Sunday, April 21, 2019

Laundry, laundry, laundry on Easter Sunday


We all do laundry.  Those of us who are homeowners probably dry their laundry in the dryer, at least in winter.  When the weather is nice, I hang my clothes outside.  However, when it's freezing out, I use my dryer, and of course, add dryer sheets.  There is nothing better than used dryer sheets. 

What could be more fun to recycle than these amazing sheets?  They add texture and are FREE.  Instead of throwing them away after they can no longer be used to soften and remove static from your clothes, recycle them into your mixed media art projects.

Materials used (from back clockwise):
Fluid acrylics, colors of your choice
Tap or distilled water
Bristle brush (I use synthetic)
Dryer sheets
Plastic or silicone craft mat to protect your work surface


Paint the dryer sheets with your favorite paint colors.  I use fluid acrylics because they have so much pigment, even after adding lots of water to the paint. The ultimate in recycling, these free sheets of gossamer goodness made me smile. 


I had to add water to the expensive fluid acrylics, and they took forever to dry in my cold craft room.  If you use a plastic sheet like I did, you can move the sheets to a safe spot that will allow them to dry.  For me, that was in front of my heater.


Some of the sheets got too much water and needed a second painting.  Others were saturated with color.


Once you are satisfied with the color, assemble your art quiltlet.

 I combined hand dyed silk, hand dyed lace, hand dyed deconstructed tablecloth, and a dryer sheet I doubled.  All fabrics were dyed by me and I painted the dryer sheet.  I sewed everything in place using variegated thread.

It was late at night and the lighting was atrocious.  The dryer sheet is on the left and the lace and tablecloth are on the right.

The silk is on the top, the dryer sheet on the bottom.




I finally got frustrated and worked on the embellishments, while waiting for daylight.

This is a much better example of the colors and it shows the completed quiltlet, too.

I was gifted with this grunge board piece by I believe, my friend Chris. I colored it using some of my handmade shimmering mist, but the shimmer is lost in the grunge board.



I decided to hang the hanging, then tried to color compensate.  It makes my white door look yellow

I thought this was an appropriate image for Easter.






For Day 21 of 22, I started with a used dryer sheet I doubled, then added fabrics and lace I had previously dyed.  I sewed the fabrics together using variegated thread that was obviously new.  I added an image (The Last Supper) I found in a religious book I picked out of my neighbor's trash, and a pull from a zipper that no longer zipped.  I used a piece of bamboo from my yard (obviously free) and a beautiful fancy fiber I received in a swap I hosted years ago.  I attached the bamboo and the grunge board using E6000, my adhesive of choice for these items.

I hope you have a joyous Easter.   I hope it is everything the day means to you.  Save a deviled egg for me, please.

2 thoughtful remarks:

Jeanie said...

I love the colors on these dryer sheets! And suitable for Easter, too. (Actually, image aside, they remind me of Easter eggs!)

You write the best comments!

And I'm glad you are back!

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

They maybe expensive those paints but they are one of the best for high pigmentation just look at the display of colour. This is a wonderful hanger Elizabeth and I love how you framed the last super image. A beautiful piece of patchwork recycling, we have so much around us that could be used.
Creative Hugs & Thanks for sharing Tracey xx