Inklore

In the midst of this busy, busy week in the studio, I made a little something for myself, a new apron. Love it!

My nephew recently turned two, and my kids really love to make gifts for special occasions, so together we made him this fantastic cloth number book. 

This was a fun and easy project for my kids and the steps to making your own couldn't be simpler.

• First, cut out 3 rectangles from a solid fabric. These rectangles are cut from cotton drill and are           about 7" X 10". I used my pinking shears to cut the edges so they won't unravel. Then, I folded each rectangle in half and ironed them to make the 'pages'.
• My kids had a great time going through their stamp collection to choose stamps they thought their cousin would like and matching them up with the numbers. They chose larger stamps for the smaller numbers and smaller stamps for the large numbers.
• Then, I printed the numbers on each page. This is the trickiest bit as you need to stack the pages and print them in the right order. Then, my kids printed pictures on each page to correspond to the number. **We used fabric ink (the same water-based screen printing ink I always use), which is non-toxic and washable.
• When everything had printed and dried, I cured the ink to make it washable (read the directions on the ink you use) and simply stitched three seams on the edge of the book to hold things together. The kids had a great time working on this project and they were proud to give something they had made to their cousin. 

PS - I know some of you are following me here to read my Printmaking 101 series. With summer in full swing, I've had to put a hold on that project until my kids go back to school, but it will be back in mid-August!