Alcohol Ink Dyed Silk Flowers Refresh


3 years ago I made a wreath with some cheap silk daisies (I think I bought them at Dollar Tree eons ago). After a summer out on the door, I noticed that the wreath was starting to fade a bit in the sun. I even posted an update to watch the changes. It lasted 2 more summers before it became so faded that the purple had turned almost all back to white, so it was a time for a refresh before I hung it on the door for this summer.


The green and the blue seemed to fade the least, but the wreath was definitely in need of an update all around.


I started with the most faded flower. I tore up some small pieces of parchment paper to protect the wreath itself and applied my alcohol ink along the edge of the felt applicator. My flowers were dyed with ink from the Summit View and Dockside Picnic sets by Ranger.


The flowers soak up quite a bit of ink as you stamp it on, so I was only able to cover about 1/3 of the flower with the ink from my first application. You can use a little rubbing alcohol or blending solution to help the ink go further on the flowers, but if you use too much, it gets a little blotchy in color. I tried to use just a couple drips of rubbing alcohol on my felt for the whole flower. I applied the ink to the edge so that I could get the ink up along the center of the flower. After a few repeated applications and stamping, I covered the whole flower.


When I was all done, I checked the edges of the petals (and on this flower, the second layer of petals) to make sure I had covered the whole flower and then moved on to the next one. I tore new pieces of parchment to catch the ink for each color so that the ink wouldn't mix. You may also need to wipe the edge of your applicator off with a paper towel or napkin soaked in rubbing alcohol to keep the colors from mixing.


I repeated the application of ink on all of the flowers until the wreath was completely refreshed. Now it's all bright and should last another few years on my front door. I expect that silk flowers dyed with alcohol ink that aren't in the steady sun would probably last a bit longer. Let me know what your experiences have been in the comments!

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