Homemade Superhero| (featuring) iLoveToCreate Fabric Fusion and Crystals

I am the first to admit that I am not great at sewing.  While I am a perfectionist in other aspects of crafting... I just don't have a love for the sewing machine.  (I do have high hopes of changing that!!) 

One thing I do try to get the sewing machine out for each year is to make Halloween costumes.  This year the girls were going to each be a homemade superhero... ie- Super Hannah, and Super Claire!

With the help of Pintrest, I found a great cape tutorial and got to work. 

I did employ some Aleene's Fabric Fusion to help with the logos that weren't sticking well with the 'wonder under'... and I added a little dazzle to their masks with some Tulip Glam it Up Iron-On Crystals using the Tulip Cordless Heat Setting Tool.

If I am being honest, the costumes were cuter in my head then they ended up being once they were done, Oh well!  :0)

The girls loved them and had so much fun running around and yelling "Coming to Save the World!!" 

iLoveToCreate: Repurposed Fabric Covered Bulletin Board

Poor Claire, my youngest daughter, has had bare walls for quite some time.  It's not for lack of thought or intention, it is just that I kind of have a phobia when it comes to decorating.  I want to LOVE what I put on my walls... for goodness sake, I will have to look at it EVERYDAY!  It has always seemed like a lot of pressure.  Pretty much the only reason things get put on walls around here is if John harps on me enough to get it ready, then he will hang it.

As was the case with this easy project! 

We like to call this our $1 Bulletin Board.  We spent a wopping $1 on the frame and had everything else on hand.  It was a great way to repurpose an old cork bulletin board as well. 

Supplies: 

• Frame - Ours was found at ReStore (it has a chip in the back was a gaudy gold color, so John painted it black...you can't even see the chip when it is on the wall!)
• Corkboard - We had an old board that was actually in our yard sale pile... John cut out the middle section to a size that would fit inside the frame with a utility knife
• Fabric - enough to cover the board with a few inches extra on all sides
• Stapler - Regular old office one, the staples in a staple gun would have gone through the cork
• Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Spray
• Hanging hooks, grabbers, fastening clips, or whatever you like to use to hang the final product (find at any hardware store)

• Decide on your frame size and cut corkboard to fit inside the frame
• Measure enough fabric to cover the corkboard, plus a few inches on each side.  Iron the fabric and place it wrong side up on your work surface

• Go outside and spray the good side of the corkboard with Aleene's Tacky Spray
• Quickly place the sticky side of the corkboard onto the wrong side up fabric
• Start on one side pulling the fabric taught and stapling it down on the back of the coarkboard, work your way around until it is all stapled
• **I also flipped the corkboard over and  placed a large, flat tray or book on the right side to make sure the fabric sticks to the cork, I left this for about 30 minutes to dry

• Place covered corkboard into frame, we made sure ours stayed tight with fastening clips
• Add picture hanging hardware and hang on the wall... (John did this part)

...and the final product!  Almost too pretty to add her treasured photos and memories :-)

iLoveToCreate: Reverse-Stencilled & Spray-Painted Shirt

This is a great, fairly easy way to uniquely personalize a shirt!  My friend Brooke, co-owner of the fabulous Uptown Kids sale (a twice yearly consignment event held here in Fresno), came up with this idea and I have to say it seems to have worked out well!

First she decided that she wanted to rock a fun and unique shirt with her business initials... UPTK.

Supplies:

Tank top style shirt (or anything you would like personalized)

Cardboard shirt form-Tulip has one called a Fashion Form

Tulip brand fabric spray paint (your could use several colors if that suits your fancy)

Vinyl - cut using the Silhouette machine

• Choose a font and size that will work well for the letters of your shirt, then cut out your vinyl using your Slihouette, Cricut, or trace and cut with scissors.

• Peel letters out of vinyl and place on your shirt

• Cover your work area and spray fabric paint liberally around the stuck-on letters and around shirt until you have the desired effect

• Peel off vinyl lettering and enjoy your creation!

Thoughts:

• Wouldn't this be a great craft for a kids party or camp? 
• I thought the spray paint gave the shirt a cool effect and you could have a variety of outcomes depending on the amount of spray you want to use.
• The vinyl worked really well and provided nice crisp lines... no bleeding paint!!
• Add some spray glitter for a little more pizzaz!

**Thanks for sharing your idea Brooke!  I'm sure you will enjoy wearing it at this fall's consignment sale!!**



iLoveToCreate: A Variety of Tie Dye Techniques

Last weekend my sister and I decided to have a quick tie dye afternoon.  I wanted to dye some swim covers for the girls and had a few other things that were a little stained and ready to be revamped.  I had a tie dye kit and a few extra bottles of Tulip Tie Dye sitting in my cabinet and was itching to use them!

We gathered our supplies (most of which aren't shown here... )

The kit includes: dye in bottles (just add water and shake!), plastic gloves and rubber bands.

You will also need to grab some plastic (I used large garbage bags) to cover the table or workspace, Ziploc bags to hold the completed projects overnight, and paper towels.  I specifically needed a spray bottle for one of the techniques I was planning.

I also made sure it was a nice day and we were able to work outside. 

I looked up some different techniques online.  A good resource is the iLoveToCreate website.  Just look under projects and search for tie dye.

This is an old shirt - rubber band style

• Tie two rubber bands to a dampened shirt, basically dividing it into thirds. 

• Generously douse each end with dye and roll it up into a garbage bag being careful to not have the red and blue ends touch. 

• After 24 hours, rinse each end of the shirt until the water runs clear
• Wash it with a little detergent, and dry in the dryer.

The next project was the swimsuit covers - graduated dye style

*Note the type of material when dyeing clothing.  The dye doesn't take to polyester very well so make sure it is blended with natural fibers like cotton.  These were 85% Cotton and 15% Polyester, found at Target.*

•  Lay the damp swim cover on a garbage bag and mix the dye 
• Generously douse the fabric with the bottled dye, but only on the bottom... do the front and back of the swim cover
• Pour out half the dye and add the remaining to a spray bottle, filling the rest with water (basically diluting the dye)
• Spray the middle of the swim cover generously, front and back
• Pour out more and dilute the dye even more, then spray the top generously on the front and back.
• Roll into a large garbage bag and let set 24 hours
• Rinse, wash, and dry

While this was the proper technique, I didn't dilute the dye enough for the top so the middle and top look very similar here.  Never the less, I am happy with them and might even add another tie dye design another time. 

Next, I did a plain old t-shirt - swirly style

• Pinch the damp shirt near the middle or off to one side and spin until it forms a nice little roll like the one shown below
• Tie a rubberband across the middle and then another going the other direction across the middle creating 'pie' pieces
• Dye every other 'slice of the pie' a different color using the given dye bottles.  In my case, I went red, blue, red, blue.
• Make sure to douse GENEROUSLY getting the bottle nozzle down into the folds of the shirt.
• Put in a Ziplog bag and let set 24 hours
• Remove rubber bands, rinse, wash and dry 

The final project was a kids cami - scrunched style

• Lay the dampened shirt on a paper towel (on top of some plastic) and scrunch... see the photo on the left
• Add the bottled dye all over the shirt, dousing generously
• Move to a Ziploc bag for 24 hours
• Rinse, wash, and dry

*The photo on the left was my sister's project, similar to the first technique shown above, however I thought I would point out her gloves.  She was smart and wore them.  I, on the other hand, did NOT and ended up with very red hands for a few days.* 

Many fun projects

Save your bottles! You never know when you will need them.

The final results!  All in an afternoons work :-)

A Cupcake Birthday: Cupcake Aprons

A few posts back, I showed the cupcake clips that were the true inspiration behind the cupcake party.  Once those were made, the rest started to fall into place. 

I wanted to have a sprinkle bar for decorating cupcakes and then to have the kids make their own pizzas.  If this was going to be a cooking party, then the kids needed aprons.  I found these aprons that just so happened to have the best reviews and be the least expensive... score!   They would make a perfect party favor as well.  I opted to not have the kids decorate their own aprons, because I wanted them to use them right away, but they needed some decor in my opinion, so I went to work...

Supplies:

• Fabric, pink and brown, cut into 6 x 8 inch pieces (this is the size that fits on the Silhouette mat)
• Wonder Under (or the Silhouette brand fabric interfacing)
• Silhouette, custom cutting machine (or a very good cutting hand!)
• Sewing machine with pink and brown thread
• Iron
• Pink or Red buttons to use as a cherry

Directions:

• Iron fabric interfacing onto fabric (follow directions on the package)
• Use the Silhouette machine (or a pair of scissors) to cut the tops and bottoms of the cupcake shapes out of the interfacing [if using the Silhouette machine, there are a variety of different cupcake shapes available on the online store]
• Peel off the back of the interfacing and iron the shapes into the desired spot on the aprons
• Sew inside the shapes with a wide straight stitch.  I went a few times around each one on the top to give a little more 'shabby' effect.
• Add a red button cherry to the top of the cupcake

iLoveToCreate: Fabric-Covered and Stenciled Bulletin Boards

I am a chronic clearance shopper.  Sometimes it is a good thing, and sometimes it leads to excess 'stuff' in our house.  These bulletin boards, found in a clearance bin for $2.50 a piece, have been laying around my house for a few years.  I knew they would eventually go well in the office or one of the girl's rooms, but I was never entirely motivated to get the hung up. I am kind of glad I didn't because the colors don't really go with anything and recently I actually had some inspiration on what to do with them.

I took some of the fabric I had bought to accessorize Hannah's room and went to work covering each of the four bulletin boards.  I just cut the fabric and hot glued it to the back, pulling tight.

I raided my stash of iLoveToCreate products.  I knew I wanted to use a different Tulip Sticky Fabric Stencil in each of the boards, and I didn't want everything to be too 'matchy' to I got out a variety of fabric paint options.

I am a big fan of the sticky fabric stencils.  They are peel and stick, and they seem to re-stick pretty well.  I started with the bird in one of the corners.

I used Tulip Fabric Spray Paint for the bird.  I just added some paper towels around the sides to make sure the overspray didn't get on the fabric.

On the butterfly I used a sponge and applied some Tulip Soft Fabric Paint and then added some Tulip Fashion Glitter while the stencil was still on.

On the next one I did a purple butterfly, and opted for the Tulip Glitter Spray Paint to glam it up a bit. 

When all the boards had been stenciled, I added a little bling with some Tulip Heat Set Crystals and Tulip Heat Set Tool.

Once everything was dry, we hung them on the wall...

...and started adding photos!  I just did a few, because I want Hannah to be able to add the things she loves.

This was a very functional project, but my Husband pointed out that it kind of matched the Decopauged Fabric Canvases I made a few months ago.  I think they will have their own look once they are completely covered in photos and artwork.  I think I will also try to add a heading above them in vinyl or something.  Do you have any ideas to give it a little pizzaz?

Yarn Wreath with Felt Flowers - #1 | Valentine's Day Decor

I decided to try another project I found in the blog world and am now officially addicted!  I am not joking when I say that I am making one of these for every room in my house. 

Here was attempt number one, sort of Valentine's Day inspired. 

Check out the tutorial for the Cheery Yarn Wreath at Mrs Priss

Felt Rosette Ball | Valentine's Day Decor

I was very inspired by the Valentine's Day Heart Wreath from The Idea Room.  She does a great tutorial on the process and there is another great tutorial at Design Sponge. 

I was not quite up to trying an entire wreath, but I did think I could handle covering a ball, and I am so glad I did!  It is one of those little decorative items that makes a BIG impact :)

All you need is:

• Felt (1/2- yard, $4.99/yard at JoAnn's)
• Styrafoam ball, I think it was 4 inches, about the size of an orange
• Flat-head pins, the long ones if you have a choice
• Scissors
• Something to trace a 3-inch circle (I used a kids cup)

Process: I would be a good idea to follow the tutorials I have linked to above...

• Cut a TON of felt circles, I used the whole 1/2-yard of felt
• Fold each cirlce in half, and then half again creating a pie piece
• Push a pin through the point of the felt and into the styrafoam
• Repeat (about 100 times) until you no longer see any of the styrafoam

I think I might go for the full wreath next.  Maybe in a nice bright spring color?

iLoveToCreate: The letter 'H', wrapped canvas project

Happy New Year!   I am finally back to business on blogging and am ready to get up to date on the projects completed (or started) in 2010 and move on to new projects this year!  Thank you to anyone that has been checking regularly to see if I have posted anything new... I will do my best to get a few posts up per week.  I am excited to see where this blog will be by the end of 2011!

I am not exactly sure what to call this project.  I found a cardboard letter 'H' on clearence at Michael's and knew that it would work somewhere in my daughter Hannah's room.  It wasn't all that large so I was hoping that I could think of something to give it a little pizzaz.  The final product reminds me of a giant rubber stamp or old-style newsprint letter.  Either way, I was happy with the outcome :)

As I have mentioned before, Collage Pauge is my friend.  If I am not careful my walls will someday be entirely covered in this stuff... and I am only a little bit kidding... ;)

So, for this project I used:

•  Matte-finish Collage Pauge
• an 8x10 canvas
• two complimentary colors of fabric
• Cardboard letter H
• Foam brushes
• rotary fabric cutter

I cut one of my fabrics a few inches larger than my canvas.

Than I cut out the corners, making sure to leave enough fabric to cover the corners of the canvas. 

Using a foam brush, paint the front of the canvas liberally with Collage Pauge (CP),  line up the fabric and place it over the top, smoothing it out the best you can.  Paint another layer of Collage Pauge (CP) over the top. 

Starting at one edge, paint on the Coallge Pauge (CP) and pull the fabric over the edge adding another layer of CP over the top. Work you way around the edges and back of the whole canvas. 

This is what my edges looked like....

For the letter H, I cut the fabric large, but had to get creative and do another layer of fabric over the top as there was not enough to cover all of the brown cardboard.  Does that make sense?  Use the CP in a similar manner as above, doing the front first and working out to the edges and back, pulling the fabric smooth, and painting the CP over the top.

So, there were two layers of fabric over this H.  If I were mass producing these I would try to find another way, but for my decorative purposes it worked out well. 

And, the final product!  After both pieces had dried I used some Aleene's Original Tacky Glue to adhere the H to the canvas.

Here is the final product, displayed on a frame easel in my daughter's very purple room!