Watercolor papers assembled into a mixed-media collage, by Jacqueline Sullivan.

Why is it that kids love splashing in water and stomping in puddles while adults avoid getting wet almost as much as a cat does?

Oh sure, the occasional dip in the pool or wade in the ocean is fine. But the minute it starts to rain, we start to grumble about umbrellas and hair frizz and having just washed the car. If the kids or dog come in dripping from outside, we're all, “You're getting everything wet!”

I think the problem is that we just haven't played in water enough lately. So today I'm going to help you get back in touch with your inner splash-loving self. Of course, we are going to do this through art.

This mixed-media painting technique, by Jacqueline Sullivan, uses transparent watercolors diluted in squeeze bottles. But you could easily adapt it using acrylic paints. The point is to get loose and play.

So take out your paints, paintbrushes, and a spray bottle full of water and let's get started. (OK, you can go ahead and lay down a drop cloth first.)

Watery Watercolor Technique

1. With your watercolor paper flat, use the spray bottle to wet the paper in areas where you want paint colors to flow and mix. It should be damp (wet but no puddles). After you wet the paper, brush the water out evenly into the area that you are going to paint. If you want more control, use a 2" (5 cm) wash brush to spread the water onto the paper.

2. Shake your first bottle of color to mix it and then pour on some paint. Tilt and rotate your paper (it helps to place it on a board) to get the color moving, letting the excess drip into a shallow pan.

3. Before adding another color, let the first color find its place on the paper and rest a bit, or you will just keep washing the first color off with the next.

4. When your first paint has found its place and is not collecting in puddles, add a second color. Choose analogous colors (colors that are next to each other on the color wheel) such as yellow to green to blue or alizarin to violet to blue. If you cross over the color wheel and use complementary colors, you will get a muddy brown color when the color runs together.

This method will give you a beautiful flowing watercolor wash. It makes a great background or abstract on its own, or you can go further and use some additional techniques to create textured backgrounds. Jacqueline uses add-ons like a sprinkling of salt, sand, and charcoal or metallic powders to the wash for interesting effects. Play and experiment to see what happens.

Now, wasn't that fun? Jacqueline goes into more detail on her wet-paint process in The Cloth Paper Scissors Book by Barbara Delaney. There, you will find hundreds of ways to play with paint, texture, stitch, glue, paper, found objects, and more.

Yes, you will get a little wet and messy. But you will have so much fun!



P. S. What's your favorite wet or messy mixed-media technique? Share in the comments section of the Cloth Paper Scissors Today blog.

Wine, beer wraps featured in the new Cloth Paper Scissors Gifts.

I've been having so much fun experimenting with printing and stamping fabric, and I have accumulated a lot of pieces with cool designs. Now, what to do with them?

There are many options, but you know me: I'm all about easy. So I plan to use some of my fabric art to make gift bags for wine or sparkling cider, to give to hosts and hostesses during the upcoming holidays.

I'm taking my cue from Cloth Paper Scissors magazine Assistant Editor Barbara Delaney, who designed this easy gift bag for the 2011-2012 Gifts issue.

Barbara used fabric she had gelatin printed previously and added some stamping and painting to give it a winter holiday theme. You could easily use commercial fabric to make it even easier, but I think the painted fabric makes the gift a more personal statement of handmade arts.

Easy, Artistic Gift Bag
By Barbara Delaney

Materials

Textile paints and stitch make this festive bag.

• Fabric, 7" x 38" (Note: This bag is made from one long piece so be careful not to choose a fabric that has a directional motif as it will be upside down on the second side.)
• Sewing machine and thread
• Iron and ironing surface
• Scissors, fabric
• Pencil
• Grommets and grommet setting tools (I used large grommets.)
• Ribbon, yarn, or fibers for tying

Directions

1. With right sides together, sew the side seams, using a 1/4" seam, and then iron the seams open/flat.

Figure 1

2. This step is optional, but it gives the bag a more finished look. Flatten the seams so that a point is created at the bottom of the bag. Stitch perpendicularly across the seam, about 1" from the point. Trim off the point about 1/4" from the stitching. (Figure 1)

3. Turn the bag right-side out and then fold the top 3½" to the inside of the bag.

4. Mark the placement of the grommets, cut or poke the holes for the grommets with the scissors, and insert the grommets according to the manufacturer's directions.

5. Thread the ribbon through the grommets, insert the bottle, and tie. (Note: Don't have a grommet setter? Simply stitch the top of the bag as in Step 3 and then tie the bag around the neck of the bottle with ribbon.)

See? Easy-peasy. Barbara also shows you how to make a gift bag to hold a six-pack of your host's favorite beverage (pictured above).

Plus you'll find many other clever, easy, and artistic ways to wrap things up for the holidays or any special occasion in Cloth Paper Scissors Gifts 2011-2012, available for pre-order. Want to get started today? You can download the digital issue of Gifts now.


P.S. So, how do you wrap it? Do you ever use handmade fabric art or paper to wrap your gifts? Tell us about it on the Cloth Paper Scissors Today blog.

Fabric art quilt by Lisa Kerpoe.

Fall is my favorite season, and on a chilly morning last week I welcomed the change in temperature by having a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.

I usually put fruit in my oatmeal, but lately I've been thinking about adding dye. You see, I have been learning about “kitchen resists,” pastes made from products right from your pantry shelf, like flour, oatmeal, baby cereal, mashed potato flakes, and corn syrup. You use them to block out areas of the fabric to dye or paint over, yielding very interesting results to use in fabric art.

Kitchen resists are an alternative to wax resists, like batik. I love the looks, but the ironing and numerous washings you need to do to get all the wax out of the fabric—not so much. The beauty of kitchen resists is that they are safe to use and they wash right out of the fabric easily.

I decided to try out the oatmeal method using directions provided by fiber artist Lisa Kerpoe. Lisa has experimented with many kinds of kitchen resists with wonderful organic effects.

1. Wash your fabric in hot water with 1/2 teaspoon of synthrapol and 1/2 cup of soda ash. Note: Don't skip this critical first step! The oatmeal can be difficult, if not impossible, to remove if there is sizing on the fabric. [Cate's note: I used a piece of cotton fabric that had been washed several times in detergent. It worked fine.]

2. Lay a heavy plastic drop cloth over your work surface. Place your fabric on the plastic and pin it every 8"-10".

Lisa's oatmeal surface design.

3. Mix 1⁄3 cup of rolled oats with 1 cup of water. Microwave for 2 minutes.

4. Spread the oatmeal across the cloth using a squeegee or a spoon. Or you can wait until the oatmeal cools and relive your kindergarten days by spreading it on with your hands!

5. Let the oatmeal dry on the cloth. This can take 1-2 days depending on the temperature and humidity level of your working environment. To speed the drying, hang the cloth on a clothesline and/or set a fan to blow onto the fabric surface. [Cate's note: I used the fan, which helped a lot.]

My results with oatmeal resist surface design.

Now it's time to apply the dye. There are many ways to do this, depending on whether you are using thickened dyes or liquid dyes. 

Lisa usually paints on thickened dyes, as this yields a more distinct pattern from the oatmeal. But she also encourages experimentation and I was going very low-tech with this project, using Rit dye off the shelf. So I just made a shallow bath of the dye and water in a tub and gave the fabric about a 30-minute soak, gently stirring the fabric occasionally with a wooden stick.

I rinsed off the oatmeal and excess dye, frankly not expecting a whole lot, but I was really excited to see the results.

Because I had used a liquid dye, the patterns were not as distinct as they might have been, but I still got a lot of variation in the color. I also turned my hands blue because I forgot to wear gloves. Oh well.

I'd like to try this again with the flour paste resist, because you can make a greater variety of patterns and even write in it. A great way to see these kitchen resist processes in action is to watch Lisa's segment on “Quilting Arts TV,” Series 800.

You won't look at your pantry, or surface design, the same way again.

P.S. Do you ever use “kitchen” ingredients in your mixed-media or fabric art? I'm looking for good ideas, so serve 'em up in the comments section of the Cloth Paper Scissors Today blog.