Toot Tea Towels
March 7, 2010
I’ve spent the afternoon stamping linen tea towels for Sooz’s Tea Towel Swap. Having left the stamping to the last minute (as usual) this was a very nerve wracking experience. 10 tea towels to play with and I just had to hope that two of them would work out OK!
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The Process:
First I did a whole lot of sketches of owls. I probably drew about 50 of them and then chose three that I liked. I simplified them, scanned them in, played with the levels in photoshop to make them completely black and white.
Next I sent the files off to the stamp making man and back came three little owl stamps. There was a big sigh of relief after doing a couple of tests. I kinda couldn’t believe that the stamps worked on fabric.
I measured and marked up on some paper the positions to stamp the owls – this paper got placed under the linen tea towel so I could see the markings through the fabric. I used Versacraft stamp pad (thanks for the tip dudley!) and started stamping away. Once I was finished I heat set the prints and…. viola!
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I have to say I’m pretty happy with the end result. I’ve always loved the look of stamping – the little imperfections and variations in ink give character, although I have to admit some of them are far less perfect than I would have liked.
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I’ll post some pics of the finished tea towels once my swap partners have their parcels!
Hello. My name is Claire. I have a sock toy addiction. It began two years ago when I was pregnant and nesting. At first I dismissed it. I hadn't sewn in years. "Craft Schmaft" I said. Well it seems this crafty thing is here to stay. This blog brings you the delights of making sock softies, fabric finds and crafty inspiration from round the interweb.
March 7, 2010 at 3:09 PM
Claire they look great, stamping on fabric is fun
March 7, 2010 at 4:16 PM
Thanks Cass, it really was fun… could even be a new addiction!
March 7, 2010 at 6:49 PM
They look fab – and very epitome of ‘Craft Schmaft’!
March 7, 2010 at 7:57 PM
Those are absolutely adorable!
March 7, 2010 at 8:19 PM
This looks so awesome! I really need to give fabric printing a good go
March 7, 2010 at 8:45 PM
Just found your blog love your work will certainly be back …just one comment on your Mancho post is it my fertile imagination or does that dark haired pool playing model look like Rick Springfield??
March 8, 2010 at 8:29 AM
Ha ha! Yep he does look a bit like Rick Springfield! Thanks so much for visiting Claire.
March 7, 2010 at 10:09 PM
How cute! I am itching to do some stamping myself but I have to find a little doodle or drawing that I do to make it ‘mine’.
Can’t wait to see the tea towels.
March 7, 2010 at 10:50 PM
Very cute, love your little owls, curious – who’s your stamp making man?
March 8, 2010 at 8:28 AM
Just the bettaprint stamp man in the dymocks building sydney. I’m sure there are cheaper places you could get them done, but I’ve had few stamps made there now and the quality has always been great!
March 7, 2010 at 10:57 PM
The came out so wonderfully! …and the stamps definitely look like *your* owls…super cute!
March 8, 2010 at 8:32 AM
Claire!! They are fantastic… Next time we’re in Sydney I am heading to your stamp making man hehe…
xo Steph
March 8, 2010 at 8:35 AM
He is good – you can just email him jpegs and in 24 hours you have a stamp!
March 8, 2010 at 12:51 PM
A stamp making man!.. i hear you say.. well.. yes – i guess delegation is a good thing..
beautiful work as always..
March 8, 2010 at 1:00 PM
Oh I know, I had grand intentions of making the stamps myself but to be honest Tara I just didn’t trust myself! There’s no way my stamps would have been as beautiful as yours.
March 9, 2010 at 9:31 AM
So cute!!
I saw your kits on the Miss Milla website – way to go Claire!
March 10, 2010 at 1:06 PM
Thanks Amelia!
March 12, 2010 at 7:53 PM
how very gorgeous! i would never have known you could stamp on fabric either…
March 16, 2010 at 9:42 AM
HI Claire, nice to meet you and your blog. Your tea towels look ace- I looked everywhere for versacraft and could not find it- was it easy for you to find? I even looked online, maybe my googling skills aren’t up to par! Very impressed with your stamps.
March 17, 2010 at 5:58 PM
Hi Tanya – yep they can be tricky to find, I bought mine from an ebay seller called patchprom in the end. I couldn’t find them at Lincraft or Spotlight or any of those. A lovely man in a calligraphy store told me that any ink will work if you heat set it but I just wasn’t quite up to believing that at short notice!