misosouper, a shopping blog

In a world of either artisan-designed, hand-produced fabric or Crayola-bright commercial bolts from JoAnn’s, there arrives an amazing new option: self-printable, customized fabric from a company called Inkbloom.

It’s like DIY sci-fi: using your home inkjet and loomtack, Inkbloom’s patent-pending magical sticky material that makes fabric behave like a piece of paper, you can create lush, graphic prints for personal or limited commercial use.

Inkbloom offers downloadable patterns (called inkblocks), whose colors are easily modified through Photoshop or PS Elements.  You can even add bits of text to your designs.  And Inkbloom just introduced inkbits, which are exclusive designs for creating tags, cards, and labels that coordinate with your fabric.  Imagine the possibilities for entertaining, gifting, and branding:  party favor bags, pillows, jewelry pouches, and company cards, all in your own perfect hexadecimalized RGB color code.

Crazy?  I KNOW.  But so easy that even a dolt like me could do it.

Inkbloom and Misosouper will let one lucky reader exercise her creative muscle:  to win our random drawing for a package that includes Loomtack fabric stabilizer, plain white base fabric, and Inkbloom’s brand-new lovey Valentine design set, leave a comment on this post, telling us 1) what you plan on making for your sweetie for Valentine’s Day; or 2) what text you’d print on your Valentine’s design.  (More inspiration available in this gallery.) For extra entries, you can tweet, blog, and/or Facebook this contest, then link to those posts here.  If you do all of the above, you will earn four entries.  Be sure to read the fine print, and good luck!

the fine print:

This prize will be shipped to US addresses only.  Comments will be closed and entries will not be accepted after 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, January 24, 2010. The winner will be selected at random on Monday, January 25, 2010, and notified by e-mail. Results of the giveaway will be announced in the comments on this post on Tuesday, January 26, 2010. Misosouper, a shopping blog reserves the right to disqualify entries that are incomplete, inaccurate, or considered spam.  If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen and notified.

In my search for unique holiday handmade and eco-friendly gifts I found this adorable DIY rag rug kit. Made in Glastonbury, Somerset in the UK. The small bag of burlap contains all of the items needed to make your own mini rag rug. I love the bright modern colors of the fabric and the handmade drawstring sack. The wooden prodder is handmade by a woodturner in the UK using native wood. This is a beautiful object in its own right.

With rag rugging you can make fun fluffy rag rugs from old t-shirts. I love this heart design shown in the photo. Also included in this kit is a bag filled with French lavender grown without the use of pesticides or chemicals. It can be used to make a shaggy rag rug sachet. Complete handwritten and hand drawn instructions and diagrams are included. This kit is made with love and is sure to bring many smiles to the lucky recipient. Price is $30 at Rainbow Fairy Dust’s shop on Etsy.

Save at Etsy at TheFind.com’s coupon site.