A Garden Flag

I love the way this turned out. I bought half a yard of rip-stop nylon and hemmed the edges, making a thick fold over on the top to hang on the post. I am not sure what "rip-stop" actually means. I thought it would not fray, but it frays like mad and would be a real mess if left unhemmed. I was able to make two small flags (we are saving the other one for a rainy day) with a half yard. Sorry I don't have specific measurements, I just made sure it would fit on the flag stand we purchased.

Hollin drew a design with a black Sharpie directly onto the flag. I went over the lines to even them out a bit. She used watered down blue acrylic for the background and acrylics (not watered down) for everything else. When it dried we traced over some of the lines and made some spots on the ladybugs (she only wanted one to have spots). It has rained since we put it outside and is holding up great.

I have a thin yellow plastic table cloth and I am thinking about using it to make something similar. I am not sure it will last very long, but might be a fun way to reuse the tablecloth.

 Anyone ever paint on plastic tablecloths before? Or use them to make kites, flags, banners, etc.?

Glue Batik

I have been having a lot of fun with this easy batik technique. A friend of mine read about this in Family Fun magazine and passed it along. Hollin and I did some experimenting at home, then we got together with some friends to make some pumpkins. I have pictures of various projects at different stages along the way. I am sure you will have no problem following along.

To do this you will need:

• white cotton fabric (jersey knit (old t-shirt) works best)


• white glue


• acrylic paint mixed with water (this is not washable)


• brushes
  

1. Cut some white fabric to desired size. We used an old cotton sheet for some and a cut up t-shirt for some others. We found that the t-shirt absorbed the color better and the results were more vibrant.

2. "Draw" your design with glue on the fabric and allow it to dry. We made this a 2-day project so that the glue could dry undisturbed over night.

I made the dump truck and helped with the rainbow and flowers below. But the kids had no problem making the pumpkin designs--they really came out cute.

3. After the glue dries it is time to paint. I mixed a squirt of acrylic paint with a small amount of water (1/8-1/4 cup). Mix it up and adjust until you have the color intensity that you want. You want a liquid color with no thick clumps. Paint the fabric. Paint right over the glue, it will resist the paint leaving white lines.

4. Allow it to dry, then rinse off the glue. The best way to do that is to soak it in warm water then rub the glue out. When it no longer feels slimy, it is finished and ready to dry.

I think this so pretty and has lots of potential. After we made the pumpkins we thought we should try it with blue, purple and black paint on orange cloth. If I do it I will post pictures.