Tuesday 19 April 2011

Apple blossom sun printing!

I have been beavering away all day in my studio frantically producing some printed fabrics to use in my card making to ensure no problems with copyright. I stared longing out of the window at the apple tree and the glorious sunshine when inspiration struck! YES...I could enjoy the sunshine AND pretend to be working at the same time!
I rushed outside with some PVC cloth and wet .....you guessed it....old cotton sheeting!
I made a very watery solution of transparent fabric paint and slapped it onto the fabric.....



Then the fun began. I swung on the branches like a five year old until my fabric was covered in blossom. Perfect! Then all I had to do was wait for the magic to happen......
Ah...the picture has gone but this is the apple tree...doesn't look too bad does it? In fact, I decied that I
could do it all over again.....
So I did, this time with purple....ooops..the picture has slipped!
And here are the fabrics once they had dried and I'd brushed all the bugs and petals off. HOW SATISFYING is that?????
If you fancy a go at this and don't have an apple tree handy, pack up a picnic and cart all your paint and stuff into a meadow where the hawthorne is in full blossom. Set it all up, take out your picnic and chill out while the sun works its magic and the fabric has dried.
Alternatively, just come on round to my place and use my apple tree!!!!!
Mmmmmm...I just love to roll up my fabrics to add to the stash
And this is what I've been up to the past few days. I have made a heap of printed bits and pieces to use. Now I'll have to get printing my apple blossom fabric too!

14 comments:

Sandra Rowney said...

I'm baffled...how does the blossom act as a resist if the dye is already in the cloth?

Sandie said...

I wondered the same Sandra!
Great result however it was done.
Looks like you are keeping very busy, Moira. Good luck for your launch in May. You have certainly worked for it!

dandelion dreamer said...

ok...I can't anwer that because I dont understand the logic. Lets face it, all the fabric is painted with FABRIC PAINT so, why on earth does the bit that is NOT exposed to the sun turn white? Duh? it doesn't make sense but it does produce fabby results and you can do it in a sunny room. Make sure the sun is shining onto the fabric for best results. Go on...have a go! M xx

Tipeta said...

this is all so lovely - you should write a book about it, I have a huge cherry tree - might just have a go....
Does it only work in strong, hot sun?
joven en corazon- MOIRALICIOUS!!!!!!!

Zue said...

Beautiful, beautiful fabrics and such a clever idea. How does it work? Do the petals absorb the paint and leave the white areas. It is not some kind of clever alchemy with light and photo-sensitve chemicals is it?

About the tree-cutters.
I thought it was illegal to harm nesting birds!!
Love coming to your bog...so many fab ideas.
Sue xx

JGG said...

Unbelievably beautiful - nature at its best! And you are so prolific - you truly live up to you 2011 challenge - "Just Do It" - congrats

JGG said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dandelion dreamer said...

No Susan..the petals do not absorb the colour it is something that happens when the lght is excluded. About the tree cutters...yes I believe it is illegal to cut down trees when birds were nesting but i'm not sure just what they were up to. The chainsaw noise went on all day and I noticed a very tall tree had been lopped. Hopefully, nothing else!

Kim Henkel Creations said...

What a lovely way to spend a day! with beautiful fabric at the end of it. Congratulations on making the leap and giving up the day job. I have been thinking about it, but it isn't the right time for me....

Zue said...

Thanks Moira. That's even more fascinating!

Light-snsitive chemicals in the paint!
Sue xx

Sandra Rowney said...

Still a bit baffled, and about to go down a long "google tunnel" over it I expect! Will you tell us what fabric paint it is, I'd like to experiment and see what makes it work and what doesn't. Does it work if you spit on it (ha!), does it work if you chuck gravel on it? What if I set all my snails I collected today in the garden to mooch across it slowly? Hours of fun and mess coming up.

Sandra Rowney said...

Hello again! I'm back from my trip through Google-land. It appears the infra-red in the light spectrum sets the exposed fabric paint first and dries it out. Once dry it then sucks the moisture(and some of the fabric paint) out of the bits that are still damp under the resist.
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/howtodyewithlight.shtml

Sandie said...

Thanks for doing the research Sandra!
I'll have to try this, Moira. Looks very exciting.

dandelion dreamer said...

oh how lovely when friends from blogland do all the work for you! thanks for that Sandra. I'm SO excited about the idea of snails sliding their way across your fabric! The paint I used was by pebeo but other makes of transparent fabric paint work too. Make sure the paint is well diluted first.Leaves and petals work well, gravel and stones will give a very dense white I think. Whatever you do it will be unique! M x