Primitive St. Patricks Day Bowl Fillers

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I am working on a few primitive decor items for St. Patricks Day, which is fast approaching now that Valentines is over! Phew, these winter months go by fast when I spend them in the studio sewing away........Before we know it Easter will be here!
This is the first item I have made for St. Patty's Day. These bowl fillers were soooooo much fun to design! They are a bit grubbier than they appear in the photos. Set includes 2 rainbows and 1 pot of gold for 10.00 cnd. funds. These can be purchased at Artsy Craftsy Folks.

Stay tuned as later on this week I will be sharing some Lephrechauns and Shamrocks!

It's easy to keep up to date with whats happening in the studio, if you are a blogger, simply click to follow this blog. If you are not a blogger, its easy to subscribe to email postings. (see side bar for details)

For a limited time we are having a shipping special, in celebration of our 1st anniversary of the online store. Every order totally over 99.00 will ship for free within USA or Canada. With the rise in shipping costs, this is a great savings to YOU! Be sure to visit Artsy Craftsy Folks and browse through the over 400 products of primitives, dolls, jewellery and artwork! With a great variety there is sure to be something that tempts you!
Also, with our low canadian dollar, our USA customers get added value on the exchange!

Enjoy your week everyone!

I've Been Featured in "The Etsy Storque" Spotlight!

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I was so excited to receive an email that my Kissing Crows have been featured in the Etsy Storque Spotlight of 10 favorite Primitives! Hoooray!
View the Article Here!

It is an honor to be included with these talented artists!
Please check out the wonderful items featured!


Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
I'll be sewing ofcourse!

Tea Staining Tutorial - The Artsy Craftsy Way

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I thought I would share my recent tea staining recipe in celcebration of the new year which will be ringing in tonight! 2009 here I come! lol

This way of tea staining, gives a nice irregular stain, with lots of darker sections. It makes the fabric look like it has aged naturally.
First, I washed my material using a mild detergent (no fabric softener). I took the wet muslin and laid it in my bathtub. I took assorted tea bags, some black tea, green tea, vanilla tea, and gingerbread tea and tossed the bags haphazardly on top the muslin. You could use all the same tea, I don't think it would make much color difference. I just used old tea bags that I had collected up from friends and relatives who try different tea varieties and don't always like them, or tea that is old and been laying around awhile. Use what you have! The more tea bags the darker your fabric will be, the less tea bags the more naturally aged your fabric will become.

After laying tea bags atop the first piece of muslin, lay another piece of wet washed muslin on top to create a layer. Add more tea bags atop the second piece. Pour Very Hot water on top of all of it to brew the tea. Just enough water to cover. I like to leave some of my muslin scrunched up, to help in the haphazardness of the stain. Let sit for 1/2 hour or so. Then go and press all over the layers with both hands, squeezing the excess out of the tea bags. Let sit and brew another 1/2 hour or so. Sit tea bags aside, and wring fabric out by hand. You can either hang to dry, or dry in the dryer. I prefer to dry mine in the dryer, as I find the extra heat sets the tea nicely.

While my muslin was drying in the dryer. I reused the tea bags, and used the same process for some other fabrics that I will be using with the muslin. I reused the bags so that I would get a lighter stain on the accent pieces. If you wanted the same, or darker stain you would use some new tea bags. I like reusing the old tea bags, so the accent pieces will be lighter. The accent pieces I dyed including silk, velvet, trims, and cheesecloth. Use the same method of dying as for the muslin. 1/2 brew, squeeze and a final 1/2 hour brew. You can see in the picture below.


The finished dried fabrics are shown in the photos below. The accent pieces are a variety of shades as different materials take the stain uniquely. I found the cheesecloth was way too light, and should have been done with fresh tea bags. The silk, trims and lace all came out beautifully aged with the tea.
If you like this tutorial and find it useful, please let me know so I can prepare some more tutorials of my special techniques and recipes.

Be sure to see finished work at ARTSY CRAFTSY FOLKS online store.

Wishing you a safe and prosperous New Year!
May 2009 be filled with lots and lots of Arts and Crafts!

Primitive Heart Bowl Fillers Ornies with Sayings

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New Primitive Bowl Fillers/Ornies! Sold in sets of 3 for 12.00 cnd. Check them and more primitive wares at Artsy Craftsy Folks!

Click Here To Go directly to Bowl Fillers For Sale!