If you are a TV agnostic (like me), and don’t know of Barbara, I can tell you she is an incredibly successful business woman and one of the stars of Shark Tank — which I have never seen, but will now make it a point to watch! After her talk, I had a chance to meet Barbara and get a photo taken — I have to say, she’s the real deal.

When I registered for the conference, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I had never been to a “strictly business” conference before and I hoped it would be worth the money I paid — and the time away from the office. I have to say that I’m absolutely thrilled with my decision.

The conference was a great investment in myself. I soaked up a ton of really good information, had the chance to watch some very savvy marketers in action, and came away feeling incredibly optimistic about my own business and how I can expand it to do a better job serving you. After all, if I’m not serving you — and providing you with everything you want and need from us, then I may as well hang it up and go home.

I had to chuckle when I met Barbara last Friday. She was wearing an incredibly beautiful hot pink, not-quite-fuchsia dress and jacket. It was just electric. Our meeting room had been chilly the day before, so I chose a dark purple sweater. (I learn a lot more when I’m not shivering…) But standing next to Barbara, I was feeling pretty plain — and very thankful for my beautiful silk scarf. It was far from the bright colors I usually favor, but it’s a beauty.

Speaking of bright colors… It was clear to me that Barbara could have pulled off a dress in just about any color she chose — as long as it was eye-popping bright. I’ll bet she would look great in ANY of our bold & bright paintstik colors. Take a look at the color below and I’m sure you will agree.

12 Bold & Bright Colors

I’ve divided our brightest matte paintstik colors into two groups. The first 12 colors are absolutely yummy — and they all carry the AP Label, which means they are certified to be non-toxic. (In case you are wondering, ALL of the iridescent colors and all but 5 of the matte colors carry the AP Label.)

Tompte Red is what I call “lipstick red.” It’s a gorgeous middle of the road red. Napthol Red is a screaming bright warm red. We’ve tried to get a good red in an iridescent color, but they turn all kinds of goofy colors when we add the shiny stuff. Sometimes, you just have to go with the matte colors! Azo Orange is a fabulous warm orange, and Azo Yellow is eye-popping bright!

Yellow Citron is an almost-green, not-quite-yellow color and Marsh Green is exactly that — Marsh Green. It looks like the stuff floating on a pond in early summer. Chrome Oxide Green is a bright, middle of the road green, and Veridian definitely leans toward the blue.

Turquoise is a beautiful, opaque blue with a hint of green, while Ultramarine is a blue that leans toward purple. Purple Sage is a nice, medium-value purple, and Fuchsia is simply Fuchsia. What more can you say about that?

5 Bright “CL” Colors

The second group of colors are what I call the Bright CL Colors. This group of 5 colors includes the Cadmium-based colors and Cobalt Blue. Cadmium and Cobalt are heavy metals and these 5 colors carry the CL (Cautionary Label) warning symbol, which indicates that there are ingredients in the paints that are toxic.

To be perfectly honest, I suspect that you would have to ingest large quantities of these paints (or smear them all over your body) to absorb enough of the metals to truly cause any harm, but you should always be aware of of what you are using and take prudent precautions. I would not allow young children to play with the CL colors (in case they decide to taste them…), and I would avoid purposely smearing them around on fabric or paper with my bare hands. Other than that, I have no worries — but you should decide whether you want to add the CL colors to your toolbox or whether you prefer to stick with the non-toxic colors.

The only one of these colors that is truly unique is Cadmium Orange. The others have a similar counterpart in the AP colors. And if you are wondering why in the world a paint company would even bother to use the cadmium and cobalt pigments, here’s the scoop. Our lovely paintstiks were originally formulated for artists, and the cadmium pigments have been used in paints for centuries. The pigments are very bright and very light-fast, which makes them highly desirable for artists. Pretty simple. Now that you know what they are, you can decide whether you want to work with them.

And, by the way, if you want to see any of the other groupings of Matte Colors, head over to the Matte Color Sets in the Online Store. You can see the Deep Dark Colors that were featured in January and several other sets that we’ll be talking about in the months to come.

Shark Tank Special!

If you love bright colors like Barbara does, I just know your mind is bursting with ideas for using these amazing, eye-popping colors — and I have a very special offer just for you. I’ve gathered up my “daring dozen” Bold & Bright Colors — and a separate bundle for the CL Colors. Here’s the deal.

Purchased separately, the 12 Bold & Bright Colors sell for $101.00 even. For a few short days. you can add all 12 colors to your paintstik collection for just $70.00. That’s a huge savings of 30% off the retail price! This offer will disappear from our Online Store after one short week, so don’t be a guppy — bite now!

Do you really, REALLY love brights? I’ll give you the same great deal on the 5 Bright CL colors. The retail price of these fabulous five colors is $67.75. For the next week, you can scoop up these colors for just $47.00. Again, that’s 30% off the price of buying each color separately.

Barbara’s Bonus: When you order one of our beautiful bundles of Bright by midnight on Friday (February 17), I’ll add a Pearl White Iridescent Paintstik to your order — and you can paint up your own version of Barbara Corcoran’s fabulous fresh-water pearls. They were magnificent with her dress, and I just know that you’ll find the perfect way to add some pearly white accents to your bold bright projects. (And if I’ve totally lost you in the currents here, scroll back to the top of the newsletter to see the picture of me with Barbara — and check out those pearls!)

Don’t let this special offer swim away — Order your BOLD & BRIGHT COLORS today! And remember, the Pearl White bonus disappears once the clock strikes midnight here in Minnesota — that’s central time in the US — so order now for the greatest savings.

On Monday, I got the following note from community member Terrie Hansen:

Hi Shelly:

I have a question about the foils that you and Laura use. Can they be used on paper? I remember years ago there was a foil that you could use in your printer. For example, you could print out a picture, put the foil on top of the picture (foil side down) and run it through the printer again. When it came out, you pull the foil sheet off and wherever the toner and the foil met, the foil would be left behind. (Don’t know if I’m explaining this very well.) But anyway, do you and/or Laura think her foils could be used in this way? I have been looking for foil to do this process for months!

Thanks for your help. PS – I love, love, love your website and the paint sticks!

Terrie Hansen

What a good question! As I thought about Terrie’s question, I looked at the printers in my office. I have a color printer in my office, but it’s ink-jet. Foil is applied with heat, so that wasn’t going to help. But, we have a black & white laser printer in Leanne’s office. Laser printers use heat to bond the toner to paper, so this one had possibilities.

In case I’ve lost you already, here’s what I was thinking… A laser printer uses heat to bond toner to paper — it essentially “melts” the toner as the paper is fed through the printer. If you tape a piece of foil over the printed image and send it back through the printer, it would get heated up again — and perhaps the hot toner would act like hot glue, giving the foil something to stick to. At least that was my theory.

But… did I really want to take a chance on getting a sheet of foil stuck in my printer if something went wrong? Or worse, melting the foil sheet and having a totally sticky mess? Fortunately, the nagging feeling passed. I was simply too curious to know if this would work. (And I knew I could bring an old laser printer from home if I totally screwed things up.)

Here’s a quickie tutorial. I’m just thrilled that this works. I love learning to do one more thing with materials I already have!

Stuff you need:

1. Paper of your choice (as long as you can put it through a laser printer)
2. A laser printer — not an ink-jet printer — black & white is fine
3. Foil (I always order from Laura Murray Designs)
4. An image that you want to add to your paper.

Step 1: Print an image on the paper.

I used an image from one of my Doodles Rubbing Plates — they were handy on my computer desktop and I thought it would make a pretty cool image on paper. Any image (including text) should work just fine.

Step 2: Cover the printed image with foil

Cut a piece of foil larger than the printed area on the paper. Tape all the way across the top to make sure the foil does not come loose in the printer. I secured the lower corners and tried to make sure the foil would not wrinkle as it fed through the printer.

Step 3: Send the paper through the printer again.

I wanted to send the paper through the printer again, but I didn’t want to print the entire image again. I created a dummy document with a just a couple of characters. I made sure the characters would print on the foil, not on the paper.

When the paper came out, I was relieved to see that foil came with it, AND that the foil appeared to stick to the toner. So far, so good!

Step 4: Peel the foil off the paper

Here’s the fun part! I peeled the foil off the paper and found a wonderful shiny image! It works!

What I learned…

This was a really quick experiment. (I had to get this done before I hopped on my flight to San Antonio.) But I learned a few things that I want to share.

1. The foil has to be large enough that you’re not putting tape over part of the printed image when you secure the foil to the paper. My guess is that the tape blocks the heat enough to keep the foil from sticking to the toner.

2. The foil won’t adhere correctly where it wrinkles as it goes through the printer. (see the red arrows in the photo) I’m not sure if it would be best to just tape along the top and not on the sides or bottom — or to tape all the way around. And since we are working with heat-sensitive stuff, maybe we could use an iron to stick foil to the exposed toner? If you play with this and find the answer, let me know!

3. Before you ask, I have no idea if this would work on fabric, but it begs a similar experiment.

All said and done, I think this is a wonderful OUTRAGEOUS IDEA and I’m so glad Terrie asked her question. I know for a fact that I NEVER would have even thought about this idea had she not brought it up. The next time you have a question (or an outrageous idea), send it in! Your friends in the Cedar Canyon Community will love to hear about it.

So, what exactly is this “foil” we’re talking about? Foil is a high-gloss metallic material that pulls away from a clear backing. It comes in a multitude of wonderful colors and it’s easy to work with. You can use foil adhesive, fusible web, even Bo-Nash Bonding Powder to “stick” foil to your fabric with a little help from an ordinary iron. Here are a couple of lovely samples. The first is a single piece of fabric, and the second is a collage by Laura Murray. All of the designs in the samples are from Cedar Canyon rubbing plates.

Adding Foil Accents is also Technique #4 in my Rubbing Plate Roundup book. (I bet you could have guessed that…) It’s really easy transfer rubbing plate designs to fabric or paper by using the rubbing plate as a stamp. You simply apply the adhesive to your rubbing plate, stamp the adhesive onto your paper or fabric, then apply the foil.

To be honest, there’s a bit more to it than that. Important little things like allowing the adhesive to dry COMPLETELY – and some important tips on exactly HOW to use an iron to transfer the foil. But have no worry, with a copy of Rubbing Plate Roundup in hand, you’ll have all the instructions you need to add eye-popping shine to your fabric or paper project. If you don’t have a copy of the book, simply order today and we’ll make sure it’s on the way to your mailbox in short order!

When you want foil, go directly to LauraMurrayDesigns.com. Laura’s site is, without question, the best place I know to order your foil supplies.

Collaborator Corner: Meet Laura Murray

As I mentioned earlier, I took a class on foiling fabric from Laura a dozen year ago. She is a talented fiber artist, award-winning quilter, successful entrepreneur, one of my best customers, and, I’m happy to report, a very good friend. I’m blessed to have her in my life. When I set out to write Rubbing Plate Roundup, I went straight to Laura and asked her to provide the section on foil.

Laura has been teaching people how to use foil for as long as I’ve known her, and I could not think of anyone better qualified to give us the low-down on using foil and rubbing plates to spruce up our fabric and paper projects. Here is more about Laura and some inspiration you can use as you spend some play time in your studio.

Artist, entrepreneur, teach and author, Laura Murray loves to experiment with textile color and texture. Her work, which appears in books, magazines, quilt calendars and DVDs, includes wearable art and award-winning quilts. Laura’s passion for surface design led her to design a stencil collection and a series of stamps from her favorite images. Her stamp line includes several sets of StarBuilders and she wrote a companion book called StarBuilder Inspirations.

“One of my favorite design approaches is layering shapes. I like seeing lots of possibilities without making the kind of commitment that sewing strips together requires. Years ago, I learned to weave narrow strips of fabric without using a loom. The effect is like a checkerboard, or lattice.

“I am very fond of paintstik rubbings, and often use my unmounted stamps as texture (rubbing plate). For the past several years, I’ve been working with a technique that I call Stackers, which consists of stacking three different size squares one on top of the other (each layer backed with fusible web), and creating seemingly complex blocks without sewing. (For complete information, visit www.lauramurraydesigns.com/projects/stackers.php)

“Recently, I was curious about what would happen if I cut a 3-layer stacker into strips, and wove the strips with a contrasting fabric. As you can see, the result is very exciting! In case you are wondering, the woven design is 5.75″ square, and the strips range from 1/4″ to 3/8″ wide, making the weaving easy to manage. I used foil to create the image in the center square, and then fused it to the top of the woven strips. I created the border by making a paintstik rubbing with one of the Doodles rubbing plates on a lime green cotton.”

[Shelly here] If you love color and texture as much as I do, you really should spend a few minutes peeking around Laura’s amazing website. Be sure to check out her stencils and unmounted stamps. They are gorgeous!

Learn More About 404

If you’ve read any of my books or watched the video clips in the Learning Center, you know that 404 spray adhesive is one of my favorite “secret weapons.” I just got word from Jennifer O’Brien that they have a new website that describes the difference between all of their adhesive products and has a good FAQ page for each type of spray. Here are the links for information and ordering.

www.SprayAndFix.com will automatically redirect you to www.odifusa.com (ODIF is the the European company that makes the Spray & Fix products.)

To purchase 404 or any of the Spray & Fix products, place your orders at Sew-Craft.com.

When I asked for ideas on using rubbing plates last summer, I got some surprising answers. Several of you wrote in about using water based coloring agents, like Neocolor II wax pastels and Inktense blocks. And somewhere in the (mountainous) piles of paper on my desk, I found a project sheet from a magazine that called for making rubbings with inkpads. I visited my local shop for stamps and sent off an order for the other supplies and got ready for a fun day in the studio.

Most of you know that I spend most of my time playing with my Shiva Paintstiks, which are an oil and wax-based product. So water-based colors were definitely a new experience for me, and I’m happy to say I really like them! Some of the products create a soft, watery look and others produce a nice crisp image. They dry quickly, don’t stiffen the fabric, and may be permanent.

Before you go on, let’s go back to the last sentence and read it again… some of the water-based products MAY be permanent. Got it?

The key with the water-based products is to test, test, test before you use them on a project that’s going to be washed. Visit the blogs of people who use them, scour the pages of Quilting Arts magazine, dig up whatever instructions you can to learn if there are ways to make the pigments permanent. (Most of these products are made for use on paper or canvas, so we are using them in a way that the manufacturer may not have tested…)

I don’t mean to throw a damp rag on your enthusiasm by giving you the warning about permanence. But I do want you to think about it and make sure you choose the right coloring agent for a project. It always comes down to using the right tool for the right job.

What has all this got to do with stamp, squish and spritz? You’ll find the answers — and all the instructions for inkpad rubbings, Inktense Rubbings, and Neocolor II rubbings start on page 16 of Rubbing Plate Roundup. If you don’t already have your copy, order it today and we’ll get it shipped off to you right away!

Collaborator Corner: Meet Nancy Bryant

In the past month, I’ve introduced several of my co-conspirators in Rubbing Plate Roundup, including potter Jeanine Center and fiber artist Angela Grasse. Today, I want to introduce Nancy Bryant, a talented fiber artist from Corvallis, Oregon. Nancy taught me about water soluble wax pastels and how they can be used with our Cedar Canyon Rubbing Plates.

Here is a quilt from the gallery section of Rubbing Plate Roundup. Nancy used a rubbing plate and water soluble pastels to create the background fabrics for the quilt, then appliquéd the tree over the top. It’s lovely!

Nancy has this to say about the inspiration for her magnificent work.

“Inspired to sew by my grandmother, a dressmaker, I made my first dress at age 9. Sewing has been a passion of mine ever since.I find great joy in beginning with a piece of fabric and creating something lovely and intricate that speaks to the viewer.Since 2004 I have been creating fiber art in my studio in Corvallis, Oregon. My studio time is spent pursuing three arenas: art quilts, accessories, and apparel.

“I have experimented with a wide variety of media and techniques. These include curved piecing, dyeing, stenciling, stamping, silk screening, felting, bleaching, and other processes to alter the fabric. Some quilts are embellished with yarns, ribbons, beads or buttons. I love to work with bright colors and strong value contrasts.”

I spent some time wandering around Nancy’s website at AltaVista Studio and I was blown away by the amazing garments, the yummy scarves and the beautiful quilts. I was really glad that my charge card was nowhere in sight. I think I could ring up quite a bill shopping with Nancy! (It would certainly be an upgrade to my closet!) Here are a few of my favorite images.

As you can see, Nancy’s taste runs from incredibly elegant to delightfully whimsical. It’s a real pleasure to meet such an adventurous soul. I’m so glad she shared her knowledge about the water soluble pastels with me — and with you!

If you haven’t already clicked through to Nancy’s website, take a moment right now to take a quick tour. You simply have to see her work. It really is amazing.

Rosalyn won a copy of Sue Pelland’s Eve’s Garden quilt pattern, one of Sue’s cool curvy rulers, a bunch of paintstik colors and a brush — almost everything she needs to make a lovely quilt!

Keep your eyes open for our next very cool giveaway. You may be our next winner!

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t always enthusiastic about using crayons on fabric. When I read about people using crayons on fabric for quilting projects a few years back, I thought “oh, that’s kid stuff” and went back to my “grown up” paints and dyes. Well, silly me. After getting some coaching from Angela on the transfer crayon process, I was hooked! I had great fun working with some lovely sheer fabric — and I discovered that the images can be transferred to paper and card stock as well.

The basic process is quite simple. You make a rubbing on paper with the crayons, then transfer the image to fabric or paper with a hot iron. There are definitely a few more details that will help you get good results, but as I said, this is one very simple, very cool way to play with crayons! Are you ready to give this a try?

There are two big things to remember. First, you need to find transfer crayons, which are also called Fabric Crayons. Angela recommended the Crayola brand, and I had better luck with those than another set that I purchased. I have yet to find a big box of transfer crayons (you know, the 64 color box…) but I’ve had good luck blending the colors.

The second key is to use synthetic fabric. I’m not sure what the chemical process is that allows the crayon to bond with synthetic fabric but not natural fabric, but I’m all for following instructions. (Before you ask… no, you don’t need to find synthetic paper. Any old paper will do as long as you’re not planning to toss it in the wash!)

I hope you’re nodding and telling yourself “oh yeah, this looks like tons of fun!” It’s the perfect way to transport yourself back to the sheer delight of playing with crayons. And while you’re at it, share the joy with your friends, your kids, or your grandkids. It’s a delightful way to spend a day! You can get all the details on using transfer crayons and rubbing plates starting on page 12 of Rubbing Plate Roundup. Have fun!

Collaborator Corner: Meet Angela Grasse

Angela Grasse, from Kitchener, Ontario (Canada) was a huge help as I worked on Rubbing Plate Roundup. She submitted her idea for the book (transfer crayons) and then graciously proceeded to teach me everything I needed to know about how to use them. And she went the extra mile by sending one of her art journals so I could take photos of several of her pieces for the Gallery section of the book. (See what happens when you ask for help?)

Angela is absolutely passionate about art and teaching. she has spent most of her life learning, teaching, exploring and creating. she delights in process. Her joy for learning is readily shared with her students. According to Angela, having fun and creating beauty is what art is all about.

You can learn more about Anglea and her art by clicking over to her blog at princessbubblescreates.blogspot.com. (By the way, don’t you just have to love a woman with the confidence to call herself Princess Bubbles? Can’t you just see the princess shine through in her photo?)

Before we go, I want to share a tip from Angela. During our conversations, she suggested saving the transfer paper you create and using it for another project. On the journal page in the photo, you can see how Angela re-used a piece transfer paper in a mixed-media collage. I think it’s great — I love the idea of turning the left-over transfer paper into art!

by Sue Pelland

I made Eve’s Garden as a challenge quilt for my quilt guild. The theme was “Gardens” and I had always wanted to do this “Garden of Eden” quilt. I had it in my head, and this was the perfect chance to get it out in fabric! I love to dye my own fabrics, so I went to my hand dyed stash, and came out with nine shades of green, plus these other bright beautiful colors. The artist who inspired this quilt made a similar illustration using stencils on black paper. Where the stencil was not completely filled with color, the black paper showed through. I wanted the same effect, but with the fabrics the black couldn’t show through. Instead, I used a black shiva paint stick and a ½” stencil brush to shade the edges of the fused patches so that they faded into the black background fabric. The result was a quilt that glowed!

Instructions: Using Shiva Paintstiks for Shading Appliqué

(©2011, Sue Pelland Designs)
Shiva black paint sticks are the perfect paint for shading the Eve’s Garden pattern. They are oil based sticks, so they never dry out. Just peel off the protective layer that forms on the end of the stick, and they are ready to use. Scribble with the paint stick on a scrap of freezer paper or other non-porous surface. Load your stencil brush by rubbing over the scribbled paint in a circular motion. This will load your brush with paint. Now brush off the excess paint onto a scrap of fabric. Use a circular motion, both clockwise and counterclockwise to work the paint into the bristles, and to wipe off excess paint. This gives you the right amount of paint for the dry brush technique explained in the pattern. Heat set the paint after shading. When finished, clean your brush with a little shampoo or dishwashing soap. Keep your paint stick and your brush in a zip top bag and they will be ready for your next quilt!

Spice Up YOUR Appliqué Today!

As you can see, the subtle shading Sue did with the black paintstik color is absolutely fabulous. Her Garden quilt would not be nearly as interesting without the shading. If it hasn’t already hit you over the head, you should be saying to yourself “Wow! I can do that too!” Yes, you really can! Sue’s dry-brush method is one of the easiest things you can do with paintstik colors to add dimension and beautiful shading to your quilts.

Now I can already hear you thinking “well, I don’t want to put my quilt on a black background…” No problem. I’ve got 13 beautiful deep, dark paintstik colors for you that are most definitely not black. Now that you know exactly how you will use them, you can order the entire set of DARK Paintstik Colors at a very special price, or you can pick out your favorites from our Online Store.

Here are the 13 dark colors:

Alazarin Crimson is a deep ruby red that leans a bit toward purple. This is the darkest red in the Matte Color line.

Grape is a red-violet. It is more on the transparent side of the spectrum.

Dioxazine Purple is a beautiful deep purple. It’s quite dark, but very rich.

Phthalo Blue is a deep blue with a slight purple undertone.

Prussian Blue is a deep blue with a slight green undertone.

Teal Blue is best described as a deep turquoise. Definitely blue, but has a lot of green in it.

Phthalo Green is a dark green with a definite blue undertone.

Old Sap Green is a great deep middle-of-the-road green. It leans just a bit more to the blue side than Sap Green.

Sap Green is a middle-of-the-road green. Some teachers like this green because they can mix with yellow or with blue to get the shade of green they want. It has just a touch more yellow than Old Sap Green.

Asphaltum is a fabulous golden caramel color. It’s quite transparent, but much more interesting than the name implies.

Burnt Sienna is a reddish brown and very opaque.

Burnt Umber has a definite green undertone. It semi-opaque.

Chocolate is a transparent, middle of the road brown. Think Hershey bars.

A Quick Note About Brushes…

When you use Sue’s dry-brush technique to add shading to a project (appliqué or something else), be sure to use our long-handled, standard stencil brushes rather than our paintstik brushes. Here’s a photo of the correct brushes.

The standard stencil brushes have longer, softer bristles and are much less likely to leave brush marks as you add shading to your project.

Is is that important? You bet. Always use the right tool for the right job!

Order Your Deep Dark Paintstik Colors Today!

After viewing these absolutely yummy dark colors, I know that your mind must be racing with all the possibilities for adding shading to your quilts and fabric art projects. (And if you’re NOT thinking about the possibilities… you should be!) At any rate, I have a very special offer just for you.

I’ve gathered up all 13 of the gorgeous deep dark paintstik colors and bundled them up at a fabulous price. Purchased separately, the colors sell for $97.75. For a few short days, you can add all 13 colors to your paintstik collection for just $65.00. That’s a whopping savings of 33% off the retail price. This offer will disappear from our Online Store after one short week, or when we run short of any of the 13 colors. (And no, we don’t stock tons of single, matte colors — so this could disappear before you know it!)

If you order by midnight on Friday, January 14, I’ll give you an extra bonus! I’ll have the crew in shipping add the Ivory Black paintstik that Sue used on her Eve’s Garden quilt absolutely free. Don’t delay — get your fabulous Deep Dark Paintstik Colors today by clicking on this link.

Enter Our Garden Quilt Giveaway!

Are you ready to try your hand at a Garden Quilt? Do you have a friend who would just love to do this project? Here’s your chance to win almost everything you need to make this stunning quilt.

Sue has generously offered a copy of her Eve’s Garden Pattern and one of her amazing Leaves Galore Rulers for this drawing. I’m adding 7 paintstik colors (4 dark colors and 3 metallic colors) and the stencil brush that you need to do the shading.

YOU have the opportunity to win this marvelous prize — and I hope you will pass the message along to your friends as well!

To enter the drawing, click on the link below. Enter your name and e-mail address in the form. On the form, you also have the opportunity to sign up for the Cedar Canyon Community and Sue Pelland’s newsletter. (If you already get my newsletter — no worries. You’re already subscribed and we won’t send you duplicates.)

Click on this link to enter:

https://cedarcanyon.infusionsoft.com/app/form/cct_and_suepelland_giveaway

You must enter by midnight on Friday, January 20. One entry per person, please. After the deadline, I’ll use a random number generator to pick the winner. Good luck!

Jeanine Center, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, sent beautiful photos to show how she uses rubbing plates to add dimensional texture to her functional pottery pieces. I knew that potters were using the rubbing plates, and I was thrilled to find someone willing to share their knowledge with me and my readers. Here’s a little more about Jeanine.

Jeanine’s art adventures began with making jewelry. She started working in clay in order to make her own beads and pendants. She found herself totally hooked on clay and expanded her work to include functional pottery. Her jewelry work has been published in numerous magazines, including Bead Trends, Creative Jewelry, Easy Wire Jewelry and Stringing. She lives in Ann Arbor with her husband John, who generously puts up with art flowering all over the house.

Just a few days ago, Jeanine sent this photo of her latest plate created with a rubbing plate. She used one of the new Doodles Rubbing Plates to add the design to the plate, then dipped the plate into several different glazes to show off the various parts of the design. Well done, Jeanine!

Want to know more? Get all the details for adding texture to pottery — AND 11 ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES — when you order your copy of Rubbing Plate Roundup today.

Another Special Thank You…

While I’m on the topic of pottery, I want to give a special thanks to Mimi Seykora of Alexandria MN. Mimi generously opened her pottery studio one evening to help me with the how-to photos to go with Jeanine’s instructions.

Mimi is an accomplished potter who is truly a kindred spirit. I was totally blown away as I looked around her studio — it was filled with amazing textured objects! Mimi has been using all kinds of found objects to add dimensional texture to her pottery for years and we had a lively discussion about our obsession with textures. My visit with Mimi was a perfect example of help arriving in exactly the right form. I asked my friends for referrals to potters, and one of them sent me to exactly the right person. I could not have asked for more!

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I just completed and published my new Rubbing Plate Roundup book. When I started work on the book, I knew that I did not have all the best ideas out there. So I asked you, as a Cedar Canyon Community Member to help me out by submitting your ideas for using rubbing plates in your art. I asked, and you came through in a big way! Out of the 12 techniques in my book, 5 came from you — and your contributions made all the difference in the world. Thank you so much for collaborating with me to create a better book!

Another great example of having the correct mindset showed up just a few weeks ago. One of my big (huge) goals for my business is to move every possible activity and every bit of data that runs through my company into a single system. As you know, changing the way you do anything is difficult, let along changing a bunch of important things. Then a golden opportunity dropped into my lap, and I knew I just had to say yes! My key software company (Infusionsoft) offered a 2-day implementation blitz to a small number of customers. They gave me a personal project manager and gave each team complete access to their entire development staff to get things done in two short days. It was unbelievable!

I’ve also learned that positive thinking, by itself, is totally useless. If I set a goal, but don’t take action, well… nothing happens! You have to take action to make the goals happen. In my case, I had to say YES to the opportunity that came my way with my software company. That meant making a big investment on very short notice, canceling my week off, spending two days in airports and shuttles and working two 13-hour days during the event. It was exhausting and exhilarating — and totally worth the time (and money) I invested. I got more done in two days than I could accomplish on my own in a year. My big, huge goal is now within reach instead of feeling like a pipe dream.

As you start the new year, consider your mindset. Are you really serious about accomplishing a goal? Write it down, declare your intentions — to yourself and to the universe — and then take action. Whether your goal is finishing a quilt, painting a piece of fabric, writing a book or starting a business, it’s a lot easier if you ask for help — and say YES when the help arrives. It’s not always convenient, but it’s out there if you’re open to seeing it.

Do you have a big goal? Have you asked for help? Leave a comment — I’d love to hear about it!

Add Texture To Fabric, Craft And Mixed-Media Projects

If you love texture, this book is for you! Rubbing Plate Roundup is the de finitive guide to adding visual and dimensional texture to
your fabric and craft projects with the simplest tool imaginable — the molded plastic rubbing plate.

Join Shelly Stokes — author, entrepreneur, artist and teacher — for a leisurely tour of not one, not five, but twelve completely different techniques for adding texture to your art. From gelatin prints and paintstik rubbings to embossed metal and paper castings, you’ll be amazed at the range of possibilities!

Whether you are a crafter, quilter, potter or mixed-media artist, you’ll find useful techniques in familiar territory — and plenty of
inspiration for venturing off on new artistic trails. Each technique is fully illustrated with complete supply lists, clear instructions and
beautiful step-by-step photographs.

Fire up your imagination, gather your collection of rubbing plates and get started — you’ll be creating textured treasures from fabric,
paper, clay, metal and paint before you know it!

Last Chance to Pre-Order Rubbing Plate Roundup

With the book arriving any day now, we’ll be shifting from the Pre-Order form to the regular Online Store. Here’s the scoop.

The Pre-Order form will be available through the weekend. If you place your order using this form, you hop to the front of the line and your book goes out first. (If you choose to pay by check, it will go out as soon as we receive your check.)

We will add Rubbing Plate Roundup to the Online Store on Monday, December 19th. If you have other items on your wish-list, you can order them all at once next week.

Reminder: Holiday Shutdown

Please remember that Cedar Canyon Textiles will be closed the last week of December. We will ship all pre-paid orders placed through Thursday, December 22 before we close for the holidays. (And yes, if you order in the wee hours of the morning on the 23rd, we’ll do our best to get your order out the door!) We’ll be back in the office bright and early on Tuesday, January 3rd and resume shipments at that time.

Even though we will be closed, the last week of December is still a great time to place an order. Price increases go into effect at the beginning of January — do your shopping before the end of the year to save some green!