SetaColor Tutorial

I am hoping there will be Sun Prints anyway, there isn't much sun out there.  I have been waiting for a day with some sun and I am running out of days.  I need to get this project going so I have some time to quilt it.

What I am doing:

making a sun print for the Fiber Group Jan 14 Challenge: Herbal Resist

I couldn't come up with anything and Carol from Quilted Fabric Art (go check our her threadpainting of her dog Summer's sister, Spring!  Of course!).....what was I saying now?  Oh, Carol aka Landscape Lady, suggested a sun print.

Perfect!  I got out my SetaColors and chose a fat Quarter I had hand dyed last year or maybe the year before.  It is a light pink.  I was not really loving the lightness of the color.  I took the Oriental Red for the SetaColor paint.  SetaColor is an easy thing to use.

this is what Dharma says about SetaColor from their website:

"This is one of the most versatile fabric paints we carry. It also has the softest hand on fabric of any opaque or metallic paints we have tried. The thinner Transparent is even softer and can be used on the finest fabrics.

Transparent Setacolor is the paint of choice for Heliographic fabric art - yes, SUN ART. Lay your fabric down outside and sponge on diluted Transparent Setacolor in whatever color patterns you like. Then lay feathers, lace, netting, leaves, precut cardboard, flowers or anything on the fabric and let the sun do the rest. The objects you put on the fabric will leave their impressions. "

Then I found my cement backer board and cleaned it up.  It has been sitting outside since the Great McGee Eats The Scarf Episode.  I needed it for the paint base.  

I taped the fat quarter to the board with painters tape.  McGee had  

I diluted the paint about 2 to 1 with 2 water to 1 paint.  And painted it on with a sponge brush.  oh, first I wet the fabric with a light layer of plain water using the sponge brush.  I had a ton of paint  left over so don't use a whole lot of paint from the bottle.  I used the rest to dry brush on the other side of the FQ.  Photo later in post.

Here it is finished.  The paint part anyway. I like the color.  We shall see what happens in the end.  

 I needed herbs  So I went outside to find some.  I have bay leaves, parsley and weeds.   I  chose the weeds!  LOL.  Actually it is dandelion leaves.  

I tried to lay  them in a nice composition.  I  am not used to working like this, so I was considering balance and appearance when I placed the leaves.  

When I liked it, I pressed the leaves into the wetness of the fabric.  I am not sure if it will stay, I  probably could have pinned them down.  I am guessing that this will make a difference in shadowy edges and sharp edges.  I will most likely have shadowy edges.  Fine for now.  I ordered something fun for later though!

Here is what the whole FQ looked like.  Both sides.  And on the way out, I decided to tear some paper into small strips and lay it on the new side.  

When I finished it sort of  looked like a Chinese character.  I can do some work with that in the next project.  Can you enlarge the last photo and see the paper.  I don't  see any wind out there, so  i assume it will stay on there!

Here is the board laid out in what passes for sun today.  Althouh right now, the sun is shining well.  Hopefully it will print.  I am going to leave it out there for a full hour.

Oh, and it is not anywhere McGee can find it.  It is in the driveway, not the back yard!!!

I will post later about the results.

It was fun!  Want to try it?

UPDATE:  i just checked on it at about 20 minutes, and the paper has blown away but the dandelions are MARVELOUS!  It is looking real ombre like