It’s Monday, so it must be time for a little magic. Today I’m going to take a break from Design Magic and skip over to photo magic. It’s a little peek into our activities here at Cedar Canyon.

One of my biggest challenges is creating our ads for Quilting Arts, Cloth Paper Scissors, and a few other publications. The text is usually easy. After all, I love to write. The photos? Now that’s a challenge!

I always chuckle when we get calls from a big customer like Nancy’s Notions or a distributor asking me to connect them with someone in our art department. Yeah, right. I AM the art department – along with my day job! Fortunately, a digital camera is not much different than a computer these days. As a former engineering programmer, I can handle the computer. Therefore, I should be able to figure out a camera – at least that’s my theory. Mostly it works. When it doesn’t, I call my brother-in-law. Photography is his grand retirement hobby and he helps me over the technical hurdles. (Thanks John!)

One of the challenges of ad photos is getting everything laid out just right so it looks good in the ad. It sounds so simple, but I’ve learned that there are a ton of little things you won’t see until you look at the photograph. I am beyond grateful for digital photography. I simply could not do this stuff if I had to take real photos, get them developed, made adjustments, take more real photographs… I would truly be in the nuthouse by now!

Here’s a photo we’ll be using to introduce our new website in a Quilting Arts ad.

It looks pretty straight-forward, but it took an amazing number of gyrations to get it put together.

First, I had to move the small mountain of stuff that accumulates on the work table in my office. No small task there… Then I had to swipe the computer off my desk and the keyboard from Leanne’s desk. (Which means that she can’t do anything related to orders while the computers are tied up.)

Next comes the actual arrangement of all the stuff in the photo. I carefully chose the fabric and paint colors for the sample so they would complement our ad colors, the sample has to be far enough along to show what’s going on, and the brushes need to have the right color of paint in them – even though I’m not actually painting.

The photo was really blah – too much “beige” so I had to find ways to add color and contrast. I added the book (propped up with a rolled up towel to get the angle right) and the box of paintstiks because the purple helped break up the beige of the desktop and fabric. Then I always have to get the paintstiks name-side-up so you can tell what they are. (And paintstiks love to roll around with the slightest bump of the table.)

I’m usually taking close-up photos, so this one was extra challenging. My lovely digital camera could not decide where to focus. So, on the phone to the brother-in-law to walk me through setting the camera to aperture-priority to get everything in focus at once. Got it right in round 2 when I figured out how to tell the camera that I was 5′ away from the scene. Whew!

The next time you look at an add, take a look at the photos and see if you can pick out the details on how things are staged. It’s an art – and a bag of magic tricks all rolled up in one.

The Product pages on our site contain information about how to use the product – not just descriptions of products. To keep the pages neat and tidy, the information is hidden in collapsible sections. My highly technical term is a peek-a-boo section and I assure you that I’ll know exactly what you’re talking abut if you call it that too. At any rate, I want to show you how the collapsible sections work so you don’t accidentally miss these as you are looking through the site.

When you click on the main Products tab, you get a window that look like this:

You can click on one of the menu items at left or on one of the buttons on the right to get to another page. If you click on Design Magic, you will see this screen.

I added a red arrow to show you the collapsible sections at the top. If you click on one of these items, the information will expand on your screen. If you click on it again, the information will collapse. Pretty neat! If you click on the line About Design Magic, you will see this screen.

When the page expands, you can scroll down through the information. Click on About Design Magic again, and the information collapses. Next, click on The Design Magic Short Course, and you will see this screen.

If you scroll through this page, you will get a short overview of how the Design Magic process works. Between the two informational sections, you should have enough information to decide whether you want to purchase a copy of the book. (And I hope you do!) When you are finished with a section, just click on the title to collapse the information and tidy up your screen.

And that’s how you use the peek-a-boo sections (ahem… collapsible sections) on our product pages. You’ll find instructions for stenciling and making rubbings, information about different types of stencil brushes – you name it! While some of this information is also posted in the Learning Center, we’ve done our best to put product related instructions and information right on the product page so you don’t have to search for it.

So take some time and browse through the product pages – even if you already have everything you need. You might find just what you need to take the next step with your art!

I have to confess that I have avoided Facebook like the plague for years. I spend so much time on the computer that I’m really afraid to have one more thing that needs attention. But with so many of our friends and customers out there, it was time to quit whining and get with the Facebook program.

If my first attempts at connecting with you on FB are a bit awkward, cut me some slack, roll your eyes (silently, please) and sigh to yourself “oh, she’s such a beginner…” It may take me a little while, but I’ll figure it out.

To view our new FB page, just click on the link to the left or search on Cedar Canyon Textiles. While you are there, please LIKE our page. Once we have enough raving fans, we’ll be able to claim the official URL for the page.

At any rate, this page is where you’ll find all the updates related to Cedar Canyon.

See you there!

Hi All! It’s Monday, so it must be time for a little Design Magic. Last week I shared the wonderful birds that TART Lauren Parker created as a part of her lesson on Positive/Negative Stenciling. This week I’d like to share the 4 pieces created by the TART leaders at In Good Company.

The four talented artists at In Good Company say this: “Our business features the work and art of four women: Sue Engel, Sue Anne Iman, Jamie Grant, and Susan Wetzsteon. It is the collaboration of talent and ideas sparked by an interest in quilting and design which we have turned into a business for the past 15 years. Our focus at present is textile art quilts.” If you are looking for a way to explore textile art topics on a regular basis, the TART program may be just what you are looking for.

Positive/Negative Stenciling Lesson.

One of the TART lessons last fall was on the topic of Positive/Negative stenciling. The lesson was based on the concepts in my book, Design Magic for Paintstiks on Fabric. (Click here to see the lesson on their blog.) Here are the quilts created by the TART leaders and posted on their blog.

Sue created her positive/negative stencil from actual oak leaves and they provide the focal point of this art piece. Her strip piecing, beading and machine quilting add a great deal of detail and interest.

Susan separated her positive/negative circles to form strips within a scrappy pieced unit. She has named this art piece “Hugs and Kisses” because of the combination of O’s created with Paintstiks and X’s created with the machine stitching.

Jamie designed a positive/negative stencil and painted a piece of fabric which was then cut up and used as the skin of the Winter Squash. Thread painting blends the prints and adds texture to the squash. Watercolor pencils were used to give dimension.

Sue Anne has created a beautiful fall scene and has used a number of techniques to color her fabrics. The blue background is her positive/negative stencil. In order to create a subtle background, several areas were left unpainted. The side border leaves have been printed and stamped. The dimensional leaves were cut from a commercial fabric, lined and sewn with invisible thread which puckered slightly when steamed.

Learn more about stenciling with Positive/Negative images

If you want to explore the possibilities for positive and negative images, pick up a copy of Design Magic today. Shop with your local quilt store or place your order with our new Online Store. Design Magic gives you a 3-step method for:

1. Creating a design
2. Turning it into a pair of equal and opposite stencils (positive and negative)
3. Adding repeating images to fabric with Shiva paintstiks

The book also includes 5 projects that you can make with your own designs, or you can use any of our pre-cut mylar stencils. For more information, visit the Design Magic page on our site.

Hey paintstik fans! I know you are busy people, but we’ve just launched a brand new website and I’ve got 7 great reasons for you to take a few minutes to explore the new site. Actually, if you are reading this, you are already ON the new site – but I still encourage you to spend a few minutes exploring.

Without further ado, here are my 7 Great Reasons to explore the new site:

1. The Learning Center

Our Learning Center is a great resource with something for everyone. We’ve got basic instructions, chemistry and safety information, tip sheets, free projects – even videos for those of you who like to learn by watching rather than reading. If you are a teacher or shop owner, you are welcome to download and hand out any of the tip sheets and free projects. It’s there for you – and it’s free!

2. My Blog

You are reading this on the blog, so obviously you’ve found it – and I hope you like it!

I try to post at least one article to my blog each week. The posts are often, but not always related to paint. After all – it’s a blog. That gives me permission to write about life – and heaven knows that life is not always about paint! Start your week with Design Magic Monday and check back in to see what else it happening here at Cedar Canyon.

I love to post articles from or about our community members. If you would like to share your paintstik projects, send me a message. I’d love to see what you are doing with paintstiks, and we may be able to feature them right here on the blog.

3. Cedar Canyon Online / Community

Cedar Canyon Online is our weekly e-zine for Community Members. To get the e-zine delivered right to your e-mail box each week, you need to join our community. Go to the home page of the site, type in your name and e-mail address, and just click on the button to join. It’s easy!

Cedar Canyon Online is a weekly e-zine. It will feature a few short articles and occasional specials from our new Online Store. I promise that the e-zine will be focused on informative articles and not just a running sales pitch – but we’ll be sure to let you know if there are special offers available. (You’ll just have to humor me as I do a little shameless promotion this week.)

And that brings us to…

4. Our New Online Store

If you’ve ever been frustrated trying to find some of our products, we just opened an Online Store where you can purchase any and all of our products. We pride ourselves on keeping everything in stock and getting your orders out the door FAST!

Please read this important note: If you have a local retailer (or a favorite online retailer) that carries our products, by all means, support them! We would be thrilled if every quilt shop and craft store in the country loved our products as much as we do. Unfortunately, we know that millions of people in this country (and around the world) do not have easy access to our products and very few online retailers carry our entire product line. We are not trying to take business away from local stores and existing websites, but we continually get calls here at the office and decided it was time to make sure you can get what you want.

5. A Free Gift! – Shelly’s Guide to Gift Bag Embellishments

If you join the Cedar Canyon Community, you will receive a FREE copy of my Guide to Gift Bag Embellishment. If you are already on our mailing list, I want to make sure that you get the same benefit. To get your free copy of this guide, go to the home page on our site, fill in your name and e-mail address, and click the button to join.

You are probably thinking “wait a minute, I’m already a member…” but just trust me on this. Put the information in, click on the button, and you will be directed to a page where you can download the free guide.I promise that you won’t end up on the list twice.

Inside this guide, you’ll find the answers to 6 important questions you should ask before you start making or customizing bags for your gifts. Actually, you should go through a similar set of questions ANY time you customize or embellish a project – so this is one useful guide. Enjoy your free gift. It’s yours with absolutely no strings attached.

Now here’s where I’m going to do some shameless promotion!

6. Special Offer #1 – Free Pattern with Purchase

I’m pretty excited about the new Online Store, and I want you to be excited too! My store manager might shoot me for this, but I’ve set aside a free copy of our Anything Goes Tote pattern for the first 97 people who place an order. That’s a pattern worth $9.95(USD) added to your order absolutely free! No coupons, no codes, just a free pattern with your order.

To get back on my store manager’s good side, I’m only going to leave the offer open through the store launch period, which ends at midnight on January 31, 2011. Then we are back to business as usual – and she will stop grousing about me “giving away the store.”

7. Special Offer #2 – Free Mini Paintstiks with Purchase of $100 or more

To make this store launch even MORE fun, I’m going to send a free set of our new Iridescent Mini Sorbet colors to the first 23 customers who spend at least $100 during our Online Store Launch. (And now I’m REALLY in trouble with the store manager!) If you are one of the first 23 customers to spend more than $100 during the launch period, you’ll get the free pattern (a $9.95 value) AND a free set of Sorbet Minis (a $16.95 value) for a total of $26.90 in free merchandise.

Again, no coupon, no code to enter – just FREE goodies if you are among the first 23 people to place an order of $100 or more. (Shipping does not count toward your $100.)

Don’t forget, the launch period for the online store ends at midnight on January 31, 2011, and that’s only a few short days away. Click here to go directly to the Online Store.

Enjoy the new site!

p.s. You may have noticed the odd numbers in our special offers. I started off with nice round numbers, but several enterprising souls have already discovered our online store without me even telling them about it! Now that’s exciting for us, but you need to act fast to take advantage of the special offers. Again, the special offers are ONLY good during the store launch period which ends at midnight on January 31, 2011.

p.p.s. If you are one of the people who really hates to shop online, you can call your order into our office at 218-943-5300 or 877-296-9278. If you get our voicemail, please leave your name and phone number and we’ll call you back as soon as we can to get your order. (Please speak clearly and slowly when you leave your message as recordings are never as good as talking to you in person.) And yes, you can take advantage of our special offers over the phone.

It’s Monday, so it must be time for a little magic. Last week I shared Kathy Tanner’s elephants. If you missed it, you can read about them here. Today, I’d like to share Lauren Parker’s birds. I have to admit that I’m always thrilled when someone sends in photos of their Design Magic creations – and I’m sure you’ll agree that Lauren’s birds are just delightful.

To start, I need to explain that Lauren is a TART. (That’s a compliment, not a smart remark!) TART is short for Textile ARTist, and TARTs are a group of people exploring various textile art techniques with 4 creative ladies at In Good Company.

Lauren and the rest of the TARTs got their Positive/Negative stenciling kits late last fall. The lesson for that month was based on my Design Magic method for creating repeating patterns with positive and negative shapes. Lauren created a pair of stencils in the shape of a bird and turned it into a lovely runner. Here is a photo of the runner.

I asked Lauren how she created her stencils, and she was kind enough to share her inspiration.

Lauren started with an image search on Google using the phrase “bird silhouette.” She located this image, cropped it in Photoshop, and then changed the shape of the branch to suit her taste. She traced the image onto freezer paper, one facing right and one facing left. Just like we do for Design Magic, she cut out the bird/branch on one stencil and cut out the background of the other. Magic!

Here are a pair of Lauren’s bird blocks. In the block on the left, she painted the bird and branch. In the block on the right, she painted the background. I love the fact that she applied the paint in a sheer enough layer that the images on the background fabric are still visible. The appliqué wings are a great crowning touch!

Lauren lined her birds up for a runner and separated them with patchwork sashing. This gives a totally different look than stenciling the images in a repeating pattern. However, you’ll notice that her design touches all 4 sides of the block. I’ll bet it would make a great repeating pattern if it were stenciled out in a Design Magic sequence.

That’s it for Magic Monday – happy painting!

Some days I get tons of junk in the e-mail, but some days I get absolute treasures! I recently received photos from two artists with notes and photos of how they are using the Design Magic concept with animals. I have to be honest – I never even considered playing with critters as a design elements – but these ladies could create an entire menagerie! Let’s start with Kathy Tanner’s elephants. I’ll share another post with a great idea for birds later.

Meet Kathy Tanner

Kathy Tanner is a fiber artist in Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada. Kathy creates hand dyed fabric, and carries a few select lines of embellishing products along with some quilting staples. Kathy sells her products over the internet and at various quilt shows in her country. Kathy’s company is called Harmony Hand Dyes.

I’m fortunate that Kathy is a big fan of our Shiva™ Paintstiks. She has sent me a number of great photos over the years, but I was particularly interested to see what she did with the Design Magic Concept. Let’s take a look at Kathy’s elephants.

Kathy took a silhouette of an elephant and placed it in a square to that the design touched the edge of the square on all 4 sides. By doing this, she trapped space in each of the 4 corners. The trapped space is what creates the secondary design elements that appear when the design is put into a repeating pattern.

Notice that one of the connections is very small – it’s the elephant’s tail. This illustrates perfectly that even a very small connection to the edge of the square does the job. The space is trapped and your eye stops when you are viewing the design.

Make Your Own Elephants

Kathy has generously made her elephant design available to anyone who wants to start their own Design Magic critter collection. Here is the design as it would look on a Design Page.

You can download a full size copy of Kathy’s design by visiting the Inspirations page of her website. And while you are there, check out her Chinese Lanterns. This is another great design that Kathy created and it is also available as a free download.

A special thanks to Kathy for sharing her designs. I love seeing what our friends are doing with Design Magic. If you have a design you are willing to share, please send it along to use at contacts@cedarcanyontextiles.com. Thanks so much – and happy painting!

A new year has arrived and it’s time for some new adventures. Doing the same old thing gets old and I’m feeling the need to spice up my life and my business. After all, doing the same old thing makes Shelly a very dull girl. It must be time to change things up so I don’t get bored.

In the spirit of new, I’ve decided to add one old thing and a couple of new things. I’m going to start teaching classes again, I’ve signed up for a coaching program, and we’re getting ready to launch a new website and online store. Nothing dull and boring on that list!

Back to Teaching

I stepped away from my teaching schedule a couple of years ago to take care of some health issues and to deal with the demands of a growing business. It was the right thing to do, but I’ve really missed getting out and working with students and watching them use our products. I really love being in a classroom setting. It’s a wonderful, creative atmosphere and I always learn something new from my students. Sometimes I think I learn more than they do.

I’ll be teaching a couple of paintstik related classes. After all, that’s what I do best! One is a general class that covers a variety of paintstik techniques. The second is a full-day exploration of Design Magic. That class is, of course, based on the Design Magic book I released in 2010.

I’m also teaching a class on mixing colors for paints and dyes. When I was dying fabric, I found a pretty neat way to mix various colors using a limited number of dyes. I discovered that I could mix up pretty much anything with 2 reds, 2 yellow, 2 blues, black and brown. I’m really excited to teach this simple method to my friends in the quilting world. Color simply does not have to be that big a mystery.

Hired a Coach

You may think it odd that a successful business owner would hire a coach, but I’m really looking forward to this. It’s so easy to get caught in the day to day details and ignore the long term goals. I get busy with this and that, and before I know it, another year has slipped by and I haven’t made headway on important goals.

Instead of doing the same old thing again, I’ve signed up for a coaching program with Morna McEver Golletz. Morna is the founder of the International Association of Professional Quilters and I’ve found her to be a wonderful resource. It will be interesting to see if this helps me get off the dime on some of my big goals. I’ll let you know how it goes.

New Website Coming Soon

Yes, coming soon to a computer near you… it’s a brand new website for Cedar Canyon Textiles. It’s going to take a few more days to get the new site up and running, but we’re very close to completion. I’ve been working hard with my graphic designer and webmaster and I think you will like the results. Matthew designed a beautiful structure for the site and Carol had waved her magic wand over my wish list and found ways to keep the site very user friendly and allowing me  to add educational content to my heart’s desire. Now that’s what I call service!

We are also bringing back our online store. As much as I have enjoyed being strictly in the wholesale business, we field calls every week (sometimes daily) from people who can’t find our products in a nearby store – or the store carries only a few items. And yes, there are still people out there who don’t like to shop online.

I’ve accepted that our paintstiks and accessories are still a niche product and we need to make it easier for people to buy them. So, after much consideration, we’re reopening the online store and looking forward to serving all our customers in a timely manner. And now that I’ve made the decision to do it, it’s time to get excited and make it great.

So, that’s where I’m starting my new year. What are you up to in 2011?