So you've decided to try your first batik project? Well you've come to the right place! Let's get started!
Supplies Needed: 
- Cotton Fabric (or other natural fabric, not synthetic) – an economical alternative is using old white bed sheets.
- Dye – preferably one that does not instruct you to use HOT water when dying. But if you are unable to find one (as I was) I just used cold water instead, seemed to work fine!
- Salt to mix with the dye. – follow the instructions on your dye. Sometimes dyes ask for vinegar instead of salt.
- Electric Burner (I used my indoor grill)
- Can/metal bowl/small cake pan
- Skillet
- Water
- Paint brushes – buy cheap ones
- Paraffin Wax – can be found in your grocery’s food storage aisle, near the gel used in jellies. Don’t be surprised if your grocer has no idea what you’re talking about.
- Clean work surface.
- Big pot for boiling the wax off
- Liquid soap
- Crayons (optional)
- Spoon for stirring dye
- Bucket for dye
- Waterproof gloves, ie. .latex or rubber
- Pencil or charcoal for sketching
Note: Initial supply cost for me was around $25, but a lot of the things, such as the paraffin wax and metal tin you can use again and again.
Step 1: Pre-wash your fabrics.
If your fabric is new, pre-wash your fabric in HOT water in order to remove any sealant chemicals on the fabric. Dry in dryer. Iron if you would like a smoother work surface.
(If you want to have a base color instead of the color the fabric already is, dye your fabric according to the instructions on your dye, allow to dry.)
Step 2: Prepare your workspace. 
Prepare a clean, dry workspace, one that can get wax on it. Gather your paint brushes, crayons, pencils, etc. and have them at hand. If you are working on a project that has multiple layers (like a t-shirt) you will need something to put in between the layers, such as a metal cookie sheet, or piece of cardboard or wood. In this case, it would be wise to secure the fabric down with clothing pins to prevent movement while you work. Get the burner set up and create a double boiler by filling the skillet with about ½” - 1” water and placing the metal tin/can in the water. Place a block of paraffin wax into the metal tin. Make sure that the burner is hot enough to melt the wax, but not so hot that the wax starts to smoke, or God forbid catch on fire. Be careful!
Step 3: Sketch out your 
design. While the wax is melting, sketch out the design you want lightly with charcoal or a pencil. For a beginner’s project it’s better to do something that is not very intricate until you learn to work better with the wax which tends to bleed and have a mind of its own!
Step 4: Apply the wax. 
Once the wax has completely melted and you have sketched out your design, start applying the wax by carefully dipping your paint brush into the wax, wiping off any excess and painting the wax on to the fabric. It is important to make sure that the wax penetrates completely through the fabric. Wax that has penetrated completely will appear translucent and make the fabric have a wet look. If the wax is opaque or white, it did not penetrate completely. In areas where this occurred, I put wax on the opposite side of the fabric as well. Note: It does NOT help to go over it twice. In the picture, the faint green box is correct, and the red box is incorrect.
After all the wax has been applied (The black is where I used a crayon first, and then covered with paraffin wax.)
Step 5: Prepare to dye.
Once you have applied wax to all of you design elements, you must prepare the dye. Prepare the dye in the bucket according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Note: DO NOT put your fabric in HOT water, it will melt the wax and you will lose your work!! Using gloves and a spoon or tongs, put your fabric into the dye and stir for roughly 30-60 minutes, or according to your dye’s instructions.
Step 6: Time to dry. 
Remove your fabric from the dye. If you want a more crinkled effect, you can wring the fabric out a bit and re-dip the fabric. Once you are satisfied, take the fabric, without wringing it and put it in a place to drip dry.
Step 7: Wax off.
After your fabric has dried, it is time to remove the wax. First rinse the fabric under cold water to remove any residual dye. Then place the fabric in a pot with water and liquid dishwashing soap and turn the stove on to medium heat. The wax will slowly start melting away from the fabric and on to the surface. Once all the wax has been removed from the fabric, you may allow the water to cool and the wax will solidify at the top, leaving your fabric beneath. Otherwise you can just pour out the liquid, being careful not to get any wax in your drain as this may cause problems later!!
Step 8: Dry again.
Let your fabric dry, and viola! Your new batik-ed fabric project is COMPLETE!
(Special Note: You know you love my outfit.)
Some neat alternative techniques I’ve come across:
* For the artistically-challenged: Use cookie cutters to make shapes. Use a clothespin to grip the cookie cutter, dip the cookie cutter in the wax for about 10 seconds, and apply on to the fabric. The cookie cutter will easily come off the fabric when the wax has set.
* For those with children: Instead of using wax, you can use something called “resistant.” It can be found in the tie-dye section of any craft store. This chemical has the same effect of the wax at preventing dye from penetrating a particular area. Eliminating the hot wax makes this project much more kids friendly! Another alternative I found on Paula Burch’s site is using Elmer’s Washable Blue Glue Gel. If you only briefly soak the fabric in the dye, the glue will act as a resist and create a batik-like design. However it will not have the cracks that are common to Batik patterns.
* Batik-ing with multiple color layers: if you would like to add more colors to your project, you simply go from lightest color to darkest. Meaning you would apply your first layer of dye, a coat of wax where you would like, then without removing the first round of wax add another area of wax wherever you would like to maintain your second dye color, and so on. This creates a beautiful effect!
* Tie-dye batik: Do your first layer as a multi-color tie-dye, apply a wax design, and then dye in a dark navy or black, the result is a lot more subtle than a tie-dye shirt, but absolutely gorgeous!
Everyone has a unique way of how they store their hijab, this is one method that I really like for me. I know that the long rectangular shaylah style hijabs are very popular right now, but I personally wear a lot of the square style ones myself. So then the question becomes, how to store it? This is the best way that I have found (my mom suggested it). Using one of those plastic hang-over-the-door shoe storage racks, and a set of clothes pins, you now have an easy way of storing your hijabs! This method is nice because it's easy to see all of your hijabs, making it easy for you to find the perfect hijab you are looking for. Also the pockets are great for storing underscarfs, arms covers, niqabs, your husbands kufis, etc. The one down side is that at times the point where the clothes pin clips to the fabric can leave a radiating sun wrinkle-pattern, BUT if you clip it in the right spot, that area would be under the hijab and wouldn't cause a problem. Another downside is, depending on the clearance with your door frame, you may end up chipping away at the frame with the metal clips that hang the storage rack on your door. To avoid this, you could choose to put a couple of nails in the door, and hang the storage rack on those, instead of using the metal clips. Another thing I would recommend that you might want to try to do is using plastic clothes pins instead of wooden ones. I bought a big pack of wooden ones at the 99 cents store, and they work fine, except sometimes they can get caught on the hijab and case a snag. So if you use wooden ones, make sure to be careful when removing the hijab, especially with delicate hijabs. I haven't tried plastic clothes pins however, so I don't know how well they would grip the hijab. If someone tries it, let me know how it goes! 
This method of storage avoids the wrinkles and hassles of slipping off that are caused by hanging them on hangers. Storing hijabs in dresser drawers makes it difficult to see your full hijab selection when you're trying to find the perfect one to match your outfit. It also can get a little disorganized as hijabs, especially slippery ones, get unfolded. Also, I am more likely to actually PUT my hijabs away instead of leaving them in a big ball somewhere around the house, because this method is so easy.
I am LOVING the jewelry from Artazia.com. I just randomly stumbled on this site and it is totally up my alley fashionably-speaking. I guess my fashion is ecclectic, but I guess i just describe my fashion preference as stuff that is unique and different. That's why I am absolutely loving the pieces from this collection, they are unlike anything I've ever seen. What I'm not in love with? The price tag! Oh well, I guess that's the price you pay to be "unique"!!
