Class Sample Continued

After scratching my idea from the other day, I decided to do a large tree using a thermofax screen and discharge paste on the same background fabric. The tree didn't bleach out pure white which was a good thing in this situation. It still had some brownish areas from the original fabric.  I did do a little more shading with paintsticks and outlined it with black thread.

I also screened one of my favorite "tree screens" in black to make it more forest-like.

It's a little messy on the bottom but that will be covered up.

Next step was to lay the organza over the background fabric to see how it looked. It will be subtle.

It does tone it down quite a bit.

Now to add some imagery to the background fabric which will be "underneath" the organza.  I had to remove the organza to do this.  I love the fern below; it's very delicate and doesn't overpower other imagery.

I also want to use ferns in other areas, but they can be crazy to work with. Every time you need to change positions, it means unpinning every leaf -  way too tedious.

So I came up with this neat little trick.  Take a piece of tulle and lay it on your ironing board.

Fuse the fern or anything with lots of parts onto the tulle. The tulle is hard to see below but it's a very pale yellow Make sure to use a pressing cloth as tulle is not heat tolerant and melts very easily. I've always used a men's hankerchief as a pressing cloth;  it's thin and cotton which tolerates high heat.

Cut off the excess tulle making it easier to work with. Now it's easy to pin the entire unit and move it around until you see where it works best. When you've decided on the final placement, the tulle peals off easily with enough fusible web left on the leaf to fuse to your fabric.

Next step is to create more nature imagery to place on top.
Stay tuned.