This is a padfolio I made for Tote Tuesday. It will be in the auction to benefit the American Cancer Society on February 23 and is in the tote called Color Me Bright.

The padfolio is made of a base of rust-dyed fabric with photographs of trees printed on it to represent a woods. The fairy is from a Dover clip art collection, and the ancient writing (Tamil) is from a photograph of the text cut into stone.

Sorry about the unlined text. I accidentally hit a keyboard command and don't know how to turn the darned thing off!

I've stitched on the trees to give them definition and texture.

The photo doesn't show the gold paint on the words and around the fairy's head very well, but it is WAY COOL! I made the gold fabric paint from Earth Safe Finishes gold metallic powder + Colorant + Fabric Magic!

This is something I've been experimenting with the past couple of weeks. I mix the paint and pour it into a shell or small container to dry into a cake and then rehydrate it, like watercolor cakes/pans. If I use water alone to rehydrate the paint it is gorgeous on paper. If I use water and Fabric Magic, it is permanent on fabric!

It's true! I'm so excited!!!!

The proportions in the cake still need a little finessing to eliminate cracking as it dries, but the recipe should be ready for revealing in a few weeks. So, stay tuned!

The closure is a drilled beach stone with Velcro underneath to hold the flap in place when it's inside your purse or tote.

I am so grateful to Virginia Spiegel for giving us the opportunity to help the ACA! It is so comforting to know you are able to contribute in this manner.

We've all been touched by cancer in some manner or other. How many times have we felt powerless to personally fight cancer? This is very empowering for those who contribute the artwork and for those who bid and purchase the totes.

I hope you will visit Virginia's blog to see the wonderful totes and bid on the totes—especially Color Me Bright tote on Tuesday, February 23!

You can see and read more about Tote Tuesday on Virginia's blog. Here's a link http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/

Remember the altered photo of parrot tulips I used for the padfolio project? Here is it again, with some of the color changed to purple. It was fun and easy to do using the Replace Color feature in Photoshop/Photoshop Elements.

It has been printed on fabric and is just waiting to be stitched!


This is the way it looked after altering using the pebbles Displacement Map (#8 on the CD in the back of Next Steps In Altered Photo Artistry) + watercolor + poster edges.


This is the original photo—just a snapshot taken in the gardens across from the courthouse here in Fort Wayne.

Let me know if you're interested and I'll prepare a tutorial on Replace Color!

Padfolio Instructions

The padfolio instructions have not been published yet on either C&T's blog or The Quilt Show's newsletter. So many of you have asked about them, I'm including a link to a pdf file with instructions and photos.

http://www.quilterskeeplearning.com/beth/Funky%20Padfolio-1.pdf

If it doesn't appear as a link, copy the URL and paste it into your browser window. The download starts automatically.

If you make one (or several), please send a photo. I'd love to see what you do with the displacement maps and the instructions!

Enjoy!

I am now the proud owner of a bright and colorful padfolio. Step-by-step instructions are available in the newest newsletter from The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims AND on C&T Publishing's blog this weekend. This is to celebrate the release of my new book Next Steps In Altered Photo Artistry.



The padfolio outside features an altered photo (what else?), printed on fabric, and heavily stitched with free-motion stitching, using lots of glorious threads. Inside is a 5" x 8" junior legal pad. The whole padfolio fits neatly into my purse!

The photo is altered using one of our exclusive displacement maps that are on the CD inside the back cover of the book. In my opinion, displacement maps are the best-kept secret of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements! This alteration included multiple applications of the same displacement map, until the image was quite abstract. The final touch was applied with an artistic filter to define the edges.

By the time the image was wrapped around the notepad, the effect is quite abstract—just what I was going for!


This is the photo before altering. I took it in the garden next to the courthouse in my home town this spring and have been saving it for something special. Since I won't be traveling to Houston for the book's release at Quilt Market, this cheers me up and helps me focus on paperwork this weekend.


Inside is a pocket for pens (on the left), the notepad in the center, and the flap on the right. Because of the shape of the flap, it required two Velcro dots to keep it flat while closed.

Inside the padfolio rust-dyed fabrics add depth, interest, and variety. You can see the pocket on the left has a scripture verse printed on the fabric.