DIY Rebel Alliance Tshirts

I made something!!!

It is so much harder now for me to do anything creative. We are in a smaller house and my only work space is the dining table where we eat. So I can't leave any projects out!

We have three birthday parties this month. Money is always very tight so I tried to think of something I could make as a present. All three boys like "Star Wars" and I thought it might be fun to make something "Star Wars" related since the new movie is coming out.  Recently, I saw a man walking down the street with a Rebel Alliance tshirt on. I loved the graphic quality of the image and felt confident I could make something using the Freezer Paper Stencil technique.

There are freezer paper stencil tutorials all over the internet so I won't go into too much detail.

Materials:
Freezer Paper
Rebel Alliance image (there are lots on the internet)
Fabric paint (I used Tulip's Matte True Red)
Black tshirt
Foam brush


First, I searched for an image of the Rebel Alliance symbol and printed out an enlarged version.

I then laid a piece of freezer paper over the image and traced it with a pencil. I cut the image out of the freezer paper to make a stencil.  Once you have your stencil, you will need to place it on your tshirt with the shiny side down. Use a hot iron over the paper to get it to stick to the shirt. Make sure all the cut edges have a nice seal.

Time to paint!

I placed a paper shopping bag inside each shirt to prevent paint from soaking through. You will probably get some bleeding and you don't want it to soak through to the back of shirt. You want a nice sharp edge to your image so I prefer to dab the paint on with a foam brush. It is much better to dab paint on from above than smooth it on within the stencil. You don't want any paint to get under the edges of the stencil.

I don't like the black to show through so I did a first pass when the paintbrush and let it dry. Then, I went back over a second time. Once the paint has fully dried (don't rush this!), carefully remove the stencil. When you are peeling, bits of the freezer paper can sometimes get left behind. I pulled some off with tweezers. The rest will eventually come off in the wash.

I think the shirts look pretty cool! Hopefully, the boys will like them!

Sign Painting Using Vinyl Letters

I got to go to a really fun sign painting class last night at B Street Mercantile in Petaluma.  This is the cutest shop!  It is full of handmade items from around the Bay Area. The shop has monthly crafty classes but I can never seem to make it to one.  But I did last night!!!

I didn't quite finish with my painting but here it is:

Before we came to class, we were able to submit the words or phrase that we wanted to use. The ladies had the vinyl letter pre-cut for us.  I am going to do some more distressing with sandpaper and maybe some embellishment to finish my sign.

Here is what you need to make your own:

Canvas (any size)
Acrylic paints
Vinyl letters or repositionable poster letters
Assorted papers for collaging (optional)
Mod Podge
A roll of clear sticky adhesive back plastic film with grid backing that can be cut to size (optional)
(Similar to this)
X-acto knife


The ladies who ran the class used a Silhouette Cameo to cut the vinyl letters for us.  I have used my Silhouette machine once since I got it.  This may inspire to me to break it out again. The vinyl letters are essentially used for masking.  You will be throwing them away.  You can also use sticky repositionable poster letters.

1. Decide on whether you would like a collage background or a painted background.  Whatever you choose to do for your first layer will show through as letters.  I chose to do a painted background.  I painted the entire base a burnt sienna color.  My friend Susie collaged papers on her first layer.

(Susie's piece)

You can see how the collaged papers who through on her letters.  A WORD OF WARNING: if you are collaging papers, make sure they are completely dry before starting the next layer.  I hit my first layer with a hairdryer before moving on.  A heat gun would be even better.

2. Once your first layer is dry, decide where you want your letters. The instructor taught us a neat trick. Rather than going letter by letter, she cut us a large piece of of the sticky back plastic film. We placed the sticky film on top of one line of words/letters and rubbed them with a scraper. A credit card would work too. Then, we gently peeled up the film and it carried the letters with it.  You then place the film where you would like it on the canvas, gently rub the letters again and carefully peel off the plastic film leaving the letters behind. This can be a bit tricky. My letters had trouble sticking to the canvas. The main thing is to make sure they are flat on the canvas so paint won't get under them.

After you have all your letters where you want them, it is time to paint the second layer.

3. Decide on your top layer of paint.  You will be painting this color over the entire canvas including the letters.  I chose yellow. Susie did multiple colors.  I was disappointed that my yellow wasn't more uniform. I really didn't want the burnt sienna to show through. In the end, I glopped it on to create texture since I couldn't get the heavy uniform color I wanted.  We used Liquitex acrylics for this project.  Try not to get the paint under the letters.  Be careful when painting over them.

Make sure this layer gets pretty dry before moving on.  It should have a tacky feel to it.

4. Once the top layer is pretty dry, use your fingernail or an X-acto knife to start peeling up your letters.  I found that the X-acto knife was most helpful. Gently peel off the letters and see the results!  Susie had trouble with hers because her sticky letters were peeling off the collaged paper. We think this was because her first layer wasn't dry enough. She had to go in and make some fixes.  But I love how she painted a heart for the center of her circle.

Since my piece already looks distressed, I am thinking of going over it with sandpaper to distress it more. I may even paint some flowers in the negative space. When you are completely finished, you can seal the whole thing with Mod Podge.

Cute and easy!!!

Interestingly enough, this technique is almost exactly the same as a project I attempted awhile back that was a complete and total failure. Remember this? 

Advent Calendar Finished!

I finished Noodlebug's Advent Calendar!  Just in time.

The above photo is a little blurry but you can get an idea of what it looks like.  Each drawer holds a charm to be hung on the tree. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out except for the fact that you can see the threads showing through the linen. But I can live with that. 

I learned how to do this project from Amy Powers' CRAFT HAPPY class.  It is the only crafty thing I have done in months!!!

The embroidery technique was pretty easy and I love how it looks.  I put Noodlebug in charge of filling the drawers with charms. 

 

He was very excited to hang the first charm yesterday!

It was a lot of work pulling together all the materials and putting it together but I'm happy with it. I try to do one homemade gift for Noodle each year and this will be this year's gift.

Clothespin Dolls for Halloween

I have recently become enamored of clothespin dolls.  There are so many things you can do with them!  I painted a bunch for trades for ART IS YOU.  Now, I have made some for my son for Halloween.

I got the inspiration for Pinterest and I wish I could remember where I saw them. The woman who  painted them did a much better job.  Still, my little guy seems happy with them!

I am also busy starting a new Godly Play program at my church. This is a Montessori-inspired Sunday School program for children 3-6.  Of course, Montessori- and Waldorf-style materials can be very expensive.  My friend and I have been trying to craft the materials for this new program on a budget.  Instead of buying gorgeous, hand-carved figures for the lessons, we are making clothespin dolls. See? Endless applications!

Quick Toddler Duvet/Comforter

(I folded back the edge so you could see the piping)

We converted Noodlebug's bed into a toddler bed back in February.  I have been frustrated by the lack of nice toddler bedding.  I still need to whip up some toddler flat sheets but yesterday I decided I needed to make a toddler-sized comforter/duvet.

I was inspired by this tutorial from Purl Bee.  I started out by making some bias tape which I then turned into homemade piping using some cord I found at JoAnn's.  The material is a heavier weight linen-type material which made it a little difficult to sew as close to the piping as I would have liked.  Still, it came out okay.  I came up short on piping so the bottom of the duvet looks terrible but I can always go back and finish it up later.  Still, I'm happy with it. Not bad for  few hours work!!!

P.S. The elephant was a homemade birthday gift to Noodle from my friend Monique. I am still waiting for her to make me one of my own!

Time Flies (Sneak Peek)

This weekend, I worked on my piece for Inspire Co.'s Birthday Treasury Swap.  My partner, KL, has a style that is "Rusty, patina, layered, curiousities." I decided to go with a "Time Flies" theme for my box and used one of these 7gypsies charms as inspiration:

(Image Source)

As I worked, I realized how very "steam punk" my piece is looking so I had to add in a tiny bit of whimsy. It's almost finished and I'll be mailing it out this week. Can't wait to share it with you!!!

In other news, it has been rainy and cold here for days and days. Where is our Summer?  Since we were stuck inside, Noodlebug and I pulled out a game he got for his birthday:



(image source)

 This Life on Earth Bingo game is so cute!!!  Since there were just two of us, I let Noodle pick a board for each of us and then I drew tiles from the box behind my back. I announced the animal or other natural object on the tile and then Noodle and I would look for the corresponding picture on our boards.  He would get so excited when he had one.

"I have a platypus!!!!"

When one board was covered with tiles, we would both shout "BINGO!" and throw up our arms. We played it over and over again.  It was a fun rainy day activity and we avoided the television.

Next Project: Child's Apron

(photo borrowed from and owned by Sew Liberated)

UPDATE:  Done!!!! I did the apron last night in about two hours. I like the pattern. Very easy to make. I ended up not binding it with bias tape.  The one snag I ran into was my desire to iron vinyl onto the front panel of fabric. I did this first and when I turned the apron inside out it crinkled the vinyl.  Still, it looks okay and it is definitely functional. Maybe next time I will iron on the vinyl last.  I will post photos soon!!!

Noodlebug needs an apron for both helping in the kitchen and for messy art. I have had a hard time finding a pattern that I like. I really wanted more of a smock but I'm going to go with this child's apron from SEW LIBERATED.

I hit Joann's today and got more of this fabric that I used to make Noodlebug's boxer shorts:

I think they are discontinuing it which is too bad because it is so darn cute!!!  It was on sale for $2.99 a yard.  I really wanted to use oilcloth but it is expensive and has limited patterns. So, I'm going to use iron-on vinyl for the front panel of the apron. HeatnBond makes some for $9.49 for 2 yards. I used my Joann's 40% mailer coupon on that. I'm going to use a bright yellow bias tape for the edges.

I'll let you know how it goes! In the meantime, I need to finish the Anna Maria Horner museum tunic I have been working on and start my Christmas rag quilt!

Victory is Mine!!!

I finally finished the rag quilt!!!



TA-DA!!!!

I had lots of trouble cutting the squares uniformly so there are some mistakes. Overall, it looks pretty good for a first effort. Noodlebug doesn't mind the mistakes.

(We call this the Sesame Street stare)

Playing Santa's Elf

My little gifties have arrived! I sent out some homemade travel pillows based on Maya*Made's design to the little ones of a few blogging/cyber-friends.  I am still new to sewing so the pillows are all a little flawed but they are made with lots of love!!!  The lovely Hippie Dog just posted about my little gift so I am borrowing a photo from her.  It is a good excuse to send you over to her blog.  She makes the most wonderful things and her shop is filled with goodies!  Plus she is a total sweetheart.  She has a Noodlebug of her own and I made this pillow just for him. The fabric reminded me a bit of Eric Carle and I thought it was just boyish enough without being cliched.  It has a handle for carrying and a pocket for putting little friends or secret things inside of. So glad they liked it!!!  I just love making little surprises for people. My favorite part of Christmas is giving gifts and goodies to everyone.  Now that I have broken in the sewing machine perhaps I'll make more gifties to surprise people with throughout the year!

Jenni Bowlin September Project Kit

How cute is this? It gets me in the mood for Halloween. I just love Fall!!!

I couldn't resist ordering the new Jenni Bowlin kit although I already have plenty to keep me busy.  I especially love the little moon floating above the cards. 

Get your own kit here.

(photo borrowed from and owned by Jenni Bowlin)

Fantastic Felts

Some of you may remember that I knitted Noodlebug a teddy bear for Christmas last year. I have been casting about for another homemade gift idea for this year and I think I may have found it. My grandmother made me all sorts of lovely felt/bead creations as a child. I still have my handmade Christmas stocking though I don't use it for fear of something happening to it. When I ran across this Blogger/Etsy seller, it immediately brought back memories of all of my Grandmother's creations. I bought this pattern to make a little Nativity scene for Noodlebug. It seems straightfoward enough so maybe I can do it! If it works out, BuggaBugs has other fantastic felt projects as well and I may have to buy them all!!!

(photo borrowed from and owned by BuggaBugs)

Spring Bunnies!!!

I'm so excited!!! I just ordered this wonderful Little Pink Studio kit! Isn't it adorable? Cerri comes up with the greatest projects!

The kit makes four bunnies and is available here. (hurry---her kits usually go quickly!) She also has another kit where you can make a delightful Spring journal.

Now, if I can just find some crafting time...

(photo borrowed from and owned by Little Pink Studio)

Jenni Bowlin Kit---DONE!!!

I know some of you thought I would never get around to doing something creative. Well, this weekend I managed to finish my Jenni Bowlin January kit and I just love the results!!! I was going to give it away as a Valentine's gift but I decided to keep it for myself as a mini-Mommy brag book. Sorry that some of the photos are a bit fuzzy. I followed most of Jenni's templates but also used some of my own papers and ephemera. I love how it turned out. I did the whole thing in two hours and it was quite satisfying!

Ta-Da!

Here is the famous bear:



Not bad for a first attempt. I used a Fiber Trends pattern and Lion's Wool and needle-felted the face.

Aidan seem to like it:

Getting My Craft On!

Hello artsy craftsy friends!

Thanks for all your advice on getting me out of my creative rut. I think sometimes we just need a break to get inspired again! I think Miss Vickie had the right idea. I went downtown today to walk around and saw lots of store windows filled with Halloween stuff. My favorite store was filled with it! And I got completely inspired! One of my favorite things was one of those wood boxes you can get at Michael's that was painted and when you opened it there was a little Halloween tableau inside. What a great idea! They were charging $58 for each one. I may not be able to do one as great as the ones I saw but I'm gonna try. In the meantime, I grabbed one of my small canvases and made this little witch decoration.

This is what the sides look like:


It's not quite finished and it's not quite perfect but I think it's pretty good for a first effort!

What I Am Working On

I am almost finished with my belated Vintage Kitchen Swap package. Luckily, my partner Vicki is running late too. It is so annoying when life gets in the way of my swaps and crafting. If I could just get rid of this pesky full-time job!

I really wanted to make Vicki an apron for the swap but I am still lacking a sewing machine. I'm putting it on my wish list for Santa this year.

As you already know, I signed up for the Black Cat/Pumpkin swap and I've started to think about ideas. I really really really want to sign up for Artsy Mama's Sweet and Sinister swap but I think I'm going to have to skip it this time. After all, my own TRICK OR TREAT Swap is coming right around the corner and I have to concentrate on that!!!! I anticipate opening up signups either the last week of September or the first week of October so stay tuned!!!

I am absolutely thrilled that I managed to get one of Teresa's new kits! I have never gotten one before and her tea-themed one looks like fun!!!

I have decided what I will be making friends and co-workers for Christmas. (Gary----spoiler alert!!!!)

I have decided to do some CD-Case calendars. It seems like a fun, easy and inexpensive gift for people. See the tutorial in my sidebar. I also have to knit up three more bunnies to give as baby gifts. It seems like everyone is pregnant these days. Maybe there's something in the water. I hope so! (wink)

*spoiler alert* ParTea Swap

So, I am almost finished with my package for my ParTea Swap buddy, Miss Dolly.

Miss Dolly, read no further if you want to be surprised.





So, these are the three crafty things I am including. Dolly loves cherries so I created a cherry-themed table centerpiece. Then, I collaged a box to hold tea and created a door hanger. The door hanger is still drying and needs its ribbon.

Here is a close-up of the door hanger:



And here is a close-up of the box:



I lined the box with cherry print fabric. I am still having problems with paper. It keeps rolling up when I try to glue it down. I have tried all sorts of fixatives. Grrr... And my painting isn't the best. But I hope Dolly will appreciate the effort.

Door Hanger for Caitlin

I am working on a door hanger for my co-worker, Caitlin. It is almost done and I am considering using a crackle medium over the top that Caitlin lent me. It looks pretty thick though, so I'm a little worried. Thoughts or suggestions?

Another Creative Idea from "How About Orange"

"How About Orange" just posted yet another cool idea for a project--a votive decorated with cut paper. It is so simple but it looks so cool!

Check it out here.

Domino Bracelet

Here is the finished domino bracelet that I made for my mother using ArtChix loteria cards, glitter and modpodge. It isn't perfect but I think it looks pretty good.