Holiday Hostess Gift Wine Bag with Iron-on-Ink

Hello! I’m Alison Heikkila and I am really happy you stopped by the Artesprix Blog today. I have a new Artesprix sublimation project to share, and it’s a great gift idea, especially with the holiday season quickly approaching. We are going to personalize a Wine Bag, and I’ll give you a bunch of ideas that will work on any of your Artesprix sublimation blanks. And if you’ve ever made a bunch of Gel Press prints with your Artesprix paints, inks, etc, but haven’t put them onto a project, today’s project will hopefully inspire you to get them out and use them!

What is Iron-on-Ink?
Artesprix Sublimation Markers, Ink, and Paint are specially formulated to allow you to use basic copy paper to: color, stamp, stencil, and monoprint anything you wish and turn it into a heat-transferable design. These designs are then applied to a polyester or polyester coated substrate with heat and pressure. You can use a heat press or a home iron! These designs, through this process of sublimation, will become permanent on your substrates.

Step-by-Step Tutorial:

I have accumulated a lot of designs that I have made on my Gel Press, simply stenciled, or inked up using Artesprix products. I keep these unused designs in a folder for a "rainy day". I decided for today’s project, I would use one of the Gel Press Prints I made on my most previous Blog, when I was working on my Steampunk Apron. You can see how I made the print HERE. We will use that for the base of today’s design.

Step 1: Trim off some of the excess from the Gel Press Print. I used a pencil to mark off where I wanted to cut the print, using the bag as a guide to create a template. At the time I created the print, it was intended for a much larger blank. 

Step 2: Tape down the stencil with tape that won't ruin your design, like Washi Tape. Start inking up the Oak Elements on the monoprint with sublimation stamp ink and a blending brush.

Pro Tip #1: Have the stencil design go beyond the Wine Bag template. It will look like a full patterned print that’s been cropped when you're done.

Pro Tip #2: Try not to touch the areas you’ve inked right away. The ink sits on top of the acrylic paint, and may smudge. Try to let the ink dry first before touching it.

Step 3: Continue to ink up the Oak Elements stencil all over the Gel Press print.

Step 4: Tear the edges of the top and bottom of the design to give a more organic look to the finished piece. This is what my completed design looks like. I think it’s so pretty!

Step 5: Adhere your completed design face down on to the Wine Bag with Heat Tape. The bag can be sublimated on either side. Be sure to use plenty of Heat Tape if you’re using a Home Iron. 

Step 6: It’s time to make the "Sublimation Sandwich". This sandwich not only ensures a great transfer of your design, but it will protect your heat source as well. Cut 3 pieces of Protective Paper. Your sandwich will be: Protective Paper, Design (face down), Protective Paper, Wine Bag, Protective Paper. One piece protects your heat platen, the next prevents the design from transferring through to the other side, and the last piece keeps the other side of the Wine Bag from getting ink on it. 

Step 7: Press the Sublimation Sandwich for 45 seconds at 400℉. 

Step 8: "Peek Test" time! The colors are nice and vibrant, but truthfully, because my original background had so much color, the stenciled design got a bit lost when I did the transfer. Since I was unhappy with my results (due to my design, not the products), I decided to add to my design.

Step 9: This is why it is so important to use plenty of Heat Tape and do a true "Peek Test". Since I didn't remove my design entirely, I was able to fold back my design, yet keep it attached well enough that I knew it would line up perfectly again when I sublimated the piece for a second time. I took the Brown Sublimation marker and outlined all of the oak leaves and acorns. I could have used black instead, but I didn’t want the lines to be too harsh. This is what the lines looked like before I sublimated again. 

Step 10: Repeat the process of making the Sublimation Sandwich and pressing the design.

Now that’s looking much better! The Black marker would have shown up even more, but I am happy with how the bag looks now. Adding the outlines to the stenciled elements really made a difference. 

I think my Holiday Hostess Gift Wine Bag came out really great, especially since I had to do some problem-solving to get my design to stand out more. And I can still sublimate the back too! I hope that if you’ve got some extra prints or designs laying around, you’ll try transferring them too! Just keep in mind how vibrant those colors will become, so that whatever you do on top will stand out.

How would you like to get more ideas on using Artesprix’s Sublimation Iron-on-Ink? There’s a Facebook Group that’s just for fans of Artesprix! You can click HERE to join. Also, don't forget to visit the Artesprix store to see all of the available blanks and bundles, so you can get started with sublimation.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Alison Heikkila

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