Fabulous fibres & wonderful women Fashionistas

Oh my heart was soooo happy to meet my 'online' friends when I was in Melbourne over the weekend.

My first Abfab Fashionista Afternoon Tea was a HUGE success, and it made my heart fill with joy to see gorgeous women trying on my fashion designs - all handpainted by me.

I met the charming and most delightful Rosemary of Rosemary's Notebook (with whom I've been corresponding for years - an extra special treat to meet in person!), the gorgeous Meryll who looked faaabulous in the handpainted silk habotai Ruana in hot pink, orange and purple, the beautiful Janine Milson of RealWomen.com.au and the stunning Anca -- all these women looked fabulous and made the day a HUGE success!

Thank you ladies!!!!

Seeing my designs being tried on and discussed was such a treat - as a silk/textile artist working from  home, I sell my handpainted clothing online and rarely get to meet a client.

My plus size designs come in 4 lengths - Mini, Midi and Maxi - and for those extra tall gals - the Tall.

Wondering which lengths are available? The measurements from the shoulder to the hems :

1. 35 inch / 90cm
2. 45 inch / 114cm
3. 55 inch /140cm
4. 60 inch /152cm

 The Kaftan shown above is approximately 43" across / 86" around.

The St Tropez Tunique is 45" across, stitched in from the side-seam, so 35" across/70" around.

More info: 

http://www.abfabdesigns.com/wild-abandon-handpainted-summer-tunics.html

I'd love to hear what you think of these new designs (I'll be posting photos for the rest of the designs this week - stay tuned!)

Cheers
Teena!

Read more...

Fashionista Afternoon Teas with Teena Hughes Handpainted Silk

I am SOOOO excited to let you know that I have scheduled my first :

FASHIONISTA AFTERNOON TEA!

It will be held in Melbourne where I'll be visiting for a few days, and the next one will be in Sydney soon after.

To find out more, pop over to my website and register today >>

The clothing/wearable art is in size 12 to approximately size 30, so every gorgeous Goddess can try on something!

I look foward to meeting you!

Read more...

Come meet me in Miranda in Sydney!

 UPDATE: I wasn't able to attend this event after all, so apologies to all who were interested in meeting me there; I do hope you got my email advising I couldn't attend. On a happier note, I am organising my FASHIONISTA AFTERNOON TEAS in Sydney & Melbourne in 2011 - woohoo! Pop over to the website to read more >>
================

I've just been invited to be part of the Designer Markets in Miranda in 2 weeks!

Woohoo! I have to get cracking - painting and sewing - straight away!

I'm soooo excited - I'll be there :

When: Thursday 16th December, 2010
Time:  10:00am to 9:00pm
Where:  Miranda RSL, 615 Kingsway, Miranda, NSW

Come and try on my fabulous handpainted and hand-dyed clothing, with sizes up to about 28 (and maybe roomier) for all you Gorgeous Goddesses!

As soon as I have some of my new designs painted, I'll show them on my website and let you know here on the blog too.




If you're a Facebook user, you might like to pop over to my NEW Facebook Page - if you click the LIKE button you can post messages too:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/AbfabDesigns-Silk-Painting/167426506623036

If you can come, please do send me a message and let me know - it'll be great to meet you in person!!

Have to dash, that fabric won't paint itself!!!

Ciao for now
Teena!

Read more...

Mooshie loves silk and Paris

Just downloaded some photos and I had to share this one - my cat Mooshie reclining like a royal on her favourite cushion .... a handpainted silk one I made a while back, where I've written the word 'Paris' on the silk:

Click to see the whole photo :-) then click the Back button.

She does look comfy, doesn't she?

Cheers
Teena

Read more...

Crocodiles, smiles & fuzzy lines

Today I was going through my computer looking for some images, and this one of one of my silk scarves appeared ... and it just makes me smile :-)

I used to be a member of an artist group called ARTISTS FOR LIFE, and we focussed on Australian wildlife. We held exhibitions in Sydney which highlighted the plight of many endangered australian animals, and one of my favourites became the ringtail possum.

I love to draw cute animals, and those who know me well know that I draw LOTS of Koalas :-)

This cheery crocodile is handpainted onto white silk habotai, using French dyes and orange gutta. The background has been layed and fused using some of my techniques, and gives it an interesting flavour.

I'm thinking it might be time to paint some more of these scarves - is this something you like?

A good size would be 35" or 40" square; when draped or tied around the neck the actual design isn't obvious, but the patterns and shades can be complementary to your outfit. Some folks might even tie a scarf like this around their hat for a jaunty air :-)

So - let me know - should I resurrect this crocodile design?

Cheers
Teena!

Read more...

New Haori Jacket in Handpainted Silk

Above: I have handpainted sandwashed silk with my Coral Sea colours before turning it into a loose-fitting Haori Jacket.

It feels gorgeous on, and is bright and colourful - now I need to make one of these for ME :-)

More photos, same coat:

Above: the neck and collar

Above:  Oh it feels so faaaabulous on!

You can see more colours on my Haori Silk Jackets page >>

http://www.abfabdesigns.com/haori-jacket-handpainted-silk.html

Hope you're having a gorgeous day wherever you are!

Ciao ciao
Teena

Read more...

Day 3 Royal Easter Show

Wow!!! What a HUGE day I had today!! I'm absolutely exhausted, my back can't believe it's over and we're home safely :D



Above: My wonderful booth, filled with amazing colours, happy faces and lots of laughter :-)



Above: boys love painting on silk too :-)

I've never taught so many people so quickly in my whole life, what an adventure it has been!

Today I drew lots of cute animals on silk for people to paint with the silk dyes, and we all had a blast!

As I packed up at the end of the show, I could hardly believe I'd met so many warm, interesting and funny people in a 3 day period. I took lots of photos and it will take me some time to get them online, but I will post a couple here too.

To see more photos, pop over to :

http://how-to-paint-on-silk.com/royal-easter-show-april-2010.html

Ciao ciao from a very tired but very happy Teena!

Read more...

Day 2 Sydney Royal Easter Show

Just got home from my second day of three, demonstrating silk painting at the Royal Easter Show.

I met an absolutely huge number of adults and kids today who tried their hand at silk painting. We played with cold wax, seaweed outliner, French dyes and painted starfish, moons, fish, cats and shapes of all sizes :D

There were even a couple of 2 and 3 year olds who had a try, with their Mums helping them.

Everyone loved it! It was such a fantastic thing for me to be part of, to share my love of silk and silk painting with so many people ...

If you came by my booth today - THANK YOU for making it such a super duper fantastic day!

The photos I took will be online by the end of the week, over at http://how-to-paint-on-silk.com

One more day to go, which is also the last day of the Show ... until next year :-)

Ciao for now
Teena

Read more...

Maharajah's Purple Elephant

I've uploaded a few more photos and a video from the painting phase of the Maharajah's Garden Elephant painting on silk, which I thought you might like.

 

Handpainted sandwashed silk 

Abfab Designs & Abfab Seaweed Outliner

And here's the video of me sewing the hems on the wallhanging and choosing the baubles to attach to the top:

I bought the hot pink baubles in Paris on my last visit - I'm so pleased they look so good on the purple elephant wallhanging!

If you're in Australia, keep an eye out over the next two years for this Travelling Suitcase Exhibition -very colourful and wildly imaginative! :-)

You can see a larger photo on my website, and hopefully I'll have the rest of the photos online soon :-)

http://how-to-paint-on-silk.com/maharajahs-garden-exhibition.html

Silk Painting in Paris with Teena - 27 June to 4 July, 2010

PS - Would you like to join me in Paris in June? Each year I host a week-long Silk Painting Adventure - and a week-long Plus Size Fashion Adventure - woohoo! This year I'm also going to be teaching half-day and one-day silk painting for those who can't spend the 7 days. I can't wait to get back there mid-June to end-July - it will be great to see my friends and my students!

Maybe you'll join me?

Teena

Read more...

My Maharajah's Garden Elephant

Dropped off my artwork for the Maharajah's Garden Exhibition (by ATASDA - Australian Textile & Surface Design Association) and was pleased to have it all finished - phew!

Here is the wallhanging being ironed before I sew the hems and add the hot pink baubles:

 

I made a little video while I was sewing, and oh my the colours are soooo vibrant and gorgeous!

My friend Michelle told me about the painted elephants and the Jaipur Festival and I'm so glad she did, otherwise my elephant wouldn't have been purple! :-)

Here's the final video before I dropped it off at Nola's in North Epping:

.

Hope you're having a faaabulous weekend!!

I'm planning and doing lots of marketing for my upcoming trip to Paris where I host a week-long Silk Painting Adventure - and a week-long Plus Size Fashion Adventure - woohoo! This year I'm also going to be teach half-day and one-day silk painting for those who can't spend the 7 days. I can't wait to get back there mid-June to end-July - yayyyy!

Maybe you'll join me?

Teena

Read more...

Hunting for haberdashery

Today was a hot summer's day so I popped into one of my local cafés - Vicini - for a latte and to give some thought to what I might like to get up to today :-)

Sipping my hot coffee my mind turned to the idea that's been bouncing around in my head recently - making funny little handpainted silk dolls. Nothing pretty, definitely fantasy-like, some with big pointy teeth perhaps.

This got my creative juices flowing and I started to plot and plan colours and things I'd like to attach to these dolls, like wondering what I'd use for head adornments in place of hair. I decided I'd better head over to Spotlight fabric and haberdashery in Birkenhead Point, Drummoyne ... full of anticipation!

This store is quite close by, and I often peruse the fabric aisles, touching fabrics as I go. I also like to spend time poring over the clothing pattern books, a long-time favourite past-time, and today was no exception.

In the photo above you can see the bibs and bobs I bought, a nice little eclectic group  of goodies. As soon as I have made one or more of these new dolls, I'll post photos online :-)

Hope you're having a gorgeous weekend!
Cheers
Teena!

Read more...

How I handpaint silk cushion designs

Had fun yesterday painting a black and blue design on silk charmeuse - a bit pop art - and I've created a video of the photos I took. Watch this quick video to see how I did it:



I love making these videos and picking some fun funky music to go along with the painting :-)

Hope you enjoyed this!

Cheers
teena

Read more...

AbfabDesigns website updates

I've been painting and sewing and updating my website ... in no particular order.

Being left-brained/right-brained is certainly clever hahaha and I never run out of things to do :D

I've updated the Interior Design section of my website:

The intro page - see image above:
http://abfabdesigns.com/handpainted-silk-interior-design.html

Handpainted Silk Cushion covers
http://abfabdesigns.com/handpainted-silk-cushion-covers.html

New page Handpainted Silk Room Dividers
http://abfabdesigns.com/handpainted-silk-room-dividers.html



New photos on Handpainted Silk Lampshades
http://abfabdesigns.com/handpainted-silk-lampshades.html



I'm so pleased I've finally done this - phew!

Have a gorgeous Sunday everyone!

Teena

Read more...

Handpainted silk cushion covers

A lovely warmish wintery day here in Sydney, and I've been having fun by painting new silk for charmeuse cushion covers.

In the photo above, the silk is 55x110cm (22x44"), and I'm half-way through painting with silk dyes. No gutta, nothing apart from the two colours.

I love hot pink and lime green, it reminds me of watermelon and summer days, the smell of fresh cut grass and jasmine vines.

While I'm painting on silk I just love listening to French music and letting the colours flow, making new shades as two intense colours blend and merge with each other ...

In the photo above, you can see more detail of the finished silk charmeuse.

Above: Step 1 - I draw a design on the silk charmeuse with my home-made black gutta-like substance made from Sodium Alginate (seaweed) and black silk dye.

Above: Step 2 : I have painted the silk half way and am now starting on the second half, laying down layers of colours.

Above: Step 3 - the finished handpainted silk, with lots of layers of colours, looking yummy and vibrant. When the colours are set, the silk will become rich and shiny with the various hues.

These cushion covers will be available to purchase on my website tomorrow:

http://abfabdesigns.com/handpainted-silk-cushion-covers.html

I hope you enjoy the bursts of colour as much as I do!

Teena :-)




Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure and a Plus Size Fashion Adventure in Paris, France!
http://www.abfabdesigns.com/adventures.html

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View TEENA'S SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown at right ==>

Read more...

Sketching new handpainted silk clothes ideas

[Click to zoom photo]

Sitting in Piccolo Padre Café this morning, and had my watercolour pencils and notebook with me, so I sketched a couple of colour combo ideas ...

I'm desperate for some new clothes, and it's time to make some, so I doodle for a bit and decided what I really want is something bright - obviously :-), something to slip on which could be smart casual or dressy, depending on what I wear with it. Something really comfortable and which drapes well, and looks faaabulous!

Of course what I've ended up sketching is my TeenaTop design, which I always come back to as it's so simple in its shape, yet has unlimited potential for all kinds of colour combinations, as well as all kinds of types of silk to choose from.

You may remember I've been painting on white sandwashed silk most recently, so I'll use that. It feels so cool and delicious - I love it!

So that's my personal project for this week - a gorgeous new TeenaTop or two :D - and I may just go for the purple and orange which I've sketched above.

PS - if you're wondering about the watercolour pencils, I bought them in an art shop - I colour in my design, then with a slightly damp paintbrush I wash over the colours, they merge and smudge a bit, just like real handpainted silk. You can see my little water container in the photo, top left.

Can't wait to get started!
Ciao for now,
Teena


Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure and a Plus Size Fashion Adventure in Paris, France!
http://www.abfabdesigns.com/adventures.html

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View TEENA'S SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown at right ==>

Read more...

Life after Fashion Exposed

The last few days have been a bit of a blur after the Fashion Exposed! finished in Sydney.

I knew I had a sore back standing on cement floors at the Expo, but by the time the show finished I was in a lot of pain and had to rest for several days after having my back manipulated. It was such a passive time, after the crazy couple of weeks leading up to the fashion show.

Gave me lots of daydreaming time :-) And lots of time to enjoy the antics of my cat Ms Mooshie. Here she is resting on the sofa - she has such a sweet nature and is a great friend to have at home while I work ... or rest.


Another day I noticed Mooshie testing out the softness of silk I was about to wash :-) and she does look mighty comfortable:

Isn't it marvellouos that cats know how to relax instantly? I want me some o'that :-)

Teena



Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure and a Plus Size Fashion Adventure in Paris, France!
http://www.abfabdesigns.com/adventures.html

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View TEENA'S SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown at right ==>

Read more...

Fashion Exposed 10th March 2009

Day 3 of Fashion Exposed! in Sydney

What a wonderful journey and adventure, being part of this huge expo in Sydney. Over 550 participants from all over the world, visited by buyers and visitors from all over the world. A marvellous time was had by all! Here's a quick video I took :



ooooooooooo

Here is one of the silk charmeuse tops I've painted:


In the photo below you can see some of my handpainted silk charmeuse cushion covers, and new sandwashed silk painted with my new patterns:


It was such a buzz to see all my silk in an expo like this for 3 days, and the contacts I made are invaluable.

Now I just need a couple of days to recuperate!

Cheers
Teena


Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure and a Plus Size Fashion Adventure in Paris, France!
http://www.abfabdesigns.com/adventures.html

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View TEENA'S SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown at right ==>

Read more...

Fashion Expo 9th March 2009

Day Two @ the Fashion Expo!

What a great adventure it is to talk to and discuss textiles with so many lovely people!

I've been meeting people from all over the world and loving the vibe of being at an international fashion expo.

So many gorgeous clothes, shoes, lingerie, leather bags, jewellery ... and much of it designed by local fashion designers - I'm loving it!

If you're in Sydney, you've got one more day - it's on from 9am to 4pm - the public is welcome, simply sign up online to register, and collect your free ticket at the entrance.

http://www.fashionexposed.com

Just click the button for "Register to Visit"

I''m at Darling Harbour Hall 3, at the back - just look for the BRIGHT COLOURS :-)

Ciao for now,

Teena!




Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure and a Plus Size Fashion Adventure in Paris, France!
http://www.abfabdesigns.com/adventures.html

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View TEENA'S SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown at right ==>

Read more...

AbfabDesigns Postcards arrived!

I am soooo excited! My new AbfabDesign postcards have arrived, ready to hand out to Fashion Exposed fashionistas!

Woohoo!

I'm very happy with them :-)

Only 4 more sleeps ...

Teena

Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure and a Plus Size Fashion Adventure in Paris, France!
http://www.abfabdesigns.com/adventures.html

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View TEENA'S SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown at right ==>

Read more...

Photo of new handpainted silk

Here is a set, washed and ironed piece of silk I painted yesterday 84x94cm - it will become the front of a silk top over the next few days, and I'm loving the design which came from my subconscience to the paintbrush! Yum!

Silk : sandwashed white silk
Dyes : Procion

Can't wait to wear it!

Teena

Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure and a Plus Size Fashion Adventure in Paris, France!
http://www.abfabdesigns.com/adventures.html

Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View TEENA'S SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown at right ==>

Read more...