Picture frame project with Inkodye

Inkodye testing continues in the Jones lab, this time on wood. I bought an unfinished frame at Michaels for one whole dollar and doctored it up with the dye. This is the result.

Who are those youngsters in the frame? Beats me. Is anyone friends with them? I needed a temporary photo to stick inside so I could take a picture of the finished product. I searched online for "couple with umbrella," found this product photo, and printed it out.

At one time Alex and I owned a double umbrella. It was an impulse purchase when we were caught in a rainstorm. I think we used it twice. I wonder whatever happened to it.

But back to the project. I brushed Inkodye onto the frame with a foam brush. It doesn't take much for wood, so this won't use up much of your precious elixir.

I cut raindrops out of black paper, arranged them on the frame, and carried the ensemble out to our back stairs. After 5 minutes, the color seemed bright, so I brought it in. The photo above is probably around the 2-minute mark.

Since the frame was damp from the dye, you'll notice the paper curled just a bit, and some of the black ink from the paper was transferred to the frame. I managed to scrub it off pretty thoroughly, fortunately. Maybe next time I would cut up some vinyl, or contact paper with the backing left on, or something opaque and unaffected by moisture.

I quickly washed the frame with soap, water and a sponge, rinsing and scrubbing to get all the excess dye off, particularly from the raindrop areas. Do this promptly so the dye won't continue to develop in the raindrops! The result looks pretty good.

Other Inkodye projects are here and here.

Make your own fabric prints using the sun

The folks who make Inkodye sent over a sample the other day. Inkodye is light-sensitive dye for textiles or any natural fibers, including wood and raw leather. It acts like the Sunprint paper you might have used as a kid, only you can brush this dye on anything you want and it comes in lots of colors. Like orange, of course.

For my first test of this magical stuff, I planned to make a safety pin print on fabric. Something quick and easy in case it was a flop.

I wrapped cardboard with a piece of old plastic tablecloth to make a waterproof surface. I laid white cotton fabric on top and taped down the edges to make brushing easier.

Then I poured a little Inkodye onto a paper plate, and with a foam brush, I painted it onto the fabric. It has a little color in its unexposed state, so it was easy to see where I'd already applied it.

As soon as I was done brushing on the dye, I scrambled to arrange some safety pins on top of the fabric. I was a little paranoid that the dye would start to develop before I brought it out into the sun, so in my haste I forgot to take a photo. (Turns out it's not quite that tricky, so I didn't need to hyperventilate as much.)

Outside the back door, I placed the board in direct sunlight. Immediately the orange color started to deepen. After 5 or 6 minutes it was super orange so I brought it back inside, removed the pins, and took the fabric off the board.

To keep the dye under the pins from developing, I immediately rinsed the fabric under the faucet and then washed it out with laundry detergent. (You can use a washing machine and dryer for this step if you like.)

Here's what the fabric looks like when it's dry. The color is really vibrant, and I was quite pleased. I sewed it into a zipper pouch.

I gave the Inkodye a test drive on a couple other projects, too, so I'll post those in the next few days. It's fun to play with!

Update: more projects are here and here.