Monday, September 6, 2010

Plumeria leaf prints and Tea Dyeing

I put 2 plumeria leaves in a silk bundle yesterday and today was the unveiling.
plumeria leaves in silk
pounded to make good contact
bundled and steamed

plumeria leaf prints






















I was not happy with the leaf prints I did the other day---so I tea dyed them this morning and I love the way they turned out--sort of a caramel color.

before tea dyeing
after tea dyeing.

16 comments:

Nat Palaskas said...

Deanna, they turned out very well. I missed the pounding step on mine. Mine turned out okay as well, but it was too dark to take photo when I got home yesterday. Will do that soon - Hugs Nat

Jacky said...

I love the effect from the tea dyeing...especially that last one...stormy colours.

Jacky xox

Penny Berens said...

Oh, yes, the caramel leaves are yummy.
Hadn't thought of pounding and then steaming, the plumeria leaves came out beautifully.

kaiteM said...

they're very delicate prints. i'm wondering whether you're tying them up tight enough?
i wrap a piece of cotton over the silk for bulk, then use small rubberbands which i put on as tight as possible, till they hurt my arthritic finger tips, and several r. bands too, about 5 on each bundle. then i tie it up with string to make sure. also i drip hot water over the bundle from the saucepan lid.

Unknown said...

While I thought the original green leaved steamed cloth was lovely, dyed in tea, it takes on a whole other dimension, becomes a richer looking cloth. Tea is one of my favorite go to dyes, especially when I am less than thrilled with my results.

Hubby has a plumeria plant that we brought with us from Texas. It's his baby and woe to me if I take a green leaf. So I picked up some of the yellow leaves that had fallen on the porch, steamed them in a bundle and was surprised to see the imprint become even stronger after it had dried a few days later. Usually, it fades. I like your plumeria imprint Deanna; offset wonderfully by the autumnal colors in the silk cloth. Did you dye the silk?

deanna7trees said...

thanks for all your comments and suggestions. looking forward to getting better at this as time goes on.

jude said...

haven't been surfing the net much but i see you have been really busy here! wow!

deanna7trees said...

i'll be even busier once i receive india's book which is on the way. thanks for visiting my blog.

Storycloth said...

Hi Deanna - I love visiting here. I like the tea dyed leaves too. I also like (to bits!) the bobbin bag on a previous post. When I was a kid I would have had a little collection of things to put in there and I would have emptied and re-filled it over and over again. Feeling it when full and straightening it out to admire it empty. It is a beauty. G

deanna7trees said...

i've been doing just that, gilly, trying to decide what to keep in there (the bobbin bag).

kaiteM said...

the tea dyed leaf prints are a lovely next step after the initial printing, how good that they held their print. i've learnt something here, thanks for that...k.

kaiteM said...

i didn't know what a plumeria was until i googled it just now, we call it a frangipani, how wonderful. when we lived by the coast 12 years ago we had about a dozen and many different coloured blooms too, they were my Mum's pride and joy. thanks for the memory...k.

Deb G said...

Did you use a weight for pounding? I've been thinking about finding a mallet. Fun!

deanna7trees said...

yes, deb. it's a 5 lb weight and it's perfect for pounding.

Unknown said...

Now that is a great idea Deanna, using a hand weight. Mine are curved so not sure how effectively I could get an imprint but I am going to try as it sure beats using an old hammer.

gerfiles said...

I liked them green, too - but there certainly is an extra dimension now, as Marti said (black tea is always a good idea, anyways, couldn´t live without it...)

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