Tuesday 26 May 2009

follow the carrot brick road . . .

Spring done sprung! To celebrate, kpie and I are putting up a new fence in our garden, painting older fence panels and gates . . . and making garden art. Here's the first of what I hope will be several to liven up our porch and garden area.

I'm currently painting several coats of clear acrylic to weatherize this painting -- which, in a former life, was a cabinet front. I primed it with a flat latex (emulsion), sketched out a basic design with a Sharpie (the garden theme accidentally bounced out); then painted it with acrylics, oil sticks and ink. I'll be securing it to a fence post along the porch to break up the panels.

It measures 23"x27" and I'm calling it, Follow the Carrot Brick Road. More to follow!

all images ©copyright ramey n. holsman

Thursday 21 May 2009

instructions for your hand-painted art patch


Thank you for purchasing your very own hand-painted, original ART PATCH by me, Ramey Holsman (aka cookie chang)! I'm repeating the instructions that came on the label and adding some aftercare tips here . . .

IRON-ON INSTRUCTIONS: Always pre-wash clothing
(t-shirt, coat, trousers) before adhering art patch. DO NOT USE fabric softener. Hats and bags may be a little more tricky to wash, just make sure the item is clean or new. The iron-on backing is "HeatnBond Ultrahold," and states it will adhere to most surfaces.

1. Peel off backing paper.


2. Position on desired material, adhesive side down.

3. Place clean, blank paper (bond works best), on top of patch and firmly press pre-heated iron (WOOL, low setting, no steam) for 8-10 seconds. Allow to cool before testing. If a corner or side is not properly attached, press iron down for another few seconds and allow to cool before testing again.


AFTERCARE:
After properly ironing on your art patch, you want to take care of it so it lasts! All of my art patches are hand painted with fabric paints and inks, then heat fixed for permanency -- which means you can machine wash them, but make sure it is always COLD water, then line dry. (The adhesive is heat sensitive, so if you put it in a hot dryer, the adhesive will heat as well and the patch will most likely fall off.)

Often when you take the item of clothing out of the wash, the art patch may well look like this -- all wrinkly (sometimes even more than shown):


That's OK. Gently flatten it by hand as best as you can, then set your iron on WOOL (one notch over is fine):

Place a clean piece of white paper over the top of your art patch. Regular bond works best:


Once your iron is heated, firmly press for approximately 3-5 seconds. This will flatten the patch and strengthen the adhesive bond. DO NOT iron the patch without a clean piece of paper between the iron and patch.


Don't over do it on the time. Just iron long enough to flatten out the patch, then line dry as usual -- no dryers! Your art patch should last and last . . .


And of course, be sure to check cookiechang.etsy.com often to see what new creations are waiting there for you!