From textile to print

I've been busy printing, scoring, cutting, and packaging sets of holiday cards so I can post them in my shop and have them to sell at a couple of upcoming local craft fairs.

The images on the cards began as fabric appliqués.  I was originally inspired by Syko's lovely postcards.  I love the way she uses stitches almost as if she is drawing on the fabric.  I also love the bright colors and whimsy in her work -- check out her stuff if you're not already familiar with it!  Anyway, I just couldn't stop thinking about this idea of turning one medium into another. And maybe I was also intrigued by the idea of using a medium I'm pretty comfortable with (fabric and thread) to create something else I love, but am less skilled with (ink on paper).  So, I rolled these ideas around in my head, and at about this time last year, I designed the Christmas tree appliqué below.  Here is the process of how it went from sewing machine to printer.

The image on the left is a photograph I took of the original appliqué.  For some reason I used a beige-y speckled muslin for the background.  Please don't ask me why, since my intention all along was for the background to essentially disappear.  Fortunately, I am armed with a version of Photoshop which, although rather old (actually, ancient!), still takes care of the basics.

So, I photographed the textile, taking care to get as little glare on the shiny buttons as possible (something else that was fixable in Photoshop).  Then I imported the image and began playing with brightness and contrast until I was happy.  The image on the right (above) is what I ended up with.  I was having so much fun, I then started playing around with hue and came up with four more funky versions of the tree.

Last winter, I printed these on pre-scored card-making printer paper from Avery and called it a day.  But I wasn't quite satisfied.  This year, I've experimented with several different paper types, weights, and textures. I finally settled on Paper Canvas from Red River Paper.  I has a lovely textured surface, a nice weight, and it takes color beautifully.  I bought myself a bone folder and a mini paper cutter... and away I go!

I'll be selling them in sets of 10 (some with only the original tree, and some with the original plus assorted funky colored trees).  Oh, and I've added a new card design this year.  It has similar bright colors of fabric, but is made of many circles... that form a circle...  Can you guess what it is?