Julie: Custom colour your seam binding

Hello again.

Did you know that Jean now stocks seam-binding in the shop? Well ... she does, and while it comes in lots of colours already, I like to experiment with dyeing my own to suit the projects I'm working on at the time. And it couldn't be easier!  

Here's how my latest experiment turned out:

Here's a closer look:

And here's how I achieved the look:

• I cut a length of Eggshell coloured seam-binding and laid it on a waterproof craft mat;
• I then spritzed two shades of Shimmerz spray inks[a yellow and pale pink] directly on to the mat so if formed two inky puddles!
• Next I dipped the seam-binding into the inks and kept moving them around and alternating between colours;
• I spritzed any areas which didn't quite get a full covering directly from the bottle using the lighter shade - so as not to completely cover over the nice mottled effect;
• I then crumpled the ink-soaked binding into a tight ball and left it to dry [or you could gently blast it with a heat gun];
• Once it was dry I ran several strips of strong double-sided tape over my card base and, starting in the centre, wound the binding around in a circle, twisting it and turning it over to create folds, pressing it down into the adhesive as I went along;
• Finally I covered the centre with a decorative button and added pins, pearls and flowers for finishing touches:

Supplies used - available at 3DJean:

• Shimmerz Colouringz spray inks
• Eggshell seam binding
• Pion 12x12 Cut out sheet - Fairytale of Spring [currently reduced in price]
• Hobby House paper flowers, pearl flourish and self-adhesive pearls
• Decorative button
• ATG gun + tape

So, why not have a go at custom-colouring your own seam-binding - all you need is a pale shade of binding plus ... any colouring medium and this doesn't need to be spray ink, you could also try out:

• ProMarkers / Copics / Distress Markers etc;
• Watercolours or any paint medium watered down;
• Ink pads ... and anything else colourful you can think of [I'm considering trying natural dyes - like onion skins etc ... if I give ot a go ... I'll let you know!]

Happy crafting.

Julie :-)