Sun Dyed Notecard Swap

As the summer comes to a close, those familiar scents and scenes of Autumn greet us. The cooler temperatures and frosty mornings along with the colourful display of Autumnal foliage mark the change of the seasons. In our era, Autumn, or Harvest, was a busy time, putting things by for the colder months and celebrating a bountiful harvest. The village would be busy with hay wains lumbering through, transporting the newly cut crop, wagons laden with vegetables and fruits as well as livestock being herded to new pastures. There were often festivals to punctuate the season and the church would ask of the parish to donate from their own gardens to distribute to the needy, a tradition that continues today. The ladies of the parish would gather to decorate the church with garlands of twisted hay, corn dollies, some simple, others ornate works of art, that spun with the merest wind, their delicate designs a sight to see. It was a time of fellowship and goodwill.

We will celebrate the onset of Autumn by creating a tribute to the season. Let us set our hands to sun dying using ingredients from our pantry paired with items from our craft tables. HERE is a video to explain this enchanting process. Using this technique, make a note card for your partner. When you have completed your card, write a short note in your character’s voice with your impressions of Autumn, what you like, or even dislike about it. You may use the notecard you have created for this or send it naked to your partner with a separate note.

Details Using the video referenced above, fashion a notecard for your one partner. The notecard size is sender’s choice. The lady in the video uses dried leaves and flowers, but feel free to use die cuts, paper punches, washi tape or any other item that will block out the sun. Once your image is dried, create your card and write your impressions of Autumn either in your new notecard or alternatively on a separate card or paper and send to your partner.

Some Notes on this process of sun-blocking. Be sure to use the correct amounts of the ingredients listed, too little and your image will be very pale, too much and it will become very dark. Isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol may be purchased on Amazon for those outside the US and Baking Soda is the same as Bicarbonate of Soda. Remember to apply an even coat otherwise you will have varying tones of colour on your finished card. Put your card on a flat surface for easy transport to your sunny location, a magazine as I have found, is too flimsy and the die cuts move around. Also, Isopropyl alcohol evaporates so do not leave your solution uncovered if any remains or it will simply disappear.

Please feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to us if you have any questions. We are always happy to help.