Morning Bubblies!
Today's posting is for you if you've ever seen these Colorwash sprays on a shelf and wondered what to do with them..? The projects i'm sharing today use Tim's faux batik technique which is really fun and easy to do, but there are lots of different ways to use these sprays and in fact, i've decided to do a run of projects showcasing the uses for these spray dyes as i think they are much misunderstood and underrated...so do pop back next week...and the one after that for the next installments! :))
Ingredients:
Colorwash sprays {i've used 2 colours for each of my samples}
Clear embossing inkpad
Clear embossing powder
Rubber or foam stamps with fairly bold designs
Plain white silk scarf
Method:
To create this rather chic looking silk scarf is really quite easy and uses Tim's faux batik technique as demonstrated in his first DVD...if you haven't got this DVD i heartily recommend it...but as its not a difficult technique i'll explain it here.
Firstly layout your blank scarf on a large non~stick sheet and stamp a mix of large and small bold design stamps randomly in clear ink and then cover with embossing powder and heat gently to work the thermographic magic. I did my scarves in 4 sections to make life a bit easier as i didn't have that large an area to work in :0) Keep your heat gun a little further away than you would on cardstock to avoid scortching the silk. Your scarf will now be white with shiny images.
Next comes the fun and super messy bit! Lay your scarf out along the bottom of your bath and spray for all you are worth with whichever colours take your fancy. Be generous and keep spraying until your scarf is very dark with colour as the finished piece will be much paler.
The orangey scarf above is coloured with a mix of Butterscoch and Cranberry and the greenish one below is coloured with Lettuce and Stream.
Now carefully remove your scarf from the bath and place it where in a bowl or somewhere where it can't drip anywhere important while you *CLEAN THE BATH*!!! My bath is enamel and came as good as new with minimal cleaning...but i wouldn't leave the dye to dry before doing this!!
When you've dealt with the bath...its time to iron your scarf dry, which both heat sets the colour and removes the embossing powder so your scarf is nice and silky soft again. Do this with a hot iron and no steam {we are trying to dry the dye here} and place sheets of plain copy paper both under and over the scarf to protect your iron, your ironing board and your scarf all at once. What you will find is that the paper absorbs the embossing powder as it melts and so the design becomes visible through the paper. When the whole thing is dry {again i did this in sections}...its time to rinse out the excess dye.
Place the dry scarf and a drop of your favourite scented bubble bath into a sink full of warm water and agitate to loosen the excess dye. Rinse in cool water until it runs clear and then scrumple the scarf up and hang over the washing line to dry. Because silk is so fine it drys really quickly.
As a final touch you could add a fancy trim to the ends, or along the whole of the long edges. I hope you like this idea, which takes about an hour from start to finish and makes a perfect summer wardrobe staple...tie it around your neck, your hair or your waist...perfect for throwing in your rucksack for all those festivals at this time of year...or for adding a splash of colour to a sophisitcated Wedding outfit!
Thanks for stopping by and see you next week for another Colorwash creation!
Recent Comments