Monday, January 26, 2009

Fabric - more soy wax

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

More results from soy wax batik sessions. This design was done using a tjap that I got from DharmaTrading. I always start off with too much wax and my first impressions are a little blobby and then they get more delicate, sort of. The original color on this fabric was green and I painted over it with red. Idaho Beauty asked about the fabric paint I use. I'm not real particular so I use whatever I have available. Mostly it's Setacolor and paint from ProChem (I think they call it textile ink). I dilute it with water until it's about the consistency of milk. I want to be able to spread it easily and not have it change the hand of the fabric. I also always wipe any excess off the wax impressions because the paint will work its way through the wax and into the fabric. This water solubility of the wax is both a plus and a minus.


A combination of odd things from Home Depot and a kitchen utensil were used to make these impressions. The fabric was orange-ish and the paint green-ish.


A kitchen utensil that looks like a sieve with a handle, I would guess it's for scooping solid stuff out of liquids. It's bowl shaped so that I don't get a clear impression, which I like alot. The small grid is a drain cover from the hardware store made out of pvc. You can use any material that will hold heat long enough to keep the wax melted.


And this is the drop cloth that was underneath the fabrics. These always turn out to be so cool!


Yesterday was my family birthday celebration. My daughter made me this Kitty Litter cake and I think it's pretty funny. The brown things are Tootsie Rolls. When they're heated they get pliable and can be shaped. The cake is a combination of white cake and yellow cake and some green food coloring. It involves baking the cake, crumbling it up, and putting it into the (new and unused) pan. And supplying a scoop (also new and unused). The kids thought it was so cool to be eating this gross thing, especially my almost 8 year old grandson. Must have been thought up by the mother of a little boy.



Today I created a Facebook page. I'm not sure whether it will turn out to be a good networking device or a gigantic time sink. Come visit.
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