How to Color in Aprons

Paint pens that I'm referring to are called paint pens and are also called paint markers.

The paint markers, that I use, are ones with non-toxic acrylic paint in them. They require shaking before using; make sure you keep the lid on for the shaking part, so that the paint tip will stay intact.

Once shaken, use another piece of fabric or canvas to get the paint started on. Get use to the flow of the paint before beginning your design.

Then either dab, use short strokes, and/or longer strokes for different affects.

On the parrot painting I used varying length strokes, in a downward fashion, to go in the same direction that the lay of the feathers would be in.

The parrot is painted using only the acrylic paint pens. The outline of the parrot and the thick branch were already pre-printed on the apron. The palm branches were added in as a creative addition.

Paintings with paint pens dry pretty quickly, and would be dry to the touch within an hour, as long is the paint didn't come out too fast and/or in any globs. To avoid globs, test paint flow on another piece of fabric, etc. before applying to your painting.

The parrot apron below is the one that I painted in. It is designed by CherylsArt on Zazzle and is a cute idea for a parrot birthday party activity..


outline art - color in parrot aprons by Cherylsart

The 3D paint that I'm referring to comes in little bottles of non-toxic acrylic paint for fabric. They have a little tip to squeeze the paint from when applying.

If the paint looks like it needs shaking, do so way in advance of painting your project. Then you will avoid any bubbles of paint coming out.

The paint is best applied when the bottle is upside down and the paint is already at the tip. So either stand the bottles upside down, with their caps on, leaning them against something, or do a quick one or two shake with the bottle upside down to get the paint down to the tip.

As with the paint pens, test it out on another piece of fabric or canvas so you can adjust the flow and/or to see if any bubbles come out.

Then with a very slight and gentle steady squeeze, paint in with steady lines. I've found it's best to paint in the inside lines first, then paint in the outer lines.

The fish painting was done completely with the 3D paints. A single line will dry quicker than lines that touch another line. Skinny lines will dry quicker than thicker lines.

The skinny lines were near dry to a gentle touch in a couple of hours. The lines that touched other lines took at least 4 - 5 hours to be dry enough for a gentle touch.

The two fish come pre-printed on the aprons. The yellow lines on the fish, and the coral and seaweed were added as creative touches when painting it.

The color in fish apron is by CherylsArt on Zazzle. Clcik on the apron to purchase. The apron can be ordered in the color of your choice.


outline art - color in fish aprons by Cherylsart

On the cat painting, I used both types of paint. I did the body of the cat and the blanket with a series of dots or dabs with paint markers.

I then outlined the cat and the blanket with the 3D fabric paint.

The instructions would be the same as using these items on the above aprons.

I found that if I'm using the paint pens to fill in with, that it is best to paint with them first. Then I can get closer to the lines, which can then be gone over with the 3D paint, once the dabbing part is done. The 3D paint makes a nice outlining affect.

The cat apron is by CherylsArt on Zazzle. Aprons can be purchased in adult sizes and styles too. They're especially fun as a cat birthday party activity.


outline art - cat laying down, color in aprons by Cherylsart