Embroidery Tinting with Sharpie Stained Markers plus GIVEAWAY!

Sharpie recently sent me a big package of their newest products to play with (I know, rough life!).  Of course I immediately had to try out the Stained by Sharpie fabric markers.  I can think of a ton of uses for these babies, but to start, I decided to see how they do with embroidery tinting.  Tinting can really make embroidery pop, but I've never been able to make the crayon method work well for me.  It always ends up streaky, and it doesn't last on items that need to be washed regularly.  The stained markers seemed like a perfect alternative.

I gave it a try with a drug store hankie and a cute little Vespa pattern from Sublime Stitching's Scooter Babe sheet.



There's not much of a tutorial to this one!  Since I prefer to transfer embroidery patterns with Solvy, I stitched first, then colored.  If you like to transfer your pattern onto the fabric, you might want to color first, then stitch.  That way you won't accidentally color on your stitches.  You don't need to worry about it too much, though - the markers have a super fine brush tip, and I found very easy to keep the color where I wanted it.



Yay, now it looks just like my real life scooter (except I don't often ride through pink fields full of giant flowers).  I really loved how this came out - the markers give the perfect pop, and the ink's not at all streaky.  It's slightly transparent when dry, so it looks very natural on the fabric, and you can layer to make more vibrant colors.  So easy!


Giveaway alert!!

Would you like to try out some Stained markers?  It just so happens that I have a pack to give away, courtesy of Sharpie!



To enter:
-Leave a comment below.  That's it!  You can tell me anything, but I'd really like to hear about a creative project you're working on this fall. 

For bonus entries (leave an additional comment for each):
-Be a follower of OPB
-Share the giveaway on Twitter
-Share the giveaway on your blog
-Share the giveaway on Facebook

This giveaway is open to international readers.  Entries are valid through Monday, Oct. 17.  I'll announce the winner on Tuesday!

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But wait, there's more! (I always wanted to be on infomercials...)



I'll also be choosing one runner-up, who will receive a five pack of always-classic Sharpie fine point markers in the limited edition "80's Glam" colorway.  That means you have two chances to win - so get your entries in!!