Ask the Crafter

Can you cover charcoal with gesso?

2008-02-25T10:55:00.001-09:00

Brenda asks:
I want to sketch with charcoal on canvas board, then gesso the board before painting with acrylics. Will that work? Why or why not?

As far as I know, all gesso is opaque—either white or black. Therefore, it will cover up your charcoal work and you will not be able to see it. Further, gesso is generally applied with a brush and would smear your charcoal drawing. To do what you are describing, you need to spray your charcoal sketch with a clear fixative (either charcoal fixative or a crystal clear water-based varnish. This will seal your charcoal sketch and allow you to paint over it with your acrylics without smearing your charcoal.

Hope this helps.

Judy Leasure, TDA
My art blog: http://www.jalstudios.blogspot.com
My art pictures: http://www.picturetrail..com/jleasure
My art store: http://www.jalstudios.etsy.com

How to make fabric banners

2008-02-20T06:43:00.002-09:00

Dasha asks:
I'd like to know how to make large fabric icons on a flexible material, such as muslin or drop-cloth type canvas (flexible) to hang in the newly painted hallway. They will hang like banners. I hope to have them there for some years to come. The actual painting will be done by the kids, ranging in age from PreK to High School. Adults will do the prep work. What do you suggest for a primer and finisher. What do you suggest? Thank you. Dasha
I would do this project as simply as possible. Whenever working with children, the KISS method (Keep It Simple Sweetheart) is definitely the best way to go.

First, select your fabric—a heavy muslin or sailcloth would work well. You want something with enough weight that it will hang straight without having to weight the bottom. Try to get something with a fairly smooth texture. Wash the fabric to remove any sizing and put in the dryer without any softener. At this point, I would make my banners: cut to size, hem all edges, reinforce the top edge with a rod pocket so that you can run a dowel or wooden slat through it so it will hang straight and flat, attach hanging rings or tabs, or whatever mechanism you are going to use to hang them on the wall. Finally, press your banners so that they are flat and without wrinkles.

Now you are ready to paint. If I were doing this project, I would use DecoArt SoSoft fabric paint. This brand stays flexible, does not require heat setting to become permanent, and you can apply it using regular paint brushes. The downside is that it comes in rather small bottles. It does not require a lot of paint to cover an area, however. Once finished, leave them to dry for at least 24 hours. You can then press them lightly to remove any wrinkles and hang them up. No special finish is necessary and they should last for many years. They will also be washable if that is a concern. I have painted clothing with these paints and they wash and dry very well without fading, chipping, or cracking. For a piece that will simply hang on a wall, wear should not be a problem at all.

If you choose to use regular craft acrylic paints, you can do that instead. The preparation would be the same. The finished product may be a little less washable, but again you are not wearing these pieces and they should not get terribly dirty. Acrylic paints also would not need any sort of primer or finish coat to make them quite permanent. If you choose to use regular acrylics, I would use DecoArt Americana or Delta Ceramcoat. These are both high quality paints and will hold up well over time. You do need to be careful not to apply the paint too heavily (thick). If you wish you can add textile medium to the paint prior to applying it.

For brushes, you can use regular craft paint brushes for either of these approaches. You may find that flat or filbert brushes with somewhat shorter hairs will work better because they will be able to scrub the paint into any texture on the fabric. If you are highlighting and shading any of the elements in the design, working with the fabric paints will allow you to blend while the paint is wet. For any line work, you will want to use long-haired liner brushes. Make sure your table is covered with craft paper and do not move the piece while it is being painted. The paint will go though the fabric and you don’t want to mess up your painting by moving it around an picking up paint off the table cover.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if I can be of further help. Let us know how your icons turn out.

Judy Leasure, TDA

What glue to use with stretch fabric

2008-01-24T13:01:00.000-09:00

Rachel asks: Can you please tell me which fabric glue is the best for applying lace (and other fabrics) to Tank tops and T-shirts that are made out of stretch fabric? I need a glue that will not show thru the lace or on the actual tank top (an invisible glue, if possible). And please remember that the shirts I will be working with are made out of stretch fabric therefore the glue must work with the fabric as well.

We don’t suggest gluing anything that will be washed. You should probably sew it. That said – Aleene’s does make a stretch fabric glue but they state it will hold up to hand washing only.
Hope this helps,
Judi

Making a removable painted decal for clothing

2008-01-17T14:41:00.000-09:00

Dolphin45 asks: What type of paints and pens should I use on my daughter's tutu? I have to make a silver or gold design on it and it needs to look professional. Do you know of anywhere to get these items and names of products so I can get them asap.

I wrote and asked Dolphin45 what the tutu was made of - the answer was lycra.

I don't like to paint on lycra because I think when it is stretched the edges are never sharp looking. What I suggest is making your design separately and then attaching it to the tutu. There is a new product called Styli'Stick (from Pebeo) that will allow you to make a decal that can be ironed on to the lycra. I think this is ingenious because you could make a nice design and then because the decal is removable you can use the tutu for other shows. The Styli Sticks come in many colors as well as metallics.
Hope this helps!
Judi

When good thread (floss) goes bad

2008-01-05T14:11:00.000-09:00

Joyce asks:
How do I keep DMC six strand cotton embroidery floss from shredding.
The last that I purchased seems to twist and shred badly. I have used wax and Thread
Heaven and that does not help.Has something happened to the quality of their product?

I've used DMC for YEARS (because it really IS better than Coats & Clark) & MOST of the time it's excellent. But like all mass-produced things, sometimes a batch slips through that just - well - SUCKS! I've gotten ahold of a couple of bad DMC batches & had the same trouble you are having. Truth? Your best bet is to either salvage what you CAN of it, or TOSS it & get some more. But DO write to the company before you toss any & let them see some of the 'bad' threads! They need to know when their product isn't the quality it should be!

Good luck! Kai

What glue to use to hang slate

2008-01-04T11:28:00.000-09:00

Chrissy asks: How do I stick hangers onto the back of slate so I can hang it on the wall without drilling holes in the slate?

I would try the two-part epoxies. They have been used for tack welding metal so it should be able to hold the hanger to the slate. I would use some sandpaper to scuff up the slate, if possible, before gluing.
Hope this works!
Judi

How to set glitter on wood

2007-12-14T22:30:00.001-09:00

I'd like to know how to get the glitter on wood to set. I have spread glue and then sprinkled glitter on wood and want it to stay and not come off or shed. Is there a spray that I can spray on the glitter to make it stay without the glitter shedding off? Thanks.

I asked the Queen of Glitter - Jean Bernard to answer this for me ... here's what she says:

I would apply a few thin coats of clear glossy varnish over the glitter. Next time mix the glitter 50/50 with the varnish :) You could find some Krylon super gloss sealer and try a test spot before you cover the entire area if this is a big project. Sometimes even the super glossy spray will cloud the glitter and it will loose its sparkle :)
hope this helps ya :)
Jean

Can I use acrylics instead of gesso for base coat?

2007-12-07T00:05:00.000-09:00

JK asks:
Can I use white acrylic paint instead of gesso for the base of my oil painting?

I can tell you what I do. I don't gesso anything. I don't even think I own any gesso. Most of the stretched canvases you purchase today are already prepared with gesso and so are ready for painting. I like to use board rather than canvas. I personally don't care for the texture of canvas in my finished work. I purchase gesso board. This is masonite that has had gesso applied to one side. It comes in a variety of sizes from 4x4 inches to quite large. I generally work with smaller sizes: 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, 5x7, 8x10. You could purchase a piece of double faced masonite and cut it yourself then apply gesso if you wish. I'd rather buy it prepared. There are several different brands. The one I prefer is Ampersand and can be purchased from a number of on-line sources.

That said, you can paint oils over an acrylic base. I frequently do a value scale underpainting in Burnt Sienna and then appply my oils over that. Robert Warren actually base coats his canvases with orange acrylic and then does a value scale underpainting using black acrylic before applying oils. I have also used unprepared masonite. With this product I sand the surface to remove the shine and then apply two coats of bottled acrylic paint with a roller letting it dry between coats.

Many of the gessos you buy today are acrylic based. So, the short answer is yes, you can paint your canvas in whatever color acrylic paint you would like before applying your oils. There is no rule that says you have to start with a white surface, In fact, because most oils are translucent, the base color of the canvas can influence your finished piece in some wonderful ways. Gesso is a thicker product and if you are stretching your own canvases using unprepared canvas, then a couple of coats of gesso will give your canvas more body and seal the fabric so that it will accept paint properly. At the end of the day, for me it is too much trouble. I'd rather purchase my supports ready to paint. I'd rather paint than prepare surfaces.

Hope this helps.

Judy Leasure

How to make cloth doll joints

2007-12-01T11:43:00.000-09:00

Gloria asks:
How do you make joints for cloth dolls?

There are many ways to joint a cloth doll. There are button joints, hinge joints, tab joints, the list goes on. The best thing to do is get the late Susanna Oroyan’s book Anatomy of a Doll. She has a whole section on the different ways to joint a doll. If you can’t buy it right now, try your local library – if they don’t have it on the shelf they should be able to inter-library loan it for you.

Hope this helps!
Judi

What is the best masking fluid for watercolor work?

2007-11-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

Ruth asks:
I'd like to know of all the masking fluids out there to use in watercolor, which one is the very best? Many thanks.

All of the masking fluids are pretty much the same. They are a liquid latex material. The biggest difference is that some of them have a colorant and others are white. Some of the colored ones are blue and others are yellow.

There is one product called Masque-Pen that comes in a smaller plastic bottle with a writing tip. I tend to use that one a lot becasue I can create lines without using a brush or I can put some out in a puddle and apply it to a larger area with a brush. At the end of the day, which one you choose is a matter of personal preference. I like the ones that have color because I can see where I put it. The white ones look just like the paper and it is hard to see where you have been. Unless you are going to be using masking fluid really often or on very large areas, I would buy the smallest container you can find. The fluid will congeal into a solid mass over time and then it is no good.

Hope this helps.

Judy Leasure,TDA

How to transfer your drawing to Wonder Under

2007-10-29T13:54:00.000-08:00

Kristen asks:
I'd like to know how to transfer my drawing onto the back of the Wonder Under.

You should transfer your drawing to the paper side of the wonder under. You can do this by either using a light box or taping the drawing to a window and placing your WU on top of it and tracing.

If you have an inkjet printer you could cut a piece of WU slightly smaller than a piece of bond paper, then tape it to the paper and run it through your printer. As long as there is no heat it should work (laser printers use heat so that's a no-no).

Judi

How to make a blackout lining for bamboo window blinds

2007-10-20T12:27:00.000-08:00

Susan says:

I have bamboo roll up blinds on 2 windows. They are see through at night. How do I make a privacy cloth backing for them? Thank You.

Our decorative painting expert, Judy Leasure, has made some Roman Shades recently and this is her suggested solution:

I have made Roman shades and with those you sew your fabric and the lining together and then sew rings on the lining side. When the shade is finished, you thread cording through the rings and across the top to one side. To raise, you pull on the cords (which are all joined together so they pull uniformly). To lower, you release the cords. If the bamboo shades work the same way, you would have to find a way to create a channel around the cords so they will move once the backing is applied.

You might try making a liner of black-out fabric by cutting a piece of fabric 2 inches larger all around than the shades. Hem all 4 sides with a 1/2-inch double hem. (machine stitch). Then align the liner with the shade and hand stitch with a heavy thread vertically along the sides and vertically in one or two rows in the center. Your stitching would wrap around every other bamboo rod on the way up the shade. Whip stitch the bottom around one of the bamboo rods and you may need to do the top as well. In this way, the mechanism should still work and the fabric will stay in place with the shade.

This appears to be a lot of work, but I can't think of another way to keep the functionality of the shades. Again, I'm not 100% sure how the roll-up mechanism works.

How to transfer images to card stock : Ink Jet Transparency Method

2007-10-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

Lorraine asks:
I'd like to know how to transfer pictures from my computer to hang tags. Someone told me to use wonder under. cut it and insert it in your inkjet printer and then iron it on the tag?
Have you tried this before? Does it work?

I haven't tried fusing wonder under to paper. The problem there is that since wonder under is a two sided fusible you would have one glue side that would remain. The glue would be tacky although it would eventually dry. I know of fabric artists that paint their wonder under and fuse it to fabric, then let it sit for a couple of weeks so the stickiness goes away.

I have recently had the opportunity to (finally) do some ink jet transparency transfers. I have to say this is the easiest and most successful transfer I've ever made. I just printed my image onto the rough side of the transparency and then I brushed some Modge Podge onto my substrate (which was a photo mat), laid the transparency ink side down (remember to reverse your image if need be) and then burnished it with a bone folder.

So this method is what I would suggest you try. Only drawback is that it could get expensive to make lots of tags because the transparency film isn't the cheapest. Make sure to buy InkJet Transparency film.

Good luck!
Judi

What glue to use to apply paper to masonite

2007-10-15T12:02:00.000-08:00

Gloria asks:
I'm making a collage by gluing bits of paper I've cut from magazines to a piece of masonite. What type of glue should I be using for this? I've been using regular Elmer's white glue, but I'm afraid it won't last long term. Also, what should I use to seal the final project?

I would suggest using Modge Podge to attach the paper to the masonite. Actually any white glue would work but Modge Podge is thinner, easier to spread, and has been developed for that purpose. To seal it you could give it a topcoat of Modge Podge. I believe you can get either a gloss or matte version.

Good luck!
Judi

How to make your own glitter glue

2007-10-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

Is it possible to make your own glitter glue? I tried it with gel glue and glitter and it didn't work very well.

I think the gel glue probably was too thick to mix the glitter well. I have heard people having good luck mixing the glitter with Mod Podge or Elmers. Just be sure to stir well.

Best of luck,
Judi

How to make a tomato cage witch

2007-10-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

Peg asks:
I'd like to know how to make a large witch using a tomato cage and paper twist.

I couldn't find how to make one using paper twist but I did find a couple of other tomato cage witches that you could possibly use as a starting point. There was a Carol Duvall episode that teaches how to make one and McCalls has a pattern for a tomato cage witch also. Good luck and have fun!
Judi

How to get Wonder Under fusible off your iron

2007-09-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Anonymous asks:
When you make a mistake and get Wonder Under fusible on the iron, how do you get it off?? My iron won't iron. Help!!!

Easy to make this mistake, I've done it myself. I double-checked with the Pellon folks, makers of Wonder Under brand fusible, and their solution is the same as my own. You need to buy some hot iron cleaner - you can usually find this in the craft stores or fabric stores. It comes in a tube of some kind and you put it on the iron when it's hot. Then you wipe the iron down with a clean piece of cloth - like a washcloth. It should get it off. Hope this helps.
Judi

What glue to use to attach rhinestones to glass

2007-09-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

Rita asks:
I'd like to put some glass rhinestones on my eyeglasses, what glue should I use?

E6000. This is a glue used a lot in jewelry applications. I would put a tiny bit of the glue on a pin or toothpick and put the rhinestone on the pick. Then place it where you want it and pull the pick away. Push into place and use another pin/pick to clean up any excess. You can pick it off easily when wet.

Hope this helps,
Judi

Vintage iron on transfers

2007-08-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

I'd like to know how to look for cowgirl, or western hot fix iron on heat transfers. Does anyone know who specifically carries this type of transfer. Thanks.

This was tough - I wasn't sure if you meant hot fix as in templates for hot fix crystals or just pre-made iron on transfers. I actually found that you can find both at eBay. The key to searching for the pre-made transfers is that they are now considered vintage as most of them are from the 90's. With the advent of ink jet transfer sheets and ink jet t-shirt transfers crafters are making their own art. Just go to eBay and search on 'western iron on" and/or 'cowgirl iron on' and you'll get lots of choices.

Best of luck!
Judi

How to make clothing labels

2007-07-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

Barbara asks:
My daughter is starting in daycare and I wanted to find the best way to put her name on her clothes . . any creative ideas?

Depends how artsy you want to get! There are always the 'laundry markers' you can buy to write her name on the labels - not artsy at all! This might be fun though - you can use a sheet of pretreated printer fabric and print her name with a little graphic - then use an iron-on adhesive (like WonderUnder) to iron the labels to the hem or waistband of her clothes. If you use one of the mailing label templates in Microsoft Word you could design it once and print an entire sheet of labels.

Have fun!
Judi

How to reconstitute glitter glue

2007-07-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

Catherine asks:
I'd like to know how to salvage some glitter glue I have.. It is made by Elmers called 3D Shimmering Shapes and comes in a bunch of colors with all kinds of different glitter. Thanks so much!

Brian Rumschlag, Consumer Response Analyst for Elmer's, says that by simply mixing in a small amount of water you can reconstitute the 3D Shimmering Shapes glitter glue.

So, there you go! Another question answered!
Judi

Can you paint a suede jacket?

2007-07-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

Connie asks:
I'd like to know if it is possible to stamp or paint a suede jacket. It's a nice enough jacket but I'd just like to tizzy it up a bit, or perhaps I'm better off just to add a braid trim?

I talked to the folks at Dharma Trading Company which is a firm that specializes in dyes and fabric paints. They said that without knowing exactly what your design or application is if you want good control use a thicker product like: Lumiere, Neopaque, Setacolor or Jacquard Textile Color. Keep in mind that you will need to heatset the paints. Depending on what the lining of the jacket is you could probably put it in your oven to heat set. So, yes, you can use fabric paints on your jacket!
Best of luck!
Judi

How to make wallies or wall decals

2007-07-01T23:29:00.000-08:00

Caren asks:
I'd like to know how to make your own wallies or stick up wall art... Do you have any suggestions?

I have a couple of suggestions. First - to make a wall decal that will be removable with no damage to the wall make it out of fabric and then soak it with liquid starch. It will stick to the wall. I've actually heard of people doing this with large pieces of fabric - so little shapes should work well. The second suggestion would be to use wallpaper paste and thick paper or even canvas as the substrate. This would be harder to remove though.

Have fun!
Judi

How to make glitter paper

2007-06-30T22:34:00.001-08:00

Pat asks:
I'd like to know the best glue to use for making glitter paper. White glues tends to wrinkle to much and mounting adhesives seem to yellow iridescent glitters. Thank you so much. any information you can give me would be so very much appreciated.

From the research I've done on this subject the answer seems to be to use either a Xyron permanent adhesive and run your paper through the machine before glittering or, and this might be easier, just use a sticky label. I don't know what size glitter paper you want to make but you can probably test this by using an address label. Peel it off the backing paper and put it into a container. Pour your glitter over the sticky side of the label. Knock the excess off into the container and then pour it back into your glitter jar. You can buy label paper up to 8.5"x11".
Hope this helps.
Judi

What is a good fabric pen to use?

2007-06-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

Clare asks:
I want to paint designs on my dance costume which is made from lycra and powernet. Which fabric pens should I use?

I would recommend FabricMate pens. You can buy these at some of the local hobby shops. But you can also find both the superfine and the chisel tips at Dharma Trading.
* These fabric pens contain fabric dyes that are permanent without heat setting.
* The colors mix together just like dyes.
* They also have a unique tip that tapers to a superfine point so you can vary the thickness of your line by altering the angle of pen.
* They come in a fabulous array of 29 colors.

Best of luck - and remember to consider the stretch of your fabric when you paint.
Judi