Sponsor Spotlight Feature With Crafty Individuals

Hello everyone. Julia here for the first of our sponsor spotlight features. This month, we are generously supported by the fabulous Crafty Individuals Company. Not found this wonderful stamp company yet? Click on the image below to be transported to a crafters treasure trove!

 I absolutely love their stamps and products so it was a difficult choice to select something to use from their range. In the end I chose a new stamp and one that I already had.

The two stamps I decided to use for my spotlight: CI220 and CI342 (I've had this stamp for a while)

Two stamps, some DecoArt SoSoft fabric paints, some white fabric, a zip and some lace were put together to make this travel bag/cosmetics bag.

The first job was to cut out all the pieces I needed for the outer bag, the lining and the interlining which I added to give the bag more shape and strength. The next stage was to stamp the fabrics.

When using fabric paint (or any paint) for stamping, always brush a thin layer onto a craft sheep straight from the container. Don't thin with water.

Lightly tap your stamp several times into the paint and apply to your fabric. You may get variations in the depth of colour but I think this adds to the handmade charm of your project. Always remember to follow the instructions on the product you are using on your fabric.

This image shows clearly how the stamp will pick up the paint from a non-stick craft sheet. Any thinner and it will be insufficient to produce a good image of your stamp. Any thicker and it will clog your stamp. DON'T allow the paint to dry on your stamp! I clean mine regularly with a baby wipe when stamping large areas of substrate. This prevents paint build up.

For extra detail on the design the paint was added with a very fine brush.

To make the stripes, areas of fabric were masked with tape (masking tape) and the fabric paint was applied carefully with small pieces of cut n dry foam. Pick up the paint on the foam and then tap it off onto your craft sheet before applying to your fabric. This ensures you don't build up the paint too quickly - less is best until you have achieved the desired look! I remove the tape straight away and just run the heat tool over the painted areas for a short time to prevent the paint bleeding.

All the pieces for the outside of the bag are cut and stamped. The cream coloured fabric is curtain interlining called domette - it adds wonderful body to projects like this bag which will tend to crumple without it.

Layers tacked together ready for construction. 

The lining fabric cut and stamped ready for construction.

The stripes have been machine embroidered with an interlinked leaf design and green thread on both colours.

The outer bag and interlining pieces stitched into the bag shape.

Part the way through, I decided the bag needed some embellishment so I added some lace trim to the front and back. I'd usually do this before joining the pieces together!

A zip has been inserted in the opening on the outer bag. On the right, the lining has been pieced together ready to add to the main bag.

The lining is put into the outer bag and is hand stitched into the machining used to apply the zip.

I have great trouble stopping adding details! The little yellow 'blobs' took ages but it was such a satisfying task! Look how clear the stamp image is - including the little birds and the butterflies. Crafty Individuals stamps are made from deep red rubber which really does give a beautiful, crisp image.

Originally, I was going to paint this stamped image on TAP paper but to be honest, it's so gorgeous I don't think it needs anything but some DecoArt SoSoft Fabric Paint.

Image to show lace detail.

Lining in place on the inside of the bag. The image was stamped but not embellished further with yellow SoSoft paint.

Image to show zip detail and that wonderful crisp stamping with one of the CI 342 set and DecoArt SoSoft Fabric Paint.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how I used those wonderful Crafty Individuals stamps to create my travel/cosmetic bag. If you made it this far, thank you so much for sticking with me!!

If you want to be in with a chance of winning our generous prize from Crafty Individuals then why not check out the latest Our Creative Corner challenge here and get crafting! Don't forget that more sponsor spotlights will be shown this month by some of my very talented teamies so do pop back soon.