Rit Dye Failure

I spend a lot of time on this blog posting about the projects that turn out as expected.  The truth is that there are plenty of project that never see the light of day because they don't come out just right.  This is a Rit Dye idea that turned out - in an unexpected way.

Water Color Technique

I wanted to create a dyed dress using the Water Color Technique I'd seen on Pinterest.  According to Rit Studios if I put concentrated dye on fabric I could achieve the desired result.

I started with a circle skirt

I started with a wet plain white cotton sheet that was cut into a circle skirt and halter top.  Click HERE for more on Circle Skirts/Dresses.

Gather the Dye

I gathered my dye.  I used 1 cup of hot water and 1 pkg of powdered dye for green, yellow and blue.  I used liquid dye straight from the bottle for the 2 shades of purple.

Dying the Top

I dipped half of the halter top in the yellow dye.  Using a sponge I painted on 2 different shades of purple.

Adding Purple

I continued to add layers of color until the top was as dark as I liked.

Layers of Color

Working on the skirt, I added layers of dye directly to the fabric.

Layering Color

I used a sponge to dye the center of the circle yellow and the outter edge of the skirt green.

Sponge to add dye

Layer after layer I added dye.  First purple.

Adding layers of color

Then blue and lavender.

Layers of color

The skirt was laid out on a picnic table.  I worked round and round the skirt adding layers of color.

More color layers

Finally when I felt that the dress had enough color, I left it to dry overnight.

Done layering

I was THRILLED with the pattern and color of the skirt.  I not so secretly hoped that the colors would stay this bold.

After the wash

The next morning I rinsed and then washed out the dye.  I was disappointed.  The colors seemed faded and boring to me.  Gone was yesterday's bold color splashes.  I was left with what felt like a muddled mess.

Dye Puddles

In addition to faded color, the skirt also retained marks where the dye had pooled into the crevices on the picnic table.

Fabric Paint

Because I wanted darker colors, I decided to buy fabric paint to fix the problem.

Fabric Painted

I sponge painted a relatively small portion of the dress top and decided that I HATED the look!

Crafting for me is about having fun and saving money.  Between dye, paint, sponges and a white sheet from the thrift store I'd spent $30 and still didn't have anything I liked.  That's when I came up with another idea.

Alcohol + Paint

Using an empty spray bottle I mixed rubbing alcohol (we only had wintergreen) and fabric paint.

1 part paint and 1 part alcohol

Using 1 part paint and 1 part alcohol I began to spray the dress with a fine mist of paint.

1 layer of blue spray paint

Working slowly, adding 1 color at a time, I sprayed on paint until the fabric was as dark as I liked.

Sprayed!

I used indigo and purple paint mixed with alcohol in 2 separate spray bottles.

Sprayed!

When the skirt was dark enough I let it dry overnight.

Drying in the sun

For the record, I'm still not happy with the results.

Dyed and Spray Painted

Because I'd sunk a lot of time and money into this project, I decided to go ahead and finish the dress.  (A shining example of Sunk Cost Fallacy).  Nevertheless, I persist!

I turned the sponge painted fabric into pockets.

Pockets

That way they're not wasted -- they're also not visible.

Dress Pockets

The rest of the fabric was sewn into a dress.

Attic dress

This dress now sits on a dress form in the corner of the attic.  I hope that one day soon I'll look at this dress and be excited about it.  For now it's just a messy, expensive, splotchy dress sitting in a corner.

 With tea party season approaching there's an excellent chance that I'll have a change of heart and she'll get her day in the sun.

You never know!

UPDATE:
In the end I decided to wear this dress and it was a huge hit!!  Here are pix.




For more Rit Dye Adventures, click HERE!

For SUCCESSFUL ReFashion projects, click HERE!

Book Lamp

Recently I saw a simple DIY book lamp and I HAD to make one for myself.  This was a pretty easy project that I made last night after work.  I kind of feel like I should call this my Tuesday Night Lamp since I just whipped it up one Tuesday night.

First, credit where credit is due -- there are a million book lamps online but the one from The Shabby Creek Cottage was my personal favorite and my inspiration.

My inspiration

Gina from the Shabby Creek blog did an AMAZING job on her lamp.  Here is a link to her tutorial.  I did everything she suggested with a few changes so that my lamp fits my needs.

Small Flush Mount Ceiling Fixture

Round ceiling pan

Lamp Cord with Switch

Threaded Rod

Dry Wall Screws

Dremel

Screw the books together

Make sure to add 2-3 screws to the top and 2-3 screws to the bottom of the stack.

Bottom Screws

Center the round ceiling pan on the top of the book stack.  Trace around the pan.

Trace around the pan

Using the dremel or a box cutter, cut out the opening for the pan.

Cut out the opening for the pan.

This is a slow and messy process.  Be patient and keep cutting until you have a space deep enough to hold the pan.

Hammer out a channel for the lamp wires

Using a hammer, remove one of the circles from the pan.  This is where the wires will go through the book.  Be sure to position the hole so that the wires will go through the pages of the book and not the book binding.

1/2 inch kreg bit

Working at an angle, drill a hole for the threaded rod and lamp wires. You can use any 1/2 inch bit.  I used a kreg bit to make the job easier.

Hammer in the threaded rod

Hammer the threaded rod in place.  It should be flush with the bottom on the pan.  Cut off any excess length using a hacksaw or a dremel with a saw blade.

Cut off excess threaded rod

Screw the pan in place.  Center the light fixture over the pan.  Screw the fixture to the pan with the screws provided.

Fixture on pan

Thread the lighting wires down the threaded rod.





WIRING YOUR LAMP

Safety is SUPER important when you're dealing with lighting.  Be sure to follow the wiring directions exactly!

Some lighting fixtures connect to electricity with screws.

Lighting Fixture with Screws

Other Fixtures connect to electricity with wires.

Lighting Fixture with wires

If you look closely at your lamp cord you will see that one side is ribbed and the other side is smooth.

Lamp Cord

The ribbed cord connects to the silver screw or the wire with the white casing.  The smooth cord connects to the brass screw or the wire with the black casing.

If there is a green screw, connect the brass wire to the green screw.  Not all fixtures have this.

Green Screw

Following these directions will keep you from getting zapped when you remove the light bulb.  So remember:

Strip (if necessary) and  twist the ribbed wire to the white wire.  Secure with electrical tape.
Strip (if necessary) and  twist the smooth wire to the black wire.  Secure with electrical tape.

Strip and connect wires

Tape the wires together.

Wired

Add a light bulb.

Almost done

Then add the lamp globe.

Ready to plug in