Steampunk Apron with Artesprix

Hello and welcome! I’m Alison Heikkila and I have such a fun project to share with you today. I am going to show you how to create a cool steampunk-themed apron using Artesprix’s fantastic paints on a Gel Press Plate and Artesprix’s Brown ink pad. 

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What is Iron-On Ink?
Artesprix Sublimation Markers, Ink, and Paint are specially formulated to allow you to use basic copy paper to: color, stamp, stencil, and monoprint anything you wish and turn it into a heat-transferable design. These designs are then applied to a polyester or polyester coated substrate with heat and pressure. You can use a heat press or a home iron! These designs, through this process of sublimation, will become permanent on your substrates.

Supplies:
Artesprix:
Apron
Acrylic Paint Set
Brown Ink Pad
Protective Paper
Heat Tape

Other:
8×10 Gel Press Plate
Speedball: 4” Brayer
Carabelle Studio: Newspapers Collage and Postcard Rubber Textures (discontinued, but others are available)
A Colorful Life Designs: Honeycomb Mask
Stampers Anonymous: Circuit Stencil
Tim Holtz: Skull & Crossbones Stencil (slightly different from the one I used)
Studio Light Stencils (discontinued)
Heat Source: Heat Press
Blending Brush
Copy Paper

Step 1: Add a few drops of Yellow, Red and White Artesprix paints to the 8×10 Gel Press Plate. I added a bit too much paint here.

Step 2: Swirl and blend the colors together using your brayer. Be sure to keep the colors semi-seperated for visual interest. 
Step 3: Lay your copy paper on top  of the plate and press to get a print. You may be able to add the excess paint from your brayer back on to the plate to get additional prints. 

I wound up with 3 prints that I really liked, but I decided to go with the one on the right, particularly because it didn’t have a lot of color. I am saving the other prints for a later date.

Step 4: Add additional colors to your print. I decided I wanted some green and some purplish-pink tones on my apron. So I mixed a small amount of those colors on part of the Gel Press Plate and pressed my print into them to get a range of colors on the entire sheet of paper.

This is my finished print. Although it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of color right now, once we do the sublimation, you’ll see that there is quite a bit of bold colors on it. 

Step 5: Ink up a Carabelle Studio (or other large) stamp with the Brown Ink. Place it on to your print and press firmly to get a good impression. You may use a stamping tool if you wish. 

Step 6: Begin stenciling on the print with the Brown Ink. I started with the gears because it was my biggest stencil and I made sure to use it in a few spots so that my design would flow well.

Step 7: Continue to add various stencils to your design. Overlapping the images gives a cool collage look.

Step 8: When you are finished with your design, tear the edges of the paper a bit. You don’t need to remove much. Tearing keeps your design from having a harsh line when you sublimate. 

This is what my finished design looks like. The colors are dull right now, but I promise they will be nice and bright after we sublimate!

Step 9: Tape your design face down onto the Apron.

Step 10: It’s time to make the Sublimation Sandwich. This sandwich not only ensures a great transfer of your design, but it will protect your heat source as well. Your sandwich will be: Protective Paper – Design (face down) – Apron – Protective Paper. 

Step 11: Place the Sublimation Sandwich into your Heat Press for 60 seconds at 400 degrees.

Step 12: It’s time for a peek test! This is to make sure your image transferred well. If you found that it didn’t, you can put it back into your Heat Press to sublimate again. This is why it’s important to really secure your Blank to your art. 

Check out how great my design looks after it’s been sublimated onto the apron! You can see how much more vibrant the colors are.

My son is proudly wearing the apron. He thinks it looks really cool, and wants to wear it while making things. We plan on adding additional designs to it since there’s plenty of white space left.

I am so happy with how this turned out. Using the Gel Press to get a base print to then stencil on top of is easy and fun, and you can create some really incredible designs this way. If you decide the apron isn’t for you, you can still apply these techniques to any other Blanks you like. The Artesprix collection of paints, inks, and markers make sublimation easy and limitless. How would you like to get more ideas on using Artesprix’s Sublimation Iron-On-Ink? There’s a Facebook Group that’s just for fans of Artesprix! You can click HERE to join. Also, don’t forget to visit the Artesprix store to see all of the available blanks and bundles, so you can get started with sublimation. You can use my code, ALISON10 to save 10% off of your purchase. Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!