Smurf Blue

Dabbling with the stamps with blue ink meant getting my hands dirty and being another stinking hot day in Adelaide I was not going to wear gloves. So now I have a lovely shade of blue adorning my ever so elegant hands. I have never had very delicate looking hands  and you could liken them to the hands of the peasants in The Potato Eaters, by the flying Dutchman himself, Vincent Van Gough. I really am getting back to my Dutch heritage today. A Dutch smurf it is then!

 Trialling the thistle screen
I had to add more screen filler in places where I missed particularly on the edge of the screen. That ink manages to squeeze through the tiniest of places.

Next time I'll measure and place the screen to give a regular print. I also wont allow the dog inside because she kept running over the material when it was drying. But what are you to do, its stinking hot and I wouldn't want to be locked outside on such a scorching day.

Managed to utilize the stamp with fabric ink by dabbing the ink on with an ordinary kitchen sponge. Of course it soaks through the sponge and hence my smurf characteristics.

Any ho, thanks for stopping by again and I cant wait to see what everybody comes up with for the fabric swap.

Hand Printed Fabric Swap - Lotus Flower

Ive been working on my hand printed fabric swap today . I decided that I wanted a cleaner line for the seed head inside the flower and carved it directly in the flower stamp. This will eliminate the possibility of utilizing another colour when printing but makes for much cleaner lines.

This is the original flower , below,with the separate centre cut out and stamped in afterwards and above with the flower with the seed head already in the flower. 

I have also carved a seed head and  a vine of leaves (not related to the lotus flower but more aesthetically pleasing to me) I can use this leaf in a running pattern

Carving the leaf stamp block

 and seed head

Random placement just to get a feel for the stamps.
On a side thought, I went today to TYPO and picked up rolls of second paper for 20 cents a roll, bargain
I think I need to pick a new stamp pad though because the ink on my pad is getting really hard to get even coverage with - but you get the idea of the print don't you?

Really like a rose background and black ink stamping.
Would look good in bright blue stamp on hemp / taupe coloured fabric...no?