"When we all think alike, then no one is thinking."
— Walter Lippman

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Fun With Tyvek

These lovely objects are made from recycled Tyvek mailing envelopes! Since they are almost indestructable I have used them as embellishments on the covers of some of my books: This example also has beadwork, which is stitched through the Tyvek and onto the cover with equally indestructable 'fireline.'
Back to the Tyvek..... here is a brief description of the process used to create the ornaments.
You will need a Tyvek mailing envelope, stamp pad inks or other permanent colored inks, a teflon pressing cloth, a piece of scrap paper, iron, and metallic acrylic paints (optional). Work in a well ventellated room.
First, open up the envelope so the blank side is fully exposed. Use permanent colored inks (almost any kind works) to color the entire surface. I use stamp pads that are permanent when heat set. Blend several colors together if you like. Allow this to dry and cut the Tyvek into pieces about 3 to 4 inches square.
Here is the tricky part..... place a Tyvek piece on scrap paper under your teflon pressing cloth and press straight down with a hot iron for JUST A FEW SECONDS then lift the iron straight up. Check to see the results. If your Tyvek did not scrunch up then you must press briefly again. If you keep the heat on it too long, the Tyvek will simply begin to desintegrate. Be prepared to experiment (play) with this to get the feel of just how long to apply the heat. It is very fun and somewhat addictive to watch when the little piece scrunches up properly.
When your embellishments are done, you can use a sponge to lightly apply metallic acrylic paint to accent the high parts. This accentuates the wonderful random patterns that happen.
These ornaments can be used in many different ways.
I have used these in collage also, and am working on a series I hope to post here in the future.
As always, HAVE FUN.

5 comments:

andrea creates said...

That is really neat!I always love reusing indestructable things that are otherwise going to a landfill.And they're so pretty too:)
Love the handbound books in your previous post too~
Andrea

Patricia Hecker said...

Way cool. Fun with meltable stuff is always good play!
Thanks! I love Tyvek!

Robert W. Leonard said...

That is pretty wild, I'd never heard of it before.

Sherri Gittel said...

Be sure to place the Tyvek paint side down between the parchment sandwich to get the bubble effect.

Ann Renee Lighter said...

I used a Teflon pressing cloth, but baking parchment would also work. Thanks for the suggestion.

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