Cedar Canyon Paintstik's at Fall International Quilt Market Houston

I bet you thought I forgot about the really juicy details about Market. Nope!! I've was sick all last week and I'm still trying to recover.

Without further delay:

Meet Shelly Stokes owner of Cedar Canyon Textiles.

Shelly offered a class to teach us how to use Paintstiks. I had the book and Laura Murray's DVD but somehow I thought I would feel safer if I had the class. Why? I knew everything I needed to know before going. Some how I tell myself that I need to see it done by a "teacher" before I try something new. (Note to self-HUGE waste of time :)

Shelly is holding up her apron to show us how she used one rubbing plate all over this black fabric to create this beautiful apron. The pattern is "Tamari Apron" by Linda Lee. You know I'll be having one (several) of these!!!

This is the back of the apron. I really like the look of this apron and now I've discovered the Linda Lee line of patterns and I think they are totally up my alley. More on that another time.
These are rubbing plates. Shelly encouraged everyone to think of anything that has texture and using that under your fabric to do a rubbing. The rubbing plates are nice if you want a specific design. She also introduced me to the need for a Grip-n-Grip . You our fabric on the mat and it stays where you put it. Great for stencilling and applique too. The Grip-n-Grip (12.5" x 18") keeps rubbing plates where you put them as well. I also learned about the Grip-n-Press. On one side there is the gripper mat and the other is a pressing surface. I can just put that on the end of my pressing area and not worry I'll be getting fusibles or Paintstik's on my ironing surface. I especially like that I can just roll it up and take it to classes and retreats with me. Very cool new things...and yes I bought them for myself. Everyone knows how frugal I am with my money....they were worth it I promise :)

So I put my rubbing plate on the Grip-n-Grip mat. Then we sprayed the top of the rubbing plate with 404 repositional adhisive spray. This makes it tacky so the fabric does not slip. Then you rub the Paintstiks over the top of the plate and you get beautiful designs.

This is an example of the rubbing plate with some tacky adhisive on top. It can be cleaned off with Dawn dish soap or any adhisive remover. Another good use for WD40!!!

Shelly is demonstrating how to use templates here. She has her white fabric on top of the Grip-n-Grip sheet then she has taped her template over the fabric.

This is Palette Paper. You rub a fair amount of Paintstik onto the Palette Paper and you can then put paint onto your stencil brush. There are blender sticks to all you to change the hue of any color. You can also mix a variety of colors to make a custom color.

You need to brush not dawb your paint onto the stencil. You want to get the paint into the fabric.
This is an example of a wall hanging using the Leaves Rubbing Plates.

This here little beauty is my sample. Those of us who were taking the class did not want to open all of our Paintstiks so we shared. Also knowing that Market was open....I wanted to get out of there fast and head down for my appointments and new adventures, no time for getting creative or cleaning up.

Shelly Stokes is a very down to earth warm person. She is an excellent teacher and really gives her students permission to explore and have fun with Paintstiks. Her website is full of great tips and ideas and even a free project.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Paintstiks is available in Shelly's Learning Center.

Basic Paintstik Instructions
Making Rubbings

Top Tips for Great Rubbings

Paintstik Stenciling

Paintstiks can be used on a variety of fabrics including including cotton, rayon, linen, silk and synthetic fibers. The colors are "WYSIWYG" : What You See Is What You Get. They don't dry a different color. You can even stencil on your luggage if you want to!!!

We were able to get the brand new Paintstik colors (Iridescent Jade, Iridescent Sapphire, Iridescent Magenta, Marsh Green, Periwinkle and Fuchsia)
while at Market. Guess who bought every one and a package of 10 stencils? Yes sir-eee I sure did. I'm making the boys some First Choice Boxers and I plan to do some stenciling on them for the holidays.

Want an adventure? There is a Paintstik Starter Pack and a Leaves Paintstik Quilt Kit which are great to get you started because it includes the book, rubbing plates and some Paintstiks too.

Colorful Smiles,

Kelly