Easy Painting Projects Fit For Royalty: A Royal Tee, Crowned Pillow, and Game Tote with a Crown on One Side That Flips to Checkers-2-Go

I designed patterns for years and years for the arts and crafts industry. I tried hard to create versatile patterns, patterns I loved myself. The best part about creating the patterns was hearing from customers how much they enjoyed them; whether for gifts or for creating things they could sell at craft fairs, or just for their own home and personal use.

I've been working on some patterns to offer on my Many Shades of Shabby Catablog. I'm working on several at a time, and hope to fill it up soon.

I just added this first one that I had so much fun creating. It's for fabric painting, but of course, it's easy to see that the design might go on many surfaces.

This pattern begins with a glitzy crown loaded with sparkling gems. It's really simple to use the pattern - on most medium or light weight fabrics, all you have to do is slip it beneath the pattern and trace it before you paint it. Above, I'm marking off the squares for the pillow cover and you can see the design beneath the satin fabric.

I made the pillow out of scraps of an old vintage wedding gown I purchased at a thrift store. It really turned out elegant and I love it. But the pillow is just as elegant made of plain old muslin.

What I really find a delight to do was the Game Tote.

I thought the game tote would make a great place to store all those little things it takes to play a game. I couldn't help but think what a sweet gift this could make as a set for a little princess-who could sleep in the tee, pack overnight things in the tote, and she and her friends could play checkers right on the bag. How much fun would that be?

These look lovely in different colors. Now why does pink and silver glitter come to mind?
The crown is shown on a tee and a hooded sweat here, but wouldn't it be sweet on a night tee, the long ones?

MOTIF TRENDS 2008: Watch for More Crowns, Fleur de Lis, Crosses, Keys

Watching decorative trends evolve in home furnishings and accessories often makes me think of the riddle, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?". Do markets drive consumers taste or do consumers drive the markets? Usually, a mix of both, I think. However, the motif direction for 2008, is in my opinion, clearly driven by consumer taste for vintage motifs.

The dominant motifs will be crowns, fleur de lis, crosses, and keys. If new introductions in the recent Dallas market are an indicator, we will see the motifs used in everything from candleholders, lighting, and wall art to small table top accessories. How very interesting...

Those very motifs began to find a place in the hearts of shabby chic vintage collections as least eighteen months ago. This clearly appears to be a trend generated first by consumer enthusiasm and the market is now playing catch-up.

Watch for the reproductions in intricate ironwork and scrolled metals, carved in wood, and rendered in molds.

Will these motifs replace roses as a motif? Nooo, floral motifs are in a category all their own. Personally, I think I'll continue to have mine - well aged and vintage.

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