Monday, April 5, 2010

Stamp printed baby onesies

Every Monday I will post something related to babies: inspiration, craft projects, baby news, and discoveries I have made in this new and exciting world for me. I hope you come along on that rollercoaster ride with me.
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Although I promise you to reveal what this teaser ...
... is all about on Saturday, I didn’t. I am very sorry, but I just got inspired and carried away by all that beautiful art. Nevertheless I don’t want to deny you the solution of my colourful teaser. I printed cute baby onesies on Friday. It is very easy. It is lots of fun. The result looks great. And therefore I have prepared a little tutorial for you.

All you need is:
  • a blank onesie (or even better a couple of them, because once you get into the swing, I promise, you don’t want to stop) – I have washed them beforehand to get rid of all potential softeners and other nasties which might impact the fabric colour and your baby
  • stamps – self-made or bought, foam or rubber
  • fabric colour – I used liquid one, but you could also use a pen, I used pebeo setacolor opaque in indigo, but any other fabric colour works as well (just look at the using and fixing suggestions on pack)
  • a small paint brush
  • aluminium foil
  • baking paper
  • an iron

I covered a small chopping in aluminium foil and put it into the little onesie. I also covered the surface of my working table in aluminium foil, because I knew I would make a mess with the colour. And fabric colour really stains very well.

I cleaned my stamps with some warm water and soap from all other ink residues.

 
Then I stirred the fabric colour so it got mixed up well and added some colour on a piece of aluminium foil and use the brush to evenly spread it into a circle (a bit bigger than the size of the stamp).

Now I pushed the stamp into the circle of colour.

Quick check that the colour is evenly spread on the stamp. Otherwise add more colour with the brush or push it again into the colour.

Place coloured stamp onto the onesie. Make sure you choose the right position first. Once it is on the fabric it is on the fabric. No room for changes.

Gently press the stamp with your fingers – make sure that also the edges of the stamp are pushed down.

Lift the stamp up and try to avoid smearing the colour or stamp. And voila – your first printed stamp. It might look a bit irregular at times, but that is what a hand-made, original piece should look like, shouldn’t it. If you are a bit of a perfectionist, however, you can also use the brush and left-over paint to make it look more regular.

Spread the remaining colour again evenly on your aluminium palette (add more colour only if needed) and again press a stamp into the colour circle. I love repetitive patterns on one onesie, but you could also go wild and use a variety of different stamps.

After the colour has dried sufficiently (my instructions on the fabric colour said 5 minutes, but I left in drying a bit longer) so that the colour doesn’t appear liquid anymore but seems to have ‘sunk into’ the fabric completely, place a small piece of baking paper over the printed stamp and iron it for 1 minute while putting a bit pressure on it. I use the hottest setting on my iron possible and tried to make sure to move the iron around so that I don’t burn the fabric. Afterwards I let it cool for about 1 minute, peeled off the baking paper. Then put it over again and ironed it for another minute – just to make sure it is properly fixed.

Voila. Ready. Your unique piece of baby fashion is done. And you can wash it at 40C (100F) which is essential for all the stains a little baby is capable of producing from day one ;-)

I hope you enjoyed this quick and happy baby project. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. And enjoy to get absolutely mad while stamping the day away!

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