Fan Out and enjoy the ART around you!!

Today's Show & Tell has been inspired by a recent flashback of my childhood  (far more years ago than I will admit to)... here's a little back story, I will try to keep it as short as possible!

My mother and her older sister were only 1 year apart in age and as far back as I can remember they had an extreme sibling rivalry that lasted their entire life... each one reveled in trying to outdo the other in even the smallest of ways. I remember stories of them competing over who had the smallest waist, 19 or 19 1/4 inches (I do believe this was pre childbirth). They were well into their 70's when I overhead a phone conversation between the two of them, still trying to convince the other that they were the smaller!! In actuality they were very different women, if they would have just taken the time to realize that fact maybe they could have set aside all of the jealousy and enjoyed each other for who they were!! Bear with me, I'll get to the point soon...

I was the only girl in my family, all of the other "cousins" were boys... whenever we traveled back to visit our hometown, Aunt Lou made a point of taking time to spend with just me, her favorite niece. She always wanted to show me her latest jewelry, her very stylish wardrobe and new furnishings... even then I suspected it was more about me reporting back to my mother than it was about quality time with me! 

Finally, today's inspiration flashback... My aunt had a collection of hand painted "Fans" that I loved to look at but could never touch...  I can still see her as she would flip one of them open to fan herself while drinking cocktails in the evening... tres elegante!

I remember after seeing those lovely fans for the first time, I tried to make paper fans out of every picture that I colored. 

So, my journey into the past leads us here... "Janoodle Fans"

Let's get started... Take a look at this short & easy  "You Tube Tutorial"

• 4 in. X 12 in. paper - weight suitable to score every 1/2 inch and hold up to creating your design with your medium of choice ... I used a lightly textured scrap booking card stock, it scored nicely and worked well with my Jacquard Dyes as long as I didn't overwork with too much water! My usual 140lb. watercolor paper was too heavy for getting a crisp fold.

• REMEMBER... paint your design before scoring, then turn over to score on the back side

• [12]   7 inch wooden coffee stir sticks -  natural or painted, your choice

Another brightly colored Janoodle design for my next fan

Fan Back - sticks are glued along every other fold

Finish off by gathering fan at folds... I held the fan in this folded position with an elastic cord while I attached the sticks together. I used a decorative string with beads, the video used a long brad for this step but I made smaller holes... I liked this much better... experiment a bit and you'll come up with what you like best!

 Thanks for hanging in through my childhood ramblings...

I hope this has inspired you to create your own hand painted fan 

or at the least to become a Fan of Fans!!

Until next time... HAPPY ARTing!!!