Handmade Charlotte's New Cross Stitch Kits and Folk Art Stencil Lines

Rachel Faucett, of the Handmade Charlotte Blog, was on hand to give us a peek at her new "Bohemian Bazaar Stencil" line in the Plaid booth at the CHA Mega Show. These are really neat stencils that are globally inspired designs which you can see by looking at these Moorish and Tangier Patterns.

She used the Suzani Splendor patterned stencil to paint the surfaces of these plates.

The same stencils used on a flat wooden surface. These are really nice light weight stencils which make them flexible and perfect for using with both flat and curved surfaces.

Rachel was demonstrating how to use her stencils by doing a scarf "Make & Take" using the stencils and Folk Art Multi Surface paints.

The Bohemian Bazaar Stencils were so easy to use and the results were great.

If you look closely at the project in this picture, you can see that she used her Ikat patterned stencil to paint this project.

Rachel Faucett also has a new line of wooden cross stitch projects that are so cute and portable.

Each kit comes with a pre-cut wood shape, floss, needle and instructions.

The Handmade Charlotte Wooden Base Cross Stitch Projects are available and several different shapes making it a fun beginning cross stitch project.

Another advantage to these wooden cross stitch projects is that they can be displayed or used in a variety of ways.

For more inspiration, I recommend visiting the Plaid blog to see the various projects that Rachel Faucett has posted there.

A Look At The 3Doodler Printing Pen.

One of the new products on display at the recent CHA Mega show that caught my eye was the 3Doodler.

3Doodler 3D Printing Pen

The 3Doodler is a 3D printer in a pen that can be used on a surface or building up free hand to create some fun pieces.  The 3Doodler started off as a Kickstarter Project and is created by Wobble Works LLC.  Wobble Works is a toy and robotics company that creates some pretty imaginative products, judging from the 3Doodler.  Now with Darice distributing the 3Doodler, it should be easier to purchase one.

Of course you will not get the same type of results with the 3Doodler that you would with a traditional 3D printer like in the picture below. As you can see a  regular 3D Printer takes up a lot of physical space,  plus you have to be able to work well with the software.

Airwolf 3D Printer

That is not an issue with the 3Doodler. While you won't get the same results, you will be able to use your own creativity to create some pretty fun stuff.   The 3Doodler looks like a regular pen

 and seems to work more like a traditional glue gun.

It is pretty easy to use.  You plug the 3Doodler in and wait for it to heat up.  Don't forget to push the button to indicate what type of plastic you are going to use to get the correct temperature.  Then wait for the appropriate light to come on.  Once the indicator light is lit, you feed the plastic into the hole on the back of the 3Doodler (just like you would on a glue gun).

Two different types of plastic rods.

Then you can begin to draw all types of fun shapes and make some cool projects like the sailboat below.

You can see in this picture that the artist has created this really cool 3D Ferris wheel with the various plastic sticks.

The 3Doodler is not being advertised as a child's toy.  Like a glue gun, the tip of the 3Doodler can get very hot so it is recommended for use with adult supervision and by adults.  It is also perfect for use in Maker Spaces.  Since the 3Doodler uses 3mm ABS or PLA plastics, a foot of this plastic does seem to go a long way.  The designers are so committed to providing the end user with a quality product that they held off releasing this product for a year in order to find the best components and factory to produce the 3Doodler.  This is a fabulous new product that is geared to give the end user a quality product to create some and unique art pieces and allow their creativity to jump from a drawing into a 3D piece.

CHA Mega Show 2014: Tulip Hair Chalks by iLoveToCreate

This year the "I Love To Create" booth had a great display of their Tulip Brand body art products which included some fun hair chalks.  The Tulip Hair Chalk is really easy to apply and washes right off.  It can be used to create streaks or just to color the tips of your hair. Celery Jones (C.C.) was on hand to demonstrate both the hair chalks and the body art products.

She showed me how the hair chalks are perfect to use to accent your hair for cosplay, costuming and other special events.

The new applicator design makes it really easy to use the product on many different types of hair.

CC demonstrated for me how she justs puts the hair through the container

and presses down while sliding it down her dry hair.

The colors are vibrant enough to show up on a variety of hair colors, including blonde hair, red hair and black hair.  How bright the color appears, depends on how you apply it and your hair color.  They also work well on different types of hair (from curly to straight).  I found the color stays put better if I sprayed my hair after I chalked it with these cool chalks.

Pattie Wilkinson and Kathy Cano-Murillo.

The Tulip Hair Chalks come in pink, red, blue, and purple.  They can be used on dry or wet hair, however, if you have blonde or red hair then using the chalks wet could stain your hair and not wash

Pattie Wilkinson sporting the pink chalk.

out easily.  It is pretty easy to create a tie dye look on your hair just by applying it in various colors all over your hair.

Kathy Cano-Murrillo sporting the bright red color.

One of the things that I like about the Tulip Hair Chalks is that they are non-toxic and safe for the hair. They are easier to use than artist chalks.  With artist chalk, you must wet the hair and run the chalk down the front and back of the hair strand, then you should heat set it so it lasts longer.  It can get messy.  I found that these hair chalks are easier to use with less mess.  And since I am a parent,  I like knowing what the ingredients are in any product I let me kids use.

By the way, CC also handpainted the cool mannequin below with products from the Tulip Body Art Line.

Handpainted Mannequin by Artist Celery Jones