DECEMBER 2008 NEWSLETTER : ABFAB SILK NEWS

Hi there everyone!

My head is full of Yuletide songs - "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire," - "Oh Christmas Tree" - "Good King Wenceslas" .. and the list goes on :-)

Madly trying to finish handpainted and handmade gifts, still writing Christmas cards, making lists of friends to call who live overseas. And amongst all this I decided to buy some Ikea furniture which needs to be assembled - yikes! Am I mad?? Haha, probably.

As an added surprise for Christmas, I put my car in for a service this week and found out the entire suspension needed to be done, plus I needed new tyres - yes, that WAS an unexpected surprise! Luckily I have learnt to look at the bright side - now my car is safe and secure, and I can happily drive around all over the Yuletide season without worrying.

SILK SCARF WINNER!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Charles Curty of Switzerland! You've won a 21x21 inch / 54x54cm handpainted silk chiffon scarf by signing up for my newsletter - please email me with your mailing/street address.

As a winner, you're requested to send me a photo of you (or someone you know) wearing the scarf, to add to my next newsletter. Enjoy!

PS - The handpainted silk scarf shown here is in turquoise, lime green and white in delicious floaty chiffon.

For previous winners, click here to view the list >>

Pssst! Click here to view the current silk scarves >>

Silk Painting Classes & Workshops in Sydney

If you're in Sydney, I have some GREAT NEWS! This week I've found a great new location in Annandale, NSW, where I can teach a range of Silk Painting Classes and Workshops all year round - woohoo!  The classes are for all levels of students, for example:

• Handpainted Silk Cards
• Handpainted Silk Chiffon Scarves
• plus workshops on many silk painting & dye tips and techniques.

FIRST CLASS IS SATURDAY
31ST JANUARY 2009

Please contact me ASAP if you're interested in beginners or intermediate silk painting!

To view the Calendar, please visit the Silk painting classes >>

How To Wash Silk

You can now read simple instructions on how to wash your silk, by visiting the How To Wash Silk page.

New silk bookmarks now online!

I've created a new series of handpainted silk bookmarks, laminated them, and they're perfect for gifts all year round as they fitr perfectly in a DL sized envelope

There are lots of other designs - pop over to the bookmarks page to have a look >>

A Silk Adventure - a book by Teena Hughes

I did it!  I finally started working on my "coffee table book" - a book which will be filled with my designs and can sit on a coffee table as something interesting to browse through over a cup of tea or coffee.  The hard cover book will be 7.5x7.5 inches square (19x19cm), and here's a brief glimpse of what all the pages look like when viewed together:

Of course when the book is printed, it will have ONE photo per page :-) with a brief desciption of the type of silk and the techniques used.  I can't wait to finish it!  I'll keep you posted.

A Video : Teena's New Black Gutta

I've been experimenting with making a black gutta, and so I took photos as I was trying different ways.  I've put these photos into a little video - you may need to turn down the volume :-)

Click the image above to view, or click this link to view in a new window.

New Silk Designs

I've been using the new black outliner I made to create some new silk designs - here is one I've finished:

I have added this new design to the top of a wooden gift box / trinket box, which you can see in my online store. Over the next week or so, I'll also add it to gift cards and other cool products in my store - if you have any questions about any particular product, please let me know.

French Cafe/Restaurant in Sydney

For those of you who live in or visit Sydney, I've started visiting French cafes and restaurants and writing reviews about my experience.

"What's this got to do with silk?" I hear you say - well, if there are any people in Sydney who'd like to meet for coffee to talk about silk / Paris etc, let's do it in a French cafe restaurant - let me know if you're interested!

The first place I recently visited is a fabulous cafe restaurant called BITTON GOURMET - you can read about my adventure on my Paris website:

http://www.a-night-in-paris.com/french-restaurants-and-cafes-in-sydney-bitton-gourmet.html

SILK ADVENTURE IN PARIS

The countdown is on to the next silk painting adventure in Paris, where I get to show you the Paris I love and you get to learn how to paint on silk in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  As you may already know, I love Paris and have lived there several times in the past twenty years - I go back regularly to visit friends and spend time in the city I love.

One of my other loves is building websites (that's right - left brain / right brain ... and who thought I was unbalanced? :-)

So it was only natural that I would create a website about my love of Paris, where I can add photos and tell stories of all the great places I find, food I've tried, things to do all year round. If you've got time, and feel like stepping into 'my' Paris, pop over and have a look :

Silk painting in Paris >>

SHOPPING FOR SILK IN PARIS

When I was in Paris in June, I visited the Montmartre area where all the gorgeoous fashion stores are, so naturally I went into one of the most famous ones - MOLINE.  The thing I love about Moline is that they have several stores, next to and across from each other, each having their own specialty.

When I popped into the one which houses all the gorgeous silks, I was in awe of the beauty of the farics.  At the entrance of the silk room, I spotted these two manequins, each clothed in what appeared to be stunning fachions, but on closer inspection, it was fabric simply pinned on, with cut outs done by hand - not finished off - which gave a wonderful sense of the dramatic. Oh to be able to cut up silk like this just for the manequins!

If you look closely at the photo above, you can see all the cutouts on the red silk near the neck.

PLUS SIZE FASHION IN PARIS

Announcing my new adventure in Paris!

Come with me as I show you all the fabulous plus size stores in Paris.

Spend a week with like-minded adventurous gorgeous Goddesses - sign up today to get all the news!

Read all about the fun we'll have and sign up for the mailing list to be kept up-to-date with all the news!

BLOGALICIOUS

If you haven't visited my blog yet, now might be a good time - my ramblings about silk, fashion, travel and whatever else takes my fancy.

Latest blog post:
http://Abfab-Art-Studio.blogspot.com

********************
NEW WEARABLE
ART CLOTHING
DESIGNS
********************

I'm sketching lots of clothing ideas all the time now, and it's lovely to be in such a creative frame of mind. Once I've settled on new shapes for the clothing, I make a sample to test the fit etc, then contact my seamstress to see if she's available. I then handpaint the fabric and have some items made up, which I then have photographed for the website to show to you. Yes, it is a long process, but one which is so rewarding - so stay tuned!

Read more and see previous sketches on the blog:
New silk clothing sketches

That's it for this issue of the Abfab Silk Newsletter,and I would like to take this opportunity to send you all my very best wishes for the Yuletide and Holiday season.

May you and your family and friends have a fabulous New Year filled with love, laughter, adventure and success!

From my studio to your inbox,

Ciao for now,
Teena!

PS - just in case you didn't know, you can now post Comments on the Silk News pages of the websits, so wherever you see the Comments link appearing at the bottom of web pages, post away! I look forward to hearing from you!

PPS - If you haven't subscribed to the Abfab Silk Newsletter, click here to get started - you will be in the draw each month to win a fabulous handpainted silk scarf by me - Teena Hughes!

Feel free to post a comment!

I love to get feedback, ideas, questions!

Please click the link below to type your feedback >>

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