by Shelly Stokes, Founder and Creative Mentor While I was in Houston for Quilt Festival, I had a chance to spend some time with several of my favorite Aussies, including Lisa Walton. Lisa is one of the more adventurous textile artists I have met, both in her willingness to hop on a plane to far-flung […]
Keeping a 30 Days of Design Magic Studio Journal
by Shelly Stokes, Founder and Creative Mentor When I started my 30 Days of Design Magic, it became clear rather quickly that I needed two things: A way to keep track of all 30 designs and the associated exercises, and A place where I could make notes and doodle about possible follow-up designs. I have […]
30 Days of Design Magic
by Shelly Stokes, Founder and Creative Mentor In 2010, I published my second book called Design Magic for Paintstiks on Fabric. I did extensive work with the design method laid out in the book for a couple of years before and after the book was published. Then I set it aside and moved on to […]
From Doodle to Rubbing Plate
by Shelly Stokes, Founder and Creative Mentor With the new Kaleidoscope Rubbing Plates ready to burst on the scene in June, I thought you might like a backstage look at the process for bringing these babies into the world. Like many other creative efforts, the designs begin as ideas that eventually find their way out […]
Got Photos, Now What?
I have a confession to make. I’m a photo collector. When I travel, I take photos – although not as much as I used to. When I’m out for a walk, I stop and take photos. It’s a whole lot easier now that my phone has an incredibly good camera. It’s not like I need […]
The Pleasure Of Slow Stitching
When I first started off on my Shape Shifter adventure, I decided that my fabric needed stitching to enhance the painted motifs. I have to say that hand stitching is a HUGE departure from the way I normally work. I’ve always been a “put it on the machine and git ‘er done” kind of girl. […]
Time To Hit The Pause Button
Do you ever have days where things in your life seem to smack you upside the head, give you a good hard shake and shout PAY ATTENTION RIGHT NOW? That’s a pretty good description of things that have happened to me over the past few weeks. It’s not fun, but it’s not going away, so […]
Ready For A Party?
We’re counting down to the big day when we reveal the great Shape Shifter Fabric Art Adventure! As I was putting the Shape Shifter Ebook together a few months ago, I realized that this technique had so many possibilities that a book just wouldn’t do it justice. So we’ve planned out an amazing online learning […]
Ten Commandments For Hotel Art
Do you ever find yourself doing “hotel art?” You know, you’re at a conference, you take a class, and you just can’t wait until you get home to finish up whatever you just learned about? Or you took a class that involved messy stuff, and you really have to wash out that fabric before you […]
Shape Shifter Challenge Update
I would love to tell you that we got a whole pile of entries for the our first Community Challenge, but it simply wouldn’t be true. We did get several lovely entries, the finalists have been notified, and I look forward to seeing the projects soon! What did arrive in my inbox was something totally […]
Candace Makes Her Shape Shifter Debut
I’m really excited. I finally got into my studio and finished my new Candace Bag, and she’s absolutely beautiful! Before you ask, I used the Candice Bag pattern by my good friend Joan Hawley at Lazy Girl Designs. This is the second bag I’ve made from this pattern and it’s even better than the first. […]
Subtle or Bold: Choosing An Accent Color
Do you ever get to a point in a project where your feel stuck? Where you know that the next choice will “make or break” your satisfaction with the overall result. Do I see you nodding your head yes? If you are anything like me, this probably happens on a regular basis. It seems there […]
