Fun storage for pens and things

One can never have too many places to store all the fabulous goodies that we collect or that we 'need' to craft - wouldn't you agree?

I just love decorating these pen and ink cases.  I have decorated several already with the gorgeous metallic and opaque fabric paints from Colourcraft. My favourite are the metallic colours as they suit my colour pallette but they are also available in a range of primary colours and pastels as well.

This technique will work well on aprons, costmetic purses, bags and tee-shirts as well as many other items of apparel. Once the paint is dry it can be heat set with an iron which will preserve the colours and the paint.

And it is so very easy. Let's go!

I like to use a piece of 'cut 'n dry' sponge to apply the paint as it provides a good solid base but a stencil brush would work just as well.

The most important thing to remember is  NOT apply too much paint on at once otherwise it will 'leak' out through the stencil. The paint dries very quickly so if you want it darker, it is simply a matter of re applying the paint as many times as you like. Little and often is better in this instance.  

So firstly I secure the stencil with some stencil tape and then put a small amount of paint on my mat.  I ensure that I only have a small amount on my sponge and lightly sponge it through the stencil. I use a different sponge (or different side of the sponge) for each colour.  Because this particular fabric is relatively porous the paint dries even more quickly and the different colours can be applied straight after each other.

In the case where I wanted the image to look as though it was 'dribbling' into each other, I just mixed a little of the paint colours on my sponge and then applied the different colours quickly to achieve this look.

I let the paint dry once I had completed my stencilling and then I ironed it the whole case, taking care to use a non-stick sheet between my case and the iron. 

And hey presto! a pen and ink case for use very quickly.

Aztec eco metallic paint starter paint

Brotherly Love, Sisterly Love by Teresa

Happy New Year and welcome to 2020! My project today consists of two tags using some of the wonderful paints and sprays from Colourcraft:

I began by spraying Scarlet mist and Gold shimmer spray onto two tags and then set aside to dry.

Next I applied some black eco-acrylic through a stencil.

Then I added some gold metallic paint through a different stencil.

Once dry, I edged the tags with black ink.

Then I added some word stickers, die cut figures and a wooden star to each.

Here's a closer look:

Brusho Shimmer Sprays

Brusho Mist sprays

Eco Acrylic Paint

Mettalic fabric paints

Follow Your Dreams Hoop Art with Suzi

Good Day All, It's my pleasure to be here again to share my latest creation with you featuring some lovely ColourCraft products.  After doing a little sewing on my Inspiring Love Canvas I've been bitten by the sewing bug.  So for my project today I've created a piece of Hoop Art using Fabric paints to stamp onto some cotton before adding some details with hand sewing along with a few buttons.

I took a piece of cotton fabric and cut it to slightly larger than my embroidery hoop.  I then used a mix of opaque fabric paints and metallic fabric paints to stamps some patterns in my background ( stamps used, Dripping paint, Cracked Background and Dotties from Crafty Roo Designs).  I then used the Gold Metallic Fabric Paint to stamp Stars using the Star Poly Plate from Crafty Roo Designs.

I then added some embroidery around the stars using thin gold metallic thread.  I also added some wooden flower buttons from my stash.  To finish the project I used some Fuchsia/Magenta Foil to the Hoop and Wooden Buttons using my Mini Iron Tool. I also added some Ribbon to form a hanger for the Hoop which I secured with a Wooden Button.

To secure the fabric to the hoop I used hot glue, making sure to add the glue to the wooden frame rather than the fabric, so that it wouldn't show through on the front.

This is the first piece of Hoop Art I've created, and I'll definitely be creating more.  I really enjoyed the fabric painting too, and combining it with the embroidery gives such a lovely finish, it's something I definitely want to experiement with more.  You can find lots of different Fabric Paints in the ColourCraft Store, including Opaque, Pearl finish, Metallic and Fluorescent; they are all intermixable, so you can have great fun creating your own custom colours, or blending the colours on the fabric.

That's all from me for today. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Don't forget to share your creations in the Create with ColourCraft Facebook Group, we love to see what you create.

Thanks for visiting with us today

Bye for now

Suzi

xxx

Metallic Layered Greeting Card by Teresa

Hello and welcome back to the blog. Today I am sharing a fun card using Lutradur and metallic paints:

I began by cutting 3 squares of Lutradur and painting them using different shades of metallic fabric paint.

Once dry I layered them and stitched around the edge using my sewing machine.

Next I carefully used a pyrography tool to 'cut' out circles of the Lutradur, revealing the layers below. (You may prefer to do this before stitching the layers together, then assemble once finished).

Finally, I matted the piece onto a black card blank and added a fun sentiment.

Lutradur

Mettalic fabric paints

Snowflake Artist Trading Cards

As Autumn is heading towards Winter, I have a simple project featuring some pretty metallic snowflakes. These Artist Trading Cards make great card toppers - make a few in advance and you won't be stuck for a last minute Christmas card!

I began by spritzing some water onto a piece of watercolour card. Top tip: if your card starts to curl, then spritz a little water on the back and it will flatten out again). I sprinkled some Prussian Blue, White, Grey and Black Brushos onto the damp card and spritzed again to start moving the colour.

I found some laser cut wooden snowflakes in my stash (you could use die cuts or punched shapes too). I gave them a couple of coats of metallic fabric paint. This paint is super versatile and not just for fabric.

Once the background was dry, I cut to ATC size - 2.5 x 3.5 inches and added a little black ink around the edges. I glued the snowflakes in place and added a festive sticker to finish.

15g brusho

Mettalic fabric paints

Clear Spray Bottle

Dyed & Printed Skirt Part 2

I’m back for part 2 of my summer skirt.

 See part 1 where I dyed some plain fabric.

Making up the skirt

I made up a simple wrap skirt with my dyed fabric, using darts to give some waist shaping and two buttons and pieces of ribbon as a fastening.

You need one back piece and two front pieces. Each of the three pieces needs to be half your waist measurements across the top once the darts are made.

I like to finish side seam raw edges with pinking scissors to avid them fraying.

Turn over a small hem on the two free front edges and then a slightly larger hem around the bottom.

I made a strip to add a narrow waistband.

First, this is stitched right sides to the top of the skirt. The seam was pressed towards the band and the top of the band was pressed down 1cm.

Both ends were folded right sides together and stitched. 

Turn out to make neat ends.

Stitch the folded over waistband in place.

Make a couple of buttonholes, and stitch on buttons and ribbon ties. I like to use the magic pen to mark the position of the buttonholes before stitching.

Nice enough but I wanted to create a design for a truly unique skirt. My deliberations included whether to create a floral or feather design, and whether to use block printing or screen printing to make the design. I sketched a little in my notebook and tried out ideas on some spare fabric.

Earlier this month I visited the Quilt festival at the NEC and the Colourcraft stand. Lovely to chat to the friendly folk there and I also fell for the fancy feathers stencils which come in two sizes. I also got a Colouricious feather wooden printing block. I want to create a feather design now!

Dye Paste Mixing

I’m continuing to use the Colourcraft Procion MX Dyes Complete Starter Park. 

This contains a 15g pot of manutex, which is a seaweed-based thickener that can be used to make Procion MX dyes into a print/paint paste. (Note: Manutex is also known as Reactive Stock Paste).

You can mix the 4 teaspoons of powder in 1 pint of cold water and mix thoroughly. You can use a hand blender to make sure the paste has no lumps and is the right consistency. Leave to stand (Note: this paste only lasts a few weeks and can be kept fresher in the fridge. Discard if there is mould or smell.

The starter pack also contains urea. Urea slows the drying process and therefore allows more time for the dye to react with the fibre, yielding deeper shades. So I decided to dissolve 1 tablespoon of the urea in a cup of boiling water. I strained this and then sprinkled on 2 teaspoons of manutex. I labelled a tub and put the date of mixing.

I can then spoon out a little of this mixture into a palette tray to then add different dye colours to make up a palette of colours. A tiny amount of dye powder makes a strong colour, but check on a scrap fabric first.

Note: when using the dye powders it is advisable to use a mask eg. the disposable Valved Respirator Mask FFP3 (For fine toxic dust/mists/fumes with 2 elastic looped retainers conforms to EN149)

Note: Colourcraft also supply Manutex in 100g and 500g tubs, and urea in larger tubs

Printing using the Stencil

Using my Procion MX dye mixed with my manutex paste, I brushed colour through the feather stencil. The colours will mix as you do this unless you leave each bit to dry in-between colours. Similar colours on the colour wheel will give nice mixes. Be careful not to mix too many colours though and get a brown grunge colour! Trying out on a scrap of fabric first is a good policy.

If you want to do more than the front of a skirt, then using the stencil with a screen would speed up the process.

I'm sorry. I got so involved with this that i forgot to take a photo!

Block Printing

Set up a printing station with protective sheet then some thin foam to help the printing process.

Lay fabric onto this ready for printing.

Load up sponge block with dye paste and apply to the wooden block design. Ensure good coverage but avoid excess paint in the grooves. Now you’re ready to turn the block over and place down on the fabric.

Push and rock side to side a little. Keep hands in place for a couple of seconds to let the dye paste soak onto the fabric. It’s a good idea to stand up to block print as it gives a bit more power to your arms!

(It’s also a good idea to do a practice print for each block as often the first one doesn’t work so well. The wood seems to soak up the paint).

Wash your block with soap and water, with a scrubbing brush. Always wash your printing blocks after use; the sooner the better, so that it’s easier to get the paint off.

On both the stencil and block, I added a little copper metallic fabric paint with a small brush.

Fixing

After stamping spray on a solution of soda ash. I added 6 tablespoons of soda ash (in the starter pack) to my 1litre bottle of water. Note: there is no need to rush to spray your newly printed design, as the dye will stay inert in the fabric. However, make sure you know that you have sprayed with the soda ash solution before washing.

As an extra heat fix, I baked my skirt in the oven for 5 minutes at 150°C. I then cool rinsed on its own in the washing machine to make sure any unfixed dye was removed. You can use Colsperse scouring agent to aid this.

Fibre reactive dye is the most permanent of all dye types. Unlike other dyes, it actually forms a covalent bond with the cellulose or protein molecule. Once the bond is formed, what you have is one molecule, as the dye molecule has become an actual part of the cellulose fibre molecule. So you can safely wash a garment that has been dyed in bright fibre reactive colours in your normal wash load.

So I’m ready to wear my personalised skirt.

I would love to hear about your dying and printing adventures, so please do comment below.

Helen x