidebar anytime for future reference.  They are also on Facebook.  Happy creating!

Linking to The Needle and Thread Network for WIP Wednesday.

...and now, a word from our sponsor

As you may have noticed, I have sponsors on my right sidebar.  I've seen quilt blogs do that a lot, and I thought something like that might work with the art I make & teach.  Some business links are here on my page because they really give the extra effort to provide great service for me which makes my job easier.  Others are there because I barter for goods with them.  None of them pay me for their space on my blog.  All are there because I asked them - and I asked them because I frequent their shops or services.  So... no one is bending my arm to do this.  They are there because I like them, plain and simple.

www.meinketoy.com

One of my favorite sponsors is Meinke Toy.  Their catch phrase is, "uncommon supplies for the fibre & mixed media artist".  That pretty much sums up why I love them.  They have the strangest, most delightful products to use for fibre and mixed media art.

I've bought silks and yarns and bleached bark from them.  I've bought lutradur and silk sari ribbon and hand dyed scrim from them.  I've never been disappointed, and I don't find their product prices to be at all outrageous.  Many things I want to try come in small sample sizes which I find ideal.

My present to me - it came just before Christmas so I wrapped it up and stuck it under the tree.

There also carry a large assortment of dyes/inks/paints/transfers for fabric, needle felting supplies, silks & silk samplers, and even lino sheets & cutters for designing your own print plates.  Very cool.

* * * They are in North America so that shipping to Canada is very reasonable.  You have to love that.

Stef Francis fibres

Eleanor, the owner of Meinke Toy, is excited to announced that will soon be carrying Thermofax Screen Designs by Sherrill Kahn. 

finished design by Sherrill Kahn (used with permission from Meinke Toy)

I've never tried screen printing so I can't tell you much about that.  You can read more about that HERE.  Thank you so much to Meinke Toy for making my days (and nights) as an artist a much more beautiful one.

So - here's my official welcome to Meinke Toy being on my blog page.  WELCOME! : )  Their button links directly to their online store.  Please check them out.  If you are a lover of uncommon supplies, this is definitely the place for you. 

Keep it pretty!

Uncommon Supplies

So, have you heard?  Meinke Toy is recently reopened, under new management.  "Meinke Toy - Uncommon Supplies for Fiber & Mixed Media Artists" to be specific.  I had just discovered this online fibre art supply store as they appeared to be closing out last fall.  I was pretty sad about that - but look!  Here they are with new owner Eleanor Love!  I just got my little package in the mail, and full of sweetness it was!!!

Bark (those 3 sheets in the top left corner), silk cocoons (bottom centre), sparkly embellishing threads, hand dyed scrim, Stef Francis texture yarns... oh it is delicious to say the least!  I'm loving this!  I couldn't help myself.  I had to stitch.

I loved stitching into the bark fibres (that olive stuff is dyed bark!).  I am definitely doing more.  I used a big darning needle to pull the chunky yarns & fibres through.  It was delightful.  I love to work with variegated anything.  It's always so serendipitous where the colors end up.  Stay tuned... I'll be hosting a Meinke Toy giveaway in a month's time.  For now, you can go check them out.  They are having a Lapel Stick product challenge contest with mid August as the deadline.  : )

Have a great week!