Fabric Stamping Tutorial

My sister and I started stamping on fabric when we decided to make these fabric cash-budget envelopes.


Stamping could also be a handy skill if you want to horrify your children by stamping their names on the band on their undies (Does that still happen in real life?) or if, like me, you enjoy tattooing their nicknames on the gifts you make them.

Yes, I know it's pretty straight forward. No, I don't think you're dumb...and if you think it's that simple, why are you even reading this tutorial? ...but I digress...

Materials:


Fabric paint. I found mine at Michael's. Notice the words "dimensional" or "puffy" are nowhere to be found. Steer clear of that craziness.


An old tray or plate of some kind. Something you don't mind ruining. I have a big stack of these yellow trays from Goodwill. They come in all kinds of handy. A paintbrush - you can steal one from your kid's watercolor set.


Of course, a set of alphabet stamps. I got mine at Walmart for so cheap that I wish I bought 2...I haven't seen them there since.


...and an acrylic block to put them on. I got the least expensive one (once again, at "the mart") for $2.

Now for the actual stamping:


Spell out your words on the acrylic block, backwards (or mirror image).

And it never hurts to keep a dictionary nearby. When my husband saw this project, he accused me of misspelling posy and rosy! I panicked, but was vindicated in the end.

Next, squirt a bit of paint on your pallet...


...and use a paintbrush to spread it into a smooth, thin layer of paint.


When you begin stamping from your paint, it may go on a bit heavy. I like to blot it on a piece of paper before stamping on my fabric. This step isn't necessary after a couple of stamps, unless you refresh your paint supply.


Then, stamp it on your fabric.


Just smooth out your paint again, change your stamp, and you're ready for the next word.


When you're finished stamping and are satisfied that your words have dried properly, you can iron your fabric to "fix" the words, making them water-fast.

Iron the wrong side...


...then flip it over and iron the right side.


Ta-daa!


The flip-side.


I put the zipper on the bottom this time.


Don't you {love} how my project magically finished itself?


The lame thing about only having one alphabet set? Some stupid words have 2 of the same letter! The nerve! This is where that clear acrylic block earns its keep. You can see just where you're inserting that missing letter.

And since you were awesome and sat through that entire tutorial, leave a comment. One lucky reader will be chosen at random (totally random, since I really want to give it to all of you!) to get some fabric-stamping supplies of their very own!


Winner to be announced on April 1st - so you have something other than pranks to look forward to. :)