How To Photos: The Ombre Mask

 I wanted the graded colors of Ombre Dying in this project, going from Yellow, to Orange, then Red.  There are tips at the end of this article. (Translation: how I'll probably do it differently next time. ;^) )


This project uses a fabric covered Half Face Mask,
*Dharma's Fiber Reactive dyes #1 "Lemon Yellow"and "10 "Fire Red" applied with a Preval Spray Gun
*Spray Fixative,
*Mod Podge and Acrylic gold paint- applied with a brush:
Acrylic jewels, Filigree Findings, applied with 2-Part Epoxy or Hot glue.

Click on the image to see the step-by-step instructions.

Tips: 
* Remove the elastic band first. 

* Use dye concentrate: Spraying diffuses the color.  Make a paste of the dye, working the lumps out with a fork.  Add enough water that you can see light through it - but not light enough for it's true color.
. The exception is yellow, which should be fairly opaque.

*For best results, choose 2 primary colors that blend:
Yellow + Blue, for example, create a middle section of Green.

*After loading your second color, lightly mist the middle section..
You'll automatically get overspray on the first colored end, then can concentrate your second color on the other end

*Use 2-part epoxy when gluing rigid items ( especially metal findings and jewels) to flexible surfaces.  They tend to pop off with hot glue.

The "mistakes" on this project were numerous!
1.  The Preval Spray Gun cleared the paint so efficiently, I didn't get a clearly  delineated "orange" area.  To compensate, I over-saturated the "red" area.

2. The spray fix didn't work.  I should have used one specifically for fixing dyes, instead of pastels and watercolors.  That was sad, because the unsealed mask appeared to have a beautiful velvet-like texture.

3.  The Mod Podge did work as a sealant.  But it spread the unfixed colors around, so I didn't get the smooth transition I wanted from using an airbrush technique.

3. The epoxy had dried up by the time I got to it, a week later.  Yes, even with the resealable cap.
  I had to use hot glue, which globbed into puddles I couldn't trim.  The jewels, however, stayed on long enough for the event. (whew!)