Friday 6 May 2011

Wax crayon batik

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across this post from the endlessly inspiring Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom and I knew I had to give it a go. It then took me a while to find the perfect item to create with the technique. This method calls for blocks of solid colour and I tend to lean towards linear images so even coming up with a design took some thought, but then it came to me. We have some very dear friends who have just moved home - they're the friends I painted the picture for in this post - and now they're there we want to send them a card. We've seen photos of the cottage they're moving into and it's painted pink. Yes, pink! Inspiration hits at last!


So now our friends have a custom made 'welcome to your new home' card and I've had a chance to dabble in the technique. It was fun, and I also did a quick butterfly image on another scrap of fabric for Midi (she likes her butterflies).


However, it didn't rock my boat as much as I thought it might. It's a nice little technique though, and I'm sure one day I'll have a light bulb moment and think of something I really have to do with it. Maybe just not this week.

One of the things I'm not sure about is using it for clothes. I had initially thought I could appliqué the butterfly on to a top for Midi but I doubt it would stand up to repeated washing and, despite lots of ironing to get the wax out, it is still quite stiff. Maybe I should try putting it through a wash cycle to see what would happen. I think I'm more likely to pop it into a little frame to go on her wall though.

4 comments:

  1. Very pretty!! Yes, you are right, the wax is very difficult to get out. And the color will fade a bit with repeated washings. That is why I went in the direction of pillows.

    The method to the madness needs some refining, but I really do love the end result!!

    suzy

    PS- if you don't mind, I'd love to feature your project on my blog in my Features and Thank you's post at the end of the month.

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  2. Gorgeous! Would be beautiful on a throw or bedcover? x

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  3. Suzy, I would be more than honoured to feature in your blog! Thank you! You've inspired me plenty so getting a link back really would make my day. :)

    The results are marvellous aren't they? Since doing these I've been coming up with more ideas so the melted crayons might be coming out again sooner than I anticipated!

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  4. Ms Earthly, you are a genius. Your comment got me thinking to quilts and then to an idea I've been brewing for some time, for a miniature play/change mat that I could roll up and take out and about for Mini. I can picture it now using a larger image in this technique.

    I hold you fully responsible for this next round of crafting madness...

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