Floral Artesprix Painted Pillow Case for Blank of the Month

Hello! I’m Alison Heikkila and I’m back for another Design Team Term. For this project, I'm excited to share Artesprix’s May Blank of the Month with you. How would you like to create your own custom pillow case? Think of all the fun possibilities! I decided to hand paint flowers all over mine, and it came out so pretty. Let me show you how you can make one just like it! 

**This post may contain affiliate links. That means that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher, but I may get compensated.** 

What is Artesprix 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. 

Supplies:
Artesprix Pillow Case
Artesprix Acrylic Paint Set
Protective Paper
Heat Tape
Artesprix’s Paint Color Mixing Chart
Heat Source: Home Iron or Heat Press
Copy Paper
Paint Brushes
Optional: Plastic Storage Cups for paint

Step 1: Normally, we would start off by tracing our Blank to create a template, but since the Pillow Case is so large, and we’re hand painting, we don’t need to do that. So you can begin by painting your first flower. I used a flat brush and painted the petals with "Hot Pink" paint. I kept my strokes super brushy.  

Pro Tip: Follow the Artesprix Paint Color Mixing Chart if you would like to make "Hot Pink" too. 

Step 2: Add detail strokes from the center and work your way out using the Red, straight from the bottle. 

Step 3: Using the back of a fat brush, or even a pencil, dip into the Black paint and apply dots to the flower center.

Pro Tip #2: Try to make them different sizes. 

Step 4: Using a Filbert shaped brush, let’s paint in some leaves. Start with "Lime" and then use "Green". Use a sweeping motion to create the shape, allowing one side to be a bit longer than the other. 

Step 5: Trim around the flower and leaves loosely, so you can get an idea of the shape when you start placing them on the pillow case. 

Step 6: Paint some yellow flowers. I used Yellow as my base, and then "Sunshine" for the detail. Repeat the same painting techniques as with the pink flower, then cut it out when it’s dry. 

Step 7: Next is the purple flowers. Paint the base with "Violet" and the details with "Purple". 

Step 8: The last color is orange. Start with "Sunshine" as the base, and then "Orange" for the detail. Paint as many of each color as you’d like. 

Pro Tip #3: Arrange your flowers on the Pillow Case to get a general idea as to where you want them. You may want to take a photo of the arrangement, and perhaps put them off to the side in the way you want them sublimated. You’ll need to flip them over later, but at least for now you can get the colors where you want them to be. 

Step 9: We are ready to transfer. This blank is 20"x30" and unless your Heat Press is larger than that, this will take a bit of ingenuity. Consider the size of your heat source and tape down the transfers that fit within your heat source with heat resistant tape. 

Step 10: Let’s make the "Sublimation Sandwich"! Put a layer of Protective Paper on top, underneath, and in-between the Pillow Case. This will ensure that the paint won’t transfer anywhere but on to our Pillow Case. 

Pro Tip #4: Once designs are secure, complete multiple transfers, always applying and revealing everything in the same transfer cycle. For example, tape 3 designs, transfer 3 designs, reveal 3 designs, then move onto a different area. 

Step 11: Have your heat press ready to go at 375℉, and press for 35 seconds each time. You’ll have a lot of fabric hanging out each time if your heat source is on the small side like mine, but that’s ok. 

Step 12: Time for the "Peek Test"! With each transfer, lift up a small area of one of  the flower to be sure it sublimated properly. Look at how gorgeous that flower looks! 

Step 13: Continue taping 1-2 flowers at a time, making the Sublimation Sandwich, and pressing the flowers until the Pillow Case is covered. 

Here’s a comparison of the painted flowers to the sublimated flowers. The colors are brighter and richer. 

Look at how pretty it is on my bed! I love how it came out, and I think I am going to need to make a second one. How would you like to get more ideas on using Artesprix’s Sublimation Ink Pads, Markers, and Paint? 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 

**This post may contain affiliate links. That means that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher, but I may get compensated.**