Fabric Sospeso Transparente Tutorial

Altered Bottle

Hi friends I have been singing praises of Sospeso Transparente ever since I got my hands on it.
If you are new to Sospeso Transparente please read my introduction to Sospeso Transparente first : Sospeso Transparente tutorial .The printed films are my favorite for the sheer ease of working with them but for beauty I think nothing can surpass the original Fabric tape designs of Sospeso Transparente !

Fabric Flowers

Its sheer magic to be able to shape a piece of fabric into 3 Dimensional flowers!

Altered Bottle

I altered the bottle above by sponging with white acrylic paint, adding some Spellbinders die cuts and sticking on the Fabric flowers

Altered Bottle

Here is how to make Fabric flowers

Materials

1. Fabric Tape - there are beautiful designs of these thick cotton cloth ribbon tapes at Crafters Corner
2. Glue - special Sospeso Transparente glue - use undiluted
3. Plastic films - special Sospeso Transparente one
4. Embossing Pad and Embossing Tools
5. Decoupage Spatula - awesome tool to remove those wrinkles and bubbles in all decoupage crafts not only Sospeso.
6. Candle - good quality, non smoky variety
7. Good scissors-Very essential and I recommend my favorite Tim Holtz Tonic Non stick scissors

Materials

There are some beautiful designs of flowers and leaves in fabric and if you are wondering can you use any cloth-- well the cloth needs to be such that it can withstand heating and not fray when you cut the designs.

Fabric tape

I used a single roll of the Gigli Rosa fabric tape to make the flowers in both my projects and still have a couple left over; so yes even though its more expensive than paper veils and printed films ,its value for money and the delicacy and the beauty of the Fabric flowers surpasses the rest

Cut design

Monica Allegro's book [ you can pick up a copy here : Sospeso Transparente book] recommends applying a thin coating of Sospeso Transparente glue on the fabric tape reverse and allowing to dry before cutting the tape to avoid fraying.But I found that when I used my serrated Tim Holtz scissors[ this baby can cut sticky foam tape too without sticking and if you use double foam tape as much as I do this scissors is a must have!] to cut out the fabric flowers , there was absolutely no fraying and you can skip that step!

Arrange on transparent plastic film

Once you cut out your designs [ why cut- to save space on your transparent film and glue!]you are ready to stick them on the transparent plastic film. I like to roughly arrange them and click a picture to refer back to so that when I am gluing I don't have to play jigsaw puzzle to fit all my designs!

Add glue to Stick

Use glue undiluted for fabric [for paper veils you have to dilute: Check Paper veil tutorial ].You can apply glue to the transparent sheet and stick your flower design or you can apply glue to the reverse of your flower design and stick to the transparent plastic.

Glue on fabric

In many ways fabric is easier than paper veils as its so sturdy and doesn't tear or wrinkle much.When you stick on the fabric  you can blot excess glue with a towel or sponge.

Blot with cloth

Get a firm wrinkle free adhesion by running a decoupage spatula over your flowers - the excess glue seeps out and you can blot this away.

Decoupage spatula

Allow enough time for the glued designs to dry. Takes a couple of hours depending on climate conditions.

Dried design

The rest of the steps are the same as in Printed films and Paper veils- cut the design and cut along the petals to the center to allow you to shape your flower when you heat and emboss.

Cut design

I found the Tim Holtz scissors invaluable in cutting the flower designs as you have to cut through a really thick layer of fabric and plastic and you  need a nice thin tipped scissors to reach all the corners too. If you dont have a good scissors you will be frustrated!

Embossing tools and Pad

Heat and emboss the flowers heating the plastic under-surface of the flowers following the Printed films tutorial and Paper veil tutorial. The only difference is that you need to heat a bit longer than you would for the printed films and you need to emboss using more force.

Magnetic Floating photo cube

I had lots of fabric flowers remaining so added them to a floating photoframe I picked up from a local shop. Shalini has brought some beautiful new products to add your Sospeso Transparente flower designs to including:

Metal Photoframe

Necklaces and Chains to make jewelry

and Plastic - metal Brooches [the brooches are super economic too!]

Photoframe

You can even add the fabric flowers to curtain holders and cushions!

Fabric flowers

I didnt get time to add my family photos but you can see the photo-cube twirling

Rotating Photoframe

And here is the cube removed from the frame [ it snaps on via a magnet!]

Photoframe

I hope you enjoyed my Fabric flowers tutorial and altered projects

Fabric Flowers

Do drop a few lines how it has tuned out.
Craft Supplies
Decoupage spatula, brushes
Flower center options : Pollens and fillers
Sospeso Transparente Materials

Sospeso Transparente tutorial links

• Sospeso Transparente Basics and Printed film Sospeso Transparente 
• Sospeso Transparente Bouquet tutorial and How to make Sospeso Transparente flower centers
• Ice crystal effect tutorial 
• Paper veil Sospeso Transparente tutorial and Sospeso Transparente techniques: Crackle effect, Diamond dust and Distress Glitter on Sospeso Transparente 
• CD recycling with Sospeso Transparente 

More Sospeso Transparente on Pinterest: Sospeso Transparente Pinterest