Trying to stay ahead of the Curve

Has this ever happened to you.  Last Summer, I put together a couple of tutorials for inspired ideas and one of them included this scrappy flower covered lantern.  I quickly threw it together to make a tight timeline and I was really happy with the results.  

Fast forward a few weeks later and, while the girls and I were getting some camp shopping done at the mall, we passed a pottery barn kids and I stopped in my tracks.  There they were.  Paper lanterns covered in fabric flowers.  Very similar to my project and I said to the girls - everyone is going to think that I did a how-to version of those lanterns - yet I had never seen them before (or ... at least I didn't think that I had)

This spring I did a how-to stamped beach bag for the blog.  I was inspired by a fabric that I had come across from spoonflower.

Fast forward last week when I took the time to look at a PBTeen email that I had received about summer accessories.  Look what I found.  Wow - kind of similar huh?  

I have a friend that works on television and magazine projects and she told me she has to actually remove herself from the blogosphere and pinterest pages from time to time, in order to ensure she doesn't accidentally hijack an existing project.

I can say with complete honesty that I did not see these products when I worked on those projects.

It does make me think that sometimes we can be so influenced by trends or ideas without ever realizing it.  Have you ever thought of a color combination and then seen it in a magazine and thought to yourself, hey I thought of that first?  Chances are we didn't realize that we have been subtly influenced by that color in all the images we see in catalogues, magazines and pinterest.

I'm curious.  Am I the only one that has felt like this?  Do you ever think you have an original idea only to see it somewhere else.  How do you overcome the risk of an unintentional "copycat"?

Tutorial - Ikat inspired Stamped Canvas Bag

Believe it or not, I made this bag with a sweet potato and some fabric paint.

I was inspired by a fabric I found on Spoonflower called Beyond the Sea Ikat by threeyellowplums.   In fact, the whole Beyond the Sea collection is swoon worthy.

I used a canvas bag from our local art's store for $5.  Inspired by my ikat print, I knew I had to create a grid, to make sure the stamps lined up correctly.  Top right - I used a 2 inch wide ruler and made grid lines (every 2 inches) with fabric chalk along the diagonal of the bag from corner to corner.  Then, repeated the lines in the the other direction.  Bottom left - these grid lines created intersecting points.  Bottom right - I sketched out an image for my stamp and made paper templates from construction paper to test it out.

Please note - I used white fabric chalk to create my grid lines.  I think I would recommend disappearing fabric ink.  Firstly, it would have illustrated my lines more clearly for demonstration purposes but also the paint stamped on top could possibly paint in your chalk lines.

 Each paper image was placed on the intersection of grid lines.  As I added the paper templates, I could see that my pattern was going to work and create a pattern of light and dark. 

I gave the sweet potato a flat, smooth cut through the centre and used my paper template to trace a shape for carving - kindergarten-style.  I could have used something else to stamp but I wanted the colour to look washed out and imperfect.  What I loved about my inspiration fabric was the handmade quality of it.

1 - I made the first stamp on an intersection of grid lines. I also placed a barrier inside the bag, between the two layers, so the paint couldn't bleed to the other side.
2 - As I continued to stamp I could see the pattern and colour was working. 
3 - I took my little potato stamp and rubbed it along a paper plate of paint, making sure there was never too much paint that could create a blob. 
4 - I put newspaper under the edges when I needed just a partial part of the stamp over the grid line.

It seemed kind of plain on it's own, so I made some tassels with twine that I braided and tied onto the handle.

Here's my bag, ready for the beach, the library or my knitting.

Now bring on the sun!