Cloth Paper Scissors and Grafix

Last  summer I was invited by Cloth Paper Scissors magazine to participate in a special project. A group of designers and artists would be given the opportunity to use a collection of products to create an art piece in their given medium.  I was honored to be asked and happily agreed.  The products we were sent were from the Grafix® company.   I was very intrigued with Dura-lar, the acetate alternative and Shrink Film and decided to create a fiber art tapestry.  The projects will be published in the May/June 2013 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors and also as an on-line extra.  So be sure to check out all the cool designs.

I first designed a stencil design and then cut it using my Cameo Silhouette  machine.   It worked wonderfully, creating a sturdy stencil.

I used the stencil to decorate cotton fabric, and my  tag focal point.  Full and partial parts of the stencil were used with white color textile paint.  I loved how the stencil looked after using it, and decided to include it as a design element.  The stencil already had paint on it from stenciling, so I just cut it in half.

Since I love handmade embellishments, I decided to use the Shrink Film to create a dimensional element.  I used a Sizzix die, Vintage Doily (#657420)  to first cut the film.  It is important to remember that Shrink Film reduces to half its size, so plan accordingly.  I painted the embellishments with metallic acrylic.  I then sanded and reapplied the paint.   This process was repeated until I was happy with the result.

When all of my elements were completed, I auditioned them and secured with pins.  I then machine stitched them in place.  The Shrink Film and cut stencil were adhered with fabric adhesive (I use Fabri-tac by Beacon adhesives).

I hope you enjoy all of our creations and are inspired to create your own!