Monday, February 13, 2012
So Pinteresting #3: Lovely Quotes
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, my Pinterest finds this week are of course inspired by love! There are so many famous love quotes and poems out there that are wonderful but my husband and I tend to be a bit quirky. There are some more traditional quotes in here and then I threw in some more unique ones for those that are like us. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Cupid Rhymes with Stupid
My younger sister-in-law is on her high school ASB or Student Body. They have to dress up for about every holiday and school function and when she came over to work on her Valentines to give to her friends, we decided to come up with something custom to wear for Valentine's Day.
This shirt was not our original plan however! We had planned on making the Rufflicious Top over at Polkadots on Parade. I made one the other day for my neighbor's daughter and it turned out beautifully.
We were joking around about Valentine's Day not being so much fun for her because her boyfriend had just broken up with her and so, the Cupid Valentine's Day Top was born:
Supplies needed:
1 t-shirt
freezer paper
iron
sponge brush or paint brush
cardboard or something to layer under the shirt
fabric paint (I used acrylic paint because that's all I had on hand)
To do this with the Silhouette: Tear off a piece of freezer paper the same size as the cutting mat and lay it shiny side down on the mat. I used the LD Hearts font and a cupid from the Silhouette store. Then cut the design with the "Print Paper" setting.
You can also trace a design on freezer paper by hand with an X-acto knife.
To get the stencil, peel the outside of the design off the mat. This is what you will be using. You will also need any of the small pieces such as the inside of the arrow and the hearts inside the letters. The design may curl some, but if you peel the mat away from the template rather than peeling the template off this should help it not curl so much.
Place this centered on the front of the shirt.
I always like to use a press cloth to avoid having things stick to the iron. You can also use a piece of muslin or cotton fabric if you don't have a press cloth.
Set the iron to the highest setting the fabric will allow without steam. Lay the cloth very carefully over your design and press the iron slowly over the whole design. Work carefully so you can adjust the small pieces if they happen to shift at all. I like to go over it several times to make sure that the freezer paper is adhered very well.
Your freezer paper should be stuck to the shirt like a sticker. Then place a piece of cardboard or something thick between the layers of the shirt to prevent the paint from bleeding through to the back.
Now you can use your fabric paint or acrylic paint (it might fade or be stiffer than fabric paint) and fill in your template.
Fill it in slowly to avoid big globs of paint. I did two thin layers and let them dry well in between.Then let it dry really well after the last layer of paint. I cheated and got out the heat gun since my sister-in-law was going to be taking it home soon.
When it is completely dry, peel off the stencil and you will have a totally custom Valentine's Day shirt!
I think I signed myself up to be the permanent shirt maker for all her school functions!
This shirt was not our original plan however! We had planned on making the Rufflicious Top over at Polkadots on Parade. I made one the other day for my neighbor's daughter and it turned out beautifully.
We were joking around about Valentine's Day not being so much fun for her because her boyfriend had just broken up with her and so, the Cupid Valentine's Day Top was born:
Supplies needed:
1 t-shirt
freezer paper
iron
sponge brush or paint brush
cardboard or something to layer under the shirt
fabric paint (I used acrylic paint because that's all I had on hand)
To do this with the Silhouette: Tear off a piece of freezer paper the same size as the cutting mat and lay it shiny side down on the mat. I used the LD Hearts font and a cupid from the Silhouette store. Then cut the design with the "Print Paper" setting.
You can also trace a design on freezer paper by hand with an X-acto knife.
To get the stencil, peel the outside of the design off the mat. This is what you will be using. You will also need any of the small pieces such as the inside of the arrow and the hearts inside the letters. The design may curl some, but if you peel the mat away from the template rather than peeling the template off this should help it not curl so much.
Place this centered on the front of the shirt.
I always like to use a press cloth to avoid having things stick to the iron. You can also use a piece of muslin or cotton fabric if you don't have a press cloth.
Set the iron to the highest setting the fabric will allow without steam. Lay the cloth very carefully over your design and press the iron slowly over the whole design. Work carefully so you can adjust the small pieces if they happen to shift at all. I like to go over it several times to make sure that the freezer paper is adhered very well.
Your freezer paper should be stuck to the shirt like a sticker. Then place a piece of cardboard or something thick between the layers of the shirt to prevent the paint from bleeding through to the back.
Now you can use your fabric paint or acrylic paint (it might fade or be stiffer than fabric paint) and fill in your template.
Fill it in slowly to avoid big globs of paint. I did two thin layers and let them dry well in between.Then let it dry really well after the last layer of paint. I cheated and got out the heat gun since my sister-in-law was going to be taking it home soon.
When it is completely dry, peel off the stencil and you will have a totally custom Valentine's Day shirt!
I think I signed myself up to be the permanent shirt maker for all her school functions!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Craft Room Makeover Update #1
I've been busy working on the craft room this week for the challenge at I'm an Organizing Junkie and haven't had much chance to post anything. I will get caught back up this weekend! I've made some definite progress this week though and it is coming along nicely.
You may remember how it started out:
You almost couldn't see the carpet in here!
There is a big improvement on that! I spent most of this week rearranging furniture to give the room a better flow. Before everything was spread all over the room and it was pretty much chaos. When I moved in, I pretty much just put things wherever I thought they would fit. Well now I've got a plan!
I rearranged the room so that the back half is office space and the front half is craft space. Much more functional!
The tough part is that my organizing process involves pulling everything out so that I can see clearly what I've got to work with. I feelkind of bad really, really bad for everyone I live with that I work this way!
This is what they have to deal with in the hallway while I'm working on organizing:
Hopefully for their sake, I can get the hall cleared out quickly! The doors on the right are the access to the washer and dryer!
You may remember how it started out:
You almost couldn't see the carpet in here!
There is a big improvement on that! I spent most of this week rearranging furniture to give the room a better flow. Before everything was spread all over the room and it was pretty much chaos. When I moved in, I pretty much just put things wherever I thought they would fit. Well now I've got a plan!
I rearranged the room so that the back half is office space and the front half is craft space. Much more functional!
The tough part is that my organizing process involves pulling everything out so that I can see clearly what I've got to work with. I feel
This is what they have to deal with in the hallway while I'm working on organizing:
Hopefully for their sake, I can get the hall cleared out quickly! The doors on the right are the access to the washer and dryer!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Fabric Scrap and Remnant Ideas
I may be a bit of a fabric hoarder. Okay well maybe more than a bit - I have an entire drawer in my craft room just for scraps. Plus a bag under the desk! For some reason, I just can't bring myself to part with them. I mean you never know when you might need them, right? Even the weird colored upholstery fabric scrap - that could come in handy too. BUT I'm supposed to be organizing my craft room and need to sort through all that stuff.
If you are sitting there wondering what to do with your pile of scraps other than toss them, I've got some great things in store for you! In all my scrap hoarding, I have managed to accumulate quite a collection of scrappy projects around my house.
These are some of my favorites:
The bow on this vase is made entirely out of scrap fabric.
To make it: make a tiny cut at the edge of the fabric about an inch and a half on each side and then rip down the length of the fabric where you made those cuts. They end up about 1 1/2" by 20". Ripping it gives it a nice textured look - kind of raw and unfinished. Then cut any really long threads that are left hanging.
I did this on about 3 different pieces of fabric and then tied them together in a big bow on the vase.
These easy wall art are all made out of leftover scraps from the quilt my mother made for my living room. It is Joel Dewberry's Aviary 2 if you are interested in getting it.
To make: You will need embroidery hoops in varying sizes. These are available at most craft stores. Lay your fabric wrong side facing up and then center the embroidery hoop on the fabric. With a fabric marker trace about one inch outside the hoop. This will let you fit the fabric nicely inside the hoop. Then cut out the circle you traced. Take apart the embroidery hoop frame, center the fabric inside and then slide the pieces back together and tighten the top screw. You can cut off any excess fabric after you get it inside. Finish it by embellishing it anyway you like. I added buttons and felt flowers to some of mine.
The yo-yo on this project is a simple way to use up fabric scraps and can be used in so many different ways. This frame is on a shelf in my craft room and I love the bit of cheer it brings into the room.
You can find pre-made yo-yos at the craft store sometimes, but this is about using up your stash right? I love Positively Splendid and they have great instructions on how to make your own here: Fabric Yo-Yo Tutorial with Printable Template. They also have some other great tutorials and fun things, so stop by and check them out.
Some other great fabric scrap ideas are linked up here:
Anthro-Inspired Necklace
Favorite Flower Tutorials Round-up
That should give you some great ways to help bust that scrap stash lingering in your craft room and hopefully I can bust some of mine before the month is over!
If you are sitting there wondering what to do with your pile of scraps other than toss them, I've got some great things in store for you! In all my scrap hoarding, I have managed to accumulate quite a collection of scrappy projects around my house.
These are some of my favorites:
The bow on this vase is made entirely out of scrap fabric.
To make it: make a tiny cut at the edge of the fabric about an inch and a half on each side and then rip down the length of the fabric where you made those cuts. They end up about 1 1/2" by 20". Ripping it gives it a nice textured look - kind of raw and unfinished. Then cut any really long threads that are left hanging.
I did this on about 3 different pieces of fabric and then tied them together in a big bow on the vase.
To make: You will need embroidery hoops in varying sizes. These are available at most craft stores. Lay your fabric wrong side facing up and then center the embroidery hoop on the fabric. With a fabric marker trace about one inch outside the hoop. This will let you fit the fabric nicely inside the hoop. Then cut out the circle you traced. Take apart the embroidery hoop frame, center the fabric inside and then slide the pieces back together and tighten the top screw. You can cut off any excess fabric after you get it inside. Finish it by embellishing it anyway you like. I added buttons and felt flowers to some of mine.
The yo-yo on this project is a simple way to use up fabric scraps and can be used in so many different ways. This frame is on a shelf in my craft room and I love the bit of cheer it brings into the room.
You can find pre-made yo-yos at the craft store sometimes, but this is about using up your stash right? I love Positively Splendid and they have great instructions on how to make your own here: Fabric Yo-Yo Tutorial with Printable Template. They also have some other great tutorials and fun things, so stop by and check them out.
Some other great fabric scrap ideas are linked up here:
Anthro-Inspired Necklace
Favorite Flower Tutorials Round-up
That should give you some great ways to help bust that scrap stash lingering in your craft room and hopefully I can bust some of mine before the month is over!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Organizational Challenge - Chaos in the Craft Room
I may have mentioned this a time or two or hundred before, but my craft room needs some major help. It's even on my list of 30 Before 30. I really have to find some way to rein in the chaos in this place so that my craft projects don't keep spilling out into the living room. I mean that's the whole point of having a "craft room" right?
So over at I'm an Organizing Junkie, for the month of February there is a 29 Day Organizational Challenge to get one room in the house under control.This is just the motivation I need to get this place into a workable state.
This is what the current state is:
So over at I'm an Organizing Junkie, for the month of February there is a 29 Day Organizational Challenge to get one room in the house under control.This is just the motivation I need to get this place into a workable state.
This is what the current state is:
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| The closet is overflowing so much I can't even close it! |
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| This cupboard is supposed to be for craft supplies but good luck finding anything in here. |
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| My sewing table that is currently so covered in stuff I can't sew on it. |
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| Somewhere under all that stuff is my desk. Then apparently I like to pile more stuff under it. |
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| The view looking out into the hall. |
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| And the horrible view looking from the hall into the craft room. |
This room just ends up being the dumping grounds for anything and everything in the house. It's time to get it under control and organized. I need a craft room I can actually use!