Fabric Paint + Ice Cubes = Cool Effect!

I've been playing with ice cubes again but this time with fabric paint rather than dye. The end result is a fun crystal look that can get pretty wild depending on the colors used! In this post I used black... not such wild a color but those posts will come later! 

First I painted the entire surface with black fabric paint.
Next I crinkled the fabric and randomly placed ice cubes across the fabric.  

Once the fabric was completely dried (this can take a while!) I heat set
with a dry iron for permanency. 

This is one of the rare times with the design on the back of the fabric
might be more fun than the front! 

The back is gray vs. black but the crystal-look seems sharper.

I can't wait to show you more... my next playtime will include 

multicolored pieces that are truly wild! 

Have you played with ice cubes lately?! 

Combining Techniques = Dye, Fabric Paint & Ice Cubes!

I started with a lovely piece of cotton dyed Robin's Egg blue. 

I misted the fabric and then painted purple across the surface.

I scrunched the fabric and placed ice cubes randomly in the folds. I added a small amount of salt to help create even more texture. 

Here you can see how the melting ice cube pushes the fabric paint around. 

Shortly after the fabric was all set to melt in the sun the clouds rolled in and it started to drizzle. I should have remembered to check the forecast! 

It eventually dried! Because the ice melts slowly (even when its not raining!) the fabric paint has time to move around and pool up forming unique patterns. 

The fabric has a 2D look with the paint feathering out in delicate patterns. 

Give it a try and let me know how you make out! 

Over Dying

Sometimes the end result of my dyed fabric isn't quite what I had in mind or it feels like it's missing something. Once I cure my fabric I start over with fresh eyes and decide if I should dye or paint over the original colors. Below are a few fabrics I decided to dye again - it's such a freeing expereince to add more layers!

I used whiffle balls and clips and poured more dye over the tops

I wonder what the creator of the whiffle ball would think!

Here I folded the fabric adding clips and rubber bands

It's a surprising look

I used the lid to a jar securing it with a rubber band

This outcome was the biggest surprise to me!

There have been many distractions this holiday season that have kept me from my studio but I've tried to use my time wisely! During the November Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective meeting fellow member Carine Greene gave a workshop on weaving with paper. It was a fun and freeing exercise and I transferred her ideas over to fabric.

Below is my finished piece, "Woven Memories".

I started with a piece of my "ice cube" painted fabric and wove it with my green dyed fabric- both cotton. Next I wove my elderberry dyed silk with tulle to create the flower heads and ended up with dyed cheesecloth for the leaves. 

It was fun playing with the weaving and learning how the waves would work and to try to create a sense of dimension with it.

Lastly fellow artist Diane Wright told me how to finish the piece without a turned edge - love the technique!

More Ice Cube Painting!

I had a chance to visit my son in northern Vermont this weekend... wow... did it ever rain! For my weekend walk series I wanted to recreate the feeling of being cold and wet. Thankfully the sun was shining today so I thought I would use my ice cube painting technique to capture the feeling I had up in Vermont.

I was going for a stormy feeling so I mixed up some "storm cloud" paint and

 laid out the fabrics in the beautiful sun! 

 

I painted the fabric a solid blue and then placed ice cubes randomly across the surface. I sprinkled salt across the fabric because it helps the paint migrate creating interesting patterns.

Once the fabric was dry I heat set the paint with a dry iron. I'm not sure the fabric will remind you of my cold and rainy weekend but it was fun to play with paints, fabric and ice cubes!

Cotton + Paint + Ice Cubes = Fun!

Last week my husband, son and I went hiking in the White Mountains... in the rain because that's what we do! It was a wonderful hike despite the weather but as I was looking at the colors in the woods and hearing the rain on the canopy of leaves my mind began to wander. I wondered how to recreate the idea of rain drops on fabric... this is what I came up with!

I used Seta Color fabric paint from Dharma Trading Company. I chose to leave the cotton dry before painting the fabric. I plopped a couple of ice cubes directly onto the fabric with large salt crystals sprinkled around.

The fabric was placed in the sun... I had no idea what would happen!

Ah... the magic is complete!

What interesting results! The ice cubes seemed to push the paint out causing some fun migrating of colors and the salt captured some of the paint creating spots.

Why don't you give it a try and let me know how your fabric turned out!

The "Ice Cube" fabric is for sale; please click on the Hand Painted and Hand Dyed Fabric Tab at the top of the page!