Rainbow Artesprix Wine Bag with Gel Press Plate

Hello! I’m Alison Heikkila and I am really happy you are visiting today. My newest project is for Artesprix, and it’s a Wine Bag. This bag is exactly the same as the Drawstring Bag, which is a blank I have used in the past, except the Wine Bag is bigger. I loved the results of the Drawstring Bag, so I was excited to work with this same material again. If you’d like to see that project, please click HERE. I decided for the Wine Bag, I would use minimal supplies, as not everyone has stamps or stencils. 

What are Sublimation Markers?
Artesprix Sublimation Markers and Ink are specially formulated inks that allow you to use basic copy paper to: color, stamp, and stencil 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.  

Materials:
Original Sublimation Markers 
Wine Bag 
Protective Paper 
Heat Tape 
Heat Source: Home Iron or Artesprix Heat Press.
Gel Press: 8x10 Plate
Acrylic Blocks
Isopropyl Alcohol: 91% or higher
Smooth Bristol Cardstock, or Watercolor Paper
Spray Bottle

Step-by-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Trace your Wine Bag onto your piece of cardstock. Don’t worry about fitting the whole bag, as we will only be doing our design on the bottom.

We’re using cardstock or watercolor paper because we will be making a wet print on the Gel Press, because of the isopropyl alcohol. Copy paper doesn’t hold up as well.

Step 2: If you can, add your Gel Press Plate on to Acrylic Blocks, a cutting board, etc. This will make it easier for our next steps. Scribble the colors of the rainbow onto your Gel Press Plate. Keep the dimension of the bag in mind so that you can fit all of the colors on to the bag later. I added pink to my rainbow after purple.

Step 3: Spritz the Gel press Plate with isopropyl alcohol. Be sure to add a good amount so that the colors will run and bleed.

Step 4: Tilt your Gel Press Plate up so that the colors can begin to run down the plate. Let them run as much as you like. I let mine go to about halfway down the plate.

This is what the running ink looks like before I made my print. This is a great time to make sure that your Heat Press or iron is turned on. The Heat Press should be set to 400℉, or your iron should be put on it’s highest dry setting.

Step 5: Lay your piece of cardstock on top of the Gel Press Plate and rub the cardstock. Be sure to rub over the whole piece so that you don’t miss any of the areas with the marker on it. Pull the print once you’re done.

Step 6: Tape your Wine Bag Blank to the finished art. You can print on either side of it. If you are using a Heat Press, you don’t need to use too much tape. If you are using a Home Iron, be sure to tape around the Wine Bag blank completely so that it doesn’t shift while you’re doing your sublimation.

Step 7: Add a layer of siliconized paper to the top and bottom of your Sublimation Sandwich. Make sure your Protective Paper is cut bigger than your art and the headband. Your sandwich will be: Protective Paper-Blank-Colored Image-Protective Paper. The Protective Paper prevents any images accidentally transferring to either side of your Heat Press or to your home iron. You can also add a piece of Protective Paper inside of the Wine Bag, but I didn’t have any ink transfer to the inside.

Step 8:  Press the Sublimation Sandwich (art side at the top) for 45 seconds. For a home iron, press for 4 minutes.

Step 9: It’s time for the peek test! This is one of my favorite steps. Very carefully peel back part of the paper to see how your image has transferred. Be sure to not remove too much, in case you need to press the item again.

Ta-da!!! Here is the finished Wine Bag. Doesn’t it look fab? And it was so easy to do!

I really love how simple it was to create this. Just dripping color can create such an impact! I actually may do this on more of my blanks because the effect is so cool. 

How would you like to get more ideas on using Artesprix’s Sublimation Markers? 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. You can use my code, ALISON10 to save 10% off of your purchase.

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.**