Experimenting

A while back I ordered a lot of interesting products from MeinkeToy (MeinkeToy.com).  I haven't used them until now as I was stitching away for the solo show in Winnipeg.  ***I have to tell you how much I LOVE the silk sari ribbon they have!***  (Must order more.  Not shown in this post, sorry!)  It's gorgeous.  Their silk sari ribbon is all hand dyed and torn into strips... really cool stuff.  For now though, I've been trying out some different ways to create SKY.

messy.  had to move to the kitchen for this one!

MeinkeToy has these transfer inks.  I didn't really know what I was doing, so I also ordered some TAP (tranfer artists' papers).  As it turns out, these DecoArt Ink Effects transfer all on their own!  I had no idea.  How cool is that?  I'll show you the TAP paper in a later post.

Here's how the DecoArt Ink Effects work...

paint, iron, peel.

Seriously - all you do is brush the ink onto regular paper.  Once it's dry, you set it face down on your fabric and heat set it with an iron.  Done.  Wow.  So I did a few things....

ink on linen

You can use them over several times.  Polyesters grab the Ink Effects quite easily.  Cottons and linens need some prep if you want the colors deeper.  Depth of color is also controlled by the amount of heat you apply.  Also - the inks have the actual color results on their lids for reference.  It's like easter egg dye tablets.  You know?  There's an orange one that dyes everything pure yellow.  So, when using these inks, pay attention to the color on the lids, not the color of the dyes.  (see below?)

Ink Effect on Lutradur (a synthetic fibre also from Meinke Toy)

I redid the above image in opposite colors with a yellow/orange sky and blue/green brush marks.  Eleanor (the owner at MT) encouraged me to play and sample.  So... bear with me.  Here's my attempt at playing around with abstract stitching.  I always think it looks cartoon-y.  But oh well.

variegated rayon tape (also from Meinke Toy in a texture pack)

I hooped it up and started stitching to embellish the Ink Effects background.  I thought I would try to make some art only with their product for the sake of this post, but my 12 weight Wonderfil cotton threads snuck their way in again! ; )  Can't be helped.

tada!

OH!  I love it!  It's so pretty-pretty.  I can't wait to stitch out the one with the blue sky and orange/yellow paint strokes.  I think they will make an interesting pair.

I had FUN with this!

p.s. If you are wondering, "what's up with the watermark?" it's my way of feeling better about people pinning my work.  So - if it's watermarked, I certainly don't mind.  Pin if you like.  : )

THANK YOU MEINKE TOY for being such an AWESOME SPONSOR.  ; )  You can find their link button on my sidebar anytime for future reference.  They are also on Facebook.  Happy creating!

Linking to The Needle and Thread Network for WIP Wednesday.