12 Days of Art Quilting Techniques-Day 1

My quilted cards are a great place to try out new art quilting techniques on a small scale, with a small expenditure of time and materials. I thought I would post some of the techniques that I have tried, to hopefully inspire you to try something new too!
Today's technique is screen printing. I have only started to try this, but it's lots of fun! I have been making screens using organza and fusible vinyl. (Heat-n-Bond) It works great for small designs, and is very simple to do.
Step 1: Trace your shape onto the paper side of a square of heat-n-bond (I use about a 7 inch square, which leaves some space around my design)
Step 2: Take a permanent marker and scribble all over the vinyl side...this helps your shape to show up better later, trust me...:-)
Step 3: using a craft knife or small scissors, cut out your shape
Step 4: Cut a square of organza fabric the same size as your vinyl square. They don't have to be exact, you can trim them to match later.
Step 5: peel the paper off of the vinyl square, (which now has a hole in it in the shape of your design...) and carefully lay it sticky side down on the organza, keeping everything smooth and flat
Step 6: fuse according to the directions on the vinyl
Your screen is ready! I usually trim the edges since the vinyl and organza never match exactly. You can make the edges sturdier with tape, but I usually find that unnecessary.
To print, lay your screen vinyl side down on your fabric, which is on a waterproof and slightly padded surface. A cheap flannel backed vinyl tablecloth folded a time or two works great for a printing surface.
Place a small amount of fabric screen printing ink (I get mine at Michael's) across the top of your screen. Holding the screen firmly in place, use a credit card or plastic scraper to drag the ink across your screen. You can usually use it several times before it gets too messy and you have to wash it to use it again. Gently wash under warm water and pat dry. If any parts of the vinyl peel up, you can iron them back down. With gentle use, it should last for lots of prints!

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I do the raven feet with free motion stitching, but they could be part of the screen as well.

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This one requires two different screens for the two colors. I used registration marks to line them up.

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