D is for Dyed Papers

April 4, 2020
A - to - Z Challenge
D = DYED PAPERS

Day four  - staying within the theme I've chosen for this challenge - CRAFTING, and today's letter is D.

D is for Dyed papers. Have you ever dyed papers? I hadn't either until a few years ago. I gathered up a few items that I had researched and began dying papers. In fact, I have dyed lace, plain colored ribbons, all kinds of papers such as book pages, newspapers, old calendars, ledger papers, assorted doilies, notebook paper, and printer paper. 

The dying process can be sprayed, dripped, drizzled, or brushed on over the entire piece of paper. Use a spray bottle, a sprayer or a brush. (I mainly use a spray bottle and a glass pan). 

A person can use many different things to dye papers and fabric with. Some of these items are coffee, coffee grinds, coffee filters, tea, assorted juices (especially grape and cranberry), food coloring, cool-aid, berries, flower petals, natural items such as leaves, twigs, peels from apples, oranges, and lemons. 

My favorites are coffee, coffee grinds and the coffee filter at times (I even KEEP the used coffee filters and dry them as well), Tea, assorted juices (especially grape and cranberry), food coloring, and, cool-aid.

Here are 3 examples of coffee or tea dyed papers that I've done. 

I also use a water bottle filled with cooled down coffee, tea, or juices to spritz papers as well to achieve a different look. 

I've watched several YouTube videos on how to achieve different effects when dying papers. Some can be more daunting than others and most of these techniques take time. I ALWAYS allow my dyed things to air dry. I NEVER EVER dry them in the oven as I've seen some people do. I'm afraid I'd forget and burn the house down! LOL 

Once I determine what I'm going to use as my dying agent, I prepare my prepping station. I gather up the paper or papers I'm going to use, the pans I'm going to use (I always use the same one over and over and over - ensuring that I rinse it out after each use), I make sure everything is set up outside (such as my drying line my husband put together for me), and my table (which I use sometimes when drying papers, lace, and other things). 

Now that I have my prepping station ready to go, I'm ready to dye papers. 

Step 1 - place a few sheets of paper in the pan, slowly pour over the choice of dye (such as coffee, tea, juice or dyed water) ensuring that each piece of paper gets liquid on them.

Step 2 - layer more paper and repeat step one. Continuing to do this till I have the number of papers I want to be dyed completed. 

Step 3 - after the papers have dyed for a while (the longer they dye, the more vibrant the colors and designs it creates) I gently remove them to the drying stations outside. 

Step 4 - I let them air dry for a few hours to ensure they are completely dried before bringing them into the house

Step 5 - Once they are dry, I gather them up. I stack my papers gently on top of one another and store them in the container until I'm ready to use them. 

For the purpose of this blog, I pulled a few things together this morning. 

Gathered supplies

Supplies: 

1. the glass pan

2. coffee, tea, food coloring and a bag of frozen avocado skins (these can be frozen for a few months)

3. a few sheets of paper and two doilies

Dying of the paper/doilies: 

I put a few drops of the blue dye directly on the paper. Then I poured 2 cups of water into the pan. Swirled the pan around carefully NOT to spill it out onto the countertop. I did this to ensure all the papers got wet. I even picked the papers up here and there and turned them over into the dyed water. 

Be sure you wear old clothing when you are dying things because your clothes might get splattered and your hands will get stained. You could, however, wear thin glove and an apron to protect your clothing and hands. I never do!! LOL

It's still dark outside here in the Dallas/Ft Worth, TX area so I'll let these papers soak up the dyed water for a while before placing them outside to dry.

The papers are dried now. I ended up having to lay them around the house to naturally air dry since it was raining outside. 

They are a soft blue and on some of them, a reddish tint. I'm pleased with the way they turned out. I'll be using these particular papers in a junk journal I'm making called, "My Asthmatic Body".

Some other dying techniques available are: 

Eco dying with leaves, flowers, twigs, and other foilage (there are many wonderful videos and blogs for this online)

Alcohol Inks (there are many wonderful videos and blogs for this online)

Dying with Avocado Skins and Pits (the color it makes is a soft pink)

(be sure to clean the empty skins and pits well before freezing, storing or using them). You can achieve this by gently rubbing them with your fingers under running water. Avocado skins can be frozen for a few months. 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• A big Pot (big enough to hold whatever your dyeing)
• 3 to 5 fresh and clean avocado pits per ½ pound of fiber (more pits will produce a stronger, deeper color)
• Fabric or fibers that you are dying (I experimented with tulle, vintage lace, linen, cotton & Alpaca wool) 
• A wooden spoon for stirring & removing your fabric
• Gloves (I didn't use any, but it would make life easier when removing if you did!) 

 PREPARATION

1.    Pre-wash and soak the fabric & fibers of your choice in hot to warm water with a gentle fabric soap. The fabric can be left to soak overnight to best take the dye evenly. Rinse everything and keep it damp before adding to your dye pot.

2.    Fill your dye pot with enough water to cover your material and have enough room for the material to move freely in the pot.

3.    Gently wash your avocado pits (removing any fleshy bits that may have stuck to the pit). Add the whole pits to your pot, the more pits, the darker the color.  Bring to a low boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until the avocado pits begin to turn the water to pink and then a deep maroon, it should take anywhere between 20-40 minutes to see the color change.

4.    Your material can be immersed in the dye pot either while the dye is still simmering over the heat or after the dye has steeped and cooled. I left mine in the pot for 1-2 hours, then removed it from the heat and let it steep overnight. The longer the fabric soaks, the more vibrant the pinks will be.

5.    When the material reaches your desired shade, remove it from the dye pot. Rinse it in warm to cool water with a gentle fabric soap & hang to dry.

 Have fun experimenting with different types of fabric and the amount of time you steep in the dye bath. It's always so fun to see how different fibers take up the dye. 

Dyed dryer sheet I did a few years back
I made flowers out of them

 

D is for Dyed papers and other things! 

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