To Dye For

Do you remember how much fun it was every Easter to cover the kitchen table with newspaper and dip eggs into color after color of beautiful dyes? Each egg had a completely unique look and was truly one-of-a-kind. Now, take that memory and envision how you can use that same dyeing technique to create one-of-a-kind embellishments for your scrapbook pages. Common embellishments can be “reborn” into something fresh and new for every page by giving them a splash of color with fabric dyes.

By simply adding a bit of fabric dye to your tags, papers, flowers, and fabrics, you can turn everyday objects into works of art. Here are some instructions on what you’ll need to do in order to get started:

Gather Supplies
On your next trip to the scrapbook store, grab some Making Memories Dyes. They are sold individually or in packs of six. I went for the big pack to allow myself several different color options while altering my objects. RIT brand dyes at your local craft store will also work just as well.

Set Aside Time
Plan to set aside a day or an evening to have a “dyeing party.” You can even invite friends and split the cost of the dyes and objects to dye and make it a group effort.

Create an Assembly Line
Set all your objects out and prepare your dyes. Put each color into a different container with the right amount of water added (see packaging for exact details). Make sure you set up a drying station to lay out your objects to dry.

Start Dipping
Decide on the colors and techniques you want and start dipping! Try several different dyeing techniques to get varying results and interesting textures and designs. Here are a few to get you started.

Crumpling - Grab a stack of tags and crumple a few. Once placed into the dye, it will soak up in the creases for a really cool look.

Bleaching - Dye a piece of fabric and once it’s dry, use a Clorox Bleach Pen to draw or write on the fabric. The color will fade where the bleach is, but will stay bright in all the other areas.

Dry Brushing - Use a paint brush to dry brush the dye onto a piece of patterned paper that needs a little “sprucing up”. This will allow you to make all things old, new again.

Time Lapse - Let silk or paper flowers soak in the same color for different amounts of time for a perfect addition to any monochromatic page.

Alcohol Spritzing - Dye a piece of ribbon or fabric and once it dries, spray it with alcohol. This will slightly dilute the color where the alcohol is, making for a textured feel.

Bring a home-made touch to your page accents to create that one-of-a-kind touch and give dyeing a try. From here forward, Easter isn’t the only time you’ll have an excuse to play with dyes!

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