Tulip Opaque Fabric Markers

So...sometimes I start trying to do one thing (that often turns out far from what I anticipated), yet end up with a secondary finding! 

I am in the process of designing a line of snowflakes that can be integrated into small projects.  I have at least a dozen line drawings done and this week I started working on mockups.  (A drawing isn't any good until something can actually be DONE with it...)

The first step was to print one of the simple items onto fabric. Let the designing begin!

My studio often looks like a creativity bomb went off when a new line of patterns is coming to life, but underneath all the clutter is a fairly organized system of storing my various art supplies.  In one of the bins I found some old fashioned "felt" left over from making a few quiet book pages for my grandchildren.  One blue sheet and another white sheet came out (and at least half a dozen other colors are still abandoned on my cutting table).  Next came a piece of left over cotton batting. 

I actually remembered to take photos while I was making what was supposed to become a simple ornament, but alas the project didn't look anything like it did in my mind.  Actually, that happens quite often.  The more I messed with it, the less I liked it. So...

I decided to try the Tulip Opaque Fabric Markers I had yet to use.  Given the opportunity to choose a more translucent color I nearly always do so, but for some reason I tried out the opaque pen, part of a set purchased a week ago.  Since the project wasn't coming out anything like what had been in my mind, it seemed like time to play.

Initially, even this seemed like a failure.  The outline of the star still didn't look like what was in my mind so it was completed and left to dry.  Actually, I abandoned the project.  Luckily I didn't throw it away...

Several hours later the project was revisited.  It still looked nothing like what the designer-in-my-mind envisioned but for some reason I picked up the star and noticed how stiff it seemed.  Next I absently picked at the edges and points.

The points of the star didn't fray.

And the possibilities began to run through my mind.  A marker that seems to seal the edges of fabric...can you hear my mind turning?

One lesson learned from years in the screenprint and embroidery business is to test something new by...um...torturing it before I get too excited.  In short, as a designer I need to figure out what a product will and won't do before moving along further.   It passed the "wadding it up" test with fabric edges intact, so I ran it under tap water.  It didn't bleed, and still didn't fray!  More tests coming, but this seems very promising.

Hummm...lots of new possibilities!  Now to make the snowflake design work!