Revisiting a former technique, this time using "wipes"

Back in 2008, I showed some paper towels I dyed based on information I found on Sharon McAllister's blog. She called the technique "Dyed Kitchen Paper." Thanks to my friends in England (Sharon lives in London), I know that "kitchen paper" is what we in the States call paper towels. Directly in the center of these Viva paper towels (the smaller piece above) was a handy wipe that I was a bit disappointed with: disappointed because it didn't display the bubbly effect that was evident on the paper towels.

It was because of this tutorial and my revised technique that I decided to make a few more of these, only this time I would not use kitchen paper/paper towels, but the handy wipes instead. After all, they are already wet, so I didn't even need to saturate them, as one normally needs to do when using paper towels.


Materials needed for this project:
Any kind or brand of disinfecting or baby wipe as long as it is still moist
Microwave friendly plate


Any brand of color wash (I chose some I was trying to get rid of)
Protective glove(s)
Microwave oven (not shown)


I probably should not have used all my yellow and green on this project, because these are really bright and beautiful colors, unlike the vintage ones I didn't use on these wipes.

In short, here is what I did:

1. Making sure your wipes are still saturated with moisture, spritz two or more spray ink colors on each disinfecting wipe.
2. Before moving the wipe, put on protective gloves. These inks stain badly!
3. To make the technique work, you must use two wipes, one on top of the other. I sprayed both. It appears the moisture from the two is needed for this technique to work properly (see photo above).
4. Set your microwave (mine is 1100 watts) to one minute and zap.
5. Turn wipes over and zap for another full minute. By that time, my wipes were nearly dry.
6. Remove plate from microwave using a potholder. Your plate will be very hot, so be careful.


Although these need ironing, I think they are gorgeous. And, unlike paper towels, these can actually pass for fabric and won't tear in the event you want to use them for pockets in your fabric pages. I am adding these to my tutorials page because they are different from the paper towel technique I used before. Have fun making these, but be warned. They are highly addictive.