Inkodye Wood Wall Art

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Today I am teaming up with some of my very favorite bloggers for a fun Craft Wood Challenge! Each blogger had to make some wall art or decoration using the craft wood you can find at your local craft store. After you check out what I made, be sure to see all the other sweet projects at the end of the post! (Psst – they are awesome!)

But for now – Have you guys heard of Inkodye? It’s a photosensitive dye, which means you can dye things with THE SUN.

No joke.

So, obviously, I have been wanting to try it since I heard of it, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a go.

I went over to Michael’s and picked up a 12″ wooden canvas. It’s just a square piece of wood, but it has a canvas frame on the back, which makes it easy to hang. Perfect!

Ready to see how I made it? Let’s do this! Here’s everything I used:

• 12″ x 12″ Wood Canvas
• Inkodye (I used magenta)
• Cardstock
• Silhouette, cutting machine, or craft knife
• Piece of glass or acrylic
• A sunny day
• Hot water, detergent, and an old rag

I started off by lettering my phrase. I wanted to hang this piece in my in-process craft room, so I thought something kind of inspirational would be good. And since the canvas was square, “outside the box” came to mind.

I scanned my lettering into my computer, and played around with it in photoshop a bit to get it the placement right. Once I was happy with it, I used my Silhouette to cut the design out of a piece of cardstock. I designed it so all of the words touched, which meant the phrase came out all in one piece. If hand lettering scares you or if you don’t have a Silhouette, you could totally print out a phrase and cut it out with a craft knife.

Now it’s time to dye some wood!

Once the dye is in the sun, it will start processing right away, so it is important to prep everything before you begin the process. You want to add the dye to the canvas in a kind of dark or shady place. I worked in my garage, which worked great. Wherever you decide to prep your canvas, be sure to protect any surfaces you are working on – this stuff will stain anything porous – wood, fabric, concrete, etc.

So, apply the dye to the top of your canvas, spread it over the entire thing. Then, use a paper towel to wipe off the excess dye. The canvas shouldn’t be too wet. Now, position the cardstock cut-out onto the canvas and top it with the piece of glass or acrylic (this keeps the paper positioned and prevents it from blowing away in the wind). Carefully carry it out into direct sunlight.

As soon as I took the canvas out into the sun, the dye began to darken:

After about five minutes, it was a nice deep color. Cool, right?! When it’s all done processing, bring it back inside out of the light and prepare to be wowed.

Putting the glass on top of the cardstock gave it such a nice clean print. I love it!

To prevent the letters from darkening in the light, you need to wash off any remaining dye. I filled up a bowl with hot water and detergent and used an old rag to scrub the dye off the canvas.

The dyed portion lightened a bit as I did this, but it also let the wood grain show through more, which I thought was great. When it was all dry, it was ready to hang up!

I added it to my in-progress craft room, and I like it with hanging over the printer for now.

I had a lot of fun making this little project, and I’m definitely looking forward to trying more lumodye projects in the future.

Now, who’s ready for more great wood projects?!

These ladies are all so, so talented. I know you are going to love what they have made. Go ahead, and get clicking!