I've been wondering forever if it was possible to dye our linen albums. I love the quality of our books, but truthfully wish I could have a larger variety of colors to choose from. I want light pink and blue for baby albums, or a nice Creamy Caramel to go with my Boho West album. I miss the Groovy Lines, Love without End and By Design albums we used to carry. So, I finally got up the courage to experiment with water, some Classic ink and a natural linen album. IT WORKED!!! It was totally messy, especially since I dropped the bowl before I even started! My laundry room walls, washing machine, cabinets, counter, floor and my feet became a lovely shade of Taken with Teal immediately. Luckily, Spices (my Black & White cat) was scared by the noise (or maybe the nasty words spewing from my mouth) and rushed away before he too was dyed Teal. It's amazing how fast that old kitty can move when he has too! After spending an hour cleaning, scrubbing and bleaching, I was ready to put dye to album. I added one part water to about 4 parts Classic ink, mixed it up and started applying the dye to the spine of the album with a sponge. I must admit that I'm not a patient person. I could have done this slowly, lightly brushing the edges with ink and a paintbrush, but nooooo, not me. I just slopped it on! The edges were dripping and I wasn't too concerned with neatness. Hey, my feet were already blue, so what the heck! It looked liked it worked well enough on the spine so I tackled the actual album next. Once again, I was anxious to see the results of my efforts, so neatness wasn't a priority for me. Good thing I had an idea on how to cover my mess!
Here's what the inside of the album looked like when it dried:
Not so attractive, so I covered the inside with a piece of striped designer paper from our Confetti Simply Scrappin' kit. Now's it's a perfect match for my new Birthday 6" x 6" Brag Book!
Isn't it pretty now? Here's how my new Taken with Teal album looks all done!
The color is very soft looking in person. A customized look for a great book! Look for the birthday album layouts in the next couple of days.
Oh, one more thing...I think it's better to use a 6 to 1 ratio instead of the 4 to 1 ratio I originally used. I had to color the covers twice to get this shade and I think I could have accomplished the same color if I used just a little more of the dye ink. I did need to use a small paint brush to get the ink all the way into the creases of the covers, but for the most part, it was all done with the sponge.
JC,
This is beautiful!! Although I don't think I'm up for the process based on what happened to you! That sounds way too much like something I would have happen! I think you should just show SU what you did and heavily suggest they get on the bandwagon!!
Posted by: Marianne | August 29, 2007 at 09:14 AM
Jeanne,
Love the album!!! What a great idea. Leave it up to you to come up with such great ideas.
Rebecca
Posted by: Rebecca Kaufmann | August 30, 2007 at 12:34 PM
What a great idea!!! I think you're going to make SU! wonder why everyone is suddenly ordering those albums ...
Posted by: Alisha | August 31, 2007 at 07:44 AM
That is way too cool! I'll have to remember this next time I need a special color of album.
Posted by: Cindy | September 03, 2007 at 10:00 PM