"Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur" by Lesley Riley is an all-encompassing how-to guide to working with this revolutionary product. That’s the tag-line on the book cover -- “Revolutionize Your Craft Experience,” and I certainly see how this could be so, through the addition of Lutradur to your arsenal.
Lesley has organized the book into two sections: one containing “27 Things To Do with Lutradur” and the second devoted to 14 projects using Lutradur, all with detailed step-by-step instructions and materials listed.
“A versatile cross between fabric and paper,” Lutradur can be colored, stitched, fused, glued, printed or transferred upon. And that’s just the beginning. It comes in 8 1/2” x 11” sheets; regular (70 gram) and heavyweight (100 gram.)
In working with Lutradur, I added color with acrylic paints, oil pastels and water-soluble crayons. I stamped upon it with Staz-On inks and did rubbings over raised elements, using oil pastels, to add texture to the Lutradur. I think I was most impressed by the printing of images onto the Lutradur via my ink-jet printer. I experimented with printing on treated and untreated Lutradur and definitely like the crispness of the images on the treated Lutradur better. (It can be treated with matte medium, gesso or as I did, spray matte sealant.) I also printed onto painted (and then sealed) Lutradur and really liked the effect.
I certainly only scratched the surface of the possibilities Lutradur offers and the techniques which Lesley Riley guides the reader through in her book.
Although the non-fray quality of Lutradur is what attracts so many artists and quilters, I actually would have liked a torn edge on some of my Lutradur pieces. However, one can manipulate the Lutradur with heat to achieve a less than sharp edge or lacy quality.
Lesley Riley has succeeded in writing a thorough resource for newcomers to this “revolutionary” product. Readers can take their experimentation with Lutradur as far as they like; using as few or as many materials and techniques as suits them. There are enough techniques and sample projects to keep multiple levels of artists interested.
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“Ready To Go” Blank Canvas Book
For the artist who likes to add a little stitching to their altered books, the canvas book is a wonderful product. This “ready to go” book measures 8 1/2” x 11” and has six pocketed pages (which can be cut to make a 12 page book.) The unprimed 100% cotton canvas is ready for all you can dish out -- painting, stamping, embellishing, journaling and more. The zig-zagged edges prevent fraying and there is a spine that can accommodate a dowel should that be desired.
Before starting to alter my canvas book I cut it in half to make two 6 1/2” x 8 1/2” books. I also cut open the pockets to give myself 12 pages (including front and back covers) to decorate. Because I cut the book down in size, I went around the cut edges with a zig-zag stitch.
I used a variety of mediums to color the pages: acrylic paints, oil pastels and water soluble crayons. I collaged papers and Lutradur onto pages with gel medium, stitched, stamped and sewed on buttons.
Canvas books hold a host of possibilities. I can envision creating books to commemorate special occasions such as weddings or babies’ births. They would also be a great venue for art journaling or could be used for children’s art projects.
Product Images © C&T Publishing
Artwork © Nancy Lefko
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