 What you need:
- 100% cotton muslin (pre-washed)
- fiber reactive dyes (sold at art supply stores)
- wax
- wax pot – electric tea or soup warmer
- Brush for dye and for wax
- Push pins
- Gloves
- Tub for dying
- Newspaper
- Iron (used for crafts only)
 What
to do:
- You may lightly sketch your design with pencil on your pre-washed and
dried muslin. It is easier to draw if you stretch it on a board and
secure it with pushpins.
- Remember that you are drawing with the hot wax. Everything that you
paint with wax will be natural color of the muslin.
- Make sure the wax is hot enough to go completely through the material
(HINT: It should stick to the paper underneath.)
- Now begin painting in your colors. I like to start with the lightest
and work darker.
- After your painting is finished and your piece has dried completely,
you may brush wax over the entire piece of material.
- Let the wax harden. Some people like to put in the freezer for a
minute.
- Crumble the material into a ball to cause the wax to crack. These
cracks will give you the beautiful crazing lines of batik.
- After crumpling, open it up. You are ready to put your gloves on and
put in the dark or black dye bath. Submerge your piece and swish around
a few minutes for the dye to absorb in the material. Take out, wipe off
and hang to dry.
- When dry, get your craft iron out. Place your batik on several old
sections of newspaper (new paper sometimes bleeds ink.) Sandwich the
batik with more newspaper on top.
- With the iron on a high setting iron out your wax. This will take
several pieces of newspaper. Keep ironing until very little wax comes
through paper.
- Your batik is finished and ready to become a design for a banner, your
table, maybe on a t-shirt, or for unique greeting cards!
 Nostalgic
and Contemporary Picture Frames
Glass globs fit in any décor, especially when you can choose your colors.
What you need:
- Glass globs (art supply, hobby stores, floral department)
- Inexpensive frame (you’ll only use the glass and the stand) Choose a
frame one size larger than you need so that the stand will be big enough
to hold picture up.
What you need for stained glass:
- Copper foil
- Glass cutter
- Zinc channel
- Soldering iron
- Solder 60/40
- flux
- brush
What to do:
- Decide what size frame opening you want (2 x 3, 3 x 5, 5 x 7)
- Draw your opening on a piece of paper to make a pattern for your clear
glass.
- Score and break glass to the opening size.
- Using a board with a right angle, lay out your center piece of glass
with enough room for the sides of the frame.
- To foil your globs, wrap tape around and rub foil on the glass. When
all done, put glass in a plastic container ˝ full and shake with lid on.
This magically burnishes the foil on!
- Turn on your soldering iron. When hot, tin the edges of all your globs
with solder.
- Add foil to clear glass and position in place.
- Begin tack soldering the globs to each other and to the center glass.
- Run a nice bead of solder around the center glass
- Cut your cardboard stand to fit your opening (remember we have to go
larger so that stand will work)
- Cut 3 zinc strips to size. Clean zinc with steel wool before soldering
at seams.
- Check your frame stand back to make sure it slides in and out.
- You may choose to add a patina at this time or just polish and leave
silver.
- Add your picture and enjoy!
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