Hi friends! Sara here on the blog and today I’m excited to show you how to make the cutest pot holder ever! We will be using Artesprix Iron-on-Ink refills and a Kawaii themed stamps from Stampanniething to make a cute kawaii themed pot holder! I love how it turned out. Today’s project is easy, simple and cute!. Using our gel press, ink refills and a few drops of isopropyl we will create a watercolor effect then we’ll stamp our kawaii cute design on top! Our Iron-on-Ink refills are formulated with sublimation ink, therefore we will be able to customize our pot holder with a unique permanent design. The design will be subjected to heat via a heat press causing it to be infused into the blank permanently!
What is Sublimation Iron-on Ink?
Iron-on ink is a special ink that gets transferred onto poly-coated substrates or polyester fabric, and once it is subjected to heat, it is lifetime permanent. Artesprix ink always appear muted on paper, they become vibrant after they are heat pressed onto the sublimation blank.
Materials:
Pencil
Step-by-Step Tutorial:
Step 1: Place your pot holder on a mixed media paper and trace it with a pencil. This will help you figure out how big your design needs to be! This blank is one sided, but we have a big surface area to cover!
Step 2: Let’s create our design! Before we start, I recommend laying paper towels on your work area because we’re playing with inks today. Next, we’ll place our gel press on the paper towels, and then we’ll start by drizzling some isopropyl alcohol on its surface. I like to drop my Iron-on-Inks into alcohol so that they glide easier on our gel press.
Since we’re using a kawaii stamp for dessert and baked goods, I decided to go with the brown Sublimation Stamp Ink Refill to give it that "used" look. In order to get a very light shade, I went with a couple of ink drops and a couple of splashes of alcohol. Then, I started moving the inks and the alcohol on the gel press around to get them to mix beautifully! Feel free to add a few extra drops of isopropyl alcohol if you need a lighter color shade or use a different color all together, there are 9 total colors to choose from.
Pro Tip: Turn on your heat press so that it is ready when we’re done adding the final touches to our design. For this pot holder, we’ll need to set our heat press to 400°F for 60 seconds.
Step 3: Once I was satisfied with the ink mixed on my gel press, I applied my mixed media paper face down onto the inks on the gel press. Then, I peeled away the paper from the gel press. This will create a beautiful watercolor effect and a great coverage for the background of our design.
Step 4: Allow the background design to air dry for a few minutes
Step 5: Now it’s time to stamp the cutest kawaii desserts and baked goods from Stampanniething. We will use our acrylic stamp block and a black sublimation stamp pad to stamp these cute kawaii desserts across our design area as desired. Since these cling clear stamps are small, it worked perfectly to put a few of them on one go!
Pro Tip #2: If there are some where the impression was not as desired, you could do what I did and go over a few with my black sublimation marker.
Step 6: Add color. I used my sublimation stamp pads and a brush to add some color to the stamped designs, you could also color them in with the sublimation markers.
Step 7: Once you are finished creating and your transfer is dry, place your bottle pot holder face -down down on your colored design. Then, we’ll need to secure it to the paper with heat resistant tape. Securing it will prevent ghosting and ensure you get a crisp design!
Step 8: Let’s prepare our "sublimation sandwich"! Using protective paper, sandwich in your design with your pot holder secured to it. Make sure you are using pieces of protective paper that are bigger than your design. This will catch any extra ink and keep your work surfaces clean.
Step 9: It is time to press your design! Your heat press should be set to 400°F and the pot holder requires a transfer time of 60 seconds.
Step 10: After you press your design, it is time for the "peek test"! Do not remove the tape and slightly peel one corner of your design to get a peek of how well the design transferred. You will most likely have a great transfer and vibrant colors, but in the slightest chance you did not, you could go ahead and re-press your design.
Step 7: Let’s reveal our design! Once you have confirmed your transfer was successful, remove the paper from the pot holder. Look at how vibrant the colors are, I love how it came out.
This pot holder looks like I have been baking up a storm in the kitchen already. You could also customize it with initials or a name for someone special in your life! It would be a cute gift!
If you haven’t tried these sublimation stamp pads and ink refills, what are you waiting for? I love how Artesprix is making sublimation accessible and fun! Our project was very easy and it turned out amazing! Make sure you grab this pot holder blank this month! Thank you for reading and stay tuned for our next project! Please don’t forget to share your creations with us on instagram or Facebook!
I hope you liked our project today! You can see more of my work on my instagram, let’s keep in touch!
Keep on crafting!
Best,
Sara Ali
**This post may contain affiliate links. That means that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher, but I may get compensated.**
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