Experimenting with Piñata Alcohol Inks and Pearl Ex

Many of you may have seen June Pfaff Daley's art on the cover of the latest CPS magazine:  CPS Jan/Feb 2012  I have used piñata inks a little, and have been using Pearl Ex for many years  I didn't have any scissors that I wanted to paint, so used a paint can opener.  I have many, as the hardware store always includes one with each can of  paint. 

Paint can opener

Jacquard products are available at many art supply stores, Dharma  Trading carries all of the inks. Look at the ink page for stores and on-line shops that carry them.
Piñata Alcohol Ink
Pearl Ex


I used the ink mixed with extender so I could paint it on with a small brush.  Then I mixed Pearl Ex with the extender and painted it on.  I plan to add more color soon! 

I worked in the garage and next time I need to add a better light source and remember to wear disposable gloves.  It takes a long time to get alcohol ink out from under your finger nails!  When I get tired of paint can openers, I know I have other metal items that I can use to learn the technique before I move on to old keys and other things that are laying around in the garage.

Karen's challenge helped me find my muse (missing for a year) and now my muse won't stop tossing creative things at me!  (That is a good thing.)

Wednesday -- progress

Working on the Quilt Challenge

A little was accomplished yesterday in piecing and today was full of pleasant interruptions.  Emails from friends and phone calls from friends and my sister.  Also, Princess Honey Pie did not want me to work.

Princess Honey Pie

For those of your that do not have the honor of sharing your house with Siamese girls, they know that they are special and expect to be treated like Princesses.

UPS delivery person showed up after 9:00 PM with a new book:  
http://www.amazon.com/Quilts-Attic-Uncovering-Hidden-Stories/dp/0760341214  Karen and I met when she was living in my area of Houston and have been friends since many, many years ago; she moved as her husband had a new job in another state.  I have scanned through the book but will wait to read it tomorrow.

Setacolor Paint

Found some Pebeo Setacolor transparent paint in my fabric paint supplies.  It was a dark red and I thinned it down with water until it looked "hot pink." 

Sunday Evening

Have given up on herbal teas.  I purchased some teas that have the base of black tea, so will try that for over-dyeing tests tomorrow.

The fabric closet ate some scraps I wanted to use in the challenge quilt, I looked and looked.  I know I didn't toss them out, as they were big enough to use.  I can find yardage of the fabrics, so can start over with new chunks and slices.

Some of the time spent looking for the leftovers was also chasing cats out of the area.  I have a new kitten and am also watching two kittens that belong to a friend.  The three kittens and two of my three older cats were having fun messing around in the room, and kittens were finding things that looked like cat toys!

Once I get the fabric scraps together, and use tea to tone down the white background  in the challenge fabric, this project should start moving along.  I will have to put up with the kittens and the older cats, as working in that tiny room with the door shut is not my idea of fun.

Back to Experimenting

Herbal teas do not work very well on this fabric.  If I was in the mood, I would boil the fabric in a weak muratic acid mixture, but I will try something else first.  (I do have precise instructions for boiling fabric in water with a little bit of muratic acid added.)

Will try a few more teas in my cupboard and see what happens.

1950's Fabric is at my House

Fabric arrived yesterday.  I like the fabric as it reminds me of Grandma Ruby Porterfield (paternal grandmother).  This morning, I put the fabric in the washing machine with some Synthropol and then dried it in the clothes dryer.  The hand of the fabric did not change.

I found various herbal teas in the pantry for overdying tests.  I used 1/2 cup boiling water and one tea bag (I am using canning jars).  I let the bags soak for around 10 minutes -- stirring often; I left the tea bags in the jars.  I added one 2-inch square of challenge fabric to each jar; stirred again.

I am going to go take a shower and come back later to see if the tea is doing anything to change the color of the fabric.

Karen's Challenge: 1950's fabric

First real post to my blog.  Karen is a dear friend and we have kept in touch for many years since she left my area of Houston.  She has a challenge on her blog using 1950's fabric and Rayna's book.  Karen's blog  Start with January 1st and go back up to follow the thread.

Step One:  Ordered Rayna's book before I knew about the challenge.  UPS delivered the book today.

Step Two:  Thinking about test dying little pieces of the fabric using herbal teas, as there is a color variety in those teas.

Step Three:  Wait for the fabric to arrive in the mail.  However, I can experiment with different teas before fabric arrives.