Mother's Day: Fabric Art Zipper Totes

Mother's Day is around the corner and it's time to plan ahead for that special day where every mother hopes to receive a charming, handmade gift. Here's a wonderful gift choice that's both creative and useful. Our little canvas pencil bags are great for open ended fabric art and make adorable carry-all bags for grown ups. Wouldn't you carry THIS in your purse? You could use it as a make-up bag, take it to the gym, or use it to organize all that stuff that falls to the bottom of your purse. Imagine the possibilities!

These samples use BioColor® Scraper Art and Easy Grip Stampers, but this project is open ended so children can paint their fabric bags any way they like. Be sure to use BioColor® Paint for vibrant colors that will stay permanent on the fabric after washing. Simply pre-mix the paint with BioColor® Fabric Medium first. This is a quick, easy and inexpensive process demonstrated in this BioColor® Fabric Art video.

In these samples, we've used Sea Life themed Easy Grip Stampers. Notice in the photo that you paint ONTO the stamper directly with a brush BEFORE stamping onto fabric. This gives you a nice, clean design. We've combined the stampers with Scraper Art techniques, where you simply sweep the paint across the fabric with a BioColor® Scraper, either in an organized fashion with dots of paint, or in a free-form fashion with random squiggles of paint, all scraped across the fabric in one sweeping motion. The special effect you see with the Scraper Art if one of the "magical" properties of BioColor® and it's so easy that even a young child can do it.

If you like the idea of Fabric Art but are not keen on the zipper totes, these same design ideas would also look great on Canvas Pillow Cases, or Canvas Duffel Bags. But my personal favorite is the little zipper tote because I know I would use it all the time. I hope these ideas give you a head start on your Mother's Day planning! And as you plan ahead, remember how long most mothers keep their mother's day presents, because nothing speaks of love like a young child's handmade gift.

Materials:
1) Canvas Pencil Bags
2) BioColor®, set of all 11 Original Colors
3) BioColor® Scraper
4) Easy Grip Stampers, Sea Life Theme

Optional:
5) Stubby Chubby Brushes
6) Nancy Bottles
7) Sharpie® Ultra Fine Line Markers

Again, be sure to check out this this BioColor® Fabric Art video for a more detailed view of fabric art techniques.

Blotter Art: Color, Balance & Symmetry

Blotter art is one of the easiest ways to create colorful abstract art and is a good exercise in color, balance and symmetry. Look carefully and you'll see that each design includes a mirror image of itself from left to right and has been created along a fold in the paper. Imagine how dramatic each of these paintings would look in a frame or as a journal cover! You can also create these same designs on t-shirts by adding Fabric Medium to BioColor® ahead of time to make your paints permanent. Blotter art shows off the beauty and vibrancy of BioColor® and is a great time to incorporate BioColor® Gold, my personal favorite.

To make blotter art, fold heavy white construction paper in half and place "dime sized" dots of BioColor® along the fold. Then fold paper in half again and rub the paint out to the edges with your hands and fingers. Or add lines by pressing into the folded paper with a BioColor® scraper or craft stick to make the contrasting lines you see in these designs. Open up the folded paper to find a beautiful abstract painting inside. Keep it just the way it is, or add a little more paint and re-fold it to alter your picture. As long as you use heavy construction paper, you can work with your painting for quite a while until you are happy with your design. Keep going until you like it! That's the magic of art.

For more detailed instructions, find a complete lesson plan for Blotter Art, T-Shirt Blotter Art, and BioColor® Blotter Art Masks in Smart Art, and Smart Art 2, available through Discount School Supply.

Materials You'll Need:
BioColor®
BioColor® Gold
BioColor® Scraper
Twist Top Nancy Bottles
Heavy White Construction Paper
Paper towels

Optional:
Smart Art Ideas
Smart Art Ideas 2