So I was partially wrong about the weather when I wrote the newsletter last month. I said it didn't look like we were going to get anything of great interest. The saving grace was that I also said, at one little point that I was afraid we were going to pay for the earlier good weather in January and February. I should have stopped there. Within a week of sending out the newsletter we had a big ice storm. No electricity - then we had electricity - then no electricity - then electricity. We had about an inch or so of ice on all wires and trees. As the ice weighted down the trees they took out the electricity. When the electric company had us up and running again, the tree cutters came through and blew the electricity one more time when they were getting the limbs and things off the wires. Then the news people told us to not be sure it was over, since when the trees started to thaw out and lose their ice, they would straighten up and possibly take out the electricity again as they hit the same trees that they hit going down, when they came back up.
Luckily for us we have a wood stove down stairs for emergencies; we have a fireplace upstairs, a propane heater in my office and a generator that we only have to fill about every five to six hours. Unfortunately, my computer guy told me I can't hook my machinery, in the office, up to a generator that I am running electrical cords from. Maybe this summer I will have the house wired for a generator. That way I can keep on working. Some of you got late orders and no invoices. I figured you wanted them as soon as possible so I sent them out as quickly as I could.
Ice covered trees and grass and bushes and fences are beautiful. Here's a picture that I took a couple of days after the ice storm, just as the sun was coming over the hill. The sun was not reaching down the 50' to 75' in the big bowl we have out back so it really shows the sun glinting on the trees at the top about a 1/2 mile in the distance. It's not as striking as actually seeing it - but hopefully you can see enough to appreciate it.
Okay - it's time for me to quit complaining and get to work. I know a lot of you are getting much worse than we have and I really feel for you. You all be careful and stay safe and healthy.
Paints are $2.99 each
These together make the new K008 - Sparkle Kit 2 - $37.75
Okay - all you Sparkle lovers - you now have shading colors in the Sparkles, so go to it.
The monthly special for February will be, of course, St. Patrick's Day designs. I couldn't figure out which one of the two re-charted ones that I like best so I'm just going to offer two (2) transfers and two (2) Pillow Covers.
So the Monthly Special for February 2007 (MSFEB07) contains T4405 & T4719 and two (2) White Perma Press Throw Pillow Covers (P1482). The retail on these would be $15.20 and the Sale Price is $14.95.
On the transfers for the monthly quilt blocks there is a big picture and a little picture. Obviously the big picture is for the actual quilt block. The smaller pictures can be used for matching little t-shirts or sweat shirts. They can be used for making matching pillows, curtains, dust ruffles, sheets, body pillow covers or maybe even matching towels and wash cloths for a connecting bath room.
Remind your customers that they don't have to make quilts with these transfers. They can use them on shirts and other things. They would make a cute outfit (according to which ones you used) for a little onesy for a baby or a matching sweat suit for a child or adult. How about making a western shirt for someone in your life using the Southwest quilt block transfers? How about putting a south west transfer on your horse blanket?
If any of you travel - these transfers are a good size to go on your luggage. For some luggage, you might have to put the transfer on the quilt block - then put Fabric Glue on the back - let it dry - then cut it out to put on your suitcase. (You might need to cut in multiple pieces to get the look that you want.) After you get it cut out - use the Fabric Glue to put it on the luggage. If you want it to last a long time - after that Fabric Glue is totally dry - put another coat of the Fabric Glue over the top of the whole design. This will, hopefully, keep it safer and make it last longer. When you do something like this it will make it much easier to spot your luggage on the luggage carousel at the airport. It might, also, get you some new customers. There's nothing like advertising to get people to notice what you sell.
BQ1-02 Baby Quilt Block Pak |
DQB02 Dinosaur Quilt Block Pak |
PQ02 Pony Quilt Block Pak |
RQ02 Rose Quilt Block Pak |
FFQ2-02 Flower Face 2 Quilt Block Pak |
SWQ02 Southwest Quilt Block Pak |
It is hard for me to get this scheduling thing down for the up-coming holidays, but I'm working on it. I got the Valentine's Day ones out last month so you could do classes with them and folks could have their Valentine's Day gifts done ahead of time.
I brought back two (2) of the old ones, T4405 (right) & T4719 (left)(which used to be T4310)- but I re-charted both of them. (Did you know we have 12 greens in the line now?)
I think that between the two of them I used all but one of the greens that we have
(121-117-122-136-145-157-163-167-173-178-181-193).
T4718 Shamrock Cascade |
This one (T4718) is one I did up a long time ago for my own customers when I was a Regional Manager out of Orlando. They all liked it, even though they had to draw their own using a Transfer Pen. I thought that maybe you would all like it, too. It's a cascade of clover to run from your shoulder on a shirt. There are two, facing each way, so you can put them on a shirt on the front and back of shoulder, make a neck piece on the front and back of a shirt, on a pillow case, on a runner, on the sleeve of a shirt (that's what I did), on the corners of a table cloth, on a table runner, etc. The transfer is set up so you can use it many different ways. |
T4723 Jumping Deer |
T4723, I'm calling Jumping Deer. A lot of you will recognize it from long ago. It was T4271. It's been re-charted using the colors that are in the Line now. I've tried to give some new technique ideas on the chart page. It uses regular painting, tooth brush painting and back ground painting using a little piece of rag. When it's done it looks great and it doesn't take very long to do. You could, also, add the mountains from one of the other transfers to give it a whole different look. (The way to do that is to cut the mountains off the other picture - lay it on your transfer, before you iron it on - and iron the whole thing on at the same time. If you do it that way, you don't have to worry about having extra lines to cover up when you're painting.) |
T4724 Baby Pillow |
T4724 is a design that is set up to be used on a throw pillow cover, to go along with your Baby Quilt. You might want to put this on one side and the Birth Certificate (T4534) on the back. |
T4717 Bubble Gum Machine |
T4717 is just a fun transfer. It was in the Line in Orlando many, many, many years ago. When I got a copy of it from Annette Feltham, in Canada, it was just too cute to not bring back. This can go on shirts for children or adults. You can use whatever colors you want to - but it is charted the way you see it on the Transfer Page. Remember, after you get the design done, to streak 340 over the whole bowl of the gumball machine to give it the sparkle that comes of having something made of glass or plastic. |
This month we will start with some simple shading using T4719 - Irish Jig. We'll go over a little bit about which colors you use and when to shadow and highlight. We will be putting the transfer on one of the white Perma Press Throw Pillow Covers (P1482).
This class will continue teaching with Sparkle Paints and, also, with the regular paints.
We will be shading with both kinds of paints and using both the Fiber Blenders and the paint caps to work with the paints and make them do what we want them to.
At the end of the class we can add a little 'rag painting' to wash some extra ground and a little sky as a finishing touch.
For those of you who work craft shows to sell your finished products - these Pillow Covers should sell very well. After all, this is about the easiest and quickest thing to use to decorate for a holiday - and they're easy and small to put away until the next use.
All you need for the workshop is the MSFEB07 and your paints.
I hope you'll all come to a workshop and continue learning with me. It's a lot of fun, it's easy and you can earn a little extra money passing it along.
Florida - Rene McDonough gives classes twice a week in the Venice Area. Call her if you are interested in taking classes with her. (941-497-4242)
Florida - Sandy Wadelton is giving classes is the Leesburg Area. Call her if you are interested in taking classes with her. (352-787-4950)
Colorado - Rachel Fry has a good group going in Grand Junction. Give her a call if you are interested in joining them. (970-242-6091)
Alberta, Canada - Beverly Craig - This is a very nice lady, which has been helping people to learn about Cameo for a while. If you are in that area, you can give her a call at 403-224-3565. She will be glad to share her expertise with you and fill any orders that you have. She works with a wide variety of folks and would love to work with more.
Where: At the Ginger's Cameo facility in Manchester, MI
Stay Tuned for more Information
When you're ironing off transfers, make sure that you don't iron off too many ahead. The transfer ink fades with time and you may have trouble seeing the transfer lines. If you do iron off a few ahead you should keep them covered up so the light doesn't get to them. This does not mean that if you iron a transfer on wrong that you can wait for it to fade away then put it back on. It does not fade all the way away, it just fades to the point that you can't see to paint it.
When you are painting a transfer that has two parts that are the same color right next to each other, try putting a line of a darker color between them to bring out the design. On the new T4689-Cave Nativity, Joseph's robes could use a streak of 111 Wine to delineate where one part stops and the other part ends. If you look on the picture around his shoulders you will see what I mean.
Sometimes, like on T4696 or T4486, you have two sections right next to each other that are charted 116-Black. If you leave a little line of unpainted material show between the sections, it will make them show up as different parts of the transfer. The other thing that you can do is to make a line of a lighter color between the two sections.
Most of the time any mistake that you make in this craft can be fixed: You can add shadows to cover up the fact that you got double lines when you ironed a transfer on - or you can add a little flower or leaf to cover up where you went out of the lines or got some paint in the wrong place. I know there are a lot of perfectionists out there - but believe me when I say that you should not throw away something just because you think you made a mistake. You can fix it and it will look fine. It may not look just like what you see in the transfer picture - but you just remember that 'artistic license' means that it is your painting and it will look different than anyone else's. This is a good thing. You don't want your painting to look just like everyone else's, you want to make it your own with your own ideas and personality.
Now get out there and have FUN painting!!!
The only fair entries I got this year were from Jan Smyth. Thanks for sharing Jan.
Jan enters her items in the Fowlerville Fair and the Michigan State Fair.
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Here's another suggestion. This one is from Halleen Fisk. If you are going to be doing a transfer on darker material - try going over the lines with your transfer Marker (C528) before you iron it on. That way the lines are darker and easier to see.
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We would love to show our readers what you've done with Cameo Paints. Send us ginger@gingerscameo.com or webmaster@gingerscameo.com some of your pictures and be sure to tell us about them and yourself.
See some of our past reader submissions in the Gallery
Well, I guess that's all for this month. Keep that those suggestions coming. I need every one of them. See you at a meeting.
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Copyright Gingers Cameo 2003 © |
Page Updated 2-04-2007 |
