Jan Janas of Ivy Imports explains how to create unique hand-painted silk stationery that looks like the high-quality stationery you might find in a museum store. (Note: The kit she used is no longer available.) Materials:
Silk fabric
Freezer wrap
Stencil paper to cut shapes (snowflakes were used here)
Small spray bottles
Silk dyes in yellow, red and blue
Paper towels
Iron
White glue
Good-quality writing paper
Scissors
Pen
Craft knife
- Decide on the finished size of the card. Cut the writing paper the exact height of the desired card and three times its desired width. Example: If the finished size is 5" tall by 4" wide, cut the paper 5" by 12." Fold the card in thirds, bringing the sides in toward the center.
- Open the folds, and lay the paper face down. In the center panel, draw a rectangular box 1/2" from each fold and the top and bottom edges, creating a window. With a craft knife, cut out the opening (figure A). (Note: If you like, make the opening an oval, a circle or a triangle.)
- Place the silk on the waxed side of the freezer paper. Dry-iron the silk to the paper. This will stabilize and stretch the silk for painting.
- Turn over the freezer paper, silk side down. Place the center-panel-opening template onto the freezer paper and, using a pen, trace around the cutout created in step 2. Move the template over about 1", trace around the cutout again, and continue doing so on down the silk strip. This creates a guide for the placement of the design on the silk. Depending on the length of the strip of silk fabric, you may have four or five guides next to each other (figure B).
- Dilute the dye with water in a small spray bottle. Test the color on a scrap piece of silk until the desired color is achieved.
- Turn the freezer paper over so the silk side is face up. You will be able to see the window guides that were drawn on the back of the freezer paper through the silk. Using scissors, cut snowflake shapes in different sizes out of stencil paper. Place three paper snowflakes of different sizes on the silk, positioning them so the design is balanced within one of the windows on the freezer paper, and spray the yellow dye over the silk (figure C) with quick, light sprays. Blot any excess dye by placing a paper towel over the top and pressing down with your hand. Do not wipe the dye, which may cause smearing. Reposition the snowflakes, and spray with red dye. Blot. Move the snowflakes again, and repeat, using blue dye. Blot ( figure D).
- Cut out the silk piece 1/4" outside the window guidelines. Peel away the freezer paper, and iron the silk to dry it. Place glue on one of the outer panels of the card, and glue the silk to the panel so that it will be seen in the opening when the card is folded (figure E).
RESOURCES :
X-Acto Knife
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