Hi there! Thank you so much for all your videos and education. It is SO helpful! Just a quick question and sorry if this has been answered in another video. Just wondering, why do you mix in Vinegar for your solution? Why not just Alcohol? Thanks so much for your help :)
Hi, you don't have to use vinegar, and sometimes it doesn't play will with some paints - so always do a test first. Basically I use it because vinegar is reputed to help set color. But really, should be fine either way. Thank you for watching, Em
Hi, no that doesn't seem to have any affect, and if anything my help preserve them. IMHO the biggest things that can affect quality is sun, dampness and sometimes microscopic bugs that can turn things to dust. In regard to the latter, that is not very often but can happen, so why I mention it since people live in various climates and store things in different ways. An example of the microscopic bugs so people don't freak out: I have a larger arrangement under glass on my wall that is about 30+ years old. From a distance it looks fine, yet not robust like when new, but upon close inspection you can see where some of the botanicals are starting to turn to dust. I assume it is microscopic bugs that are doing this. They are isolated to just the area/s turning to dust, so personally I am not worried about them invading ouside their little area/s. If it gets to bad or unsightly, I will then throw it into the garbage. It is hard for me to do that right now because it has a lot of history and memories. I brought it with me when I moved from Alaska to Oregon many years ago... In other words: just throw any botanicals that may start to turn to dust over time away and don't worry about it since it doesn't affect anything else. Yes my answers are often as long winded as some of my videos:-) Botanicals that have been hot laminated, encased in wax or an acrylic medium would have the hardest time deterorating becasue thay are encased so air and moisture have a more difficulttime getting in. I have flowers in my archives that are decades old, and items I have made and kept that are too - most all are still fine except more mellow or faded as to thier original color. Thank you for watching, Em
Hi chanced upon this wonderful tutorial on enchancing dried flowers... I am a novice enthusiast who just discovered this new world.. Living in India I do not have access to the kind of paint used in the video I just have a question.. Is this any kind of fabric paint that you have used ? We have fabric paint here so wanted to confirm before I started off Kindly revert Thank you in advance
Hi em what do you think is the best way to color enhance white pressed flowers? Will we be able to paint them white and bring the original color back if the white roses have become a little offwhite/brown? Please help
Hi, sorry for my delay. Yes you should be able too, just test first. All the acrylics I have tried worked fine, but I have heard that some mediums may curdle. In that case just use rubbing alcohol since that is fine too. The idea is using something to thin the paint and not be as "wet" as just water - since water and dried flower don't like each other:-) Em
Hi Kelsey, it depends upon if they are "brown" or just a slight cream color. If brown, a more transparent overlay will not cover them. If a cream color, sometimes they can turn out OK. For real brown botanicals that I like and have good texture, I often use them for collage where I paint over the whole thing, or for leaves I like to guild them. Here are some examples of how I use things that I don't want to throw away for some reason. ruclips.net/video/jGM7CeVWdqQ/видео.html guilding leaves ruclips.net/video/d-dULbGV1Mk/видео.html flower paper There are othe ways to use them so just be creative. You can also use an opaque paint that will cover the brown and use them for other ideas. Play around and have fun, Em
Thank you Em. I watched all of you videos on color enhancement and have made my own formula. I bought Tulip fabric paint and when I put the vinegar in it the pain curdled or clumped. So I now use distilled water and alcohol. I know vinegar sets dye so will leaving it out of my paints cause them to fade over time?
Hi Charlotte, nice to hear you are giving this a try. Sorry to hear about the vinegar. While it is not necessary, I have always used it for the reason you mention - reputed to help set color. Did you add the vinegar directly to the paint, or make a blend of vinegar/alcohol/water mix and use that? ...just thinking out load about why the paint may have clumped. I have not tried the Tulip fabric paint, but do use the fabric markers. Don't really think vinegar will make a big difference as to fading if a fabric paint or dye is used. Thank you for watching and commenting:-) Em
I also have a problem with this particular paint. A very fine glitter is In paint. If I let it settle and use the paint from the top of the bottle it is ok. If I want to add a bit of sparkle to a piece I just dip down to the bottom and pick up a bit of the fine glitter. I did that with a picture of Blackfoot daisies and it turned out very pretty.
Hi Charlotte, interesting idea... never really gave that a thought. My fear is responses wouldn't be timely most of the time due to scheduling/work/life :-) I do think it's a great idea. Em
Hi, I have heard people use the Alum from the store, although that can get very expensive if you do much eco printing. The beginning of this video shows the two brands of alum I use most often ruclips.net/video/Gm8es6TZktc/видео.html Em
Hi, normally I use rubbing alcohol for thinning if needed. Test a small amount with your paint/colorant first to be sure thay mix together alright. I also tried some white gesso with a smooth consistency diluted with a little alcohol and that worked for some items. Really just play around since not all flowers like the same paint. Some will bead up on waxy flowers for example, and in that case the gesso/alcohol worked better. Sometimes I have added a flat medium to a paint base to see if that helps to adhere to waxy/oily type flowers and leaves. So there really is not one answer. For alchohol inks I don't usually dilute unless I want to tone down the color. Thanks for watching. Em
Thank you so much for this video ! I am definitely going to try it.
Thank you so much for your videos! Im SO happy I found this :)
Thanks so very much for answering my question. This was so helpful.
I’ve always wondered if you could color dried flowers to spruce their colors back. Great tutorial
Does this also work with white flowers?
Hi there! Thank you so much for all your videos and education. It is SO helpful! Just a quick question and sorry if this has been answered in another video. Just wondering, why do you mix in Vinegar for your solution? Why not just Alcohol? Thanks so much for your help :)
Hi, you don't have to use vinegar, and sometimes it doesn't play will with some paints - so always do a test first. Basically I use it because vinegar is reputed to help set color. But really, should be fine either way. Thank you for watching, Em
3
Do the flowers disintegrate more easily overtime when you color enhance them?
Hi, no that doesn't seem to have any affect, and if anything my help preserve them. IMHO the biggest things that can affect quality is sun, dampness and sometimes microscopic bugs that can turn things to dust. In regard to the latter, that is not very often but can happen, so why I mention it since people live in various climates and store things in different ways.
An example of the microscopic bugs so people don't freak out: I have a larger arrangement under glass on my wall that is about 30+ years old. From a distance it looks fine, yet not robust like when new, but upon close inspection you can see where some of the botanicals are starting to turn to dust. I assume it is microscopic bugs that are doing this. They are isolated to just the area/s turning to dust, so personally I am not worried about them invading ouside their little area/s. If it gets to bad or unsightly, I will then throw it into the garbage. It is hard for me to do that right now because it has a lot of history and memories. I brought it with me when I moved from Alaska to Oregon many years ago...
In other words: just throw any botanicals that may start to turn to dust over time away and don't worry about it since it doesn't affect anything else. Yes my answers are often as long winded as some of my videos:-)
Botanicals that have been hot laminated, encased in wax or an acrylic medium would have the hardest time deterorating becasue thay are encased so air and moisture have a more difficulttime getting in. I have flowers in my archives that are decades old, and items I have made and kept that are too - most all are still fine except more mellow or faded as to thier original color. Thank you for watching, Em
Hi chanced upon this wonderful tutorial on enchancing dried flowers... I am a novice enthusiast who just discovered this new world.. Living in India I do not have access to the kind of paint used in the video
I just have a question.. Is this any kind of fabric paint that you have used ? We have fabric paint here so wanted to confirm before I started off
Kindly revert
Thank you in advance
@@emsplace I have benefited from this great reply. Thank you for taking the time!!
Hi em what do you think is the best way to color enhance white pressed flowers? Will we be able to paint them white and bring the original color back if the white roses have become a little offwhite/brown? Please help
Hi Em! Can I use the 50/50 alcohol and vinegar formula with acrylic paint?
Hi, sorry for my delay. Yes you should be able too, just test first. All the acrylics I have tried worked fine, but I have heard that some mediums may curdle. In that case just use rubbing alcohol since that is fine too. The idea is using something to thin the paint and not be as "wet" as just water - since water and dried flower don't like each other:-) Em
Would this method work with painting white dryied flowers that have turned brown?
Hi Kelsey, it depends upon if they are "brown" or just a slight cream color. If brown, a more transparent overlay will not cover them. If a cream color, sometimes they can turn out OK.
For real brown botanicals that I like and have good texture, I often use them for collage where I paint over the whole thing, or for leaves I like to guild them. Here are some examples of how I use things that I don't want to throw away for some reason.
ruclips.net/video/jGM7CeVWdqQ/видео.html guilding leaves
ruclips.net/video/d-dULbGV1Mk/видео.html flower paper
There are othe ways to use them so just be creative. You can also use an opaque paint that will cover the brown and use them for other ideas. Play around and have fun, Em
Thank you Em. I watched all of you videos on color enhancement and have made my own formula. I bought Tulip fabric paint and when I put the vinegar in it the pain curdled or clumped. So I now use distilled water and alcohol. I know vinegar sets dye so will leaving it out of my paints cause them to fade over time?
Hi Charlotte, nice to hear you are giving this a try. Sorry to hear about the vinegar. While it is not necessary, I have always used it for the reason you mention - reputed to help set color. Did you add the vinegar directly to the paint, or make a blend of vinegar/alcohol/water mix and use that? ...just thinking out load about why the paint may have clumped. I have not tried the Tulip fabric paint, but do use the fabric markers.
Don't really think vinegar will make a big difference as to fading if a fabric paint or dye is used.
Thank you for watching and commenting:-) Em
emsplace I mixed the water, alcohol and vinegar before I put the paint into it.
I also have a problem with this particular paint. A very fine glitter is In paint. If I let it settle and use the paint from the top of the bottle it is ok. If I want to add a bit of sparkle to a piece I just dip down to the bottom and pick up a bit of the fine glitter. I did that with a picture of Blackfoot daisies and it turned out very pretty.
Em do you have a blog or a place we can ask you questions other than your videos?
Hi Charlotte, interesting idea... never really gave that a thought. My fear is responses wouldn't be timely most of the time due to scheduling/work/life :-) I do think it's a great idea. Em
So my hubby got Alum spice, is that different than what you are using?
Hi, I have heard people use the Alum from the store, although that can get very expensive if you do much eco printing.
The beginning of this video shows the two brands of alum I use most often ruclips.net/video/Gm8es6TZktc/видео.html
Em
Do you have any videos showing how you enhance white flowers? I tried using the piñata brand paint but wasn’t sure which formula you used to thin it?
Hi, normally I use rubbing alcohol for thinning if needed. Test a small amount with your paint/colorant first to be sure thay mix together alright. I also tried some white gesso with a smooth consistency diluted with a little alcohol and that worked for some items. Really just play around since not all flowers like the same paint.
Some will bead up on waxy flowers for example, and in that case the gesso/alcohol worked better. Sometimes I have added a flat medium to a paint base to see if that helps to adhere to waxy/oily type flowers and leaves. So there really is not one answer. For alchohol inks I don't usually dilute unless I want to tone down the color. Thanks for watching. Em