Saturday, August 22, 2015

Sun Spots

The dog days of summer are fading fast. But there's still time to have some fun in the sun with this fast and easy project. Even if you feel that designing a textile print for your doll is more than you can handle, here is a way to express your creative side without being able to draw a straight line! It's called "Sun Stenciling" and it's easy!

For this project you will need fabric of your choosing. For the outfit pictured here, I used a China silk for the top and a medium weight cotton for the sarong skirt. You will need fabric paint, a foam brush and leaves or flower petals. Make a nice, flat surface to work on, protected with wax paper or non-cling plastic. You might also need a few straight pins and, yes, I almost forgot.....lots of bright sunshine, preferably between high noon and 4pm.

1. Make a paint wash--50 percent paint with 50 percent water. The paint should not be thick. Acrylics will also work though they might render your fabric a tad less soft.
2. Wet your fabric and lay it flat on the surface. Brush on your paint. You can mix the colors if you'd like.
3. Lay the leaves and petals on the fabric and press into the paint. Make sure they are in contact with the paint. You can use straight pins if the stems won't lay flat.
4. Leave everything exposed in the bright sunlight for a couple hours. Have a glass of wine; find something else to do around the house while the sun does its job. Then when the fabric is completely dry, remove the leaves. You could stop here and make your fabric into a garment now......or......

 
You could embellish! Here, I've used a 3-D fabric paint squirted right out of the bottle to draw "veins" in the center of the leaves. Let dry for a few hours and enjoy the satisfaction of having created a unique and creative fabric design all by yourself!!!!!
 
 
Don't put those brushes away just yet. I've got one more fun technique arriving on the heels of this one which I guarantee will "light up" your day!!!!! Stay tuned!!!
 
 
 
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All photos and images property of Fashion Doll Stylist. 2015


24 comments:

  1. This is genius! I understand that it only works with vegetable stencils? No doilies or lace?

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    1. Thank you, Black Kitty. Yes, it does work with doilies and lace, so long as the paint is not too thick and what you place on the fabric is capable of soaking up some of the paint. I did try with a doily but chose not to show it as I was not happy with the results. That was due to a poor choice of fabric paint (metallic blue rendering a very "Barbie" looking result and also because I had forgotten to dilute the paint properly. One more thing---use leaves and petals but not things like puffy dandelions. They got stuck in the paint! This technique, however, is a simplified version of something called "cyanotype" prints. You can buy fabric impregnated with a photo sensitive product yielding very detailed results. (cyanotypestore.com) It's rather expensive which is why I went with a more simple technique.

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  2. Those are gorgeous! And here in Arizona, I've got months in which to try it...

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    1. Have lots and lots and lots of fun!!!! Experiment with lots of different shapes and fabrics and colors!!!!!!

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  3. Jestem zachwycona materiałem! Jest świetny! Modelka wygląda jak marzenie!
    Pozdrawiam serdecznie!

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    1. (According to Google translator Olla123 wrote:)
      I am delighted by this material ! It's great ! The model looks like a dream !
      Best wishes!

      Thank you Olla and great to see you here on my blog. Stop by any time!

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  4. This is so cool! The result is amazing! Would artificial light work too, like a desk lamp?

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    1. Linda, I have not tried artificial light. It would be interesting to know if indoor lighting works!

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  5. Oh wow, that is really awesome and I love the results!

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    1. And it's really easy as well. With all of the different leaves and flowers around, the fabric would always be different. Moreover, you could do other things with the results like add beads or draw on top of the shapes!!!!

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  6. Very clever April! I love the effect you obtained. Simply amazing!

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    1. Thank you Billa. This was fun, but as you will soon see, the next technique is borderline addictive! I was going to make everything into one post, but decided to split things up once I got started. Stay tuned!

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  7. You are full of such great ideas! I have to say I think this is my favorite outfit that you have designed. It looks so perfect with the dolls skin and hair. So much awesomeness! Thanks again.

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    1. Thank you, Vanessa. I think this is the perfect example as to why we need so many dolls. Chez moi, it's like having a "modeling agency." After printing this fabric, I went around the house to see which girl could best show it off and....voila--it was Nichelle. She's not easy to photograph in regular colors. On the contrary, she wears darker, more earthy looks extremely well!

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  8. This is a wonderful design idea! Thanks for sharing. :) Hope you are keeping well.

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    1. And thank you, Leonella, for stopping by. Now that vacation is well behind me, I've gotten my groove back and am back on schedule with my projects. Hope you're well, too. Luv your latest doll purchases.

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  9. Looks like a fun project! I might not get to it this month, but it's something I'd like to try.

    Your model looks great in her original ;-)

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    1. Nichelle thanks you for the compliment. And yes, this was a really fun project.

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  10. Hello from Spain: I really like your proposals. Fabulous idea. Nice pics.Keep in touch.

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    1. Thank you, Marta. Glad you enjoyed this project. See you soon!

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  11. Wow, this is a fabulous idea - that fabric looks brilliant!

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    1. Thank you, jSarie. This was a lot of fun as well!

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  12. Looks like Blogger ate my comment before. Let's try this again...

    This looks like such a fun technique, and the results are fantastic! I especially like the accents you added with the dimensional paint. I may have to try this sometime... and maybe add some beads and sequins to it. <3

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  13. Sorry Blogger ate your comment. That happens to me from time to time.
    Thank you. And yes, this is a lot of fun. And yes, you can add beads or sequins to it for an added dimension. In fact, I will probably hide the area around the design on the copper tone gown with beads.

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