Saturday 22 September 2012

Wowee - its a busy day!

What do you think of the new blog design? Thanks to my gorgeous son Ethan for redesigning the background and making it look like a real one! Especially since I broke the last one. I will not push any buttons until I know what they are for in the future. I swear. One of things on my To Do list is catch up with technology. It is not going well so far. If you know of any good online tutorials with titles such as Idiots guide to .... blogging, You tube, Photoshop, I would be thrilled to hear about it.

In the new design we have included some new tabs including one for the Store. I have sold a few of my creations in the past and will post pictures here of anything available for sale. I also create to order if you would like a special present for a particular occasion, contact me to discuss further.

I also managed to film a video today to catch up on a few of my recent projects. I have been making lots of journals. I love the flexibility it gives for doodling, taking notes, photos, anything you want.


Thanks for visiting
xxx Michelle 


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Contact me at: thepaperaddiction@xtra.co.nz

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Saturday 15 September 2012

Dunkin and Dyeing

Guess what I played with yesterday!

It felt like a science experiment in my kitchen yesterday.

I tested out all the different tea bags and made lots of lovely crinkly seam binding.



I used Chalk White Seam Binding








I love all the shades. I crinkled it up and dried it in the oven. 


I dunked the tags in the leftover tea. Next time I need a colour I will know how to get it.


I couldn't stop there so I dunked and splattered some white art paper with the various solutions of tea and coffee and dried it in the oven. When it is dried in the oven it creates a fabulous texture, and the darker papers that were dunked in coffee look like leather.


Then I played with some of my mists and sprays. I dried them in the oven too. I cant tell you the exact recipe for these colours. They were a little bit of this and that. I used Dylusions melted chocolate, Lindys Boogie Boogie Gold, Perfect Pearls heirloom gold, and Java walnut ink - I will probably never be able to recreate the exact colours again! 


If you want to dye your own ribbon or paper , it is very easy. 
Boil the jug. 
Pre heat the oven to a moderate heat. 
In separate bowls steep various tea bags.
I used instant coffee for the above picture. 
Let everything soak until you get the colour you want. The more teabags  (or coffee) the richer the colour. 
When I was happy with the colour I lightly scrunched it in my hand and dried it on an oven tray. 
I kept a close eye on the oven. Do not leave it unattended.

The tags were dunked in the solution while the seam binding was drying and then into the oven for a few minutes. 
The paper was splattered or soaked in the solutions and then also dried in a single layer in the oven.

Take extreme care - the paper gets very hot and do not get distracted while the paper is in the oven. 

Let me know if you have any questions - next time I will take pictures of the process and the state of the kitchen after!!


I made enough to share. If you would like the above seam binding leave me a comment below and I will send it out to someone lovely in the next two weeks!

If you have any other techniques or tips for dyeing paper and ribbon I would love to hear them!!

Have fun playing 
xx Michelle