OK I was not totally sure what I was going to do to show you the new Hot Ribbon that Imagination International, Inc. is carrying. It is a very thin ribbon that has adhesive on the back that sets with heat.  III also sells a small clover iron that you can use to tack the ribbon in place on your project.  I really figured that I would iron it onto a card and call it good.  BUT then I asked the crew over at Copic In the Craft Room and they came up with AMAZING ideas and oh so creative so I back peddled quickly and decided I better get my rear in gear and”go for it”!

So instead of ironing the ribbon straight onto a card or a paper craft project (which you could do) I decided to try the glass transfer method and create my own t-shirt!

Here are the steps I took and some tips I learned along the way.

First I attached the image I wanted to recreate on the back of a sheet of tempered glass. It needs to be tempered so it can withstand heat. I used a Copic sticker and blew it up 200%.

I colored some of my ribbon with Copic ink, this particular one is silver that I colored red with a R29.

(Sorry no photo!)

Then you tack the ribbon directly onto the sheet of glass with your craft iron. This does not adhere it permanently it just tacks it in place. Trim the edges as you go and get the ribbon lined up tightly. You can do a little wiggling here meaning lifting and re-tacking if you need to.

Next using a metal palette knife or even a table knife lift each piece carefully of the glass and re-tack it onto it’s final surface. I lifted the heart in one large piece all together. I only had to go back for two small strips from the top hump on one side.

Lastly cove the entire piece with an iron safe material (I used parchment paper) and go over the area with a medium to high iron for about 45 seconds.

Wa-La a fun new one of a kind t-shirt or craft of your creating!

Some things I learned along the way:

•  The heart and small circle did great on the glass! I could line up the strips and they lifted perfectly onto my t-shirt.
• The lettering however was extremely difficult to bend around and tack down. BUT when I went free hand on to the fabric it adhered perfectly. So as intimidating as freehand is it seems to stick better when you are trying to go around bends on the fabric.
• I am not sure yet how long the Copic color will stay since it is not meant for washing so we will see, but the Hot Ribbon comes in tons of colors so you can choose colors that work if it is going to be wearable, washable art.

There is a lot of information on the Hot Ribbon at the III site as well so if this does not answer all your questions give a quick check HERE.

Have a Happy Colorful week!

Oh by the way, I will have a video tutorial of this project coming out in January! You can see it in action!