Behind the Scenes Photo Shoot

One of the things that happens on a daily basis here at iLoveToCreate, are the photo shoots with models, products, and projects. Scott, our photography/videographer (and my hubby) set up a shoot for our December t-shirt of the month in the manufacturing/bottling facilities this week.

Our models were perfect with their houndstooth pattern t-shirts with gradient dye, up against the black drums. I designed the shirts and thought it would be great to have an edgy background for the shoot. I loved it!

After Megumi (one of the models) changed clothes, we discovered that in the storage area was a poster she had modeled for 6 years ago! She flipped out, and I couldn't wait to get a cute pic of her posing with the poster. Too funny!

As you can see in these pics, our plant is huge, and we had to wear protective glasses and closed toed shoes to walk around.

Check this out. It's one of the glue vats being mixed with a humungous mixer about the size of my little car.

We have tons of mannequins awaiting another trade show, and big drums of paint.

The bottling area was humming away, and there were rows of plaster waiting to become bisque pieces for our ceramics division of products.

I'm fascinated by the conveyor belts of bottles, and huge drums of paint and glue being pumped into spray bottles and squeeze bottles before it gets labels and shipped to the stores.

Alexa, aka Swell Designer, is pretty fascinated too, I might say.... heehee.

But alas, it's just another day behind the scenes at iLoveToCreate!

Wild Thanksgiving for Two!

I'm thinking about Thanksgiving, which is less than 3 weeks away. Can you believe it? It will just be Scott and I, since my family is in Oklahoma and his is in Washington and we have a couple of trips planned for the holidays. So.... I decided to get WILD with it.

I found 2 placemats at the discount store in a sort of sage green, but they were just tooooo plain. So I grabbed my Aleene's Fabric Fusion and some animal print felt to add a little style to the otherwise plain-jane placemats. In fact, I already had the animal print in my fabric stash, and since I only needed a little bit, it was perfect.

Cutting the corners off the fabric was easy with a rotary cutter, and I measured 3 inches from the point of each triangle to cut it. Then I glued the corners into place. It looks great because the border seam makes them look inset.

You can dress up placemats that you already have, with corners cut from your fabric scraps, or cut the corners off of napkins that coordinate and create an entire Thanksgiving table for your family. Or maybe all you need is Thanksgiving for Two, like us!

Crafter's Guide to Glue Book

"When it comes to dieting,
remember one simple rule...
If you can't lose it, decorate it!"

Yes, this is another wacky project from "Crafters Guide to Glue" by Pattie Donham (me!) and it was one of the most fun to do!

I made over 70 projects for this big fat 128 page book, every single design with GLUE, and they are funky, crazy and fun. You’ll find everything from a weenie dog on a messenger bag, to bread dough jewelry and a mosaic chiminea fountain. There are glue recipes for things like slime, sticker glue and puffy paste, too! If it has to do with sticky, wacky, or crafty, it’s in there!

For this crazy cardigan, I took a cute fleece jacket and traded out the buttons for vintage, and then glued trim onto it with Aleene's Fabric Fusion. But that's pretty normal, right? So I had this left-over napkin from a party, and I grabbed my Aleene's Napkin Applique Glue and got busy. It's really simple, because all you do is separate the layers of paper in the napkin until you only have the part with the pattern on it.

In this case it's the middle aged gals with the pitiful excuse for dieting. (sigh) I cut it out and applied a layer of glue to the cardigan and while it was wet I laid the napkin in the wet glue and carefully patted it with my fingers. Then I applied a nice thick layer of glue over the napkin to reallllly seal it into the cardigan.

While I was waiting for it to dry I glued a few Tulip Crystals around it with more of my Aleene's Fabric Fusion. When it was dry it was ready for photography in my glue book. But better yet, my Aunt Mary Lou was the perfect gal to recieve it as a gift.

You know, all of my aunts have two names, since we are all from Oklahoma. There's Aunt Wanda Faye, Aunt Betty Sue, and so on... God love'em.

So there ya go.... another gluey project from me.... if you can't glue it, I don't do it :-)

Electric Blue Heels

Not only do I love high heels, but I love dying fabric. And when you combine the two, you get these electric blue heels lined with fabulous turquoise animal print fabric. I know what you're thinking.... nobody will see the inside. But, the cute knotted strips across the toe are enough to dress up a darling dress and especially if you dye it at the same time!


So, before you actually line the heels, you need to dye the fabric. First, I washed 1/3 yard of white 100% cotton fabric to remove the sizing and to be sure the dye was able to saturate all the way through the fibers.

Next, I cut an animal print stencil from craft foam and laid it on the fabric. (Just google the words animal print stencil and you can print it from your computer.)

Then I sprayed over the stencil with Tulip One-Step Dye in Turquoise. I kept moving the stencil until the entire piece of fabric was covered with dye. I did it sloppily so that I had dye everywhere. Oh, and don't forget to wear the gloves in the kit and to cover your table with a plastic bag. I covered the wet fabric with the trash bag for 4 hours to let the dye do it's thing. Then I was able to toss it into the washer with a little bit of laundry soap for a full cycle, dry it, and then iron it. I absolutely LOVE the color.


I took just regular printer paper and stuck it into the shoe to get a pattern of the sole and the left side and right side. I used my fingernail to indent the paper as a guide for cutting. I labeled each pattern and cut out doubles of each for the 2 shoes.

Next step was to spray the paper patterns with Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Spray Glue and stick them to the back of the fabric, leaving at least 1/4" space around the edges.







I used Aleene's Fabric Fusion to glue the edges inward and cut slits in the fabric to ease around the corners.



I inserted the pieces into the shoes with Aleene's Fabric Fusion so they would be good and snug.

The last step was to tie 2 strips into a loose knot and glue across the toes. I cut the ends to exactly match the bottoms of the shoes perfectly. I'm in love and ready to kick up my heels!

I hope you love them as much as I do, and if YOU embellish your heels, I would love for you to send me a pic: http://www.blogger.com/pwilkinson@ilovetocreate.com and maybe next week I'll post a pic of your heels!

Fall in Fresno

It's Halloween Weekend here in Fresno and the Fall weather is amazing. It's been in the 70's all week, and the mornings are fabulous. We headed to the local bakery for pastries and coffee to sit outside in the sunshine.

Scott's in pastry heaven.
Then we headed to the Fresno Farmer's Market on Shaw, and began to absorb the smells, sights, and the sounds of fall with the crunchy leaves under our feet. It was our first time to shop here, since we usually go to the Clovis market which is closed for the season. It was wonderful.

This watercolor artist was absorbed in her painting as we walked by and enjoyed the eye candy. Her flair was soft and subdued colors of florals and still life. Sooo pretty.

Scott was totally in his "happy place" as you can see. I think that the only thing he likes more than biking is shopping for fresh food.

Check out this real life scissor-hands guy! He had a pimped-out van with everything sharp. He is there every week and sharpens whatever you bring him.... scissors, knives, you name it. I am going to bring my sewing shears to him next week. I think I must have put a nick in them cutting wired-edged ribbon. Now they tug every time I cut fabric. That's not good.

I took a couple of these home and made silver dollar eggplant for dinner. I cut it in skinny circles, dredged in Greek yogurt, sprinkled with cornmeal and salt & pepper, and pan fried them in olive oil. Oh mah gawd, they were finger-lickin' good.

Next week, I'm trying out these guys....

Happy Halloweeenie Weekend from Fresno....oh.....

Glitter Jack-O-Lantern Video

Halloween Girlie Costumes

Steampunk is soo fun for Halloween, and I LoVE this girlie girl costume I found while window shopping in the Tower District of Fresno. I WANT the mini top hat.

And this cute little Poker Face Girl is terribly cute. I'm sure there is an Ace in her pocket.

A little bit country corset with ruffles makes this outfit simply darling. The double ruffle at the bottom is over the top. Love it...

Rock Steady is the place to go for a last minute costume!

Spiderweb Necklace Pattern

Okay, since the iLoveToCreate site has been bombarded with requests for the Black Widow Spiderweb Necklace, here it is!

Just click on the image above, and then print it out on regular sheet of paper. Lay it under a piece of waxed paper, then paint the lines with Tulip 3-D Fashion Paint.

Happy Halloweeeeeen all you Crazy Crafters!!
Pattiewack

TERRORIFIC TUESDAY TODAY!

Trick or Treat!
Frame and post it note holder dressed for Halloween

Costumed Kokeshi Dolls
Try out a Halloween idea for a traditional Japanese doll with Crafterella

Halloween Mask
Phyllis Dobbs created a fun and easy Halloween mask - great for adults and kids!

Fun Halloween Lanterns
Stephenie Hamen accessorizes plain paper lanterns with her paper punches.

Black Widow & Bloody Necklaces
Pattie Wack uses 3-D paint to create chokers that will creep out your party guests!

Tutu Cute Halloween Wreath
Vanessa creates an inspired wreath made of tulle!

Mad Scientist Party
Amy of Living Locurto shares a slew of fun ideas to host your own Mad Scientist Party.

Halloween Zombie Dolls
Crafty Chica shows how to add some zombie love to your decor!

Halloweenies!
Boopsie Daisy shares some of the wonderful Halloween dollies that she dreams up!

Crafty Chica's Ghost Story!
Kathy Cano-Murillo shares a haunted crafty tale!

Halloween Cone Witches
Make these cute little paper cone witches for Halloween!

Halloween Leftovers
Mel takes the leftovers from last week's project and makes a cool Goth choker!

Brenda Pinnick Halloween Owls
Seasonal Owls for Scaring or Delighting Trick or Treaters

The Impatient Crafter
Margot creates another spooktacular mixed media necklace with a bite.

Halloween Batty Windchime
Heidi Borchers creates a super cute windchime with personality!

Kitschy Kitschy BOO
Add some Halloween flair to your day with this cute kitschy bracelet and earring combo!

Simple Halloween Gift Tags
Studio Mama makes a strong impact with these quick and easy tags!

Strands of Beads
Melissa once again gives some pretty flower beads a Gothic makeover with this simple earring design

Costume Fun
Sharron Westerfield shares her passion for costume-making and the joy it brings her grandchildren.

Return of the Birthday Zombie
Candace is cracking herself up with this ghoulish gift box idea

Doodle Pumpkin
Swelldesigner a.k.a. Alexa Westerfield shows you how to make a fun pumpkin on the fly!

TWILIGHT JEWELRY BOX

It's TERRORIFIC TUESDAY, and I have the perfect project for you.
It's a:

TWILIGHT JEWELRY BOX!

I had so much fun designing this with a Twilight theme. At the iLoveToCreate studios, we have tons of old mannequins. These hands were laying on a shelf, just asking to be used in an unbelievably unique way.

So.... I grabbed an unfinished wooden box and painted it black. Then I found 4 huge beads to glue onto the bottom of the box with Aleene's Liquid Fusion. I rubbed the edges with silver rub-n-buff to give it an antiqued look.

I crystalized the glass apple (from the Dollar $tore) with an unbelievable amount of Tulip Crystals. I used the Aleene's Liquid Fusion again. I laid the apple in a martini glass to be able to turn it for different angles, and glued crystals in small areas at a time and let it set before moving on to another area, until the entire glass apple was covered with crystals. It looks delicious, but don't BITE it! teehee....

The last step was to assemble the mannequin hands on top with the crystalized apple and glue them into place the the Aleene's Liquid Fusion. I used a couple of bottles to lean the hands on, until the glue was totally set. I added a black satin bow where the wrists connect. That's it!

There you go.... a great Halloween project. Or, if you are a Twilight fan, or a Snow White fan, or you just love apples.... this is a great project for YOU....

Have a TERRORific TUESday!
Pattiewack

Black Widow and Bloody Necklaces

I love Halloween! And the peeps at iLoveToCreate love it toooo.



Our copy writer Chloe Tatro, is modeling the Black Widow Necklace that took about 5 minutes to make. And if you're like us, you're looking for a fast and easy "costume" for Halloween. So, I came up with this crazy idea to create costume necklaces.

You'll never believe that this is only Tulip 3-Dimensional Slick Paint.
That's ALL!

EeeeeeEeeEeeeK! Chloe's neck has been slashed!

Look closer and you'll see that it's another one of my Tulip 3-D Paint necklaces made to look like bloooood. Eeeeyoooo.

The guys in the marketing department got into it, too. Nate Hough's neck was just the right size for a bigger squeeze of Tulip 3-D Paint to come oozing out in a bloody disguise.

Here's what you need:

Tulip 3-D Red Slick Paint
Teflon Sheet

Here's what you do:
Draw a circle of paint the same size as your neck, and then draw the paint into bloody drips on the sheet. I let it dry overnight to be sure that it's good and dry. Then put it around your neck and connect the ends together. They will stick together, but if you are very active, you may want to hold it together with a safety pin.

The spider web is done the same way with Tulip 3-D Black Slick Paint. Be sure that you connect it completely together so that none of the web falls down. You know, you could also paint a web on a shirt using this idea and have a permanent spider web to wear year after year.

Hey, thanks to Chloe and Nate for your necks….

Happy Halloween!

Pattiewack

Pet Costumes at the Pooch Parade

The Tower District in Fresno was alive today with the excitement of kids, people, and pets dressed up for Halloween. The costumes were amazing! I was lucky enough to have my camera phone and snapped a couple dozen pics. These are the best. Sorry they aren't better, but it's a bit tricky to get great pics of a pet parade. What fun!













My personal fave. The little chihuahua was dressed as a lobster.


Check out the tie dye....






Who's the pet here????

Creepy Candlesticks

Well, maybe they're not that creepy, but these candlestick ARE another fun way to use those little mini pumpkins you can pick up at the supermarket.

If you're using a wooden plaque, you'll want to paint it black for the base. Next, drill a shallow hole the same size as the dowel, and glue the dowel into hole. Poke a hole through the pumpkins and stack them onto the dowel. Carve out the top pumpkin and place a tealight into the hole.

For the vase, fill it with styrofoam, cover it with moss, and shove the dowel rod into the foam. Then stack your pumpkins the same way, with the tealight on top.


I created a little bar-top tablescape with my creepy candlesticks and a tray full of peppers, gourds, some yummy vino and a couple of glasses just waiting for me and my hubby to start the party.

Cheers to all you Halloween lovers!

Halloween Punkin People

Check out my Punkin’ People Halloween Video for MyLifetime.com!

Painted Arachnophobia Glasses

I love these scarrrrry spider glasses. All you need is to grab your Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint™ and draw them onto a stemless wine goblet for a temporary party embellishment that just might scare someone into sipping instead of glugging down their cocktails.... arachnophobia, anyone???

Terrorific Tuesday!

Another week! Another helping of Halloween goodness. Check out what the fabulous crafters from all walks of life are up to this Terrorific Tuesday for the second week of October!

This little light
Light up the night with this cute pumpkin votive holder from Kat the Fearless Crafter.

Sugar Skull Bracelet & Bats in the Belfry Choker
Candace is having way too much fun with shrink plastc! Check out these fun and charming crafts on the Spirit Clay blog.

Dollar Tree Decorated Lights Tutorial
Come and decorate some Dollar Tree Skulls with Crafterella, don't forget your sharpie markers!

The Impatient Crafter for iLoveToCreate
Whip up a Halloween Invitation that's a real 'hoot' with Madge in this project for iLoveToCreate!

Spooky Halloween Coasters
Cheryl Ball of Still Crafty After 50 shares some fun, funky, and spirited coasters!

Halloween Treat Bowl
Create a fun and festive treat dish with Inspired at Home!

Strands of Beads
Melissa creates a whimsical seasonal necklace based on the theme "pushing up daisies".

Basic Black Box Meets Pumpkin Patch
Whip up Halloween favor boxes in minutes with brand new Sizzix ScoreBoard dies.

Mummy Mannequin
Create a mummy that will be a memorable accent at your Halloween party with Pattiewack!

Munchkin Mama's Crispy Peanut Butter Balls
Munchkin Mama has a great recipe for no bake peanut butter balls that the whole family will want to make!

Witch Parking!!
Make a "Witch Parking" sign on the Mucky Finger's blog!

Vintage-Inspired Halloween Tree Topper
Shannon shows off her new Halloween tree topper, inspired by vintage crepe paper crafts!

The Impatient Crafter
Make a whimsical and elegant Halloween necklace with Madge!

Jack-O-Lantern Waterfalls
Studio Mama shows you how to make some fun and festive earrings for the Halloween season.

Glow in the Dark Jewelry
Use glow in the dark polymer clay and rubber stamps to produce eerie Halloween jewerly.

Crafty Chica's Paint Drip Pumpkin!
A loca idea on the fly turned out muy fantastico!

Free Printable Halloween Cup Sleeves
You’ll be a hit with these labels for hot beverages at your Halloween party.

Scarecow Sweatshirt
Sharron Westerfield shares a cute scarecrow sweatshirt she made from a fun downloadable pattern from Janome!

Halloween Ribbon Brooches and Fascinators
Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner whips some quick and cute Halloween accessories!

R.I.P. Skeleton in Coffin
Guarantee a spooktacular Halloween Party with a skeleton in a coffin treat filled centerpiece!

Happy October Kewpies
Find inspiration in this colorful and cute candy corn Kewpie photo from Boopsie Daisy!

If you would like to join in the fun next week, e-mail Alexa at swelldesigner@yahoo.com and put in your subject line "Terrorific Tuesday". She'll get you added to the group!

Mummy Mannequin!

Happy Halloween to all you ghouls and guys! I hope you’re busy making plans for a frightfully fun evening with your friends and families in a couple weeks.

I thought you might like to see some frightfully fun ideas I used to dress my house, AND my mannequin for a terrorific party.

First, I wrapped up my mannequin to look like a mummy! Yeppers, that's toilet paper and lace.

The eyeball looking out the window, looks pretty creepy, peeking out of the mummy wrappings. I had a ton of vintage lace from my mom, and wrapped it around the mummy to add a little texture. I promise you, that no vintage lace was harmed in the making, as I didn’t even cut it! That way I can take it off and use it on a sewing project. I think that some of the lace is probably 50 years old.






















I have a bouquet of Barbies in my home studio. I just KNEW they would come in handy for something, and yes! I wound bathroom tissue around them and turned them into Mini-Mummies! A little tacky glue holds them together.




































It didn't take very long to wrap the Barbies, and they turned out so cute! That's a plaster cast of Scott's hand holding onto one of the mini-mummies. I made it years ago, and I use it for a candle holder.


















I have a collection of body parts. Don't ask why, it might be the artist in me. I just love them. That's my hand with the finger pointing up. I use it for a bracelet holder.
















Here's what you need, to make your mummy:

I used two rolls of tissue, and a bunch of tape on the big mannequin mummy. I love how it turned out, and it was toooo easy! Our guests loved it, and I don’t think I’ll want to take it down after Halloween, especially after spending all that time to make. But, it was worth it.

We love fondue, too. I make two pots, one with cheese and one with chocolate. I always ask the girls to bring fruits and veggies. And I always ask the boys to bring wine and beer. Yummers.

The fondue recipes I love to share are below. I went online to get recipes, and then changed them up a bit to fit what we like to eat. You can do the same thing. We don't eat much meat, but I found these amazing sausages made with chicken and sun dried tomatoes. You can use whatever cheese you love in the cheese fondue, and whatever liqueur that you prefer in the chocolate, like amaretto or rum. I hope you enjoy yourself and be safe, and have fun planning your party.
Happy Halloween everyone!



















Killer Cheese Fondue
From the kitchen of: Pattie Donham-Wilkinson

2 - 8 oz. Pkgs. Cream Cheese, cut up in chunks
1 – Round of Brie Cheese, cut up in chunks
1 – Block of Gruyere Cheese, shredded
1 – Dark Lager Beer

Place cheeses in a large bowl, and pour the beer over the cheese, stirring it in. Melt slowly in the microwave, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until melted. Pour into a fondue pot, and light the flame underneath to keep warm.
Serve with:

Sour dough bread chunks
Blanched broccoli
Sausage bites (pre-cooked)
Deglet Noor pitted dates
Honey crisp apples (our favorites)
Oh, and open a can of those crunchy fried onions to dip into, after you dip into the cheese, and prepare for your eyes to roll back in your head!


Death By Chocolate Fondue
From the kitchen of: Pattie Donham-Wilkinson

1 – 11oz. Pkg. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bits
1 – 11oz. Pkg. Ghirardelli milk chocolate bits
1/2 Pint Whipping cream
1/2 Cup Kahlua liqueur

Place chocolate bits in a large bowl, and pour the cream and liqueur over the chocolate, stirring it in. Melt slowly in the microwave, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until melted. Pour into a fondue pot, and light the flame underneath to keep warm.
Serve with:
Marshmallows
Crushed graham crackers
Strawberries
Crushed nuts
Pineapple & Apple chunks
Shredded coconut

B-O-O-B-R-E-L-L-A-S

These crazy cool umbrellas are great for Mommy or Daddy to carry on a rainy trick-or-treat outing with the kids. Another neat idea is to hang several from the ceiling for party decorations!

Or, have a crafting party for the whole family by cutting out different shapes and letting the kids create their own scary or fun faces to glue onto their Monster Umbrellas!

Monster pattern

Pumpkin Face Pattern

Boo & Spiders Pattern

Supplies:

Umbrella

Felt Squares

Aleene's® Tacky Glue Spray Adhesive

Fabric Fusion™ Adhesive

Glitter

Pompoms, Glitter, Googly Eyes, Glitter Pens

Scissors

Newspaper

Steps:

1. Cut faces, spiders, and words from felt squares, using the patterns or your own ideas.

2. If you want the pieces covered with glitter, lay them face up on newspaper. Spray with adhesive and immediately sprinkle glitter over the piece. Let dry.

3. Turn pieces face down on the newspaper and spray them completely with adhesive. Wait 60 seconds.

4. Place the pieces carefully onto the umbrella. Press with your hands to anchor the adhesive, and press underneath with your other hand to hold the piece in place.

5. Add googly eyes and pompoms using Fabric Fusion, holding in place until the glue has taken hold.

6. Draw a spider web and other embellishments with glue and sprinkle on the glitter.

Tulip Crystals & Dyes Rock the Expo!

Tons of crystals and dye kits rocked the Sewing Expo in the Hancock Fabrics booth.

Everyone love, love LOVED the Tulip® Cordless Heat Setting Tool™ and were so shocked to find out it was cordless, and easy to use.

I took these pics before the doors flew open with quilting crazies and serious sewers.

Pretty soon the line was flowing down the aisle with customers waiting to buy their finds.

The Fashion Stage, classes, and galleries were filled with students and friends looking for that next big idea so they could go home and add to their fabric stash and sew up another great design. I'll be there through Saturday, so come see me! I'll save some crystals for ya...

Quilting With Dyed Fabrics is FUN!

I'm flying to D.C. on Wednesday to the Sewing Expo for Hancock Fabrics to demonstrate The Tulip® Dye Techniques Kit™ and the Tulip® Cordless Heat Setting Tool™ with the Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Crystals™ combined to create a cute and sassy quilted tote bag and a mini quilt wall hanging.

The Sewing Expo is part of a national campaign to bring inspiration, motivation, education and personal satisfaction to everyone who enjoys sewing, quilt making, embroidery, embellishment and related needle arts. I can't believe I get to be a part of this amazing event.

So, to design the sassiest little bag with dyed fabric, I first have to grab my supplies at the iLoveToCreate design studio and dye my little heart out. I decided to create 3 of the 5 techniques in the kit for my projects.

Our house in Clovis has a darling patio out back with a ceiling fan, and it's just begging to have a little dye party, so I got the fan buzzing, and laid out my kit. I grabbed 2 kits, because I needed 12 yards of fabric for the tote, the quilt, and the demo swatches.

First step? I washed and dried all the 100% cotton fabric to take out the sizing and prepare it for the dye.

My steel sink is perfect for mixing the dyes. They're great because all I have to do is put on my gloves and then fill all the bottles with water (the dye is already in there) and shake.

Scott set up a table cover with plastic trash bags. Of course he used bungies to hold it down. I call him Bungy Man. (When I'm not calling him Zip-tie Man.)

I started with the shibori technique and since my project is so humongus, I taped the 2 tubes together that come in the kits.

Then I laid it under the fabric and scrunched it up. The shibori tube holds the fabric up so that you get that cool look, and keeps it from puddling. You'll see!

Now, the dying begins. I squirted it onto the fabric along the top of the tube. Then, I moved the tube over about 8 inches and repeated until I was at the end of the fabric.

Voila! I hung it on the clothesline and replaced the trash bag with a new one for the next color.

Woohoo, the brush technique was amazing. I simply poured my dye out of the bottle and into a disposable bowl, dipped my brush from the kit into the dye, and made crisscross strokes all the way across. Loved it.

After changing the trash bag on the table again, I was ready for the spray technique. This was soooo easy and fast. I made little hills and valleys with the fabric, then used the spray top from the kit to spray away.

I don't know what the neighbors think, but it sure gave them a colorful view while the dye set for 4 hours. Last step, wash and dry the fabric separately and then make my little tote bag.

I love how the cotton dyed fabric turned out and it feels good, not crunchy. I'll be posting the project at iLoveToCreate.com with all the instructions right away.

The crystals were uber easy to apply with the heating tool, and I think they added a little sparkle-farkle to the bag. Like I said, super fun, and a little bit sassy with the crystals and in bright, happy colors.

Come see me at the Sewing Expo in Chantilly, VA! I'll be there Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Hancock Fabrics booth. Look for the gal with the bright green tablecloth and the happy smile.... I'll show you how to dye fabrics for your quilting and sewing projects, and our cute little cordless heating tool for jazzin' up your projects.

See you there!
Pattiewack

Behind the scenes of iLoveToCreate with Pattiewack

"FLIP OUR STUDIO"

At iLoveToCreate we have been given the green light to turn our design room into an ultra-uber design studio that we are proud of and excited to create in every day. That's the GOOD news.

Now for the BAD news... Okay, you have to realize that it took YEeeears for this space to become engorged with tons of craft supplies, tools, sewing machines, computers, and projects. Of course, we have to BLOG about it. And it is a work in progress which we will finish in the next 2 weeks.

And... Yes, as expected we have the pics and story to show the metamorphosis of this huge space.

So, what you are about to see might change you forever. Hide the small children, warn your mother, and you might want to peer through your fingers….

The West side of the studio is where you can find Chloe Tatro, our copy writer who is often our in-house model, and Designer Suzie Shinseki who creates fabulous ceramics and crafts every day.... somewhere in there.

Here's the East side of the studio where Designers Kathy Cano Murillo and Cheryl Ball and Allee Marderosian create amazing designs amidst the clutter.

More of the East side where my Pattiewack design space is tucked behind there somewhere.

The conference table, which sometimes is so covered up we just forget about it and put chairs in a circle.

The sink & clean-up station, where paint brushes go and never are seen again.

I warned you! Can you imagine looking for a box of pins, a bag of crystals or a bottle of Aleene’s Tacky Glue? Trust me, there are some amazing designs coming from this chaos, but it is time, time, time to get some serious scrub done.

We've rolled up our sleeves and grabbed our brooms and scrubbies. I’ll be posting more behind-the-scene pics and show how we totally re-designed this pile of crafty chaos into a seriously sweet design studio.

So in the words of Tim Gunn, "Designers, make it work!"

House of Mutti

On a recent visit to Scott's parents in University Place, Washington, I thought it would be fun to take a little photo tour of all the cool decor in their house. Scott's Mom and Dad were stationed in Germany while the kids were young, so they called their mom "Mutti" which is German for mother. She is quite the decorator and collector of a combination of whimsical and traditional art and objects.

Shirley is also a volunteer at the Glass Museum in Tacoma. You'll notice a pair of hand blown martini glasses and wind chime in the tour below, as well as some of her darling evening dresses, some funny pics of Scott, Hummel figurines, and more. Pops is a retired Air Force pilot, and there is an unusual painting with airplanes in flight. I'll be posting pics of some of the glass soon. Enjoy!

Sewing on the floor...

Scott laughs when I sew on the floor, but sometimes that's the best way to tackle a big job like this one. You remember our trip to Sacramento to get the new bed slats & mattress, right? Well, it's been great for Scott, but not so great for me. I love everything about it, except it feels like my bones are poking through a rock.

So, I got this great idea to take one of those egg crate foamie thingies and cut it down the middle, and put it on my side of the bed. But of course, that wasn't enough. I had to make it mine, and make it a project.

That's when I went to the closet and found an old zebra sheet and decided to make a mattress cover for it. I just laid the mattress on the sheet, folded it over, and cut the edges 2 inches along the side to make allowance for a seam. And then I went back and rolled the edge to hide the raw edge and sewed it with a zigzag stitch. Pretty neat!

Except when I poked my finger with one of the pins!

Scott played nurse and ran to get a sushi band aid to make it all better.

It turned out great, and now I can get a good night's sleep again.

Antique Store Finds

I simply love, love, love going on treasure hunts in antique stores, because you never know what you're going to find. This made me laugh out loud! Probably from the 60's and the cutest lingerie bag I've ever seen. I'm totally thinking about sewing one up for myself.

When I turned it around it was see-through and made sense that it could be used to stash your stockings, and be able to see where those black ones were hiding behind the fishnets.

And of course, you would need this matching wig head with the black lace and faux pearls.

My treasure hunting gal pal was Alexa (aka Swell Designer) and she is such a poser (kidding!) with the chiffon prom dress. I think she would look pretty swell in that.

The cupcake holders cracked me up with the name Krinkle Cups, and then what can I say about the Stickups for gay exciting decorative arrangements for $1.00??

Roller skates! Yes, really. They have to be 50 years old, and in spiffy shape, too. They reminded me of a song I remember called, "Brand New Key" by Melanie Safka in the 70's. The lyrics are:

I got a brand new pair of roller skates

You got a brand new key

I think that we should get together and try them out you see

Isn't he cute? This little owl clock was only about 4 inches tall. I might go back and get him, because I can't stop thinkin' about him.

Then, I saw this super pretty ad on a tin sign about cosmetics with Lucille Ball. I didn't know she did anything besides the I Love Lucy television show.

Okay, so now I can't get that silly roller skate song out of my head.....

It's Finished!

We finally started assembling the pieces to the fountain today. The top is just amazing with all 4 seasons painted on the ceramics. The water feature on top is just perfect, and worked beautifully.

Each side represents a season, and this is the summer side.

Everyone had a hard time deciding which side they liked the best.

I loved the fall colors myself.

Dean Saether, our Ceramic Arts Director at iLoveToCreate was so excited, and was happy to pause a moment for a photo opportunity before we lovingly placed it into a crate and sent it on it's merry way to Kansas City for the 2009 CCSA Convention and trade show on Friday.

I hope to have some better pics of the finished piece soon, and I'll post them for all to see.

Woooohoooo! Way to go, Design TEAM!

The Ceramic Fountain Saga continues....

The Duncan Ceramic Fountain is still being assembled in the iLoveToCreate design studios, and we are getting close to being finished. The four faces of the seasons were glued to the crown today. These plates are absolutely breathtaking and the artist who painted them is Suzie Shinseki. Her artistic designs never cease to amaze me.

Another of our designers, Cheryl Ball painted the fountain title, "For Everything There is a Season." Her skills as a decorative painter are fabulous, and she's fast, too!

The brains & brawn of the operation is Sam Carter, one of our talented graphics designers. He is also a skilled cabinet maker, and has built a beautiful column as the foundation and also assembled the ceramic pieces and fountain. Believe me, this has been a team effort.

Here are some more shots of the fountain in progress...




Tomorrow is the final day for the fountain to get ready and ship to the CCSA Convention in Kansas City. Sam will be building a crate to house the fountain, and the delicate packing will take place. But not before Scott has a chance to get some photography of our piece of art. I can't WAIT to see it all together!

And the saga continues....

Shocking Blue Patio Paint

I was one busy girl this weekend, and I crammed all I could into the 3 days for Labor Day weekend. I finally got to attack this gawd-awful table that I've had for umpteen years, and spray paint it an electric blue for the patio.


This is how it looked before. I filled all the cracks and crannies with wood putty then sanded it, and sucked up the dust with the vacuum cleaner.

It took gobs of putty, but I stuck with it until they were all filled up. Then while it was drying I made the hanger for a wall hanging. You can see that DIY Wire Hanger project in the post below.

One of the things I've found that works best when I spray paint, is if I turn my project upside down and spray the bottom first.

Then when I'm finished spraying, it's right side up while it's drying.

I'm glad I picked up 2 cans of spray, because I used one entire can, and part of another. I'll still have some left to spray candlesticks or something to match later.

I love how it turned out. I also put new fabric in the director's chairs and added a couple of bark cloth pillows. The foot stool is an old crate with a pillow stuffed into it.

Now, where's my dirty martini??

Repurposed Plant Hanger

What do you do when you have a plant hanger on a pot that you don't want to hang?

I turned mine into a curly-Q hanger!

My good friend and amazing artist, photographer, and graphics designer Robyn Craxton, made this fabulous wall hanging as a going away present when we moved 3 months ago from Nashville to iLoveToCreate in Fresno. She asked 12 of our closest friends to write on the backs of these vintage style postcards, and then she put grommets and jump rings on them to group them together. I LOVE it! Robyn put velcro hangers at the top, but I've been shopping around for something cool to hang it with. Sooooo.... today when I bought plants for the house, it hit my creative nerve when I saw the plant hanger.

Here's a little tutorial for my DIY Wire Hanger:







Thanks Robyn, and all the gang in Nashville... I miss all of you....

By the way, Robyn also has a cute little ETSY Shop called Robyn Ruth you'll love to browse.

Ikea Bed Adventure

With the 3-days off for Labor Day, we took a little road trip to Sacramento for Gold Rush Days and to browse IKEA for household stuff. The Gold Rush Days was way fan, as we walked on the streets covered with dirt and cowboys and horses and trains and buggies everywhere. But the real adventure happened when we bought new slats for our Scandinavian bed. Ours had become quite flat, and we needed a new mattress to make our backs happy. Sooo.... as you see here, the best part about IKEA is that it's relatively inexpensive. But, the worst part is that it's always a DIY project.

The slats had to go into plastic pockets and then a fabric spine went down the middle. Scott took over and was determined to make it a fun project. It didn't take tooo long to get the first side done.

The second side got crazy when we lost count of how many skinny slats went in before the fat slats, and then the double slats, and so it goes. Counting, poking, and silly fun.

The mattress was rolled up tight, and weighed 75 lbs. It was amazing how much mattress was in an itty bitty bag. But, the DIY slats and mattress adventure ended nicely with my happy tiger sprawled out on a brand new bed. Z-Z-Z-Z-z-z--z-z-zzzzz--zzzzz z z zzzz

Ceramic Fountain in progress

One of the most challenging and exciting things about the CCSA Convention is that Duncan Ceramics presents a huge ceramic showpiece for the charity auction every year.... and this year I get to be part of the iLoveToCreate team that's designing it!

It starts from a brainstorming sketch that the designers collaborate on, and then the ceramic artists get busy. This year we are building a humungus fountain that is covered with ceramic flowers.

I've been scared to death that I'm going to accidentally break a plate and have to start over because they are so delicate. The ceramic artists really came through on these as you can see, I have a flood of flowers covering my design area.

I've been selected to decoupage the column with handmade papers in the background. Some of the papers have teeny little ferns and leaves in them. I love all the saturation of colors.

Each of the 4 sides of the column will represent a different season. Here is the winter side, that will hold the christmas florals. The Collage Pauge has been perfect for placing a coat of glue on the column and then covering the paper with a coat of the matte finish. The empty spots were drawn with pencil around the ceramic pieces and marked with the same code on the bottom of the pieces. You have to be careful not to decoupage where the ceramics will be glued to the wood, otherwise the glue will not hold the heavy pieces. Huge project, huge fun, lots of Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage.

Allee Marderosian gave me a hand on the "Spring" side. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we painted the wood first so the sheer papers would be more vibrant.

I know, I know... it's not finished yet. I just left the studio where I glued hundreds of crystals on the ceramic flowers... whew!

You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the rest... yep, what a tease :-)

Inspiria- cirque du CCSA!

Our trade show team has been working their happy butts off this week to prepare for the largest convention of the year for the ceramic arts industry in Kansas City next week. Our booth will showcase the latest in bisque to the attendees of the Contemporary Ceramic Studios Association and also have some pretty snazzy make-it-take-it goodies, too. And the designers on hand will be our very own Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano-Murillo and Traci Bautista to kick things off to a crafty good time for everyone.

I took these snappy pics of just a teeny few of the massive amount of bisque from our Duncan Ceramics that will be shown in the booth. How exciting! If you own a ceramic arts studio, you won't want to miss it on September 11 - 14th.

Alyson Dias, our Marketing & Communications Director at iLoveToCreate recently got a call inviting the Tulip brand to be a part of New York City's Fashion's Night Out event, and she just posted the announcement on FaceBook today. How exciting and outrageous!

She also announced that... "the ever-fashionable and totally talented Erica Domesek of ps-imadethis is using Tulip Fabric Spray, Tulip Stencils and Tulip T-Shirt Forms in a DIY event at Tia's Place at Grand Central Station in NYC on Sept 10!!!"

Woot-woot!

Fresno Etsy Chicks

What a group! The Fresno Etsy chicks invited me and Kathy Cano Murillo to their meet-up tonight at the Red Robin. We caused quite a stir with Alexa Westerfield who is the amazing blogger at Swell Designer. We swapped bizness cards and discussed the plethora of marketing ideas for designers to get published, licensed, and sell our designs. Kathy gave us some great tips for organized a maker fair and ways to write about crafting. With this core group there are jewelry makers, pet fashionistas, custom costumers, felt makers, knitters, bloggers, and more! I know, I don't have an Etsy Store yet, so they made me an honorary member/craft consultant. Isn't that nice? I really do plan to open a store, seeing how that I have tons, tons, tons of supplies and designs filling up space in my garage. It's time to get busy and jump on the Etsy train.

The Simple Things...

Sometimes it's the simple things that make a difference. Here's the perfect example. Just take a TP cardboard tube, glue some fabric around it, and now you have a grrrrreat cord wrangler!

Bread Dough Jewelry

I've been sitting on the couch, kneading Aleene's® Tacky Glue and white bread together so I can make bread dough jewelry today. Tomorrow morning I am going to be on the KMPH Fox 26 Morning Show here in Fresno, along with Cheryl Ball and Allee Marderosian. We will be on from 6 til 10 a.m. and be demonstrating 10 fun summer crafts.

So, I thought it would be a great time to remind everyone about the easy dough that you can make with glue and bread. The necklace and bracelet in these pics are from my book, The Crafter's Guide to Glue. I made the classic roses and pressed them into fancy shaped paper clips. Then I assembled them with jump rings. The colors came from little drops of acrylic paint. Today I experimented with puffy paint and food coloring. Fun!


Here's the scoop on how to make your...


Aleene's® Tacky Glue & Bread Dough

1. The basic bread dough formula is one slice of bread to one tablespoon of glue.
2. Remove all of the crusts from the number of slices you'll need for your project and tear into small pieces.
3. Put the bread in a plastic bag and pour the appropriate number of tablespoons of glue into the bag (1 piece bread to 1 tablespoon glue). Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it becomes smooth and workable.
4. At first it will be sticky, but keep kneading. Due to differences in climate and moisture in the area, you may need to adjust the ratio of bread to glue.
5. If after 10 minutes the mixture is still too sticky, add more small pieces of bread. If it is too dry or stiff add a few more drops of glue.
6. You can color the dough by adding a few drops of paint to the dough.
7. Roll the dough out on a smooth and clean surface as you would with cookie dough. Use your fingers or cookies cutters to mold and cut shapes.
8. Small projects will take hours to dry, while larger ones could take days.
9. You can store the dough in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator for several months.

Treads and Threads

Supplies:
Bicycle Tire (auto tire, or tennis shoe)
Prewashed Cotton Tee Shirt
Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint (Black Slick)
Newspaper
Clothes Pins
Disposable Brush
Paper Plate

Steps:

1. Place newspaper inside shirt. Hold in place with clothespins.
2. Generously apply paint to the tread of a bicycle tire, the width of the tee shirt, using a disposable brush.
3. Roll the paint covered tire over the tee shirt to stamp with the tread.

Pattie's Pointer:
Boys and girls will both love this funky technique for stamping their tee shirts with tire tread. You can use anything with a tread, such as an automobile tire, or tennis shoes or hiking boots. For a tread-theme decorating idea, you can stamp a lampshade, window shade, and pillows for the teen or tween who loves motocross, cycling, or just loves dirt!

Faux Moustaches

Every once in a while, you meet someone who you have a crafty connection with, and Kelly Georgette is one in a million. I met her in Nashville, and she said that she remembered watching me with her gramma every day at lunchtime when I was a host on Aleene's Creative Living. She was so excited that she was meeting someone that loves to craft as much as she does. Well, as an intern at Simplicity Creative Group, she was our go-to gal. Anything we dreamed up, Kelly could do it. Her quick wit and fast crafts made my work easier in new product development, and she also kept the office happy with her cute outfits and new crafty ideas.

I just love her Kelly Georgette Etsy store and the cute moustaches and decoupage plaques there. If you go buy something from her, tell her Pattiewack sent ya...

Time to make a FOUNTAIN?

Is it time to make a FOUNTAIN for the deck? I know... you thought this was a chiminea didn't you? Well, it was... until I grabbed some heavy duty industrial strength Aleene's® Platinum Bond™ 7800 All-Purpose Adhesive glue and turned it into a fountain with broken china and grout. Be sure and coat the inside of the base with rubber that you brush on, and that you pick up at the local home improvement store, and drill a hole in the chimney for your pump cord to go through.

If you look really close, you'll see a miniature tea set that I added for a touch of whimsey.

After you glue broken china all over; you let the glue dry, you grout it, and then spray with sealer... Add the pump, cover it with broken dishes, and pour in your water.

Now, you're ready to plug it in, serve up some cool drinki-poos and enjoy the soft trickle of your fabulous fountain.

Romance Novel Jewelry

I found some paperback romance books at the antique store in Clovis this weekend, and it reminded me of this pretty necklace I made using the in jet shrink plastic in my online Pattiewack Store. You will just love how fun this is to make, and it's a real conversation starter.

Supplies:
PattieWack Ink Jet Shrink Plastic
Ink-Jet Printer, Scanner, Computer
Romance Novel Book Cover(s)
Hole Punch, Scissors Wooden Tongs
Heat Gun
Clear Embossing Ink, Clear Embossing Powder
1/4 inch Gold Jump Rings
22 Gauge Gold Artistic Wire
Beads
Wire Cutters, Needle-nose Pliers
1/4 Inch Organdy Ribbon (36 inches)

Steps:
1. Scan book cover,reduce color saturation until colors are pastel. Reduce size to 3x2 inches.
2. Print the image with ink-jet printer, onto PattieWack Ink-Jet Shrink Plastic. Let dry.
3. Cut out the image, and punch hole in the center top and center bottom of pendant.
4. Shrink the pendant with a heat gun, holding the pendant still with wooden tongs, and keeping it from curling. Heat until the pendant is flat. Use the tongs to help flatten the pendant.
5. Tap embossing ink gently onto the pendant, then cover with embossing powder. Heat with heat gun to melt the powder. Do not overheat.
6. Add jump rings to top and bottom of pendant. Add wire and beads to the bottom of the pendant.
7. Thread ribbon through the top jump ring to complete necklace.

The Teen Choice Awards!

Our Media Crew is at the Teen Choice Awards tonight, and are giving away swag filled with Tulip Fabric Paint. We've been tweeting all day, and having a blast with all the celebrities

The little girls from Desperate Housewives had so much fun, and didn't get a drop on their dresses.

Click here to follow our TWEETS!

Tiger Beat with Allee Inside!!

Next time you're browsing the magazine rack, check out the latest TIGER BEAT MAGAZINE for Allee Marderosian's new ad spot for iLoveToCreate! Allee designed the vibrant t-shirt with Tulip® Soft Fabric Paint™ and Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint™, then made her creation extra bright with Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Crystals™.

I snapped this pic right after Alyson Dias, our Marketing Communications Manager dropped off the Tiger Beat mag with Allee's ad in it, and Allee was so excited I thought her cheeks would burst!

Allee is the queen of graffit art and tie dye creations in our design studio. She rocks.

Way to go, Allee!