Fortunately and Unfortunately

Unfortunately, a friend in my FANE group lost her adult daughter unexpectedly last week. I met her last June at the opening of our group show at the library and she seemed like such a terrific person - great sense of humor (like her mother), active, intelligent. She was a Special Education teacher, I think. What a loss! Fortunately I thought of making a card for my friend, above. I was trying to convey a feeling of peace and hope at this difficult time. I hope it will offer her a little comfort. Unfortunately, yesterday I also found out that an acquaintance lost her mother right before Christmas (she lost her father 11 years ago and her only sister 4 years ago.). Fortunately, both my parents and both my husband's parents are alive and well and I am counting my blessings!
Unfortunately, I have not been very successful redoing my December snow poem illustration from my sketchbook! I never like redoing something, and I knew I could never really reproduce that piece exactly, but I thought I might come close and at least make something that conveys the same childlike energy, spontaneity, and fun that the other one had. Above is my first attempt. I felt I added too much blue in the snow, and then tried to use various white fabric pens and acrylic paint to make it whiter again. I decided to abandon it at this point and start all over again. Below is my next attempt. The snow stayed whiter, but I don't like where the background resist snowflakes fall in relation to the stitched ones. They look too crowded and clumped together. So I'm scratching this one too!

Fortunately, I made another resist painting over the weekend, but have not painted it yet. I've been experimenting with inks and acrylic paints on fabric, even mixing the two, to see how they compare. I definitely prefer the sheer and transparent qualities of the ink as opposed to the acrylic paint, but I think I need to experiment a little more to get more experience with them both. I recently read an article by Mickey Lawler of Skydyes and she uses Pebeo Setacolor transparent acrylic paints. Unfortunately, I couldn't find those at the garden-variety neighborhood craft store.Fortunately, I found them priced at 30% off at an online store and they shipped so quickly, I've already got them! Unfortunately, they didn't have all the colors I wanted in stock, but I'm sure I can make do. Fortunately, they also carried this alternate resist product called Batik-EZ. The glue-gel method is cheap and convenient, but a little thick and gloppy to work with and I can't get as much detail as I'd like. This product says it can be used with stamps, so rather than trying to draw on the resist snowflakes with the fat glue spout, I can try stamping them on. It's worth a shot! (Fortunately again, I just received a check for $35 from the Putnam Arts Council for the items that sold at their Christmas craft sale - that just about covered the cost of the paint!).

Unfortunately, it's snowing again and my husband is out of town, which means I'll have to shovel, but fortunately, I'll have these cool new toys to play with, if we happen to get another snow day!