Happy Mother's Day!

I so hope all of my lovely ladies out there were able to celebrate Mothers' Day in a way that is special to them. The weather was wonderful here so there was opportunity for families to enjoy the outdoors.

So I have been playing with the glue sticks and I have to tell you it has been quite fun. Now I have a silicon craft sheet that I purchased to use with Bo-Nash a while back. To explain if you aren't familiar, Bo-Nash is a fusing powder for fabric. I specifically wanted to use it with my Angelina, but that is for a future blog entry. What I discovered was that I could also use parchment paper for a surface that the glue would not stick to, so you don't have to have a silicon surface. Actually, I think using the parchment may be better because it is disposable, cheap, you can cover more surface with it, and it is translucent so you can sort of see through it if you are following a pattern underneath. I think it saves wear and tear on your silicon sheet which I prefer to save for other things I want an easy clean up with. (Parchment paper can also be easily purchased in the grocery aisle where they have aluminum foil and sandwich bags.)

It was difficult at first and I had no idea that glue sticks went so quickly! Ugh! I mean, I'm glad I got a large pack of 40 but I don't think it will take me long to go through them. It was hard to get a consistent thickness in the lines too, but I have an ancient glue gun so that could be part of it. Maybe the newer models have solved that problem. The main lesson is that you have to have thick lines in order to get it off the surface without it tearing or sticking to itself. With practice of course, it gets better, but you have to have a pretty good supply of glue sticks. I also tried to use the wooden blocks with the glue to make stamps and I'm still working on that. I did learn that once on the wood, the glue is permanent, so get a couple of blocks and use one to practice on first.


My trial runs. Not great, but not too bad either for a beginner.

The potential for this is limitless as far as designs. I am very excited about this potential tool and its applications. Stencils and art masks are just a couple of things. Something I plan to experiment with is just have a surface of glue and then cutting into it to make the stencil. I'm looking forward to that! See what I mean? The possibilities just keep coming.

Now I will reveal that the reason that this has captured my attention is that I am anxious to use stencils and masks on my Gelli Plate and then transfer them to my fabric. I am interested in this because I believe for some works of mine I am planning in the future, this will lend the perfect element as a backdrop. The fact that this can be used on fabric for cross stitch, embroidery and quilting, makes it perfect for any application with needle and thread.

I am going to experiment with what I have made on paper to see how they work. I will have an update later this week. I'm also going to have a completed stamp block to share with you too.

Until then, Keep Creating!