Little Pieces of Connection and Comfort

I have been making these lovely cotton and wool bracelets for Craft Hope’s Project 12: Orphan Outreach.

They’ve now taken up residence in my bag and, when I find myself waiting in the car for my daughter or husband, I make one. Then, one or two at night before I go to bed. And if I have bit of free time? Yep, a bracelet!

What is Craft Hope and Project 12, you ask?
Go to www.crafthope.com and see the great work this remarkable group is doing!

Who knows, maybe you’ll even make a few bracelets yourself!

8th Annual T-shirt & Dancer’s Art Sale

My daughter Zoe has been dancing with Betsy Dunphy at Studio 408 in South Portland, Maine since she was in Kindergarten. Eight years ago Betsy and I came up with the idea of creating a t-shirt with one of my designs and the annual Dancer's T-shirt & Art Sale was born. It is really hard to believe but it is that time of year again!

I especially love the design I came up with this year! Zoe had the great idea of recognizing Studio 408 so it has been added to the t-shirt on the back.

Here are the details:

NEW THIS YEAR… PREORDERED shirts (only) will have BOTH the DANCE design above, PLUS the “Studio 408” design on the back. Shirts sold the day of the recital will have the DANCE design only.

New! We are offering 3 different items incorporating this year’s design:

* T-shirts – available in Children’s Small, Medium and Large, and Adult Small, Medium, Large and X-Large.
* T-shirt transfers – for the do-it-yourself-ers! These are the same heat transfers I’ll be using. Each package will include 6 transfer (3 DANCE & 3 Studio 408), plus instructions, so you can decorate your own cotton or polycotton shirts, bags, etc. All you need is a hot iron.
* Art prints of the design, 8 x 10, suitable for framing or as a poster.

The cost is $18 each (tax included), with 20% of sales going to help defray recital expenses.
Please pre-order by JUNE 1st. All orders will be ready for pick-up the day of the recital. (There maybe some extras for last minute folks, but no guarantees. So please pre-order.) Samples of everything are displayed at the studio.

2 Ways to Pre-Order

1. E-mail Sue at sue@suzannedrown.com
2. Call Sue at 409-4897

2 Ways to Pay via Cash, Check (preferred), or Credit Card

1. The day of the recital
2. Prior to recital via mail (check) or phone (credit card)
Please make checks payable to Suzanne Drown

To see other dance themed items, you can visit my Etsy Shop, (Etsy is an on-line marketplace for all things hand made). If you would like one of these items let me know. Remember, 20% of all sales will go to defray recital costs.

See you on June 5th!

West End Craft and Treasure Fest

I am excited to be participating in this craft and thrift sale sponsored by the The Children's Nursery School, a co-operative preschool school in Portland's (Maine) West End.

I will be featuring cards, pins, prints and scarves. All make great gifts for your favorite teacher, grad or mom!

Here are the details:

Time: Saturday, May 7 · 9:00am - 1:00pm

Location: 32 Thomas Street at the Williston West Church, Portland, ME

Read more about it at West End Craft and Treasure Fest Facebook Page.

Hope to see you there!

Next Workshop: Batik Basics

My next workshop is coming up in a couple of weeks on Saturday April 30th! The focus is on the batik process allowing you choose what you want to create...a banner, a scarf or art flags for example! The description is below. Go to www.suzannedrown.com for more information.

Batik Basics
Batik is the ancient art process of “writing” or painting with hot wax. In this day-long workshop you will have the opportunity to create your own batik designs and learn about wax-resist techniques, including painting or drawing on fabric with melted soy wax. You will also learn dye painting techniques to color your fabric.

Teens and adults welcome.

Date: Saturday April 30
Location: So Po Art Studios, South Portland, ME
Time: 10am-4pm
Fee: $75 + supplies (approx $10)

Once you register, I will send a short list of additional materials for you to bring from home: scissors, t-shirt, extra fabric, etc. Please bring a lunch.

Tie Dye Day = Fun!

Last Saturday I hosted a group of 5 at So Po Art Studios for a Tie Dye Workshop.

They were quick studies, we had fun and most importantly they got some great results! Here are some photo highlights!

Next Up: Batik Basics, check my website for more info!

Tie Dye Day...March 19 !

When a piece of clothing gets worn or stained and seems to be ruined what do you do? My answer is to tie dye it! My family teases me now that if there is a problem my solution no matter the challenge is to dye it!

Now here is your chance to test the theory. Bring your gently used or new cotton (natural materials work...cotton is best) to my class "Tie Dye Day" and create something colorful and new. Details are below!

Tie Dye Day
I’ll provide the dye and equipment; you bring items you want to transform. We’ll spend the morning folding, twisting, tying and dyeing to create colorful accents for your apparel or home. Possible items to dye: cotton t-shirts, scarves, tote bags, table runners… any natural fabric.
Older children with an adult, teens and adults are welcome.

Date: Saturday March 19
Location: So Po Art Studios, South Portland, ME
Time: 10am -1 pm
Fee: $20 (Sign-up for 2 and pay just $15 each)
Once you register, I will send a list of additional suggested items for dying.

For more information or to register contact me via e-mail at sue@suzannedrown.com or call me at 409-4897.

Got Cabin Fever?

Got a bit of cabin fever? Beginning March 17,
I will be teaching a fun 4-week series called “Recycled T-shirts,” featuring some of my favorite fiber arts processes: sea weed marbling, tie dye and a wonderfully simple applique technique. The name, of course, gets its name from our base material …a t-shirt! One of my favorite techniques is sea weed marbling!

What is sea weed marbling? The designs on marbled fabric resemble the veins and ripples in marbled stone. The sea weed part of the name is from the thick syrupy water that the paint is floated on to create the marbled design. This syrupy water is created by mixing water with a sea weed extract called carrageenan in a shallow tray.
The paint, which is dropped on the surface of the water with small bottles, then “floats” on top. You create your design by gently pulling different tools (combs, sticks, forks) through the paint.
Fabric or paper is then placed on top of the water and paint. When you pull it off, there is your beautiful print!

Interested? Let me know! For more information, visit www.suzannedrown.com/workshops.