Playing with Paintstiks and Rubbing Plates

Take the rubbing plate of your choice - here I've used one of the Triangles plates- and tape it down with blue painter's tape so it doesn't shift around. Some people then spray it with quilt basting spray, but it's too hot to spray outside and I don't want to spray that stuff inside. So I taped the fabric with the tape too. Then I peeled away the paintstik film on the side of the stick - to make a larger surface area for making a rubbing. These are from a mini set. I used mauve, celadon green, Wedgwood blue, iridescent light gold and iridescent orange.

I painted some silk crepe that someone had given me, saying that maybe I could use it to line a purse, but when I looked at it earlier this week, I realized that the silk pieces wanted to be painted scarves.
If I had a nickel for every time someone said to me, "You're so creative! I'm just not artistic." I'd be as rich as Bill Gates. Making rubbings is as easy as finger painting and requires no special skills. It is also very fun and my silk looks awesome. I'm letting it dry now. The drying takes about 24 hours. Then I'll iron it between sheets of silicone release paper, sew it and show it off to you. These scarves will make wonderful gifts...if I can bear to part with them.

Working With Paintstiks

First, get your mise en place ready, as they say in chef school.
Clear off a workspace, and protect it with newspaper, a plastic tablecloth or silicone release paper. Wear old clothes or an apron, so you don't get paint on your clothes. (Just like kindergarten)
My basic toolkit:
Blue painters tape, to hold stencils, fabric and rubbing plates in place.
Invisigrip, to keep rubbing plates from sliding on the table
A paper plate or Palette Paper, to mix colors on
A dedicated vegetable peeler, to be used only with the paintstiks, to remove the protective film. (See the little paint peelings in the picture? Paintstiks have a protective film that keeps them from drying out. You remove this before painting with a rough paper towel, vegetable peeler or little paring knife. It's easy to remove and comes right off. Be careful not to get paint all over your hands. Maybe I am just really messy, but I always do, and end up with paint on my nose. It does wash right off...but still. Kids require supervision with this.)
Scrap fabric, to practice on. I do a lot of practice samples before I use the "good fabric". Kind of like making a muslin - same idea. The more you practice, the better you get.
Assorted paintstiks
stencil brushes
Purchased or home-made stencils
And most importantly - time to practice, play and try out new ideas.
That's what I'm doing today - trying out different colors and fabrics and just seeing what develops.