Spellbinders BetterPress Plates & Sublimation Ink Bags with Artesprix

Hello! I'm Design Team Member Alison Heikkila and I am very excited to share my latest Artesprix project with you. I love to try new things when I am working with Artesprix's line of Sublimation Craft Inks and today is no different. I was curious if a BetterPress Plate from Spellbinders would work with Artesprix Sublimation Ink Pads, which I would then apply to any sublimation blank. The Drawstring Bag is one of my favorite Blanks. Follow along see if it worked!

**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:
Drawstring Bag
Sublimation Ink Pad: Black, Red, Brown, Pink. Green, and Yellow
Protective Paper
Heat Tape
Multi-Purpose Cleaner
Spellbinders: BetterPress Letterpress System
Spellbinders: Festive Poinsettias Press Plate and Stencil Bundle
Die Cut Machine
Blending Brushes
White Cardstock (works better with the BetterPress than copy paper)
Optional: Gel Press Plate to hold your cardstock and stencils in place
Step-by-Step Tutorial:
Step 1: Trace the bag onto a piece of Mixed Media Paper with a pencil. The pencil will not transfer to your final sublimated design.

Step 2: Adhere your paper to the clear Platen (the top piece) with low tack tape (you could even use a piece of Artesprix Heat Tape).

Step 3: Place the BetterPress Plate onto the Chase (the magnetic platform). This Plate has a repeating pattern, so I kept mine high for the first time I ran it through and will lower it for the second. Then I will have a larger, uninterrupted pattern for my Drawstring Bag.

Step 4: Ink the Plate up with Black Sublimation Stamp Ink. Be careful to not push ink into the crevices. A gentle touch is best.

Step 5: Place the Platen on top of the Chase and run the BetterPress through your die cut machine. Look at how perfectly that transferred!

Step 6: Repeat Steps 2-5 to add the design to the bottom half of the cardstock.
Pro Tip: To see a full overview on the BetterPress, you can take a look at my video HERE.

Step 7: Choose one of the stencils and begin to ink blend with Artesprix's Sublimation Ink Pads. You do not need to go in numerical order. I started with the pinecones and used brown ink, then did the yellow centers. Using varying amounts of pressure allows you to have lighter and darker shades with just one ink pad.

Pro Tip #2: I placed my cardstock and stencil onto a Gel Press Plate to keep them from shifting. I don't need to use tape to hold them in place, and it makes ink blending much easier.

Step 8: Next I used the stencil with the leaves, and inked them with the Green Sublimation Ink Pad.
Step 9: Continue to ink the rest of the design as you wish.

Here is what my finished panel looks like. You can see a bit of a seam now, but it will pretty much disappear when we sublimate. I love how pretty the colors are already, but they'll look even better soon.

Step 10: Use Heat Tape to attach the Drawstring Bag to the completed design. You can sublimate on both sides of the bag.

Step 11: It’s time to make the "Sublimation Sandwich". This sandwich is special because it is going to be more like a "Big Mac". Place a piece of Protective Paper in-between the bag to prevent ink from transferring through to the other side. Then place the secured project between two pieces of Protective Paper with the design face-down on top of the bag.
Step 12: Press the "Sublimation Sandwich" for 45 seconds at 400°F degrees.

Step 13: It’s time for the "Peek Test"! Lift up a corner of the design to make sure it sublimated properly. This looks even better than I thought it would, so let's reveal the rest of the bag.

Step 14: Allow bag to cool before repeating steps above to personalize the other side.

Here is the completed Drawstring Bag next to the original design. I love how the brown of the bag really warms up the colors. Plus, I didn't add color to the twigs, so that the true color would show through.

The finished Drawstring Bag is perfect for small gifts like candy, jewelry, gift cards, and more. The warm brown color and beautiful texture instantly make any design more interesting, and I am so thrilled that we can use our BetterPress Plates with Artesprix Sublimation Stamp Ink. Your Plates will stain, but that can happen with other inks as well and does not effect the use of the Plates.

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.**